‘Canes enter final stretch of WHL regular season

Saturday marks one month until the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ final regular season game.

With the finish line in sight and playoffs rapidly approaching, the ‘Canes find themselves in the middle of the Western Hockey League playoff picture.

“We’re right there in the standings with Moose Jaw,” said forward Miguel Marques.

“We’re head-and-head there to get home ice in the playoffs and that’s what we’ve got to push for.”

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1:55 Lethbridge Hurricanes rolling ahead of Christmas break

However, there’s still work ahead for the ‘Canes. The squad is coming off a pair of road losses to the Moose Jaw Warriors and Regina Pats.

The Warriors, ‘Canes and Pats sit fourth, fifth and sixth respectively in the Eastern Conference, respectively and the team is using their recent experience as a measuring stick.

“Not the most successful last couple games versus both those teams, but we know they’re good hockey teams,” assistant coach Ryan Aasman said. “We’ve played them really good in the past. It’s good to see where we’re at, we’ll make some adjustments and move forward.”

“We want to push for that fourth place and hopefully going into the playoffs in a good spot as a team,” said forward Tyson Laventure.

In their current spot, the ‘Canes would start the playoffs on the road. The team is trying to pile on a few more wins and secure the home ice advantage in the first round.

“Starting the playoffs at home would be huge, especially against a team like Moose Jaw,” Marques said. “Getting the fans into it right away would obviously give us the benefit.”

Gaining ground on the Warriors will be a challenge.

The two don’t meet again in the regular season and 10 of the ‘Canes final 12 games are against teams currently sitting in a playoff spot.

The coaching staff says Lethbridge has been playing playoff hockey all season and is ready for the heightened importance down the stretch.

“We’ve always done a really good job limiting the lows,” Aasman said. “I expect our group to bounce back and have a really good couple of weeks here to end the regular season and hit playoffs on a high note for sure.”

A final push the ‘Canes hope leads to a playoff opener at the Enmax Centre.

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