Jordy Bellerive scored twice as the Lethbridge Hurricanes beat the Kootenay ICE 7-2 in Cranbrook Tuesday night.
The victory improved the Hurricanes overall record to 44-21-1-1 on the season and pulled them to within two points of the Brandon Wheat Kings again for top spot in the Eastern Conference. It was also the 4th win for the Hurricanes in their last five games.
Kootenay did open the scoring in this game. Tanner Lishchynsky scored his first-ever WHL goal to give the home team a 1-0 lead. That didn't last long though. The Hurricanes scored a pair of goals late in the period to tie the game and then take the lead heading into the dressing room. Cory Millette scoring his 32nd goal of the year and that was followed up by Giorgio Estephan's 30th of the season to make it 2-1 Canes after 20 minutes of play.
In the second, the Hurricanes made it 3-1, thanks to a shorthanded goal from Jordy Bellerive. That was his 9th of the season. The Canes have now scored 14 shorthanded goals this season, second only to Prince George for most in the WHL. The score stayed that way until the final second of the period. That's when Ryan Vandervlis put home his 8th goal of the season at 19:59, giving the Hurricanes a comfortable 4-1 advantage through 40 minutes of play.
In third, the Hurricanes pretty much put this game to bed. Jordy Bellervie scored his second of the game, his 10th of the season along with goals from Arvin Atwal his 9th and capped off with Tyler Wong's team-leading 38th goal of the season. Kootenay did get one more in the third period with a goal from Max Patterson. However the damage was already done and the Hurricanes cruised to a 7-2 victory.
The Hurricanes now have three 30 plus goal scorers and one knocking on the door. Tyler Wong, Cory Millette and Giorgio Estephan have all hit that mark this season. Egor Babenko has 29 goals and with five games left in the regular season, one would think he has a good chance of getting to 30 as well.
The Hurricanes out shot Kootenay 43-26 in this game. The Canes went 0/3 on the power play and the ICE finished the night 0/4.
As mentioned the Hurricanes have five games left in the season. A couple of big games this weekend against the Red Deer Rebels. The Canes lead the Rebels by three points for top spot in the Central Division, so these back-to-back games Friday and Saturday are super critical for both clubs. Two wins by the Hurricanes in regulation time would pretty much seal first in the division for Lethbridge. Needless to say there is lots to play for in the final two weekends of the season.
Thanks,
Pat
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Good on the Lethbridge Hurricanes for winning the game they needed to win. Unlike Feb 6, when the Canes took the trip to Cranbrook (only in theory), where they were out-shot and shut-out to help the Ice end that 0-9 streak.
ReplyDeleteThis time, they managed to take advantage of the Ice's injury-shortened bench & handed Kootenay their 12th straight loss.
The back to back this weekend against Red Deer will be a completely different experience from this season's previous games against the Rebels.
No credit to Brent Sutter, but all the stars on that team seem to have seen & heard enough of Sutter's sulking, and have figured out how to win despite his coaching.
The Canes will have to play a lot tougher than they have been, make much faster decisions and better passes than they have been, and they will have to stop taking as many penalties in these games, or they won't get within a sniff of a point against the New & Improved 5-0 Rebels who have all the previously injured pieces in place to turn the streak into 7-0.
Of the 16 WHL teams currently in playoff positions, only the two 8th place teams (OilKings & Chiefs) have fewer points in their last 10 games than the Canes.
Unlike their last 10, the Canes remaining five regular season games (three opponents) are against very desperate &/or motivated clubs that are chasing something. Red Deer can save Memorial Cup embarrassment by earning first in the division with two regulation wins against us, and of course Edmonton & the Hat are both vying for the last remaining playoff spot in the East.
Despite their injuries, uninspired and mediocre play of late, the Canes are still in position to determine their own fate as well as to dictate it to their three remaining opponents. They would love to run the tables, but since they haven't beat a contending team since they beat the Hitmen on Valentine's Day, can they find motivation in time?
Ref Donblough
6-1 Friday night. Doubts answered. Actually the Rebels played like they were tired of Sutter's shenanigans. Will see what happens Saturday night. A 3 for 3 weekend would be super.
ReplyDelete