GAME DAY: Hurricanes End Homestand Against Wheat Kings
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes end a brief two-game homestand tonight at 7:00pm as they welcome the Brandon Wheat Kings to the ENMAX Centre.
The Hurricanes (29-18-3-3) enter on a three-game point streak having gone 2-0-1-0 in that stretch after a 3-0 win over the Calgary Hitmen on Wednesday. Anton Astashevich, Logan Wormald and Cole Shepard scored in the win while Bryan Thomson made 36-saves for his second straight shutout. Lethbridge enters tonight with a 17-8-1-2 record at home this year. The Hurricanes sit fifth in the Eastern Conference standings and sit five points back of fourth place.
The Wheat Kings (21-23-7-0) enters 4-3-3-0 in their last ten games but are coming off a 7-5 loss on Tuesday to the Swift Current Broncos. Brett Hyland scored twice while Nate Danielson, Dawson Pasternak and Anthony Wilson scored the other goals in the defeat. Brandon has posted an 11-11-3-0 record away from this season and sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.
Tonight will be the final of four head-to-head meetings between the Hurricanes and Wheat Kings; Lethbridge has posted a 2-1-0-0 record so far this season as the road team had been victorious in each of the three meetings.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, the Yates Memorial Theatre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.lethbridgehurricanes.com.
DOWNLOAD GAME NOTES/STATS HERE: 2023-02-17 – LET vs. BRD
VS. WHEAT KINGS: Tonight will be the final of four meetings on the season between the Hurricanes and Wheat Kings. This year, the ‘Canes have posted a 2-1-0-0 record against the Wheat Kings after going winless in four games posting a record of 0-4-0-0 against Brandon last year. The ‘Canes are 74-82-3-1 with 10 ties all-time against the Wheat Kings while going 45-29-2-0 with seven ties all-time at home.
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
October 21st/2022 – at Lethbridge (2-1 BRD)
November 25th/2022 – at Brandon (4-3 LET)
November 26th/2022 – at Brandon (6-4 LET)
February 17th/2023 – at Lethbridge
2021-2022 REGULAR SEASON SERIES:
November 11th/2021 – at Brandon (5-2 BRD)
December 3rd/2021 – at Lethbridge (4-2 BRD)
February 18th/2022 – at Lethbridge (5-2 BRD)
March 4th/2022 – at Brandon (6-3 BRD)
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (20) – Logan Wormald
Assists (27) – Cole Shepard
Points (46) – Cole Shepard
PIMS (73) – Joe Arntsen
Plus/Minus (+14) – Chase Pauls
Wins (19) – Harrison Meneghin
Shutouts (1) – Harrison Meneghin & Bryan Thomson
Save % (.940) – Bryan Thomson
Goals Against Average (1.81) – Bryan Thomson
WHO’S HOT:
– Cole Shepard has points in 4 straight games (2g-3a); 8 of 12 games (6g-6a); 33 of 51 games (19g-27a)
– Joe Arntsen has points in 4 straight games (1g-4a); 7 of 8 games (2g-7a); 9 of 12 games (3g-8a)
– Jett Jones has points in 3 straight games (1g-3a); 5 of 9 games (2g-6a); 26 of 41 games (14g-24a)
– Logan McCutcheon has points in 2 straight games (3a); 3 of 4 games (1g-3a); 4 of 6 games (1g-4a)
– Logan Wormald has points in 3 of 5 games (2g-1a); 4 of 7 games (2g-3a); 10 of 21 games (9g-4a)
– Brayden Edwards has points in 2 of 3 games (2a); 3 of 5 games (3a)
– Tyson Laventure has points in 4 of 6 games (3g-1a); 6 of 10 games (4g-3a); 17 of 25 games (15g-11a)
– Blake Swetlikoff has points in 5 of 8 games (2g-5a); 14 of 21 games (7g-14a)
– Nolan Bentham has points in 3 of 7 games (1g-3a); 4 of 9 games (1g-4a)
– Trae Wilke has points in 3 of 7 games (1g-2a); 4 of 9 games (1g-3a)
REGULAR SEASON MILESTONE WATCH:
– Logan McCutcheon is 2 games away from 150 career games
– Chase Pauls is 5 games away from 150 career games
– Chase Pauls is 7 points away from 50 career points
– Joe Arntsen is 13 games away from 200 career games
– Anton Astashevich is 5 games away from 100 career games
– Logan Wormald is 24 points away from 100 career points
– Blake Swetlikoff is 6 games away from 150 career games
– Cole Shepard is 5 points away from 100 career points
– Tyson Laventure is 10 points away from 100 career points
NEWS & NOTES:
Thru 53: The Hurricanes enter tonight with a record of 29-18-3-3 (64 points) on the season after 53 games. The ‘Canes are 17-8-1-2 at home while posting a record of 12-10-2-1 on the road. In 2021-2022, Lethbridge had gone 23-26-2-2 after 53 contests. Lethbridge 6-2-3-1 in January and are 4-2-0-1 in February.
20-Goal Guy: Logan Wormald became the first Hurricane to reach the 20-goal mark this season after scoring his 20th goal of the season on Wednesday against the Calgary Hitmen. It is the first time in Wormald’s career he has reached the 20-goal plateau. Cole Shepard has 19 goals while Jett Jones and Tyson Laventure both have 18 goals on the season. Last year, the ‘Canes only had three 20+ goal getters.
Strong PK: Entering tonight, the Hurricanes have allowed just seven power play goals against in their last 21 games having killed 67-of-74 penalties taken in that span for a kill rate of 90.5%. The ‘Canes have not allowed a power play goal against in three straight games and 15 of their last 21 outings. Lethbridge sits 6th in the WHL in penalty kill percentage this season while holding the best home PK in the league.
Streakin’: The Hurricanes enter play tonight having posted a 8-3-3-2 record in their last 16 games. Lethbridge has posted a 24-10-3-3 record in their last 41 games. Lethbridge has gone 15-5-1-2 in their last 23 games on home ice and 9-5-2-1 in their last 17 games away from home.
Cen-tendy: Overage goaltender Bryan Thomson is just the eighth netminder in Hurricanes history to play 100+ games and the first to reach the 100-game mark since Stuart Skinner, who is the all-time leader (182GP). Thomson is also the seventh goaltender in ‘Canes history to reach the 50-win mark after earning a 35-save performance in a 4-1 win against his hometown Moose Jaw Warriors on February 1st.
Rookie Tendy: Hurricanes netminder Harrison Meneghin enters tonight with a 19-10-2-2 record, sitting one win shy of becoming the 14th goalie in ‘Canes history to reach 20-wins in a season – he would become just the fourth rookie goaltender to reach that mark joining Logan Koopmans, Juha Metsola and Carl Tetachuk who previously accomplished the feat. Meneghin enters tonight 17-7-2-2 record in his last 28 starts.
Great Fit: 19-year-old forward Blake Swetlikoff has fit in seamlessly with the Hurricanes since being acquired from the Spokane Chiefs on January 5th. Swetlikoff has racked up 14 points (4g-10a) in 15 games with the ‘Canes and enters with points in 14 of his last 20 games totaling 21 points (7g-14a) in that span.
Faceoff King: Jett Jones enters tonight as the WHL leader in faceoffs taken this season with 1,306 draws taken, averaging 24.6 draws per game. Jones has won 20+ faceoffs in a game four times this season, becoming the first Hurricanes centre-man to accomplish that feat on four occasions since the WHL began tracking faceoffs in 2017, surpassing Jake Leschyshyn and Giorgio Estephan – who both did it twice.