With bigger opportunity in Lethbridge, Laventure taking advantage
The Edmonton Oil Kings that the Lethbridge Hurricanes will face tonight is entirely different than the one that eliminated them from the WHL playoffs a season ago.
But try telling that to Tyson Laventure.
“Obviously, it’s still pretty fresh in our memories,” Laventure said after the Hurricanes were swept by the eventual Ed Chynoweth Cup champions. “That’s the team that knocked us out of the playoffs last year. We also lost to them earlier in the season so we’re ready to give it back to them and I think we’ll have a little extra jump in our step for sure.”
But eight months later, their fortunes are entirely opposite. Lethbridge’s current four-game win streak matches the total number of wins the Oil Kings have this season. But as Laventure referenced, the defending WHL champions lead the season series 1-0 thanks to a 4-2 win on Nov. 19.
HAVE YOURSELF A NIGHT, LAVY! @tysonlaventure with his first #WHL hatty to give us a 6-4 lead! pic.twitter.com/cJcvE7aB2f
— Lethbridge Hurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) November 27, 2022
However, since that defeat, Lethbridge has gone 7-2-0, sit fifth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and trail only Red Deer in the Central Division with an 18-11-1 record.
“At the start of the year, some people wrote us off as a team that wasn’t going to go very far and I think we’re trying to prove everyone wrong,” he said.
A big reason for the Hurricanes’ recent success is Laventure. In 30 games this year, the Lloydminster, AB., native has 10 goals and 28 points. On Monday, he was named the WHL’s Player of the Week after he had two goals and seven points in just three games.
In fact, the 19-year-old is riding an eight-game point streak that has seen him produce 16 points and a first career WHL hat-trick on Nov. 26 in a 6-4 win over Brandon.
He led all WHL skaters with seven points this past week.@WHLHurricanes forward Tyson Laventure is the WHL Player of the Week!
📰 | https://t.co/7ITF2tTAbC pic.twitter.com/Tn4e1eSIQH
— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 12, 2022
“My line has been really finding our groove and as a team as a whole we’ve been rolling lately and I’m just trying to ride that momentum,” he said.
Laventure and his linemates, Jett Jones and Tyson Zimmer, have combined to score 34, or 39 per cent, of Lethbridge’s 87 goals this season.
“The first couple of games weren’t the greatest but we’ve found a groove and we’ve been rolling since then,” Laventure said. “We all kind of understand each other on the ice, we know what we’re going to do, we like to get the puck in deep and work the corners and get it to the net and bang a couple home.”
It’s been about opportunity too for Laventure. After he was the 31st overall pick in the 2018 WHL Draft by Prince Albert, he’d play 93 games over parts of four seasons and tally 28 points.
He has that many points in 30 games this year on top of the 23 he tallied in the second half of last year after a New Year’s Eve trade.
“I spent my younger years in Prince Albert and didn’t get as many looks and then coming over to Lethbridge, I think I’ve really grown here,” he said. “The coaches have been awesome and have given me lots of chances and I’m really happy here.”
Laventure and the Hurricanes are in action Wednesday night in the CHLTV Game of the Week when they host Edmonton at 9pm ET / 6pm PT.
Available to fans from coast to coast, CHL TV is accessible on the CHL mobile app, in addition to Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire, and online at watch.chl.ca. Each year, CHL TV offers access to more than 2,000 regular-season games covering the CHL’s three Member Leagues and 60 markets across Canada and the United States. Fans can download the free CHL app via the App Store and Google Play.