Hurricanes Down Wheat Kings 5-3 on Saturday
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes returned to the win column on Saturday with a 5-3 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
It marked the first of four meetings on the season between the Hurricanes and Wheat Kings; Lethbridge went 0-3-1-0 in the four-game set against Brandon in 2022-2023 being outscored 15-1. It didn’t take long for the Hurricanes to get on the board as Logan Wormald ripped home his fourth goal of the season just 3:59 into the game to make it 1-0; Shane Smith earned his first point as a ‘Cane with an assist on the goal while Miguel Marques added the other. Lethbridge doubled their lead just under two-minutes later as Cameron Norrie hooked a puck on net and it fooled Ethan Eskit for his first WHL goal making it 2-0; Logan McCutcheon picked up his 100th career assist on the goal and Gavin Lesiuk earned his first WHL point with a helper. The ‘Canes kept the heat on with a power play goal by Kooper Gizowski as he wired home his third goal of the year with 5:11 remaining in the period; McCutcheon and Will Sharpe picked up the assists. Just 1:10 later, Brandon cut the lead back to two with a goal by Nolan Flamand to make it 3-1 Hurricanes after one period of play. Shots were 11-11 in the opening frame.
In the second period, it was a parade to the penalty box as the Hurricanes and Wheat Kings both had four power play opportunities. Brandon cut the Lethbridge led to one with a 4-on-3 power play goal by Marcus Nguyen who had a puck deflect off his skate and into the net just 6:18 into the period to make it a 3-2 game. Under two minutes later, the Hurricanes restored a two-goal lead as Wormald cashed in a rebound while four-on-four for his second goal of the night making it a 4-2 game; Sharpe and Smith picked up the assists on the goal. Before the period was over, the Wheat Kings closed the gap to one again with a five-on-three power play goal by Flamand who buried a one-timer to the back of the net as the Hurricanes held a 4-3 lead after forty minutes of play. Shots in the second period favoured Brandon 14-11.
The lead for the Hurricanes after two periods as the first time this season Lethbridge held an advantage after forty minutes. It was an even final frame that saw Brandon push for an equalizer. The Wheat Kings came close multiple times, but Koen Cleaver – who made his second start of the season – was strong turning aside all the shots he faced in the final frame. Brandon pulled the goaltender late in the game, but the ‘Canes iced the contest when McCutcheon potted an empty-net goal for his second goal of the season to make it a 5-3 final.
The Hurricanes outshot the Wheat Kings 12-9 in the third period while shots were even 34-34 in the game. Lethbridge went 1/7 on the power play while Brandon went 2/7 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #18 Logan Wormald (2 goals)
2) Wheat Kings – #91 Nolan Flamand (2 goals)
3) ‘Canes – #10 Shane Smith (2 assists)
The win for the Hurricanes improved their record to 2-1-0-0 on their current four-game homestand while improving their home record to 4-0-1-0 on the season. Lethbridge’s overall record improved to 5-1-1-0 to start the season as they stay atop the Central Division.
The Hurricanes will end a four-game homestand next Friday, October 18th when they welcome the Prince George Cougars at 7:00pm at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Yates Memorial Theatre or VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca.
