Hurricanes dropped 6-4 by WinterHawks

from: http://www.guelphhurricanes.com

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.

Brantford Clips Hurricanes 6-1

from: http://www.guelphmercury.com

Canes clipped by Brantford

February 13, 2010, Mercury staff, sports@guelphmercury.com

GUELPH – The Guelph Hurricanes held the Brantford Golden Eagles at bay for a period before the Midwestern Conference leaders pulled away for a 6-1 Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League victory Saturday night at the Sleeman Centre.

McDougall looks for help as Brantford celabrates goal

The game was scoreless after the first period before Brantford scored six consecutive goals, four of them coming in the second period.

Jake Weidner ruined the shutout bid by Daryl Borden when he scored a shorthanded goal for the Hurricanes at 14:54 of the third period. Connor Ste. Marie and goaltender Chris McDougall assisted on the play.

Thomas Middup and league scoring leader Josh McQuade scored twice each for Brantford while Joe Vanni and Jeff Lynch added single goals. McQuade also had two assists to give him 61 goals and 80 assists in 48 games.

The win improves Brantford’s record to 39-5-4 while Guelph falls to 13-27-4.

View the rest of the story here: http://news.guelphmercury.com/Sports/article/597440

Brantford Coach’s take on Saturday’s game

Here is Brantford’s point of view to Saturday night’s game along with video highlights of the game: http://www.brantnews.com/sports.cfm?page=sports&section=read&articleId=6476

Brantford’s coach Scott Rex describes the back story to this rough game.

Guelph’s next game is this Thursday Jan. 14th, when they take on the Cambridge Winter Hawks, 7:45 pm at the Sleeman Centre.

Note: This is the fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity.

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

Tough weekend ahead for Hurricanes

The Guelph Hurricanes (11-19-4 26 pts.) have a tough weekend ahead as they first travel to Waterloo to take on the 2nd Place (27-5-0 54 pts.) Siskins Friday night.

Siskins Wil Sibley has beaten Guelph 3 times

The Siskins have been winning with top notch goaltending and tough checking. They have a balanced  attack. In the previous 4 tilts, Waterloo has come out on top, 5-4, 5-3, 8-0 and 4-2. Three key factors that Guelph needs to do to win are:

1. Shoot !(early and often) The Canes have averaged 27.75 shots per game vs. Waterloo.  Waterloo’s goaltenders have a save % of .923. This translates into 2 goals against. So if they want to increase their goals, they need to increase the number of shots.

2. Stay out of the penalty box! Waterloo has converted 18.09% of their Powerplays (6th in GOJHL).

3. Get Solid goaltending! Attention Chris McDougall… pretend we are playing Stratford.

After battling with the Siskins, Guelph travels to the Bell City to take on the take on the 1st Place Brantford Golden Eagles (28-4-3 59 pts.) on Saturday night.

McQuade leads the GOJHL scoring with 103 pts.

 Two Brantford players that have killed the Canes this season are goaltender Daryl Borden (26-4 2.51 GAA) and Josh McQuade, who leads the league in scoring with 103 pts. (40 goals and 63 assists)

The Golden Eagles sport the GOJHL’s leading Penalty Kill with 89.95% , including 20 shorthanded goals.

Two keys to victory in this game are:

1. Hit them, hit them and then hit them again. This is a run-and-gun finese team that the Hurricanes can upset if they keep laying the body on them.

2. Neutralize Josh McQuade. McQuade has scored 7 goals and 2 assists in 3 games vs. Guelph, including 2 hat tricks. How do they do that….read point #1. Oh and when they hit them, do it cleanly, because Brantford also has the #4 PowerPlay in the GOJHL converting on 23.66% of  them.

One more key factor in both these games.

If Guelph remains in 7th or 8th in the standings at the end of the regular season, it is likely that they will either face Brantford or Waterloo in the first round of the playoffs.

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.

New Netminder gets the call for the Hurricanes

from http://www.guelphmercury.com by Rob Massey

GUELPH — After a couple of weeks of practising with the Guelph Hurricanes, Drew Pegrum will get his first start in net with the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League team.

“It’ll be great to get a game in this weekend,” Pegrum said.

Hurricanes goalie Drew Pegrum

Pegrum was part of the Hurricanes’ blockbuster deal with the Listowel Cyclones that saw them send top scorers Dan Mohle and Ken Rolph to the Cyclones for youngsters Blair Goss and Jake Weidner. Pegrum came to Guelph a week later after Listowel acquired goaltender Brock Hansell from the Thorold Black Hawks.

“We ended up sending two 20-year-olds up there and we got two 17-year-olds and an 18-year-old back,” Hurricanes head coach Jim MacEachern said. “The goal here is to get younger. That’s what we’re trying to do. We have until Jan. 10th and if something else comes up, we might take advantage of that, too.”

Pegrum has a 4-5-0-1 record this season, with two of his wins coming against the Hurricanes. He has a 4.29 goals-against average and a .876 save percentage. He played five games in September and two early in October before hurting his left knee. He’s played three games since Oct. 10 – a win over Guelph, a loss to Brantford and a shootout loss to Kitchener – as Guelph native James Prigione, a veteran with the Cyclones, increased his playing time.

“I was playing a bunch at the start of the season and I got injured,” Pegrum said. “Prigione stepped up when I was injured and he started playing really good, so he got a lot of time after that.”

Pegrum said his knee is fine now.

“It’s better now,” he said. “It’s been strong for about four weeks.”

With the Hurricanes, Pegrum is expected to be the main backup to Chris McDougall, who has appeared in 19 of Guelph’s 31 games. McDougall will get the start Saturday night against the Welland Canadians at the Sleeman Centre while Pegrum will get the call Sunday afternoon against the Dutchmen in Kitchener.

“Chris is our No. 1, I’m not going to deny that,” MacEachern said. “Again, we’ve got to look out for the future. I would expect and I would hope that Doogs (McDougall) is playing for the Peterborough Petes next year. Drew is going to go as much as Doogs here. When we get into the playoffs or down the stretch, I’ll probably go with the guy who is hot.”

Until then, it’ll be a rotation of sorts, likely with McDougall getting two starts for every one that Pegrum gets.

Read the rest of the article here: http://news.guelphmercury.com/Sports/article/577393

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.