McDougall and Hurricanes steal game 1 from Siskins

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.

Hurricanes drop a close one to Cyclones in OT

from http://www.guelphhurricanes.com

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.

Hurricanes beat Sugar Kings in OT

from http://www.guelphhurricanes.com

CANES WIN A NAILBITER 4-3

Excitement was the order of the night as the Guelph Hurricanes and the Elmira Sugar Kings treated a good Hockey Day crowd to a thrill packed game. The Ice Palace was frigid as usual but the action inside was red hot.

Pegrum Glove the Puck to help Grab the Win

It looked like another typical Canes/Sugar Kings duel featuring excellent goaltending by Drew Pegrum and his counterpart former Cane Brendon Gorecki.

Speedy Martin Kudla(13) broke the ice when he broke in on Gorecki and made a nifty move to put the Canes on top 1-0. Brad Kraus tied it up with a laser beam only to have Nic MacEachern(7) do his Sydney Crosby impression to regain the lead 2-1. It stayed that way until captain Mike McFarlane(7) scored a powerplay goal with help from Luca Penzo and Mike Iacocca.

With another 3-1, 3rd period lead it looked like the Canes were headed for another disappointing loss when Elmira scored twice late in the 3rd on goals by Parent and LeBlanc to send the game to overtime.

Mid way through the overtime period defensive wizard Jake Weidner stole the puck at the Canes blueline and sped down the wing. Weidner threaded a perfect pass to Zach Dion(6) in front of the Kings net who finished the play off with a perfect shot to win the game 4-3.

Check out the Hurricanes facebook page http://www.facebook.com/guelphhurricanes and look at over 150 pictures that Richard Elmes took at the game last night.

Next Canes action is Saturday, February 6 at the Victoria Road Arena when they face the Waterloo Siskins. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Layoff work pays off for the Hurricanes

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

GUELPH – Work the Guelph Hurricanes did on both their power play and penalty killing during their two-week layoff paid off Saturday night.

The Hurricanes scored a pair of power-play goals in edging the Welland Canadians 4-3 in a shootout in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League play at the Sleeman Centre. Guelph went 2-for-8 on the power play while Welland was 1-for-6.

“We took advantage of that practice time and it showed,” Guelph head coach Jim MacEachern said. “We took advantage of it. We worked our special teams. . . (and) we created more opportunities because of it.”

Kudla nets the Shootout winner

“We got to work on a new power play and a new penalty kill so I think it helped out in that aspect,” Martin Kudla said. The fifth shooter for the Hurricanes, he fittingly scored the overtime winner after being robbed of the opportunity of getting it late in the third period by the quick stick of Welland keeper Kari Rikkonen. “But it’s hard to take that time off with no games and then come back and play a game.”

On the shootout winner, Kudla faked a wrist shot before going to his backhander for the goal.

“I do that move a lot in practice so I just thought I’d go with it,” he said. “It works usually, so I thought I’d go with it right from the start.”

The win allowed the Hurricanes to climb out of their tie with the Kitchener Dutchmen for seventh in the eight-team Midwestern Conference.

Tyson Theaker, one of the few Hurricanes who can grow a beard, scored twice in regulation time and once in the shootout while Zach Dion had the other regulation-time goal for the Hurricanes. Theaker’s linemates Mike McFarlane and Nic MacEachern assisted on both of his goals while Luca Penzo also had an assist.

“I haven’t got a goal in a while so it felt good to get a couple,” Theaker said. “The puck was bouncing, the line was working hard.”

check out the rest of the article here: http://news.guelphmercury.com/Sports/article/577546

Hurricanes KO’s Cullitons to extend Stratford’s losing streak to 10 games

Cohen Adair lays on the ice after a hard Hurricanes check. He would return to the game later.

A night after a 8-0 loss in Waterloo, the Guelph Hurricanes bounced back and posted a character win by beating  the slumping Stratford Cullitons 6-3.

“They showed a lot of character to come back after a tough loss last night. This club has a lot of heart and I am proud of them.” says Hurricanes Head Coach Jim MacEachern

The win moves Guelph’s record to 8-15-2 for 18pts., while the loss which was the 10th in a row for the Cullitons, moves Stratford’s record to 12-12-0 24pts..

Six Hurricanes players each collected 2 pts. (Luca Penzo, Dan Mohle, Martin Kudla, Mike McFarlane, Ken Rolph and Mike Iacocca) and Chris McDougall returned between the pipes to 28 of 31 shots.

• Although Chris McDougall’s rights were traded earlier this week from the Kitchener Rangers to the Peterborough Petes, he will remain playing with the Hurricanes for the time being.
• Also, I received word from the Hurricanes trainers that injured Kitchener Dutchmen defenceman Brant Nicolson was released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. Last week he crashed into the boards and was carried off on a stretcher.

The Hurricanes next game is this coming Thursday as they seek revenge from the Waterloo Siskins at The Sleeman Centre. Please note the game time is 7:45pm.

SCORING SUMMARY Period 1 Guelph – Ken Rolph (Cam Jude) 0:23 Stratford – Brad McClure (powerplay) (Tyler Masson, Brock Reynolds) 5:06 Period 2 Guelph – Mike Iacocca (Dan Mohle, Luca Penzo) 3:27 Stratford – Myles Melchers (powerplay) (Steve McParland, Jamie Nelson) 7:45 Period 3 Guelph – Tyson Theaker (powerplay) (Wade Pfeffer, Mike Iacocca) 0:53 Stratford – Tyler Masson (Jamie Nelson, Andrew Lorimer) 1:49 Guelph – Nic MacEachern (powerplay) (Ken Rolph, Dan Mohle) 4:52 Guelph – Mark Bell (Martin Kudla, Mike McFarlane) 6:01 Guelph – Luca Penzo (Martin Kudla, Mike McFarlane) 17:21

Home & Home Big for Canes

From http://www.guelphhurricanes.com

 There’s an old saying “Its not how you start but how you finish!”

The Canes hope that saying fits their future as they open a crucial home & home weekend series with the Kitchener Dutchmen. http://www.kitchenerdutchmen.com

Both teams find themselves struggling in the early season. Guelph has a 4 point lead on the Dutchies entering the series. 2 wins for the Canes would put them right back in thick of the race.

Guelph will be relying on the scoring of their big line of Dan Mohle, Tyson Theaker and Ken Rolph. Mohle is in the top 5 scoring in the GOJHL and Theaker and Rolph have been hot lately. More important will be the inspired play of newcomers Martin Kudla and Mike Iaccoca.

On defense the Canes are led by Luca Penzo, Wade Pfeffer, Cayle Creen and Zach Dion.

The goaltending of Chris MacDougall and Trevor McGee will have to step up and continue their improved play.

Game 1 of the home and home is Saturday, October 17. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fans are reminded to use gate 1 to enter the Sleeman Center. Game 2 goes Sunday, October 18 at the Kitchener Auditorium annex. Game time is 2:30 pm.

Hurricanes lose, but never gave up!!!

Winston Churchill would be proud of the Guelph Hurricanes.  At least how they played in the 3rd period.

Martin Kudla drives to the net

The Guelph Hurricanes played their 3rd game in 3 nights tonight against the Listowel Cyclones and for 2 periods it showed.

The edge in the first period would have to go to the Cyclones, who outshot the Hurricanes 12-7 in the period and went into the intermission with a 2-1 lead.

Although Guelph outshot the Cyclones in the second period 12-9, Listowel won most of the battles and extended their lead to 5-1.

But as Winston Churchill said in his famous speech to the Oxford University graduation class, “Never, Never, Never Give Up” and the Hurricanes didn’t.

I’m not sure what Coach Jim McEachern said during the 2nd intermission, but the Hurricanes came out flying in the 3rd, and scored a Powerplay goal 31 seconds into the period.

They poured it on, dominating the 3rd period scoring twice more and pulled to within one.

With time winding down, Coach McEachern pulled his goalie Trevor McGee, in order to get another attacker. Shortly afterward with the Hurricanes pressing, Eric Deckers collected his 2nd goal and 5th point by scoring into the empty net with 20.9 seconds remaining.

Offensive stars for the Hurricanes were: #7 Dan Mohle with 4 points (2 goals – 2 assists) (Dan now sits 2nd in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League scoring with 23 points),  #24 Tyson Theaker with 3 points (1 goal – 2 assists) , and #6 Luca Penzo with 3 points (3 assists).

The Hurricanes schedule takes them on the road for the next 2 games: Oct. 10 @ St. Catharines, Oct. 11 @ Elmira, before they return to the Sleeman Centre on Oct. 17th where they continue their rivalry with the Kitchener Dutchmen. Game time is 7:30 pm.