4 Point Weekend
After 2 weeks of setbacks for the AAA Midget Hurricanes up in the north division, collecting only 1 win, 1 tie, and 2 losses, the Midget squad was very happy to be back in the friendly confines of Henderson arena.
Playing late Friday night against the visiting 3rd place Red Deer Rebels the Canes came away with a very convincing 6 to 4 win. The score itself was not indicative of the score as the club dominated large time frames of the game. After giving up an early goal to Red Deer, Lethbridge came back with 3 of their own, with goals by Jared Jerome, and a pair of nice goals by captain Mitch Owsley. The canes then put three more goals by the Red Deer goaltenders. Craig Lyon, Holden Lamb, and Rhys Kingston scoring respectively.
The following afternoon the AAA Midgets welcomed the Grande Prairie Storm to Henderson. Playing with only 8 forwards and 4 defenceman for the game, due to injuries, and suspensions. The Canes showed a ton of character and guts getting a convincing 5 to 2 win. Kyle Davies, and Brandyn Hulit led the charge with 2 goals each, while Bryson Gore added and single. To go along with a 2 goal performance yesterday, Mitch Owsley put together a 3 assist night.
The next action for the AAA midgets in next Saturday at home when they play the Baker Hughes Bobcats from Lloydminster, and on Sunday they travel to Calgary to play the 1st place Calgary Flames.
Hurricanes take another 3 of 4 points on weekend
The AAA Midget Hurricanes had a successful weekend from a performance point of view. On Saturday night at home versus the Knights of Columbus Pats out of Edmonton the club scored a 4 – 2 victory, it might have been 9 to 1 if not for the outstanding play of the Edmonton goaltender. The Canes held the balance of play for major portions of the game. Bryson Gore opened the scoring only a minute into the game of a beautiful individual effort, beating a K of C defender and then making a nifty move on the goaltender and sliding it home for a one to nothing lead. Jackson Purvis got the PP streak going with a nice goal with 4 minutes to play in the first to take a 2 – 0 lead into the break. AAA minor midget call up Clay Spencer again scored on the PP only 3 minutes into the second after Colby Murray and Tyler Kerner did some great work along the wall. Murray then gave Spencer the pass and Spencer did the rest putting it top shelf over the glove. After Edmonton closed the lead to one with a goal 2 minutes into the third period. Ashton Mcleod scored on the PP on nice pass from Kyle Davies, to put a 3rd PP goal on the score sheet. Micheal Fredrick made 14 saves on 16 shots, and although he was not tested alot he did make several saves when the Hurricanes had some breakdowns. The Canes did use 3 players from the AAA 15′s on Saturday, and all 3 Spencer, Gray Marr, and Jordan Wiest all played very well.
On Sunday the big club made it’s way to Calgary to play the 1st place Calgary Buffaloes. The Canes started the game with only 3 lines and 5 defencemen, due to the various injuries that seem to be plaguing the team. In total man games lost the total is already at 27, some team don’t even lose that many in a season. With this shortened lineup the Canes probably put in the best effort of the season, earning themselves a point, in a 2 – 2 tie. After outplaying the 1st place team the entire first period the Buffaloes scored a lucky goal 6 minutes into the second after 3 bounces and a pad save, Calgary forward MAtt Scarth slid the puck in for a 1 to 0 lead. Lethbridge did have their chances in the 2nd frame having 3 breakaways including 2 on the same shorthanded play. The game went into the 3rd with the Calgary team on top. 2 minutes into the 3rd Calgary forward Jason Wallace put one passed goalie Alex Wakaluk after a rare defensive zone breakdown to take a 2 to 0 lead. This did not deter the Canes as they stayed patient within their system and half way through Kyle Davies took a pass from Ryan Chynoweth who out worked 2 Calgary players behind the net and fired one home to cut the lead to 1. On the same shift 1 minute later Kyle Davies received a breakaway pass from Holden Lamb and went in on the Calgary goaltender and fired another shot passed the goalie low to the glove side to even the game up at 2. Playing on tired legs, the Hurricanes continued to outplay the 1st place club for the remainder of the game riding a big wave of emotion to earn themselves the tie. Goalie Alex Wakaluk stopped 29 of 31 shots, many of them sensational stops.
After starting out 0 and 4, the Canes finally look like a team that is turning a corner. Their current record is 2 wins, 4 losses, and 2 ties, for 6 points which has them sitting in 6th spot the the south division. Their next action in next weekend when they will travel to Edmonton to take on the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers whom they beat for their first win of the season last weekend, and on Sunday they play the CAC Canadians, a team that beat the Hurricanes on their opening weekend by a score of 6 to 3.
Midget Hurricanes get 3 out of 4 points
After a rough start to the AMHL season, losing their first 4 games, the Hurricanes finally filled in some of the zeros in the standings. On Saturday night the Canes tied the Sherwood Park Kings 4 – 4. After being down by 4, one minute into the 2nd period the midget squad rallied back with 2 of their own in the 2nd on goals by Craig Lyon, and Marc Eremenko. In the 3rd period half way through Rhys Kingston set up Dallas Mortensen on a beautiful pass to the back door, for a PP marker to get them within one. With the goalie pulled and on the PP again, Kyle Davies scored the equalizer with 1:24 to pull the game even, and earn the team a point for the loss.
On Sunday a still shorthanded roster, came out with lots of energy and took the game to the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers. They had plenty of chances to score, a goal post, and one called back before Holden Lamb finally put on past the Ft. Sask goalie on a scrambled play at the net front. In the 2nd period Craig Lyon scored his second goal of the weekend to put the Canes back in front, and 5 minutes later Tyler Kerner pumped on home on the PP to give them a 2 goal lead heading into the 3rd. After a penalty filled 3rd, Brandyn Hulit scored into an empty net to solidify the win, and earn the Canes their first win of the season.
Opening Weekend
The AAA Midget Hurricanes had a pair of games against south division opponents during this opening weekend in the AMHL. The Hurricanes fell to the Calgary Northstars by a score of 4 – 2. Ashton Mcleod, and Holden Lamb were the goal scorers for the Canes. Michael Fredrick was in net for the games facing 34 shots in the contest. On Sunday the Midgets played the UFA Bisons in Strathmore and lost by a score of 3 – 2. Jackson Purvis, and Craig Lyon scored for the Hurricanes in the loss. Alex Wakaluk had 26 shots.
