Lethbridge Hurricanes ready for a playoff run
The whole season has led to this.
The fifth-seeded Lethbridge Hurricanes are set to kick off what they hope to be a deep playoff run.
They'll face off against the Moose Jaw Warriors in the first round and head coach Brent Kisio says he can feel the energy his team is bringing into the post-season.
"It's just an exciting time; you work all season for this moment. Once the playoffs hit, the margin of error is so small," Kisio said.
"Little plays here, little plays there can swing it. Emotions are so high, it's just a fun time of year."
The Canes haven't played a game in six days, thanks to the time off between the regular and post-season.
But after an intense week of practice, they feel ready to roll.
Hurricanes forward Logan Wormald said, "(we) had some good practices this week. Doing what we need to practice on. We just got to come into this series playing hard."
They’re hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's playoffs, when they were swept in the first round at the hands of the eventual Ed Chynoweth Cup champion Edmonton Oil Kings.
It was a bitter pill for team to swallow, but there's belief this year will be better.
"Obviously that's kind of in the backs of guys' heads," said Hurricanes co-captain, Jett Jones.
"That wasn't a great feeling at all. For us this year we have a better team and a better match up this year so this is a series where we're confident in."
The Moose Jaw Warriors come into the series as the fourth seed in the Eastern conference, giving them home ice advantage for the series.
Four Warriors players, who had been suspended due to an off ice incident in Edmonton on Feb. 3, will rejoin the club for the playoffs.
Kisio anticipates it will be a hard fought series.
"They battle hard, they get inside and they got some guys that're real skilled up front that can hurt you if they get around that crease. And their back end really jumps," he said.
"Mateychuk on the back end is a fast player that jumps in on the rush all the time. So they have threats from all over, but we got to work hard, be smart defensively and we've got to manage pucks."
Game 1 and 2 will be in Moose Jaw March 31 and April 1 respectively.
Game 3 and 4 will be in Lethbridge on April 4 and 5.
All games start at 7 p.m. local time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.