LETHBRIDGE - Three goals in the second period blew the game wide open as the Lethbridge Hurricanes continued their recent hot play with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos Saturday night in Lethbridge.
The Hurricanes picked up right where they left off against Regina on Friday. They came out guns a blazing against Swift Current in this game. Eetu Laurikainen was under siege from the get-go as Lethrbidge had several good scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes and late in the period they would finally get one by the Swift current netminder. Captain Graham Hood, after have 4 scoring chances in the period, finally notched his first goal of the season on the power play to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead. Again, another very strong opening period by the Canes as they out shot the opposition 17-7.
In the second, the Broncos would get the equalizer when Adam Lowry hammered a shot by Ty Rimmer on a shorthanded break. That evened the score at 1-1, but it didn't last long. Right after that tying goal, the Hurricanes would regain their one goal lead. Craig Leverton scored his 1st goal of the season off a rebound out in front of Laurikainen in the Broncos goal. That made it 2-1 Lethbridge. The Hurricanes would keep the Cane Train rolling with two more goals before the end of the period. Brady Ramsay wheeled out from behind the Broncos goal and rifled a bullet into the top right corner to give Lethbridge a 3-1 lead and not too long after that, Craig Leverton would notch his second goal of the night to make it 4-1 Canes after 40 minutes. Shots heavily favoured Lethbridge 37-16.
In the third, the Broncos would make a goaltending change as Landon Bow would replace Eetu Laurikainen in net. Both teams would go at each other but there wouldn't be anymore offence in this game as the Canes would win it 4-1. The Canes out shot Swift Current 50-23 in this game and over the last two nights they have out shot their opponents a combined 105-52. Lethbridge went 1/6 on the power play and the Broncos 0/4.
The victory moves the Hurricanes above the .500 mark for the first time since opening night with a record of 8-7-1 on the season. This also moves the Canes to within one point of first place in the WHL's Eastern Conference. They've won 6 of their last 8 games and have picked up 13 out of a possible 16 points during this stretch. Ty Rimmer made his 500th save of the season in this game. He becomes the first goaltender in the entire CHL to hit the 500 stop plateau this season.
HURRICANES THIS WEEK
Our weekly Hurricanes radio program hits the airwaves again this Monday for the final time in the month of October. With the Canes nearly a quarter way through this 2012-2013 season, we will bring back the Media Roundtable to go over the first 16 games and talk about the next few months leading up to the Christmas break. Paul Kingsmith from Global TV and Dylan Purcell of the Lethbridge Herald will join myself and Fred Jack in-studio. The show start at 7:00 pm (MDT) on CJOC.
NEXT UP
The Hurricanes will play game 3 of this current 6 game home stand on Tuesday (Oct. 30) when they play host to the Vancouver Giants. The Giants have struggled this season with only 3 wins in 12 games. Last season the Canes won both games against the Giants, both played in Vancouver after nearly 8 years without a victory against that opponent. Game time Tuesday is 7:00 pm (MDT). The pre-game show on CJOC at 6:30.
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.
Nice to see the boys playing so consistent with so much energy. The forecheck is incredible and the biggest improvement is definitely on the back end. Our breakout is so much better and there seems to be no defencemen aimlessly shoveling the puck out of the zone. The youth are definitely stepping up, playing hard and earning their chances. I was getting concerned about Merkley but he certainly has more step. I think he's learned from russ and sam that goals are earned. Helps to have one of the best goalies this organization has seen. Kudos to GM Preston on this one and to Rimmer for being stellar and giving the team confidence in front of him. Hood, let's see some more of tonight's fire. Not just the fight (wow) but moving the feet and generating chances. The team has bought into everyone coming with full intensity. Speed kills and our speed is great. Keep it up. NJ
ReplyDeleteThat is fantastic effort by the entire Canes team!
ReplyDeleteFrom what I saw, Swift was pretty lucky get get even the one goal. I would suspect that Rimmer would not be happy with his play on the Lowry short handed shot that got past him to ruin his second shut-out against this club in their last two meetings.
It was great to see Captain Hood SCORE, and SCHOOL Heatherington... with a smile pasted on his face the entire time.
From his (very likeable, and modest) post game interview, Hood said essentially only "we will see what happens,"(paraphrased). It is pretty obvious to me that HE will be personally handling any Kessy issues that might "arise" during the Vancouver game. I wouldn't be disappointed to see NO retribution other than COMPLETE domination and clean, but extra hard checks on Kessy and company for 60.
The initial write-up about the move had Kessy returning to WHL play Tuesday against the Canes, but he was on the Giants vs Victoria 26-Oct game sheet with 0 points and 2 PIMS that saw the Royals only get 14 shots in a giant 4-1 win.
Kessy was moved to VANCOUVER on October 12, but it looks like the league counted the TIGERS games from the 12th to the 24th instead of the games Kessy would have been eligible to play with his new team for the same time period. - That doesn't make any sense to me... He was traded to Vancouver, but they are counting the Hat's games as if he would still be eligible to play for THEM?? - Nice work, Ron Robison, you dumbass!! So Kessy really only served 10 games of his initial 12 game suspension... kind of like released early for good behaviour, I guess? Maybe just because it is Don Hay??
I wonder if Liam Liston will get the start on Tuesday?? He looks like he is keeping to his 4.5 goals against again this year. Could be Taco-Tuesday!? - Richie.
Didn't see this game either, but great to see the Canes came with the same intensity two nights in a row!! It's a learning process and this was a good step forward in learning how to bring your best game in back to back games (which isn't easy).
ReplyDeleteI hope the team can carry their confidence in their upcoming road trip. This homestand could go a long way to setting the tone for the rest of the season. I'm not a dreamer, this team is still young, but having confidence in your abilities and your fellow teammates is SO important!
Good luck on the road boys!! Go Canes Go!!
Darren
ps. I think Van will start their best goalie Richie. Is that Liston?? The Giants better hope not!!
I guess I said something bad in my earlier comment becaus.e it never got posted. Can someone please explain the instigator rule. How can Lowry shase Remi across the ice to start a fight and not get an instgator but Yak asks a guy if he wants to fight and he gets an instigator. Glad to see Hood school a guy that wanted the fight. Swift has to be one of if not the worst team in the league for late hits and other crap after the whistle. Great win boys and keep up the hard work. AJ
ReplyDeleteThat was a great game last night. Really pleased with how all the guys are playing. Everyone is contributing. Particularly happy for Craig Leverton, his two goals and first game star.
ReplyDeleteBy the way we took the grandkids through the haunted house. It was very well done and the kids really enjoyed it. My hats off to the staff for going such a great job.
-cc
Unless my stop watch was incorrect, it appeared that at least 80% of the game was played in the SC end. Back-to-back games in which the Hurricanes did nothing but frustrate the opposition with their tenacious forcheck and constant pressure on the puck. This let to the Pat's and the Bronco's taking bad penalties. It cetainly appears that everyone on this team has "bought in" to their game plan. Preston is rolling 4 lines because he is getting the same effort from everyone. I am waiting for Axel's first goal, because he definitely deserves one. The Canes have not beaten Vancouver on home ice for several years! Time to change that trend. Anyone check the standings? Hurricanes are 5th not 12th and only 3pts out of first. The Cane Train is heading down the track! The Relentless Express!
ReplyDeleteRJ
What a fun game to watch last night. The pressure was relentless. The Canes are doing a great job of having their d pinch and forwards covering for the Defence. What a difference that makes in keeping pressure in the offensive zone. Rimmer was great again and everybody was rolling. Who is a hotter team in the Whl right now? Can't think of one.......TD
ReplyDeletePat,
ReplyDeleteIs there any way that you could work in a commentary/discussion of the WHL's interpretation of "instigator" vs "staging" - How did Yakubowski end up with 2,5, & 10 at 15:39 of this game? Was that not immediately after he dished out a bit hit and was challenged BY Derko as a result of it?
Anon 5:40. I think Derko was the one that hit one of our guys, then Yak skated by and asked him to fight. That does not explain how Lowry never got an instigator though. Pat is there anyway you can make the passwords easier to see. AJ
ReplyDeleteHmmmm.....where have all the boo-birds disappeared to? Not long ago, all I heard was this team is too small, the young guys should get more ice/should not get more ice, Hood is a failure as a captain, Russ Maxwell would not be a star on any other team....yada yada yada. This team is showing the league what speed and intensity can do, and frankly, making some of the bigger guys look slow and stupid. They are playing with intensity and ferocity, and this kind of hockey is fun to watch. Let's hope they can keep it up.
ReplyDeleteChuck
Kale Kessy is a coward and he has his own self esteem issues; this is a given.
ReplyDeleteI hope that the guys do NOT do anything to Kessy, except to just keep hitting him cleanly ALL game. Not that the officials would be eager to defend this particular player, but they always LOVE to give us penalites that they don't call on other teams.
At face offs, I would like them to continually remind him to keep his head up, and just play hockey the way they have been the past two games.
Once the Canes are up 8-0, then IF they feel there is a real "NEED," have Hood challenge the coward terd to fight. I think any black eyes or broken noses from a fight would be a DISTANT SECOND to a good ole fashion DRUBBING on the score board!