Canes' Defeat Rebels 5-2

LETHBRIDGE - Four second period goals helped the Hurricanes to a convincing 5-2 win over Red Deer in what what a very feisty game loaded with penalties, power plays, and third period scraps.

A pretty entertaining start to last night's game at the Enmax Center. The Hurricanes came out hitting and skated away with a 1-0 first period lead. Jacob Berglund scored his 8th goal of the season off a nice backhander, beating Red Deer goaltender Kraymer Barnstable. The Canes' continued to press and could've had one or two more, but Barnstable stood tall between the pipes to keep it a one goal game after one. The shots in the first period favoured Red Deer by a margin of 10-8.

In the second, the Rebels jumped out quickly to tie the game at one. Just 45 seconds in, Andrej Kudrna beat Brandon Anderson on the shortside to even the score. After that tough, Red Deer found itself in some penalty trouble and the Hurricanes made them pay. Lethbridge rattled off two power play goals in just under three minutes, one by Cam Braes and the other off the stick of Austin Fyten to grab a 3-1 lead. Not too long after that, the Canes' specialty teams would strike again, this time the penalty killers. Cam Braes notched his second of the game and 25th of the season short-handed to put Lethbridge ahead 4-1. It was a nice two-on-one rush with Austin Fyten. The Canes' weren't done there either. Carter Bancks would score his 19th of the year to give Lethbridge a commanding 5-1 lead at the end of two. That would be it for Rebels starting goalie Kraymer Barnstable as he was yanked after allowing five goals on 19 shots. Darcy Kuemper would replace Barnstable in goal. The shots were even 12-12 in the second, but the edge in shots went to Red Deer 22-20 through two periods of play.

In the third period, Red Deer would get one of those back when Colin Archer tipped the puck by Anderson, but that would be as close as the visitors would get on this night. As I said off the top, it was a feisty game, but the Canes' really set the pace early in the first period when they came out hitting every black sweater on the ice. The Hurricanes specialty teams though were the clear difference. The power play went 2 for 8 while they killed off all seven Red Deer man advantages. The Canes' also scored once short-handed. The final shots on goal were 31-28 Red Deer. The win improved the the Hurricanes record 20-42-5-3. It was overall a very good night for Lethbridge and a real bright spot in what has been a rough season for this team.

Young Guns at Practice

The Hurricanes have brought up some of the future to practice with the team the remainder of this week. Head Coach/GM Rich Preston said on our CJOC pre-game show last night that Taylor Balog (Sask.), Mitchell Guiel (B.C.), and Russ Maxwell (Alta.) were put together in practice. Preston says he's very impressed with the speed and talent of those three 15 year olds and smiled when he said, "That could be a future line for us looking down the road." None of those three players suited up last night for the Hurricanes though. The Canes' were back to having a healthy line-up for the most part with Austin Fyten and Daniel Johnston factoring back in after missing the last game. (F) Max Ross could likely suit up on Friday and Saturday in the Hurricanes final two games of the year. He's missed nearly three months with a broken leg. Ross started skating last week.

Next Up

The Hurricanes have two games to go in the regular season and fittingly they'll finish the year off against thei biggest rivals. The Canes' will play back-to-back against the Tigers this weekend. Friday night in Lethbridge and Saturday in Medicine Hat. Prior to the Friday game, the Hurricanes will give out their annual regular season player awards.

Thanks,
Pat