nivek_wahs
10-03-2007, 09:57 AM
http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/article_8399.php
Hard work doesn't pay off
By Trevor Kenney
Oct 3, 2007, 22:25
For the first time this season a Jesse Craige goal didn't result in a Lethbridge Hurricanes victory. Maybe because it was the only one.
Swift Current Broncos played a well-orchestrated game of cat and mouse Tuesday night at the Enmax Centre and it resulted in a 3-1 Western Hockey League victory over the 'Canes. And while the excuses were there for Lethbridge, playing their fourth game in five nights, it wasn't a lack of effort that sunk the home side, rather a lack of execution.
“You know, I thought we played alright,” Hurricanes centre Carter Bancks said after the club dropped to 3-3-0-0 on the season. “We outshot them, we had a lot of chances, maybe a little bit too cute at times, but for the most part I thought we had good energy.”
While the 'Canes held the territorial edge by far, it was a near-soccer approach to the offence as Lethbridge built numerous attacks but had very few shots actually get through to keeper Travis Yonkman, especially through two periods.
Jesse Craige's power play goal opened the scoring in the first. He played pitch-and-catch with defensive partner Ben Wright, opened up a shooting lane that Craige walked down before he found the five-hole on Yonkman at the 10:29 mark.
Swift Current drew even in the middle frame, exploiting a stretch pass gone awry when Zack Smith gathered the loose puck deep in Lethbridge territory and wheeled the puck in front of Hurricanes goaltender Juha Metsola, hitting a streaking Levi Nelson, who tapped it home at the 14:16 mark.
That the game would get to the third tied had to be demoralizing for the 'Canes while the Broncos felt fortunate.
“The second period, I thought they controlled most of the play and to come out in the third period the way we did, I think we kind of caught a team that's played four games in five nights and we were able to capitalize on that,” Broncos head coach Dean Chynoweth said, his club now 3-1-0-0 on the season.
Swift took advantage swiftly, scoring twice in the opening 2:17 of the third. Geordie Wudrick netted his team-leading fourth goal just 26 seconds into the frame on a fractured 3-on-2 that saw the puck bounce from player to player before Wudrick finally batted it by Metsola. The Broncos then connected on the power play for the 3-1 goal as Dale Weise finished off a nifty odd-man rush.
“The effort was there for us,” Hurricanes head coach Michael Dyck said. “For our fourth game in five nights I thought we had a lot of energy, I thought we outworked them, I thought we outplayed them, we just couldn't finish our chances. We had some great opportunities early to bury them and we didn't.”
They also had one gigantic chance late, in the form of a 1:45 two-man advantage that resulted in zero scoring chances and not even a single shot.
“It was just where we weren't all on the same page,” 'Canes captain Ben Wright said, himself turning it over twice during the ill-fated power play. “Again, mental errors. We've got to bear down and when we have a five-on-three in the third period like that we have to bury our chances and we're going to work on that in practice and hopefully improve on it.”
Give the Broncos and Yonkman credit, though, they clogged up lanes despite rarely having the puck and denied Lethbridge access to the slot.
“They definitely did a great job blocking shots, they were in the lanes,” Bancks said. “But I think there were a few times we passed the puck when we should have shot and made things difficult for ourselves.”
Hurricanes now have three days off before weekend tilts against Brandon and Prince Albert, Saturday and Sunday respectively at the Enmax Centre.
ICE CHIPS — Both teams were 1-for-3 on the power play . . . Hurricanes Adam Chorneyko nearly broke the 1-1 tie late in the second period when his two-on-one bid with Carter Bancks clanked off the post . . . Looking for a spark, head coach Dyck flipped around his power play units in the third, playing Zack Boychuk with Dan Iwanski and Dwight King while Mitch Fadden operated with Yashar Farmanara and Adam Chorneyko . . . Lethbridge held a 28-19 shots advantage.
© Copyright by Lethbridge Herald.com
Hard work doesn't pay off
By Trevor Kenney
Oct 3, 2007, 22:25
For the first time this season a Jesse Craige goal didn't result in a Lethbridge Hurricanes victory. Maybe because it was the only one.
Swift Current Broncos played a well-orchestrated game of cat and mouse Tuesday night at the Enmax Centre and it resulted in a 3-1 Western Hockey League victory over the 'Canes. And while the excuses were there for Lethbridge, playing their fourth game in five nights, it wasn't a lack of effort that sunk the home side, rather a lack of execution.
“You know, I thought we played alright,” Hurricanes centre Carter Bancks said after the club dropped to 3-3-0-0 on the season. “We outshot them, we had a lot of chances, maybe a little bit too cute at times, but for the most part I thought we had good energy.”
While the 'Canes held the territorial edge by far, it was a near-soccer approach to the offence as Lethbridge built numerous attacks but had very few shots actually get through to keeper Travis Yonkman, especially through two periods.
Jesse Craige's power play goal opened the scoring in the first. He played pitch-and-catch with defensive partner Ben Wright, opened up a shooting lane that Craige walked down before he found the five-hole on Yonkman at the 10:29 mark.
Swift Current drew even in the middle frame, exploiting a stretch pass gone awry when Zack Smith gathered the loose puck deep in Lethbridge territory and wheeled the puck in front of Hurricanes goaltender Juha Metsola, hitting a streaking Levi Nelson, who tapped it home at the 14:16 mark.
That the game would get to the third tied had to be demoralizing for the 'Canes while the Broncos felt fortunate.
“The second period, I thought they controlled most of the play and to come out in the third period the way we did, I think we kind of caught a team that's played four games in five nights and we were able to capitalize on that,” Broncos head coach Dean Chynoweth said, his club now 3-1-0-0 on the season.
Swift took advantage swiftly, scoring twice in the opening 2:17 of the third. Geordie Wudrick netted his team-leading fourth goal just 26 seconds into the frame on a fractured 3-on-2 that saw the puck bounce from player to player before Wudrick finally batted it by Metsola. The Broncos then connected on the power play for the 3-1 goal as Dale Weise finished off a nifty odd-man rush.
“The effort was there for us,” Hurricanes head coach Michael Dyck said. “For our fourth game in five nights I thought we had a lot of energy, I thought we outworked them, I thought we outplayed them, we just couldn't finish our chances. We had some great opportunities early to bury them and we didn't.”
They also had one gigantic chance late, in the form of a 1:45 two-man advantage that resulted in zero scoring chances and not even a single shot.
“It was just where we weren't all on the same page,” 'Canes captain Ben Wright said, himself turning it over twice during the ill-fated power play. “Again, mental errors. We've got to bear down and when we have a five-on-three in the third period like that we have to bury our chances and we're going to work on that in practice and hopefully improve on it.”
Give the Broncos and Yonkman credit, though, they clogged up lanes despite rarely having the puck and denied Lethbridge access to the slot.
“They definitely did a great job blocking shots, they were in the lanes,” Bancks said. “But I think there were a few times we passed the puck when we should have shot and made things difficult for ourselves.”
Hurricanes now have three days off before weekend tilts against Brandon and Prince Albert, Saturday and Sunday respectively at the Enmax Centre.
ICE CHIPS — Both teams were 1-for-3 on the power play . . . Hurricanes Adam Chorneyko nearly broke the 1-1 tie late in the second period when his two-on-one bid with Carter Bancks clanked off the post . . . Looking for a spark, head coach Dyck flipped around his power play units in the third, playing Zack Boychuk with Dan Iwanski and Dwight King while Mitch Fadden operated with Yashar Farmanara and Adam Chorneyko . . . Lethbridge held a 28-19 shots advantage.
© Copyright by Lethbridge Herald.com