Canes Host Blades....Game 3 Tonight

Game 3 of the Hurricanes-Saskatoon series goes tonight at 7 at the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge.

The two teams split the first couple of games in Saskatoon this past weekend. The Blades winning game one 5-1 and the Hurricanes bouncing back with a 5-2 victory in game two. I thought the Canes' played great in that second game. They were led by Zach Boychuk who scored a hatrick and added one assist. Defensively it was the Juha Metsola show. The "Finnish Phenom" made his return in net after missing a week with injury and to be quite honest, he never missed a beat! Metsola was rock solid, coming up with a number of big saves. Every Lethbridge player contributed to the win in one way or another. The Canes' will need another effort like that tonight if they want to take the lead in this series for the first time.

I also liked the Hurricanes starts in all three periods on Saturday. Lethbridge was rewarded with a 2-0 lead after one. They came out of the gate in the 2nd like a house on fire, hit two goal posts, but the scored stayed the same until early in the 3rd when Carter Ashton scored on the power play to go up 3-0. The Blades came back to cut the lead to 3-1, but Lethbridge would go up 4-1 and eventually take the game 5-2. Saskatoon's coaching staff pulled goalie Braden Holtby with nearly 7 minutes to go in the 3rd when the Blades were down 4-1 at that point. I thought it was a gutsy call and showed Saskatoon's desire to not give up. It sure made the game interesting. I've seen a coach do that once in the past, not in a playoff game though. Nothing like pulling out all the stops to try and make a comeback. I suppose that's what playoff hockey is all about!

So far this series has been about special teams. The Blades won that battle in game one while the Hurricanes turned the table and owned that department in game two scoring twice on the power play and once short-handed. It seems like that's the area where this series could be decided.

This should be another good game tonight. The Hurricanes have played good hockey at home while Saskatoon has been one of the best teams on the road this season. I expect another physical and chippy affair in game 3. This could also be the swing game in this series. I know the Hurricanes are hoping strong fan support will again help them out in the playoffs. The fan support last year in the playoffs was outstanding and I think really helped push this Lethbridge team to the next level. Fans are encouraged to wear white in support of the Hurricanes play-off run. The "White Out" was a spectacular site to see last post-season! Also, if you haven't purchased your play-off tickets yet, there's still time. I'll be on remote down at the Enmax Centre today from noon till 4 getting out the word about tickets!

Kyle Beach returns to the Canes' line-up in game 3 tonight after serving a one game suspension. Jiri Niemi is back for Saskatoon. He also received a one game suspension in game one. I think that adds offence back for both teams.

Fred Jack and I will have the pre-game show on CJOC tonight at 6:30. Game 4 goes tomorrow in Lethbridge and game 5 back in Saskatoon Saturday night.