Well, Zach Boychuk did it again!
"Boy Wonder" scored two 3rd period goals to mount a huge comeback for the Hurricanes in game 4 four last night. It was a low scoring affair with only 3 goals in total. The Blades got a late goal in the first to go up 1-0 and it stayed that way until Lethbridge finally got the offence going in the 3rd. It was a huge victory for the Canes' as the series heads back to Saskatoon for game 5 on Saturday.
Juha Metsola played solid in goal again for the Canes'. After the win Metsola did a a little dance now dubbed by some as the "Finnish Jig"! To be honest I kind of like it. It shows Juha is into the game and excited about the win. Braden Holtby was good again between the pipes for Saskatoon.
One of our keys to last night's game was to see more from Colton Sceviour and Kyle Beach. Sceviour stepped up with two assists and Beach played well in the third and stayed disciplined throughout the game. With the way these two teams have been playing on special teams, I think the message to both clubs is to stay out of the penalty box at all costs!
There were only 2900 fans for game 4 last night and only 3000 for game 3 on Tuesday. Low crowds for the first two games in Lethbridge, especially when the Hurricanes sold out nearly every home game after the Christmas break. One person suggested to me the reason is the ticket prices are too high for the playoffs. Really, are they? A regular season walk-up ticket is around 20 dollars. A playoff walk-up ticket is around 22. Is the difference of roughly a toonie really the reason for the smaller crowds? This is not just a trend in Lethbridge. Other teams have seen low attendance in the first round. Look at Saskatoon. The Blades were getting 7 to 9 thousand fans to some of their home games near the end of the regular season. The playoffs hit and only 5300 people show up. Smaller crowds were reported in Swift Current and Brandon too. Why? Ticket prices? I don't think so. I could see if it was a 10 dollar difference in price, but two or 3 dollars shouldn't make a difference. I know times are tough for some right now. That could be a factor. It's playoff hockey though! This is when teams and organizations make their money is in the playoffs. Teams budget for the regular season. Come out and support the Hurricanes! Game six in Lethbridge on Monday.
The views expressed on this blog are those of the moderator and contributors and are not endorsed by 94.1 CJOC or the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
1st round has been a harder sell since the conference format was adopted for the playoffs. not as much sizzle. consider if the old divisional format was still in place. lethbridge vs calgary much easier to sell.
ReplyDeletei think another reason for the low attendance is because the games are televised on shaw tv.
ReplyDeleteGood point about the televised games. That could be a factor, but the last TV game SHAW did in Lethbridge Feb 13th versus Kamloops the building was sold out at 4806.
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