Hoping hockey executive Anholt avoids being cancelled

Politics of extreme right and left cast shadow on sports

Peter Anholt, left, watches the Hurricanes play in December 2015.

Being genuine and who you are might be the easiest way to get yourself cancelled in today’s world.

Actually, I saw an interview from veteran country singer Gretchen Wilson that was posted to YouTube on August 1, 2024 where she said it is difficult to be anything in the current day. We live in the age of Donald Trump holding the role of President of the United States of America for the second time, and in this age, society is more filled with division and hatred than ever before casting a shadow over all parts of life.

The extreme right and left wings in politics are locked in a cultural war, and in my mind, both of those extreme sides believe total victory will be achieved when the other side gets obliterated.

Unfortunately, the influence of the political world does cast a shadow on the sports world. In this backdrop, people in the sports world are going to take a fall, when they shouldn’t take a fall. There are problems in the sports world like any walk of life that are always in the process of being worked out, but when a bazooka is being used to take out a mosquito, people that should be in the sports world will ultimately no longer be in the sports world.

That brings us to this past January 9 in the WHL when the Lethbridge Hurricanes announced Peter Anholt, who is 65-years-old, had resigned as the club’s general manager effective immediately. Hurricanes senior advisor Barclay Parneta assumed the duties as Hurricanes general manager on that same day on an interim basis for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.

Last season, the Hurricanes finished sixth overall in the WHL with a 42-21-3-2 mark. Lethbridge loaded up to make a deep run in the post-season. The Hurricanes advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series where they were swept away by the eventual WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers 4-0 in a best-of-seven set.

This season, the Hurricanes found themselves at the start of a rebuild and were 12-27-0-1 at the time Anholt resigned. Lethbridge is currently second last in the 23-team circuit with a 12-32-0-1 record.

A WHL release from January 9 regarding Anholt’s resignation stated his departure follows the investigation of a historical personal conduct matter. The alleged matter, dating to 2015, involved a verbal interaction with a player that, as described, falls outside of the WHL’s Standards of Conduct with respect to threatening and intimidating language.

This follows WHL disciplinary action levied against Anholt and the Hurricanes this past November. On November 14, 2025, the WHL announced Anholt had been suspended for five games and the Hurricanes were fined $10,000.

The sanctions came following a WHL investigation that found Anholt breached the WHL Standards of Conduct through the use of intimidating behavior and language during a post-game address to players in the dressing room following the team’s 8-6 home ice loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings on October 29, 2025.

In a release on November 14, 2025, Anholt said, “My behavior and language in addressing our team did not meet expectations. The Lethbridge Hurricanes have always believed in providing a positive environment for our players. I accept the discipline issued by the WHL and will be committed to a higher standard moving forward.”

At that time, the WHL had imposed remedial measures that included supplementary education and support, enhanced monitoring and preventative steps to ensure there is no recurrence of similar conduct.

This past January 9, the WHL said in a release that the circuit was not aware of the historical allegation at the time the matter from November 2025 was handled. Both claims were filed via the league’s anonymous 1-800 WHL Respect hotline, which provides players, staff and others associated with the WHL with a confidential avenue to report concerns or incidents that may violate WHL standards.

The historical claim was investigated by the WHL Security Department.

The WHL also announced that along with his departure, Anholt has agreed to participate in counselling in the spirit of personal betterment. Anholt’s counselling will be sponsored by the Hurricanes and the WHL.

Before I go on, I just want to say that “Peter Anholt is a good man.”

Let me repeat myself.

Before I go on, I just want to say that “Peter Anholt is a good man.”

I have known Anholt since late 2002, and I consider him a good friend. I will always consider him one of my guys. We met when he came back to Prince Albert to once again become the head coach of the Raiders, and I was working full time as the sports reporter for the Prince Albert Daily Herald.

Anholt built a reputation as a Raiders hero as a defenceman from 1978 to 1981 when the team was still in the junior A ranks. He played on national championship winners in 1979 and 1981. When the club moved to the WHL before the start of the 1982-83 campaign, Anholt worked on the Raiders coaching staff as an assistant coach from 1986 to 1988 and was the head coach and director of hockey operations for the 1988-89 season.

I have always and still see Anholt as someone who is respected, accountable and personable. One of my best memories of Anholt for myself came when the Raiders were eliminated from the first round of the 2004 WHL Playoffs in Game 6 against the Brandon Wheat Kings in a contest played at the Winnipeg Arena in Winnipeg. The Wheat Kings were forced out of their rink due to the annual Royal Manitoba Winter Fair in Brandon.

I was riding the bus with the Raiders at that time, and I had an important blood family issue to look after when we arrived in Winnipeg. Everyone on the team knew about the issue, and Anholt was a big pillar of support for myself.

When the bus arrived in Winnipeg the day before the game, I left to address the issue, and I didn’t see everyone again until Game 6 versus the Wheat Kings was played the next day.

After dropping a 4-1 decision to the Wheat Kings in Game 6, I interviewed Anholt after that contest. When the interview was done, he asked how things went on the blood family front. I said they went well.

Anholt smiled and said, “That’s good. Family is important.”

Before the start of the 2014-15 campaign, Anholt joined the Hurricanes as an assistant general manager. In case anyone forgot, it seemed like there was a death watch surrounding the Hurricanes when Anholt joined the team.

At the completion of the 2013-14 campaign, the Hurricanes posted a 12-55-2-3 record and missed the WHL Playoffs for a fifth straight season. Things were so bad at times during the playoff drought that the Hurricanes were having trouble securing a radio broadcast deal at one point, which is highly unusual for a WHL franchise. There were also times the Hurricanes existence in Lethbridge was also called into question.

In December of 2014, the Hurricanes named Anholt the team’s head coach and general manager as he worked to get the team turned around. Before the start of the 2015-16 campaign, Anholt hired Brent Kisio to be the Hurricanes head coach, while Anholt focused on the role as general manager.

The Hurricanes turned around on and off the ice and made the Eastern Conference Championship Series in 2017 and 2018. Lethbridge fell in six games to the Regina Pats in 2017 and the eventual WHL champion Swift Current Broncos in six games in 2018.

While the Hurricanes are in a rebuild in the current campaign, they are still a respected franchise, and they are expected to be part of the Lethbridge community long into the foreseeable future. Anholt played a major role in getting that franchise to that point.

Since 2022, hockey in Canada has been under a microscope since the legal issues came up regarding Canada’s entry that won gold at world juniors during the 2017-18 campaign. That saw five players be charged with sexual assault and then be acquitted. All sorts of fallout and all sorts of other issues came to the surface as a spinoff of the legal issues that came to the surface for those five members of Canada’s world junior team from the 2017-18 campaign.

To me, there has been more of a heightened pressure from the Government of Canada on sports bodies and organizations to create codes of conduct and make sure they are followed. There is also a push for sports organizations to have 1-800 hotlines where people can make anonymous tips about misconduct that are investigated by an objective third party, but I would say about 80 per cent of sports organizations in Canada don’t have the funding for an oversight body like that.

For a lot of sports organizations including national sports bodies, funding for an oversight body would take up their entire budget.

As for Anholt, he is personable, but he also wears his heart on his sleeve. He is genuine and honest, and if he thinks someone isn’t a good person or a team isn’t giving a good effort, he calls it as he sees it. Most of the time, his observations are correct.

I did worry that something like the post-game address on October 29, 2025 after the Hurricanes loss to the Oil Kings and the fallout afterwards could happen. I also should note that isn’t an everyday thing with Anholt, and it didn’t surprise me he owned that situation.

The historical matter from 2015 concerns me from the aspect of how skeletons in the closet from the past get treated. Of course, some skeletons are worse than others and is a bazooka going to be used to take out all skeletons.

Reflecting back to when Anholt came on board with the Hurricanes and his first couple of seasons on the job, there were players on that team that could be deemed as cancers and having attitudes. Anholt was trying to weed those types off the team. I also know if you are a cancer that Anholt will bluntly tell you that to your face.

Because Anholt is genuine, I know lots of people who have worked under him as a manager in hockey and manager in the working world outside of hockey who say he was the best boss they ever worked for.

I know countless players who say he is the best coach they have played for and the best general manager they have played for. Whenever Anholt’s travels take him, it is common for him to have former players come visit him. I know of players who after they have gotten married would visit Anholt after games and brought their baby children to meet him.

I will say for sure that everyone who played for the Raiders from 2003 to 2005 loved playing for Anholt as a coach.

When Anholt goes to Prince Albert, he knows he has to leave his work behind. If he is at a WHL game at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre, he knows he will barely see the game with all the people who want to come and visit him.

I could go on and on saying good things about Anholt and there are a lot more to share. I also know with the way things are politically with the extreme left and the extreme right in the current day that those who have their mind made up that Anholt is bad won’t be persuaded otherwise.

I’ve already seen some of that chatter on social media. It feels like those aren’t people who follow hockey normally, and are in this case extreme left wingers who want to jump in with rage to put on a show and like to talk down to others.

Folks in Prince Albert have seen lots of those when the Raiders have faced criticism when they have used their traditional Arab on skates logo for throwback usage. The online criticism and criticism overall comes from people who do not reside in Prince Albert and seem to reside in Toronto or Vancouver. Those people want to talk down and tell the folks in Prince Albert how they should live their lives.

In the current world, I believe Anholt’s biggest challenge is that he is too genuine, and he isn’t the ultimate example in being politically correct. For myself, I have found those that focus on being the ultimate example of being politically correct are often people I find I distrust, are not credible and are not genuine.

I just hope Anholt avoids getting cancelled and does return to hockey one day. With the Hurricanes and WHL sponsoring his counselling, I think that is a path he is heading towards.

If Anholt does get cancelled, I fear there are a lot of other good people in the sports world that could end up in that same predicament as well.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Hurricanes wildcard in chase to host 2020 Memorial Cup

The Hurricanes are in the mix to host the 2020 Memorial Cup.

    It appears a team from the WHL’s Western Conference might not be a lock to host the Memorial Cup in 2020.

    For the longest time, a common consensus among those that follow the WHL was that a club from the Western Conference would host the Memorial Cup tournament when the circuit’s turn came up in 2020. The last four times the WHL has hosted the CHL championship tournament it was held by a club from the Eastern Conference.

    Brandon hosted in 2010, Saskatoon in 2013, Red Deer in 2016 and Regina hosted the 100^th Memorial Cup this past May.

    Vancouver was the last Western Conference centre from the WHL to hold the Memorial Cup back in 2007, when the host Giants downed the WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers 3-1 in the event’s title game.

    WHL teams had until May 31 to express interesting in bidding to be the host club for the 2020 Memorial Cup. The Kamloops Blazers, Kelowna Rockets and Victoria Royals were expected to file letters of intent, and they all did.

    Each of those clubs had made it known for a while that they would be in the chase to host the Memorial Cup.

    The Lethbridge Hurricanes also filed a letter of intent to express their interest to bid on the 2020 Memorial Cup.

Dylan Cozens (#24) is expected to be a big star for the Hurricanes.

    That development came out of the blue, because there was no noise at all coming out of Lethbridge that the Hurricanes were thinking about hosting the CHL’s championship tournament.

    No announcements have been made by the WHL to make any of this official. That is likely due to the fact that team executives are trying to squeeze in vacation and down time with this year’s Memorial Cup wrapping up on May 27.

    The four teams that were interested in bidding on the 2020 Memorial Cup were revealed by Bruce Hamilton, who is the Rockets general manager, president and owner and chairman of the WHL board of Governors, on a radio station in Kelowna.

    Lethbridge is slated to host the U Sports national men’s hockey championship – the University Cup – from March 14 to 17 in 2019 with the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns as the host team.

    If the Hurricanes host the 2020 Memorial Cup, it would mark another major milestone in the WHL club’s resurgence.

    Lethbridge missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons from 2009-10 to 2014-15. After the Hurricanes went 12-55-2-3 in the 2013-14 season, it seemed a death watch was surrounding the team. The Hurricanes existence in Lethbridge was called into question at times.

    Lethbridge was not a prime destination in the WHL, and it seemed like players that were there couldn’t wait to leave.

In two seasons, Calen Addison has become a star offensive defenceman.

    Things started to change when the Hurricanes hired Peter Anholt as the club’s assistant general manager before the start of the 2014-15 campaign. The veteran coach and hockey executive became the team’s head coach and general manager halfway through that campaign.

    Before the start of the 2015-16 season, he stepped back as head coach and made the inspired move to hire Brent Kisio for that role.

    The Hurricanes took off and topped the Central Division in 2015-16 with a 46-24-1-1 record before being eliminated in the first round of the WHL playoffs.

    In 2016-17, the Hurricanes posted a 44-21-4-3 mark to sit seventh overall in the league. They won two seven game series in the playoffs to advance to the WHL Eastern Conference championship series falling to the Regina Pats in six games.

    During a reloading campaign this past season, the Hurricanes returned to the playoffs with a 33-33-6 record. In the post-season, the Hurricanes took out the Red Deer Rebels in five games in the first round and the Brandon Wheat Kings in five games in the second round to return to the Eastern Conference Championship series.

    Lethbridge put up a big fight in the Eastern Conference Championship series falling in six games to the eventual WHL champion Swift Current Broncos.

Jadon Joseph could be a Hurricanes overager in 2019-20.

    While the Hurricanes have outstanding people in the front office and coaching ranks, they are projecting to have a potentially strong roster in the 2019-20 season.

    Centres Dylan Cozens and Logan Barlage have come off strong 16-year-old rookie seasons, and they would be in their 18-year-old campaigns in 2019-20. They both could be established WHL stars in their 18-year-old seasons.

    Forwards Owen Blocker and Keltie Jeri-Leon had sound 17-year-old campaigns, and both could potentially be 19-year-old standouts in 2019-20.

    Calen Addison had a spectacular 17-year-old sophomore campaign as an offensive defenceman piling up 11 goals and 54 assists in 68 regular season games. He would be in his 19-year-old season in 2019-20 campaign.

    The Hurricanes had a pair of towering rearguards in Nolan Jones, who stands 6-foot-2, and Alex Cotton, who stands 6-feet, appear in a handful of regular season games in their 16-year-old campaigns. They could potentially be part of the core of a strong defensive unit in the 2019-20 campaign.

    Lethbridge has an outside chance of having current captain Jordy Bellerive, who has a signed three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and skilled centre Jadon Joseph back for the 2019-20 campaign as overagers.

    In 2019-20, the Hurricanes could potentially have a mainly built through the draft type team that could win its way to the Memorial Cup, which would give them huge consideration in being the host team for that tournament.

Captain Jordy Bellerive is a potential overager for 2019-20.

    Fans have flocked back in droves to the Hurricanes home rink in the 4,093 seat Enmax Centre. When the Hurricanes took down the Wheat Kings 3-0 in a Game 5 second round series clinching win on April 13, they managed to pack 5,249 spectators into the Enmax Centre after standing room tickets were counted up.

    If you attended the 2016 Memorial Cup in Red Deer, a number of locals there said they were high on attending the CHL championship tournament, if Lethbridge or Medicine Hat ever played host to it.

    The two front runners from the Western Conference have to be the Rockets and Royals. Kelowna has been an elite WHL franchise for about the last 18 years and last hosted the Memorial Cup in 2004.

    The Royals have a sound organization as well, while the Blazers have the potential to get in that mix but are going through some organizational changes.

    Originally, it appeared Kelowna and Victoria would put forward the strongest cases to host the 2020 Memorial Cup. With Lethbridge in the mix, that is no longer the case.

    The WHL board of governors looks to have a good problem on their hands in ultimately determining which centre will host the 2020 Memorial Cup.

Cooke departs Huskies to play pro in France

Netminder Jordon Cooke has signed a professional contract to play in France.

    It appears the Jordon Cooke era has come to an end for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey team.

    On Wednesday when he turned 25-years-old, it was announced via the MacBeth Report that Cooke has signed a one-year contract to play goal professionally with Rapaces de Gap in the Ligue Magnus in France. Last season with the Huskies, Cooke appeared in 23 regular season games posting a 16-7 record, a 2.29 goals against average, a .920 save percentage and three shutouts.

    The Leduc, Alta., product suffered a knee injury in the Huskies first playoff game on Feb. 22, which knocked him out of action for the rest of the post-season.

    During his career with the Huskies that spanned four seasons from 2014 to 2018, Cooke appeared in 86 regular season games posting a 59-25-2 record, a 2.38 goals against average, a .920 save percentage and 10 shutouts.

Jordon Cooke (#32) enjoys a win with Collin Shirley (#11).

    He sits second all-time on the Huskies career list for regular season wins (59) and saves (2,358).

Cooke was the U Sports goaltender of the year and a U Sports first team all-Canadian in 2015-16 and 2016-17. This past season, Cooke was the Canada West goaltender of the year, a Canada West first team all-star and a second team U Sports all-Canadian.

    Before joining the Huskies, Cooke played four seasons in the WHL with the Kelowna Rockets from 2010 to 2014. He appeared in 149 regular season games posting a 92-34-12 record, a 2.54 goals against average, a .915 save percentage and nine shutouts.

    He was the CHL goaltender of the year in the 2013-14 campaign.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Love looks to make his mark as Blades new head coach

Colin Priestner, left, welcomes Mitch Love to the Blades as head coach.

    Mitch Love is looking forward to placing his stamp on the Saskatoon Blades after he finally received his long awaited opportunity to be a WHL head coach.

    The Quesnel, B.C., product, who will turn 34 in June, was announced as the Blades new head coach on Wednesday at a press conference at the SaskTel Centre. He takes over from Dean Brockman, who was released as the club’s head coach on March 18.

    Love signed a four-year contract with a club option for a fifth year with the Blades.

    “What I want our players to understand here is as a staff we are going to have their backs,” said Love. “We’re going to work every day.

    “We’re going to work a 200-foot game. We’re going to check people. We are going to be a hard team to play against.”

    Love joins the Blades after spending seven seasons on the staff of the Everett Silvertips. He joined the Silvertips in 2011 as an assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach. He was an assistant coach and an assistant to the general manager this past season.

    As one of the Silvertips bench bosses, Love helped Everett finish third overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-20-2-3 mark this past season. In the playoffs, the Silvertips advanced all the way the WHL Championship series, where they fell 4-2 in the best-of-seven set to the Swift Current Broncos.

    During his playing days in the WHL from 1999 to 2005, Love appeared in 320 regular season games as a tough and rugged defenceman for the Moose Jaw Warriors, Broncos and Silvertips collecting 33 goals, 66 assists and 901 penalty minutes.

Mitch Love manned the Silvertips bench as an assistant coach.

    In the 2002-03 campaign, Love appeared in 70 regular season games with the Broncos and set a new team record for most penalty minutes in one regular season at 327. That record still stands today.

    Love joined the Silvertips for their inaugural season in 2003-04 and helped them make it to the WHL Championship series, where they were swept by the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-0.

    During his overage campaign in 2004-05, Love was the Silvertips captain.

    “As an ex-player to a long-time assistant coach in this league, I eat, breathe and live the Western Hockey League,” said Love, who stands 6-feet and weighs 175 pounds. “I’m real excited to be here.

    “I’m real excited to be part of the city of Saskatoon.”

    From 2005 to 2011, Love played six seasons in the minor professional ranks in the AHL, ECHL and CHL before joining the Silvertips coaching staff.

    During his years with the Silvertips, Love was also an assistant coach for a couple of Canadian teams at the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge in 2015 and 2016.

    Blades general manager Colin Priestner received permission from the Silvertips to speak to Love, when they were in the second round of the playoffs. Priestner met Love at the Vancouver International Airport between Games 2 and 3 of the Silvertips series with the Portland Winterhawks.

    Priestner said Love made a good impression. After checking with a number of hockey contacts, Priestner was sold on bringing Love to the Blades, but the Silvertips run through the post-season had to conclude before anything on that front could happen.

    “We really feel Mitch is one of the best young coaches in the country,” said Priestner. “That has been echoed by dozens of people I’ve spoken to.

    “Hockey Canada strongly advocated for him.”

Mitch Love makes a speech at a Blades press conference.

    Priestner said he had been contacted by a few former NHL head coaches that were reaching out to see if they could come to Saskatoon to finish out their careers there. The Blades general manager wanted to go in the direction of hiring someone younger who worked their way to the point in the WHL that they needed to make the step to become a head coach.

    WHL teams have been turning toward that trend since the Lethbridge Hurricanes hired Brent Kisio as head coach at age 32 back on June 4, 2015, and the Hurricanes have had three successful campaigns since that time. Before Kisio was hired, WHL clubs filled head coach vacancies by hiring former head coaches from other clubs on the circuit or former NHL coaches.

    “We want a young, hungry guy,” said Priestner. “Not to say that you can’t be a hungry 60-year-old former NHL coach.

    “We wanted someone with the passion that is going to be like dying to make his name here and hang a banner up there. It has been a long time since a banner has been hung up there.

    “I wanted someone that is not coming here to play out the stretch. I wanted someone who is extremely hungry.”

    Love likes the roster of players he will oversee. The Blades had the 15^th best record in the WHL last season at 35-33-3-1 and missed the playoffs playing out of an ultra-competitive East Division.

    They are set to return a talented group of forwards including Kirby Dach, Eric Florchuk, Josh Paterson, Chase Wouters and Max Gerlach. On defence, Saskatoon is set to bring back a healthy veteran group in Jackson Caller, Seth Bafaro, Dawson Davidson and Jake Kustra along with 16-year-old rookie Aidan De La Gorgendiere. 

    In goal, the Blades will be looking to see how standout Nolan Maier can improve on a sensational rookie campaign in his 17-year-old season.

    Love gave credit to the former staff under Brockman for bringing the players a long way.

Mitch Love meets media members at a Blades press conference.

    “I don’t want to take anything away from the coaching staff that was here before,” said Love. “They’ve improved the last two seasons as a group.

    “I think there is still some more to give there. I think we will just work towards that. There are some really good pieces in place.”

    Love’s teams are best known for their tough defence, and last season, the Silvertips gave up the fewest goals in the league during the regular season at 167. The Blades equaled the Calgary Hitmen for giving up the third more goals in the regular season on the circuit at 276.

    Going forward, Love said he wants his players to put in an honest effort, and there will be work to do at the rink. He added that there will be fun that goes along with the work to keep everyone motivated to come to the rink.

    “This has got to be a place that they want to come and enjoy and be at,” said Love. “They spend a lot of time here.

    “They spend time away from their families. This is their second home coming to the rink, and I want them to have fun doing that.”

Back in the Express with Labach

Julie Labach is a track star with the Huskies.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a feature story on Julie Labach.

    Labach is a star with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Track and Field team. She originally came to the U of S to play on the Huskies women’s soccer team before competing in both soccer and track and field for the past four seasons.

    This past season, Labach had a banner year personally. She capped it winning gold in the 1,000-metre race and bronze in the 600-metre race at U Sports nationals.

    Due to her stellar season, she was named the winner of the Mary Ethel Cartwright Trophy as the female athlete of the year for Huskie Athletics.

    In the classroom, Labach was named a U Sports academic all-Canadian in her first three years with the Huskies and will likely be awarded that designation again, when those awards are handed out in September. She will enter the College of Law in the fall.

    With law being an intense program, Labach plans to only compete in track and field for the Huskies in her final campaign of U Sports eligibility.

    The story on Labach can be found right here.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Hurricanes prove they are for real in battle with Broncos

Hurricanes LW Taylor Ross speeds by Broncos C Giorgio Estephan.

    The Lethbridge Hurricanes didn’t remain in the purgatory of reloading for long.

    After two games in the WHL Eastern Conference championship series, the underdog Hurricanes have given the favoured Swift Current Broncos all they can handle. The Broncos lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 on the strength of two wins in Swift Current. They took Game 1 on Friday 3-2 and Game 2 on Saturday 4-3 in overtime.

    Those two games could have easily gone the other way. Actually, had an early overtime shot by sophomore defenceman Calen Addison been an inch to the left on Saturday night at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex, the Hurricanes would be heading home to play Game 3 at the Enmax Centre on Tuesday at 7 p.m. local time with the series even at 1-1.

    With how the first two games have played out, it could be argued that would have been a just result. The Hurricanes host Game 4 at 7 p.m. local time on Wednesday at the Enmax Centre.

    The Broncos finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 48-17-5-2 record. They made it to the conference final eliminating the Memorial Cup hosting Regina Pats, who finished seventh overall in the regular season with a 40-25-6-1 mark, in a tough seven game series in the first round and taking out the Moose Jaw Warriors, who topped the WHL regular season standings with a 52-15-2-3 record, in a difficult seven game series in the second round.

Hurricanes RW Dylan Cozens poke checks Broncos RW Tyler Steenbergen.

    The Hurricanes finished 16^th overall in the regular season standings with a 33-33-6 mark, and with the WHL utilizing a hybrid format of playing through the division in playoffs, they had an easier bracket to navigate through.

    Lethbridge took out the Red Deer Rebels, who finished 17^th overall in the regular season with a 27-32-10-3 mark, in five games in the first round, and disposed of a tougher Brandon Wheat Kings side, who finished eighth overall in the regular season with a 40-27-3-2 record, in five games in the second round.

    These teams are familiar with each other thanks to the fact Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt and Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros, who are both good friends, made a blockbuster deal on Jan. 9 - one day before the WHL’s trade deadline.

    In that trade, the Hurricanes sent overage captain and star centre Giorgio Estephan, star 19-year-old netminder Stuart Skinner and winger Tanner Nagel, who turned 20 in late January, to the Broncos.

Jordy Bellerive has developed into a star for the Hurricanes.

    In exchange, the Broncos sent overage star netminder Logan Flodell, rookie centre Logan Barlage, who turned 17 in early January, sophomore centre Owen Blocker, who turned 18 in late March, sophomore defenceman Matthew Stanley, who turned 20 in early February, a first round selection and a third round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft and a future conditional second round pick in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft to the Hurricanes.

    Following the Broncos overtime win on Saturday, Viveiros stated his side expected the Hurricanes to be far from a pushover.

    “We’re not surprised with how good Lethbridge is,” said Viveiros. “We knew they are a good hockey team.

    “They have good goaltending, and they are well coached. They are going to give us everything they have to give. If we don’t play well, they can beat us. We have to play as well as we can.”

    When the Hurricanes and Broncos made their trade on Jan. 9, it appeared the Hurricanes had decided to look to the future acquiring younger players and draft picks, while the Broncos were strengthening their roster for a long playoff run this season. As it has turned out, both teams have made a long post-season foray.

    In 2016-17, the Hurricanes had an older roster and posted a 44-21-4-3 record to finish seventh overall in the WHL. They advanced to the Eastern Conference championship series falling in six games to the Regina Pats, who topped the league regular season standings in that campaign with a 52-12-7-1 mark.

Logan Flodell has been stellar in goal for the Hurricanes.

    That Hurricanes team was powered by the exploits of star captain Tyler Wong and star offensive defenceman Brennan Menell, who now plays for Iowa Wild of the AHL. The Iowa Wild are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.

    At the moment, the Hurricanes only have six hold overs from their team at this time last year in centres Jordy Bellerive and Jadon Joseph, right-winger Dylan Cozens, and defencemen Addison, Ty Prefontaine and Igor Merezhko.

    In advancing to the conference final this season, the Hurricanes have built an obvious togetherness. They are playing for each other and are intent on doing everything they can to ensure the 2017-18 campaign continues into the WHL Championship series.

    On Friday night, the Hurricanes outshot the Broncos 41-30 in Game 1, and a stellar 39 save performance from Skinner allowed the Broncos to pull out victory. On Saturday night, the Hurricanes outshot the Broncos 39-33 and led 3-2 after the second period. The Broncos scored to force overtime, and Addison rang a shot off the post of the Swift Current goal early in the extra session to almost deliver victory to the Hurricanes.

    Estephan recorded a hat trick that night including the overtime winner to give the Broncos the win.

The Hurricanes plan to celebrate a few more goals in the post-season.

    As far as playing style goes, the Hurricanes appear to be a younger version of the Broncos. Both squads like to get up and down the ice, play with skill and make some big hits.

    The similarities have made the series entertaining to watch.

    The rapid improvement of the Hurricanes, while surprising, doesn’t come as a total shock. Anholt has one of the smartest hockey minds you will find anywhere, and third-year head coach Brent Kisio is one of the circuit’s elite bench bosses.

    If the Hurricanes can win Game 3, this series could still be a long way from being over. Even if the series ends up being a short one, the Hurricanes are poised to go down fighting.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

     If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Estephan vaults into Broncos’ penthouse with OT winner

Star centre hopes to avoid one specific doghouse in Lethbridge

The Broncos celebrate Giorgio Estephan’s overtime winner.

    SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. – Giorgio Estephan has his figures crossed that he avoids his girlfriend’s doghouse when he returns to Lethbridge.

    On Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex, Estephan capped a hat trick performance scoring the winning goal for the Swift Current Broncos at the 9:41 mark of overtime in Game 2 of the WHL Eastern Conference championship series.

    The overage star centre tapped home a midrange shot in the extra session from defenceman Sahvan Khaira to give the Broncos a 4-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

    With the win, the Broncos took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. local time at the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge.

Giorgio Estephan had a hat trick for the Broncos on Saturday.

    Estephan spent the first four-and-a-half seasons of his WHL career with the Hurricanes, and he came to the Broncos as part of a blockbuster trade on Jan. 9. His girlfriend is from Lethbridge, and the personable Estephan hopes he doesn’t get into trouble for his performance.

    “I hope she is happy,” said Estephan with a chuckle. “She is from Lethbridge, but I mean, she cheers for both teams.

    “She knows a lot of guys on the team too, so she is a good sport for sure.”

    The Edmonton, Alta., product’s overtime marker concluded a classic back-and-forth playoff encounter. The Broncos took a 2-0 lead by the end of the first period, but the Hurricanes rallied to go ahead 3-2 by the end of the second frame.

    Broncos star Finnish import left-winger Aleksi Heponiemi wired home a shot from the slot on the power play to force a 3-3 tie at the 9:23 mark of the third period.

    Early in overtime, Hurricanes defenceman Calen Addison wired a shot off the post the Swift Current goal.

    That set the stage for Estephan to net his winner.

An ice crew member cleans up Giorgio Estephan’s hat trick hats.

    “It was a hard fought game,” said Estephan. “There was definitely times throughout the game where everybody gets frustrated.

    “I think we stuck with our game plan. We stuck with things that were making us good. You could see at times how good we were rolling.

    “It felt pretty good at the end for sure.”

    The Broncos jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the first period, when Estephan netted his first two goals of the night 55 second apart from each other. He scored the first tally on the power play receiving a pass from Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin across the face of the Lethbridge goal firing the puck into an empty cage.

    On the second goal, Estephan worked a perfect give-and-go with linemate Max Patterson on a rush into the Lethbridge zone to net the second tally.

    The Hurricane stormed back in the second. The visitors picked up their first goal off a positive bounce play, when Hurricanes captain Jordy Bellerive deflected home a shot off Broncos right-winger Tanner Nagel into the Swift Current net.

The Broncos fans cheer one of their team’s goals on Saturday.

    With 4:09 remaining in the second, standout sophomore right-winger Dylan Cozens was chopped down on a break towards the Swift Current net by Broncos star defenceman Colby Sissons and was awarded a penalty shot. On the penalty shot, Cozens roofed a shot to the top left corner of the Swift Current goal to force a 2-2 tie.

    The Hurricanes pulled ahead 3-2 with 1:17 to play in the second, when 18-year-old centre Jadon Joseph popped home a loose puck during a net scramble.

    That set the stage for Heponiemi to tie things up for the Broncos in the third and for Estephan to win it in overtime.

Dylan Cozens scored on a penalty shot for the Hurricanes.

    “We were playing a good game,” said Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio. “Obviously, (we had) a slow start, but I thought the second and third period we played really well.

    “OT, we have a lot of chances. It is obviously tough, but there was some questionable calls out there especially at the end. They (the officials) just decided to put the whistles away.”

    Stuart Skinner turned away 36 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Broncos. Logan Flodell stopped 29 shots to take the setback in goal for the Hurricanes.

    Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros was pleased to see Estephan come through with a big outing.

    “He stepped up, and that is why we brought him in with our club like that,” said Viveiros. “He does a lot of stuff for us. He is a great kid in the room and off the ice.

    “On faceoffs, he makes a big difference. He is a real smart player. He knows where to be in certain times, and I am very happy for him.”

Aleksi Heponiemi (#20) celebrates scoring his third period goal.

    The first two games of the series have hurt the Broncos in the injury department. In their 3-2 victory in Game 1 on Friday, Broncos Russian import defenceman Artyom Minulin left with an injury and didn’t dress for Game 2.

    In the first period of Game 2, Gawdin skated gingerly to the bench after being on the receiving end of a hard hit into the boards from a Hurricanes player and didn’t return to the game. Viveiros didn’t rule out either returning for Game 3.

    The bench boss was pleased his club could find a way to be resilient once again.

    “We were fortunate again to get a win tonight, but that is playoff hockey so I’m certainly not going to apologize for that by any means here,” said Viveiros, who Broncos finished second overall in the WHL in the regular season with a 48-17-5-2 record. “I thought we played well in spurts again this evening.

    “At times, myself, I made some mistakes, and they capitalized on it right away. Our guys worked hard. We’re up with a 2-0 lead, and they come back and get three quick goals on us.

Calen Addison almost scored the OT winner for the Hurricanes.

    “I thought our kids responded after the second period. We got back to playing the way we felt we need to play if we are going to have a chance to win this series here. You get into overtime and anybody can win, and we’re just fortunate enough to get that one extra chance.”

    So far in the post-season, the Hurricanes have won all six contests they have hosted at the Enmax Centre. Kisio likes his team’s chances of getting a win in Game 3.

    “Our group doesn’t lack confidence,” said Kisio, who Hurricanes finished 16^th overall in the WHL with a 33-33-6 mark. “We will be fine.

    “We’re going to get back into this series. We’ll go home, and we will get it done.”

The Broncos scramble to get the puck out of the defensive zone.

    Having played at the Enmax Centre for the Hurricanes, Estephan admitted his Broncos are going to be in for a challenge when they take the ice in Lethbridge for Game 3 on Tuesday and Game 4 on Wednesday.

    “I’ve been there and seen what the crowd is capable of,” said Estephan. “They are going to come out buzzing.

    “We have to be able to handle their pressure especially early on in the game and push back as best we can. We all know they are going to come at us. Why wouldn’t they?

The Broncos celebrate their Game 2 victory over the Hurricanes.

  “They’ve been coming at us all series so far. We just have to be prepared to manager their attack.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Heponiemi delivers WHL Eastern Conference championship series opener to host Broncos

Finnish product’s first playoff goal downs Hurricanes 3-2

The Broncos celebrate Aleksi Heponiemi’s game-winning goal.

    SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. - Aleksi Heponiemi will never be mistaken for an “all about me guy.”

    On Friday night at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex, the left-winger from Tampere, Finland, scored his first career WHL playoff goal, and it delivered his Swift Current Broncos to a 3-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes in Game 1 of the WHL Eastern Conference championship series. Game 2 of the best-of-seven set goes Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex.

    During Friday’s encounter, the Broncos and Hurricanes were locked in a 2-2 tie, when Heponiemi blasted home the winning goal from the right slot with 8:49 to play in the third period to the delight of most of the sellout crowd of 2,980 spectators.

Aleksi Heponiemi had a goal and an assist on Friday.

    The star sophomore import forward now has one goal and 27 assists in 29 career WHL playoff games.

    After the contest, you wouldn’t have known Heponiemi scored his first career WHL playoff goal or that his tally was a game winner with the way he talked about it during the post-game media scrum.

    “Obviously, it feels good,” said Heponiemi. “It always good to get it at some point.

    “Obviously, I am going to shoot the puck a bit more. It is going to come, if it comes.

    “It doesn’t matter who scores the goal in playoffs. It is a team sport, and that is what it is all about is winning.”

    Heponiemi seemed more concerned about the fact his squad was outplayed by the Hurricanes over lengthy stretches of the contest. Lethbridge held a 41-30 edge in shots on goal, and the Broncos pulled out victory thanks to a 39 save performance from 19-year-old star netminder Stuart Skinner.

    “Obviously, the first game was huge to win,” said Heponiemi. “The way we won today wasn’t our best game. We have to be way better.”

Captain Jordy Bellerive (#15) drives to the goal for the Hurricanes.

    The Broncos thought they scored 65 seconds into Friday’s game, but the officials immediately called off the tally ruling one of the Swift Current players made incidental contact with Hurricanes overage netminder Logan Flodell.

    The Hurricanes controlled the majority of the play in the opening frame outshooting the Broncos 18-10. Skinner had to make a number of key stops including turning away Hurricanes left-winger Egor Zudilov on a turnaround shot near the end of the stanza.

    The Broncos capitalized on a break at the 6:15 mark of the second period to go ahead 1-0. Flodell accidentally slipped to the ice in his goal, and Broncos left-winger Cole Gable centred the puck to linemate Max Patterson, who lifted the game’s first tally over the fallen goalie.

Stuart Skinner makes one of his 39 saves in goal for the Broncos.

    The hosts increased their advantage to 2-0 at the 13:05 mark of the second on the power play, when Heponiemi fed a pass across the front of the Lethbridge net to linemate Giorgio Estephan, who popped home his fifth marker of the post season.

    The Hurricanes thought they scored with 8.3 seconds to play in the second, but the officials immediately ruled off that tally saying the puck was knocked to the ice by a Lethbridge player with a high stick.

    “Obviously the second period, I thought we didn’t play the way we needed to play,” said Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio. “I thought our first and third period were much more of our team game. We fought back into the game.”

    Early in the third period, the Hurricanes capitalized on a break that went their way.

Calen Addison scored the equalizer for the Hurricanes in the third period.

    On a rush into the Swift Current zone, Hurricanes left-winger Taylor Ross had the puck poked off his stick by Broncos defenceman Noah King. The puck landed on the stick of Hurricanes defenceman Matthew Stanley, who quickly blasted home his second of the post-season to cut the Broncos edge to 2-1.

    With 10:04 to play in the third, Hurricanes sophomore rearguard Calen Addison, who turned 18 earlier this month, fired home a power-play goal from the point to force a 2-2 tie.

    After Heponiemi put the Broncos up 3-2, the Hurricanes didn’t go away. Working down low in the Swift Current zone, Hurricanes captain Jordy Bellerive had a beauty chance to score in close, but he slid the puck wide of the Broncos net.

The fans at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex cheer a Broncos goal.

    Hurricanes overage left-winger Brad Morrison, who leads the WHL in post-season scoring, was stoned in close by Skinner a short time later.

    Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros said Friday’s game could have easily had a different outcome.

    “We didn’t expect the game to be over after the second period,” said Viveiros. “We’ve been pretty resilient this year, when we have given up leads or been behind to get back in games.

    “I thought Lethbridge was really good tonight. They put us on our heels. They made us make mistakes.

    “We were fortunate tonight. Stuart Skinner played very well for us. A little bit more puck luck for Lethbridge, and I think they could have easily won the game tonight.”

The Broncos and Hurricanes did engage in some scrums.

    Flodell turned away 27 shots putting on a solid performance in goal for the Hurricanes. He arguably made the save of the night shortly after the third period started. The Regina product had slipped to the ice in his net but reached up to make a glove save on a point drive from Broncos standout defenceman Colby Sissons. That stop prevented the hosts from expanding the 2-0 lead they had at the time.

    The Broncos came into this series as favourites finishing second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 48-17-5-2 record, while the Hurricanes were 16^th overall with a 33-33-6 mark.

Stuart Skinner, left, and Colby Sissons celebrate the Broncos victory.

    The Hurricanes are a younger team that is in a reloading campaign, but they showed they are ready to play with the Broncos. Bellerive said his side wasn’t disheartened with Friday’s outcome.

    “We knew it was going to be a tough game obviously in their barn the first night,” said Bellerive, who had assists on both Hurricanes goals. “I think we have a lot of positives to look at. I think it puts us in a good spot moving forward.

    “We’re pretty positive. Obviously, we’re disappointed with the loss. We played a great game and a lot of positives to look on to moving forward.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Hurricanes take fans on ride with rise and revival

The Hurricanes celebrate a post-season goal at the Enmax Centre.

    It might not be an overstatement to say the citizens of Lethbridge have never been more emotionally attached to their Hurricanes hockey club than they are in the present day.

    A couple of days have passed since the Hurricanes gave one final salute to the 5,098 faithful that packed the Enmax Centre on Sunday after a 7-4 loss to the visiting Regina Pats that eliminated the host side from the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship series. The night also came with a final bow from overage captain Tyler Wong, who came out to give a final thanks to the fans and be saluted when he was named the game’s first star.

    Later that same night, Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt took to Twitter to type out an emotional 10-point thank-you list. Anholt has always worn his heart on his sleeve and his heart was never more evident than when you checked out that 10-point list.

    This season, it seemed like a love affair bloomed between team and fan that might have never been seen before in Lethbridge. It was a stark contrast to the not so long ago dark days, when the team missed the playoffs for six consecutive years from 2010 to 2015.

Tyler Wong will depart Lethbridge as an enduring figure.

    The low point came in the 2013-14 campaign, when the Hurricanes finished last in the entire WHL with a 12-55-2-3 record.
    The Hurricanes averaged 3,089 spectators a game over their 36 home dates, but outside of the diehards, there wasn’t a lot of excitement about going to Hurricanes games. The Enmax Centre seats 4,980 and can accommodate standing room.

    Before the 2014-15 campaign started, Anholt, who was a long time veteran coach and scout in the WHL, was hired as the Hurricanes assistant general manager. About halfway through that campaign, the Hurricanes board of directors named Anholt the team’s head coach and general manager.

    They finished second last in the league that season with a 20-44-5-3 mark, but they were no longer pushovers.

    Before the 2015-16 campaign started, Anholt made a brilliant move to bring in Brent Kisio to take over the role of head coach. Kisio, who was 32-year-olds old when he was hired by the Hurricanes, spent eight seasons with the Calgary Hitmen mainly as an assistant coach and finished his tenure in Calgary as an associate coach and assistant general manager. He was more than ready to run his own team as a head coach.

Hurricanes fans do the wave at the Enmax Centre.

    In Kisio’s first year, the Hurricanes vaulted to finish first in the WHL’s Central Division with a 46-24-1-1 record. They dropped a best-of-seven first round playoff series in five games to the Regina Pats.

    The fans in Lethbridge wanted to go to games, and the Hurricanes averaged 3,746 spectators per contest over their 36 regular season home dates in 2015-16. A number of supporters started following the team around for various road games. From the fan bus trips, the hashtag term #CaneTrain was born.

    The revival continued this past season. The Hurricanes hovered around .500 for the first bit of the campaign before taking off and finishing second in the Central Division with a 44-21-4-3 mark. Attendance remained solid as the team averaged 3,709 spectators per contest over their 36 regular season home games.

Hurricanes fans hold up “cheer heads” on the road in Medicine Hat.

    Lethbridge proceeded to make a magical run though the playoffs. In a best-of-seven first round series, the Hurricanes trailed the Red Deer Rebels 3-1, but roared back to take the series 4-3 with three straight wins. That marked the first time in team history the Hurricanes erased a 3-1 series deficit.

    What followed was an exciting seven game series with their Highway 3 rivals the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Hurricanes took a series-deciding Game 7 at the Canalta Centre in overtime, when captain Tyler Wong rifled home the winner as the Tigers defence backed up to give his side a 5-4 victory. It is a moment that will be remembered fondly for a lengthy time in the history of the Hurricanes.

    In the best-of-seven Eastern Conference championship series, the Hurricanes took a 2-1 series lead on the Regina Pats.

Stuart Skinner (#74) made a number of huge saves in goal for the Hurricanes.

    The series turned in Game 4 at the Enmax Centre, when a positive bounce goal from Pats captain Adam Brooks deflected in off of Hurricanes defenceman Igor Merezhko to break a 2-2 tie, give the visitors a 3-2 lead and ultimately a 6-2 win.

    Regina won Games 5 and 6 to eliminate the Hurricanes from the post-season, but the Lethbridge side went down fighting in each game.

    As the Hurricanes went on their run, their fans were right there with them. The Hurricanes averaged 4,730 spectators a game over their 10 post-season home dates. The #CaneTrain was following the Hurricanes on the road as well, and the Hurricanes were happy to see friendly faces in opposition rinks.

    When the Hurricanes arrived at a road contest, the players seemed to make it a point to find and acknowledge where their fans were. When they scored a goal, the Hurricanes players made sure to jump into the glass or Green Bay Packers style Lambeau Leap into the glass in areas where their supporters were concentrated. After road wins, the Hurricanes players directed salutes to areas of the rink where their fans were sitting in.

Giorgio Estephan put up big numbers for the Hurricanes.

    On one return trip home, Kisio flashed a picture on Twitter upon meeting one Hurricanes fan at the Enmax Centre parking lot. It came after the series win against the Tigers, when a Hurricanes supporter showed off a stuffed tiger strapped to a pole.

    In Lethbridge, city buses flashed “Go Canes Go” signs to show support for the hockey club. You often found people wearing Hurricanes jerseys when you went to stores to run errands on game days.

When you walked into the Enmax Centre, you could sense a warmth for the home team, and it was a warmth that was deserved.

    During the rise, Anholt often said the successful results were a team effort and gave big credit to the players and staffers that stayed with the team over the toughest times. Wong was the poster boy of that statement.

    A career member of the Hurricanes, you had to think Wong encountered his share of negative comments about the team, when he was a 16-year-old rookie. From those early years, the Cochrane product was viewed as one of the team’s most well-mannered players and one of the club’s best community ambassadors.

    He became the only player in team history to win the club’s “Fan Favourite” player award for all five complete seasons he was with the squad. He was also named the WHL’s Eastern Conference nominee for the league’s Humanitarian of the Year award this season marking a third straight year for that honour. Wong departs the Hurricanes as the team’s most enduring, likeable and most respected figure.

Jadon Joseph (#23) is one of the Hurricanes bright youngsters.

    As the Hurricanes rose to be one of the WHL’s elite clubs, Wong, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 176 pounds, was recording magical moments like his Game 7 overtime winner against the Tigers. Those moments made him that much more endearing to the hearts of Hurricanes fans.

    Wong was always there to be part of the solution to the Hurricanes woes, and he got to enjoy being part of the solution to end the dark times.

    He also had a pretty good cast of characters to go through the good times with like linemates Giorgio Estephan and Egor Babenko, gutsy goalie Stuart Skinner and offensive defenceman Brennan Menell. The good cast of characters also included a group of feisty youngsters like forwards Jadon Joseph and Dylan Cozens as well as rearguard Calen Addison.

    The best might be yet to come for the Hurricanes in the future, but the team’s run in the 2017 playoffs will always be warmly remembered in Lethbridge.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.