Hurricanes Down Oil Kings 4-3 in Shootout
Edmonton, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes opened a two-game weekend in Edmonton on Friday with a 4-3 shootout win over the Oil Kings at Rogers Place.
It was the season debut for a trio of Hurricanes defencemen as Joe Arntsen, Chase Pauls and Noah Chadwick all suited up for the first time since returning from NHL training camps. Despite the boost to the ‘Canes lineup, it was the Oil Kings who had a good start to the contest as they outshot the Hurricanes 5-1 in the first nine minutes of the game. Edmonton opened the scoring at the 7:28 mark as Nathan Pilling wired home his first goal of the season after returning from Calgary Flames camp to make it 1-0 Oil Kings. The ‘Canes responded just over five-minutes later as Landen Ward deflected a Chadwick point shot passed Kolby Hay to make it a 1-1 hockey game; Logan McCutcheon was credited with the second assist on the equalizer. Lethbridge took their first lead of the game at the 16:55 mark when Tyson Zimmer tipped home his second goal of the year on a power play to make it 2-1; Tristen Doyle and Logan Wormald earned the helpers on the goal. The Hurricanes outshot the Oil Kings 13-8 in the first period.
The Hurricanes started the second period on a power play but couldn’t convert with the extra man. Edmonton tied the game with a shorthanded goal at the 2:51 mark as Lethbridge product John Szabo snapped home his first goal of the season to make it a 2-2 game. The Oil Kings took the lead at the 6:26 mark as Pilling buried his second goal of the game to make it a 3-2 Edmonton lead. It appeared that Pilling completed the hat-trick when he attempted to bank a puck in off Meneghin but after review, it was determined that the puck did not cross the goal line. Lethbridge pulled back even when Carter Dereniwsky potted his first goal as a Hurricanes tapping home a centering pass from Zimmer to make it a 3-3 game; Pauls earned his first point of the season with an assist on the goal. Shots were even 12-12 in the second period as the game remained tied after forty minutes.
In the third period, the two teams played to a scoreless 20-minutes despite good chances both ways. The Oil Kings had a pair of power play opportunities in the final frame but could solve Harrison Meneghin who stopped all nine Edmonton shots in the period. The ‘Canes had a glorious opportunity to end the game with five-minutes left when Miguel Marques rifled a shot off the crossbar. Brayden Edwards had a good chance in the slot but was turned aside by Hay to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, the Oil Kings outshot the Hurricanes 6-2. The best chance of the extra session saw McCutcheon on partial breakaway but couldn’t lift the puck over an outstretched Hay to end the game. With less than a minute remaining, Edmonton was put on a power play and despite good pressure couldn’t end the game sending it to a shootout.
The ‘Canes struck on both their shootout attempts as Zimmer and Wormald tallied before Meneghin stopped Pilling to win the game giving Lethbridge a 4-3 shootout victory.
The Hurricanes were outshot 35-34 in the contest. Lethbridge went 1/5 on the power play while Edmonton was 1/7 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Oil Kings – #55 Nathan Pilling (2 goals)
2) ‘Canes – #21 Tyson Zimmer (1 goal, 1 assist)
3) Oil Kings – #12 John Szabo (1 goal)
The win for the Hurricanes improved their record to 3-0-0-0 on the young season. Lethbridge lifted their road record to 2-0-0-0 on the year. It is the first time since 2008-2009 that the ‘Canes have won the first three games on the season.
Lethbridge will play the second of a two-game weekend in Edmonton against the Oil Kings on Sunday afternoon at 4:00pm at Rogers Place. The ‘Canes will return to the ENMAX Centre on Friday, October 6th when they welcome the Moose Jaw Warriors at 7:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.enmaxcentre.ca.
