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December 16, 2014 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Lethbridge Hurricanes News Release
December 15th, 2014
Mark Your Calendar! On Thursday, February 12th, 2015, the Lethbridge Hurricanes are excited to announce the return of the Celebrity Dinner & Auction. Our special guest for the 9th annual event is 4-time Stanley Cup Champion Paul Coffey. Tickets for the event can be purchased from the Hurricanes Office or by calling (403) 328-1986. Individual tickets are $125 while a table (10) is $1,000.
This Week's Schedule:
Tuesday, December 16th, 2014 vs. Moose Jaw, 6:00pm - It's the second of 4 meetings tonight between Moose Jaw and the Hurricanes. The Warriors won their first matchup 5-1 with Tyler Wong scoring in the loss. The Hurricanes enter the game with a record of 1-8-0-1 in their last 10 games after dropping a 4-2 decision to Kamloops Sunday. Moose Jaw is coming off a 4-1 loss to Red Deer Saturday and currently sit 9th in the East with 15 wins in their 33 games. Zane Jones leads the Hurricanes offense in goals (15) and points (22), while Jack Rodewald has 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points.
Wednesday, December 17th vs. Regina, 6:00pm - The Hurricanes will try and take a win over the Regina Pats in this 3rd meeting of the season between the two teams. Regina has dominated the Hurricanes so far with wins of 6-1 and 8-1 this season. Tyler Wong has a pair of assists against the Pats.
The week that was:
Wednesday, December 10th, 4-3 Loss (OT) to Kelowna - The Hurricanes welcomed Kelowna to town Wednesday and were down 1-0 after 1 after getting outshot 12-4 in the first. Bryton Sayers pulled the Canes even through 40 minutes before the Rockets took a 3-1 lead just 7 minutes into the final frame. Taylor Cooper made it a one-goal game on his 9th of the season before Nick Walters scored his 1st of the year in timely fashion, tying it up 3-3. OT solved nothing and in the 4th round of a shootout, Nick Merkley buried the game winner.
Sunday, December 14th, 4-2 Loss to Kamloops - The Hurricanes looked for their first win since November 26th when they played the Blazers Sunday. Lethbridge played a great first period of hockey, but 46 seconds was the difference as Kamloops scored 3 times in the final 2 minutes (including twice on the PP) to take a 3-0 lead. Zane Jones scored a pair of goals in the 2nd, but the Hurricanes couldn't come any closer as they lost 4-2. Lethbridge was outshot 41-20 in the game and was 1/3 on the PP while the Blazers were 2/4.
Following their final two games this week, the Lethbridge Hurricanes and the entire WHL will break for Christmas holidays. The Hurricanes return to action on Saturday, December 27th when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers at 7:00pm.
On & Off the Ice:
Leadership Changes: It was week of change for the Hurricanes. On Tuesday, the team announced they had relieved Head Coach Drake Berehowsky of his coaching duties effective immediately. Berehowsky was the 12th coach in franchise history and was 18-74-5-4 in his time behind the bench. His 1st WHL win came September 29th, 2013 when the Hurricanes came from behind to defeat the Edmonton Oil Kings 5-3 at Rexall Place. The next day, it was announced General Manager, Brad Robson was no longer with the organization effective immediately. At a news conference called just a few hours before their game with Kelowna, both moves were discussed and it was also announced Assistant GM Peter Anholt would take the reins as both Head Coach & GM.
Roster Moves: On Monday, the Hurricanes announced they had released D-man Griffin Foulk. The native of Broomfield, Colorado was acquired in October 2013 when the Hurricanes traded Adam Henry to Seattle for the 19-year old. On December 1st, Lethbridge sent overage forward and leading scorer Riley Sheen to the Rebels for Devan Fafard and Brayden Burke. Sheen was acquired from Seattle last year and in 27 games this season he led the team with 23 points (3G, 20A).
Central Scouting November Players to Watch List: 2nd year Centre, Giorgio Estephan and Defencemen Kade Jensen and Andrew Nielsen have all caught the eye of the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau. The November Watch List (released Nov. 20th) lists all 3 players as WHL "C" skaters indicating a 4th to 6th round candidate in the upcoming NHL Draft...NHL Camps: Nick Walters signed an Amateur Tryout Agreement with the Columbus Blue Jackets and attended their Prospects Camp in September.
Prospect Watch: Jordy Bellerive, Nick Watson (Team BC) and Zane Franklin (Team Alberta) have all made their provincial U16 teams to compete at the Canada Winter Games in the new year. Brett Davis (Team Manitoba) has made the U16 exhibition roster that competed this past weekend at the Shattuck-St. Mary's tournament. Following the tournament, the final roster for Manitoba will be selected for the Winter Games.
Ironman: Lenny Hackman's ironman streak came to an end on December 14th. Hackman, the Hurricanes 9th round (179th overall draft pick in 2010) had played 174 consecutive games prior to being scratched on Sunday.
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Western Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2014
- Pats Rally for 6-5 OT Victory - Regina Pats
- This Week in Silvertips Hockey - Everett Silvertips
- Canes Chatter - Lethbridge Hurricanes
- Maier, Fora to Compete at World Juniors - Kamloops Blazers
- Blazers in Cranbrook to Play Ice - Kamloops Blazers
- Maier and Fora to Compete at 2015 World Junior Championships - Kamloops Blazers
- Preview: Regina Pats at Brandon Wheat Kings - Regina Pats
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