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.

In Spokane,WA.....Game Day With the Hurricanes

Hello from the USA! The Hurricanes arrived here in Spokane around 7:30 last night after a roughly 7 hour bus ride from Lethbridge. The Canes’ practiced at the Enmax Centre before we left. It was a quiet trip for the most part with the players just relaxing and resting up for tonight’s game against the Chiefs. The Hurricanes are coming off a 4-1 loss in Medicine Hat on Monday night. The Canes’ had a few good chances in that game, but were unable to finish. Lethbridge will need a solid team effort tonight in Spokane.
The Canes’ are still trying to find ways to win. I think the important thing really is for the players to not get too discouraged when things aren’t going right or the bounces aren’t going their way. As I’ve said before a win right now is just what this team needs. Something positive to bring into the next game and tonight in Spokane would be a great place for that to happen. This game is a rematch of last season’s WHL final. The Chiefs are one of the top teams in the Western Conference and of course are the defending Memorial Cup Champs.
Every team in every sport at some point goes through a few growing pains. The Hurricanes are working through that right now. From the tone of the fan emails Dick and I have received over the past few weeks it seems the emotions range from one end to the other. Some people are downright upset and frustrated while others are willing to see the Canes’ through. Again, I’ve always been a “glass half full” kind of guy, but at the same time I understand some of the concerns. Again we may not all agree on certain points, but I think Canes' fans alike want to see this team achieve great things.
Captain Ben Wright did not make the trip with us to Spokane. He`s still nursing a sore knee after a knee-on-knee hit in Calgary last weekend. The good news is he`ll likely be back sooner rather than later as it turns out the injury wasn`t a bad as it looked when it happened. That`s great news for the Hurricanes.
After tonight, Lethbridge travels back to Canada tomorrow and will set up for one night in Cranbrook as the Canes` take on the Kootenay Ice on Friday before returning home to host Edmonton Sunday night. That`ll be the first home game for Lethbridge in nearly 3 weeks.
Tonight`s game from Spokane is an 8 o`clock start Alberta time with the pre-game show at 7:30.

On the Road with the Canes'...Game Day in Medicine Hat

It's a busy week for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The team is on the road for three games which will take them to Medicine Hat tonight, in Spokane on Wednesday, and in Kootenay Friday. The team returns home Sunday evening to host Edmonton. Lethbridge is coming off a tough 4-3 shootout loss in Calgary on Saturday. The Canes' has 3-one goal leads and each time Calgary came back to tie it up. Juha Metsola played extremely good between the pipes in a losing cause. The Hurricanes have only one win their past 6 games going into this week. There's no doubt this team is in a bit of a funk right now, trying to find ways to win. The Canes' lost more than just the game on Saturday. Captain Ben Wright received a knee on knee hit from Hitmen forward Ryan Fox. Wright's status still isn't known. He was helped off the ice and never returned to the game. He was not taken to hospital in Calgary after the hit either. It's likely he'll be evaluated on a day to day basis. Wright is the leader of this team and his loss would be huge. Let's hope the injury isn't as bad as it looked. Hopefully we'll get an update tonight in Medicine Hat. Stay tuned for the pre-game show for that.
New defenceman Eric Meserty looked very good in his first game as a Hurricane. He was poised and handled the puck extremely well. No doubt a good pick up for Lethbridge. I also thought Max Ross looked pretty good in his first game too. He played well I thought in his first game as a Hurricane after getting called up from Olds of the AJHL. Drew Hoff also played his first game for Lethbridge this past Saturday. He seemed to have a decent jump in his step and was used in a few different situations.
A number of fans are showing frustration right now. I truely understand that, especially when so many people, myself included thought things were going to start off this year like they finished last season. I'm still not pushing the panic button, but there's no question this team needs to get a few wins. Winning is contagious as they say. I think the Hurricanes need a victory to give them a boost right now. There is so much potential on this team, it's just that at the moment they're in a rut. All teams seem to go through a tough stretch during the course of a season and right now it happens to be the Hurricanes.
Tonight the Hurricanes play the Tigers in Medicine Hat. This is the 3rd meeting between these two teams, with each team having won once. the Tigers are 9-7-2-2 while the Hurricanes are 9-8-0-1. Tonight's game is a 7 o'clock start from the Hat. The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30. Your emails, thoughts, comments are welcome as always at hurricanes@pttwireless.ca