Wednesday 12 February 2014

Hurricanes Beat Wheat Kings 3-2 in OT

LETHBRIDGE -Taylor Cooper scored the game winner against his former team in overtime as the Lethbridge Hurricanes came back to beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 3-2 Wednesday night.

A pretty good period of hockey at the ENMAX Centre between two teams that haven't played in three months. The game remained scoreless through the majority of the period, until the Hurricanes took a "too many men on the ice" penalty. The Wheat Kings made the Canes pay on what was their 3rd power play of the period, when Richard Nejezchleb scored, beating Teagan Sacher to give the Wheaties a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes of play. Ryan Pilon's return to the ENMAX Centre was marked with boos by the fans each time he touched the puck. The Canes best chance came when Reid Duke rung one off the goal post midway through the period. Brandon held a 10-6 edge in shots on goal.

In the second, the Hurricanes didn't register a shot until the final 8 minutes of the period, they came on strong and had several good chances to even the score. But Jordan Papirny came up with a few big stop for Brandon to keep Lethbridge off the score board. The Wheaties pushed hard as well. Teagan Sacher kept it a one goal game through 40 minutes, 1-0 Wheat Kings. Brandon held an 18-12 edge in shots.

In the third, cue the comeback for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The Canes tied the game 8:40 into the period when Riley Sheen broke the shutout bid for Jordan Papirny, scoring his 15th goal of the season to tie the game up at 1-1. Just over three minutes later, the Hurricanes took the lead when Brady Ramsay ripped home his 13th goal of the season to give Lethrbidge a 2-1 lead. Late in the period the Wheaties came charging back to even the score when Quinton Lisoway scored to even things up at 2-2. That goal sent this game in extra time. 

In the overtime session, Brady Ramsay sprung Taylor Cooper free on a breakaway just 20 seconds into OT and he scored the winner, beating Papirny and the Hurricanes would skate away with an exciting 3-2 come back victory on home ice. The victory ends a three game losing skid for the Canes and improves their overall record to 12-41-2-3 in 58 games this season. Lethbridge went 0/1 on the power play and Brandon 1/4. The Wheat Kings out shot Lethbridge 27-26.

Family Weekend

The Hurricanes are kicking off Family Weekend! The players’ parents and families will be in town and taking part in a pregame ceremony prior to Friday's game. It's also a good chance to get a Canes Family Pack for only $55. You’ll receive (2) Adult tickets, (2) Youth tickets, (4) Medium Pop and (2) Large Popcorn. Also, for the second straight year the band Mahoney is back and bringing LIVE music back to the ENMAX Centre Friday night. 

Next Up

The Hurricanes play a pair of home games this week before heading out on the road for an afternoon game Monday in Edmonton on Alberta's Family Day. The Canes will host the Moose Jaw Warriors Friday night (Feb. 14). This will be the 3rd of 4 meetings between the clubs, with both team winning on the road. Game time is 7pm MST on CJOC. The Canes and Warriors will meet for the final time in Moose Jaw at the end of this month. On Saturday (Feb. 15) the Hurricanes close out this re game home stand with a visit from the Calgary Hitmen. 

Thanks,
Pat

5 comments:

  1. Fantastic game to be at!

    Despite the usual puck of the glass, icing, repeat x 10, the Canes managed to kept the opposition scoring opportunities under control.

    Sheen had the puck on a string as usual, nice goal, and without the taunting penalty. Ramsay could have had a couple of easier goals, but I guess he knew he only needed the near impossible one and he delivered out of the air, from the goal line, top shelf!! Great goal!

    Great pass by Ramsay through Pilon (nice!!) to Cooper and a great finish for his champagne goal!! #11 for #11

    Ramsay was chatting with Pilon before the OT faceoff which continued until about three seconds after puck drop. I think he must have asked Pilon if he would prefer to drop the mits, or whether he would prefer to get beat by a 75 foot pass. Great finish, guys!

    Now thats Money for Something!!

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  2. Great game boys. It was fun to watch and see all the players working hard. Someone called Sheen a selfish player earlier and I saw him try to make passes last night when he should have shot. He has been our best forward for the past couple months. A question for those that keep harping on the "off the glass " play. What would you suggest when our guys are under pressure ? Should they just put the puck into the middle of our zone and hope a team mate is there? I would rather them dump it out then turn it over in our zone. Keep up the hard work and hustle boys. KAOS

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    1. Anon 17:o8 You are right on the mark. I agree with you 100%. Keep playing your best boys . Hard work, hustle and giving it your best is all we expect .

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  3. @KAOS,

    Those calling Sheen "selfish," must be referring to his 3 seconds of untimely venting (earning 2 of the teams 47 PIM recently, in Kootenay) in ONE game of a frustrating season where every player has shown their own 2 minutes of frustration (except Lenny. Lenny is UNselfish-defined).

    Sheen has the most PPG of all Canes, and only Cooper and C.Folk have better +/- of the active forwards getting regular shifts (Awesome for them, by the way). Sheens PIMs are in line with others, his is amazing with the puck, quick, has one-on-one moves and shot release comparable to the leagues' leading '94s. Credit to Robson for getting him as part of SM/JY trade!

    Every fan with a Canadian passport who has listened to Don Cherry beginning in the late 80s now understand the value of "off the glass" as an option for escaping the zone in certain (desperate) situations. I have never heard Don endorsing the play for ROUTINE exit. Off the glass, icing. Off the glass to the neutral zone to the opposition, then back in. Off the glass to the anticipating opposition D-men at the line, they score! Its the easy answer to why we've been outshot and outscored all year.

    It seems like there has been more emphasis on passing and puck possession exits lately, with some better results. One more game against non-contending Moose Jaw tonight to further hone these exits before huge tests against Hitmen & Oil Kings; both vying for first in the East! - Richie

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  4. No surprise here, but I see that its been "official" for a few days now; Kamloops in the West and the Canes in the East are the only teams that are mathematically out of post-season contention. Now the Canes can start enjoying their season for the first time by stripping the confidence of every contender by kicking their collective glutei maximi!!

    S.M. (Al) Consolation

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