GAME DAY: Hurricanes host Blazers

A new era begins this afternoon as Peter Anholt returns behind the bench as the Head Coach and GM of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Anholt has over 14 years coaching with the Prince Albert Raiders, Seattle Thunderbirds, Red Deer Rebels and Kelowna Rockets. He has coached in 973 games collecting a record of 450-460-27-0 with 38 ties. He currently sits 10th all-time in WHL victories and is one of just 13 coaches to be part of the 400-win plateau. He will also soon become just the seventh coach in WHL history to coach in 1000 games.

Hurricanes vs. Blazers Preview

 The Hurricanes and Blazers wrap up their 3 game season series Sunday afternoon with the new-look Canes trying to salvage a win. The Blazers posted a 3-2 shootout win (Oct 3^rd) and a 3-1 win (Oct. 10^th). The Hurricanes haven’t played since Wednesday, when the took the 2^nd ranked team in the CHL – the Kelowna Rockets – to a shootout, where they fell 4-3 while the Blazers were in Calgary Saturday night and they dropped their 5^th straight after a 5-3 loss to the Hitmen. The Hurricanes are led offensively by Tyler Wong who has 21 points (9G, 12A), but against Kamloops this season, Nick Walters and Zane Jones both have 2 assists. Cole Ully leads the way for the Blazers with 45 points, including 15 goals.

In 2013-2014, the Blazers won both meetings by the same 7-1 score in both games. Lethbridge was 2/8 on the PP in the series, the Blazers were 4/8 … Giorgio Estephan led the way with 2G’s.

 

Hurricanes Top Scorers:                                  Blazers Top Scorers:

Tyler Wong: 9G, 12A – 21 points                       Cole Ully: 15G, 30A – 45 points

Zane Jones: 13G, 7A – 20 points                       Matt Needham: 10G, 25A – 35 points

Jamal Watson: 12G, 6A – 18 points                   Josh Connolly: 4G, 22A – 26 points

Taylor Cooper: 9G, 9A – 18 points                      Matt Revel: 13G, 10A – 23 points

2014-2015 STATS:

Power play (overall): The PP is 15/119 (12.6%)…(home): the PP is 10/69 (14.5%)

Penalty Kill (overall): The PK is 21/114 (81.6%)…(home): the PK is 11/55 (80%)

Division Matchups:

Central:2-8-1-0             

East:    3-5-2-0             

BC:       1-4-0-2             

US:       0-2-0-0

Stats Leaders:

Goals (13) – Zane Jones

Points (21), Assists (12) – Tyler Wong

PIM’s (50) – Carter Folk

 

Streaks: 5 games: Taylor Cooper (4G, 2A) 2 games: Tyler Wong (3A)

League Leaders:

Stuart Skinner – ranked 6^th in the WHL in save percentage (.916), 4^th in SO wins (2) and ranked 20^th in the WHL in goals against average (3.28)

Andrew Nielsen – T12th in WHL rookie scoring (11 points)

NEWS & NOTES:

Leadership Changes: It was week of change for the Hurricanes. On Tuesday, the team announced they had relieved Head Coach Drake Berehowsky of his coaching duties effective immediately. Berehowsky was the 12^th coach in franchise history and was 18-74-5-4 in his time behind the bench. His 1^st WHL win came September 29^th, 2013 when the Hurricanes came from behind to defeat the Edmonton Oil Kings 5-3 at Rexall Place. The next day, it was announced General Manager, Brad Robson was no longer with the organization effective immediately. At a news conference called just a few hours before their game with Kelowna, both moves were discussed and it was also announced Assistant GM Peter Anholt would take the reins as both Head Coach & GM.

Trade Alert: The Lethbridge Hurricanes sent overage forward and leading scorer Riley Sheen to the Rebels (on December 1^st) for Devan Fafard and Brayden Burke. Sheen was acquired from Seattle last year and in 27 games this season he led the team with 23 points (3G, 20A).

Central Scouting November Players to Watch List: 2^nd year Centre, Giorgio Estephan and Defencemen Kade Jensen and Andrew Nielsen have all caught the eye of the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau. The November Watch List (released Nov. 20^th) lists all 3 players as WHL “C” skaters indicating a 4^th to 6^th round candidate in the upcoming NHL Draft…NHL Camps: Nick Walters signed an Amateur Tryout Agreement with the Columbus Blue Jackets and attended their Prospects Camp in September.

Prospect Watch: Jordy Bellerive, Nick Watson (Team BC) and Zane Franklin (Team Alberta) have all made their provincial U16 teams to compete at the Canada Winter Games in the new year. Brett Davis (Team Manitoba) has made the U16 exhibition roster that is competing this weekend at the Shattuck-St. Mary’s tournament. After the tournament the final roster for Manitoba will be selected for the Winter Games.

Ironman: Lenny Hackman has not missed a game since joining the Hurricanes in the 2012-13 season. It’s 174 games and counting for the 19-year old who was drafted in the 9^th round (179^th overall) in 2010.

 

NEXT GAME: The Hurricanes close out the first half of the season on the road. Tuesday night the team is in Moose Jaw (game time 6:00pm) and Wednesday they’re in Regina at 6:00pm. The pregame show can be heard on ROCK 106 at 5:45pm.