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.

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

Building for the Future: Analyzing the trade

Experienced Junior hockey fans recognize the strategy.

Successful junior hockey teams across the country have been using it for a while now.

Why? Because it works!!!

In leagues where players regularly come and go, entering the league at age 16 or 17 and graduating at 20 one of the keys to building a successful franchise and winning team is to maximize your assets.

How do you they do that?

They do that by setting up their team to take a run for the championship in a certain year.  Some call it a 3 year plan, sometimes it becomes a 4 or 5 year plan.

Here is how it works:

Step 1: Teams will choose the year they want to compete for the championship.

Step 2: They will try to acquire players that will mature in that year.

Step 3: If they are in the lower half of the standings before the trading deadline, they will trade away some of their star players to teams in the upper half of the standings in order to acquire top quality rookies that will mature in the year that they will make a run for it.

Step 4: In a year or two when they are competing for the championship they will add top players from the teams in the lower part of the standings in exchange for their future stars.

This is the strategy that we witnessed Jason Brooks and the Guelph Storm use when they traded away Thomas McCollum last year.

Veteran Dan Mohle now a Cyclone

And that is the strategy Guelph Hurricanes GM Matt Mullin used when he traded two of their top players in Forwards Ken Rolph (1989 birth year) and leading scorer Dan Mohle (also 1989 birth year) to the Listowel Cyclones for two rookie Forwards Blair Goss (1992 birth year), Jake Weidner (also 1992 birth year) and Future considerations.

According to Mullin, “Not only did we give Ken and Dan a chance to compete for the Sutherland Cup, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to add 2 quality kids that will set us up nicely for the next couple of years.”

Blair Goss played the last 2 years with the Fergus Devils (Jr. C), scoring 76 pts. in 79 games, but is a big power forward 6’0″ 205 lbs. He was Listowel’s first star, scoring 2 goals in his last game.

According to the Listowel Cyclones website, “Blair Goss lead the Cyclones scoring attack with two solid strikes and did his best to help his team win with timely scoring and an energetic effort. The Fergus native is just getting his game back on track after suffering a broken ankle in summer lacrosse action.”

Jake Weidner (6’2″ 175) played AAA Midget in Grey-Bruce and is described as an excellent face-off guy and penalty kill expert.

Here was the description of how he played in his last game as a Cyclone, “Rookie forward Jake Weidner who put in another solid game on the PK and in the face – off circle. Make no mistake hockey fans; this young forward will be a dandy player in this league for seasons to come.”

And the best part is that instead of watching two senior players graduate in the next few months, we will be able to watch these two players develop over the next few seasons.

 Now that is what I call maximizing your assets.

*Note: You can see the new players Thursday night (Dec. 3rd) when the Hurricanes host the league leading Brantford Golden Eagles at the Sleeman Centre. Game time 7:45 pm.

You won’t have to wait too long to see Dan Mohle and Ken Rolph as the Listowel Cyclones play the Hurricanes in a home and home series. Friday night in Listowel and Saturday Dec. 5th in Guelph. Game time at the Sleeman Centre is 7:30 pm and remember Saturday night is “Kids Get in Free Night”, where 4 kids can get in free with every paid Adult admission.

Hurricanes get younger and bigger as they build for the Future

from http://www.guelphhurricanes.com

CANES & CYCLONES MAKE TRADE

Hurricanes General Manager Matt Mullin has pulled off a trade with the Listowel Cyclones that appears to help both teams.

Ken Rolph and Dan Mohle traded to Listowel

Offensive threats Dan Mohle and Ken Rolph will be travelling to Listowel to complete their junior careers with the tough Cyclones.

With the addition of the two 20 year olds the Cyclones are now in the hunt for the Sutherland Cup.

Coming to the Huricanes are two 1992’s Blair Goss from Fergus and Jake Weidner from Grand Valley. Weidner also plays lacrosse for the Elora Mohawks. Included in the deal for Guelph are future considerations.

Mullin thanked Mohle and Rolph for their service with Guelph junior B’s and wished them continued success in Listowel.

The irony of this deal is that the Canes and Cyclones play a home and home series this weekend starting Friday night in Listowel.

The Cyclones with Mohle and Rolph in the lineup visit the Sleeman Center on Saturday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Despite solid goaltending Guelph loses 4-2 to Kitchener

 Game Stories

What was Good about Guelph’s game last night:

Hurricanes penalty killing unit only allowed one goal in 8 chances, including killing off 2 5 on 3’s.

What the Hurricanes could have done Better:

1. Come out hitting… cleanly. When a youngster attending his first Hurricanes game asked me about 5 minutes into the first period if they were allowed to hit in this league. That is not good. In previous games, the Hurricanes created chances by not giving their opponents an opportunity to make the play before being introduced to the boards.

2. Stay out of the penalty box! Guelph accumulated 24 penalty minutes on 8 infractions. Compared that to Kitchener’s 4 minutes on 2 penalties. There are not many teams that you are going to beat if you are going to play shorthanded for approximately 1/3 of the game.

What was the Best part of the game for Guelph:

Hurricanes goalie Chris McDougall deflects a shot wide

Solid play by Hurricanes goaltender, Chris McDougall. McDougall stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced and helped keep his team in the game. At least, 2 of the goals that did get by him were via deflections, where he didn’t have a chance.

Scoring: Guelph 1-0-1 = 2, Kitchener 1-1-2 = 4

Shots: Guelph 7-6-12= 24, Kitchener 11-13-7=31

SCORING SUMMARY Period 1 Guelph – Andrew Van Ooteghem (Martin Kudla, Peter Soligo) 5:07 Kitchener – Tanner DeWitt (Mark Scheifele, Derek Schoenmakers) 5:59 Period 2 Kitchener – Tanner DeWitt (powerplay) (Alex McCaffrey, MacLean Brayden) 6:39 Period 3 Guelph – Dan Mohle (Ken Rolph) 1:24 Kitchener – Shane Bainbridge (Shawn Bechtloff, Brandon Passley) 5:08 Kitchener – Mark Scheifele (emptynet) (Tanner DeWitt) 19:33

 

PENALTIES Period 1 Guelph – Peter Soligo – (Roughing) (RO), 2 min, 6:28 Guelph – Dan Mohle – (High Sticking) (HS), 2 min, 8:02 Guelph – Cayle Creen – (Cross Checking) (CC), 2 min, 12:31 Kitchener – Josh Mitton – (Goalie Interference) (INTGT), 2 min, 17:13 Period 2 Guelph – Wade Pfeffer – (Tripping) (TR), 2 min, 4:59 Kitchener – Robin Clarke – (Tripping) (TR), 2 min, 6:49 Guelph – Zach Dion – (Roughing) (RO), 2 min, 10:28 Guelph – Peter Soligo – (Head Contact/Checking) (CTH), 2 min, 14:20 Guelph – Mike Iacocca – (Roughing after Whistle) (RAW), 2 min, 15:43 Guelph – Peter Soligo – (Head Contact/Checking Misconduct) (M71), 10 min, 16:20 Period 3 (no penalties)

The Hurricanes next game is this afternoon, in Kitchener at the Kitchener Auditorium Annex. Game time is 2:30 pm.

Guelph’s next home game at The Sleeman Centre is next Saturday Oct. 24th against the Listowel Cyclones. Game time 7:30 pm.