The Kootenay ICE would open the scoring in this one. Just under two minutes into the game, Brendan Hurley cashed home a rebound past Hurricanes starting goalie Dylan Tait to give the visitors a 1-0 lead early in the first period. That would be the only offence in the opening 20 minutes of this game as the two teams would head off to the dressing room with the ICE leading 1-0. The shots were even 12-12 after the first period.
In the second, the ICE would jump into a 2-0 lead after the Canes' coughed up the puck behind their own goal. Jesse Ismond took a quick pass in front of the Hurricanes net and beat Tait low to the blocker side to give the visitors a two-goal cushion. Lethbridge would finally get one of those back when Austin Fyten scored from a near impossible angle, beating Nathan Lieuwen in the Kootenay goal. That was his 20th goal of the season and cut the Kootenay ICE to 2-1. The Hurricanes would even the game soon after with a power play marker. Austin Fyten would score his second of the evening and 21st of the season to tie the game 2-2. That's the way the period would end. It was a strong period for the Hurricanes as they battled back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game. The Canes' held the shots in goal 26-20 after two periods of play.
In the third, the Hurricanes would take their first lead of the night with another power play goal early in the period. Daniel Johnston hammered a shot from the point beating Lieuwen for his first goal of the season. That gave Lethbridge a 3-2 lead. The ICE though would tie the game up on a power play of their own not too long after. Kevin King beat a sprawling Dylan Tait to even the score at 3-3. Kootenay regained it's one-goal lead when Hayden Rintoul scored one a nice three-way passing play. That gave the ICE a 4-3 lead with just under 10 minutes to go in the period. Kootenay then took a 5-3 on their second power play goal of the period. Elgin Pearce put the puck past Tait to give Kootenay it's two-goal lead again and the the ICE would seal the deal into an empty goal to win it 6-3. The ICE out shot the Canes' 17-5 in the final period and out shot Lethbridge 37-31 overall in this game. The Hurricanes power play went 2 for 5 while Kootenay finished the night 2 for 5 as well. The loss drops the Hurricanes record to 17-24-2-7 on the season.
This was a tough loss for the Hurricanes. They battled back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead, but were unable to hold off the ICE attack in the final period. Lethbridge did lose some ground in the playoff race Friday. Brandon beat Calgary, so the Wheaties jump a point ahead of Lethbridge and into 8th place in the standings. The Hurricanes fall into 9th spot. Associate Coach Matt Kabayama said on the CJOC post-game that "three quarters of our team had a good game tonight, but we need all 20 guys going. It was a wasted effort as we came away with no points in this game".
COPS VS. CANES GAME AND ENMAX FAMILY SKATE ON FEB. 13TH
The Lethbridge Hurricanes along with the Lethbridge Regional Police Service are very proud to announce the 2nd Annual Cops vs. Canes game will be played on February 13th at 2:30PM at the ENMAX Centre. In lieu of admission, fans are asked to bring a non perishable food item in support of the Interfaith Food Bank Society of Lethbridge.
Following the Cops vs. Canes game the Lethbridge Hurricanes have partnered with ENMAX Corporation for the ENMAX Family Skate at 4:15PM. All fans are welcome to join in the festivities and take to the ice with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Join ENMAX Corporation and the Lethbridge Hurricanes for this FREE family skate from 4:15-7:15 at the ENMAX Centre. The first 100 guests will receive a free hot dog and drink and everyone can enter to win exciting prizes. Bring a non-perishable item for the Lethbridge Food Bank and help those in need in your community. Please note all Children under 12 must have a helmet!
(Information provided by Ryan Ohashi)
NEXT UP
The Hurricanes will play the Kootenay ICE again Saturday night in the second half of this home-and-away set between the two teams. That will close out a busy January for the Canes. The team played 14 games in 29 days. The Hurricanes beat the ICE in a shootout the last time these two teams hooked up at the Cranbrook Rec Plex in November. Game time from Cranbrook is 7:00 pm (MST). The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.
Pat
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I would like to know why the coaches and broadcasters think that Ryckman is so good! The kid is not good enough to play In the dub. I hear the coaches and the broadcast team praise him up .....he is useless, continually throwing the puck onto the other teams sticks! Am I the only one who sees this?
ReplyDeleteI would have agreed with you a year ago but particularly since the Christmas break, Ryckman has been one of our best defencemen. Not every game is outstanding, but for the most part he is playing really well.
ReplyDelete-cc
i thought the canes played well tonight, the only diff was that the ice and canes talent wise are far from equal and it showed....as 4 ryckman he is playing well and continues to improve, remember he is 18 and will get better as every game goes by.smarter decisions on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Pat and Fred.You guys call a great game,keep it up!
ReplyDeleteWho is kidding who. Ryckman is horrible. He and Reddington are the weakest defense pair on the team. On a side note I do understand why some of the players are frustrated now. The refs lft alot to be desired out there last night
ReplyDeletePat,
ReplyDelete(I was just looking at the WHL game-sheet for this game).
Did the Canes not have a 5-on-3 (when down 5-3) for over a minute late in the third?
I am looking at the last penalty posted (McNab's high sticking penalty in Braes face at 16:48), but weren't the Canes already on a powerplay then? The sheet doesn't show a penalty between 14:37 and 16:48. Weren't the 14:37s (Cable, Hurley, Hood) all already out at 16:37??
I am starting to wonder if the game that I remember last night was all just a bad dream?? - Richie.
Yes Richie you are correct. The Canes' had a 5-on-3 for 1:50 late in the third period while down two goals. There must've been a problem with the way the penalties were entered into the computer, but yes you are dead on.
ReplyDelete(Thanks, Pat, that is too bad)
ReplyDeleteI preferred to believe that our 5-on-3 was just a bad dream. We had nothing threatening, virtually no player movement, no shot from the point, no sense of urgency...
Just ONCE, rather than backing off and "setting up" on our (5-on-3) powerplays, I would like to see the forwards BLITZ the net off the draw and get a quick shot from the point after winning the draw.
We needed two goals and I am not sure if we got two shots. The defending team is not as interested in winning the draw as they are in getting set-up. Take the quick shot off the draw, and you've got FOUR players PLUS the shooter to attack and retrieve rebounds against THREE confused and unprepared defenders.... OR.... you could continue to play keep-away.
Much better discipline for the Canes in this one. Down to just a couple of reckless/selfish penalties in the neutral/offensive zones... Can we possibly reduce this to NONE tonight?
Going to need some speed, and better passes out of the defending zone in Kootenay, Canes, otherwise you might be in for (another) humbling/frustrating night.
GET Oslanski and Johnston SHOOTING from the point on the Powerplay, and with all their injuries, we need to ROLL TWELVE FORWARDS for SIXTY! WE should be dominating in the THIRD periods! ROLL 12. ROLL 12. ROLL 12... - Richie.
Ryckman-11pnts-plus/minus -8 ;
ReplyDeleteMachacek-6pnts-plus/minus -7;
Johnson-14pnts-plus/minus -7;
Oslanski-18pnts-plus/minus -23;
Reddington-15pnts-plus/minus -8;
Jackson-15pnts-plus/minus -14;
Kizuik-2pnts-plus/minus -3;
Goals/assists scored while on the PP add into the point total but do not factor into the plus/minus. So while you can have a high point total, it is the plus/minus score that actually counts. Plus/minus is determined on even strength goals.
Since Reddington/Ryckman are continually paired up against the top lines of the opposing teams, it would stand to reason that their plus/minus would be higher than those of the rest of the defensive core in a 5 on 5 situation. If you look at the stats as shown above, that is not the case.
Opinions backed up by facts show the true picture, otherwise it is only just a disgruntled fan wanting to have someone on the team pay for his frustration. You may not like Reddington/Ryckman and you are entitled to your opinion, but quite arguable they are not the weakest defensive pair.
Dk
For DK and his stats " Statistics are like Bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, what they conceal is vital." Aaron Levenstein. Your stats do not speak to the times that Ryckman is pushed off of the puck or beat to the puck. They do not speak to the times he passes the puck away to the opponent without looking. As for Reddington I believe his level of play is off considerably from last year. Kizuik has been by far the steadiest defenceman since he has been obtained.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many variables to the plus/minus stats besides who someone is matched up against.
ReplyDeleteSomeone who plays the end of the powerplay and a goal is scored right after the penalty expires receives a plus.
Someone who plays killing a penalty and the other team scores shortly after the penalty ends receives a minus.
Players on at the end of the game when a team has the goalie pulled and scores or the other team shoots into the open net.
There are so many more circumstances.