Canes' Win Season Opener 5-3 in Calgary

Four unanswered goals, including a hatrick from Austin Fyten helped the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 5-3 victory in their WHL season opener last night in Calgary.

The game got off to a slow start in the first couple of minutes as the two teams took some time to feel each other out. The Hitmen though would take control of things and picked up the pace making for a very busy period for Canes' starting goaltender Brandon Anderson. The Hurricanes got into some penalty trouble late in the period and the Hitmen would take advantage of that, grabbing a 1-0 lead on a goal by Cody Sylvester. Calgary would hold on to that lead after 20 minutes. They also out shot the Canes' 14-4, but Brandon Anderson stood tall for Lethbridge in goal to keep the score close. We also saw one fight as Landon Oslanski dropped the gloves with Calgary's Mackenzie Royer.

In the second, Calgary would keep on coming. The Hitmen would jump out to a 2-0 lead on another power play goal. Zak Stebner fired a point shot, beating a screened Anderson to give the home team a two goal cushion. The Hurricanes though would get back into the game and fast and the game would change for good from there. The Hitmen would get into penalty trouble and the Canes' would make them pay. Lethbridge scored two power play goals of their own, one by Cam Braes and the other from Austin Fyten. Just like that, the game was tied at two and that would be the way the period would end. The Hitmen out shot Lethbridge 10-8 for a two period total of 24-12 in favour of Calgary.

In the third, the Hurricanes power play would strike again. Austin Fyten scored his second of the night to give Lethbridge it's first lead of the game 3-2. About five minutes later, the Canes' would grab a two goal lead when Cam Braes scored his second of night. That goal gave Lethbridge a 4-2 lead with about 10 minutes to go in the game and eventually turned out to be the game winner. The Hitmen made it interesting late when they scored another power play goal to make it 4-3 Lethbridge with just over a minute to go in the third period. With a second left in the game though, Austin Fyten scored one into an empty net for his third goal of the game to give the Hurricane a 5-3 victory. The Hurricanes were out shot 33-21 overall. The Hurricanes finished the night 3/6 on the power play while Calgary went 3/8.

Overall, a pretty good first game of the season for Lethbridge. It wasn't the best start to the game, but it certainly was a strong finish. Brandon Anderson was clearly the key for Lethbridge in the early going as he played exceptional between the pipes, but Braes and Fyten were the offensive stars. Fyten finished the game with three goals and one assist. The Canes' also battled back from a two goal deficit and the power play got better as the game went on too. Lots of positives for the Hurricanes to build on after just one game of the season.

We arrived a little early at the Saddledome Friday evening, so after I conducted all my pre-game interviews I was given a tour of the Calgary Flames dressing room. I must say things are different in the pros as you can imagine. It's like a dressing room, gym, lounge, doctors office, and kitchen all in one. Thanks to Coach Rich Preston for the guided tour. It certainly is interesting to get a look-see at how it's done in the NHL.

Next Up

The Hurricanes will tangle with their arch rivals tonight when they travel to Medicine Hat to take on the Tigers. This will be Medicine Hat's first game of the new season. It will also be the debut of Shawn Clouston behind the Tigers bench, replacing long-time bench boss Willie Desjardins who is now with the NHL's Dallas Stars. Game time from the Hat is 7:30. Fred and I will have the pre-game show on CJOC at 7pm (MDT).

Thanks,
Pat

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