GAME DAY: Hurricanes Open Final Regular Season Homestand Against Hitmen
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes open their final regular season homestand tonight at 7:00pm as they welcome the Calgary Hitmen to the ENMAX Centre.
The Hurricanes (35-24-3-3) enters on a two-game winning streak after earning a 6-1 victory on Saturday in Edmonton against the Oil Kings. Six different goal scorers lit the lamp for the second-straight night while Bryan Thomson made 23-saves for the win. Lethbridge enters with a 3-1-0-0 record in their last four games while having posted a 20-9-1-2 record at home this season.
The Hitmen (29-28-5-3) enter on a two-game winning streak as well after a pair of wins against the Medicine Hat Tigers on the weekend, most recently earning a 4-3 win on Sunday afternoon. The Hitmen trailed 3-1 in the third period before Oliver Tulk, Brandon Whynott and Carson Wetsch scored three unanswered goals en route to the win. Calgary enters tonight with a 16-14-2-0 record on the road.
Tonight will be the final of seven meetings this season between the Hurricanes and the Hitmen; Lethbridge has posted a 4-2-0-0 record having won four of the last five matchups. 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: 2023-03-22 – LET vs. CGY
VS. HITMEN: Tonight will be the final of seven meetings on the season between the Hurricanes and Hitmen. Lethbridge has posted a 4-2-0-0 record against Calgary so far this year. Last season, the Hurricanes posted an impressive 7-1-0-0 record. Lethbridge has posted an all-time record of 84-92-0-5 with six ties against the Hitmen while going 46-43-3-3 with four ties in at the ENMAX Centre.
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
December 17th/2022 – at LET (7-2 CGY)
January 15th/2023 – at CGY (4-1 LET)
February 15th/2023 – at LET (3-0 LET)
February 25th/2023 – at CGY (4-3 LET)
March 15th/2023 – at CGY (7-1 CGY)
March 17th/2023 – at LET (6-4 LET)
March 22nd/2023 – at LET
2021-2022 REGULAR SEASON SERIES:
October 1st/2021 – at Lethbridge (9-2 LET)
October 3rd/2021 – at Calgary (4-1 LET)
December 4th/2021 – at Calgary (5-4 OT LET)
December 8th/2021 – at Lethbridge (3-2 SO LET)
January 28th/2022 – at Lethbridge (3-2 OT LET)
February 25th/2022 – at Lethbridge (8-1 CGY)
April 9th/2022 – at Lethbridge (5-1 LET)
April 17th/2022 – at Calgary (3-2 OT LET)
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (22) – Logan Wormald & Tyson Laventure
Assists (35) – Cole Shepard
Points (55) – Cole Shepard
PIMS (82) – Joe Arntsen
Plus/Minus (+12) – Chase Pauls
Wins (19) – Harrison Meneghin
Shutouts (3) – Bryan Thomson
Save % (.920) – Bryan Thomson
Goals Against Average (2.55) – Bryan Thomson
WHO’S HOT:
– Tyson Zimmer has points in 4 straight games (1g-5a); 5 of 7 games (2g-5a); 9 of 16 games (6g-7a)
– Brayden Edwards has points in 3 straight games (2g-1a); 5 of 8 games (4g-2a); 11 of 17 games (6g-6a)
– Tyson Laventure has points in 2 straight games (2g-3a); 3 of 4 games (2g-4a); 23 of 37 games (19g-16a)
– Cole Shepard has points in 2 straight games (1g-2a); 3 of 4 games (1g-3a); 15 of 24 games (7g-14a)
– Logan Wormald has points in 2 straight games (1g-1a); 4 of 8 games (2g-2a); 7 of 13 games (3g-4a)
– Tristan Zandee has points in 2 straight games (2a); 4 of 6 games (4a); 8 of 13 games (2g-7a)
– Joe Arntsen has points in 2 straight games (2a); 4 of 5 games (1g-3a); 16 of 24 games (4g-14a)
– Noah Chadwick has points in 2 straight games (1g-1a) 4 of 9 games (2g-3a)
– Miguel Marques has points in 2 straight games (1g-1a); 3 of 4 games (2g-1a)
– Blake Swetlikoff has points in 3 of 4 games (1g-2a); 5 of 10 games (4g-4a); 20 of 33 games (13g-18a)
– Jett Jones has points in 3 of 5 games (2g-1a); 4 of 8 games (2g-2a); 31 of 53 games (17g-26a)
– Nolan Bentham has points in 2 of 4 games (1g-2a); 4 of 8 games (1g-4a); 9 of 21 games (2g-9a)
– Logan McCutcheon has points in 2 of 4 games (2g-1a); 3 of 7 games (2g-3a); 8 of 18 games (3g-7a)
REGULAR SEASON MILESTONE WATCH:
– Chase Pauls is 5 points away from 50 career points
– Nolan Bentham is 7 points away from 50 career points
– Joe Arntsen is 1 game away from 200 career games
– Joe Arntsen is 20 points away from 100 career points
– Logan Wormald is 18 points away from 100 career points
– Tyson Zimmer is 7 games away from 150 career games
– Blake Swetlikoff is 15 points away from 100 career points
– Tyson Laventure is 1 point away from 100 career points
– Tyson Laventure is 8 games away from 200 career games
NEWS & NOTES:
Thru 65: The Hurricanes enter tonight with a record of 35-24-3-3 (76 points) on the season after 65 games. The ‘Canes are 20-9-1-2 at home while posting a record of 15-15-2-1 on the road. In 2021-2022, Lethbridge had gone 30-30-3-2 after 65 contests. Lethbridge went 5-5-0-1 in February and are 4-3-0-0 in March.
Clinched: The Hurricanes have officially clinched a berth in the 2023 WHL Playoffs. It marks the seventh straight season that the ‘Canes have qualified for the WHL post-season, marking a new franchise record for consecutive playoff appearances. Lethbridge currently sits fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Central Heavy: Lethbridge has three games remaining in the 2022-2023 regular season, all of which will be played against Central Division opponents. The Hurricanes will face the Red Deer Rebels twice while Calgary Hitmen once. The ‘Canes are 19-9-1-2 against the division after going 22-15-2-1 last year.
35+ Wins: Lethbridge enters tonight with 35 victories on the season, marking the fifth time in the last seven seasons (not including the shortened 2021 season) that the ‘Canes have reached that mark. It is the 13th time in team history the Hurricanes have reached the 35-win mark. It is also the seventh consecutive season recording 30-or-more wins, the longest stretch in franchise history – previous long was five years consecutively from 1989-90 to 1993-94.
4 x 20: The Hurricanes enter play tonight with four players to reach the 20-goal mark as Logan Wormald and Tyson Laventure both have 22 goals while Jett Jones has 21 and Cole Shepard 20. Tyson Zimmer sits with 17 on the year while Blake Swetlikoff with 15. Last season, the ‘Canes only had three 20+ goal getters, led by Justin Hall who recorded 34-goals. It’s the first time since 2019-2020 season that the ‘Canes have four-or-more 20-goal scorers; that year the ‘Canes had five reach the 20-goal mark.
Strong PK: Entering tonight, the Hurricanes have allowed just 20 power play goals against in their last 33 games having killed 101-of-121 penalties taken in that span for a kill rate of 83.5%. The ‘Canes have not allowed a power play goal against in 19 of their last 33 outings. Lethbridge sits ninth in the WHL in penalty kill percentage this season while holding the third-best home PK in the league.
Second All-Time: Overage netminder Bryan Thomson sits tied for second all-time in victories in Hurricanes history with 58 career wins, tied with Logan Koopmans – Stuart Skinner is the all-time leader with 88 victories. Thomson tied Koopmans with a victory in Edmonton on Saturday, March 18th at Rogers Place. The Moose Jaw product is also fifth all-time in games played with 115 appearances.
Faceoff King: Jett Jones enters tonight as the WHL leader in faceoffs taken this season with 1,546 draws taken, averaging 23.8 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.
Home Cookin’: Lethbridge enters tonight with a 20-9-1-2 record at the ENMAX Centre this season. The 20-wins at home is the fifth most among Eastern Conference teams and second-most among Central Division teams. It is the 16th time in team history the ‘Canes have won 20-or-more games in a season at home – the Hurricanes all-time record is 32 victories recorded in 1989-1990.
