Blades Defeat Hurricanes 1-0 in Overtime
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes opened a two-game homestand on Friday with a 1-0 overtime loss to the Saskatoon Blades at the ENMAX Centre.
Lethbridge returned home looking to end a four-game losing streak as they welcomed Saskatoon for the final time this season. It was a low-event first period which saw the Blades outshot the Hurricanes 10-6 in the opening frame. The ‘Canes had a pair of power play opportunities in the first period as Egor Sidorov was penalized twice, but Lethbridge was unable to capitalize on the two looks. The Hurricanes best scoring chance came on a point-blank look for Sean Tschigerl on a centering pass from Miguel Marques, but he ripped the shot wide of the net as the game was scoreless after one period of play.
The Hurricanes had a great start to the second period outshooting the Blades 4-1 in the first three minutes with a pair of good chances, but neither Miguel Marques nor Will Sharpe could beat Evan Gardner who kept the game scoreless. Saskatoon had two power play opportunities in the middle frame. After just one shot on their first chance, the Blades came close on their second with a pair of great chances, including a crossbar by Fraser Minten who wired a shot off the underside of the bar behind Brady Smith. The Hurricanes killed both Blade power play chances and shortly after the second one expired, Lethbridge had a glorious chance when Landen Ward ripped a shot off the crossbar on a partial two-on-one. Saskatoon outshot Lethbridge 9-7 in the second period.
In the third period, the ‘Canes and Blades traded chances with good scoring opportunities at both ends. Smith and Gardner remained sharp in their respective creases while the Hurricanes puckstopper was the busier of the two. Saskatoon pressed late in the third period, aided by a power play, to find a go-ahead goal but Smith made countless great saves including a point-blank chance by the Blades leading scorer Trevor Wong in the dying minutes to keep the game scoreless after regulation as the game went to overtime.
In the extra session, the Blades had most of the possession as Minten had a pair of great chances to end the game on partial breakaways, but again Smith stood tall. Saskatoon eventually ended with 2:26 remaining in the extra session as Tanner Molendyk buried his eighth goal of the season snapping a shot low glove side to give the Blades the 1-0 victory; Brandon Lisowsky earned the lone assist on the goal as Saskatoon earned their ninth straight win and 40th of the season.
Saskatoon outshot Lethbridge 15-3 in the third period and overtime combined, including 4-0 in the extra session. The Blades outshot the Hurricanes 34-16 in the game. Lethbridge was 0/2 on the power play while Saskatoon went 0/3 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #31 Brady Smith (33-saves)
2) Blades – #35 Evan Gardner (16-save shutout)
3) Blades – #24 Tanner Molendyk (1 goal)
The loss for the Hurricanes was their fifth straight defeat as they fell to 15-7-4-0 on the season at the ENMAX Centre. The loss ended a five-game home winning streak for the ‘Canes as their record dropped to 7-1-2-0 in their last ten games at home while their overall record 24-24-4-0 on the season.
Lethbridge will host the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday at 6:00pm MT at the ENMAX Centre before visiting the Red Deer Rebels on Monday afternoon at 2:00pm. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.enmaxcentre.ca.