Hurricanes wreak havoc with new-found offense

The Lethbridge Hurricanes, who used to have a popgun offense, have become one of the Western League’s top guns. Last season, Lethbridge scored a mere 200 goals in 72 games-2.78 per game. Only the Saskatoon Blades, with 193, scored fewer. But after 12 games this season, the Central Division’s Hurricanes boasted a league-high 57 goals-4.75 per game-and a 92-1-0 record and were 10th in the Canadian Hockey League’s rankings. It’s the first time the team has been ranked since its WHL championship season of 1996-97. “It’s our depth,” said Hurricanes’ center Nathan Barrett. “A lot of the better teams in the division lost a lot and we didn’t. We got a lot of guys back and it’s our turn to go.” Barrett was leading the WHL in goals (13) and points (26) as of…

Dingman settles in with Carolina after dim night against old mates

Everything was in place for one of those magical moments that come along occasionally in sports. After missing nine games with a training-camp groin injury, winger Chris Dingman made his Hurricanes’ debut against his former team, the Colorado Avalanche, in the building where he played three seasons, on the day he received his Stanley Cup ring. The ring ceremony was a bit of an anticlimax-the ring was given to him in the hallway before the morning skate-and so was Dingman’s night. He played a quiet seven minutes as the Hurricanes gave up five unanswered goals in a 5-1 loss. With that pressure removed and a game under his belt, Dingman had better results the next night. He fed Ron Francis from behind the net for the game’s opening goal and his first point…

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Panthers standing pat through Bure’s injury

Don’t pull out the sympathy violins for the Florida Panthers who lost Valeri Bure until possibly January. They have their own. Panthers’ management appear to be fiddling while the season is burning. “If you have an opportunity to improve your team, you always want to do that,” said assistant GM Chuck Fletcher. “However, I think the most important thing right now for our organization is for management to show confidence in our players and coaches. “If you look over the last 12 months, we have new ownership, new management, new coaches, about 10 new players. I think as an organization we have to show some patience and allow chemistry to form on and off the ice.” Bure’s knee surgery, to repair a torn meniscus, left the Panthers with only four forwards with 100 NHL…