THE COMEBACK
May 13th, 1997 – The Lethbridge Hurricanes only appearance in the MasterCard Memorial Cup was an unforgettable one. Two days after opening the tournament with a 4-2 victory over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on May 11th, the Hurricanes offered up a movie-like script in a game against the host Hull Olympiques. Trailing 6-1 after two periods to the Olympiques, the Hurricanes had faith. An early goal by Byron Ritchie followed by a Shane Willis tally 43 seconds later and the ‘Canes were only down by three. Ritchie struck again o-n the power play before Mark Smith netted a goal getting Lethbridge within one as they trailed 6-5. With just over two minutes left in regulation, Willis scored his second of the game to tie the game at 6-6 and force overtime. In the overtime period, Mike Josephson would play the hero as he lifted the Hurricanes to an incredible 7-6 overtime win over the Olympiques completing the largest come back in MasterCard Memorial Cup history.
