Lethbridge 5 & Red Deer 4 in Shootout

LETHBRIDGE - The Hurricanes scored three times in the shootout as they came back to beat the Red Deer Rebels 5-4 Wednesday at the ENMAX Centre.

The Hurricanes would get on the board very early in this game. Just 1:04 into the first period, Austin Fyten banged in a lose puck in front of the Red Deer goal beating Rebels goalie Dawson Guhle to give Lethbridge a 1-0 lead. The Rebels though would get than one back and then take the lead with two goals 63 seconds apart. Coaldale's Adam Kambeitz beat Brandon Anderson upstairs to make it a 1-1 and then just over a minute later Alex Petrovic fired a low shot beating Anderson to give the Rebels a 2-1 lead. Before the end of the period though, the Hurricanes power play would tie the game. Cam Braes tipped the puck in for his 5th of the year to make it 2-2 after 20 minutes. Red Deer held the edge in shots on goal 12-9.

In the second, the Rebels would regain that one goal lead. Less than two minutes into the period, a hard point shot bounced off the glass behind the Lethbridge goal and John Persson used some nice hand-eye coordination and poked in the puck out of mid-air to give Red Deer a 3-2 lead. Before the mid-way point of the period, the Hurricanes power play would score again against the WHL's number one-ranked penalty killers. Max Ross scored his 7th of season to even the game 3-3. That's the way the period would end. Very low shot totals in this game through 40 minutes as both teams were strong defensively. Lethbridge out shot Red Deer 8-6 in the period, but the Rebels held the edge 18-17 through two periods of play.

In the third, the Hurricanes took the lead back with just over six minutes to go in the period. Cam Braes fired a rocket of a snapshot off the crossbar and behind Guhle to give Lethbridge a 4-3 lead, but with under five minutes remaining Daulton Siwak put in a lose puck in front of the Hurricanes goal to tie the game 4-4. No more scoring in regulation play, so for the 9th time this season the Hurricanes would head to extra time. The overtime would solve nothing, but goals by Mark Reners, Jacob Berglund, and Austin Fyten in the shootout gave the Hurricanes a 5-4 come-from-behind win and a big two points. The victory puts the Canes' two games above the .500 mark to 11-9-1-3 on the season and also puts an end to the Hurricanes four game losing skid. The shots through three periods favoured Red Deer 29-21. The final shots favoured the Rebels 32-22. Each team had seven power plays in this game. Lethbridge went 2/7 while Red Deer finished the game 0/7. Special teams were huge for Lethbridge on this night.

A solid performance by the Lethbridge Hurricanes Wednesday I thought. Most importantly a strong finish, given what's happened in the past two games for Lethbridge in the third periods. The Canes' were out shot 11-4 in the third period last night, but were able to hold the Rebels to just one goal. Brandon Anderson also played well in goal to give the Hurricanes a chance to get the two points. The special teams were huge for the Hurricanes in this game. Two power play goals for and they killed off all seven Red Deer man advantages.

Hurricanes Sports Dinner and Auction

The Canes' 6th Annual Sports Dinner and Auction is set to go tomorrow night at 6pm at the Coast Lethbridge Hotel and Conference Centre. There are still a few seats available. You can purchase your tickets by calling the Hurricanes office or from a member of the Hurricanes Board of Directors. This year's event will feature Canadian comedian and actor Gerry Dee. A number of silent auction items will be up for grabs as well, including an autographed Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins jersey. All the money raised got to supporting charities in southern Alberta.

Next Up

The Hurricanes now get set for a mini-regular season series against the Swift Current Broncos. The Canes' will play the Broncos three times over the course of the next six nights, twice in Swift Current and once in Lethbridge. The Hurricanes will travel to Swift Current tomorrow night with the Broncos making the return trip Saturday. The Canes' will head back to Swift Current next Wednesday (Dec. 1).

Thanks,
Pat

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