Wednesday 7 October 2015

Canes Down Rebels 5-2

The Lethbridge Hurricanes scored three times on the power play as they beat the visiting Red Deer Rebels 5-2 Tuesday night at the ENMAX Centre.

In fact the Canes, through five games this season, have the third-best power play in thee Western Hockey League, clicking at 31.2%. That 9 power play goals on 28 chances. It's also a complete reversal of where the Canes have been on the man advantage the past number of season. A very positive stat this early in the season.

The Hurricanes opened the scoring in this game thanks to the man with the hot hand. Captain Tyler Wong put Lethbridge up 1-0 with a power play goal at the 7:52. That was his first of two on the night and 6th this season. It was also the only goal of the period.

In the second, Lethbridge went up by two when Egor Babenko put home his 2nd of the season midway through the period to give the home team a 2-0 lead. Red Deer cut the lead in half a few minutes later when Brandon Hagel scored on a power play to make it a 2-1 game. Before the end of the period, the Hurricanes would get that goal back on yet another power play. Andrew Nielsen scored his first of the year with the extra man and the put Lethbridge ahead 3-1 after 40 minutes of play.

In the third, Nielsen scored again, also on the power play. That was his second of the season and put the Canes up 4-1. It stayed that way until this final few minutes when Adam Musil scored a power play goal for Red Deer, cutting the Lethbridge lead to 4-2, but Tyler Wong put this one away when he scored into an empty net, his second of the game and 7th of the season to seal the 5-2 win for the Hurricanes.

The victory improves the Hurricanes to 3-2 on the season. They also out shot Red Deer 40-29 on the night. Lethbridge went 3/6 on the power play and Red Deer 2/5. For Red Deer, it was their first loss of the WHL season.

The Hurricanes are playing very well right now. The power play is red hot and they have two players in the top 10 in the WHL scoring. Brayden Burke is tied for third overall with 10 points (2G 8A) and Tyler Wong has nine points (7G 2A). Those seven goals by the way after Tuesday night are the most scored in the WHL.

The Canes next action is Friday (Oct. 9) when they host Medicine Hat. Game time is 7:00 pm MDT at the ENMAX Centre.

Thanks,
Pat

9 comments:

  1. So far so good. Lets hope they can keep this up. The game last night was very entertaining to watch.

    - cc

    ReplyDelete
  2. They are putting shots on the net and playing a full 60 minutes, what a great start!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Best effort I have seen in years. Keep it up. Long Run

    ReplyDelete
  4. Exciting game for the Canes. Excellent effort/skating. The team has speed when it's skating.

    LaRon

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yet only 2400 was anounced attendance. More like 1700 in the building. Far cry from the 3500 needed. Is this the final nail in the coffin? Good team, no attendance, still lose money?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm afraid it's going to take more than a few wins to turn this franchise around. Many years of screwing/lying to the fans/shareholders during the MacNaughton years has taken a toll on the fan base. There's lots of other things to do in Lethbridge. It will take time to get people to support this franchise again.

      LaRon

      Delete
  6. Band wagons gather momentum as they gather more people... But you gotta get it moving first! Give it time. The more that they beat Memorial Cup contending teams, the more weight on the wagon.

    Next step. Tiger Hunt on Friday.... and lets hope they leave Shlenker the Hatter-Homer at home. If the Canes have to play the first 10 minutes short handed again, the wagon will come to a full and complete stop.

    On the other hand, if they can outplay the pussies and out coach their arrogant, pussy-coach again, momentum builds.

    Band Wagon Ben

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Admire your optimism. Reality bites. 11500 required over first 3 games, Actual announced 9400. Down 1100 from projected budget. Yikes. Don't know if they will survive. Note from the AGM attendance down across entire league 14%. Not a good sign. We won't be the only team who is restless. Your point is good, the team is the most entertaining in several years.

      Delete
  7. 7-0!! WOW! May as well call it the 8-0 it ACTUALLY was, because that goal that was called off should have counted, too. You can't blow down the play every time a sasquatch leaves the Tiger bench and swings and misses a few times!

    Frist time I have ever witnessed a Tiger shut-out. I think their coach has been working a little too hard on his tan, and not hard enough at the rink! I LIKE IT!

    Thank you & Congrats lads!! Capitalized on a lot of chances, and they just got more chances the harder the Tiger pushed. This was the first time I have seen the stubborn Tiger throw in the proverbial towel by about the 55min mark. Usually, when down, they want nothing more than to foil the shut-out. But last night, they were whipped, and despite some hard pushes, came up empty EVERY time. Blocked shots by the Canes, MANY missed nets by the Tiger top guns, and the Canes seemed to have all the available puck-luck.

    Decent crowd energy, and silent visitors dressed in pumpkin orange. Those resembling pumpkins drove home unthankful, but looking forward to more turkey. Start the goaltender search in Medicine Hat.

    If THAT game doesn't build some momentum on the wagon, then we must have a broken wheel

    HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

    ReplyDelete