Canes vs. Broncos Tonight 7:30

The Lethbridge Hurricanes will try and improve on a strong performance by Mitch Maxwell in a 3-2 victory earlier this week against Everett when they host the Swift Current Broncos tonight at the Enmax Centre.

Maxwell, the 19-year old rookie from Magrath has been on fire the past couple of weeks. He's scored 5 goals in his last 2 games, including 2 against the Silvertips the other night. He told our post game show on Wednesday that playing on a line with Caretr Bancks and Carter Ashton has certainly helped his game. Not bad for a kid, who in his first year of major junior hockey is playing on the Hurricanes top line and getting loads of power-play time to boot.

Tonight another former Spokane Chief with debut in a Lethbridge uniform. Overage forward Dustin Donaghy will suit up for the Canes' after he was acquired earlier this week for a 6th round draft pick in 2010. He is a native of Cranbrook and good friends with Carter Bancks as the two played Junior "B" together is Kimberly, B.C. back in 04-05. He joins former Chiefs Landon Oslanski and Mike Reddington who Lethbridge picked up early in the season. Don't expect a lot of offence from Donaghy. He's a tough customer and will certainly bring some added physical play to a Lethbridge team that's been lacking some of that this year. Luca Sbisa has injected more toughness since his return and Donaghy will likely compliment that. Donaghy will wear number 26.

The Hurricanes long 8 game home stand is coming to a close over the next week. Just two more games on this stand at the Enmax Centre after this one tonight before they play on the road a week from this evening in Medicine Hat.

The Broncos are a team the Hurricanes I think have in their sights. They've been an up and down club at time this year too and after a 7-2 drubbing in Swift Current earlier this season, Lethbridge will be searching for a little pay back tonight. The Broncos beat Prince George 4-1 last night.

It appears the Hurricanes goalie situation is improving. Ville Kolppanen, who's missed two weeks with a concussion could be ready to play tonight. Brandon Anderson has be the go-to guy between the pipes the past 3 games and earned his first-ever WHL win Wednesday against Everett. Linden Rowat is still on the mend after hurting his leg last weekend. He's likely be sidelined until next weekend at the earliest. We'll try and get an update for you tonight on our pre-game show.

Tonight's game is a 7:30 start with the pre-game show on CJOC at 7. Any comments or questions can be emailed to our broadcast booth to: hurricanes@pttwireless.ca.

Thanks,

Pat

Boychuk Called Up by Carolina

From the Hurricanes Website:

RALEIGH, NC—Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has recalled forward Zach Boychuk from the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League. Boychuk will be eligible to make his NHL-season debut when the Hurricanes host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday at the RBC Center.

Boychuk, 20, is in his first full professional season and has scored four goals and earned five assists (9 points) in 12 games with the River Rats. The Airdrie, Alb., native made his NHL debut with Carolina in 2008-09, skating in two games in October before returning to his junior club, the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League. Carolina drafted Boychuk (5’10”, 185 lbs.) in the first round, 14th overall, of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Canes' Acquire Forward Donaghy From Spokane

Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes made another move to bolster their lineup this week. Hurricanes General Manager/Head Coach, Rich Preston, announced the Canes have acquired forward Dustin Donaghy from the Spokane Chiefs in exchange for a sixth round pick in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft. This was the pick acquired from the Tri City Americans earlier this season in exchange for U.S. born defenseman Cody Castro.

Donaghy is a three year WHL veteran with 123 WHL games under his belt, 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) and 201 PIMs. In 2008-2009, his first full season, he led the team with 129 PIMs while still posting 24 points (10G, 14A). In 2008, his rookie year, he was a part of the 2008 WHL and Memorial Cup Championship teams alongside current Hurricanes Assistant Captain Mike Reddington. An 89-born forward; Donaghy also brings with him 20 games of WHL Playoff experience and should add to the Canes young locker room.

Hurricanes Hold on for 3-2 Win Over Tips

The Lethbridge Hurricanes put an end to a modest two game losing skid with a 3-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips last night at the Enmax Centre.

It was a big victory for the Canes' against a very good team from the Western Conference. For the first time in 6 games, Lethbridge opened the scoring and were able to maintain that momentum for most of the game. The win improves the Hurricanes record to 6-11-2-0 in 19 games on the season. Brandon Anderson played goal for the Canes' and recorded his first-ever WHL win between the pipes.

The Hurricanes got off to a much better start last night against Everett too. That was certainly something I know this team was focusing on going into the game. Wednesday night's game was scoreless after one and then the goose eggs were broken by the two teams in the second.

It was another solid game for Hurricanes 19-year old rookie Mitch Maxwell. The Magrath product scored his team leading 10th and 11th goals of the season. He's now scored in 5 straight games and when you really look at it, he has been a pleasant surprise for this team. Maxwell has been getting better and better each game and has fit it very nicely on the first line with the two Carters: Ashton and Bancks. Maxwell has also scored 5 goals in his last two games.

This is the way I fell the Hurricanes are going to have to play the rest of the season if they want to be successful. They've been involved in a lot of one goal games recently and perhaps the Canes' are going to have to win a few more of these tight, low scoring games as they get closer to the half-way point in the season.

The Hurricanes only play one other game this week, that's this Saturday night when they play host to Swift Current. Note the start time for that game. The puck will drop at 7:30 with the pre-game show on CJOC at 7. This is the only home game this year for the Hurricanes with a 7:30 face-off. There's a very good chance goaltender Ville Kolppanen, who's been sidelined with a concussion for the past two weeks will be ready to go on Saturday. Head Coach/GM Rich Preston said on our pre-game show last night that Kolppanen should be cleared to play on the weekend.

The Hurricanes will have a busy week next week though with 4 games, including a Tuesday night match-up against the Calgary Hitmen at the Enmax Centre. Then on the weekend it'll 3-games in 3 days: Tri-City at home Friday, on the bus for a short trip to Medicine Hat Saturday, and back at the Enmax Centre to take on Kootenay on Sunday, November 15th.

Thanks,
Pat

Canes' Host Everett Tonight

The Lethbridge Hurricanes get set for a mid-week game tonight as they play host to the Everett Silvertips. Game time from the Enmax Centre is 7pm, with the pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.

It'll be interesting to see how the Canes' respond after a very tough loss last weekend to Brandon, a game in which they battled from behind three times, only to lose the contest with 13 seconds to go. Losses like that can make a team stronger and more determined to win the next time out. They can be the opposite and make a team second guess itself.

Lethbridge has been in a number of one goal games recently, the last few though have seen this team battle from behind. As we talked about extensively on our Hurricanes Media Roundtable the other night on CJOC, the Hurricanes have showed a lot of character pulling it together late in games and mounting a comeback, but in the same breathe they can't be doing this on a regular basis if they want to win games. Tonight, the focus clearly has to be on the start. The Canes' need to come out and dictate the play in my opinion. They need to be the team that other teams have to play catch up to in games.

No one ever said the Hurricanes would win the Memorial Cup or even make the playoffs this year for that matter, but there is no reason why this team can't be and shouldn't be competitive on nightly basis. With the exception of the first couple of weeks in the regular season, they have been an interesting team to watch and competitive. They've been in almost every game in the past month. Inconsistent yes, but fun to watch. They work hard and that's all fans I'm sure can ask for.

We've talked a lot about secondary scoring on our broadcast lately. The Hurricanes continue to rely on 5 or 6 players to get all the goals and they certainly need some other players to step up offensively.

This game against Everett should be another good test. The Silvertips are a pretty good team this year. Tonight will mark the return of Dan Iwanski and Alex Therieu to Lethbridge. They of course were dealt to Everett at the deadline last year along with a first round draft pick for Kyle Beach.

The next 18 games leading up to the Christmas break though will most likely tell the tale for this Lethbridge team this season. This next stretch should determine whether the Canes' are going to playing for a playoff spot or on the outside looking in.

Enjoy the game!

Thanks,
Pat

Canes' Injured Goalie Update

The Lethbridge Hurricanes are down to their 3rd and 4th string goaltenders and that's likely the way it'll stay this week.

I spoke briefly with Head Coach/GM Rich Preston early this afternoon to get an update on Linden Rowat and Ville Kolppanen. The earliest one of those two netminders would be ready to play would be this Saturday when the Canes' host Swift Current. That would mean Brandon Anderson will be the start Wednesday against Everett.

Kolppanen has been out a week and a half now after he suffered a mild concussion in practice. There is a protocol that teams and players have to follow when it comes to concussions. Players must ride the bike and be symptom free for a certain period of time before they are cleared to play. As for Rowat, he suffered a lower leg injury 20 seconds into a 4-3 loss to Seattle on Friday. He left the game and never returned. Preston told our pre-game show on Saturday that Rowat left the rink on crutches, but came back the next day walking on his own, which is good news. It doesn't seem like the injury is too serious, but the team is obviously be cautious. Preston wasn't too sure either Rowat or Kolppanen would be ready this week at all, but said the earliest he could see one of those two returning would be Saturday.

Thanks,
Pat

Hurricanes Lose Wild One to Wheaties

A wild finish at the Enmax Centre on Halloween night as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Hurricanes 5-4.

The Wheaties scored the game winner with 13 seconds to go in regulation. Not too long before that, the Canes' had pulled the goalie and tied the game at 4 with just 31.5 seconds remaining. It looked like the game was headed to overtime until Brandon managed to score the late game winner, stunning the 3001 fans at the Enmax. The Hurricanes battled back from 2-0, 3-1, and 4-3 deficits, only to lose a heartbreaker. The Canes' were heavily outshot 16-3 after 20 minutes of play. Brandon would out shoot the Hurricanes 39-21 when it was all said and done.

Lethbridge had trouble generating offence through the first half of the game, but they did manage to find the twine. In fact, Mitch Maxwell had a stellar night despite the loss. He scored three times to lead the way offensively. Maxwell now has 9 goals on the season. Carter Ashton added 3 assists.

There was a big scrap mid-way through the first period when Neil Tarnasky dropped the gloves with Brandon's Ryler Miller. Some big blows were thrown in that fight. Tarnasky left the ice bleeding and never returned to the game.

The Hurricanes problems as of late have been their slow starts. They've struggled in the first period in each of their past 4 games, forcing Lethbridge to try and battle back from behind to try and win games. A good start is key to getting the jump on an opponent. Cam Breas said on our post-game show last night that the slow starts as of late are "unacceptable". The Canes' I'm sure will be working hard to change that as this home stand continues.

The Hurricanes played the game Saturday night minus their two regular goaltenders. Linden Rowat sat the game out after he was injured early against Seattle on Friday. It appears to be an ankle injury and the usual back-up Ville Kolppanen is still sidelined with a concussion. Brandon Anderson played between the pipes while Dylan Tait, who started the season with the Kootenay Ice was called up as the 4th stringer to back-up Anderson. Eric Mestery missed his second straight game with the flu.

Hurricanes This Week Monday

For the second time this season, Fred and I will be taking the show on the road. Monday night at 6pm we will be broadcasting the program live from the Shark Club on Mayor Magrath Drive. Our popular Hurricanes Media Panel will be at the Shark Club this week. Fred and I will be joined by Dylan Purcell from the Lethbridge Herald and Paul Kingsmith from Global TV. Any comments or questions can be e-mailed to hurricanes@pttwireless.ca. Also after several inquiries from listeners we will start taking calls on the talk show again. Fans who would like to comment that way can call our studio during the talk show at 403-388-4646. There is a lot to talk about with Luca Sbisa coming back and the fact the Hurricanes have now hit the quarterway point in the 09/10 season and what we should expect as the season moves on. Should be a good show. We will be set up downstairs at the Shark Club so feel free to stop by and watch the show live. CJOC will broadcast one live Hurricanes This Week each month from the Shark Club.

Thanks,
Pat