Hurricanes Lose 4-2 in Red Deer

RED DEER - The Lethbridge Hurricanes gave up three first period goals and lost 4-2 to the Rebels in Red Deer Friday night.

The Red Deer Rebels got off to a quick start in this game. Just 1:33 into the game, Tyson Ness cashed in a rebound off the pad of Ty Rimmer to give the Rebels a quick 1-0 lead.  A few minutes later, the home team would jump ahead by a pair.  Turner Elson made a great move while shorthanded, snapping the puck by Rimmer and just like that Red Deer had a 2-0 lead.  The Rebels would add one more before the end of the period.  Rhyse Dieno made an outstanding move to get around the Lethbridge defence and he would snap home the puck making it 3-0 Rebels.  Lethbridge would finally solve Patrik Bartosak in the Red Deer goal late in the period when Brady Ramsay knocked home his 12th of the season off a mad scramble in front of the Rebels net.  That cut the Red Deer lead to 3-1 after 20 minutes.  Lethbridge held the edge in shots at 14-9.

In the second, the Hurricanes would claw their way back early. Jamal Watson scored his 18th goal of the season off the rush, making a 3-2 game in favour of Red Deer just a couple of minutes into period. The Canes continued to press for the equalizer and came close a few times, especially in the final minute, but Patrik Bartosak came up with a couple of key saves to keep this a one goal game in favour of Red Deer.  The Canes continued to have the edge in shots 28-22.

In the third, both teams would go hard to try and get the upper edge.  The Rebels came on strong in the final period, but Ty Rimmer was strong to the test.  The Canes pulled the goalie late to try and even the score, but Red Deer would get the insurance marker into an empty net with Tyson Ness' second goal of the night and the Rebels would win 4-2.  Red Deer out shot Lethbridge 38-36. The Canes went 0/5 on the power play while the Rebels finished the night 0/4. The Hurricanes have one victory in their last 10 hockey games. Lethbridge remains 6 points back of Kootenay for the final playoff spot in the East after the ICE lost Friday night in Tri-City.

Assistant Coach Chris Chisamore said on the CJOC post game show he's very disappointed with the result in this game. "We made some key mistakes and it cost us.  Too many giveaways. We just can't keep shooting ourselves in the foot."
The loss drops the Canes record to 26-31-3-7 on the season.  They have one victory in their last 10 games. 

GRAHAM HOOD SUSPENDED TWO GAMES

The WHL office handed Hurricanes Captain Graham Hood a two game suspension prior to Friday's game in Red Deer.  He was handed the suspension after a 5 minute boarding penalty against the Rebels in Lethbridge on Wednesday which sent Red Deer defenceman Devan Fafard off the ice.  He never returned and was also a scratch on Friday.  Hood, who's in his last year in the WHL is eligible to return to the Canes line-up on Tuesday (Mar. 12) in Kootenay.

BRYAN TROTTIER COMING TO LETHBRIDGE

The Lethbridge Hurricanes are excited to announce NHL Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier as the special guest for the final home game of the regular season.  Friday, March 15th against Medicine Hat, the Hurricanes will hold a pre-game awards ceremony recognizing the players as well as the graduating players. Presenting the award for MVP will be Bryan Trottier who was the first winner of the award in the 1974-75 season.  Trottier started his major junior career with the Swift Current Broncos in 1972-73, and then moved to Lethbridge when the Broncos relocated in 1974-75. He was the first Captain of the Lethbridge Broncos and led the team with 144 points that season. (From Esther Madziya, Hurricanes Media Relations)

NEXT UP

The Lethbridge Hurricanes have 5 games remaining in the regular season.  They're next action is Saturday (Mar. 9) when they play at the Saddledome in Calgary against the Hitmen.  Game time is 7:00 pm MST.  The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.  The Canes close out the regular season schedule next week with 4 games in 5 nights.

Thanks,
Pat