WHL Lethbridge Hurricanes

Canes Weekly

Published on March 4, 2013 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Lethbridge Hurricanes News Release


Around the Rink:

The Lethbridge Hurricanes only have 3 home games remaining and we'd love to see a sellout for the rest of those games!! Let's pack the barn as the Canes make their final push for the playoffs!! Join us for a few special celebrations in those final home games as well:

March 6th - First Nations Night

March 13th - Fan Appreciation Night

March 15th - Jersey Off Our Backs / Awards Night

LOOKING BACK:

Wednesday, February 27th - Hurricanes (5) at Royals (4)

The Hurricanes found their offense early and often as they opened up their 3 game BC road trip with a 5-4 win over the Victoria Royals. Jamal Watson scored his 15th of the season just over 5 minutes into the game giving the Canes the early lead and 18 seconds later Jaimen Yakubowski scored his team leading 32nd of the year making it a 2-0 game. Less than two minutes later, Sam McKechnie put a backhand shot behind Patrik Polivka which chased him from the Royals goal. The change to Coleman Vollrath seemed to spark the Royals as Logan Nelson scored and with less than 30 seconds to go in the period he added his second, which made it a 3-2 Hurricanes lead after 20 minutes. In the second period, Victoria tied the game when Jordan Fransoo scored on the man advantage to make it 3-3, but Lethbridge regained the lead through 40 minutes on the 4th of the year by Adam Henry. Penalties throughout the game continued to be an issue for the Canes in the 3rd, but they'd catch a break when Jamal Watson scored a shorthanded breakaway making it a 5-3 game. The Royals scored with 27 seconds left and but that's as close as they'd get as they hit the goalpost and the crossbar in the dying seconds as the Canes held on for the win which also ended their 6 game losing slide. Lethbridge was outshot 48-29 and finished the game 1/3 on the powerplay while the Royals were 2/8.

Friday, March 1st - Hurricanes (4) at Giants (5) / OT

The Hurricanes got off to a great start in Vancouver scoring just 1:53 into the first on Russ Maxwell's 20th of the season. The Giants would come back and take the lead after scoring a pair of goals (from Carter Popoff and Dalton Sward) just 34 seconds apart. Before the period was done, Vancouver added to their lead on a goal from Taylor Vickerman which made it 3-1 after the opening 20 minutes and the Giants outshot Lethbridge 18-8. Lethbridge again got off to a fast start in the 2nd period and it was Maxwell again, this time scoring on Payton Lee just one minute in to make it a 3-2 game. The Canes would pull even on a powerplay when Captain Graham Hood fired home his 10th of the season. Lethbridge had all sorts of momentum late in the period and had a chance to take the lead on a powerplay, but instead Vancouver's Riley Kieser scored shorthanded for a 4-3 Giants lead. Lethbridge pulled even once again in the 3rd on Sam McKechnie's 26th of the season. It would remain tied until the late stages of the game when rookie Alec Baer was awarded a penalty shot, but he was unable to convert and the teams were headed to OT. It was a hard fought 1 point earned for the Canes, but they couldn't get the two as Carter Popoff scored just over a minute into OT for the 5-4 Vancouver win. Lethbridge was outshot 36-24 in the game and finished the night 1/4 on the powerplay while the Giants were 0/5.

Saturday, March 2nd - Hurricanes (1) at Rockets (7)

The high-powered Kelowna Rockets jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead when Dylen McKinlay and Tyrell Golbourne scored exactly one minute apart. Head Coach and GM Rich Preston called time out to calm the troops and it worked. Lethbridge came right back and cut the Rockets' lead to one when Jamal Watson's shot from behind the Kelowna goal went off goalie Jackson Whistle and in for Watson's 17th of the year. The first period ended 2-1 in favor of Kelowna with the Rockets leading 13-8 on the shotclock. Kelowna would blow the game wide open with three goals in a span of 7:23 in the second period. Tyrell Goulbourne scored two more goals within four minutes giving Kelowna a 4-1 lead. With 4 goals on 17 shots, that ended Ty Rimmer's night as he was replaced by Chris Tai. Not long after the change in goal, Ryan Olsen hammered a shot past Tai for a 5-1 lead and before the period was done Myles Bell fired a wrister from the point making it 6-1 after 40 minutes. Golbourne scored his 4th of the game making it a 7-1 Rockets lead in the 3rd and that's how this one ended with Kelowna outshooting the Canes 41-26. Lethbridge finished the night 0/3 on the powerplay while Kelowna was 1/6.

2012-2013 STATS LEADERS:

Points (51), Assists (30), PPGs (9) - Russell Maxwell

Goals (32) - Jaimen Yakubowski

PIMs (127) - Brady Ramsay

Rookie Points Leader (33) - Axel Blomqvist

Plus/Minus (+9) - Reid Duke

Milestone Watch:

Graham Hood: will play in his 300th career WHL game on March 6th vs. Red Deer.

Russ Maxwell: played in his 200th career WHL game on March 2nd vs. Kelowna. He also surpassed 100 points for his WHL career on February 16th.

Craig Leverton, Adam Henry: 4 games shy of 100 for their careers

PRACTICE SCHEDULE:

Monday - 12:30pm (media availability from 12:00 - 12:30)

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

Wednesday - Game Day vs. Red Deer (7:00pm)

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

Friday - Game Day at Red Deer (7:30pm)

Saturday - Game Day at Calgary (7:00pm)

LOOKING AHEAD:

Wednesday, March 6th - Hurricanes vs. Rebels, 7:00pm / Friday, March 8th - Hurricanes at Rebels, 7:30pm

The Lethbridge Hurricanes and Red Deer Rebels close out their six game season with a home and home series on Wednesday and Friday this week. These division rivals have played in 4 close games up to this point with the Rebels leading the season series 3-1 thanks to a pair of shootout wins (November 23rd and January 26th). The Rebels most recent win came February 22nd when they shutout the Canes 2-0 at the ENMAX Centre. The Hurricanes lone win came on February 1st when they skated away with a 3-2 victory. Lethbridge enters Wednesday game sitting 6 points back of the 8th and final playoff spot with only 7 games to go. Against the Rebels this year, Sam McKechnie (2G, 1A) and Brady Ramsay (3A) each have 3 points.

Saturday, March 9th - Hurricanes at Hitmen, 7:00pm

It's the 6th and final meeting of the season between the Hurricanes and Calgary Hitmen. A single goal decided the first three matchups between the division rivals, but the Hurricanes rolled to a 6-4 win over January 22nd in their most recent meeting. Calgary won their first two meetings (which were a home and home series back in November) by identical 3-2 scores with the Hurricanes winning 2-1 on December 28th and the Hitmen winning 4-1 the next night. Against the Hitmen this year, Russ Maxwell has 3 points.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Milestone Watch:

Graham Hood: will play in his 300th career WHL game on March 6th vs. Red Deer.

Russ Maxwell: played in his 200th career WHL game on March 2nd vs. Kelowna. He also surpassed 100 points for his WHL career on February 16th.

Craig Leverton, Adam Henry: 4 games shy of 100 for their careers

Record Breakers: On February 24th, Goalie Ty Rimmer became the franchise leader for saves in a single season. His 35th save in the 3rd period (vs. Kootenay) gave him 1,838 on the season breaking the record of 1,837 set by Jeff Ferguson in the 1987-88 season. Rimmer finished the game with 48 saves on 49 shots.

NHL Central Scouting (Mid-Season) Report: 3 Hurricanes ranked - Jamal Watson is listed at 182, Axel Blomqvist at 185 and despite limited viewing (missing 38 games recovering from a heart condition) Adam Henry is 213th.

Trade winds (Jan. 10th WHL Deadline): The Canes shipped former 1st round draft pick Jay Merkley to Swift Current for LW Josh Derko and a 3rd rounder in 2014. They added Defenceman Mike Simpson from Kootenay for a 5th round pick in 2013. The Hurricanes also reassigned D-man 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.

U17 Challenge: Canes Rookie Forward Reid Duke (Team Pacific) and Ryan Pilon (Team West) competed at the World Under-17 Challenge along with Prospect Kolten Olynek. Team West finished 9th while Team Pacific claimed 5th.

Check out the Lethbridge Hurricanes Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 4, 2013


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