Hurricanes @ Saskatoon Tonight 6pm (MT)

The Lethbridge Hurricanes finally start playing hockey again tonight.

The Canes' have been off without playing a single game for the past 9 days. Tonight's opposition is Saskatoon. The Blades are currently the number one team in the WHL and will no doubt give Lethbridge all it can handle. If you look at the standings, one might think this is a David vs. Goliath match-up and perhaps it is. The Blades are 19-3-0-3 in 24 games this season and currently have the hottest streak in the league going at 11-0-0-1 in their past 12 games.

The Hurricanes on the other hand have lost 4 straight and are still trying to get out of the basement in the Eastern Conference and have a record of 8-14-3. It's been a struggle at times for Lethbridge, but the team keeps plugging away trying to claw it's way back up. The Hurricanes will have Cam Braes back for this game, that should add some much needed offence.

As for the goaltending situation, Brandon Anderson will likely be the guy again. Ville Kolppanen has been under the weather the past week and really hasn't practiced much. Linden Rowat is still laid up with a bad foot that will keep him out of the line-up for a while yet and then there is Dylan Tait. The Canes' brought him along on this road trip just in case they need Tait as another back-up if Kolppanen can't play. So on this mini road swing to Saskatoon and P.A., the Hurricanes have 4 goalies!

The last time the Hurricanes played in Saskatoon was in early April when they defeated Saskatoon in game 7 of the first round of last year's playoffs. Lethbridge had a lot of success at the Credit Union Centre last season and won 3 out of 4 games in the playoffs in that building. I know a lot of the Hurricanes returning players like playing here. Luca Sbisa said to me yesterday that he has fond memories of Saskatoon. This building has generally been kind to the Hurricanes over the past couple of seasons, but with the Blades playing some of their best hockey in years right now, the Canes' will have to be very much on their toes in this one.

The Canes' have also played pretty well against some of the best teams in the WHL this season. They've had strong games against Brandon, Calgary, Portland, and Saskatoon early on. Hopefully for the Hurricanes there won't be much rust from a long lay-off like this. Getting off to a good start and jumping quick out of the gate will certainly be important for Lethbridge tonight.

We arrived in Saskatoon on Wednesday evening and yesterday the players had a good practice at the Credit Union Centre. As it was a non-game day, we all took part in a little team building and with the Hurricanes, that usually means bowling! We had a good time chucking balls at a local bowling alley for about an hour. Nothing like a little glow bowling to get your blood flowing! Landson Oslanski and Luca Sbisa seemed to be sharpest at 10 pin and both posted some decent scores. It was good for the players and staff to relax and focus on team activities again. Sometimes going on the road is a good thing, especially after playing so many home games in the past month.

Game time tonight is 6:oo (MT). The pre-game show on CJOC at 5:30.

Thanks,

Pat