Hurricanes Blast Warriors 5-0
Moose Jaw, SK – The Lethbridge Hurricanes earned their second straight victory on Friday as they downed the Moose Jaw Warriors 5-0 at Mosaic Place.
The Hurricanes started the game with three straight penalties as the top-ranked power play for Moose Jaw failed to capitalize on all three of their opportunities. While shorthanded, the Hurricanes were able to score as Jake Elmer netted his 35th of the season at the 6:59 mark extending his goal-scoring streak to 11-straight games making it 1-0 Lethbridge; Koletrane Wilson earned the lone assist on the goal. Moose Jaw led the shots 13-9 in the first period but it was the ‘Canes who held the lead 1-0.
Lethbridge early in the second added to their lead as Elmer centered to Jake Leschyshyn who banged home his 35th goal of the year just 43 seconds in to the second period to make it 2-0; Nick Henry, who signed an entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche earlier in the day, earned the second assist. The ‘Canes made it 3-0 at the 15:53 mark as Jackson Shepard moved in on a two-on-one and ripped home his fourth of the year. Warriors outshot the ‘Canes 14-9 in the middle frame.
Warriors replaced goaltender Brodan Salmond with Adam Evanoff to start the third period and the ‘Canes got to the new goalie early in the period. Just after a power play expired, Henry rifled home his 25th goal of the season to make it 4-0 just 2:43 into the period; Calen Addison and Leschyshyn were credited with the helpers. The ‘Canes added one more as Dylan Cozens snapped home his 31st of the year on a set-up by Elmer at the 4:04 mark to make it a 5-0 final.
Hurricanes outshot the Warriors 12-8 in the third period but were outshot 35-30 in the game as Carl Tetachuk earned his second shutout in six days. The ‘Canes and Warriors both went 0/4 on the power play in the game.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #35 Carl Tetachuk (35 saves, shutout)
2) ‘Canes – #20 Jake Elmer (1 goal, 2 assists)
3) ‘Canes – #10 Jake Leschyshyn (1 goal, 2 assists)
The win for the Hurricanes was their second straight and snaps a three-game losing streak this season to the Warriors. The win for the ‘Canes improves their record to 7-2-0-0 in their last nine games and 34-18-5-5 on the season.
The Hurricanes wrap up the road trip on Saturday afternoon in Regina against the Pats. The ‘Canes will return to the ENMAX Centre on Wednesday, March 6th when they welcome the Brandon Wheat Kings. Tickets can be purchased online at www.enmaxcentre.ca, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre.
