LETHBRIDGE - A hatrick from Austin Fyten and two goals from Cam Braes helped the Lethbridge Hurricanes rout the Swift Current Broncos 8-2 Saturday night at the ENMAX Centre as the Canes' put the breaks to an 8 game losing skid.
After not scoring against Red Deer a few nights ago, the Hurricanes would open the scoring at home again Swift Current. Jacob Berglund took the puck and fired it passed Broncos goalie Mark Friesen for his 9th goal of the season. That gave Lethbridge a 1-0 lead. Just before that, Brandon Anderson made a key save on a short-handed chance by Swift Current. Late in the period, the Canes' would get one more. Austin Fyten snapped a shot over the shoulder of Friesen with less than a minute to go to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 after 20 minutes of play. It was Fyten's 13th of the year. Lethbridge out shot Swift Current 9-7 in the first period.
In the second it would be a goal scoring fest. The Broncos would cut the Lethbridge in half. Taylor Vause moved in on a 3-on-2 rush and put a shot by Anderson make it 2-1 Canes'. Lethbridge would get that one back soon after. Cam Braes put a rebound passed Friesen for his team-leading 17th goal of the season to make it 3-1 Hurricanes. That would be it for Friesen. He was replaced in the Broncos goal by Derek Tendler. Shortly after that, Swift Current would get another one. Trevor Cameron tapped home a pass from Justin Dowling to get Swift Current back to within one goal, making the score 3-2. Lethbridge would go on the power play and it would connect to give Lethbridge a 4-2 lead. Austin Fyten scored his second of the game and 14th of the season to give the Canes' their two goal back again. The Hurricanes would add another when Cam Braes notched his second of the night and 18th of the season to put the home team ahead 5-2. That would make it five goals between the two teams in just under six minutes. The Canes' managed 5 goals on just 15 shots up to that point in the game. Before the period would end, Lethbridge would make it 6-2 when Austin Fyten scored his third of the game and 15th of the season, this one short-handed to give the Canes' a four goal lead after 40 minutes of play. Lethbridge scored four times on seven shots in the period. Swift Current held the edge in shots 21-16 after two periods.
In the third, Mitch Maxwell would get in on the action. He took a long pass from Landon Oslanski and fired a shot upstairs on Tendler to give Lethbridge a 7-2 lead. It was Maxwell's 11th of the year to give the Canes' a five goal cushion. That would be it for Tendler as he was replaced in goal Mark Friesen who started the game for Swift Current. The Hurricanes weren't done there. Brody Sutter scored his 4th of the season to make it 8-2 Lethbridge. That would be it for this one. The Canes' would get their first victory in their passed nine games and with the win improve to 13-17-2-6 on the season for 34 points and sole possession of 8th place in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes penalty was fantastic on this night as they killed off nine Swift Current power plays. The Canes' went 1 for 4 with the man advantage. The Broncos out shot the Canes' 31-25, despite the lop-sided score.
Brandon Anderson played excellent for Lethbridge in goal in this game and made two outstanding stops in the second period as Swift Current had a number of good chances while on the power play. The Broncos came into Saturday's game missing a number of players. Five players were out due to injury, while one player was gone to the U-17's (Howorko) and another (Eakin) at the World Juniors.
Let's be honest. The Hurricanes needed this. They needed a victory number one, but they needed a big game and they got it. On this night, the Canes' best players were their best players and everyone got a regular shift. Hopefully this will give this team a big confidence booster heading into two tough games next weekend.
NEXT UP
The Hurricanes will head south to the United States next week. The Canes' will take on the Chiefs in Spokane on Friday. That will be final game Mike Reddington will play against his former team and his first game back in Spokane since being traded to the Hurricanes at the beginning of last season. On Saturday, the Canes' will head to Kennewick to play the Tri-City Americans. This will be the Hurricanes second trip to the U.S. this season as they went to Seattle, Everett, and Portland early in October. The Hurricanes next home game is Wednesday January 12th when they host the Calgary Hitmen.
Thanks,
Pat
This blog post is brought to you by www.clearlylethbridge.com.
The views expressed on this blog are those of the moderator and contributors and are not endorsed by 94.1 CJOC or the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Rebels Blank Hurricanes 5-0 in Red Deer
RED DEER - Two first period goals, just 90 seconds apart lifted the Red Deer Rebels to a 5-0 win over the Hurricanes Thursday night.
The Rebels opened the scoring in this game with two goals near the half-way point of the first period. Colton Mayor chopped a shot over the shoulder of Dylan Tait to give Red Deer a 1-0 lead. A minute and a half later, Turner Elson put a rebound through the legs of Tait to give the home team a 2-0 lead. That is the way the period would end. Red Deer out shot the Hurricanes 9-8.
In the second, the Rebels would make it 3-0. Just as a Lethbridge penalty had expired, Adam Kambeitz fired a shot off the crossbar, by Tait and in. The Hurricanes would get a great chance late in period to get on the scoresheet with a two-man advantage for 49 seconds, but they were unable to get the puck passed Darcy Kuemper. The Rebels would take that 3-0 lead into the dressing room after 40 minutes. Red Deer held the edge in shots 20-16 after two periods.
In the third, Red Deer would add to their lead. Daulton Siwak scored a power play goal on a delayed penalty to give the Rebels a 4-0 lead. Late in the period, the Rebels would jump into a 5-0 lead when the Hurricanes got into penalty trouble. Alex Petrovic wired a slapshot on a 5-on-3 power play and that would seal the deal in this one. The Rebels would get another two-man advantage right after that, but were unable to convert. Things got pretty chippy near the end with a number of penalties being called. Even Hurricanes goalie Dylan Tait went across centre ice to see if Darcy Kuemper would scrap, but the Rebels goalie would have none of that. Tait received a penalty for leaving his crease. The loss drops the Hurricanes record to 12-17-2-6 after 37 games, but despite their recent struggles in the win department, Lethbridge still holds down the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Red Deer finished the game 2 for 8 on the power play while the Canes went 0 for 5. The final shots favoured the Rebels 30-23.
Red Deer goalie Darcy Kuemper recorded his 12 career shutout as a Red Deer Rebel. That is a new franchise record. He was previously tied with Cam Ward with 11 shutouts all-time for a Rebels goalie. Kuemper now holds that distinction by himself.
CANES' BOARD HOLDING SHAREHOLDER MTG
The Lethbridge Hurricanes Board of Directors will be holding their Shareholder Annual Mid-Season Information Meeting on Thursday January 6th, 2011 at 7:00pm in the Scenic Room of the Ramada Inn & Suites (2375 Mayor Magrath Drive South) The purpose of this meeting is to give all Lethbridge Hurricanes Shareholders an overview of the Hockey Club at the mid-point of the season as well as to allow for a question and answer session.
NEXT UP
The Lethbridge Hurricanes say good bye to 2010 and hello to 2011. The Hurricanes will play host to the Swift Current Broncos for a January 1st evening game. This will be the final regulation season meeting between the two teams. The Broncos have won all three previous meetings this season. Game time from the ENMAX Centre is 7:00 pm (MST). The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30. The Hurricanes will head to the U.S. next week as they will play in Spokane and Tri-City next weekend.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thanks,
Pat
This blog post is brought to you by www.clearlylethbridge.com.
The Rebels opened the scoring in this game with two goals near the half-way point of the first period. Colton Mayor chopped a shot over the shoulder of Dylan Tait to give Red Deer a 1-0 lead. A minute and a half later, Turner Elson put a rebound through the legs of Tait to give the home team a 2-0 lead. That is the way the period would end. Red Deer out shot the Hurricanes 9-8.
In the second, the Rebels would make it 3-0. Just as a Lethbridge penalty had expired, Adam Kambeitz fired a shot off the crossbar, by Tait and in. The Hurricanes would get a great chance late in period to get on the scoresheet with a two-man advantage for 49 seconds, but they were unable to get the puck passed Darcy Kuemper. The Rebels would take that 3-0 lead into the dressing room after 40 minutes. Red Deer held the edge in shots 20-16 after two periods.
In the third, Red Deer would add to their lead. Daulton Siwak scored a power play goal on a delayed penalty to give the Rebels a 4-0 lead. Late in the period, the Rebels would jump into a 5-0 lead when the Hurricanes got into penalty trouble. Alex Petrovic wired a slapshot on a 5-on-3 power play and that would seal the deal in this one. The Rebels would get another two-man advantage right after that, but were unable to convert. Things got pretty chippy near the end with a number of penalties being called. Even Hurricanes goalie Dylan Tait went across centre ice to see if Darcy Kuemper would scrap, but the Rebels goalie would have none of that. Tait received a penalty for leaving his crease. The loss drops the Hurricanes record to 12-17-2-6 after 37 games, but despite their recent struggles in the win department, Lethbridge still holds down the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Red Deer finished the game 2 for 8 on the power play while the Canes went 0 for 5. The final shots favoured the Rebels 30-23.
Red Deer goalie Darcy Kuemper recorded his 12 career shutout as a Red Deer Rebel. That is a new franchise record. He was previously tied with Cam Ward with 11 shutouts all-time for a Rebels goalie. Kuemper now holds that distinction by himself.
CANES' BOARD HOLDING SHAREHOLDER MTG
The Lethbridge Hurricanes Board of Directors will be holding their Shareholder Annual Mid-Season Information Meeting on Thursday January 6th, 2011 at 7:00pm in the Scenic Room of the Ramada Inn & Suites (2375 Mayor Magrath Drive South) The purpose of this meeting is to give all Lethbridge Hurricanes Shareholders an overview of the Hockey Club at the mid-point of the season as well as to allow for a question and answer session.
NEXT UP
The Lethbridge Hurricanes say good bye to 2010 and hello to 2011. The Hurricanes will play host to the Swift Current Broncos for a January 1st evening game. This will be the final regulation season meeting between the two teams. The Broncos have won all three previous meetings this season. Game time from the ENMAX Centre is 7:00 pm (MST). The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30. The Hurricanes will head to the U.S. next week as they will play in Spokane and Tri-City next weekend.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thanks,
Pat
This blog post is brought to you by www.clearlylethbridge.com.
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Canes' Lose to Edmonton 5-4 in a Shootout
LETHBRIDGE - The Lethbridge Hurricanes let a 3-0 lead slip away as they lost 5-4 in a shootout Wednesday night to the Edmonton Oil Kings at the ENMAX Centre.
A great pace to open this game. Both teams played wide-open, end-to-end hockey with only just a couple of whistles in the first 10 to 12 minutes. It was a great start for the Hurricanes as well. They opened the scoring with a power play goal. Max Ross tipped a Daniel Johnston point shot to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead. It was Ross' 11th goal of the season. That would be the only offence in the opening 20 minutes. Lethbridge out shot Edmonton 13-6 in the first period.
In the second, the Hurricanes would keep pushing and would get rewarded with another goal on the man advantage. Cam Braes scored his 15th of season on the power play to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead just passed the mid-way point of the game. The Canes' would add another before the end of the period when Brody Sutter roofed a shot over Edmonton goalie Jon Groenheyde to give Lethbridge a 3-1 lead. That was Sutter's 3rd goal of the season. That would be it for Groenheyde as he was replaced in the Edmonton goal by Laurent Brossoit. Edmonton would finally get on the scoreboard before the end of the period. Dylan Wruck scored on a power play to cut the Canes' lead to 3-1 after 40 minutes. The Canes' held the edge in shots 29-21 after two periods.
In the third, the Oil Kings would rally to even the score. Austin Fyten coughed up the puck at his own blueline and Kristians Pelss went the other way and fired a shot passed Brandon Anderson the cut the Lethbridge lead to 3-2. The Oil Kings would complete the comeback and erase that 3-0 deficit. Not too long after, Adrian Van de Mosselaer back-handed shot by Anderson to even the score at 3-3 and that set up a very interesting finish at the ENMAX Centre. Late in the period, the Oil Kings scored again to take a 4-3 lead. T.J. Foster scored to give the Oil Kings their first lead of the hockey game. Just a minute later though, Lethbridge would tie the game at 4-4 when Cam Braes scored his second of the night and 16th of season to send the game into extra time.
This was the 13th time this year that the Hurricanes have had to go into either overtime or a shootout to determine the outcome of a game this season. The O.T. solved nothing, but after 5 round of the shootout, Edmonton would come out the winners and take the big extra point that was up for grabs. Lethbridge outshot Edmonton in this game 44-33 overall, despite the loss. The Hurricanes went 2 for 4 on the power play while Edmonton finished the night 1 for 3. No doubt a real tough loss for a Hurricanes team that's been clawing over the passed 6 weeks to find a victory. The Canes' earn a point in the shootout loss. Give Edmonton some credit too. The Oil Kings battled back from a 3-0 deficit to earn a hard-fought two points. They didn't fold the tent in this game and kept chipping away at the Lethbridge lead. No doubt a frustrating loss for the Hurricanes on this night.
AT THE HALF-WAY POINT
Well, for what it's worth let's compare the first half of the WHL season for the Lethbridge Hurricanes this year to the the first 36 games of the season last year. With the shootout loss against Edmonton Wednesday evening, the Hurricanes record sits at 12-16-2-6 through 36 games this season. That gives them 32 points and slots them in a tie for 8th place in the Eastern Conference. Last year at this same time, the Canes' had a record of 10-22-3-1 for 24 points and well out of a playoff spot.
NEXT UP
The Hurricanes will close out 2010 Thursday evening (Dec. 30) with a game against the Rebels in Red Deer. This will be the Canes' first visit to Red Deer this season. In their only other meeting this season back on November 24th in Lethbridge, the Hurricanes held on for a win in a shootout. Game time is 7:00 pm (MST). The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30. The Hurricanes will be back home on New Year's Day when they host Swift Current Saturday night at the ENMAX Centre at 7 pm.
Thanks,
Pat
This blog post is brought to you by http://www.clearlylethbridge.com/.
A great pace to open this game. Both teams played wide-open, end-to-end hockey with only just a couple of whistles in the first 10 to 12 minutes. It was a great start for the Hurricanes as well. They opened the scoring with a power play goal. Max Ross tipped a Daniel Johnston point shot to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead. It was Ross' 11th goal of the season. That would be the only offence in the opening 20 minutes. Lethbridge out shot Edmonton 13-6 in the first period.
In the second, the Hurricanes would keep pushing and would get rewarded with another goal on the man advantage. Cam Braes scored his 15th of season on the power play to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead just passed the mid-way point of the game. The Canes' would add another before the end of the period when Brody Sutter roofed a shot over Edmonton goalie Jon Groenheyde to give Lethbridge a 3-1 lead. That was Sutter's 3rd goal of the season. That would be it for Groenheyde as he was replaced in the Edmonton goal by Laurent Brossoit. Edmonton would finally get on the scoreboard before the end of the period. Dylan Wruck scored on a power play to cut the Canes' lead to 3-1 after 40 minutes. The Canes' held the edge in shots 29-21 after two periods.
In the third, the Oil Kings would rally to even the score. Austin Fyten coughed up the puck at his own blueline and Kristians Pelss went the other way and fired a shot passed Brandon Anderson the cut the Lethbridge lead to 3-2. The Oil Kings would complete the comeback and erase that 3-0 deficit. Not too long after, Adrian Van de Mosselaer back-handed shot by Anderson to even the score at 3-3 and that set up a very interesting finish at the ENMAX Centre. Late in the period, the Oil Kings scored again to take a 4-3 lead. T.J. Foster scored to give the Oil Kings their first lead of the hockey game. Just a minute later though, Lethbridge would tie the game at 4-4 when Cam Braes scored his second of the night and 16th of season to send the game into extra time.
This was the 13th time this year that the Hurricanes have had to go into either overtime or a shootout to determine the outcome of a game this season. The O.T. solved nothing, but after 5 round of the shootout, Edmonton would come out the winners and take the big extra point that was up for grabs. Lethbridge outshot Edmonton in this game 44-33 overall, despite the loss. The Hurricanes went 2 for 4 on the power play while Edmonton finished the night 1 for 3. No doubt a real tough loss for a Hurricanes team that's been clawing over the passed 6 weeks to find a victory. The Canes' earn a point in the shootout loss. Give Edmonton some credit too. The Oil Kings battled back from a 3-0 deficit to earn a hard-fought two points. They didn't fold the tent in this game and kept chipping away at the Lethbridge lead. No doubt a frustrating loss for the Hurricanes on this night.
AT THE HALF-WAY POINT
Well, for what it's worth let's compare the first half of the WHL season for the Lethbridge Hurricanes this year to the the first 36 games of the season last year. With the shootout loss against Edmonton Wednesday evening, the Hurricanes record sits at 12-16-2-6 through 36 games this season. That gives them 32 points and slots them in a tie for 8th place in the Eastern Conference. Last year at this same time, the Canes' had a record of 10-22-3-1 for 24 points and well out of a playoff spot.
NEXT UP
The Hurricanes will close out 2010 Thursday evening (Dec. 30) with a game against the Rebels in Red Deer. This will be the Canes' first visit to Red Deer this season. In their only other meeting this season back on November 24th in Lethbridge, the Hurricanes held on for a win in a shootout. Game time is 7:00 pm (MST). The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30. The Hurricanes will be back home on New Year's Day when they host Swift Current Saturday night at the ENMAX Centre at 7 pm.
Thanks,
Pat
This blog post is brought to you by http://www.clearlylethbridge.com/.
Monday, 27 December 2010
Oil Kings Dump Canes' 3-2 at Rexall
EDMONTON - Two first period goals helped the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 3-2 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes Monday night at Rexall Place.
Despite a strong start by the Hurricanes, Edmonton opened the scoring in this game. Michael St. Croix tipped a point shot passed Brandon Anderson to give the home side a 1-0 lead five minutes into the game. The Canes' would get that one back a few minutes later. Austin Fyten poked home his 12th goal of the season off a pass from Cam Braes to even the game 1-1. Edmonton would regain the one goal lead on a power play before the end of the period. Dylan Wruck put home a rebound off Anderson to give the Oil Kings a 2-1 lead following 20 minutes of play. Edmonton out shot Lethbridge 19-9 in the opening period, after a bit of a slow start.
In the second, the Oil Kings would continue pouring on the shots and eventually they would take a 3-1 lead. Jordan Hickmott scored to give Edmonton a two-goal lead. The Canes' best chance in the period came when Neil Tarnasky put a shot of the goal post. Edmonton would take that two-goal cushion into the dressing room after 40 minutes. The Oil Kings out shot Lethbridge 10-3 in the period and held the edge 29-12 after two periods of play.
In the third, the Canes' would make things interesting. Cam Braes scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season to cut the Edmonton lead to 3-2. The Canes' came close to tying the game a few times, but that would be as close as they would get on this night. Edmonton would hold on for the one goal victory. The Oil Kings out shot Lethbridge 36-18 in the game. The Hurricanes went 0 for 5 on the power play while Edmonton finished the game 1 for 4.
The loss drops the Hurricanes record to 12-16-2-5 on the season. They now trail Edmonton by 5 points in the standings, but get a second crack at the Oil Kings in just a few hours. The Canes' have two victories in their past 14 games. 18 of the Hurricanes 35 games up to this point have been decided by a single goal. Monday night in Edmonton just the latest one goal decision. The Hurricanes, despite being out shot didn't play all that bad I thought. They had some decent scoring chances and had Edmonton's goalie running around at times during the game. I expect them to be a hungry team on Wednesday for the rematch.
INJURY UPDATE
The Hurricanes are getting closer to having everyone back healthy again. In Edmonton, the Canes' sat out Phil Tot and Reid Jackson. Head Coach/GM Rich Preston said on our pre-game show Monday that Tot, who was cross-checked in Medicine Hat before the break likely won't play this week. Tot was hit hard and left that game. Preston says he was "banged up pretty good". As for Jackson, Preston feels he's pretty much ready to go, but just hasn't had much practice time in nearly two weeks. Daniel Johnston returned to the Canes' line-up in Edmonton. He's missed the passed few weeks with a shoulder injury after a mid-ice collision with teammate Michael Sofillas earlier this month. The Hurricanes called up Defenceman Adam Henry from Manitoba for the next few games.
NEXT UP
The Hurricanes and Oil Kings will do battle again this week, this time in Lethbridge on Wednesday. That will mark the "official" half-way point in the WHL season for Lethbridge. After that the busy week continues with games in Red Deer on Thursday and back in Lethbridge Saturday to host Swift Current for a New Year's Day evening game. Game time Wednesday vs. Edmonton is 7:00 pm (MST). The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.
Thanks,
Pat
This blog post is brought to you by www.clearlylethbridge.com.
Despite a strong start by the Hurricanes, Edmonton opened the scoring in this game. Michael St. Croix tipped a point shot passed Brandon Anderson to give the home side a 1-0 lead five minutes into the game. The Canes' would get that one back a few minutes later. Austin Fyten poked home his 12th goal of the season off a pass from Cam Braes to even the game 1-1. Edmonton would regain the one goal lead on a power play before the end of the period. Dylan Wruck put home a rebound off Anderson to give the Oil Kings a 2-1 lead following 20 minutes of play. Edmonton out shot Lethbridge 19-9 in the opening period, after a bit of a slow start.
In the second, the Oil Kings would continue pouring on the shots and eventually they would take a 3-1 lead. Jordan Hickmott scored to give Edmonton a two-goal lead. The Canes' best chance in the period came when Neil Tarnasky put a shot of the goal post. Edmonton would take that two-goal cushion into the dressing room after 40 minutes. The Oil Kings out shot Lethbridge 10-3 in the period and held the edge 29-12 after two periods of play.
In the third, the Canes' would make things interesting. Cam Braes scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season to cut the Edmonton lead to 3-2. The Canes' came close to tying the game a few times, but that would be as close as they would get on this night. Edmonton would hold on for the one goal victory. The Oil Kings out shot Lethbridge 36-18 in the game. The Hurricanes went 0 for 5 on the power play while Edmonton finished the game 1 for 4.
The loss drops the Hurricanes record to 12-16-2-5 on the season. They now trail Edmonton by 5 points in the standings, but get a second crack at the Oil Kings in just a few hours. The Canes' have two victories in their past 14 games. 18 of the Hurricanes 35 games up to this point have been decided by a single goal. Monday night in Edmonton just the latest one goal decision. The Hurricanes, despite being out shot didn't play all that bad I thought. They had some decent scoring chances and had Edmonton's goalie running around at times during the game. I expect them to be a hungry team on Wednesday for the rematch.
INJURY UPDATE
The Hurricanes are getting closer to having everyone back healthy again. In Edmonton, the Canes' sat out Phil Tot and Reid Jackson. Head Coach/GM Rich Preston said on our pre-game show Monday that Tot, who was cross-checked in Medicine Hat before the break likely won't play this week. Tot was hit hard and left that game. Preston says he was "banged up pretty good". As for Jackson, Preston feels he's pretty much ready to go, but just hasn't had much practice time in nearly two weeks. Daniel Johnston returned to the Canes' line-up in Edmonton. He's missed the passed few weeks with a shoulder injury after a mid-ice collision with teammate Michael Sofillas earlier this month. The Hurricanes called up Defenceman Adam Henry from Manitoba for the next few games.
NEXT UP
The Hurricanes and Oil Kings will do battle again this week, this time in Lethbridge on Wednesday. That will mark the "official" half-way point in the WHL season for Lethbridge. After that the busy week continues with games in Red Deer on Thursday and back in Lethbridge Saturday to host Swift Current for a New Year's Day evening game. Game time Wednesday vs. Edmonton is 7:00 pm (MST). The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.
Thanks,
Pat
This blog post is brought to you by www.clearlylethbridge.com.
Hurricanes @ Edmonton Oil Kings
The Lethbridge Hurricanes get back to action tonight after an 8 day break for the Christmas holidays.I hope your Christmas was a good one. It was quiet at the Siedlecki household this year, but after a nice break away from the rink, it'll certainly feel good to get back into the swing of things this week. It'll be a busy week for the Canes' as well as they play four games over the next six nights leading into the new year. Tonight the Hurricanes play the Oil Kings in Edmonton and on Wednesday the Oil Kings will make the return visit to Lethbridge. On Thursday, the Hurricanes head back up north to play the Rebels in Red Deer and then on Saturday, the Canes' return home to play host to Swift Current for a New Year's evening game to kick off 2011.
First things first though. After nearly half the season in the books, the Hurricanes will finally take on the only divisional opponent they've yet to face this season. The Edmonton Oil Kings and Lethbridge Hurricanes will battle each other twice over the next three nights and a total of six times between now and the the middle of March. Another one of those little quirks in the schedule, but given how things have gone for both teams this season, it maybe highlights the importance of these head-to-head matches between these two teams.
The Canes' and Oil Kings are two teams going in different directions heading into the unofficial second half of the season. Lethbridge goes into this game with just two wins in it's past 13 games, while Edmonton has been one of the hottest teams in the WHL over the past five weeks with 7 wins in their past 10 games. Edmonton leads the Hurricanes by 3 points in the Eastern Conference standings. If the Canes' can pull out two wins against Edmonton this week in regulation, they would move a point clear of Edmonton and back into the playoff race, but if the Oil Kings pull off back-to-back victories in regulation play that would give Edmonton a 7 point lead on the Canes'. These game are huge. Both teams have played 34 games up to this point in the season.
The Hurricanes are hoping the time off during Christmas will give this group a chance to re-group, re-charge, and re-focus. Maybe the biggest key for this team going into the second half of the season will be staying out of the penalty box. That's been the Canes' biggest challenge this year. They head into tonight's action with 737 PIM on the year, the most in the Eastern Conference. The next few weeks will be interesting too for a lot of teams, including the Hurricanes with the WHL's trade deadline two weeks away. I expect the Hurricanes will attempt to acquire a player or two before the January 10th deadline. It all depends on what they are looking for and what they're willing to give up. As Brad Robson told our Hurricanes This Week talk show a few weeks ago, both Head Coach/GM Rich Preston and Assistant GM Robson have been talking to teams around the league for several days (before the break). How big of a splash the Canes' will make remains to be seen. Robson indicated at that time they would continue talking with teams until the deadline hits.
As for Edmonton, they are lead by Michael St. Croix, Jordan Hickmott, and Dylan Wruck. St. Croix and Wruck lead the Oil Kings in plus/minus. St. Croix is a +13 while Wruck is a +11. These are key games for both teams, but given the Canes' are trying to catch the Oil Kings in the standings, that magnifies things a bit more for Lethbridge.
Tonight's game from Rexall Place is a 7:00 (MST) start. The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.
Thanks,
Pat
This blog post is brought to you by http://www.clearlylethbridge.com/.
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