Canes' Set for Opening Night

Tomorrow is opening night for the Lethbridge Hurricanes as they take on the Kootenay Ice on the road in Cranbrook (7pm face-off, pregame show on CJOC, 94.1 The Lounge at 6:30).

The team has been busy gearing up for Friday, practicing at Adams Ice Centre this week. I talked with Head Coach and General Manager Rich Preston late Wednesday afternoon outside the rink to get a feeling from him about the season finally being here.

Preston says they've had a good week of practice and three of the six players who went to pro camps will be back to play tomorrow night. Carter Bancks has returned from San Jose's camp, while Eric Mestery is back from Washington, and Austin Fyten has returned from Detroit. All three, from all accounts will be ready to go Friday night. Brennan Yadlowski will be back, but not until Sunday so he won't return to action until next Friday when the Hurricanes play in Red Deer. As for Kyle Beach and Carter Ashton, both players are still away at their respective NHL camps with Chicago and Tampa Bay. Preston couldn't give me an idea on when they might be back.

There's no question the Canes' will start tomorrow with a fairly young team, especially when it comes to defence and goaltending. I understand the back end is one area this team is trying to shore up as we speak. Whether something will happen this weekend, who knows, but I do know the people in charge are busy looking and have been for a while.

Preston is excited to finally get into a real, for keeps game so to speak. Despite the 6 pre-season losses he was happy what he saw from his young players and the no-quit attitude they brought to the table. Trust me, I think that's half the battle right there.

Who will start in goal Friday still remains to be seen. Michael Tadjdeh had a very good camp according to Preston, while newcomer Ville Kolppanen impressed too. Brandon Anderson saw limited time as he's nursing a bit of a nagging injury.

Thanks,
Pat