Hurricanes Blitz Hitmen 6-0 on Saturday
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes continued a stretch of five games in five different cities on Saturday with a lopsided 6-0 win over the Calgary Hitmen at the ENMAX Centre.
It was the first meeting between the Central Division rivals since the end of November while the fifth of seven meetings on the season. Calgary entered 7-1-3-0 in their previous 10 games and had a great start to the game as they pressured the Hurricanes and outshot them 6-1 in the first six minutes. Lethbridge found their stride midway through the frame and outshot the Hitmen 9-2 in the back-half of the period. The ‘Canes opened the scoring on a late power play goal with 32-seconds remaining when Sean Tschigerl – in his first game against his former team – redirected a Miguel Marques point shot through the legs of Alex Garrett to make it 1-0 Lethbridge; Noah Chadwick earned the second assist on the goal that was the 200th WHL point for Tschigerl as the Hurricanes led 1-0 after twenty minutes of play.
Calgary had an early second period power play opportunity as they looked to pull even in the game. The Hitmen had a few good chances to strike but Harrison Meneghin was strong making his best save on a back-door chance on Ethan Moore as the game remained 1-0 in favour of the Hurricanes. Lethbridge added to their lead with 2:57 left in the second period with another power play goal by Tschigerl who tipped home his second goal of the game – and team-leading 25th of the year – to make it 2-0; Marques and Brayden Edwards earned the assists on the goal as Lethbridge held a two-goal lead after forty minutes of play. Shots were even 7-7 in the middle frame.
Tschigerl completed his fourth career hat-trick – and first as a Hurricane – just one minute into the third period on a net drive off the left-wing before slipping home his 26th goal of the season through the legs of Garrett to make it a 3-0 Lethbridge lead; Joe Arntsen and Meneghin picked up the assists on the goal. The ‘Canes struck again just 2:54 later when Marques wired home his 21st of the season ripping the puck bar-down. The Hurricanes made a 5-0 lead when Edwards scored his 20th goal of the season on a partial breakaway goal to become the fourth ‘Cane to reach the 20-goal mark this year; Marques earned the lone assist on the goal to match a career-high four-point effort. Lethbridge rounded out the scoring with a power play goal by Tristen Doyle with 3:10 remaining in the game to make it 6-0; Will Sharpe and Hayden Pakkala were credited with the assists on the goal. Calgary had a late power play as they looked to break the shutout bid of Meneghin but the ‘Canes netminder shut the door en route to his third shutout of the season as the Hurricanes earned bounce back victory over Calgary.
The Hurricanes were outshot 10-6 in the third period while being outshot 25-23 in the game. Lethbridge went 3/4 on the power play while going 4/4 on the penalty kill.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #16 Sean Tschigerl (3 goals)
2) ‘Canes – #14 Miguel Marques (1 goal, 3 assists)
3) ‘Canes – #35 Harrison Meneghin (25-save shutout)
The victory for the Hurricanes extended a home winning streak to four-straight games while lifting their record to 3-1-0-0 in their last four games. Lethbridge improved to 24-20-3-0 on the season as they pulled four points ahead of Calgary for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings. The ‘Canes are now 3-1-1-0 against the Hitmen this season.
The Hurricanes open a four-game road trip on Tuesday when they visit the Saskatoon Blades at SaskTel Centre at 6:00pm MT. Lethbridge will return to the ENMAX Centre on Friday, February 16th when they welcome the Blades at 7:00pm. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.enmaxcentre.ca.
