SASKATOON, SK. - The Saskatoon Blades erased a 3-1 deficit and scored 4 straight goals to come back and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-3 Tuesday night.
The Hurricanes got off to a rocking start in this game. Just over a minute into the first period, Sam McKechnie tipped in a pass from Tyler Wong and just like that Lethbridge was off to a 1-0 lead That was McKechnie's 11th goal of the season. The Hurricanes would get a few more chances right after that to go up by a pair, but they weren't able to beat Andrey Makarov. The Blades best chances came in the final few minutes of the period, but Ty Rimmer shut the door and the Canes would take the 1-0 lead into the dressing room after 20 minutes. Saskatoon held the edge shots 11-8.
In the second, the Blades would tie things up. Nick Zajac's shot went off the shoulder of Ty Rimmer and in to even the game a 1-1. That didn't last long. Lethbridge would regain it's one goal lead shortly after that. Jaimen Yakubowski tapped in the loose puck over a rebound for his 9th goal of the season. That made 2-1 Hurricanes. The Canes kept it coming. Ryan Pilon would get in on the action by jumping up into the play and snapping home his 4th of the season. That made it 3-1 Lethbridge. The turning point in this game likely happened when the Hurricanes thought they had gone ahead 4-1 when Russ Maxwell scored on a power play, but the official blew the whistle a half second prior to the puck crossing the line. Makarov did not have the puck covered, but the referee lost sight and blew the play down. The game remained 3-1 Hurricnaes and shortly after the Blades would get one of those back. Brendan Walker moved in on a two-on-one and beat Rimmer up high to cut the Hurricanes to 3-2 after 40 minutes of play. The shots favoured Saskatoon 23-18.
In the third, the Blades would get back to even terms and eventually take the lead for the first time. Matej Stransky moved in shorthanded and as Joel Topping tried to knock the puck off his stick, he batted it right into his own goal past Rimmer. That evened the game at 3-3. Saskatoon then took the lead on a power play shortly after that. Darren Dietz's point shot deflected out front, beating Rimmer giving the Blades a 4-3 lead. The Hurricanes tried to get the equalizer, but Brendan Walker would seal the game with an empty netter. The Blades would score 4 straight in this one to win it 5-3. The loss drops the Canes record to an even .500 at 13-13-1-2. Lethbridge has also lost 6 games in a row. It was a very disciplined game by both teams. Lethbridge went 0/3 on the power play and Saskatoon 0/1. Assistant Coach Chris Chisamore said on the CJOC post game that losing 6 in a row unacceptable. "We have to learn to hate to lose and have the will to come out and do whatever it takes to get the two points."
NEXT UP
The Hurricanes will travel up the highway and play the top team in the Eastern Conference Wednesday (Nov. 28). This will be the 3rd meeting of the season between Lethbridge and P.A. The Raiders have won both meeting in at the ENMAX Centre. The Canes, for whatever reason have had a tough time winning in Prince Albert over the past few years. Game time is 6:00 pm MST. The pre-game show on CJOC at 5:30.
Thanks,
Pat
The views expressed on this blog are those of the moderator and contributors and are not endorsed by 94.1 CJOC or the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Didn't see the game, and I didn't get to hear it either. I was surprized to see the Canes had a lead against the star-studded Blades that are starting to figure things out with a 3-2 win in Kamloops (then a 9-2 drubbing in Kelowna to make them and their coaches good and grumpy for us).
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else having trouble viewing the WHL website GAME SUMMARY "+/-" pop up information lately?
The "+/-" player pop-up information for each goal has always "popped-up" way below the goal it pertained to; which made it necessary to view the site in tiny print to see the player info. Now part or all of the player names are "hidden" behind the list of WHL teams at the bottom of the page.
Anyone have this same experience?
The Canes have 13 wins this year, yet they have only only TWO wins when Harrison Harper is in the line up?
ReplyDeleteIn 15 games he has ZERO points and has the team's worst +/- of ALL forwards at -4.
I know that much of his play coincides with Hood out, but I find it very strange that with Hood out, the only game we have won recently was Nov 12th, in MOOSE JAW... with Colten Olynek IN the line up, and Harrison OUT.
I can't find a nice way of putting this... Does Harper deserve a spot on this team? - Richie.
Six in a row....not good, and a tough schedule continues. I quote, " Assistant Coach Chris Chisamore said on the CJOC post game that losing 6 in a row unacceptable. "We have to learn to hate to lose and have the will to come out and do whatever it takes to get the two points."
ReplyDeleteChris right, but it takes more than the players hating to lose and doing whatever it takes. Don't put it all on the players, afterall where do they get their directions from? The coaches! The power play is now an ugly 3/27 over their last 6 games along with a minus 2. What is being done about the powerplay? It appears to be nothing. Preston's comment about not placing a priority on the pp is haunting this club. Development is a must....on specialty teams, systems and general play. Are they getting that? Axel Blomquist continues his spiral downwards. After a productive October, he has fallen off the track. Which begs the question, why is he getting substancial ice time, pp time while Preston handcuffs his 4th line players with limited time?
If this streak continues, something needs to be done. Playoffs are a must, not only for the psyche of the players, but for the fans and for the bottom line.
I still think a deal or two needs to be made in order to add size, age and skill.
PA tonite, not the best opportunity to break the ugly streak.
RJ
pp needs to be around 33 percent to win. The goal should be to be close to even on 5 on 5 and to win on special teams. You cant win consistantly without being one of the best in the league on pp and pk Take you most skilled player young or old and develop systems and plays, practice it over and over every practice. The hitman game was an example. Preston had every line on the pp and they went 0 for 7. If they had scored once or twice they would have won the game. Rich is old school Mike Keenan style which does not work anymore. When this is recognized and delt with this team will begin to live up to its potential. The way it is now they will win some but will not be consistant
ReplyDelete