GAME DAY: Hurricanes Visit Hitmen in Battle for Eighth Place
Calgary, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes will open a three-game road stretch today as they visit the Calgary Hitmen at 2:00pm at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Hurricanes (25-26-5-0) enter having suffered a 2-1 loss on Friday at the ENMAX Centre to the Edmonton Oil Kings. Sean Tschigerl scored the lone goal in the loss for the ‘Canes while Harrison Meneghin made 15-saves in the defeat. It marked the eighth loss for the Hurricanes in their last nine games having posted a 1-6-2-0 record in those nine contests. Lethbridge enters today with a 9-18-0-0 road record this season. The ‘Canes currently sit eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Hitmen (23-25-7-1) enter on a three-game losing streak after dropping a 3-2 overtime loss to the Wenatchee Wild on Friday at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Maxim Muranov and Pavel Bocharov scored in the loss while Ethan Buenaventura made 39-saves and was named the game’s first star. Calgary enters today with a 3-6-1-0 record in their last 10 games and sit 16-8-3-1 at home this season. The Hitmen currently sit ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
Today will be the sixth of seven meetings on the season between the Hurricanes and Hitmen; Lethbridge has posted a 3-1-1-0 record in the first five contests while going 0-1-0-0 in Calgary this season. 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: 2024-02-25 – LET at CGY
VS. HITMEN: Tonight will be the sixth of seven meetings on the season between the Hurricanes and Hitmen. Lethbridge has posted a 3-1-1-0 record against Calgary so far this season after posting a 4-3-0-0 record in seven meetings against the Hitmen last season; the ‘Canes are 14-5-1-0 over the last three seasons against the Hitmen. Lethbridge has posted an all-time record of 87-94-10-5 with six ties against the Hitmen while going 38-50-6-2 with two ties all-time in Calgary.
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
October 18th/2023 – at Lethbridge (3-2 OT LET)
October 22nd/2023 – at Calgary (4-3 CGY)
October 27th/2023 – at Lethbridge (4-3 OT CGY)
November 29th/2023 – at Lethbridge (4-1 LET)
February 3rd/2024 – at Lethbridge (6-0 LET)
February 25th/2024 – at Calgary
March 17th/2024 – at Calgary
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 (3-2 CGY)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (27) – Sean Tschigerl
Assists (38) – Miguel Marques
Points (62) – Miguel Marques
PIMS (103) – Landen Ward
Plus/Minus (+15) – Brayden Edwards
Wins (23) – Harrison Meneghin
Shutouts (3) – Harrison Meneghin
Save % (.918) – Harrison Meneghin
Goals Against Average (2.59) – Harrison Meneghin
WHO’S HOT:
– Sean Tschigerl has points in 2 straight games (1g-3a); 4 of 6 games (1g-5a); 13 of 26 games (14g-13a)
– Leo Braillard has points in 2 straight games (2g-1a); 4 of 11 games (3g-3a); 20 of 36 games (11g-19a)
– Logan McCutcheon has points in 3 of 4 games (3a)
– Logan Wormald has points in 3 of 4 games (2g-3a); 5 of 12 games (3g-4a); 23 of 36 games (13g-25a)
– Brayden Edwards has points in 2 of 3 games (3a); 3 of 6 games (1g-3a); 32 of 51 games (19g-32a)
– Miguel Marques has points in 2 of 4 games (2g-1a); 3 of 7 games (3g-1a); 25 of 37 games (20g-27a)
– Joe Arntsen has points in 2 of 4 games (2a)
– Trae Wilke has points in 2 of 4 games (1g-1a)
– Landen Ward has points in 2 of 4 games (2a)
– Noah Chadwick has points in 2 of 10 games (4a); 7 of 17 games (1g-10a); 31 of 54 games (9g-34a)
– Dylan Sydor has points in 6 of 11 games (4g-3a); 13 of 23 games (9g-9a)
REGULAR SEASON MILESTONE WATCH:
– Logan McCutcheon is 14 assists away from 100 career assists
– Dylan Sydor is 8 points away from 100 career points
– Dylan Sydor is 4 goals away from 50 career goals
– Dylan Sydor is 4 assists away from 50 career assists
– Dylan Sydor is 9 games away from 200 career games
– Trae Wilke is 9 games away from 100 career games
– Miguel Marques is 12 points away from 100 career points
– Sean Tschigerl is 5 goals away from 100 career goals
– Logan Wormald is 21 points away from 150 career points
– Brayden Edwards is 9 goals away from 50 career goals
– Leo Braillard is 15 assists away from 50 career CHL assists
– Harrison Meneghin is 8 wins away from 50 career wins
NEWS & NOTES:
Thru 55: The Hurricanes enter tonight with a 25-26-5-0 record (55 points) on the season after 56 games. The ‘Canes are 16-8-5-0 at home and 9-18-0-0 on the road so far this season. In 2022-2023, the Hurricanes had posted a 30-20-3-3 record after 56 games. Lethbridge has posted a 2-7-2-0 record in February.
The Cap: Joe Arntsen skated in his 250th career WHL game, all with the Hurricanes, on February 9th in Brandon against the Wheat Kings. The former second-round draft pick (35th overall) in the 2018 WHL Draft. He has recorded 101 career points (27g-74a) along with 309 penalty minutes. Arntsen currently sits 14th all-time in Hurricanes games played (255). The Dinsmore, SK product is three games shy of matching Ben Wright (259) for 13th all-time in games played.
Home Sweet Home: The Hurricanes have been strong at home this season having posted a 16-8-5-0 record at the ENMAX Centre. The ‘Canes have collected points in eight of their last nine games at home posting a 6-1-2-0 record in that span while outscoring the opposition 34-17 in those eight contests. Lethbridge has posted an 8-2-3-0 record in their last 13 games at home.
Climbing Ranks: Hurricanes netminder Harrison Meneghin reached the 20-win plateau for the first time in his career on January 26th becoming the 14th goaltender in ‘Canes history to reach that mark in a season. Meneghin enters tonight with a 23-19-3-0 record on the year with a 2.59 GAA and a .918 SV% with three shutouts. Meneghin is tied for 12th all-time in victories by a Hurricanes goaltender (42) tied with Michael Maniago. He sits two wins shy of David Trofimenkoff (44) for 11th all-time in ‘Canes history.
Hot Special Teams: The ‘Canes power play and penalty kill have been key since Christmas. Lethbridge’s power play has scored a goal in 11 of the 19 games going 16-for-63 (25.4%) in that span. The ‘Canes are 22-for-79 (27.8%) in their last 24 games. Meanwhile, the penalty kill has been sharp having killed 65 of their last 75 power plays against. The Hurricanes PK has gone 74-for-86 (86.1%) in their last 31 games. Both the ‘Canes PP and PK are ranked in the top-10 in the WHL this season.
Miggy-Wiggy: Sophomore forward Miguel Marques enters tonight with points in 23 of his last 33 games having collected 41 points (17g-24a). The Prince George, BC, product has recorded 47 points (20g-27a) in his last 37 games while he leads the team in assists (38) and points (62) while sitting 2nd in goals (24). He was ranked 33rd among NA skaters by Central Scouting. He’s on pace for 30 goals and 78 points this year.
NHL Ink: Hurricanes defenceman Noah Chadwick signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 22nd. The Saskatoon, SK, product was a sixth-round (185th overall) selection by the Leafs in the 2023 NHL Draft. He became the first ‘Cane since Dylan Cozens (BUF) to sign an ELC deal. Chadwick has recorded 43 points (9g-34a) in 54 games with the Hurricanes this season. He is seven points shy of becoming the first ‘Canes defenceman to record 50+ points in a season since Alex Cotton (67) and Calen Addison (52) accomplished the feat during the 2019-2020 regular season.
