Chiefs Hold on to Beat Canes' 5-3

It was great night to be a Mitch!

Three 2nd period goals helped the Spokane Chiefs to a 5-3 victory over the Hurricanes last night, ending Lethbridge's two game winning streak.

The Hurricanes sported their "Pink in the Rink" jerseys in support of breast cancer last night. The Chiefs came out gunning in this one. Linden Rowat (left) was a busy guy between the pipes as the Canes' were out shot 14-8. Kyle Beach had 6 of those shots himself for the Chiefs. Spokane though did get the first goal. A defensive giveaway in the Hurricanes zone put the Chiefs up 1-0 when Mitch Wall capitalized off a turnover. Not too long after that, the Hurricanes would respond 33 seconds later, when Mitch Maxwell scored his 18th of season to even the game 1-1 after one. The last Hurricane to score 18 goals in his rookie season was Zach Boychuk who accomplished that in the 2005/2006 season.

In the second, the Chiefs opened up a 4-1 lead, including a short-handed goal by Mitch Wahl. It was Wahl's second goal of the night as he opened the scoring for the Spokane in the first. Spokane again came on strong in the second and it paid off big time. They cycled the puck very well, crashed the net hard and have one of the fastest transition games I've seen this season by any team in the WHL. The shots after 40 minutes favoured the Chiefs 30-18. Spokane gave Linden Rowat all he could handle in the Hurricanes goal in this game.

In the 3rd, Canes' would mount a bit of a comeback. The Hurricanes would score on their first two shots of the period. Mitch Maxwell would get his second of the game and then he assisted on a goal by Reid Jackson a few moments later to cut the Spokane lead to 4-3. Maxwell had a great game with two goals and one assist for the Canes'. The second goal of the night by Maxwell gives him 19 for the season. The Hurricanes would pull the goalie late, but Mitch Wahl would score his 3rd of the game into an empty net to ice the game for the Chiefs. Final score 5-3 Chiefs. Spokane out shot the Hurricanes 42-23. Mitch Maxwell had a 3 point night for the Hurricanes, while Mitch Wahl had a hatrick for Spokane. Like I said, it was a great night to be a Mitch!

Home Sweet Home Maxwell

As mentioned earlier, Mitch Maxwell scored his team leading 18th and 19th goal of the year last night. I had a little chat with Paul Kingsmith from Global TV about how many of those 19 goals were scored at home versus on the road. Paul did some digging and it seems that Maxwell really likes playing at the Enmax Centre. 18 of those goals have been scored at home and just one on the road. Go figure! Interesting stat.

The Hurricanes next game is tonight when they host the Calgary Hitmen. The Canes', despite their on and off struggles have a 2-0 record against Calgary this season. Game time tonight is 7 o'clock. The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30. The Hurricanes will once again wear their pink and blue jerseys for the game. After the contest, the jerseys will be auctioned off in a silent auction and all the proceeds going to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society.

Thanks,

Pat