Hurricanes Beat Oil Kings 4-1

The Hurricanes ended a 3 game losing skid last night with a 4-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Another pretty good start to a hockey game for the Hurricanes in this one. The Canes' played well in the first period and scored the only goal in the opening frame when Mark Reners beat Torrie Jung off a nice pass to the goal mouth by Brody Sutter. It was overall a very good opening 20 minutes as the Hurricanes out shot Edmonton 16-8. The Oil Kings had a few good chances as well, but Brandon Anderson was solid in goal in his first game in almost two weeks. He missed a few games after a slight head injury in practice a week or so ago.

In the second, the Oil Kings ramped things up and outplayed the Hurricanes for the better part of the period, but it was the Hurricanes who scored the only goal. It remained 1-0 Canes' until the final minute of the period when Graham Hood scored off a pass from Cam Braes with under 40 seconds left in the second. For Hood, he's now scored 12 goals on the season, 7 since being acquired by Lethbridge in December from Regina. The Hurricanes had the edge in shots after two, 22-13. To this point in the game, not one single penalty was called by either of the two officials Curtis Howe or T.J. Luxmore (OHL).

In the third, the Canes' thought they had gone up 3-0 when Jacob Berglund put the puck passed Jung, but after the referees got together for a chat the goal was disallowed as it was kicked in off the skate of Berglund. No question the correct call. Lethbridge did get that back though when Cam Braes scored late to make it 3-0. It looked like maybe Brandon Anderson would get his first shut out of the season, but with just over 2 minutes to go in the game the Oil Kings scored to make it 3-1. Edmonton pulled the goalie in the final minute, but Jacob Berglund would score into an empty net to ice the game for the home side. Final score: 4-1 Lethbridge. There were only two power plays in this game. Edmonton had both in the 3rd period and went 0-2 on the night. The Hurricanes didn't have a power play at all. A very disciplined game really by both teams and a pretty easy night for the referees. The loss for Edmonton is that team's 12th in a row. The final shots favoured he Hurricanes 32-26.

Preston on Goaltending

I asked Head Coach/GM Rich Preston about the team's goaltending situation with three goalies: Anderson, Rowat, and Kolppanen on the roster. Kolppnanen hasn't seen game action in a number of weeks (Dec. 18 vs. Kootenay) and has backed up only twice since coming back from the Christmas break. Preston says, "It's a tough situation for Ville. I've talked to the goalies and I told them Rowat you're one, Anderson you're two, and Ville you're three and that's the way it is. That's the way it going to be. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Its just day to day. You never know what's going to happen. Knock on wood, we've been pretty good with injuries lately in that position. Back in October Anderson went from number three to number one in a span of a week".

Next Up

The Hurricanes will head to Calgary tomorrow to take on the Hitmen for the 4th time this month. It's an early afternoon start at the Saddledome. Game time is 2pm (MT). The pre-game show on CJOC at 1:30.

Thanks,
Pat

Hurricanes Host Oil Kings

The Lethbridge Hurricanes take on the Edmonton Oil Kings tonight at the Enmax Centre.

This is certainly not the marquis match-up in the WHL by any means. This is a battle of two hockey teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. For Lethbridge, many people are likely not too surprised this team is where it is given the youth now and the changes made, but Edmonton is certainly a different story. There was no doubt high expectations for this Oil Kings group heading into this season, but because of a number of factors, making the playoffs this year is not going to happen. At the trade deadline, Edmonton dumped their top-end talent. Brent Raedeke, Tomas Vincour, and Brett Breitkreuz have all moved on to play for other teams as Edmonton obviously turns it's focus to the future.

The Hurricanes have lost 3 in a row, but at 2-0 versus Edmonton this season. The Oil Kings haven't won a game in their past 11 and are surely hungry to get that taste of victory back once again.

Game time tonight is 7 o'clock from the Enmax Centre. The pre-game show on CJOC at 6-30.

Thanks,

Pat

Mitch Maxwell: Feature on Canes' Rookie

Mitch Maxwell is having a pretty darn good first season in the WHL.

The local product from Magrath notched his second hatrick of his rookie season in what was a 7-5 loss in Calgary earlier this week. Maxwell leads the Hurricanes with 22 goals in 44 games and is also a +3. He's now moved up to 8th in overall in rookie scoring and is actually 3rd amongst all WHL rookies in goals.

I spoke with Mitch earlier this week.

Pat: What do attribute your success to this year?

Maxwell: "I don't know. A little bit of luck, some hard work and playing with good line mates. Playing with Bancks, I've never seen someone who can pass the puck like him and Austin Fyten has been playing great as of late too. A lot of just puck luck I guess and going to the net hard."

Pat: I know some of the media here gave you a bit of a hard time because before Tuesday, you had scored 18 of your 19 goals here at home and just one on the road. Now you go into Calgary and net a hatrick. Kind of ironic isn't it?

Maxwell: "Yeah it is! Even my mom and dad were bugging me a little bit about it too and some of teammates, so it was nice to finally score some goals on the road and hopefully I can keep doing it the rest of the year".

Pat: What's it like playing at home in front of family and friends?

Maxwell: "It's a pleasure to have that every night here in Lethbridge. There's a lot of talk around family get-togethers about the Hurricanes, so it's exciting especially with my little brother Russ being drafted by Lethbridge and hopefully he'll be playing here one day too. It's been great. I've had a lot of support especially with my family the way they are with hockey. I've got about six coaches up in the stands here which helps a lot! They all know what they're talking about, so they can give me little hints here and there".

Pat: Let's look ahead to next season for a moment. You'll be an overage player on this Lethbridge team. Leaders like Carter Bancks will be moving on. What type of roll do expect to play here next season?

Maxwell: "Being an overage guy next season, I might be in only my second season (in the WHL), but I definitely want to step into a leadership role more, probably more than I am this year. I'm going to have to contribute next season probably as much or more than I have this year on and off the ice. We're still going to be a fairly young team next season, but we'll also have more experience which is going to help."

There's a poll on the WHL web page that asks who is having the best rookie season. 8 players are listed there, but no mention of Maxwell. The reason I would assume is because he's 19 and older than the others. I don't think age should matter really. A rookie is a rookie is the way I see it regardless of age.

I think Maxwell has been a huge bright spot for a team that has struggled offensively this season. Like Fred Jack said on our broadcast the other night, "Where would the Hurricanes be offensively without Mitch Maxwell?" I'd have to agree. I think maybe he deserves more credit than he gets!

Thanks,

Pat

Hurricanes Lose 7-5 in Calgary

Mitch Maxwell scored a hatrick, but it wasn't enough as the Calgary Hitmen beat the Hurricanes 7-5 in a wild, offence-filled game at the Saddledome last night.

It was a heck of start for the Hurricanes in this one.. The Canes' jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the game was 8 minutes old. Phillip Tot and Austin Fyten got the visitors going in this one, shocking the crowd at the Saddledome. The Hitmen got one of those goals back shortly after when Del Cowan beat Linden Rowat on a backhand shot. That didn't last long as Lethbridge's Mitch Maxwell would notch his 20th goal of the year to give the Canes' a 3-1 lead. The cat and mouse game would continue as Calgary's Brandon Kozun would score on the power play to make it 3-2 Lethbridge and that's the way the period would end. It was a wild, non-defensieve, and wide-open first period of hockey. The Canes' were out shot 14-9, but scored 3 times on Calgary's Martin Jones.

In the second, the Hitmen would continue to pour it on. They scored an early power play goal to even the game at 3 and then a few minutes after that Calgary would take the lead for the first time on a goal by Cody Sylvester. The Hitmen kept coming hard and nearly went up by two goals until the Hurricanes managed to tie the score on a power play when Mitch Maxwell scored his second of the night and 21st of the season to even the score at 4-4. But again, the scoring would change before the end of the second when the Hitmen regained the one goal lead on a goal by Ian Schultz just as a Hurricanes penalty had expired. Calgary would take a 5-4 lead into the 3rd while out shooting Lethbridge 27-14 after 40 minutes of play.

In the 3rd, Calgary would go up by a pair when Del Cowan scored his second of the night to make it 6-4. Not too long after that though, the Canes' would get another power play as Mitch Maxwell scored his third of the night to make it 6-5. The Hurricanes continued to press to try and find that equalizer, but Calgary would get one more before the game would end to make it 7-5 and that's the way things would finish in this one. The Hurricanes were out shot 37-22. Calgary went 2 for 5 on the power play including a short-handed goal, while Lethbridge finished the night 2 for 6 with the man advantage.

It was certainly not a good night for the goaltenders. At one point, the Hurricanes had scored 4 goals on 12 shots on Martin Jones. On the other side, Linden Rowat came up with some good saves, but couldn't hold off a high-powered Calgary offence. It's too bad for the Hurricanes though. They finally open up offensively scoring 5 times and still not able to get the win. Austin Fyten and Carter Bancks played well too for the Hurricanes in a losing cause. This was also a physical game. Lots of hitting in the first period, especially by the Hitmen who came out gunning right from the drop of the puck.

Preston High on Young Talent

Head Coach/GM Rich Preston told me before last night's game that he's quite happy with the way his young, up and coming players have played. On a lot of teams, rookies such as Landon Oslanski and Reid Jackson likely wouldn't get the amount of ice time that they've had with the Hurricanes this season. Preston believes this will benefit these players and the team as a whole heading into the future. Preston says the ice time these young guys are getting is going to pay off "big time". He says the younger players are getting much needed experience and a lot of ice time for 16 and 17 year old in the WHL.

Next Up

The Hurricanes next action is this Friday night when they play host to Edmonton. The Oil Kings have struggled the season. The Canes' are 2-0 versus their rivals from the Alberta capital. Game time is 7pm (MT). Lethbridge plays again in Calgary early Sunday afternoon.

Thanks,
Pat

Hurricanes @ Calgary Tonight

The Hurricanes travel up highway 2 to take on the Hitmen in Calgary tonight.

Calgary beat Lethbridge 3-0 at the Enmax Centre on Saturday, but lost to the high-flying and surging Kootenay ICE Sunday. The Hitmen have one victory in their past 4 games, while the Canes' have lost two in a row. Game time tonight from the Saddledome is 7 o'clock (MT). The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.

This will be the 3rd meeting this month between the Canes' and Hitmen. They'll play again this coming Sunday in Calgary.

The Hurricanes continue to have trouble scoring. This has been an issue right from the start of the season. The lack of offence was put to Head Coach/GM Rich Preston last night on our Hurricanes This Week talk show. Preston noted that the games the Canes' have won this year, for the most part have all been close, low scoring games for the most part. He can't put his finger on just why the puck hasn't been going in. To date, the Hurricanes have scored just 119 goals in 45 games. That's the 4th lowest goals for total in the WHL right now.

Players likes Cam Braes and Austin Fyten are having pretty good seasons despite some of the team's struggles. Mitch Maxwell leads the team in goals with 19 in his rookie season too and of course Brandon Anderson at 17 years old has no question stepped up and is the Hurricanes goalie of the future. There are a number of positives this team can take out of what's been an up and down year.

You can bet tonight the Calgary Hitmen will be looking to get back to a consistent pace of winning. They're in quite the battle near the top of the Eastern Conference. The Hitmen are 3 and 7 in their last 10 games while the Hurricane are 5-4-0-1 in that same span. Again for the Hurricanes goaltending will have to be the key tonight, not to mention playing a disciplined game. It should be a good one. It always is between the Hurricanes and Hitmen!

Thanks,
Pat

Hurricanes This Week

Good Monday!

The Hurricanes are coming off back-to-back losses to Spokane and Calgary on the weekend. The team plays three times this week, including tomorrow at the Saddledome, then back home Friday versus Edmonton. On Sunday it's back up to Calgary for an early afternoon start versus the Hitmen again.

Tonight, Hurricanes This Week is back on the CJOC. Head Coach/GM Rich Preston will join Fred and I back in studio to discuss the past few weeks for this hockey team. We will then head to Vancouver and speak with Dan Russell, the voice of the WHL on SHAW. In the last part of the show, I'll have a short taped interview with Alf Gurr who is one of the original founding members of the Lethbridge Hurricanes 24 years ago. We'll also take a few phone calls and emails. To reach us call 403-388-4646 or hurricanes@pttwireless.ca. The show starts tonight at 6 (MT) on CJOC.

Thanks,
Pat

Hitmen Blank Canes' 3-0

A late goal in each period helped the Calgary Hitmen to a 3-0 shut out victory over the Hurricanes last night at the Enmax Centre.

It was a wide open first period between the Hurricanes and Hitmen last night. Both teams had some good chances, but it was Calgary which opened the scoring in this one. Hitmen Captain Michael Stone notched a late first period power play goal to give the visitors the lead going into the dressing room after 20 minutes. Linden Rowat had to come up with some huge saves to keep the game close. Calgary out shot the Canes' 14-13.

In the second, it continued to be a tight game until Calgary would get some insurance when Cody Sylvester made it 2-0 with just over 5 minutes to go in the period. The Hurricanes had a great chance before that to even the score at one on a lengthy 5 on 3 power play, but were unable to get the equalizer. The shots after two favoured the Hitmen 26-18.

In the third, the Hitmen would get another late goal to ice it as the Canes were unable to get a single puck passed Jones in the Calgary goal. The final score 3-0 Hitmen. The Hurricanes were out shot in this one 37-24. The loss drops the Hurricanes record to 15-25-3-2 in 45 games on the season. There were three fights in this game. In the first Cason Machacek dropped the gloves with Cody Beach and then in the second Mike Reddington went with Jimmy Bubnik. In the third Matt MacKenzie and Cam Braes went toe-to-toe.

$23,000 Raised for Cancer

A very successful first ever "Pink in the Rink" fundraiser in support of cancer. The Hurricanes raised $23,000 in total over two days on the weekend. $13,000 raised in just donations while $10,000 was brought in through the jersey auction. A number of Hurricanes players lined up to get their heads shaved after the game and after getting a challenge from a a few fans, I agreed to do the same! I can't believe I actually did that, but you know what it was for a great cause. Thank you to all who donated to this great cause. A big thanks from the Hurricanes too! Thanks to Josh Shroeder for the picture at the top!

ENMAX Pond Hockey in Pincher Creek

Eleven Lethbridge Hurricanes will travel an hour west down highway 3 to play pond hockey with some Atom players from Pincher Creek today (January 17). It's the annual ENMAX Pond Hockey event. The Hurricanes players will take part in skills and drills during on-ice sessions and autographs and a live auction to follow for Pincher Creek minor hockey. The Pond Hockey take place from 5:30 to 8pm today at the Pincher Creek Arena at 962 St. John Ave. Twister will also be in attendance.

Next Up

The Hurricanes and Hitmen play on Tuesday night next week at the Saddledome in Calgary. Game time is 7 o'clock. The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.

Thanks,
Pat