WHL Lethbridge Hurricanes

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Published on January 28, 2013 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Lethbridge Hurricanes News Release


Last Week:

Friday, January 25th - Hurricanes (6) vs. Hitmen (4)

Just over 3 minutes into the game, the Hitmen scored first after back to back penalties on the same play gave them a 5 on 3 advantage. Just 17 seconds in to the PP, Victor Rask fired a shot that beat Ty Rimmer and before the period would end, Cody Sylvester also scored for a 2-0 Calgary lead after 20 minutes. The Canes made the Hitmen pay on a couple mistakes starting with a bad pass in their own zone that was picked off by Macoy Erkamps. He walked in untouched and fired a laser of a shot from the circle past Chris Driedger cutting the Calgary lead to 2-1. Another bad giveaway at the Lethbridge blue line, sent Jamal Watson in on a breakaway and he scored his 12th of the season to even the score at 2-2. In the final minute, the Canes would take the lead for the first time with a PPG when Axel Blomqvist muscled his way out in front of the Calgary goal and snapped home his 5th of the season making it 3-2 Canes after 40 minutes. Lethbridge converted on a 5 on 3 PP of their own when Ryan Pilon's point shot was deflected by Jaimen Yakubowski for his team-leading 27th of the season. Later in the frame, Josh Derko picked up the puck and blasted a shot by Driedger making it 5-2 Canes. That was Derko's first goal in his first game as a Cane. Calgary staged a late rally and even pulled Driedger with nearly 7 minutes left in the game scoring twice, but Michael Sofillas sealed the victory with an empty netter as Lethbridge skated to a 6-4 win.

Saturday, January 26th - Hurricanes (2) at Rebels (3) / SO

It was a goaltenders dual last night as Ty Rimmer and Patrik Bartosak traded save for save through the first 40 minutes of the game. Both netminders came up with a number of key saves in the game to keep their opponents off the board and the goalies combined for 50 saves through a scoreless 40 minutes. It was shaping up to be a "next goal wins" type of game, but this one would be far from over. Lethbridge broke the deadlock when Macoy Erkamps rifled a bullet from the point that beat Bartosak giving the Canes the 1-0 lead. The PPG didn't hold up for long because three minutes later (on a PP of their own) Brady Gaudet's shot took a funny bounce off the back boards; hit Rimmer and found its way into the back of the net making it 1-1. The Canes with a great push in the final minutes of the game would give them the lead for the second time as Sam McKechnie made it a 2-1 game. Two minutes later, Rhyse Dieno's shot beat Rimmer and the division rivals were headed to OT. The extra 5 minutes solved nothing and in the shootout all 3 Canes shooters were stopped and despite getting the crucial point, the Rebels won 3-2. The Canes are now 2 and 7 in shootouts after the loss.

Sunday, January 27th - Hurricanes (1) at Oil Kings (7)

Christopher Tai made his 6th start of the season as the Canes played Edmonton for the 6th and final time this season. The OK's owned a 4-1 edge in the series and had shut the Canes out 3 times. It was a scoreless game until the midway mark of the 1st when Edmonton scored on a PP, but the lead didn't last as Josh Derko scored just 25 seconds later to even the game. Edmonton scored late in the period and took a 2-1 lead after one. The 2-1 score held up until the midway point of the second when the Canes ran into penalty trouble. The OK's would score 3 straight PPG's for a 5-1 lead and then score in the final minute of the 2nd to hold a commanding 6-1 lead in the game. Ty Rimmer started the 3rd period but one more goal made it a 7-1 final. In the final two minutes a brawl broke out which also included a centre ice showdown between goalies Rimmer and Laurent Brossoit.

2012 - 2013 Stats Leaders:

Points (43), Goals (27), PIMs (116) - Jaimen Yakubowski

PPGs (9) - Russell Maxwell

Assists (27) - Macoy Erkamps

Rookie Points Leader (30) - Axel Blomqvist

Plus/Minus (+12) - Reid Duke

Practice Schedule:

Monday - Day Off

Tuesday - 1:30 - 4:00pm (Media availability 12:15 - 12:45)

Wednesday - 1:30 - 4:00pm (Media availability 12:15 - 12:45)

Thursday - 1:30 - 4:00pm (Media availability 12:15 - 12:45)

Friday - Game Day vs. Red Deer

Saturday - Game Day at Kootenay

Looking Ahead:

Friday, February 1st - Hurricanes vs. Red Deer

The Hurricanes and Red Deer playing just their 3rd game this season and their second in less than a week, but this is their first meeting at the ENMAX Centre. In both games the Rebels have needed a shootout to get past the Hurricanes winning by scores of 2-1 and most recently 3-2. The Hurricanes will host Red Deer again on the 22nd of February and they'll close out their 6 game season series with a home and home in March. Against the Rebels this season, Sam McKechnie (1G, 1A) and Brady Ramsay (2A) both have 2 points.

Saturday, February 2nd - Hurricanes at Kootenay

The Hurricanes and Ice meet for the first time since early December. The teams face each other 6 times this season and while the Canes have the early 2-0 edge in the series, the Ice have gone from being dead last in the East Conference to now contending for the final playoff spot. Kootenay has won 13 of their last 15 games and they have points in 14 of their last 16 games. In the two games against the Ice this season, Russ Maxwell has 3 goals, while Brady Ramsay and Jaimen Yakubowski have 2 goals each.

Milestone Watch:

-Russ Maxwell: 6 points shy of 100 for his career. Graham Hood: 6 games shy of 300 for his career. Ty Rimmer: 290 saves away from breaking the single season saves record by a Canes Goalie (Jeff Ferguson, 1837 saves in 1987-1988)

-Ty Rimmer was the first CHL goalie to 1500, 1,000 and 500 saves. On Oct. 26th Rimmer surpassed 3,000 saves (regular season) for his career. Christopher Tai posted his 1st career WHL win on November 28th vs. Prince Albert in just his 2nd career start.

News and Notes:

Central Scouting Says (Mid-Season Report): The NHL's Central Scouting bureau released their mid-season draft rankings and 3 Hurricanes were ranked. Jamal Watson is listed at 182, Axel Blomqvist at 185 and despite limited viewing as he missed the whole first half of the season recovering from a heart condition, Adam Henry is 213th.

Trade winds (WHL Deadline): The Canes made two trades ahead of the January 10th WHL trade deadline. In their first deal they shipped former 1st round draft pick Jay Merkley to Swift Current for LW Josh Derko and a 3rd rounder in 2014. They followed that with a trade for Defenceman Mike Simpson from Kootenay for a 5th round pick in 2013. (Derko will wear #28, Simpson #3) The Hurricanes also reassigned defenceman Connor Sutton to the Okotoks Oilers of the AJHL.

Recognition: Jaimen Yakubowski became the first Hurricane to be named WHL Player of the Week (twice.) For the week of Nov. 26th - Dec. 2nd, Yakubowski had 8 points (5G, 3A) in 4 games; the following week (Dec. 3rd - 9th) he recorded 9 points (6G, 3A) in 3 games to be named POW. At this same time, Yakubowski was also named the CHL's Player of the Week for the week ending December 9th.

Back from U17's: Canes Rookie Forward Reid Duke (Team Pacific) and Ryan Pilon (Team West) rejoined the team on January 6th after competing at the World Under-17 Challenge. Canes prospect Kolten Olynek joined Pilon on Team West and returned to the Saskatoon Contacts of the SMAAAHL. Team West finished 9th while Team Pacific claimed 5th.

COMMUNITY CORNER:

Tuesday, January 29th at 11:00am - The Lethbridge Hurricanes are proud to partner with Canadian Blood Services next month with the 3rd annual "Get in the Game" campaign which encourages Canadians and motivates younger donors to take the first steps towards donation. On Tuesday, January 29th at 11:00 am at Canadian Blood Services (Lethbridge Centre, 2nd Level, #220, 200 - 4th Avenue South) we will kickoff this year's campaign. This year there's an added bonus as the Lethbridge Hurricanes are in a head to head challenge with their Division rivals the Red Deer Rebels to see who can bring in the most blood donations in the month of February.

Wednesday, January 30th at 5:30pm - Pond Hockey by ENMAX Energy brings mentors and hockey celebrities into Alberta communities, creating memories and helping to keep the Canadian winter tradition of pond hockey strong. The grassroots Pond Hockey program matches atom level players aged 9 to 10 with their local heroes from the Western Hockey League. The kids have the opportunity to participate in a fun and educational evening of skills, drills and shinny with players from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Canes players will lend their expertise and help lead drills and games with the hockey facilitators. The event will kick-off at 5:30pm on Wednesday, January 30th at Nicholas Sheran Arena (401 Laval Blvd West). The Lethbridge Hurricanes will participate in another Pond Hockey event in Pincher Creek, AB on February 20th starting at 6:00pm.

Monday, February 11th 8:30 - 10am - School Visit at Mike Mountain Horse School

Check out the Lethbridge Hurricanes Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 28, 2013


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