Hats off to Cole!

Erik Cole notched a hat trick last night in the Canes' 5-0 rout of the Washington C[r]apitals.

And you can be certain that this Caniac is ecstatic.

Cole's first goal came in the first, off a completely awesome pass from Scott Walker. His second came in the second on a power play - a deflection of Eric Staal's shot from the point. His third goal came in the third, this time off a pass from Ray Whitney.

Erik Cole is absolutely, completely, without-a-doubt, awesome.

The other story of the night was the Canes penalty kill. The Canes had back-to-back-to-back penalties taken in the second, giving the C[r]apitals a lot of time on a 5-on-3. The penalty kill came through, in what was probably the turning point of the game.

The other goals were scored by Staal and Letowski in the third period.
Cam Ward played extremely well. Even the C[r]apitals goalie, Brad Johnson, played pretty well, stopping 34 shots. (Of course he let five in, but 34 is still a lot of shots to stop.)

The next Canes game is Saturday against the Penguins. Hopefully Erik Cole will carry some of this hat trick momentum into that game. (heh heh heh...)

Erik Cole stats: 3 goals
On the season: 6 goals, 9 assists