Hurricanes Double Oil Kings 4-2
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes ended a two-game homestand on Tuesday with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings at the ENMAX Centre.
It was the first visit Edmonton made to Lethbridge this season while it marked the fourth meeting of the season between the Hurricanes and Oil Kings. It was a sluggish first five minutes for the Hurricanes who were outshot in the early going by the Oil Kings who jumped out to an early 7-2 shot advantage but the game remained scoreless. Lethbridge had a pair of power play opportunities but failed to score despite generating some good chances. Logan McCutcheon had the best scoring chance in the first period as he pinched in on the right-wing and got a pass but was stopped by Kolby Hay as it was scoreless after one period. The Oil Kings outshot the Hurricanes 11-9 in the first period.
Edmonton continued to push in the second period outshooting Lethbridge 16-9. The Oil Kings had countless grade-A scoring chances, but Harrison Meneghin was stellar in the middle frame making wonderful save after wonderful save to keep the game scoreless. Edmonton had a trio of power play opportunities, including nearly a minute worth of five-on-three time, but could not beat Meneghin. The Hurricanes opened the scoring late in the second period when Kash Andresen buried a rebound for his first goal in the Western Hockey League to make it a 1-0 lead; Luke Cozens and Kooper Gizowski earned the assists on the goal that gave Lethbridge a lead after forty minutes of play.
In the third period, the teams combined for five goals. Lethbridge added to their lead with a power play marker by Logan Wormald who tapped home a centering pass my Miguel Marques just 3:57 into the period to make it 2-0; Brayden Edwards earned the second assist on the goal. The ‘Canes made it a 3-0 lead when Hayden Pakkala buried a pass from Kooper Gizowski at the 11:18 mark for his second as a Hurricane and eighth of the season. Edmonton ended Meneghin’s shutout bid with a point shot by Marc Lajoie who beat the screened goaltender for his team-leading 16th goal of the season to make it 3-1. The Oil Kings pulled to within one with 4:18 remaining as Gavin Hodnett roofed his 10th of the season to make it 3-2; Gracyn Sawchyn earned the lone assist on the goal. Edmonton pulled the goaltender for the extra attacker on the third opportunity Lethbridge was able to find the empty-net when Pakkala slipped home his second goal of the game to make it a 4-2 final.
The Hurricanes outshot the Oil Kings 9-7 in the third period while Edmonton held the edge 34-27 in the game. Lethbridge went 1/3 on the power play while going 5/5 on the penalty kill.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #25 Kash Andresen (1 goal)
2) ‘Canes – #35 Harrison Meneghin (32-saves)
3) Oil Kings – #24 Marc Lajoie
The win for the Hurricanes was their second-straight victory as they improved to 14-7-3-0 at the ENMAX Centre while improving to 23-19-3-0 on the year. Lethbridge lifted their record to 3-1-0-0 in four games against Edmonton this season while improving to 14-7-2-0 against Central Division opponents.
The Hurricanes visit the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday at 6:00pm MT before returning to the ENMAX Centre on Saturday to face the Calgary Hitmen at 6:00pm. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.enmaxcentre.ca.