The Space Coast Hurricanes lose to the Hampton Road Whalers in the CHA finals on Sunday March 16^th up in Pittsburgh, PA.  The road to the finals was not an easy one for the Jr. Hurricanes, as they took on the Binghamton Senators, Hampton Road Whalers and the CHA League Champions Junior Penguins.  The Hurricanes came in to the playoffs as the underdogs, as they slipped into 5^th place prior to the start of the post season.  “Knowing that we struggled with these teams all year, we felt very confident coming into playoffs.  We played several exhibition games prior to heading up to Pittsburgh and the boy’s seemed very focused and determined to win,” said Head Coach Shawn Ray.

            In the preliminary round, the Hurricanes faced off against the Binghamton Senators and dominated every aspect of the game from shots on net to the score, as they won the first game 4 – 1.  Five hours later, the puck dropped against the Hampton Roads Whalers, who were playing in their first game of the day.  It was a very fast paced game with both teams playing extremely well.  This game would end in a 1-1 tie, and the Hurricanes secured a spot in the semi-finals with the 3 points that they earned in the first two games. 

            Semi finals had the Jr. Hurricanes facing off against the CHA Regular Season Champions, the Junior Penguins.  The last two times the Hurricanes and Penguins met, the Penguins swept them 5-3 and 1-0.  This time, the Hurricanes came out on top with a 5-3 victory and sent the Junior Penguins packing for the National a little earlier then they expected.  The long journey to Pittsburgh would come to an end for the first time Jr. B Hurricanes as they met up with the Hampton Road Whalers for the final time this year.  Hampton came out on fire and the Hurricanes could not catch up, despite out shooting the Whalers.  “It was a great finish to a great year.  Our expectations were to compete at the Jr. B level and I think we proved that and then some.  This team never gave up and I am proud of each player and I wish them the best of luck in their future,” said Ray.

            On the injury front, Matt Danna suffered a leg on leg collision in the first game against the Senators and had emergency surgery to help relieve the pressure in his leg.  They made an 8” by 5” incision to let the quad muscle swell, so he wouldn’t lose the muscle.  He has gone through several operations since Saturday and the latest report was that he will be checking out on Friday and returning to Florida on Saturday.  The entire Hurricane organization and the fans wish Matt a speedy recovery and we are all thinking about him.