Hurricanes Doubled 6-3 by Tigers
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes suffered their fifth-straight loss on Friday falling 6-3 to the Medicine Hat Tigers at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
Lethbridge ended a two-game homestand with the first of a home-and-home weekend against Medicine Hat. The ‘Canes entered on a five-game losing streak while having posted a 2-10-2-0 record in their last 14 games. Lethbridge had a great opening shift to start the game and had an early scoring chance by Kade Duell who was stopped by Jordan Switzer. The Tigers opened the scoring at the 4:29 mark when Bryce Pickford buried his WHL-leading 44th goal of the season to make it 1-0; Andrew Basha and Markus Ruck earned the assists on the goal. The ‘Canes kept pace with the Tigers in the opening period and came close to tying the game with a power play when Owen Berge tapped a loose puck through the crease and out the other side to keep it a one-goal game. Medicine Hat outshot Lethbridge 10-9 in the first period.
It was a spirited second period which saw the teams trade a pair of goals each. Medicine Hat doubled their lead just 1:45 into the frame when Kade Stengrim had a puck pinball passed Koen Cleaver to make it a 2-0 Tigers lead. At the 6:10 mark, Tigers forward Noah Davidson had a chance to the net on a partial breakaway but was hassled from behind; Davidson then bulldozed through the ‘Canes netminder resulting in a five-minute major for goaltender interference and a game misconduct. Lethbridge struck on the five-minute power play at the 6:48 mark when Berge tucked home a rebound for his team-leading 23rd goal of the year to make it a one-goal game; Easton Daneault and Kayden Longley earned the assists on the goal to make it 2-1. Medicine Hat responded with their league-leading 13th shorthanded goal of the season when Basha scored his 15th of the year to restore the Tigers two-goal advantage; Riley Steen was credited with the lone helper on the tally. Before the end of the period, the Hurricanes pulled back to within a goal as Tyden Lafournaise sprung Longley on a break; Longley fought off a check on Veeti Vaisanen before wiring home his 13th of the season to make it a 3-2 game with 1:52 remaining in the second period; Cleaver picked up his third career assist on the goal. Lethbridge outshot Medicine Hat 16-14 in the middle frame.
In the third period, Medicine Hat found their stride outshooting Lethbridge 16-9 in the final twenty minutes. The Hurricanes had pair of great chances early in the frame from Berge who was denied on a partial breakaway on the opening shift before hitting a goal post on his second shift of the period. The Tigers once again restored a two-goal lead with a power play marker from Jonas Woo who banged home a centering pass for his 28th goal of the year to make it a 4-2 game; Pickford and Basha earned the helpers on the goal. Medicine Hat struck again just nine-seconds later when Stengrim potted his second goal of the game – and 20th of the season – to open a three-goal advantage just 6:59 into the period. Lethbridge continued to press and pulled the goaltender for the extra attacker; with the extra man, the ‘Canes found a goal on a one-timer by Duell who beat Switzer for his 18th of the season to make it a 5-3 game; Daneault and Berge were credited with the assists. The Hurricanes pulled the netminder again, but the Tigers would seal the victory with an empty-net goal by Kadon McCann with 1:37 remaining in the game to give Medicine Hat a 6-3 win.
The Hurricanes were outshot 40-34 in the game by the Tigers. Lethbridge went 1/3 with the power play while Medicine Hat was 1/2 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Tigers – #34 Andrew Basha (1 goal, 2 assists)
2) ‘Canes – #15 Kayden Longley (1 goal, 1 assist)
3) Tigers – #21 Kade Stengrim (2 goals)
The loss for the Hurricanes was their fifth-straight defeat dropping their record to 2-11-2-0 in their last 15 games. Lethbridge’s home record slipped to 11-20-0-1 on the season with the loss while their overall record fell to 17-44-2-1 on the season. The Hurricanes slipped to 0-7-0-0 this season against the Tigers.
The Hurricanes will visit the Tigers in the second-half of their home-and-home weekend on Saturday at 7:00pm at Co-op Place before returning to open their final homestand of the season on Wednesday when they host the Red Deer Rebels at 7:00pm at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. Tickets for the game can be purchased by visiting the VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.
