GAME DAY: Hurricanes Open 25-26 Season Against Hitmen in Dairy Queen Home Opener
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes open the 2025-2026 regular season tonight as they welcome the Calgary Hitmen at 7:00pm at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena in the Dairy Queen Home Opener.
The Hurricanes ended the 2025 ENMAX Pre-Season schedule with a 1-4-0-0 record after earning a 7-1 victory over the Hitmen on Saturday at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. Kai Anderson and Easton Daneault each had two goals and an assist in the win while Chase Petersen, Shane Smith and Jake Evans added the others. Koen Cleaver made 26-saves in the victory. Lethbridge was led during the pre-season offensively by Daneault who finished tied for third in the WHL with seven points while Anderson led the team in goals with three.
The Hitmen finished their five-game pre-season schedule with a record of 3-2-0-0 after suffering back-to-back defeats to the ‘Canes and Edmonton Oil Kings. Calgary’s lone goal against the Hurricanes last Saturday came from Luc Trevors while Aidan Hesse made 31-saves before being relieved for Kaleb Page. The Hitmen were led during the pre-season offensively by Keaton Jundt who recorded five points in four games while also leading the team in goals with three.
Tonight will be the first of eight regular season meetings between the Hurricanes and Hitmen. Lethbridge split a pair pre-season games against Calgary this year. The ‘Canes were 2-5-1-0 during the regular season last year against the Hitmen, but defeated them in seven games during the second round of the WHL Playoffs.
Tickets for tonight’s Dairy Queen Home Opener can be purchased by visiting the Yates Memorial or VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre’s, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca.
DOWNLOAD MEDIA KIT: 2025-09-19 – LET vs. CGY
VS. HITMEN: Tonight will be the first of eight head-to-head meetings between the Hurricanes and Hitmen. Last year, the ‘Canes posted a 2-5-1-0 record during the regular season against the Hitmen before defeating Calgary in seven games in the second-round of the WHL Playoffs. Lethbridge posted a 1-1-0-0 record in two pre-season games against Calgary.
2025-2026 REGULAR SEASON SERIES:
September 19th/2025 – at Lethbridge
September 20th/2025 – at Calgary
October 5th/2025 – at Calgary
October 17th/2025 – at Lethbridge
December 6th/2025 – at Lethbridge
January 11th/2026 – at Calgary
January 30th/2026 – at Lethbridge
March 21st/2026 – at Calgary
2024-2025 REGULAR SEASON SERIES:
September 29th/2024 – at Calgary (3-1 CGY)
October 19th/2024 – at Calgary (6-1 CGY)
November 1st/2024 – at Lethbridge (5-3 CGY)
December 27th/2024 – at Lethbridge (4-1 LET)
January 25th/2025 – at Lethbridge (3-2 CGY)
February 2nd/2025 – at Calgary (4-3 LET)
February 11th/2025 – at Calgary (3-2 OT CGY)
March 15th/2025 – at Lethbridge (3-1 CGY)
2025 ENMAX Pre-Season Schedule:
Game 1 – Tue, Sept. 2nd – Lethbridge vs. Medicine Hat – 7:00pm (VisitLethbridge.com Arena) – 7-4 Loss
Game 2 – Wed, Sept. 3rd – Lethbridge vs. Calgary – 7:00pm (VisitLethbridge.com Arena) – 6-2 Loss
Game 3 – Sat, Sept. 6th – Lethbridge at Medicine Hat – 7:00pm (Co-op Place) – 4-2 Loss
Game 4 – Fri, Sept. 12th – Lethbridge at Red Deer – 7:00pm (Marchant Crane Centrium) – 2-0 Loss
Game 5 – Sat, Sept. 13th – Lethbridge vs. Calgary – 6:00pm (VisitLethbridge.com Arena) – 7-1 Win
2025 PRE-SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (3) – Kai Anderson
Assists (5) – Easton Daneault
Points (7) – Easton Daneault
PIMS (9) – Chase Petersen
Plus/Minus (+2) – Five Players
Wins (1) – Koen Cleaver
Shutouts (0) – N/A
Save % (.911) – Koen Cleaver
Goals Against Average (2.50) – Koen Cleaver
2024-2025 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (31) – Brayden Edwards
Assists (57) – Brayden Yager
Points (82) – Brayden Yager
PIMS (92) – Trae Johnson
Plus/Minus (+35) – Logan Wormald
Wins (26) – Jackson Unger
Shutouts (2) – Koen Cleaver & Jackson Unger
Save % (.899) – Jackson Unger
Goals Against Average (3.15) – Jackson Unger
REGULAR SEASON MILESTONE WATCH:
– Carsen Adair is 31 games away from 100 career games
– Shane Smith is 35 points away from 150 career points
– Logan Wormald is 14 games away from 250 career games
– Logan Wormald is 15 goals away from 100 career goals
– Logan Wormald is 40 points away from 250 career points
– Hudson Kibblewhite is 10 games away from 100 career games
– Matteo Fabrizi is 34 games away from 250 career games
– Matteo Fabrizi is 9 points away from 50 career points
NEWS & NOTES:
Home Opener: The Hurricanes open the 2025-2026 regular season tonight against the Calgary Hitmen in their 39th home opener. It marks the tenth time in their history that the Hurricanes will host the Hitmen in their home opener and the first since 2021 when Lethbridge earned a 9-2 victory. The ‘Canes are 5-2-0-0 with two ties all-time against Calgary in their home opener. Lethbridge is 23-12-0-1 with two ties in their history in home openers while going 20-16-0-1 with one tie in season opening games.
Five-Pack: The ‘Canes ended the 2025 ENMAX Pre-Season with a 1-4-0-0 record in their five games. Lethbridge earned a 7-1 win over the Hitmen to end the exhibition season on September 13th. The Hurricanes were outscored 20-15 in the five games averaging 3.00 goals per game and 4.00 goals against per game. Lethbridge went 5/19 on the power play (26.3%) finishing seventh in the pre-season.
Good Showing: Rookie forward Easton Daneault led the Hurricanes in scoring during the pre-season amassing seven points (2g-5a) in four games. He finished tied for third in the WHL exhibition scoring race while sitting tied for second in the Eastern Conference. Daneault, Kai Anderson, Enzo DiDomenicantonio, Logan Wormald and Shane Smith all finished the pre-season at-or-above a point-per-game.
Aye-Aye Captain: The Hurricanes announced on September 16th that Logan Wormald was named the 33rd Captain in team history succeeding Noah Chadwick. Wormald is entering his fifth season with the ‘Canes having appeared in 236 career games. Shane Smith, Matteo Fabrizi and Luke Cozens were also named Alternate Captains for the 2025-2026 season.
New Bench Boss: Matt Anholt was named the 16th head coach in Hurricanes history on June 25th. Anholt has spent the past seven seasons as an assistant / associate coach with the ‘Canes. He has posted an all-time record of 5-4-0-0 as the head coach of the Hurricanes. Matt and Hurricanes General Manager Peter Anholt are the winningest father-son coaching duo in WHL history with a combined 471 total wins.
Coaching Staff: Joining new head coach Matt Anholt, Lethbridge announced that Ryan Aasman will return for his fifth season as an assistant coach. The Hurricanes also announced the additions of former WHL player Torrin White as an assistant coach while adding Matt Weninger as the new goaltending coach as he joins Lethbridge after spending the previous seven seasons with the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Sweet-16’s: The Hurricanes enter the 2025-2026 season with four 16-year-old players including forwards Tyden Lafournaise, Enzo DiDomenicantonio and Jake Evans along with goaltender Leif Oaten. Lafournaise, Evans and Oaten were all selected in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft while DiDomenicantonio was chosen in the first-round of the 2024 US Priority Draft.
