It's time to make Liston the starter

in Ketlo, Liston

Damien Ketlo and Liam Liston

The question of who resides at the top of the goaltending depth chart for the Lethbridge Hurricanes was a source of much speculation early this season. After the overage cutdown deadline, the goaltending rotation was stabilized with the veteran Damien Ketlo getting the majority of the starts when healthy. While there was a glimmer of hope for a miraculous run at the playoffs has vanished, it is time for Rich Preston to reconsider his team’s goaltending strategy.

Let’s take a look at the statistical peformance of the Hurricane goaltenders this season:

Player GP Min GA SO GAA W L OTL SOL SA SVS SAV%
Liam Liston 19 950 71 1 4.49 5 10 0 0 581 510 0.878
Damien Ketlo 35 1894 115 0 3.64 14 19 0 0 1160 1045 0.901

Postgame: Braesed Moose

in Braes, Henry, Postgame

Lethbridge Hurricanes game photo

Returning to the Enmax after a two week absence, the Hurricanes take on the Moose Jaw Warriors and the return of Cam Braes. Braes returns with 14 points in 11 games following his trade, while the Canes slipped below five hundred in the same 11 going 5 wins and 6 losses. Emotions should run high as Moose Jaw hunts down first in the East and Lethbridge seeks to shut down Cam on his return.

What happened

Postgame: Pats down

in Postgame

With a fantastic win last night against the Brandon What Kings, the Hurricanes made their last stop on the road as the took on the Regina Pats. Looking to build on a disciplined performance, and to gain a back to back road wins, something that has been incredibly elusive this season.
Damien Ketlo got the start once more after posting 41 saves last night and playing for the final time of his WHL career in the stadium he spent 3 years calling home.

Phil Tot drives to the Regina net

What happened

Regina were all over the Canes from the start, and if it wasn’t for a master class from Damien Ketlo, Lethbridge could have easily been down by a couple of goals early on.

Postgame: How Wheat is it to be loved by you...

in Postgame

After a disappointing loss against the Broncos, the Canes travelled into Manitoba to take on the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Lethbridge Hurricanes game photo
This game gave Goaltender Liam Liston and defenseman Spencer Galbraith the chance to return to their old stomping grounds whilst the Hurricanes got to say hello again to goaltender and Washington Capitals farm player, Brandon Anderson.

Damien Ketlo recovered from the flu to start a game that would bring with it his 4,000 WHL career save. Max Moline returned to the Ice having been out of action since the home opener against the Hitmen.

What happened

Postgame: On the road again....

in Postgame, Watson

Canes started the first of a 3 game road trip travelling to Swift Current to take on the Broncos.

Ryon Pilon and Johnny Hogue got the call up for this game as Damien Ketlo was suffering Flu and defensemen, Spencer Galbraith and Albin Blomqvist both out of the team injured.

Big night for the Canes as they sat just 4 points back from Swift Current before this game.

What happened

Canes wanted a win badly and it showed, as they were the brighter team from the puck drop.

Unfortunately, their early hustle went with out reward as against the run of play, Liam Liston was beaten through the five hole, when the Canes were in the ascendancy.

Lethbridge Hurricanes game photo

The Ultimate Hurricane Fan

Our congratulations to Karren Neufeld, the Hurricanes’ Ultimate Fan as decided yesterday at BMO. Looking the part in her Hurricanes jersey, Karren showed plenty of personality and breezed through qualifying to win her spot in the trivia round. It took a few rounds to break the stalemate, but eventually her Hurricane knowledge won out as well to earn her the autographed jersey, chance for a trip to the Memorial Cup, and title of Ultimate Fan.

Karren Neufeld with Graham Hood, Landon Oslanski, Brody Sutter, and Brady Ramsay
Karren Neufeld poses with Landon Oslanski, Graham Hood, Brody Sutter, and Brady Ramsay

Here is the deciding trivia question:

Are you the Ultimate Hurricane Fan?

Twister and a young Hurricane fan

If you think you are the ultimate Lethbridge Hurricane fan and are prepared to prove it, you could earn yourself a trip to the 2012 Memorial Cup in Shawinigan. Here’s how it works:

  1. Get dressed up in your best Hurricane garb. Jerseys, costumes, face paint, you name it. Go all out!
  2. Show up at BMO downtown (604 – 4th Ave. South) tomorrow (Tuesday, January 31) by 5:30. The first 100 registered on-site will be eligible to participate.
  3. A panel of judges including captain Brody Sutter and game host Brad Lang will pick the top three fans.

Postgame: Plundered; A Black Saturday

in Postgame

While not mathematically make or break it, every game right now is an important one. The Canes coming off an unimpressive showing the previous night needed to step up and show the heart we've seen in the previous months.

Lethbridge Hurricanes game photo

What happened

The first period was an example of both strong defence from the Canes. The Canes were creative, throwing hits and generating chances, but were unable to seal the deal as Holowenko shut the door handily. Unable to capitalize on a 25 second 5 on 3 (and a total of 4 Prince Albert penalties to the Canes 1) the first period came to a close with the teams tied at 0, and the Canes ahead in shots 12 - 8.

Postgame: No Taming Tigers Fury

in Postgame

Sitting twelve points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference and leading the Tigers season series 3 - 2, the Canes came into this game needing the win to help keep the playoff dream alive. With historical Lethbridge Sugar Kings in attendance (including the accomplished Lanny McDonald offering the team his words of wisdom) tonight was the perfect chance to showcase Lethbridge pride and hockey prowess.

Lethbridge Hurricanes game photo

What happened

The game started a little ominously with Erkamps getting the first penalty of the game in the first minute. The Canes managed to hold the Tigers to one shot on the power play, but this was not to prove the rule.

The Hurricanes welcome Lanny McDonald

As you have probably heard, Lanny McDonald is in town for Heritage Night this evening where he and several other Lethbridge Sugar Kings alumni will be honoured in a pre-game ceremony. Even better, Lanny spoke at last night’s Celebrity Sports Dinner and Auction, telling stories of his playing days in Lethbridge, Toronto, Colorado, and Calgary. All evening, Lanny was happily sharing stories, posing for photos, and signing autographs.

In the early portion of the evening, he spoke with the local media:

You heard Lanny: we’re going to kick the Tigers’ butts! Make sure to be in your seat early tonight so you don’t miss the pre-game ceremony. If you can’t make the game, we’ll be streaming the pre-game live at canescast.ca/live.

©2011 CanesCast - Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL coverage by fans, for fans. The small print.