REGINA, SK -An outstanding goaltending display by Damien Ketlo was the difference as the Lethbridge Hurricanes beat the Regina Pats 3-2 Saturday night.
It was wide open hockey in the first period. Nearly 8 straight minutes without a whistle kept a nice back-and-forth pace to this one. Lethbridge opened the scoring on their first shot of the game just past the mid-way point of the period. Nick Buonassisi's pass was tipped in by Sam McKenchie, for his 8th of the season, giving the Canes a 1-0 lead. Damien Ketlo, making his last start in Regina against his former team was brilliant in goal as the Hurricanes were heavily out shot 16-3. They would take that 1-0 lead into the dressing room after 20 minutes.
In the second, Ketlo continued his stellar play between the pipes. He made several key stops to keep the Pats off the scoreboard. Before the end of the period, and despite being outplayed to this point, Lethbridge would add another goal, this time on a power play. Brady Ramsay fired the puck over Regina goaltender Adam Beukeboom to extend the Canes lead to 2-0 after two periods. The Pats held a large edge in shots 25-10.
In the third, the Hurricanes would increase their lead to 3-0. Nick Buonassisi hammered home his 14th of the season to give Lethbridge a huge three goal cushion. It appeared that perhaps Ketlo was going to be unbeatable, but the Pats would finally solve the Lethbridge goalie when Chandler Stephenson fired a shot over Ketlo and in to cut the Canes lead to 3-1. Late in the period, Regina pulled the goalie and got another one, this time from Dominik Volek to cut the Lethbridge lead to 3-2 and made for a rather interesting finish. That would be as close as the Pats would get on this night as the Hurricanes would hold on for a big 3-2 road win. The shots really told the story about how the Pats dominated the Hurricanes, 47-13, but Damien Ketlo who was the game's first star for the second night in a row was the clearly the difference. Lethbridge went 1/2 on the power play and Regina 0/3. The win improves the Canes record to 21-33-0-1 on the season.
AT THE 3/4 POINT
As of Friday's game in Brandon, the Hurricanes officially hit the 3/4 way point in this WHL season. After 54 games, the Canes sat with a record of 20-33-0-1 for 41 points. Compare that to the same 54 game sample in 2010-2011, the Hurricanes record was 17-26-3-8 for 45 points. More wins this year, but less points. Last season Lethbridge was involved in several one goal losses in either overtime or a shootout. That hasn't happened much at all this season.
NEXT UP
The Hurricanes are back at home next week for three games in four nights. On Wednesday (Feb. 8), the Canes host Cam Braes and the Moose Jaw Warriors. On Friday (Feb. 10) the Saskatoon Blades are in town and Saturday (Feb. 11) the PA Raiders are back. All three games are 7:00 pm (MST) starts on CJOC.
Thanks,
Pat
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.
Outshot 47-13...the only star on the hurricanes was Kelto the goalie. A wins a win but this was not pretty. I'm absolutely dumbfounded by the coaches not playing the younger guys esp Merkley. His #s and plus minus are amazing since he has only played 40 games and sees so little ice. The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If this is a rebuild and the playoffs are unlikely then play these guys. What 3rd overall will ever want to come here again. Klimchuck played all night and Merkley does not even get a chance. Watson and Leverton hardly played . You can see they are losing their spirit. What a joke!! Check out the plus minus on the so called 1st and 2nd line. These coaches only like plumbers...most teams play there skill players on the top line... I could go on and on...
ReplyDeleteDarren you asked about the equipment and I totally agree. Why are these players wearing a suit of armour. This stuff is not made to protect the player wearing it as much as it is to hurt the guys that get hit by it. I believe the OHL is wearing soft pads this year to see if it helps. Is that true Pat? AJ
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:19 had to read your post a few times to make sure I didn't write it. I have been saying for 2 years these coaches are not good for our team. These kids deserve better. It has been said that we can't fire them because of financial reasons but I say you have to fire them because of financial reasons. AJ
ReplyDeleteI see Ketlo's stellar play has returned!! lol (just when I said he wasn't playing so well).
ReplyDeleteThe season is a lost cause, so I fail to understand why they would make a coaching change at this point? As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think the coaches are being evaluated the last 2/3's of the season (as are the players) and if the team doesn't come out of the gates in a good way next year, then ya, I can see the coaching staff getting a shake-up. But I don't see it happening at this point of a lost season.
Can someone tell me how to find out the player's ice times. I'm curious to see how much ice Merkley is logging since Anon:11:19 brought it up.
If the equipment is indeed made of Kevlar, then that is definitely something that needs to be addressed because you can't have guys wearing "suits of armour" (as AJ put it) flying around the ice at the speeds they can these days. The hooking and holding have been removed from the game, which means players have little resistance on the ice until.........they meet another player or the boards. But one thing I don't like that I've been seeing in the NHL is players turning their backs to an oncoming check. That's just asking for an injury.....especially along the boards. Learn how to take a check for crying out loud.
Here's another question that I'm wondering since the subject has been brought up...If they remove Preston as coach AND GM, do they then separate the two positions or search for another guy who can do both jobs?? (Personally, I'd like to see them separate the positions.)
I think it is getting to the point that no matter what this staff does they will be criticized. Round table suggests this is a 19 yr old league and we are lacking 19 year olds, that we should have traded brody, played Kovacs etc. Others think you can ruin young players by playing them too much. That the whl season is a grind, longest season, these kids hit the rookie wall, become prone to injury etc. etc.
ReplyDeleteMy only question is how many whl teams would be successful with one 7th round nhl pick. One 7th round pick in Sutter that most think is a sub par player. If we replace the staff at least the new staff will have a full slate of young elite talent.
I agree with Darren that next season should be the season to judge the staff. The staff will have 2 of their own draft classes to be judged on. Not to be judged on the previous regime sub par classes and lack of first round picks.
I am in Regina and a Pats fan and was at the game last night. I hate to see the Pats lose but was happy for Damien as he was always a class act here and obviosly we miss him....Yes Pats outshot Canes but a lot of shots were from outside your D did a good job. I like your young guys Merkely, Watson up front and your D man Johnston logged a lot of ice and is an anchor back there. Your team has a good future...every team except a handful has issues in the WHL except a handful...your future is bright....Tyler
ReplyDeleteTyler,
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right. Ketlo is a very classy kid. Smart and a good leader, well worth the 20-year-old spot.
Thanks Tyler, as you can see you cant please everybody all of the time. You are the second hockey fan from another city ( Kelowna) that has been intrigued by our team...as a number one Canes fan thankyou...cause I see it the way you do............GO CANES GO
ReplyDeleteI was in Regina visiting some buds and caught the game. Yes we were outshot by a huge margin and yes Ketlo had a great game but I agree with the Pats fan a lot of the shots were from the outside and most goalies are going to stop those 99% of the time. The coaches rolled 4 lines for the most part and the young guys got a chance to play. As for anon 11:19 saying Merkly's plus minus is amazing and he should be playing more. On most of his games this year his line has matched up against the other teams 4th line, usually 16 or 17 year olds and for the most been okay but I can't say his line has looked to dominate in any of those games, and if you were to throw him out against the other teams top players night in and night out I'm afraid you could totally destroy him going forward. Think about this...Carter Banks' last year here he lead the team in scoring yet ended up a minus 20 and I woundn't call him a plumber. The difference between Klimchuck and Merkley is the team that surrounds them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update Anon: 9:10. It's good to hear your perspective. Not that I disagree with the first Anon (11:19), but I'm really not sure how much TOI (time on ice) Merkley and Watson are getting. That's why I asked where I could find the TOI stats.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know where to find the TOI stats for the WHL?? I'd sure like to find it without having to dig for 3 hours!!
Anyway, I'm also glad the Regina Pat fan thinks we have a good future, cause I do too! Hopefully, it all pays off in the coming years. That has yet to be determined (obviously), but if the stars align properly (fingers AND toes crossed), we should have a pretty talented team in 2 years.
Thanks for the support Pats fan!
Darren
Darren, I don't think there is anywhere you can find the TOI stat, at least I've never come across it. I guess you could count shifts and figure each shift probably averages 45 seconds.
ReplyDelete