Leason, Scott put Raiders a win away from a party like 1985

Brett Leason scored the only goal of Game 4 of the WHL final.

    Brett Leason and Ian Scott took a big step towards cementing their respective statuses as Prince Albert Raiders legends.

    On Wednesday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C., Leason scored the only goal in Game 4 of the WHL Championship series against the Vancouver Giants and Ian Scott made 36 saves to give the Raiders a 1-0 victory before 4,626 spectators.

    With the win, Raiders took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Raiders will try to close things out and win their first WHL title since 1985 in Game 5 on Friday at the Langley Events Centre with a 7:30 p.m. start local time.

    After winning the WHL crown in 1985, the Raiders moved on to capture the Memorial Cup.

    If the Raiders win on Friday, they will be flying home to Prince Albert with the Ed Chynoweth Cup in hand as WHL champions on Saturday.

    The Raiders and Giants entered the third period of Wednesday’s game locked in a 0-0 tie.

    The Raiders broke through on the scoreboard at the 4:21 mark of the third, when defensive defenceman Jeremy Masella and import left-winger Aliaksei Protas combined to spring Leason into the Vancouver zone on a breakaway.

    Leason snapped a shot on net that Giants standout netminder David Tendeck got a piece of but couldn’t prevent from entering the Vancouver goal.  That tally stood up as the winner in a 1-0 Raiders victory.
    During the regular season, Leason broke out to achieve star status leading the Raiders in scoring with 36 goals and 53 assists for 89 points appearing in 55 games. The Calgary, Alta., product, who played for Canada at the last world juniors, posted a plus-55 rating in the plus-minus department.

Ian Scott made 36 saves to pick up a shutout in Game 4 of the WHL final.

    With his goal on Wednesday, Leason has recorded points in his last seven straight games posting seven goals and four assists over that time. In his 19 appearances with the Raiders in this post-season, Leason leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points, while posting a plus-nine rating.

    Scott stoned the Giants, when they played what was their best game of the WHL Championship series.

    The shutout was Scott’s second of the WHL final and fifth of the current post-season. The Calgary, Alta., product, who also played for Canada at the last world juniors, became just the fifth goalie in the history of the WHL to record five or more shutouts in one post-season.

    Scott, who has an NHL entry-level contract signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, has had a sensational regular season with the Raiders posting a 38-8-3 record, a 1.83 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and eight shutouts.

    His goals against average, save percentage and shutout totals were all regular season club records.
    Scott has appeared in all of the Raiders 20 playoff games to date posting a 15-5 record, a 1.83 goals against average and a .931 save percentage to go with his five shutouts.

    With Wednesday’s win, the Raiders match their team record for most wins in one WHL post-season at 15 first set back in 1986. The Raiders played through a 10-game round robin under the format that was used in the 1986 WHL post-season.

    After the Raiders posted a convincing 8-2 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday night at the Langley Events Centre, the Giants came out with a lot of fire in the first period of Wednesday’s contest holding a 15-9 edge in shots on goal. The hosts’ biggest chance to go ahead came on a short-handed breakaway by star overage centre Davis Koch late in the frame.

Brett Leason has had a stellar season for the Raiders.

    Kock tried to pick a corner of the Prince Albert net, but he was turned away due to a shoulder save by Scott.

    The second period was fairly evenly played with the Raiders holding a 12-10 edge in shots on goal.

    Vancouver’s best chance to score in the frame came from import centre Milos Roman, who fired a shot just over top of the Prince Albert net on a breakaway opportunity.

    Raiders import defenceman Sergei Sapego had a breakaway late in the second, but his shot was smothered up by Tendeck.

    Early in the third, Scott made a sprawling pad save on Giants winger Jadon Joseph to keep the game scoreless.

    That set the stage for Leason to score the game’s only goal.

    Scott continued to shut the door after the Raiders took the lead. He lunged across the crease of the Prince Albert goal to rob Giants defenceman Alex Kannok Leipert with a glove save.

    The Giants held an 11-5 edge in shots on goal in the third period.

    Tendeck turned away 25 shots to take the setback in goal for the Giants in a valiant effort.

    The Raiders won Wednesday’s game without the services of offensive defenceman Max Martin, who sat out with an undisclosed injury for a second straight contest. Martin was injured in the second period of the Raiders 4-0 win in Game 2 last Saturday, when he took an awkward fall into the boards.

    Leason and Scott are a couple of the big cogs who have helped the Raiders have a magical campaign. The Raiders topped the WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Entering the current post-season, the Raiders hadn’t won a playoff series since 2005.

Ian Scott is going to go down as an all-time great in Raiders history.

    Vancouver finished second overall in the WHL with a 48-15-3-2 mark and was rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. Coming into the current post-season, the Giants hadn’t won a playoff series since 2010.

    With the Raiders having won three straight games in the WHL final, the Giants are facing elimination for the first time in this year’s post-season. They face the daunting task of needing to win three straight games to win the WHL title.

    If needed, Games 6 and 7 of the WHL final will be held Sunday and Monday respectively back at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    The Giants aren’t finished, but they face a major challenge just to win on Friday to extend the series to a Game 6.

    The Raiders and their faithful back in Prince Albert can almost taste and already envision their biggest victory celebration since 1985.

Storm holds off 67’s, evens OHL final 2-2

    The Guelph Storm built a big lead and then held off a furious comeback attempt by the Ottawa 67’s to even the Ontario Hockey League Championship series.

    On Wednesday at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, the Storm and 67’s kept 4,983 spectators on the edge of their seats. After defenceman Hudson Wilson gave the 67’s a 1-0 lead at the 4:48 mark of the first period, the Storm responded with four straight goals to take a 4-1 advantage at the 13:34 mark of the second period.

    The 67’s tried to mount a rally, but the Storm ultimately held on for a 5-4 victory. With the win, the Storm evens the best-of-seven OHL final 2-2.

Game 5 is set for Friday in Ottawa.

    After Wilson gave the 67’s the early lead, Nate Schnarr and Alexey Toropchenko replied for Guelph to give the host side a 2-1 advantage heading into the first intermission.

    Toropchenko potted his second of the contest at the 6:46 mark of the second period, and Nick Suzuki netted his 15^th goal of the post-season at the 13:34 mark of the second to put the Storm up 4-1.

    Lucas Chiodo scored for the 67’s with 1:38 remaining in the second to cut the Storm lead to 4-2.

    At the 2:28 mark of the third, Liam Hawel tallied for the Storm on the power play to increase the host side’s edge to 5-2.

    Tye Felhaber scored a power-play goal for the 67’s with 3:55 remaining in the third to trim Guelph’s lead to 5-3. With less than five seconds to play in the third, Kyle Maksimovich scored for the 67’s when they had their netminder pulled to round out the 5-4 final in favour of the Storm.

    Anthony Popovich stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Storm. Cedrick Andree turned away 19 shots to take the setback in the 67’s goal.

    The 67’s were without star goaltender Michael DiPietro, who was injured in Ottawa’s 4-3 victory on home ice in Game 2. DiPietro is reported to have a high ankle sprain.

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

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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.

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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.

Hurricanes hit new heights in Game 3 win over Pats

The Hurricanes mob Jadon Joseph (#23) after he scores.

    LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Head coach Brent Kisio pretty much had no complaints about his Lethbridge Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

    Just 16 seconds into Game 3 of their WHL Eastern Conference championship series with the Regina Pats, the Hurricanes beared down on the Regina net on an odd man rush, and Lethbridge defenceman Brennan Menell cut across the face of the Pats net to tuck home his fifth goal of the post-season to give his side a 1-0 lead. Menell’s goal helped bring the 5,178 spectators that squeezed into the Enmax Centre to their feet.

    The raucous crowd backed the Hurricanes all night, who put together a textbook 3-1 playoff victory. The win gives the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final with the Pats. Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time at the Enmax Centre.

    “I liked that we stuck with our plan,” said Kisio. “We were getting pucks deep.

    “We were managing a lot better. I thought we played hard. It was real good 60-minute effort, and it was probably one of our better ones of the post-season.

Brennan Menell breaks into the offensive zone.

    “We played all four lines. I thought all our lines were skating well, and that is why we had a good 60 minutes.”

    Besides being able to roll when they had the momentum, the Hurricanes stayed steady when the Pats carried play. While the host side scored early, the Pats pushed back late in the first period gaining momentum from a power-play chance and firing a bunch of stops on Lethbridge netminder Stuart Skinner, who stood tall making 13 saves during the opening 20 minutes.

    Skinner’s sound play was one theme in the contest.

    “He (Skinner) is a good goalie,” said Pats captain Adam Brooks. “He probably one of the best ones for his age in Canada.

    “You have to do a little bit extra to beat him. You’re not going to beat him on straight shots. You have to get rebounds.

    “You have to get effort. The pucks were laying there. We just have to work to get in there.”

    Shortly after the halfway point of the second period, the Pats pulled even at 1-1, when winger Dawson Leedahl tipped home the point shot from defenceman Josh Mahura.

    The visitors had a big chance go ahead a short time after Leedahl netted the equalizer, when Hurricanes rookie centre Jadon Joseph was penalized for slashing.

Tyler Brown makes a stop in close for the Pats.

    Star offensive-defence Connor Hobbs wired a point shot on that man advantage that hit both posts of the Lethbridge goal and stayed out.

    When the penalty expired, Hurricanes defenceman Brady Pouteau was able to get the puck to Joseph as he stepped out of the penalty box. Working with a partial breakaway, Joseph wired a snap shot past Pats netminder Tyler Brown to put the Hurricanes up 2-1 heading into the second intermission.

    Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock said Menell’s goal at the start of the first period and Joseph’s tally were key turning points in the contest.

    “We obviously weren’t good enough,” said Paddock. “In saying that, once we tied it up there we had like four or five good chances on that power play.

Egor Babenko cuts into the offensive zone for the Hurricanes.

    “It was like a two-goal swing, when the guy (Joseph) comes out of the box and scores. We should have scored on the power play, and the first goal shouldn’t have happened.”

    At the 4:08 mark of the third period, the Hurricanes closed out the game’s scoring when left-winger Egor Babenko came down the right wing and wired home a set up pass from captain Tyler Wong.

    Inside the final minute of play in the third, Joseph received a big ovation from the Enmax Centre crowd for a fierce forechecking shift in the Regina zone that killed off some key seconds.

    Skinner made 28 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Hurricanes. Brown turned away 24 shots to take the loss in goal for the Pats.

    “I thought we played really well,” said Menell. “We came out to a good start, and we finished it.

    “We didn’t have any letdowns. Everyone played hard. Of course Skinner, he was amazing again tonight.”

    NOTE - Pats standout winger Austin Wagner left the contest in the second period and didn’t return. Paddock didn’t have a status update on Wagner after the game.

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