Hurricanes have rough night in Brantford

from http://www.GuelphHurricanes.com

GOLDEN EAGLES BOUNCE BACK

You could tell it was going to be one of those nights in Brantford when defenseman Peter Soligo was challenged to a fight during the warm-up. The Guelph coaches did a good job of settling our boys down and getting them ready for the real game. The fight did happen early in the 1st and Soligo handled himself very well but the bottom line was that the Canes were down another defenseman. Zach Dion was already a scratch because of an injury sufered the night before in Waterloo.

Weidner and the Canes vs. Brantford

The Canes used that energy and scored the 1st goal with Jake Weidner notching his 3rd on a powerplay with an assist from Mike Iacocca. Guelph ended the period with a 2-1 lead when Lucas Penzo(4) scored a second power play goal with assists from Brandon Anselmni and Nic McEachern. Thats the good news.

The bad news was the 2-1 1st period lead woke up the Golden Eagles. Brantford came out swarming in the 2nd and scored in the 1st minute of play then added 2 more goals to take the lead.

The one bright spot in the period was a beautiful solo effort by McEachern(6). His goal made the score 4-3 and gave Guelph some energy. However, on the ensuing faceoff the Golden Eagles scored to regain a 2 goal lead. They ended up scoring the last 6 goals to put the game away.

Final Score Branford 10, Guelph 3

Guelph’s next game is Thursday, January 14th when  they host the Cambridge WinterHawks at the Sleeman Center. This game is a fundraiser for Habitat Humanity Cancer Awareness. Come on out, bring the family and support Cancer Awareness.

Pegrum’s 38 saves not enough for Canes

Pegrum stops 38 Waterloo shots

Despite Drew Pegrum’s 38 save performance the Guelph Hurricanes (11-20-4 26 pts.) still lost 5-2 in Waterloo (28-5-0 56 pts.) versus the Siskins Friday night.

Waterloo outshot Guelph (43-23 ) and received a great offensive night  from forward Matt Reid (3 goals + 1 assist) and goalie Will Sibley picked up his 4th win this season against Guelph.

Martin Kudla and Mike Iacocca both scored Powerplay goals for the Canes.

Guelph’s next action is tomorrow night when they travel to Brantford to take on the Golden Eagles, before they return home next Thursday (Jan. 14th) on Habitat for Humanity night vs. the Cambridge Winter Hawks. Game Time 7:45 at the Sleeman Centre

Dutchmen steal one from Hurricanes

In late February when the GOJHL (Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League) regular season comes to a close and the Guelph Hurricanes see who they are facing in the playoffs, they may be thinking of this game tonight at Victoria Road Arena, this 4-3 shootout loss to the Kitchener Dutchmen as… the one that got away.

McDougall down after Dutchmen tie the game

Kitchener’s Ted Anstett opened up the scoring in the first, before Taylor Lukasik (shorthanded) and Blair Goss (powerplay) scored for Guelph and after one period, the Hurricanes led 2-1.

After a scoreless 2^nd period, Tyson Theaker extended the Hurricanes lead to 3-1 at the 15:33 mark of the 3^rd period.

With the Hurricanes leading 3-1 with 2:34 left in the 3^rd period in a tight checking affair with the Kitchener Dutchmen it looked like the gap in points between these two teams was about to widen. With the win Guelph would have moved 6 points ahead (27 pts to 21) of the 8^th place Dutchmen and would have decreased the likelihood of facing the MidWestern Division leading Brantford Golden Eagles in the first round of the playoffs.

But that wasn’t to be.

The Dutchmen called a time out and then pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. Then Tanner DeWitt scored with 2:26 left on the clock and then Ryan Clarkson and tied it up with 56 seconds left in the 3^rd.

Overtime solved nothing, so the teams went to a shootout.

Mark Scheifele’s wrist shot in the top corner over the Hurricane goaltender Chris McDougall’s glove proved to be the winner for the Dutchmen.

With the one point they gained in the shootout loss, Guelph now sit tied in 6th (tied with Elmira, however the Sugar Kings have two games in hand) with 26 pts. , Kitchener with 23 pts. remains in 8^th.

The Hurricanes take to the road for their next two games, Friday Jan. 8^th in Waterloo and Saturday Jan. 9^th in Brantford.

The next Hurricanes home game is the following Thursday Jan. 14^th, when they take on the Cambridge Winter Hawks in a 7:45 pm start at the Sleeman Centre.

Newly acquired Weidner impresses in 5-4 loss to Brantford

In his first game as a Hurricane, rookie Jake Weidner almost matched his point total that he accumulated in 24 games with the Listowel Cyclones.

Weidner scored 3 pts. vs. Brantford

Weidner who was acquired earlier this week along with fellow rookie, Blair Goss (for veterans Dan Mohle and Ken Rolph) was solid all night winning critical faceoffs and buzzing on a line with Martin Kudla and Mike Iacocca against the high flying Branford Golden Eagles.

Meanwhile Brantford through 46 shots at Hurricanes goaltender Chris McDougall and Josh McQuade added 4 points (3 goals and 1 assist) to his league leading point total in an exciting 5-4 win over Guelph.

This game featured powerplay goals, a short handed goal, a penalty shot, Guelph killing off a 5-3 and a fight.

Even though Guelph didn’t win the battle, they looked solid and may have picked up some information that can help them win the war, if these two team meet in the first round of the playoffs.

Tomorrow night the Hurricanes travel to Listowel to take on the Cyclones in a home-in-home series that concludes when these two teams play Saturday night (7:30 pm) at The Sleeman Centre.

Remember to tell your friend that it is Kids get in Free night Saturday. With each adult admission they can bring up to 4 children ages 0-13.

3 game weekend only nets Hurricanes one point

Playing well for part of the game and coming up short in the end seems to be the trend following the Guelph Hurricanes these days.

Thursday night they faced a very good Waterloo Siskins ( 19-5-0 38 pts.) team at home and found themselves down 3-0 after the first period. Then they clawed their way back to outscore the Siskins 2-1 in the 2nd and 3rd period, eventually losing the game 4-2.

Saturday night they travelled to Cambridge (14-7-2 30 pts.) to take on the Winter Hawks in a game where they faced 52 shots, including 31 in the 2nd period. Cambridge scored 5 goals in that period and would go on to win the game 6-4.

Then the Canes visited Elmira (11-11-3 25 pts.) Sunday night and they finally avoided the one period let down and came away with a single point in a 3-2 shootout loss.

That point will be critical as teams jockey for playoff position. Currently Guelph sits 8th in the MidWestern Division and would face the top seeded Brantford Golden Eagles in the first round of the playoffs.

*Other GOJHL Notes:

The Stratford Cullitons snapped their 11 game losing streak Sunday afternoon with a 6-5 win over the Listowel Cyclones.

GOJHL’s leading scorer is Josh McQuade (Brantford Golden Eagles) is averaging 3 points per game (81 pts. in 27 games) and is on a pace to score 153 pts. this season.

Next home game for the Canes is Thursday December 3 when they face Josh McQuade and the 1st place Brantford Golden Eagles. Game time at the Sleeman Center is 7:45 p.m.

Canes fall to Golden Eagles

from http://www.GuelphHurricanes.com

The Brantford Golden Eagles were the better team tonight. They displayed the many talents and weapons they possess to dominate the GOHL. However, the Canes showed why they will be a force to reckon with as the season progresses. The final score was 4-1 for Brantford but coach MacEachern has many positives to build on.

Trevor McGee was solid in goal and during an 11 minute power play advantage he made a number of tough saves to keep the Golden Eagles at bay. This was also the best game of the year for the Canes penalty killing unit.  16 old Brandon Anselmini also turned in his best game of the season against a very physical team. The offense played well but the goaltending of Darryl Borden was outstanding as he made many great saves including an incredible toe save in the 3rd on a powerplay that would have moved the Canes to within a goal.

Scoring the lone goal for Guelph was Mark Bell with assists from Tyson Theaker and newcomer Nic MacEachern. Next game for Guelph is this Saturday when the Canes host the Waterloo Siskins at the Sleeman Center. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Some bad news for Cane fans. In the second period leading scorer Dan Mohle was assessed a major penalty for a head check. Along with the penalty comes a 2 game suspension.

Guelph Hurricanes take on McQuade and the Eagles: Nov. 7

They say timing is everything in sports.

And if that is true the Guelph Hurricanes may have a golden (as in Brantford Golden Eagles) opportunity before them.

Tomorrow night the Hurricanes travel to the birthplace of Wayne Gretzky and Alexander Graham Bell to take on the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Midwestern conference leading Golden Eagles.

And if you look at the standings (Brantford has 28 points compared to Guelph’s 14),

if you look a the fact that Brantford won the first contest between the two clubs earlier this season (6-3 on Oct.1),

or even if you look at the fact that Brantford sports the league’s leading scorer in Josh McQuade (55pts. in 18 games)

you would conclude that this should be no contest.

But if you concluded that you would have missed the fact that Brantford has lost their last 3 games in a row.

You would have missed the fact that Brantford went into the final minute of the 3rd period leading the Kitchener Dutchmen by a score of 3-1 only to allow two goals (the last one coming with 1 second left) and then went on to loose the game in a shootout.

Or you would have missed the fact that the never say die Hurricanes have enjoyed the steller play of their leading scorer Dan Mohle (32 pts. in 18 games) and #1 goaltender Chris McDougall.  

All these facts could lead to an upset victory for the Guelph Hurricanes.

Stay tuned to find out what happens.

Game time is 7:30 in Brantford.

The next Hurricanes home game is Saturday November 7th when the Hurricanes take on the Waterloo Siskins at The Sleeman Centre. Game time is 7:30 pm.