LETHBRIDGE - Alex Kuvaev scored twice as the Lethbridge Hurricanes beat the Calgary Hitmen 5-4 in overtime Wednesday night, extending the Canes' win streak to four straight games.The Canes' got things going early in this game. The Hurricanes went up 1-0 on a power play goal less than two minutes in. Mark Reners scored his 3rd of the season to put Lethbridge ahead very quickly with the man advantage. The Calgary Hitmen would get that one back on a power play of their own. Jimmy Bubnick beat Brandon Anderson to even the score 1-1. The Canes' would answer soon after when Alex Kuvaev scored his team-leading 7th goal of the season to give Lethbridge it's one goal lead back. The Hurricanes jumped into a 2-1 lead at that point, but they weren't done there. The Hurricanes would get another power play before the end of the period and they would make good on that too. Graham Hood tipped in a Daniel Johnston point shot to give Lethbridge a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes. Lethbridge out shot Calgary 13-7.
In the second, Alex Kuvaev would get his 8th of the season and second of the night when he put in a rebound off the glass to give Lethbridge a 4-1 lead just 57 seconds into the period. Less than a minute after that, Calgary's John Lawrence scored his first goal of the year to cut the Canes' lead in half 4-2. The Hitmen would come close to cutting that lead even more, but that's the way the period would end. The Canes' out shot Calgary 11-4 in the second for a two period total of 24-11.
In the third, the Hitmen would battle back to tie the game. First, Justin Kirsch fired a shot low to the blocker side of Anderson to cut the Hurricanes lead to 4-3 early in the period. The Hitmen would get a great opportunity to even the score with a 5-on-3 power play for over a minute. The man advantage was part of 5 minute fighting major given to Canes' D-man Cason Machacek. Calgary would eventually score on that two-man advantage to even the score at 4-4 when Kris Foucault beat Brandon Anderson. Both teams would try to break the tie before the end of regulation but that wouldn't happen. So overtime would be needed in this one. In the extra period, the Hurricanes would get a 4-on-3 power play. Mitch Maxwell, who drew the penalty scored the game winner off a pass from Landon Oslanski and the Hurricanes would get that big extra point and secure their 10th win of the season. The Canes' power play was very good again going 3/7 on the night while Calgary finished the game 2/6. The Hurricanes out shot the Hitmen 32-24 in the game.
The Hurricanes have now put together four straight wins. That's the first time this team has managed that feat since December of 2008. The Canes' have also won four of their last five games. The Canes' now have a record of 10-6-0-3 on the season which is somewhat significant. Lethbridge had only 20 wins total all of last season and are now half-way to that mark through only 19 games in the 2010/2011 campaign. As for Calgary, they've now lost 10 games in a row. The Hitmen sit at the bottom of the WHL standings with only 4 wins in 18 games. You have to give the Hitmen some credit though. They battled back from a 4-1 deficit to make this game very interesting. The Hurricanes bent in this game, but never broke. The Lethbridge power play was excellent for the third straight game. It's now scored seven goals in that three game stretch. The line of Kuvaev, Sofillas, and Hood was once again the Hurricanes best trio of forwards, combining for 8 points on the night.
The Hurricanes sported their new red third jerseys for the first time last night. From our vantage point in the broadcast booth, the new jerseys looked pretty good and the fans appeared to have like them too as they seemed to be a hot commodity at the Hurricanes souvenir shop. The red jerseys were unveiled in honour of the Canadian Armed Forces and Remembrance Day. The Canes' will wear those jerseys for the majority of their home games for the rest of this WHL season.
"LEST WE FORGET"
Next Up
The Hurricanes hit the road this morning for a couple of quick games out east this weekend. The Canes' will take on the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Friday and make a stop in the old "Crushed Can" in Moose Jaw on Saturday before returning home next weekend for games against Prince Albert and Saskatoon. Those two home games November 19th and 20th will be part of the Hurricanes "Pink in the Rink" weekend where they will wear special pink jerseys and raise money and awareness for the fight against breast cancer.
Thanks,
Pat
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I saw something last night worth noting. It was a smile of the face of Reners and it wasn't for a goal or anything. He must be enjoying himself finally now that he is playing a regular shift.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beast Hood has become.
Keep it up boys. It's a joy to watch.
GDC
Mike Sofillas is gonna be something amazing!! The people sitting beside me last night were at their first game of the year and they couldn't believe the kid was a rookie. Only his size gives it away.
ReplyDeleteMemorial Cup 2013???
!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent effort by the ENTIRE team in this game, I thought! It is awesome to see Reners, Sofillas, Kuvaev, and Hood consistently on the score-sheet!
So glad the Canes pulled this one off to give Calgary their 10th straight Loss! You KNOW that Calgary's coaches and players did NOT want to hit double digits for losses in a row, but what a loss of momentum it would have been for our Canes not to beat this struggling team. Nice result!
What was with Oscar-winning Cody Beach?? The way he left the ice, it looked like he had broken a collarbone, or had a dislocated shoulder or broken arm or something! I went from feeling very bad for him, to thinking he had faked the entire scene to get the call!!?? Did he even miss a minute of the 5minute powerplay??
Good for Mitch Maxwell! He scored the big goal that we have come to expect from such an excellent player... Hopefully the first of a bunch of road-goals for him? Now, we just have to wait for Braes to show us that he has all the tools to be one of the best players in the dub.
I hope that I didn't curse them somehow, but at the end of last year, I shook the hands of Fyten and Braes and told each of them that I was already looking forward to watching them achieve 50-goal seasons this year (It seems like Braes doesn't want to get too far ahead of Fyten in his absence). With about 50 games left, I still am looking forward to watching them achieve it together! - Richie.
Great win by the Canes. I think the adversity of giving up a 4-1 only to win it speaks volumes about this team and their confidence. A fragile team would have lost that game. This team just didn't let it happen. And you know what I think that comes from the top down. Great work by Rich Preston and his staff and most of all the players. A fun game to be at in person.
ReplyDeleteOn Oct 13, 2010, Calgary beat Portland in Portland 5-1. Since that game, Portland has not lost at home or anywhere else. They have played exactly 10 games since then and are a perfect 10-0-0-0. Calgary has only won one game since. Since that victory in Portland, Hitmen are 1-10-1-0, and they got their first point in the last 10 games last night courtesy of the Canes (And it is said that golf is a mental game).
ReplyDeleteMy point: I don't know that it is fair to expect a similar result, but considering the result of the 4 games that have followed it (all victories), I am starting not to mind the 7-0 drubbing thanks to the Medicine Hat Tigers :-)
Have you hired a psychologist, Mr Preston?? Nicely done!
Go CANES!!
Sofillas took sweater number 11 last season when he got into a couple of games. When I asked him if he knew whose number he was wearing,he said at first.....no, but later he realized it was Boychuk's. Sofillas reminds me a lot of Zach, with his speed, smarts on the ice, his nose for the net, killing penalties, and as an added bonus; he is the team leader when it comes to faceoffs. He is going to be a real leader on this club. Like Zach, he is very comfortable with interviews.
ReplyDelete18-11-23 is a great combination. Hood opens up a lot of space for Sofillas, Kuvaev goes to the net and shoots from anywhere and Sofillas is perfect up the middle for both of them.
Surprise of the first 19 games is Kuvaev with 8 goals.
Nice to hear the crowd boo Beach!
Nice to hear the crowd into the game!
Five in a row.......??
RJS
Anything going on with Tarnasky? Kid just isn't getting it.
ReplyDeleteAl
Why aren't we allowed to bang on the glass when the Hurricanes score or the ref misses an obvious call? We were told because the glass would break?!? They won't let fans cheer and make noise?!
ReplyDelete~disgruntled
Hey disgruntled, Go ahead and cheer, what do you need to pound on the glass for?
ReplyDeleteThe ushers probably decided to tell people it was about breaking glass so they would stop, but I think it has more to do with keeping hands off the glass so other fans don't have to look through the beer, cheese, and feces-smears of Tiger fans hands.
The team looked great. Even though we had to come back to win in Overtime - after being up earlier in the game. They did what they had to do as a team.
ReplyDeleteThis team is coming together, and there will be UPs and DOWNs this year. Think ahead a year or so from now - and this core group of players is going to be scary good.