GAME DAY: Hurricanes Look to Bounce Back Against Blazers
Kamloops, BC – The Lethbridge Hurricanes will look to bounce back as they face the Kamloops Blazers tonight at 8:00pm MT at the Sandman Centre.
The Hurricanes (12-9-2-0) had their three-game winning streak end on Tuesday with a 4-1 loss to the Kelowna Rockets at Prospera Place. Logan Wormald scored the lone ‘Canes goal on a penalty shot while Harrison Meneghin made 23-saves in the defeat. The Hurricanes outshot the Rockets 35-27 in the contest. Lethbridge enters tonight with a 6-6-0-0 road record while having gone 2-1-0-0 in the first three games of a five-game BC Division road trip.
The Blazers (5-12-2-2) enter on a two-game losing streak having dropped two-straight games to the Spokane Chiefs on the road. Kamloops suffered a 3-2 shootout loss to the Chiefs on Sunday afternoon. Kamloops enters tonight having posted a 4-4-2-0 record at home this season while going 1-2-0-0 against Central Division opponents.
Tonight will be the first-and-only meeting on the season between the Hurricanes and Blazers while it will be Lethbridge’s first visit to Kamloops since March 6, 2020. The game can be streamed on WHL Live, watched at Browns Socialhouse in Lethbridge or heard on 106.7 ROCK.
DOWNLOAD GAME NOTES/STATS HERE:
VS. BLAZERS: Tonight will be the first-and-only meeting of the season between the Hurricanes and Blazers. Lethbridge dropped a 6-2 decision at the ENMAX Centre in the lone meeting against Kamloops last season. The Hurricanes have posted an all-time record of 26-36-5-1 with one tie against the Blazers while going 12-21-1-0 all-time in Kamloops. The ‘Canes have lost two-straight games against the Blazers while having gone 4-4-1-0 in the last nine meetings between the two teams. Lethbridge last visited Kamloops on March 6th, 2020 – a span of 1,356 days.
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
November 22nd/2023 – at Kamloops
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES:
February 24th/2023 – at Lethbridge (6-2 KAM)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (11) – Brayden Edwards & Kooper Gizowski
Assists (13) – Miguel Marques
Points (20) – Brayden Edwards & Miguel Marques
PIMS (54) – Landen Ward
Plus/Minus (+12) – Noah Chadwick
Wins (12) – Harrison Meneghin
Shutouts (2) – Harrison Meneghin
Save % (.923) – Harrison Meneghin
Goals Against Average (2.35) – Harrison Meneghin
WHO’S HOT:
– Logan Wormald has points in 4 straight games (3g-2a); 5 of 6 games (3g-3a); 11 of 14 games (5g-9a)
– Elias Knoester has points in 3 straight games (3a); 5 of 7 games (2g-4a); 6 of 10 games (2g-5a)
– Kooper Gizowski has points in 5 of 6 games (7g); 7 of 10 games (10g)
– Kooper Gizowski has goals in 5 of 6 games (7g)
– Leo Braillard has points in 4 of 5 games (2g-5a); 10 of 12 games (5g-11a)
– Tristen Doyle has points in 3 of 4 games (3a)
– Noah Chadwick has points in 2 of 3 games (2g); 6 of 9 games (3g-3a); 15 of 21 games (6g-11a)
– Brayden Edwards has points in 3 of 5 games (4g-2a); 5 of 8 games (5g-3a); 11 of 18 games (9g-8a)
– Miguel Marques has points in 2 of 4 games (3g-3a); 3 of 8 games (3g-4a); 9 of 20 games (7g-11a)
– Tyson Zimmer has points in 2 of 4 games (1g-1a); 3 of 7 games (2g-2a); 11 of 22 games (7g-6a)
– Logan McCutcheon has points in 2 of 4 games (3a); 3 of 7 games (6a); 6 of 15 games (9a)
– Blake Swetlikoff has points in 2 of 5 games (1g-1a); 3 of 7 games (1g-2a); 6 of 17 games (2g-4a)
– Carter Dereniwsky has points in 2 of 8 games (2g-1a); 3 of 10 games (3g-1a)
REGULAR SEASON MILESTONE WATCH:
– Logan McCutcheon is 15 points away from 100 career points
– Logan McCutcheon is 14 games away from 200 career games
– Joe Arntsen is 9 points away from 100 career points
– Kooper Gizowski is 17 games away from 150 career games
– Kooper Gizowski is 5 points away from 50 career points
– Miguel Marques is 8 games away from 100 career games
– Miguel Marques is 4 points away from 50 career points
– Logan Wormald is 15 games away from 150 career games
– Logan Wormald is 4 points away from 100 career points
– Brayden Edwards is 13 games away from 150 career games
– Brayden Edwards is 6 assists away from 50 career assists
– Tyson Zimmer is 2 assists away from 50 career assists
– Tyson Zimmer is 14 points away from 100 career points
– Blake Swetlikoff is 8 points away from 100 career points
NEWS & NOTES:
Thru 23: The Hurricanes enter tonight with a 12-9-2-0 record (26 points) on the season after 23 games. The ‘Canes are 6-3-2-0 at home and 6-6-0-0 on the road so far this season. In 2022-2023, the Hurricanes had posted a 12-10-0-1 record after 23 games.
Road Trippin’: Lethbridge is currently on their longest road trip of the season. The Hurricanes will face all five BC opponents on the 12-day trip that will see the team span roughly 4,000 kilometres. The ‘Canes are 2-1-0-0 so far on the road trip after earning wins in Victoria and Vancouver while losing in Kelowna.
Western Opposition: The ‘Canes are in a stretch where they will face Western Conference opponents nine times in a 12-game span. Lethbridge has posted a 4-3-0-0 against Western opponents so far this season having posted a 2-2-0-0 record against the US Division and a 2-1-0-0 record against the BC Division.
Golden Return: Hurricanes defenceman Will Sharpe and prospect goaltender Koen Cleaver both captured a gold medal at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Prince Edward Island with Canada White. Sharpe was held pointless in 8 games while Cleaver appeared in two games posting a 2.43 goals against average and a .875 save percentage.
Giz-SCORE-ski: Third year forward Kooper Gizowski has found his scoring touch. Entering tonight, the Edmonton, AB, product has racked up 10 goals in his last 10 games. Gizowski has 11 goals in 21 games this season. He enters tonight with goals in five of his last six games and has the highest shooting percentage in the WHL at 26.8%.
Kash-ing In: The Hurricanes announced November 9th that 16-year-old Kash Andresen has been added to the Main Roster for the remainder of the 2023-2024 season. The Saskatoon, SK, product was selected by the ‘Canes in the second-round (33rd overall) in the 2022 WHL Draft. Andresen has appeared in eight games this season for the Hurricanes going pointless.
Swiss Pick: Leo Braillard has been terrific since joining the Hurricanes via CHL waivers from the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes. The 2005-born import forward has recorded 16 points (5g-11a) in 12 games while recording a point in all but two of those games. Braillard has 20 points (7g-13a) in 19 CHL games this season split between Shawinigan and Lethbridge.
The Work-horse: Hurricanes netminder Harrison Meneghin has been stellar this season. The Surrey, BC, product enters tonight with a 12-7-2-0 record on the season with a 2.35 goals against average and a .923 save percentage with two shutouts. Meneghin has started 10-straight games while having started 18 of the previous 19 games for the Hurricanes.