In Cranbrook.....Game Day vs. The Kootenay Ice; Theriau Selected for World U-17

Good day from Cranbrook! We arrived here around 2pm yesterday afternoon after a relatively short bus ride from Spokane. The Canes' hit the ice shortly after getting to Cranbrook for what was a hard, spirited practice at the Rec Plex, the site of tonight's game against the Ice. Lethbridge is coming off a 5-2 loss to the Chiefs on Wednesday. I felt the Hurricanes deserved a better fate in that game. They played well, but lost. I thought they outplayed the defending Memorial Cup Champs for a good portion of the game. The difference was two fold. First goaltender Dustin Tokarski, the game's first start stoned the Canes' on numerous occasions and second was special teams. The Chiefs scored 3 of their 5 goals with the man advantage. Lethbridge managed one of their 2 goals on the power play. With the loss, the Hurricanes fall one game below the 500 mark for the first time this season and now sit with a record of 9-10-0-1.

Speaking of the the power play, that's one area the Canes' need to improve on. They've been trying a few different things lately.....5 forwards, 4 forwards and one defenceman......and the traditional 3 forwards and 2 d-men. It's one thing the team worked on in practice here in Cranbrook yesterday.

The mood amongst the players and coaching staff is very upbeat right now despite being in a rut as of late. Personally, I think that's the right attitude. It's the only way this team will get back on the winning trail is to keep a positive outlook and take it one game and one shift at a time. I know that sounds so cliche, but it's true. That's been Coach Michael Dyck's philosophy. I'm sure it's frustrating for the Canes' right now trying to fiind ways to get a victory, but again they just have to keep battling through this. Perhaps, as crazy as this may sound, a bit of a losing streak like this can build some character within this team. I saw in Spokane the other night the Hurricanes played with a chip on their shoulder, a bit more zip and edge, and a good consistent energy level. If they keep up that kind of play the wins will come. Remember back to last year's slow start. Things sure turned once everyone and everything cane together. This year it's taking a bit longer. It's something we all have to let play out over the weeks ahead. On the flip side of that, the Hurricanes don't want to fall too far behind the rest of he pack in the Eastern Conference.

This is the 3rd meeting of the year tonight between the Hurricanes and Kootenay Ice, with Lethbridge winning both games back in September. The Ice are 10-9-2-3 on the year and have played 4 more games than Lethbridge on the season. Tonight's game is a 7 o'clock start with the pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.

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Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes are very proud to congratulate defenseman Alex Theriau on his selection to Team Pacific for the upcoming World U17 Hockey Challenge in Port Alberni, BC from Dec. 29 – Jan. 4, 2009. The 6’2” 185 pound Theriau has played 16 games for the Hurricanes in his rookie season while notching two points (2A) and a plus/minus rating of zero. Theriau a resident of Duncan, BC was drafted in the first round (6th overall) of the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft. In 2006-2007 he anchored the blue line of the 2007 Western Canadian Bantam Champion Burnaby Winter Club.