MOOSE JAW, SK. - The Moose Jaw Warriors scored three times in the second period and held off the visitors late as they beat the Lethrbridge Hurricanes 3-2 Wednesday night.
The Hurricanes got off to a quick start on the road for second night in a row. About 6 minutes into the period, Sam McKechnie with some outstanding hand-eye coordination, batted the puck out of mid-air and by Moose Jaw goalie Justin Paulic to give the Canes a 1-0 lead. The Canes had a few good chances to go up by a pair, but weren't able to cash in again in that period. The Warriors didn't have as many opportunities as the Canes did, but when they did, Ty Rimmer was there to shut the door. Lethbridge took the 1-0 lead in the dressing room after one. The Hurricanes held the edge in shots 12-8.
In the second, the Warriors would get things going in a big way with three goals in the first 10 minutes of period. Justin Kirsch tied the game at 1-1 when he beat Ty Rimmer to end Rimmer's shut out streak which lasted just over 4 periods. Six minutes later, the Warriors would take their first lead of the night when Tanner Eberle undressed the Hurricanes defence, walked in and snapped a bullet over Rimmer to give Moose Jaw a 2-1 lead. 90 seconds after that, the Warriors would get a little insurance when Morgan Rielly lifted a backhander into the top of net to give his team a 3-1 lead. The Hurricanes couldn't find a way to generate any offence in this period as the Warriors gained a lot of momentum off those three goals. They would take the 3-1 lead after 40 minutes and also out shot the Canes 23-21 through two periods.
In the third, the Hurricanes would press to get back in the hockey game. Late in the period Jay Merkley would burst out on a breakaway and scored his 4th of the season to cut the Warriors lead to 3-2. That goal extends Merkley's hot point streak to 6 straight games, now with 4 goals and 3 assists in that stretch. Lethbridge would pull the goalie to try and tie the game, but that would be as close as they would get as Moose Jaw would hold on for a 3-2 victory. The Warriors held a slight edge in shots 35-32. The power plays couldn't click in this one. Lethbridge was 0/2 and Moose Jaw 0/3. The loss drops the Hurricanes to one game under .500 once again with a record of 6-7-1. It was a pretty good hockey game I thought. The second period once again is where this game was won for Moose Jaw and lost for Lethbridge.
Ty Rimmer was given his 14th consecutive start in goal in this game. Rimmer more than earned the start again after his 37 save performance in a 4-0 win Tuesday in Swift Current. Chris Tai has yet to get a start in goal for the Hurricanes as he's held the back-up role since the start of the season.
NEXT UP
The Hurricanes return home to host the Regina Pats Friday night (Oct. 26) as they kick off another 6 game home stand. During the next few weeks at home, the Hurricanes will also play Swift Current, Vancouver, Medicine Hat, Saskatoon and Victoria. All games are 7:00 pm starts on 94.1 CJOC. They don't hit the road again until the Remembrance Day long weekend.
Thanks,
Pat
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Hurricanes had a bad second period...didn't play their game. I noticed Preston shuffled the line combinations and the chemistry was not there. Canes have to play 60 minutes and play their game.
ReplyDeleteYou can't expect to go from losing most games to winning every game; especially when that game is in Moose Jaw. Not many opponents leave there with points.
ReplyDeleteI often have to remind myself of this: In every match, both teams want to win, yet both teams know they might not. Last night, despite the late efforts of some individuals, there were too many Cane players that were willing to accept a loss. Other factors being relatively equal (as they are in the WHL) the team that has the most individuals that are not willing to lose... wins.
If this game were compared to a 400m race, the Canes were the leader at 100m. They then watched the others pass as they jogged the entire back side of the track. They had so much unspent energy remaining, as they sprinted the final 50m to cross the finish line last, they realized they could have won a 500m race.
The idiot philosopher
Just want to say my piece about penaltie,. at least the lazy ones. Just a quick glance at the score sheets shows in the 2 last games we took 2- slashing and 4- tripping penalties. Of the 4- trip Maxwell took 3. As much as I like the way Russ has played this year those are stupid penalties. I can not believe that none of the coaches can teach him to keep his stick to himself. I was surprised that he did not take any of the slashing since if you really watch him play he is constantly hacking at someone. Keep hustling Canes but stop with the lazy penalties. AJ
ReplyDelete@ the idiot philosopher.....Your long drawn out explanation is summed up with the normal mantra "the team who wants it the most, wins". No offence, but your philosophy is very well known to most coaches (and elite players).
ReplyDeleteI disagree with your last paragraph. It's VERY difficult to play back to back games and have enough energy to play 60 minutes. I expected a letdown after the big win in Swift and while the Canes' played some good hard minutes, they weren't able to bring "it" for 60 minutes in this game. As you point out, Moose Jaw is not an easy place to play for any team let alone one playing its second game in two nights.
It's still a young team learning how to play 60 minutes and how to play back to back games on the road.
I'm impressed they got a convincing win in Swift!
Darren
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