The Kamloops Blazers scored in the final minute of the 3rd period and then earned the extra point in a shootout after beating the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-2 Friday night at the ENMAX Centre .
Stuart Skinner was brilliant once again in goal despite the loss as he faced nearly 50 shots for a second straight game.
The visitors opened the scoring in this game when Josh Connolly beat Skinner at the 7:22 mark of the first period to give Kamloops a 1-0 lead. That would be the only offence in this hockey game until in the final period of play.
The Hurricanes finally tied the game on a power play, when Riley Sheen scored his second of the season at 11:59 of the 3rd period to even the game at 1-1. The Canes then grabbed the lead with two minutes to go as Captain Jamal Watson scored his 3rd of the season to make it 2-1 Lethbridge. It appeared the Canes were heading to their second win in a row, but the Blazers had other ideas.
Kamloops pulled the goalie with under a minute to go and Matt Needham scored at 19:19 of the 3rd period to tie the game at 2-2, sending the contest to overtime. The extra period solved nothing and for a second consecutive game, the Canes would head to a shootout to decide a winner. This time though, the Blazers would get the victory and skate away with a 3-2 win. Despite the loss, the Hurricanes earn a single point. Their overall record drops to 1-3-0-1 on the season.
As mentioned, Skinner was the reason the Canes stayed in thee hunt in this game as Kamloops out shot Lethbridge 45-29. The Canes need to get a handle on the shots on goal. It was a problem last year and it is once again this season so far. Over the first 5 games, Lethbridge has been out shot a combined 220-126 by their opponents. That averages out to giving up 44 shots against a game. That's way too much for these young goaltenders to handle on a regular basis. On the flip side, the Canes are averaging just 25 shots for. That number has to go up and the shots against must come down. If the Canes want to have a chance to win each night, they can't be giving up that many shots.
The Hurricanes are now on the road all next week with 3 games in 4 nights in BC. The play in Prince George Wednesday (Oct. 6), Friday it'll be a rematch in Kamloops, and Saturday a game against the so-far unbeaten Kelowna Rockets. The Canes don't play again at home until October 17th when the host Victoria.
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.
Good effort boys, no quit in this squad. Just need to start fast and get on the board early. Go Canes Go.
ReplyDeleteSkinner was a brick wall again. Fans have to appreciate his poise. Canes have to get the shots against down in order to save Stuart from burning out.
ReplyDeleteNo comment about all three stars being Hurricanes in a 3-2 shootout loss.
RJS
(Get rid of those cheerleaders, besides someone stole the spotlight from you)
they are going to burn out skinner (what else is new)
ReplyDeleteYou are both right. They are going to have to be careful with the Watson/Sheen/Jones line as well. Those lads are logging one hell of as lot of ice time.
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Just as a clarification, I am not sure which media outlets contribute to the Three-Star selection, but the Herald is not one of them. I have refused participation for years. The team has never dictated to me that a Canes player has to be involved, I removed us from the selection because selections have to be sent in by about the 10-minute mark of the third and that is rarely indicative of who the stars should be. I mean, Skinner made 50 saves and was not named a star.
ReplyDelete-- Dylan
Dylan...If you check the game summaries of both the recent games you will notice that Skinner was named a star in both games , 3rd and 1st stars.
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