GAME DAY: Hurricanes Visit Hitmen in Matinee Affair
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes will look to stay perfect on the young season this afternoon as they visit the Calgary Hitmen at 2:00pm at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Hurricanes (3-0-0-0) earned their third-straight win to start the season on Friday defeating the Swift Current Broncos 6-3 at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. Kash Andresen scored twice while Kooper Gizowski, Leo Braillard, Miguel Marques and Brayden Edwards scored the others; Brady Smith made 13-saves in the win. Lethbridge enters today with a 1-0-0-0 record on the road this season.
The Hitmen (0-1-0-0) opened their season with a 4-1 loss Saturday afternoon in Edmonton against the Oil Kings at Rogers Place. Maxim Muranov scored the lone goal in the defeat while Ethan Buenaventura stopped 25 of 28 shots he faced in the game. Calgary outshot Edmonton 34-29 in the contest.
Today will be the first of eight meetings on the season between the Hurricanes and Hitmen; Lethbridge posted a 4-1-2-0 record in seven meetings last season against Calgary but were downed 5-2 in the lone pre-season match-up this year. The game can be streamed on WHL Live, watched at Browns Socialhouse in Lethbridge or heard on 106.7 ROCK.
DOWNLOAD MEDIA KIT: 2024-09-29 – LET at CGY
VS. HITMEN: Today will be the first of eight meetings on the season between the Hurricanes and Hitmen. Lethbridge posted a 4-1-2-0 record in seven meetings against Calgary in 2023-2024. The ‘Canes have posted an impressive 15-6-1-0 record in the last 22 meetings against the Hitmen. Lethbridge has posted an all-time 88-94-11-5 with six ties against Calgary while going 39-50-7-2 with two ties all-time in Calgary.
2024-2025 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
September 29th/2024 – at Calgary
October 19th/2024 – at Calgary
November 1st/2024 – at Lethbridge
December 27th/2024 – at Lethbridge
January 25th/2025 – at Lethbridge
February 2nd/2025 – at Calgary
February 11th/2025 – at Calgary
March 15th/2025 – at Lethbridge
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 (9-2 LET)
March 17th/2024 – at Calgary (3-2 CGY OT)
2024-2025 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (2) – Kash Andresen & Leo Braillard
Assists (3) – Tristen Doyle & Brayden Edwards
Points (4) – Hayden Pakkala & Brayden Edwards
PIMS (9) – Leo Braillard
Plus/Minus (+3) – Leo Braillard
Wins (2) – Brady Smith
Shutouts (0) – N/A
Save % (.968) – Koen Cleaver
Goals Against Average (0.95) – Koen Cleaver
2024 PRE-SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (3) – Leo Braillard
Assists (3) – Three Players
Points (5) – Kooper Gizowski
PIMS (8) – Ryder Ellis
Plus/Minus (+3) – Reid Soper
Wins (1) – Leif Oaten & Brady Smith
Shutouts (0) – N/A
Save % (1.000) – Leif Oaten
Goals Against Average (0.00) – Leif Oaten
WHO’S HOT (Dating Back to Last Season):
– Tristen Doyle has points in 4 straight games (1g-3a); 5 of 8 games (1g-5a)
– Hayden Pakkala has points in 3 straight games (1g-3a)
– Miguel Marques has points in 2 straight games (1g-3a); 5 of 6 games (3g-5a); 8 of 12 games (5g-9a)
– Logan Wormald has points in 2 straight games (1g-1a); 4 of 5 games (2g-2a); 14 of 18 games (7g-11a)
– Brayden Edwards has points in 3 of 4 games (3g-4a); 12 of 16 games (11g-10a)
– Noah Chadwick has points in 2 of 3 games (3a); 3 of 5 games (1g-4a); 8 of 13 games (3g-11a)
– Logan McCutcheon has points in 2 of 3 games (1g-2a); 5 of 7 games (1g-6a)
– Leo Braillard has points in 2 of 3 games (2g)
REGULAR SEASON MILESTONE WATCH:
– Logan McCutcheon is 3 assists away from 100 career assists
– Noah Chadwick is 3 games away from 150 career games
– Logan Wormald is 8 points away from 150 career points
– Hayden Pakkala is 1 game away from 200 career games
– Trae Johnson is 10 games away from 200 career games
– Leo Braillard is 3 games away from 100 career CHL games
– Harrison Meneghin is 10 games away from 100 career games
– Harrison Meneghin is 4 wins away from 50 career victories
NEWS & NOTES:
Thru 3: The Hurricanes enter tonight with a 3-0-0-0 record (6 points) on the season after three games. The ‘Canes are 2-0-0-0 at home and 1-0-0-0 on the road so far this season. In 2023-2024, Lethbridge had posted a 3-0-0-0 record after three games.
Deja-Vu: For the second straight season, the Hurricanes have started the new year with three-straight victories. In 2023-2024, the ‘Canes started the season with three-straight wins which marked the first time they accomplished that feat since 2008-2009. The last time Lethbridge opened a season with four consecutive wins was 1996-1997 when they began their Championship season 5-0-0-0.
What A Return: Brayden Edwards, Miguel Marques and Noah Chadwick had a triumphant return to the Hurricanes line-up on Friday in a 6-3 win over Swift Current. The trio who returned from NHL Training Camps combined for seven points, led by a four-point effort by Edwards (1g-3a).
Four Return: The Hurricanes received four members of their team back from NHL Training Camps this week. Brayden Edwards (Detroit), Miguel Marques (Nashville), Noah Chadwick (Toronto) and Harrison Meneghin (Tampa Bay) all returned from camps. Landen Ward (Ottawa) returned last week.
WHL Award: Rookie goaltender Koen Cleaver was named the WHL’s Goaltender of the Week for opening weekend. The Port Alberni, BC, product was terrific making 30-saves for his first WHL victory on Saturday in Red Deer against the Rebels. Cleaver posted a 0.95 goals against average and a sparkling .968 save percentage in his lone start.
Clutch Worm: Fourth year forward Logan Wormald scored his third career overtime winning goal on Saturday, September 21st in Red Deer against the Rebels. Wormald, along with Noah Chadwick, are two of just seven players in team history to score three-or-more overtime winners. Mike Wirll, Giorgio Estephan, Brennan Menell and Alex Cotton have also scored three while the franchise leader was Nathan Barrett who netted five OT winners in his time in Lethbridge.
PRE-SZN: Lethbridge ended their 2024 ENMAX Pre-Season with a 2-2-0-0 record after ending the exhibition schedule with a 6-3 win in Medicine Hat against the Tigers. The ‘Canes two victories both came against the Tigers while suffering losses to the Red Deer Rebels and Calgary Hitmen.
Pre-Season Leader: Kooper Gizowski had two good offensive showings in the pre-season leading the Hurricanes in scoring with five points (2g-3a) in two games. The 19-year-old had a three-point effort (1g-2a) in the ‘Canes final exhibition game in Medicine Hat. He had 28 points (16g-12a) in 64 games for Lethbridge last season.
Sweet-16: The Hurricanes currently have two 16-year-old players on their roster: Chase Petersen and Gavin Lesiuk. The pair were both second round selections by the ‘Canes in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft. The duo combined for four points (3g-1a) in the pre-season for the Hurricanes.
