Hurricanes Hosting Warriors Tonight

The Lethbridge Hurricanes will try and rebound tonight from a tough home-ice loss earlier this week to Kamloops. It was a game the Canes' let get away and a missed opportunity to make some ground up on the rest of the Eastern Conference. That said, the loss on Tuesday may very well mean a more hungry, determined Lethbridge team this evening as they take on a struggling club from Moose Jaw.
The Hurricanes I thought played well against the Blazers the other night. They just seemed to lose their focus for a few minutes near the end of the 2nd period and Kamloops scored two quick goals to change the complexion of the game.
Lethbridge has 4 games remaining, including tonight before their Christmas break. The team plays in Edmonton Sunday afternoon, then it's off to Regina Tuesday and Brandon Wednesday. Every game is a big game, but heading into the nearly 10 day break on a winning note would be a very positive thing and I'm sure the goal for the Hurricanes right now.
Lethbridge will now be without the services of Zach Boychuk for a couple of weeks. He jetted off to Ottawa Wednesday to take part in the World Junior Selection Camp for Team Canada. It'll be a chance for someone to step up and try and fill his skates while he's away. As Coach Michael Dyck said earlier this week, that'll likely have to be done by committee and not just depend on one player to do the job himself. Goaltender Juha Metsola will head to Toronto after the Canes' game in Brandon next week. He'll try out for the Finnish under 20 team. GM Roy Stasiuk told me yesterday that'll likely mean Brandon Anderson will be brought in from Columbia Valley to fill in on an emergency basis after Christmas.
Lethbridge enters play tonight with a record of 18-13-0-1 and with 37-points. That's good enough for 6th spot in the Eastern Conference at the moment, 2-points back of the Kootenay Ice and 3-behind Regina.
Tonight's game is a 7 o'clock start from the Enmax Centre. The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30

Former Canes' Assistant Battah Back in WHL

Jeff Battah is back in the Western Hockey League. The Former Hurricanes goalie coach is heading to Prince George.
Here's the news release from the Cougar's website:

PRINCE GEORGE, BC – The Prince George Cougars are pleased to announce that Jeff Battah has been hired as assistant coach.
Jeff joins the Cougars after spending the first half of the season as the Head Coach and General Manager of the Drayton Valley Thunder of the AJHL.
Before this season Jeff spent the previous four years with the Lethbridge Hurricanes as an assistant coach. Jeff has also spent time with Hockey Canada and was a member Canada’s coaching staff which won gold at the 2005 World U-18 Championship.
Jeff will join the team in Everett on Saturday Dec 13th.

Canes' Deal Away Another Goalie

Lethbridge, AB – Lethbridge Hurricanes General Manager, Roy Stasiuk, announced this morning the Canes have traded goaltending prospect Todd Mathews, along with a 7th round selection in either the 2009 or 2010 WHL Bantam Draft to the Kootenay Ice in exchange for Kootenay’s 5th round selection in either the 2009 or 2010 WHL Bantam Draft.

Matthews’ rights were acquired last month, along with a 6th round pick in 2009 in a trade with Moose Jaw which saw the Canes move Cody Smuk and Lethbridge’s 5th round draft pick in 2009 to the Warriors. Mathews started 20 games last season with the Warriors as a rookie backup to Moose Jaw starting goaltender Joey Perricone, compiling a 9-5-0-1 record with a 2.75 goals against average and a save percentage of 0.895. With the Warriors early struggles this season Mathews had amassed a record of 3-7-0-1; before recently being reassigned to Notre Dame of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

“With the improving play of backup goaltender Michael Tadjdeh, the continued success of our starter Juha Metsola and the steady development of our younger goaltending prospects, this is a move which will benefit both the player involved and our hockey club.” said Stasiuk “We are able to maintain our depth at the goaltending position while giving Todd, an 18 year old, the opportunity to play for a spot on a WHL team.”

Canes' Drops 4-3 Decision to Kamloops

Last night's game against the Blazers was an opportunity for the Hurricanes to make even more ground up on the rest of the teams in the Eastern Conference. It was one of a few game they had on teams like Regina, Medicine Hat, and Brandon. The Hurrianes fell short though, losing 4-3 to visiting Kamloops. Lethbridge started out fairly strong with Carter Ashton scoring twice in the first period after the Blazers opened the game with a goal. Lethbridge I thought controlled the play until the last few minutes of the 2nd when they got away from playing their game. A few mistakes clearing the puck turned into 2 quick goals for Kamloops in less than 2 minutes and that 2-1 Hurricanes lead turned into a 3-2 deficit. Carter Bancks tied it up early in the 3rd on a power play, but some scrambley play in their own zone late in the third cost the Canes'. C.J. Stretch scored his second of the night with a couple minutes remaining and that turned out to be the game winner. I think if you ask the Hurricanes they'd probably tell you they felt they beat themselves last night. Kamloops was able to capitalize of those Hurricanes miscues. Lethbridge also hit 3 goal posts last night, including one a first period on a penalty shot. The loss ends the team's 7 game winning streak as well and now will have to re-group and get ready for a visit from Moose Jaw on Friday.
Zach Boychuk heads off today for Ottawa to take in the Canadian World Junior Selection Camp. If he makes the team (I would be shocked if he didn't) he'll be gone from the Lethbridge line-up until early in the new year. Best of luck to him and the rest of team Canada.

Canes Beat Tigers in O-T....Kamloops Tonight

A well earned victory last night for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The Canes' were in a battle with rival Medicine Hat all evening and in the end Lethbridge managed a 4-3 win in overtime extending it's winning streak to 7 games. The Tigers opened the scoring on a power play in the 2nd period after the two teams failed to get on the board in the 1st. Medicine Hat came very close though. The Tigers hit two goal posts and a crossbar in the opening frame, but the game was still scoreless following 20 minutes of play. Lethbridge got a few breaks there, but they used those breaks to their advantage later on in the game. The Canes' managed to tie things up at one early in the 3rd, but the Tigers scored another power play goal to go up 2-1. That's the way it stayed until late in the third when the game got even more interesting. Lethbridge would tie it up at 2 on a power play goal and then Dwight King scored shorthanded with a few minutes left to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead. It looked like Lethbridge would take it regulation, but the Tigers pulled the goalie while shorthanded and scored with 7 tenths of a second to go to force overtime. In the extra period, The Canes would notch a power play goal 27 seconds in by Zach Boychuk and in a nutshell, that was the game! Lethbridge has won 9 of it's past 10 on this current streak and no doubt playing it's best hockey of the season right now.

The Hurricanes also had to battle the officials at times last night too. There were a number of questionable non-calls by the two men wearing the orange arm bands in the Hat. On a number of occasions Hurricanes Head Coach Michale Dyck was noticeably upset at some the calls or non-calls. I think the Canes' did a heck of job fighting through that, not letting it get them off their game. As crazy as this may sound, maybe that even strengthened the team's resolve and gave them that extra push and drive to want to win even more. Juha Metsola played another solid game between the pipes for Lethbridge which improved to 18-12-0-1 on the season.

Not much time for the Hurricanes to enjoy that victory either. They're back at it tonight on home-ice as they host Kamloops. This is the 2nd meeting of the year between the Canes' and Blazers. The Blazers won the previous meeting Halloween night in Kamloops so I would think the high-flying Hurricanes would be looking to even the score so to speak. The Blazers have only 3 wins in their past 10 games and have lost their previous two. This game will also mark the return of former Canes' goaltender Justin LeClerc and Lethbridge native Nick Ross back to the Enmax Centre.

Lethbridge's current little run as of late has moved this team up in the Eastern Conference standings. The Canes' now sit in 5th spot, 3 points back of Regina and 5 behind the Tigers. This team has made up a tonne of ground lately and it's making things a little more interesting for some of the other teams in a tight Eastern Conference.

Tonight's game against the Blazers is a 7 o'clock start from the Enmax Centre. The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.

6 Wins in a Row...Medicine Hat & Canes' Tonight

The Lethbridge Hurricanes have quickly got themselves back into the Eastern Conference race with their 6th consecutive win Saturday night in Edmonton. The Canes' played a strong first two periods and had a 3-0 lead to show for their efforts. In the 3rd though, the Oil Kings stormed back to make things interesting, pumping 22 shots at Hurricanes rookie goaltender Michael Tadjdeh and getting 3 goals of their own, but Lethbridge managed to score two more and win the game 5-3. Tadjdeh turned out to be the difference in that game facing 38 shots overall earning his 4 straight win of the season and first WHL victory on the road. The Canes' maybe took the pedal off the gas in the 3rd letting Edmonton back into that game. They can't do that against teams like the Tigers. Tonight Lethbridge will need a strong performance against a divisional rival and one of the teams they're chasing down in the standings.

The Tigers have won the 3 of the previous 4 meetings between these two teams. The only Hurricanes win came in overtime on September 26th in Lethbridge when the Canes' blanked the Tigers 1-0. Also, the only blemish the Hurricanes have in their past 9 games was a 2-1 loss to the Tigers a few weeks ago. I'm sure Lethbridge will be looking for a bit of revenge this evening. As for the standings, The Hurricanes trail Medicine Hat by 6-points and also have two games in hand on the Tigers. This is a key game tonight for Lethbridge. The Hurricanes can cut that lead down to 4 points with a victory as well as keep their winning streak alive. For the Canes' these are the games where most of the ground is made up in the standings. Beating the teams they're chasing will go along way to moving this team up.

It's a busy week and half before the Christmas break for this Lethbridge team. After tonight's game in the Hat, Kamloops is next up tomorrow as they visit the Enmax Centre. Moose Jaw pays a visit on Friday, then Sunday it's off to Edmonton for a 2pm start against the Oil Kings, next Tuesday the Hurricanes are in Regina and Wednesday December 17th the Canes' play in Brandon. That'll be it for 10 days as the players all head home for the Christmas break. Play resumes December 27th when the Hurricanes host the Kootenay Ice. Before then though, Lethbridge has a great opportunity to establish itself amongst the top teams in the East. An important week and a half of hockey for the Hurricanes no doubt!

Tonight's game from Medicine Hat is a 7 o'clock start. The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.