WHL Lethbridge Hurricanes

Hurricanes Preseason Kicks off in Washington

September 9, 2010 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Lethbridge Hurricanes News Release


Lethbridge, AB - The Lethbridge Hurricanes will kick off their preseason Thursday night as they take on the Spokane Chiefs from Kennewick, WA in their first game of the Red Lion Hotels Preseason Tournament hosted by the Tri City Americans. The last time the Chiefs and Canes tangled was last season on January 15th in Lethbridge. That night, which was also the first night of the Canes 1st Pink in the Rink event resulted in a 5-3 loss for Lethbridge despite goals from Mitch Maxwell, Reid Jackson and Carter Bancks. The Canadian Cancer Society was the real winner for the two game event which raised nearly $23,000 for the cause.

Despite being a U.S. Division opponent, the Canes have a storied history with Spokane - having been beaten by the Chiefs twice in the WHL Championship series (90-91, 07-08). Former Chiefs Mike Reddington and Landon Oslanski are expected to be in the lineup tonight for the Canes. Reddington, a Lethbridge Alternate Captain last season won both a WHL Championship and Memorial Cup Championship as part of the 07-08 Spokane team. In their history, the Canes hold an overall regular season record of 12-17-7-0-0 against the tribe with a 4-10-3-0-0 record away from the ENMAX Centre.

Puck drop is 8:00 PM MDT in Kennewick, the tournament continues with the Canes playing Friday evening (vs. Tri City) and Saturday afternoon (vs. Seattle) before returning to Lethbridge. Be sure to check back to the new lethbridgehurricanes.com for preseason scores and summaries.

Storm Watch Game Notes:

- Gonna play in the big league: Three Canes veterans will be missing from action this weekend including Brody Sutter (Florida), Cam Braes (San Jose) and Brandon Anderson (Washington) as they attend their respective NHL camps as invited free agents. Last season during this time the Canes had a total of ten players invited to attend NHL training camps: Carter Ashton (Tampa Bay - Drafted); Kyle Beach (Chicago - Signed); Zach Boychuk (Carolina - Signed); Carter Bancks (San Jose - Invite); Austin Fyten (Detroit - Invite); Dwight King (Los Angeles - Signed); Eric Mestery (Washington - Drafted); Luca Sbisa (Anaheim - Signed); Colton Sceviour (Dallas - Signed); and Brennan Yadlowski (Philadelphia - Invite).

- Young Guns: The Hurricanes brought along a preseason roster of 29 to Tri City (minus the three pro camp invitees) including nine rookie forwards: Tayler Balog (BAA-log), Ryley Bennefield (BEN-Feld), Mitch Guiel (Guy-el), Alex Kuvaev (KOO-vie-ev), Russell Maxwell, Sam McKechnie, Brady Ramsay, Michael Sofillas (SO-fee-us) and Jaimen Yakubowski. Rookie defensemen Adam Henry and Brandyn Hulit as well as goaltenders Tanner Kovacs and Dylan Tait who will both see action this week in the absence of Anderson.

Preseason Home Game Tickets still available!

Tickets are still available for the Canes home preseason date on Tuesday, September 14th as the Lethbridge Hurricanes will play host to rookie standout Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Coaldale local Adam Kambeitz as the Red Deer Rebels come to town for a Preseason match up. This will be your only chance to see the brand new Lethbridge Hurricanes during the preseason on home ice.

This young Canes lineup will be fresh off their preseason tournament in Kennewick, WA and will undoubtedly be excited to be back in the 'Bridge' to play in front of the home town crowd. The hockey club is proud to host this game off site on the west side - the home of the CIS University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. With several former Hurricanes players taking advantage of their WHL Scholarship and choosing to play at the U of L, the Canes will be donating the proceeds of the 50/50 raffle to U of L Hockey.

Tickets are priced at $8 (includes GST) and are available for purchase only through the Hurricanes office located in the west parking lot of the ENMAX Centre. Doors open at 6:00 PM for this rush seating event while puck drop is 7:00 PM at Nicholas Sheran Arena (401 Laval Blvd. West). With limited seating the Hurricanes encourage everyone to purchase their tickets early by contacting OJ or Dawna in the Hurricanes office at 403 328 1986.

Check out the Lethbridge Hurricanes Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from September 9, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central