The Lethbridge Hurricanes had a pretty quiet week with only two home games, welcoming the Regina Pats and Saskatoon Blades to town. The schedule is about to pick up for the Hurricanes this week with four games in five nights, beginning Tuesday with a visit to Medicine Hat.
Looking Back
Wednesday night saw the Regina Pats come to town for a showdown with the Hurricanes. It was the Dino Kambietz show. Scoring two goals — one in the second and the other in the early third period for his eighth and ninth on this season — Kambeitz was be named the game’s first star. Goaltender Carl Tetachuk made 25 saves for the win, while Max Paddock turned in 38 saves in a losing cause. The Hurricanes seemed to control this game from start to finish, including 33 faceoff wins compared to just 25 for Regina. The win ended a two-game home losing skid.
Looking to build on the win, the Hurricanes welcomed the Saskatoon Blades on Friday night. Lethbridge dominated the opening 20 minutes, outshooting the Blades 19-3 and opening up a 2-0 lead. Saskatoon did not go away, though, chipping away at the lead and eventually tying the game at 2, and then again at 3 late in the final frame. This game required overtime and a shootout to decide the winner. Kyle Crnkovic scored the only goal of the shootout to give the visitors the win and steal the second point. The final shot count read 43-29 in another game that saw the Hurricanes dominate the shots but fail to get the win. Nolan Maier was solid, making 40 saves for the victory. Oliver Okuliar added two goals in a losing cause.
The week ahead
The Hurricanes kick off a busy week by visiting the rival Tigers in Medicine Hat on Tuesday night. This is the fourth of eight meetings on the season between the Hurricanes and the Tigers. Lethbridge is 1-0-0-2 in the three meetings thus far this season. The road team has been victorious in all three games.
The Hurricanes will then return home on Wednesday to welcome the Everett Silvertips who will be kicking off a five-game road trip. Everett is coming off a 2-1 win over Seattle last Saturday. They will go on to Swift Current on Friday.
The quick two-game homestand will continue for Lethbridge with two games over the weekend. On Friday, the Tigers come to town for another divisional showdown, which is also the annual Teddy Bear Toss Night. The Hurricanes will then visit the rebuilding Swift Current Broncos on Saturday. Lethbridge is 2-0-0-0 against the Broncos this season.
World Junior invites
Two members of the Hurricanes have been invited by Hockey Canada to attend the World junior selection camp. Forward Dylan Cozens and defencemen Calen Addison will head to Oakville, Ontario, for the camp from December 9th through the 12th. This is the second selection camp for Addison.
Milestone watch
– Calen Addison is 11 points away from 200 career points
– Danila Palivko is 11 games away from 100 career games
– Oliver Okuliar is 6 games away from 100 career CHL games and 22 points away from 100 career CHL points
– D-Jay Jerome is 5 games away from 200 career games and 16 points away from 100 career points
– Noah Boyko is 14 games away from 100 career games
– Dylan Cozens is 22 points away from 200 career points
– Logan Barlage is 22 points away from 100 career points
– Alex Cotton is 13 games away from 100 career games
Leading the league
If you look at the top of the stat sheet you will see a few Lethbridge Hurricanes near or at the top of the leader board.
Dylan Cozens sits second in league scoring with 40 points, just one behind both Aliaksei Protas and James Hamblin. Oliver Okuliar sits in the seventh spot with 36 points. Okuliar does lead the WHL in goals with 20 while Cozens sits third with 18. Cozens is also in the top five in assists, sitting fourth with 22 assists. Alex Cotton also has 22 assists on the season.
Cotton is the league leader in points by a defenceman with 29. His teammate, Calen Addison and Filip Kral, are tied for second with 26 points.
Hurricanes goalie Carl Tetachuk is the third-ranked goaltender with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. Tetachuk has 10 wins on the season in 18 games played.
Shooting the breeze:
Special teams will be a focus over the next few games. The Hurricanes power play sits sixth in the WHL at 22.2%. The penalty kill has struggled this season at just 76%, which is good for 19th in the league.
