Hurricanes Win Home Opener 5-2

A packed arena in Lethbridge went home happy campers last night as the Lethbridge Hurricanes put on a good performance, defeating Edmonton 5-2.

The Hurricanes I thought played a rock solid game and had it not been for Oil Kings goaltender Torrie Jung, that score could've been a lot more in favour of Lethbridge. The Canes' had numerous scoring chances, but the game remained close until the 3rd period when Lethbridge scored 4 times. Mitch Maxwell notched a pair, his first WHL goals and Brent Henke, who's been hot as of late scored two as well. Henke opened the scoring with a power play goal in 2nd. It's the third game in a row that Henke has scored first for Lethbridge. Then it was the Carter Ashton show. Ashton scored one of the prettiest goals you'll ever see, taking a drop pass from Cam Braes and undressing Torri Jung in the Edmonton goal. It was certainly a thing of beauty! Ashton now has 6 goals on the season and 4 of those goals were for the highlight real.

So, the Hurricanes have now won 3 games in a row. What a difference a few wins can make. The sold out crowd of 4000 in Lethbridge last night got a taste of the new-look Hurricanes lead by Rich Preston. I think if this team can play a similar style each game, the fans here will be filling the Enmax Centre on a regular basis this season. Perhaps the Canes' were running high on what was opening night in Lethbridge, but it was fun to watch. It's just a matter of keeping that tempo up each night.

The Hurricanes penalty kill and power play were big factors again. The PK killed off all but one Edmonton power play and remains in the top 10 in WHL. The Lethbridge power play went 2 for 6. Those are numbers that the coaching staff I'm sure like.

All in all, it was great to be a home for once. The fans enjoyed it, so did the players, and coaches. It was a great environment to be in. Almost playoff-like with a buzz in the air.

Next up, the Saskatoon Blades are here tonight. The Blades have been an up and down team early on this season, but are coming off a 6-3 win in Red Deer Friday. This will also be a rematch of last year's first round playoff series, which the Canes' won in 7 games.

Tonight's match-up against the Blades is a 7 pm start from the Enmax Centre. The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.

Thanks,
Pat

Hurricanes Home Opener vs. Oil Kings

After spending the past three weeks of the WHL season on the road, the Lethbridge Hurricanes finally get a chance to play in front of their home town fans tonight in the team's home opener.

The Hurricanes are 2-6 on the season, but they've won their past two games in convincing fashion. I know for the players and fans it seems likes it been a long time since this team last played at the Enmax and it has. The last time the Canes' played in their own building was early April when they lost out out to the Calgary Hitmen in the playoffs. Adams Ice Centre was kind to the club during training camp and pre-season, but as most people know there simply is no place like home!

Both home games this weekend are expected to be sellouts as I mentioned in my blog post yesterday. Over the next month of so, the Hurricanes will make up for all those games on the road as they play a good portion of hockey in Lethbridge leading right up to the Christmas break.

For the most part, this Lethbridge team has had a good week of rest and practice as they get set for tonight's game against the Oil Kings. Yesterday, members of the local media met with the players and coaches to give them a bit of an idea, especially the Hurricanes newcomers as to what to expect from us in the jobs we do covering the club. I know from personal experience that for a rookie, a lot of media attention can be somewhat overwhelming and maybe even intimidating when a microphone is placed in front of them for the first time. Over time though, the players get a lot more comfortable with us and us with them. It just part of growing our relationship as reporters with the team and the players with us.

Edmonton provides the Canes' first opponent on home-ice the season. Steve Pleau's crew has been a force to be reckoned with early on as they come into this game at 4-1-0-2 in 7 games. Edmonton is a much improved group, more experienced, and a little more hungry after securing their first playoff berth last season. I think this should be a pretty good game. I expect the Canes' to come out flying in front of the local fans and the Oil Kings I'm sure will want to try and spoil the party!

Saturday, it'll be the Saskatoon Blades in town in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference first round playoff series which the Canes' took in 7 games. Wednesday next week, Chilliwack stops in for a visit, before Lethbridge hits the road for three games next weekend in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Game time tonight on CJOC is 7. The pre-game show with myself and Fred Jack at 6:30. Any comments or questions during the broadcast can be emailed or text to: hurricanes@pttwireless.ca

Thanks,
Pat

Sellouts Expected This Weekend in Lethbridge

The Hurricanes play their first two home games of the season Friday and Saturday after starting the season with 8 straight games on the road.

It appears southern Alberta hockey fans can't wait to see the Canes' play at home as they've been snatching up tickets for the home opener left, right, and centre! I spoke with Geoff Stewart, the Hurricanes Business Manager today and he told me Friday's game versus Edmonton is a sellout and Saturday's game against Saskatoon is almost sold out too.

Stewart says the team has sold just over 2400 season tickets to this point and with only 4000 seats available at the Enmax Centre for each home game this year, seating is at a premium. The Enmax Centre of course is undergoing a 33+ million dollar renovation which won't be complete until the start of the 2011 season.

I was in the the Enmax earlier this week and fans really won't notice much of a difference inside. Things look a bit different in the northwest and northeast corners of the rink, but besides that not much change. There is some construction going on downstairs around where the dressing rooms are. Most of the inside changes will occur after the Hurricanes season ends next spring. Fans will likely notice a big difference inside at this time next year.

Thanks,
Pat

Home Sweet Enmax Centre!

The Lethbridge Hurricanes are finally getting a good look-see at the new ice at the Enmax Centre.

The team has been practicing back at their home rink for the past couple of days as they prepare for their home opener this Friday night against the Edmonton Oil Kings.

I can tell you these Lethbridge players are finally happy to be back in their own digs. The ongoing renovations at the Enmax Centre meant the Hurricanes have had to deal with living in different locations for the past month and a half, but now that the ice is in and the logos are down, it's time for WHL hockey again in southern Alberta!

Carter Bancks was our guest on Hurricanes This Week Monday night. He mentioned how excited the players are to be back at the Enmax. Now it's just a matter of getting used to the new ice, your own dressing room, and a routine at home. The Canes' will play a lot at home over the next two months leading up to the Christmas break. In fact, 13 of the Hurricanes next 17 games are in Lethbridge and the team doen't leave town period between October 19th and November 14th. Fans who've been in hockey withdrawal since the start of the year will get their fair share of the Hurricanes over the next 7 or 8 weeks.

Head Coach/G.M. Rich Preston said to me a few weeks ago that once this team gets home, it'll be time to make some hay. I'm a strong believer that a team needs to be a strong force in their own rink. You don't want teams coming into your barn expecting an easy two points. If this improving group of Hurricanes can play with that edge they've had since the start of the season and establish some sort of home dominance, the next number of weeks will be important to determining whether or not they rise up in the standings.

Should be fun!
Thanks,
Pat

Canes' Back at Enmax.....Hurricanes This Week Tonight

After a busy passed three weeks for this hockey club, with having to hold training camp at Adams Ice Centre and playing all their pre-season and 8 regular season games on the road to start the year, the Hurricanes will have a chance this week to test out the new ice at the Enmax Centre.

The team is officially back in it's own rink. After arriving back in Lethbridge yesterday morning after a week in B.C., the players finally got a look at the their dressing room for the first time. The ice was put in while we were away and the team had all it's things moved over from Adams to the Enmax Centre.

Now that the Canes' are back practicing and playing in their own rink, I think for a lot of Hurricanes fans come Friday, it will actually feel like the season has started. For many, it's been tough not being able to watch, in person yet this year. The Hurricanes should be a good draw again and with seats at a premium this season, I would expect pretty good crowds at almost every game. As many people know already, because of the ongoing renovations at the Enmax, roughly 1000 seats are being lost during the next two seasons because of safety regulations, leaving just over 4000 seats available for any given game, plus when you add the roughly 2500 season tickets sold already, that really doesn't leave a lot for walk ups. It should be a fun home opener Friday night when Edmonton comes to town. I would also expect a full building. The Canes' usually sellout or have been pretty close to a sell on opening night the past few years.

Hurricanes This Week
Tonight, our weekly Hurricanes Talk Show is back on the air at 6pm on CJOC, 94.1 The Lounge. Joining Fred Jack and I on the program will be WHL Commissioner Ron Robison, Hurricanes Captain Carter Bancks, and A.J. Jakubec, the radio voice of the Edmonton Oil Kings. You can email any comments or questions to hurricanes@pttwireless.ca. Again, if you happen to miss a show, you can download it the following day on www.cjocfm.com under the podcast section. Also I'm excited to announce that Fred and I will be taking Hurricanes This Week on the road so to speak. Once a month starting here in October, we will broadcast the talk show live from the Sharkclub in Lethbridge! It should be a lot of fun and we're looking forward to that. I'll provide details on our first Sharkclub broadcast in the days ahead.

Thanks,
Pat

Canes' Back Home After Back-to-Back Wins

Well let me say it is certainly nice to be home after a week away and a lot of travel.

We arrived back in Lethbridge around 10am Sunday after an all night trip from Prince George, but these long rides are much easy to handle after a win or two! Sorry for the lateness of the blog post here, but not the best reception trying to accesss the internet through the mountains.

Anyway, after being on the losing side of a few lop-sided scores over the past few games, the Lethbridge Hurricanes found themselves on the winning side of a lop-sided score Saturday night in Prince George.

The Hurricanes offence busted open for 9 goals, including 5 in the second period en route to a more than convincing 9-2 win. It was a game of firsts for this Hurricanes team on a few fronts. Mark Reners and Phillip Tot scored their first goals of the season, Cam Braes scored his first hatrick of the year, and Ville Kolppanen recorded his first ever WHL win. It was a great way to end 8 games on the road to start the season for these young men. It’s taken a lot longer for things to come together for Rich Preston’s crew, but finally something positive for this group to come back home to. Brent Henke had a good game too with a goal and two assists and Carter Ashton scored twice.

The Hurricanes improved their record to 2 and 6 on the season and now have 5 days to get ready for their home opener Friday night against the Edmonton Oil Kings at the Enmax Centre. I can tell you this team is anxious and excited to play at home for a change. This has been a long start to the season, but at least this road trip ended on a good note. The Canes’ will use the next few days here to get ready for two games on the weekend. A chance to heal any bumps and bruises.

The Hurricanes have put on a lot of kilometres early this season, but now with games at the Enmax Centre, it’ll be a chance for the Canes’ to make some hay at home. They play the next three games on home ice before heading out to Manitoba and Saskatchewan in mid-October before settling in back in Lethbridge for a long stretch of home games until the Christmas break.
This young team I think has learned a lot over the past three weeks. I feel everyone has had a chance to get to know each other and maybe all these games on the road have actually been a good thing. They’ve managed to get better after losing and improve on their mistakes. The Canes’ were able to get better every game on this B.C. road swing and that’s something else positive for this team to take to the bank.

They still have a long way to come in my opinion, but we’re seeing signs of a maturing team. Winning can be contagious and the team is hoping these last two victories will follow them home. I know for a fact that the fans back in Lethbridge and area are chomping at bit to watch this team at home. Hopefully we’ll see good crowds for these three home games over the next week and a half.

One thing I’ve noticed and I’ve mentioned a few times on the broadcast is this year’s edition of the Lethbridge Hurricanes is much more aggressive than last year. This team has been playing with an edge and at times, with a chip on their shoulder. I think Hurricanes fans are going to really like this team when they see them on Friday night. It’s a different team under new leadership. They play a different style of hockey too. Rich Preston is slowly turning things around.

Don’t forget tomorrow Hurricanes This Week is back on the air on CJOC at 6pm. I’ll run down the guest list Monday morning here on the blog. Fred Jack will be back in the chair beside me tomorrow too. As always, you can send your comments and questions to hurricanes@pttwireless.ca.

Thanks,
Pat