Canes Lose 3-2 in Shoot Out in Saskatoon

Our View from the Saskatoon broadcast booth

A real tough loss for the Hurricanes Friday night in Saskatoon, dropping a 3-2 shootout decision to the Blades.

The Hurricanes didn't show much rust after a 9 day layoff. The Canes' came out with a very strong first period and scored the only goal of the opening 20 minutes. Carter Ashton notched his 13th goal of the year on a 5-3 power play. Lethbridge out shot Saskatoon in the first 10-8. That period also featured a couple of scraps. First off Travis Toomey and Derek Ryckman dropped the gloves about 5 minutes in and then more of a heavy weight bout later on as Dustin Donaghy and Randy McNaught went toe to toe. These two guys threw some serious punches, but I would given the decision to Donaghy in that one. No question, those fights kind of set the pace and tempo for the rest of the game.

In second, the Canes' penalty killers managed to get a short-handed goal early as Craig Orfino gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. On that same power play though, the Blades would score their first of the night to make it a 2-1 lead for Lethbridge after 40 minutes. Brandon Anderson was very good again goal for the Hurricanes, keeping the Canes' in it during the second. He made some great stops in the final few minutes of the second to keep the game close.

In the third, the Blades found themselves on a two-man advantage less than 2 minutes in, but the Hurricanes penalty killers managed to get through that. Not too long after though, Saskatoon would get another power play and tied the game at two, sending things to overtime. No goals in the extra frame, so the game would have to be decided in a shootout. After 5 rounds, the Blades prevailed and earned the extra point.

Despite the loss for Lethbridge, I thought it was an exciting game to watch and at times you wouldn't know which team was at the top and which team was second last in the league. Perhaps the Canes' deserved a better fate, but give credit to the Blades. They fought back from a 2-0 deficit to win and are a damn good hockey team. The Hurricanes have now lost 5 in a row. Lethbridge needs to stay out of the penalty box. This has been killing the Canes' this season and some inopportune penalties have cost this team a few points along the way this season.

If there was an unsung hero from last night's game I'd have to give it to Saskatoon's Charles Inglis. He took two huge hits from Luca Sbisa. The first hit was in the second. That sent Inglis off to get stitches and he later returned in the 3rd period with a face shield. He took another crushing hit from Sbisa in overtime and bounced back from that, only to score a big goal in the shootout that kept the Blades alive. Sbisa was throwing the body and twice Inglis was on the receiving end.

Preston on Goalies & The Next Three Weeks

It appears goaltender Linden Rowat's injury is a lot worse than first thought. He likely won't play again until after the Christmas break. I asked Coach/GM Rich Preston about it on the pre-game show last night. He said Rowat had an MRI done and has had a little bit of a setback. Preston said he was coming along nicely after the injury against Seattle 3 weeks ago, but the test showed Rowat has some ligament damage in his ankle and that will keep him sidelined for at least another 3 weeks. Look for Kolppanen and Anderson to get a lot more playing time too. As for the run up to the Christmas break, Preston says this time is critical for the Hurricanes. He says the standings right now in the Eastern Conference are still pretty tight, but notes Lethbridge can't lose any more ground if it wants a shot at a playoff spot. Preston says the Canes' need to be more consistent and can't continue to win 3 and lose 4. He notes the Hurricanes have some big divisional games coming up in the next few weeks and it's important they win the majority of those.

Next up for the Hurricanes are the Raiders tonight in P.A. The Hurricanes last played that club a week and a half ago in Lethbridge, a game which the Canes' lost 3-0. Tonight's game from Prince Albert is 6pm (MT). The pre-game show on CJOC at 5:30. The Raiders beat the Calgary Hitmen 3-2 in O.T. last night and have one of the best home records in the WHL so far this season. The Hurricanes won't play again after tomorrow until Tuesday next week when they travel down highway 3 to take on the rival Tigers in Medicine Hat.

Thanks,

Pat

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

Off To Toon' Town

(Loading the Bus at the Enmax Centre)

On The Bus - For the first time in a long time, the Lethbridge Hurricanes are finally going on a road trip.

Besides a quick trip to Medicine Hat a few weeks ago, the Canes' have been playing exclusively at home for more than a month, now it's back on the road for the next three games. Lethbridge plays in Saskatoon Friday, at Prince Albert Saturday before returning home early Sunday morning. They'll make a short trip into Medicine Hat again next Tuesday to kick off the December portion of their schedule.

The Hurricanes are trying to get out of a rut on this mini road trip. They've lost 4 games in a row and I'm sure would like nothing more than to turn their fortunes around against the best team in the WHL in Saskatoon. I know for certain the players and coaches for that matter are ready to get back into game action after this long break. This is the longest stretch of the year for the Hurricanes without playing a single game. Their Christmas break won't even be this long. They'll have only 7 days off during Christmas. A weird quirk in the Canes' schedule this year. Whether that will be the case next year remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, the Hurricanes next two seasons will start much the same. The team will have to start on the road next year and the year after too for likely 5 or 6 games. This again has to do with the ongoing renovations at the Enmax Centre. There are some positives and negatives in all that, I suppose. Most coaches would like more of a balanced schedule instead of long road trips and then long stretches of home games. Not much the Hurricanes can do about that the next couple seasons.

The team loaded the bus this morning and we left the Enmax Centre just after 9am. We have a loaded bus. The Canes' have taken every player, injured or not and few extra staff members too. The team decided to leave a day early on this trip just to change the routine for the players a bit.

Injury Update
It appears Cam Braes should be ready to go again this weekend. He's missed the Hurricanes last three games with a nagging back problem. I spoke to Braes yesterday and he tells me he's been working hard with a chiropractor and massage therapist over the course of this 9 day break and he says he's looking forward to getting back into the line-up on Friday in Saskatoon. As for Linden Rowat, he's still sidelined with that ankle issue. He's been out three weeks now and when the injury initially happened, to me it didn't look too good, but it appeared after that maybe it wasn't that bad. Well, he's still not 100%. Associate Coach Matt Kabayama talked about this a bit on Hurricanes This Week on Monday and said Rowat has no trouble putting on his equipment, but when it comes to going down into the butterfly position on the ice, that's where the problems lie. So with Rowat still rehabbing the ankle, Brandon Anderson and Ville Kolppanen will continue to carry the load between the pipes for the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Thanks,
Pat

Canes' Kick Off "Operation Christmas Child"

Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes will be kicking off the holiday season with one of their annual holiday community events. Today – Tuesday, November 24th at 10:45 AM all of the Hurricanes veterans will be lending a hand at the University Drive Alliance Church. (55 Columbia Blvd. West) The University Drive Alliance Church is the regional collection centre for Operation Christmas Child in Southern Alberta. This program encourages children and adults to pack shoeboxes with toys, hygiene items and school supplies to be given to children living in impoverished areas all over the world.

The Hurricanes will be on hand to help raise awareness for this great cause and to give Ray Howe and his volunteers a hand in loading up the cartons of boxes to be shipped to needy children. All media are encouraged to attend this worthwhile event.

(From Ryan Ohashi)

Hurricanes This Week

With the Hurricanes not playing hockey over the weekend, this blogger decided to take a bit of a break too. Nice to get some downtown with the family, especially with Christmas just a around the corner, but time to get back down to business this week.

The Hurricanes still don't play a game until this Friday night when they travel to Saskatoon. It'll surely be a good test against the league's best at the Credit Union Centre. Hopefully the Canes' won't be too rusty after 9 days without playing a single game. Since the Hurricanes loss last Wednesday against Prince Albert, the team had a day off Friday, practiced Saturday, and did a little off-ice training yesterday. They hit the ice again today in preparation for this weekend's games in Saskatoon and P.A.

Since the trade of Eric Mestery back to Tri-City last week, things have been pretty quiet in Hurricane land. A lot of fans, I'm sure are wondering if the Mestery trade is just the first of others to come in the weeks ahead leading up to the January 10th deadline. I suppose we'll have to wait and see. The next few weeks though should be interesting to watch from a fan and media perspective to see just what direction Rich Preston and his hockey staff decide to go in. Buyers or sellers? That answer will likely be a lot clearer in the next few weeks.

Hurricanes This Week is back on the air tonight at 6pm (MT) on CJOC. Our guests tonight include Canes' Associate Coach Matt Kabayama, Forward Carter Ashton, and Les Lazaruk, the radio voice of the Saskatoon Blades. We'll take a few phone calls if we have time as well. The number to our CJOC studio is 403-388-4646 or you can send us an e-mail at hurricanes@pttwireless.ca.

Thanks,
Pat