A second period collapse and a slough of penalties cost the Hurricanes Sunday afternoon in Calgary as the Hitmen erased a 2-0 deficit to beat Lethbridge for the 3rd game in row, this time 6-2.
A good pace to start Sunday's game at the Saddledome. Linden Rowat was dynamite in the first period as he came up with a number of huge saves to keep his team in the game. It looked like the first would end in a scoreless tie, but the Canes' broke out on a 2 on 1 late and Cam Braes scored his 15th goal of the year to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. It was actually a very good opening 20 minutes for Rowat. He not all stopped every shot he faced, he also assisted on the opening goal by Cam Braes. Lethbridge was out shot 17-7 in the first period.
In the second, the Hurricanes would make it 2-0 very early on just their 8th shot of the game. Austin Fyten scored 1:25 into the period to put the Canes' up by a pair, but like the previous game these two teams played earlier in the week, the Hitmen would mount a big comeback and in a very short span too. The Canes' found themselves in some serious penalty trouble mid-way through the period and Calgary took advantage. In fact, it was one penalty after another after another as the Hitmen turned a 2-0 deficit into a 5-2 lead! Calgary scored 4 goals in a span of 3:08, 3 of which were on the power play. They got a power play goal late in the second as well to go up 5-2 after 40 minutes. It was really a disappointing last half of the second period for Lethbridge. The Hitmen chased Linden Rowat at with 7:47 left in the period after he gave up the 4th goal. You really can't fault Rowat though. He was the reason the Hurricanes were even in this game in the first place. It was the penalties that hurt this team. Brandon Anderson cam in relief and gave up the 5th goal.
In the third, the penalty trouble would continue for Lethbridge. Misha Fisenko scored his 3rd of the game on yet another Hitmen power play. That gave Calgary a 6-2 lead. The Hitmen scored on their last 5 power plays in the game after going 0-2 to start the afternoon. Calgary finished the game 5 for 7 while Lethbridge went 0-7. That tells the story right there. The Hurricanes were also out shot 41-19. Brandon Anderson gave up 2 goals, while Rowat gave up the first 4.
Well what more can I say. Undisciplined play is what cost the Hurricanes Sunday plain and simple. Staying out of the penalty box happened to be our number one key for the Hurricanes in this game. Things snowballed on this group in the second and the Hitmen made them pay dearly. You can't give a team like Calgary that many chances, you just can't. You take those penalties out of the equation today and Lethbridge likely wins this one.
The Hurricanes have a busy week ahead. It's 3 home games in 4 days upcoming and then next week, to start the month of February the Canes' will play 15 games. They'll head out to B.C. for the entire week with games against Vancouver, Chilliwack, Kelowna, and Kamloops. This week though, the Brandon Wheat Kings make their final visit to Lethbridge on Wednesday, Red Deer will stop by Friday and then Prince Albert will be in town on Saturday.
Preston and The Numbers
Rich Preston did a little number crunching on our way up to Calgary Sunday morning. Since the Christmas break and leading up to this game against the Hitmen, the Hurricanes were tied with the Kootenay ICE for the lowest goals against average in the Eastern Conference over the past 12 games (2.60 GAA). Preston says that's a number the whole team takes extreme pride in. He attributed a lot of that to the game play of Linden Rowat and Brandon Anderson, not to mention a finally healthy defensive corps. Not bad I'd have to say for a team that's been giving up and average of 30 pus shots a game!
Hurricanes This Week
Another busy program scheduled for Monday night on CJOC. Fred and I will be joined by Canes' forward Max Ross. He's out for the season with a broken leg, but he'll be in to speak with us. We'll then head to Kamloops and speak with Gregg Drinnan from the Kamloops Daily News. He's always got the inside scoop about what's going on in the WHL. After that we'll talk with Randy Merkley, the radio voice of the Chilliwack Bruins to set up the Lethbridge/Bruins game next week in Chilliwack. All that and more! The show starts Monday night at 6 (MT) on CJOC. You can listen LIVE at http://www.cjocfm.com/. If you miss one of our programs just go to our station website, click on podcasts and Hurricanes This Week. You'll be able to listen to which ever show you like. They're usually uploaded at some point the following day!
Thanks,
Pat
The views expressed on this blog are those of the moderator and contributors and are not endorsed by 94.1 CJOC or the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Nice start goals wise by the Canes (again), then a couple lazy penalties gave momentum to the Kings, then a very bad call (interference) against Yads to further shift the momentum to Calgary, and in the absence of excellent coaching, it was game over. LOUSY powerplay, no going for the net, no apparent plan, and NO play for Reners (again)? Whats up?
ReplyDeleteI think that this game showed why our GM needs to limit his role to GM, and the sooner we find a coach that knows how to coach, the sooner we can make some progress with our team in Lethbridge.
ASIDE: The WEBTV INSINC internet broadcast didn't start until 2 min left in the first period, with no audio at all until end of the second. This internet 'service' has been poor and inconsistent from its beginning and provides NO support or correction when their product regularly fails. I would warn anyone considering paying for either home or away games that your money will be wasted and you will likely be very disappointed. My internet service works fine, and I have asked for my subscription to be cancelled and money refunded, and I get no response from those crooks. Richie.
Well we can bash the GM for his supposed lack of coaching ability. I guess he was just on a NHL bench for 15 years as window dressing, or we can look at the simple fact that the Calgary Hitmen are a far better team, and unless Rowat or Anderson stand on their heads, they will not beat them. Kelly Kisio has loaded up this team for the playoffs. All one has to do is look at the rosters of both clubs. Calgary has 11-19year olds on their roster and 3 overages. The Hurricanes have 11-16 and 17 year olds. That is one heck of a big difference in experience. Experience that wins you one on one battles; that creates offensive pressure and ends up forcing the other team into penalties. My only complaint is the lack of production on the powerplay. But that also is a factor of a limited experienced talent pool and an obvious tentativeness on the powerplay not to make a mistake. It was not long ago that the fans were complaining about our power play that featured King, Sceviour, Ahston, Sbisa, Beach and Boychuk.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Canes likely winning this game had it not been for the penalties.....nice pipe dream; but sitting in the Saddledome yesterday, showed that the Hurricanes were outmanned by a very skilled and experienced Hitman squad.
RJ
I have huge coaching concerns. Talking to people with a close view of operations I have found out that the team just runs wild with no discipline. No curfew. He seems to treat these kids like they are pros. Rich, you are here to mentor and guide these young men. The lack of leadership has shown on the ice. Rich wake up and realize this is not the NHL. You are getting paid for two jobs but only doing 50% of both. Realize what your roles are and how much you are getting paid to do them. Also thanks for showing your commitment to the team by leaving your locks in tact. You have endeared yourself to nobody yet. If Matt can shave off that mop why can't you. It would be nice if you would reach out and try to connect with the team and the community. When you get Matt to do all the PR work for the team something is wrong. Put yourself out there for once. You are not a Sutter. It’s OK to open up every now and then. I am not asking for a smile, just make an effort to be the face of the organization rather than a wallflower. One good thing is that the GM can’t blame the coach and vice versa this season.
ReplyDeleteNot even close to true, the boys do not "run wild" and of course they have a curfew. These are young men, not a midget minor team that needs to be babysat, if you cannot act professionally at this level they should not be there. Rich is an excellent coach and we are lucky to have him. Seeing some of the moves he has made lately shows to me that he has the future of this team in mind and I think with him at the wheel this group could be fantastic in the next couple seasons. And if you are so choked about the coach not shaving his head, how about a particular player deciding to opt out while every other player participated? Do you not think that is more of an issue?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input Rich.
ReplyDeleteHow do you get the top D man in the WHL gifted to you and trade him for virtually nothing after waiting, and waiting and surprise he gets hurt. If you take months to make minor trades it might be good to look at Luca's situation and learn to get your but in gear. not every deal has to take forever to materialize. Ricj turned what should have been a first round selection into an irrelavant pick.
Rich is a great coach and I know for a fact that the boys have curfews. Yes, on nights where there is no school, game or practices the next day their curfews are relaxed. But as mentioned, we have to remember that these are young men who cannot be expected to never have a social life.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a problem with Rich not shaving his head, nor do I have an issue with the player who opted out. This was a personal decision and they had personal reasons. Until you know their story, don't be so quick to judge.
A few years back a friend told me of a group where he worked that also shaved their heads but had one hold out who refused. After taking the heat for some time, that person came out and said he had a large scar on his scalp from being scalded as a baby. No one knew this and they felt bad for judging without being informed.
I don't know what the reasons were in this situation, but I for one am not questioning their decision.
Good luck tonight against Brandon!
-cc
Im not sure what that one player's excuse was and it was ONLY a excuse. It shows total lack of support for a team. You cant expect to be a team player on the ice if you dont support your team off the ice. Guess that means if someone was having an altercation with our team off the ice, he would just walk away cause his philosophy is against fighting?? Nice support! Fans in Calgary were very vocal as compard to Lethbridge fans -- as many fans shouted words of disappointment for the 'long locks'.
ReplyDeleteAs for the kids curfew, they do have a curfew and yes they are young men, however they also have a position and responsibility to the community. They are in the public eye and whenever you are in public eye you will be scrutinized by the very people who pay your salary. Now if any of the players cannot handle that, then they shouldnt be at this level.
Responsibility and maturity is something that should have already been instilled from young and is just to be carried out further while here. Our children look up to these young men. For the most part, I think they show excellent decision making skills and are very approachable at all times in the rink by kids or adults. It would be interesting to see some of the adults here be taken away from their family, friends, and acquaintances, be put into the public eye and never make a mistake at their job. These are 16 and 17 year old boys - men -- and I think for the most part they uphold their job quite well.
We pay good money to see these games and essentially we pay the salary for these kids - - and as it has been decided that this is a building year, we shouldnt concern ourselves when they dont win against all the teams. They win some they lose some, but at least come out and play a game! Sunday was some penalty trouble and not necessarily all their fault, but that goes with the territory too.
Go Canes Go!!!