Head coach Bob Loucks wasn't mincing his words as his team opened up the 1989-1990 season on the road in Brandon.
"We just played terrible, no one showed up to play," he told the Lethbridge Herald after a 3-1 loss to the Wheat Kings on September 29, 1989. "It seems like the players have been reading their press clippings on how good they're supposed to be."
The 'Canes actually started the game well, with Bryan Bosch scoring on the powerplay midway through the first period. But then they sat back and watched as the Wheaties scored twice in the second and added the dagger in the third period.
The true storyline of the game was in net, where a couple of future NHLers did battle. Jamie McLennan stopped 42 of 45 shots for the Hurricanes while Trevor Kidd turned away 33 of 34 shots sent his way.
The loss was the first of just 17 the team would suffer during what turned out to be the Hurricanes' best regular season in team history.
About a week later, they made their debut on Sportsplex ice and returned to the team they were expected to be. Dusty Imoo turned aside all 26 shots he faced as they drubbed their rival Medicine Hat Tigers 7-0. Kelly Ens scored twice to lead the offensive charge.
The Hurricanes would go on to post an East Division best 51-17-4 record, nearly 30 points better than the second place Prince Albert Raiders.
That team would also go on to set several WHL scoring records. It featured six players with 100 or more points (Corey Lyons, Wes Walz, Bosch, Mark Greig, Kelly Ens and Jason Ruff), with all six along with Brad Rubachuk scoring 37 goals or more. Lyons and Ens actually had more than 60 goals each while Walz, Greig and Ruff had more than 50.
But believe it or not, they weren't the best team in the Western Hockey League that season. The Kamloops Blazers posted a record of 56-16 to take that title.
That team was led by Len Barrie, who put together a year for the record books, with 85 goals and 100 assists to lead the WHL. Phil Huber, Mike Needham and Brian Shantz also scored more than 100 points while the defense was anchored by Darryl Sydor and Scott Niedermayer.
Fittingly, those two teams would meet in the league final in the spring of 1990. And as we all know, the Hurricanes fell in five games.
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