Do or Die Game 7 Tonight!

Well, this first round playoff series between the Hurricanes and Blades has come down to a one game, winner takes all 7th game tonight in Saskatoon.

The Saskatoon Blades, facing elimination clawed their way back into this series with a 5-1 victory over the Canes Monday night in game 6 back in Lethbridge. Give the Blades credit, they managed to find a way to win to keep their season alive. Both teams now are in the same boat and the motivation for both the Hurricanes and the Blades is pretty simple. Win and move on to round two....lose and your season is over.

The Hurricanes have responded well in this series after losses. If that trend continues, Lethbridge has a great chance at winning this evening. In fact, this has been an entertaining series, that for the most part has favoured the visiting team for whatever reason. The Blades have won twice in Lethbridge, while the Canes have won two times in Saskatoon. I guess home-ice advantage has been more like home-ice disadvantage. Maybe these teams play a more relaxed style of hockey on the road. Of course, as everyone knows, anything can happen in a deciding game in a series.

Both teams will give it their best tonight, because for the team that comes out on the losing end of things, tomorrow will mean getting ready for next season.

The Hurricanes are going to need a strong start in this game 7. That’s helped Lethbridge to it’s 3 wins in this series. The Canes will also need to be very disciplined. That overall may be the number one key for tonight. Staying out of the penalty box will be crucial.

In game six the other night, The Blades jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead. That helped pace Saskatoon to a 5-1 win. Lethbridge fought back, but was unable to solve Braden Holtby, who maybe played his best game of this series in goal for Saskatoon. The Hurricanes will also have to generate as many chances as possible, get a lot of traffic in front of the Blades goal, and capitalize on as many chances as they get.

This will mark the Canes first game seven since the 1990-91 team won an East division championship over the Medicine Hat Tigers in seven games before losing in the WHL Finals. That team was led by Canes All Time leading point scorer Jason Ruff (382), goaltender Jamie McLennan and sixty goal scorer Brad Rubachuk.

This game tonight will also be the ultimate test of character and team leadership for both Saskatoon and Lethbridge. Which team wants this more? Who will step up to lead the way and be the hero tonight? I suppose the way this series has gone, it’s a fitting end to what’s been a back-and-forth battle between two talented hockey teams.

Which team has the pressure going into game 7? We’ll I would have to say given the high stakes, both teams are likely feeling pressure. Once the puck drops, it’ll be business as usual!

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