Rebels Beat the Hurricanes 2-1

Two 3rd period goals helped the Red Deer Rebels to a 2-1 victory over the Hurricanes at the Enmax Centre last night.

Not too much offence in the first period in this game. In fact, there were no goals in the opening 20 minutes. It was a fairly open period for the most part, but it took a while for the shots to accumulate. There was just one shot registered by each team 7 minutes in. After the period was over though, Red Deer held the edge 11-4. There were a couple of fights though. Austin Fyten went toe-to-toe with Red Deer's Justin Weller and then about 5 minutes later the Captains went at it as Carter Bancks dropped the gloves with Colin Archer. It's the second game in a row that Bancks has fought. No score after one.

In the second, both teams kept coming at each other, but again no offence. The game would remain scoreless through two periods. Linden Rowat came up with a couple of huge saves near the end of the second to keep the game at 0-0. Lethbridge had it's chances too, but Darcy Kuemper was able to shut the door at the other end of the ice too. Carter Bancks had a number of great chances, but couldn't find the twine. After two the Rebels were out shooting the Canes' 23-11.

In the 3rd, the Rebels broke the scoreless tie when Coaldale's Adam Kambeitz poked the puck passed Rowat during a scramble in front of the Hurricanes goal less than two minutes into the final period. The Hurricanes though would battle back to even the score on the power play not too long after. Carter Bancks ended a 17 game goal scoring drought to tie the game at one. The Rebels though would once again regain the lead when Landon Ferraro wired a shot from along the boards beating Linden Rowat on the glove side to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. The Canes' would put on the full court press late in an effort to once again tie the game, but they would fall short losing 2-1. Red Deer out shot the Canes' 33-20 on the night.

The Hurricanes have just one victory in their last 7 games, while Red Deer has won three in a row. Goal scoring continues to be an issue for this Lethbridge team and as Rich Preston has put it many times, that has been the Hurricanes Achilles Heal all season. Carter Bancks had a great game for Lethbridge though in a losing cause and was maybe the best player on the ice for either team. He was the game's first star. There was another fight in the 3rd too, as Brennan Yadlowski fought with Jordie Deagle. Yadlowski got the extra two minutes for roughing.

Preston on Power Play Struggles

I asked Head Coach/GM Rich Preston before last night's game about his team's power play struggles this season. The Canes' are ranked 20th in the WHL when it comes to the man advantage. I put the question to him as to how this team can generate more chances on the power play. Preston said, "Well we did a couple more this week at practice when it comes to our power play. Hopefully we'll get out of this funk. You know, scoring goals has been a problem for us. We have to work our butts off and battle for loose pucks. We have to do that all the time. We'll do a couple of different things on the power play, but still we have to get pucks and people to the net."

Next Up

The Hurricanes close out this three game home-stand tonight against the Prince Albert Raiders. They are 0-3 versus P.A. this season and will be looking to get a win tonight. The Raiders beat the Canes' in a shoot out in the last meeting in Prince Albert earlier this month. Game time is 7pm (MT) from the Enmax Centre. The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.

Thanks,
Pat

Canes' and Rebels Tonight

The Lethbridge Hurricanes host the Red Deer Rebels as part of this three game mini home-stand this week.

The Canes' are coming off a 4-1 loss to Brandon Wednesday, while Red Deer defeated the WHL's top team, the Tri-City Americans the same evening. Lethbridge has yet to defeat the Rebels in 3 previous games this season. After tonight the two teams will play twice more before the regular season comes to a close: February 9th in Red Deer and March 9th in Lethbridge.

As the standings sit in the Eastern Conference right now, the 11th place Hurricanes trail the 7th place Rebels by 19 points. Red Deer is trying to catch Moose Jaw and Kootenay and at the same time hold off Regina, Swift Current, and Prince Albert. The Rebels haven't made the playoffs in a few years but if the post-season was to start today, they'd be in.

The Hurricanes have one victories in their past 6 games. They would like nothing more than to end these final two games of January off on the right foot and wth wins against two teams (Red Deer & Prince Albert) that they've yet to beat in 2009/2010.

The puck drops at 7pm (MT). The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.

Thanks,

Pat

Wheaties Down Canes' 4-1

The Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Hurricanes 4-1 at the Enmax Centre Wednesday night in front of 3719 fans who showed up to watch the last match-up of the season between the two Eastern Conference opponents.

The Wheaties and Canes' played a pretty even opening 20 minutes at the Enmax Centre last night after a 15 minutes delay to start the game. Brandon though jumped out to the lead with two goals in about 3 and half minutes from Scott Glennie and Brodie Melnychuk to grab a 2-0 advantage. The Hurricanes got one back not too long after when Austin Fyten scored off a pass from Carter Bancks for his 16th of the season to cut the lead in half. The shots favoured Brandon 10-9 after one.

In the second, the Wheaties would score twice more to take a 4-1 lead. The game remained 2-1 until Brandon was able to open things up a little more, getting two more pucks passed Brandon Anderson in the Canes' goal. Aaron Lewadniuk was able to squeak the puck short-side on Anderson to give the visitors a 3-1 lead. A few minutes after that, Toni Rajala roofed one upstairs on the Hurricane goalie to put Brandon up 4-1 after 40 minutes. Despite the score, the shots were fairly even 19-15 Wheat Kings following two periods of play.

In the third, the Hurricanes decided to change up the goalies. Anderson was pulled in favour of Linden Rowat to start the period. The Canes' picked up their play in the final frame, but were unable to beat Jake De Serres in the Wheat King goal. The final score 4-1 Wheaties. Brandon wins the regular season series 3 games to one. The Hurricanes now have just one victory in their past 6 games. The Wheaties have won four straight with this victory. The power plays tonight for both teams were ineffective. The Canes' went 0 for 7 and Brandon 0 for 3 . All the goals in this one were scored even strength. The third period featured a doozy of a fight between Brayden Schenn and Carter Bancks. Both players threw some big punches in that bout. A very entertaining scrap between two of the top players for their respective teams. One of the more spirited fights we've seen this season.

Preston On the Last 23 Games of Regular Season

I asked the Head Coach and GM last night before the game about what he wants his team to focus on in the final 23 games of the regular season. "Well it's just constant compete and improvement on a game by game basis. They need to get ready to win each game. Prepare to win and do what it takes. Consistency is the biggest thing with us. You've got to play 60 minutes. You can't take a half a period off or 7 minutes off. You've got to bring it and if we do that and play four lines and everybody plays, were an effective team."

Pre-Game Flood

There was a flood before last night's game and it had nothing to do with the Zamboni cleaning the ice. About an hour before game time a large water pipe on the main concourse at the Enmax Centre burst sending gallons of water under the stairwell, downstairs, and right into the Brandon Wheat Kings dressing room. The room and the area around were flooded, forcing the Wheaties to relocate to another dressing room. The Lethbridge Fire Department was called to the Enmax as well as an emergency alarm was activated when the water came gushing from between two washrooms on the west side of the building. The game was delayed by 15 minutes so building maintenance could mop up the mess.

Next Up

The Hurricanes mini home-stand continues tomorrow when they host the Red Deer Rebels, a team the Canes' have yet to beat this season. Game time is 7o'clock. The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.

Thanks,
Pat

Canes' Host Wheaties Tonight

The Lethbridge Hurricanes defence and goaltending will surely be put to the test tonight as they host the high scoring team in the WHL, the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The Canes' have just one victory in their past 5 games and are coming off a 6-2 loss in Calgary on Sunday. Lethbridge has a record of 1-2 versus Brandon this season. The Wheaties are coming off a 6-5 overtime victory in Cranbrook last night and will be bringing their high-powered offence into southern Alberta this evening. Like many people thought before the season started, the Wheaties are now near the top of the Eastern Conference standings battling with Saskatoon, Calgary, and Medicine Hat for top spot. Mind you, Brandon actually got off to a slow start, but since about mid-November have been red hot!

This is the start of a busy stretch for the Hurricanes. They play 9 games in the next 14 days and 3 games in 4 nights this week against team in a real battle for playoff positioning. Red Deer pays a visit Friday and on Saturday the Prince Albert Raiders are in town.

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

Thanks,
Pat

Hurricanes Drop 6-2 Decision in Calgary

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