Hurricanes Drop Nailbiter to Oil Kings in Family Day Matinee
Edmonton, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes suffered their third-straight loss on Monday afternoon with a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings at Rogers Place.
Lethbridge played their second-straight matinee game after suffering a 4-3 overtime loss on Sunday afternoon in Red Deer. The Hurricanes had a good start to the game in their penultimate visit to Edmonton to face the Oil Kings as they had an early scoring chance that was denied by Parker Snell. The Oil Kings opened the scoring at the 10:14 mark when overage defenceman Carter Sotheran scored his 14th goal of the year banking a shot off of Carsen Adair and into the net to make it 1-0; Adam Jecho and Blake Fiddler picked up the assists on the goal. The ‘Canes had a later period power play and came close to tying the game when Gavin Lesiuk made a move in front of the net but couldn’t jam the puck home to tie the contest. The Oil Kings had a marvelous chance shorthanded when Lukas Sawchyn was set up alone in front of the net, but Leif Oaten who made the start for the ‘Canes made a great save with the glove to keep it a 1-0 Edmonton lead after one period. The Oil Kings outshot the Hurricanes 10-4 in the first period.
Edmonton doubled their lead early in the second period just 1:35 into the frame when Sotheran leaned into a slapshot for his second goal of the game – and 15th of the year – to make it 2-0 for the Oil Kings; Gavin Hodnett and Andrew O’Neill earned the assists on the goal. Lethbridge had a pair of power play opportunities in the second period but couldn’t solve Snell as they failed to score with their chances. The Oil Kings did strike on the power play at 15:54 when Hodnett buried a one-timer to give Edmonton a three-goal advantage; Miroslav Holinka and Sawchyn picked up the helpers on the goal. Shots were 11-11 in the middle frame as Edmonton held the edge 21-15 after two periods.
In the third period, the Hurricanes dominated the Oil Kings outshooting Edmonton 14-6 in the final twenty minutes. Lethbridge cut into the Edmonton lead at the 9:43 mark when Kyle Heger forced a turnover at the defensive blueline before pulling away on a breakaway and scoring his eighth goal of the season to make it a 3-1 game with an unassisted goal. The ‘Canes pulled the goaltender late in the game and scored their sixth extra-attacker goal of the year when Owen Berge had a shot deflect off his shinpad and into the net for his team-leading 20th goal to make it a 3-2 game; Heger and Kade Duell picked up the assists on the goal. The Hurricanes pulled the goaltender again, but ran out of time in hopes of finding an equalizing goal as the Oil Kings hung on to the 3-2 victory.
The Hurricanes outshot the Oil Kings 29-27 in the game. Lethbridge went 0/4 on the power play while Edmonton was 1/4 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Oil Kings – #24 Carter Sotheran (2 goals)
2) Oil Kings – #17 Gavin Hodnett (1 goal, 1 assist)
3) ‘Canes – #11 Kyle Heger (1 goal, 1 assist)
The loss for the Hurricanes was their third-straight defeat as they fell to 0-2-1-0 in that span. Lethbridge’s record on the road fell to 16-37-1-1 on the season while their road record slipped to 6-21-1-0 on the year. The ‘Canes fell to 1-5-0-0 this year in the season series against Edmonton.
Lethbridge will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Friday, February 20th when they welcome the Medicine Hat Tigers at 7:00pm in the first of a home-and-home set with their Highway-3 rivals. Tickets for the game can be purchased by visiting the VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.
