PRINCE ALBERT, SK. - Four goals in the second period lifted the Prince Albert Raiders to a 4-3 win over the Hurricanes Friday night and two points ahead of Lethbridge in the standings.
The Hurricanes came out strong in this hockey game, but had nothing to show for their efforts in the opening 20 minutes. The Canes' out shot P.A. 11-7 in the first period and despite not scoring, had some excellent chances to take the lead.
In the second, the Raiders would come out gunning with three straight goals in less than 7 minutes. First off, Jordan Rowley fired a point shot on a power play that beat Brandon Anderson. That broke the scoreless tie and made it 1-0 P.A. Three minutes later, the Raiders would make it 2-0. Charles Wells notched his first goal as Raider to put the home team up by a pair. Not too long after that, P.A. would get another one. This time it was Andrew Herle. He got his stick on a point shot and that put the Raiders ahead 3-0. Lethbridge though got one of those back. Right off the face-off at centre ice, Mitch Maxwell moved in and fired a hard shot into the top corner beating Eric Williams. That was Maxwell's 14th goal of the season and it cut the Raiders lead to 3-1. Before the end of the period though, P.A. would get another goal. James Bettaur would score for the Raiders and Prince Albert would take a 4-1 lead into the dressing room after 40 minutes. P.A. out shot the Canes' 20-12 in the second period and 27-23 after two periods.
In the third, the Canes' would make a goaltending change and that seemed to spark the visitors. Dylan Tait would replace Anderson for the rest of the game. Less than a minute into the period, the Hurricanes would score and cut the P.A. lead in half. Reid Jackson took a pass from Jacob Berglund and put the puck past Williams. That made it 4-2 Raiders. It was Jackson's 3rd of the season. The Hurricanes would keep chipping away and soon after they would get another one. Russ Maxwell put home his 7th of year to make it a 4-3 game in favour of Prince Albert. The Hurricanes would try to get the equalizer and pushed hard for another 3rd period comeback, but it wouldn't be in the cards on this night. The Raiders would hold on for a 4-3 victory and with the win, they move two points ahead of Lethbridge in the race for the final two playoff positions in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes have one game in hand on the Prince Albert.
The loss drops the Hurricanes record to 17-25-3-8 on the season. Special teams was the difference. Prince Albert went 2 for 5 on the power play while Lethbridge finished the game 0 for 4. The Raiders also out shot Lethbridge 39-36 on the night. This is a loss that'll sting for the Canes', given the importance of this head-to-head match-up with P.A. Assistant Coach Chris Chisamore said on the CJOC post-game show that it was nice to see the Hurricanes battle from behind again, but this team can't keep spotting it's opposition two and three goal leads. For the Raiders, this was their first home-ice win in six games.
Austin Fyten missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury. Head Coach and G.M. Rich Preston said on the pre-game show from P.A. that Fyten has an infection and is taking antibiotics. He says for the infection not to spread, Fyten is not supposed to get his heart rate up for a few days and is taking it easy this weekend. Preston also says he hopes it's not too serious of a thing and notes that Fyten could be back as soon as next Wednesday.
CANES' RESTRUCTURE FRONT OFFICE
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have done a little shuffling in their front office. Business Manager Jim Bradley has announced the hiring of Neil Fraser who will be the hockey club's Sales Director. Fraser is a Lethbridge native with a diploma from the Broadcast Journalism program at Lethbridge College and has also worked for C.T.V. and the Lethbridge Herald. Corporate Accounts Executive Dawna Welterlich is taking on a new roll as Hurricanes Production and Operations Coordinator. She will be responsible for coordinating the production of the printed elements of the organization, working with vendors and clients in the pricing and approval processes and helping to put together and create new inventory. Ticket Account Executive O.J. Pries has been named the team's Client Services Coordinator. He'll be responsible for sales and marketing requirements and game night duties among other things.
NEXT UP
The Hurricanes will close out this mini Saskatchewan road trip Saturday night when they take on the best in all the WHL, the Saskatoon Blades. The Canes' have not defeated the Blades this season, but the last time they stopped in Saskatoon, the squeaked out a point, losing in extra time. The Hurricanes next home game is Wednesday (Feb. 9) when they play host to Regina. Game time from the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon Saturday is 6:00 pm (MST). The pre-game show on CJOC at 5:30.
Thanks,
Pat
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I do hope this is considered a promotion for some of these staff members. I know how hard they have worked to make this a better year despite the constant changes with management who are unfamiliar with the hockey world. Best of luck in their new positions.
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