Sunday, January 04, 2009

Sunday Blogging



- Don't read too much into last night's 6-0 win over Lethbridge. The game was much closer than the score would indicate. Lethbridge played hard but got some shoddy goaltending and a couple bad bounces. The Broncos still deserved the win but Hurricane fans should know the score was a bit out of proportion. I was impressed with how the 'Canes competed to the bitter end considering they played with 15 skaters the last three nights and must have been tired.

I still like the Hurricanes and think they're destined to go on a run once they are healthy and have their key players back.

- Keegan Dansereau picked up his 2nd four point game in a little over three weeks as he scored the hat-trick and added an assist. Dansereau now has 25 on the season which is tied for third in the WHL with Ryan Mcdonald in Prince Albert. Last year Dale Weise scored 29 to lead the team.

- Jesse Dudas and his experiment with senior hockey in the "AAA" Chinook Hockey League was a short one-game affair. Dudas playing in that game with Cree River was illegal as he's property of a WHL team and would need a release to do so. Apparently he was to play last night with Cree River but action was taken.

- Myself and Tim Tisdale were watching tsn.ca's online feed of the Canada/Russia semi-final game. The online broadcast was about 45 seconds behind the actual t.v. feed. With the goalie pulled and in the final minute, I heard a roar from the luxury boxes. I could only assume Canada had scored to tie the game.... 45 seconds later I saw it for myself while I was live on air.

The shootout was anti-climatic for me. The fans told the story while watching the t.v feed. Four straight roars.... I knew it was over.

- The Broncos are about to enter into their toughest stretch of games this season. Brandon is here Tuesday and then it's five straight on the road to Regina, Medicine Hat, Calgary, Lethbridge and Kootenay. After that it's home games against Brandon and Saskatoon.

- Have you checked the Eastern Conference standings lately? Talk about exciting. Both Prince Albert and Edmonton are back into the playoff hunt with some strong play and the recent struggles of Lethbridge, Kootenay and Regina. Those three teams have combined to lose 15 games in a row! Prince Albert on the other hand is a perfect 5-0 since resuming pay after the break.

Last year at this time, the top 8 teams continued to separate themselves from the pack on a nightly basis. This year they are being reeled in by the non-playoff teams. It's going to be an exciting final nine weeks of the regular season.

Have a good day,


Jon

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jon, not sure about this "Action taken" on Dudas, but according to the Chinook League website, he played again last night for River Cree in a win vs. the Rocky Mountain House Rams.

www.chinookhockeyleague.com

go there and click on latest scores. You'll see he played again on Sat. night. As he's listed on the scoresheet.

Earlier in the year the Fort Sask team had an illegal player in their line ups during a couple of games and ended up forfeiting the points from that game.

Anonymous said...

Jon - what's your best guess where Dudas ends up? What type of compensation will he really bring?

Jon Keen said...

My guess is Medicine Hat or Regina or perhaps Chilliwack if he is waived.

Compensation for him after what's happened will be as low as possible. High draft pick or mid-round pick at best.