WATERLOO — Two shots, two goals.

The Guelph Hurricanes scored on their first two shots of the second period, then iced the puck throughout the third to preserve a 3-1 victory over the Waterloo Siskins Wednesday at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.

The game was the first of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League best-of-seven Midwestern Conference quarter-final playoff series.

“It was part of our game plan to keep it real simple,” Guelph head coach Jim MacEachern said. “Waterloo’s a heck of a hockey team. Other than maybe once or twice during the season, we’ve fairly well against them and the boys are a confident group. We had a game plan here and we kept it simple.”

After a scoreless first period, Jake Weidner hit for the first goal 20 seconds into the second when his shot from the left wing side found its way behind Waterloo goalkeeper Will Sibley.

Cam Jude added to the lead three minutes later on a breakaway when he stopped wristed a shot from high in the slot through Sibley’s five-hole.

“I just got my opportunity and had to step up,” Jude said. “We’re doing everything we need to do.”

Just over three minutes later, Waterloo got that one back when defenceman Kevin Czuczman completed an end-to-end rush by sliding the puck into the Guelph net between the legs of goaltender Chris McDougall.

That was to be all the scoring until Jude netted his second of the game with 1:33 to go in the third during Guelph’s only flurry of shots in that period. Most of the time, the Hurricanes were content to ice the puck to get it out of danger and give themselves a little breather here and there.

“We were just playing it safe, getting the puck out,” Jude said. “We were doing what we had to do to get the win.”

“I don’t think it was so much protecting the lead, it was a pretty quick-paced hockey game out there and we were starting to feel it,” MacEachern said. “We weren’t protecting it, but at the same time we weren’t doing anything to be real aggressive. We were just putting the puck off the glass and keeping it real simple, making them come the full 200 feet here to beat us.”

Zach Dion and Tyson Theaker each assisted on two of Guelph’s goals while single assists were awarded to Luca Penzo and Mike McFarlane.

Goaltender Colin Breen of the Siskins was awarded with the conference’s top goaltender award early this week, but was shaken up last weekend, the final weekend of the regular season.

“Let’s not fool ourselves, they’ve got a great one-two punch (in net) over there,” MacEachern said. “We felt if we could get some traffic in front of the net and just put pucks at the net, we didn’t need a ton of shots. They outshot us here but, for the most part, I thought there shots were from the outside and shots that (McDougall) could see fairly well. When we had our opportunities, we just put it to the net and it’s never a bad thing to put the puck to the net.”

McDougall stopped 39 shots in the Guelph net while his teammates fired 21 at the Waterloo net.

Second game of the series is set for Saturday night at the Sleeman Centre. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

from: http://www.news.therecord.com

WATERLOO — Will Sibley sauntered back onto the ice and plucked his water bottle from the back of the Waterloo Siskins net.

At the other end, the Guelph Hurricanes celebrated their 3-1 playoff victory at the Waterlooo Rec Complex on Wednesday.

Sibley was the last Siskin off.

His 18 saves weren’t good enough in the opener of the best-of-seven Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League series.

The upstart Canes, who got 40 saves from former Kitchener Rangers property Chris McDougall, were disciplined and determined.

Guelph’s only penalty came four ticks before the final buzzer.

“Can’t say much about that last one. Four seconds left?” said McDougall, whose Canes host Game 2 on Saturday night at the Sleeman Centre.

“That’s our biggest key, to stay disciplined.”

The Siskins, bent on a 12th Sutherland Cup in their 75th year, are in serious trouble.

Top tender Colin Breen has a wonky blocker-side shoulder that kept him on the bench on Wednesday.

Veteran defenders Reuben Smith and Matt Volpini are hurt.

Team captain Ben Skinner, who might have bulled the Siskins back into opener, is out two more weeks with a broken scaphoid below his right thumb.

“Get through this round and I’ll be good to go,” Skinner said during an intermission.

Getting through this round will be difficult.

Jake Weidner and Wade Pfeffer gave Guelph a 2-0 lead.

The winner snuck under Sibley’s pad and spun slowly across the line.

Kevin Czuczman scored for Waterloo. Cam Jude scored late for Guelph.

All Canes goals were along the ice.

The Siskins quickly and silently left after the game. Waterloo coach Dean DeSilva was not immediately available for comment.

DeSilva was named the Mid-Western Conference’s coach of the year for Waterloo’s second place finish.

We’re about to find out if he deserves that honour.

Waterloo hosts Game 3 on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

Captain McFarlane congratulates McDougall

Hurricanes goalie Chris McDougall stopped 39 of 40 shots as Jake Weidner, Wade Pfeffer and Cam Jude scored to lift Guelph to a 3-1 road victory over Waterloo in game 1 of their GOJHL Best of Seven Quarter Final.

After a scoreless first Weidner put the Canes up 1-0 20 seconds in to the 2nd. (assists went to Zach Dion and Luca Penzo). Just under 3 minutes later Pfeffer put Guelph up 2-0. (the lone assist went to Blair Goss).

Waterloo got one back at the 6:27 mark of the 2nd, when Kevin Czuczman scored (assist went to Tony Blyde and Andrew Csumrik.

With the Siskins pressing, Guelph put the game away with Jude’s goal at 18:27 mark of the 3rd. (assists went to Tyson Theaker and Mike McFarlane).

Guelph now leads the series 1-0.

Game two will be played Saturday night at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph. Game time 7:30pm.

That set up the Siskins’ matchup with the Guelph Hurricanes, the No. 7 seed.

Before the Brantford matchup, Siskins head coach Dean DeSilva said it was a measuring stick. So how did the team stack up?

“We’re happy where we are,” DeSilva said.

Brantford still has the depth and tenacity that made them champs last year, but the Siskins can challenge, DeSilva said.

“Both teams match up very well with each other,” he said.

Even though the Siskins didn’t clinch first place in the Midwestern Conference of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, they did set a number of team marks.

December’s 17-game-win streak was record setting on its own, but it also lead to the Siskins notching the most wins in a season ever in the team’s 75-year history.

The team also set a mark for the fewest goals-against the club has ever seen.

While those records are nice, they’ve been pushed to the side for now, DeSilva said.

“We reflected on them for about 30 seconds,” he said. “We congratulated the players but also reminded them that all the records mean nothing if we don’t continue the success into the playoffs.”

With their first oppoent set, DeSilva and the coaching staff have two days to get the team prepared for the Hurricanes.

Waterloo won six of the seven games against the Hurricanes this season.

The head-to-record record points to a clear advantage for Waterloo, but DeSilva said it’s important not to look past the Hurricanes.

Coach MacEachern has his boys ready for playoffs

“I know head coach Jim MacEachern and I know how hard he has his guys working,” DeSilva said. “He’s got them playing very well.

“The message for our team is that we have to focus on ourselves.”

There will be a quick turnaround for the Siskins. The team played its final game of the season Sunday — a 2-0 win against the Kitchener Dutchmen — and the playoffs will begin Wednesday.

“We have a few bumps and bruises we’re working through, but I think with it being the playoffs, we can bring the energy and a spark,” the coach said.

The Siskins have aspirations beyond the first round and are looking to play to their strengths.

Goaltending has been a major strength for the Siskins, but the Hurricanes haven’t had as much trouble as other squads getting the puck past netminder duo Colin Breen and Will Sibley.

That means the players in front of the goalie will have to step up to ensure a first-round victory.

All that matters now is the win, DeSilva said.

“The regular season is great individual honours but now it’s all about the team,” he said.

The Siskins take on the Guelph Hurricanes in Game 1 tonight at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex at 7:30 p. m.

]]> http://guelphhurricanes.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/hurricanessiskins-game-one-tonight-in-waterloo/feed/ 0 relmes DSCF0251 http://guelphhurricanes.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/guelph-waterloo-set-to-do-battle/ http://guelphhurricanes.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/guelph-waterloo-set-to-do-battle/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:50:08 +0000 Richard Elmes http://guelphhurricanes.wordpress.com/?p=396 Continue reading →]]> from: http://www.guelphmercury.com

GUELPH — The Guelph Hurricanes and Waterloo Siskins begin their Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League Midwestern Conference quarter-final playoff series Wednesday at Waterloo.

The Hurricanes (16-29-6) finished seventh in the conference while the Siskins (43-7-1) were second, one point behind the first-placed Brantford Golden Eagles (42-5-4).

The series shifts to the Sleeman Centre for Game 2 March 6. Game time is 7:30 p.m., the same as the opening game.

Waterloo will host Game 3 March 7 beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Game 4 switches back to Victoria Road Arena March 9 starting at 7:30 p.m.

The fifth, sixth and seventh games of the series will be played only if necessary.

If needed the fifth (March 10, 7:30 p.m.) and seventh (March 14, 1:30 p.m.) will be played in Waterloo while the sixth (March 13, 7:30 p.m.) would go at the Sleeman Centre.

Pegrum scored vs. Waterloo earlier in the season

The Hurricanes and Siskins met seven times during the regular season with Waterloo winning six of the games. The Hurricanes won 4-1 at Waterloo Jan. 17 in the game that saw Guelph goaltender Drew Pegrum score an empty-net goal.

In other games in Waterloo, the host Siskins won 5-4 Oct. 2, 8-0 Nov. 20 and 5-2 Jan. 8. In Guelph, the visitors won 5-3 Nov. 7, 4-2 Nov. 26 and 5-1 Feb. 6.

Despite their seventh-place finish, the Hurricanes enter the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the conference. They claimed eight points in their final six games as they had three wins, a loss and two setbacks in overtime.

Weidner wins top Defensive player award

Congratulations to Hurricane’s #12 Jake Weidner who was honoured last night at the GOJHL’s Mid- Western Division as their Defensive Player of the year.

Guelph takes on the 2nd place Waterloo Siskins

Tomorrow night (Wednesday March 3rd: 7:30 pm) the Guelph Hurricanes (16-29-6-38 pts.) travel to Waterloo to take on the (43-7-1-87 pts, ) Siskins at Waterloo Memorial Recreation Centre in Game 1 of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League first round playoffs.

Game 2 will be played @ the Sleeman Centre in Guelph on Saturday March 6th. Game time:7:30 pm.

Game 3 will be in Waterloo on Sunday March 7th . Game time 1:30 pm.

Game 4 will be @ Victoria Road Arena in guelph on Tuesday March 9th. Game time: 7:30 pm.

Game 5 (if necessary) will be played in Waterloo on Wednesday March 10th. Game time:7:30 pm.

Game 6 (if necessary) will be played @Guelph’s Sleeman Centre on Saturday March 13th. Game time 7:30 pm

Game 7 (if necessary) will be played in Waterloo on Sunday March 14th. Game time:1:30 pm.

CANES FALL TO WINTERHAWKS

The Cambridge Winterhawks continued their dominance over the Guelph Hurricanes with a 6-4 win last night at the Sleeman Centre. However, the final outcome doesn’t reflect how the Hurricanes played. Those in attendance would tell you that the Canes played well enough to win that game.

Jude, Bell, Goss and Pfeffer return to the bench after scoring

The Canes dominated the first period with 3 goals by Brandon Anselmini, Cam Jude and Mike Iacocca. Jude scored the prettiest goal of the night when Blair Goss took the puck into the Cambridge zone and laid a perfect pass on Cam’s stick.

The second period was well played with some great chances on both ends. The game was tied late in the second when an innocent looking clear in pass took a crazy bounce over Drew Pegrum’s stick and found the open net to put the WinterHawks up 4-3.

Early in the 3rd Nic MacEachern restored the lead with a nice goal set up by Connor Ste Marie and Mike McFarlane. The game see sawed back and forth before the Hawks scored with less than 5 minutues in the game to take the lead. The Canes took a rare penalty with less than a mnute left to put the Hawks on the powerplay which led to their final goal. The game was very clean with Cambridge picking up 3 minors all to the same player. Guelph took 4 minors.

The final 2 regular season games will played on the road tonight in Listowel and Saturday in Cambridge.

Play offs will start next week either in Brantford or Waterloo. Our home dates will be announced later this week end.

The GOJHL – MidWestern banquet goes this Monday in Stratford.

TEAM EFFORT BEATS DUTCHMEN

The Guelph Hurricanes proved that old adage last night in Kitchener…”Play as a team. Win as a team.” Already missing 2 of their top defensemen Cayle Creen(out for the season-knee injury) and Zach Dion (suspension) the Canes lost Daniel Cotroneo when he left the game in the 1st period. The Canes eventhough they were outshooting the Dutchmen fell behind 2-0 before a Wade Pfeffer(2) point shot found the net to cut the lead in half.

In the break Coach MacEachern and his associates reminded the team of the game plan and how important this game was. They responded by scoring the next 4 goals. The line of Mike Iacocca, Martin Kudla and Jake Weidner continued to shine offensively. Iaccoca(18), Weidner(8) and Kudla(17 – empty net) all scored. Canes leading scoreer Tyson Theaker added his 18th while Blair Goss, Cam Jude, Iacocca, Kudla, Connor Ste. Marie and Nic MacEachern(2) contributed assists.

After backing up Brandon Foote on the Storm’s northern trip Drew Pegrum returned to shut down the Dutchmen after the 1st period to record the win. Pegrum made his best save of the night late in the 3rd with the score 3-2 and the Dutchmen pressing. Theaker scored right after that to put the game away. In all he stopped 26 shots many of the difficult variety.

Final Score Guelph 5, Kitchener 2

The Hurricanes last home game of the regular season is Thursday, February 25 at the Sleeman Centre when the Cambridge WinterHawks are the visitors. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

The Play-offs will either Wednesday(Waterloo) or Thursday(Brantford) depending on the final standings.

CANES LOSE IN OVERTIME

The atmosphere inside the Ice Palace was hot for a couple of hours as the Hurricanes and Cyclones put on one of the most entertaining, exciting games of the season. The Cyclones prevailed in overtime 4-3 but were pushed to the limit by the hard working Canes.

Chris McDougall covers the puck

Listowel struck first with former Cane Dan Mohle chipping a loose puck into the net for a 1-0 first period lead. The Cyclones struck again before the Canes went to work. Tyson Theaker(17) scored from Mike McFarlane and Nic MacEachern making the score 2-1 entering the 3rd period.

The Canes came out flying in the 3rd and put pressure on Guelph native Jim Prigione. Prigone made a number of excellent saves before Luca Penzo(5) beat him with a power play goal to tie the game. Martin Kudla and Mike Iaccoca assisted on the goal. Canes kept up the pressure until McFarlane(10) with assists from Theaker and Wade Pfeffer put the Canes up 3-2.

Now it was McDougall’s turn to shine in the Canes net and he did. He made a number of excellent saves to keep the Canes in the lead. But with the Canes in control and less than 2 minutes left lighting struck. Former Hurricane Ken Rolph stole the puck in the offensive zone, walked in on McDougall and scored sending the game into overtime.

An ill-advised retailiation penalty with less than a minute left in regulation gave the Cyclones the man advantage heading into overtime. Fergus resident Eric Dekkers scored right off the face-off with a blast that caught McDougall off guard to send the Listowel fans home happy.

The one point puts the Canes in a dead heat with the Kitchener Dutchmen setting up their upcomng game on Tuesday in Kitchener.

The Canes have 4 games left in the regular season with the lone home game being next Thursday Feb 25th at the the Sleeman Centre vs. the Cambridge WinterHawks. Game time is 7:45 p.m.

Martin Kudla

McDougall stops Cullitons shot

loves to play in Stratford.

In front of a thousand Culliton fans Kudla had a 3 point night to lead the Canes to their 14th victory of the season. The 2 goals gives Kudla 16 on the season. Mike McFarlane(10) had the other on a powerplay. Mike Iacocca added 2 assists. Brandon Anselmini, Wade Pfeffer and Luca Penzo also added assists.

Goalie Chris McDougall also had a strong game as he stopped 36 of the 38 shots directed his way.

Next home game is tomorrow night at the Ice Palace on Victoria Rd.

The Listowel Cyclones will be the visitors. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

The Canes have 5 games in the next 7 days to complete the regular season.