Canes Weekly Report
December 22, 2014 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Lethbridge Hurricanes News Release
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:
Saturday, December 27th / Sunday, December 28th vs. Medicine Hat - The Hurricanes return to action following the Christmas break in the same way they started the season; with a home and home series against Medicine Hat. The division rivals haven't played since opening weekend which saw the Tigers sweep the weekend after scores of 3-2 and 5-1. Pavel Skumatov has a pair of goals against Medicine Hat. Saturday's game at the ENMAX Centre is at 7:00pm, the game on Sunday in Medicine Hat is at 6:00pm.
The week that was:
Tuesday, December 16th, 6-4 win over Moose Jaw - After a week of change and a new coach behind the bench, the Hurricanes hit the road to close out the "unofficial" first half of the season. Tuesday night Lethbridge was in Moose Jaw and took a 2-0 lead after the first period on a pair of goals from Tyler Wong. The Hurricanes added two more in the 2nd and 3rd periods to win 6-4 over the Warriors. Stuart Skinner made 29 saves in the win while Wong, Taylor Cooper and Kord Pankewicz all had 3 points in the game.
Wednesday, December 17th, 5-4 (OT) win over Regina - The Pats have outscored Lethbridge 14-2 in their previous two meetings of the season, but Lethbridge fought back to tie the game three times before prevailing in OT. Down 2-0 after the first 6 minutes, the Canes came back in the final 6 minutes of the first thanks to goals from Tyler Wong and Jamal Watson. Trailing 3-2 in the 2nd, Giorgio Estephan scored on a breakaway making it 3-3. After the Pats retook the lead with 5 minutes to go in the game, Jaeger White scored with 1:30 left to make it a 4-4 game. In OT, Nick Walters scored at 1:46 giving the Canes a 5-4 overtime win and their 2nd straight win going into the Christmas break.
Stats Leaders: At the break, Tyler Wong leads in points (26) and assists (14), while Zane Jones leads the Hurricanes in goals (15). Leading the way in penalty minutes is Andrew Nielsen (54), while Nielsen also leads all rookies in points (13) and assists (10); he's tied in rookie goal scoring with Pavel Skumatov who both have (3) goals. The Hurricanes record after 33 games is 8-20-3-2.
Holiday Hours:
The Lethbridge Hurricanes will be taking a break for the Christmas holidays starting December 20th.
The office will be CLOSED from December 20th through January 4th, 2015. During this time fans can still purchase tickets online at www.enmaxcentre.ca or by calling the ENMAX Ticket Centre at (403) 329-7328.
The Hurricanes will re-open with regular business hours between 9:00am to 4:30pm on Monday, January 5th, 2015.
Holiday Hours:
December 20th to December 26th: Closed
December 27th: GAME DAY vs. Medicine Hat, 7:00pm.
The ENMAX Ticket office is open from 10:00am to game time.
December 28th to January 2nd: Closed
January 3rd: GAME DAY vs. Red Deer, 7:00pm.
The ENMAX Ticket office is open from 10:00am to game time.
January 4th: Closed
We'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! All the best from our family to yours!
News & Notes:
Macs Tournament: Hurricanes scouts and coaches will be kept busy over the Christmas break keeping a close watch on the future. Five prospects will be competing at the prestigious Macs Tournament from December 26th to January 1st in Calgary. Barrett Sheen (UFA Bisons), Connor Rokosh (SSAC Athletics), Jesse Sheen, Jacob Ashton & Ayden Roche-Setoguchi (Calgary Buffaloes).
Canada Winter Games: Jordy Bellerive, Nick Watson (Team BC), Zane Franklin (Team Alberta) and Brett Davis (Team Manitoba) have all made their provincial U16 teams to compete at the Canada Winter Games in the new year. The games are being held in Prince George, BC from February 13th to March 1st.
Anholt Wins 1st: New head coach and general manager Peter Anholt earned his first win behind the Hurricanes bench on Tuesday night in the 6-4 win over Moose Jaw. Anholt holds a 2-1 record in his first three games. He is currently 10th all-time in WHL wins (452).
Changes: The Hurricanes endured leadership changes just prior to the Christmas break. Drake Berehowsky was relieved 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. 24 hours later, it was announced General Manager, Brad Robson was no longer with the organization effective immediately. 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 Wednesday, the team announced they had released Nikita Milekhin after he had cleared waivers. He is eligible for the 2015 Import Draft.
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.
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 22, 2014
- Canes Weekly Report - Lethbridge Hurricanes
- Royals Host Cougars for Two Games this Weekend - Victoria Royals
- Pat Chat - Regina Pats
- WHL Graduate Curtis Lazar Named Captain of Team Canada - WHL
- Holiday Hours Announced - Brandon Wheat Kings
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