The Swift Current K-Motel Hurricanes advanced to the second round of the South Sask Midget AA Hockey League playoffs with a 2-1 win over the visiting Notre Dame Hounds Thursday.
The defending league champion Hurricanes swept the best-of-three series over the Hounds, who just one week earlier had eliminated the Hurricanes from the Provincial Playoffs in triple overtime.
Colton Adam was the hero when he scored the game winner midway through the third period. He trailed on a three-on-one, collected the puck in the slot and avoided a poke-check before depositing the puck between the legs of Hounds goaltender Magnus Viberg.
“I was actually aiming top corner and I fanned on it. I was lucky enough to find a hole five-hole,” said Adam. “You have to get lucky sometimes.”
Connor Kennedy had opened the scoring 8:54 into regulation when his wrist shot from the left face-off dot beat Viberg up high. Notre Dame tied it 5:34 later when Rhett Kingston scored a shorthanded goal for the visitors. The Hurricanes powerplay finished zero-for-seven while allowing a shorthanded goal.
Logan Tisdale was outstanding in goal, making 19 saves and getting a little bit of help from the post when the Hounds drew iron with only 10 seconds remaining in regulation as they spent the final three minutes of the game on the powerplay, most of it with the goaltender pulled in favor of the extra attacker. The Hurricanes successfully killed off all seven shorthanded situations.
“It is huge,” said Adam after the game. “Obviously these guys are a very skilled team. Having them beat us out in Provincials it is getting revenge.”
“Revenge is sweet,” added coach Greg Hurrell. “After so many games against those guys by one goal, you look at the series, in league and in Provincials, we are tied, we were tied with those guys all the way through. Revenge is sweet, that’s all I can say. The boys didn’t have the greatest game. Thank god they didn’t either. We were able to battle through it. We got good goaltending on our part and we got the one-goal difference and that’s all it took.”
The Hurricanes will now face the Notre Dame Bantam Hounds in the league semi-final. The Bantam Hounds finished first in the regular season with a 24-3-7 record. The seventh seeded Hurricanes suffered an ugly 11-4 loss to the Hounds on March 2 in the final game of the regular season.
