Hurricanes Host Hitmen Tonight

Talk about a big test for the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Tonight they will tangle with one of the best in the WHL when they play host to the Calgary Hitmen. Calgary is 16-5 on the season and to me, they haven't missed a beat from last year. New coach behind the bench and the same result, continued success. The Canes' and Hitmen have developed a pretty good rivalry over the years and I suppose when two teams meet in the playoffs on pretty much a yearly basis it sure doesn't hurt when it comes to building that love/hate relationship.

Last year Calgary owned the Hurricanes and pretty much every other team in the league during the regular season. This will be the first of 6 meetings this year. After tonight, the two teams won't play again until January when they meet 4 times during that month.

There's no question Lethbridge certainly can not afford any defensive break downs against this Calgary team. The Hurricanes are going to have to make sure they take advantage of every little chance they get. The Hitmen don't give their opponents much.

When people mention success in the WHL the Calgary Hitmen always seem to come up. They've struggled in the post-season, but they've been a real tough team and a thorn in the backside for a number of clubs during the regular season. When Rich Preston first took the job in Lethbridge this past summer, he stated his goal is to grow this Hurricanes team into a tough opponent year in and year out and said there is no reason why the Canes' can't be as competitive every season as teams like Calgary and Vancouver. Brad Curle, the radio voice of the Calgary Hitmen was a guest on Hurricanes This Week last night. He told us despite the Hitmen out to another good start this season, that team does have a few different looks with a number of players moving on after last year. Should be a fun one to watch.

The Hurricanes actually have a winning record in their past 14 games. They are 7-5-2 in that span. This is a vastly different team than that one that went 0-6 to start they year. The Canes' have also been involved in 6 straight one goal games. They have very much been in every game on this long home stand.

Tonight's game starts at 7. The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30 with myself and Fred Jack.

Thanks,
Pat