Hurricanes Beat Tigers 6-1, Sweep Season Series
Medicine Hat, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes earned their second straight victory on Saturday with a 6-1 triumph in Medicine Hat against the Tigers are Co-op Place.
The game marked a special occasion as the Tigers organization celebrated the legendary career of long-time radio broadcaster of the Tigers, Bob Ridley, with a wonderful pre-game ceremony that included both team’s players on the ice and a banner unveiled.
After the pre-game festivities, the teams came out with a bang with a high-energy game to start as there wasn’t a whistle for the first three minutes of the game. Lethbridge struck first when Tyson Laventure tapped home a centering pass from Joe Arntsen to make it 1-0 just 6:34 into the game; Logan McCutcheon earned the second assist on the goal. The ‘Canes had a great chance to double their lead when Yegor Klavdiev was sprung on a breakaway but Tigers goaltender Garin Bjorklund made a huge glove save to keep it 1-0 after one period. Lethbridge outshot Medicine Hat 12-10 in the opening frame.
The Hurricanes added to their lead in the second period as Chase Pauls buried his sixth goal in his last 11 games on a power play at the 5:58 mark to make it 2-0; Alex Thacker and Klavdiev earned the assist on the goal as Pauls extended his point-scoring streak to four straight games. Lethbridge added another power play goal as the 11:10 mark when Jett Jones jumped through on a faceoff after a loose puck and roofed home his 18th of the season to make it 3-0 after two periods of play. The ‘Canes held the edge in shots 10-9 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the Hurricanes added three more goals. Klavdiev – who had been stymied by Bjorklund twice prior in the game – made good on a man advantage banging home a rebound for his 18th goal of the year to make it 4-0; Jones and Hall earned the assists on the goal. Just over two-and-a-half minutes later, the ‘Canes struck again as Thacker found Hall on a breakaway and he made no mistake rifling home his team-leading 34th goal of the season to make it 5-0. With under two-minutes remaining, Logan Wormald swatted home a loose puck in a goal-mouth scramble to make it 6-0; Liekit Reichle – who returned from injury – had the first assist while Brayden Edwards was credited with the secondary helper to extend his point streak to six games. Before the game was over, the Tigers broke Bryan Thomson’s shutout bid as Ashton Ferster deflected a Logan Barlage shot in with just 2.3 seconds remaining in the game to make it a 6-1 final.
The Hurricanes outshot the Tigers 15-10 in the third period and 37-29 in the game. Lethbridge was 3/3 on the power play while going 2/2 on the penalty kill.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #9 Justin Hall (1 goal, 2 assists)
2) ‘Canes – #30 Bryan Thomson (28-saves)
3) ‘Canes – #11 Yegor Klavdiev (1 goal, 1 assist)
The victory for the Hurricanes finished their regular season with a perfect 8-0-0-0 record against the Tigers marking the first time in franchise history they have swept the season series against Medicine Hat. The eight wins matches a franchise high set in 1989-90 and 1993-94 for the ‘Canes.
The win for the Hurricanes was their second straight victory as they improved to 4-2-0-0 in their last six games. Lethbridge improved their road record to 7-3-1-0 in their last 11 games and 14-17-1-0 on the season. The victory lifted the Hurricanes overall record to 29-30-3-1 on the season as they remain seventh in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Hurricanes visit the Tigers on Saturday at 7:00pm before returning to welcome the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday, April 6th at 7:00pm. Tickets can be purchased in person at the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre or the Yates Memorial Theatre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.lethbridgehurricanes.com.
