Canes' Rally in 3rd to Beat Kamloops 5-4

LETHBRIDGE - The Hurricanes scored three third period goals as they rallied to beat the Kamloops Blazers 5-4 Saturday night at the ENMAX Centre.

The Hurricanes jumped out to a very solid start in this hockey game, but the Blazers drew first blood. Tyler Hansen ripped home a shot, beating Dylan Tait low along the ice to give Kamloops a 1-0 lead. The Blazers would add another one soon after. Just 32 seconds later they scored again when Brendan Ranford beat Tait upstairs to put the visitors up 2-0. That would be the first goal on what was a good night for Ranford. The Hurricanes would score one of their own a few minutes later to cut the lead in half. Alex Kuvaev scored his 6th of the season for the Hurricanes to make it a 2-1 Kamloops lead. Lethbridge would complete the first period come back. Less than four minutes later, Max Ross scored his 5th goal on the season on a pass from behind the Kamloops goal by Mark Reners. That evened the score at 2-2. It was a wild and wide open first period which saw three fights before the game was even 10 minutes old. The shots were even 12-12 after one.

In the second, the Blazers would regain their one goal lead. Brendan Ranford scored his second of the night on a power play to give Kamloops a 3-2 lead. Ranford wasn't done there. He would get the hatrick a few minutes later to put the visitors ahead 4-2. The shots were even 25-25. The fans were upset on the second Kamloops goal after it appeared the puck may have went outside the Canes' zone. I had a chance to look at it on the video during the second intermission and it was tough to tell. It was certainly close. Nonetheless, Kamloops would take a two goal lead to the dressing room after 40 minutes.

In the third, the Canes' would mount a massive comeback, all thanks to the power play. Graham Hood got things going with his 5th goal of the season with the man advantage. That made it 4-3 Kamloops and I thought that was really the catalyst for what was to follow. The Canes' tied the game a few minutes later on yet another power play. This time is was Mitch Maxwell who scored off a point shot by Reid Jackson. That evened things up 4-4. Lethbridge would complete the comeback moments later, when Mark Reners scored the game winner, giving the Canes' a 5-4 lead and that's the way the game would end. The Hurricanes battled hard in the third period and were full value for the win. They out shot the Blazers 40-29 in the game. That was maybe the best third period this Lethbridge team has played all season to this point. The power play was huge for the Canes'. It finished the night 2/4 while Kamloops went 1/4. With the win the Hurricanes move two games above .500 with a record of 8-6-0-3.

What more can I say! It was a great effort by the Hurricanes. They never quit, despite being down by two goals twice. The power play was very key and I think it ignited the team and the crowd in this game. Kamloops has been struggling on the penalty kill this season and the Canes' were able to get a few power play goals in the final frame to get the win. Graham Hood played very well as did his line mates, Alex Kuvaev and Michael Sofillas. Kuvaev now has six goals on the year, which ties him with Austin Fyten for the team lead in goals.

Next Up

The Hurricanes will close out a busy week with a game tonight at home against the Medicine Hat Tigers. Game time is 6:00 pm (MST). The pre-game show on CJOC at 5:30. Remember the time change as we fall back to standard time Sunday. The Canes' will be looking to exact a bit of revenge against the Tigers in this game. Medicine Hat routed the Hurricanes 7-0 on Wednesday, so Lethbridge will be looking for a much better outing tonight against their Highway Three rivals.

Thanks,

Pat

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