On the strength of a two goal/three point performance from Sam Mckechnie and a thirty-seven save effort from netminder Jonny Hogue, the Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off their five game pre-season schedule with a 7-4 victory over the Calgary Hitmen in Taber, Alberta on Thursday night.

PHOTO CREDIT - LethbridgeHurricanes.com

Taber - September 6, 2013 - The Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off their five game pre-season schedule by hosting the Calgary Hitmen in Taber Thursday night.

Calgary came into the game winners of both their pre-season games, while the Canes players were eager to face someone other than their teammates for once.

For the new coaching staff, it was their first real opportunity to evaluate the talent on their roster in a game situation.

Lethbridge was without Josh Derko, Adam Henry and Axel Blomqvist who are away at NHL rookie camps, so getting the start tonight – Spencer Galbraith, Lenny Hackman, Brady Ramsay, Russ Maxwell and Jamal Watson while Jonny Hogue got the start in goal.

The Hitmen opened the scoring just 2:04 into the game when Colby Harmsworth put a shot behind Hogue. The Hurricanes would have a few early chances, but were unable to bury their opportunities as Evan Johnson stopped everything that came his way.

It is only the pre-season but there’s no love lost between these two division rivals and we would see the heated rivalry take shape throughout the game as players from both sides would take penalties and get flagged for game misconducts. Lethbridge would even take a pair of back to back penalties at the 7 minute mark, but they killed off the 5 on 3 man advantage to remain only down a goal in the game.

Tempers continued to flare when Josh Thrower and Jaimen Yakubowski would drop the gloves and be assessed game misconducts, but the Canes finally broke through in the final minute when Harrison Harper (Remi Laurencelle, Tyler Wong) would go top shelf on Johnson making it a 1-1 game through 20 minutes.

Another loss for the Canes just as the opening period expired when Russ Maxwell would get a 5 minute spearing major. Less than two minutes into the second, Calgary would retake the lead on a goal from Elliott Peterson but that lead was again short-lived thanks to a beautiful goal from Reid Duke (Macoy Erkamps) who beat Johnson to tie the game at two.

Calgary would once again retake the lead when Ben Thomas converted on a powerplay to make it 3-2. The Hurricanes would start finding their groove in the middle frame when Brady Ramsay picked up the loose puck in the neutral zone and fed Jamal Watson who would drive to the net, put the brakes on and put a backhander into the back of the net tying the game at three. The CaneTrain would take their first lead of the game when Sam McKechnie (Reid Duke, Brandon Kennedy) would follow up and bury the rebound giving the Hurricanes a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes.

Lethbridge carried their momentum into the final 20 minutes but the Hitmen would not go away as they scored shorthanded pulling the teams even yet again. The Hurricanes weren’t phased one bit as Tyler Wong (Duke, McKechnie) scored less than 30 seconds later giving Lethbridge their advantage back and it was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish as Giorgio Estephan (unassisted) and Remi Laurencelle (Brandon Kennedy, Sam McKechnie) rounded out the scoring as the Canes took their pre-season opener 7-4.

Hogue had a solid outing in between the pipes but came up big when the team needed it including the final 2 ½ minutes when the Hitmen pulled Johnson for the extra attacker.

The Hurricanes will practice on Friday before heading out on the road for their next pre-season game Saturday night in Red Deer against the Rebels. The Hurricanes will return home to host the Medicine Hat Tigers on Wednesday, September 11th before closing out their pre-season schedule at the Thunder Challenge in the Crowsnest Pass September 13th and 14th.