Hurricanes Downed 6-2 in Game 3; Trail Series 3-0
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes suffered a third straight loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Tuesday falling 6-2 in Game 3 at the ENMAX Centre; now trail series 3-0.
The Hurricanes, who trailed the best-of-seven series 2-0, had a great start to the contest and appeared to open the scoring just 1:11 into the game but the goal was waived off after the referee blew the play dead after losing sight of the puck in the crease. Moose Jaw did strike first at the 5:03 mark when Atley Calvert snapped home his second goal of the series beating Bryan Thomson over the blocker to make it a 1-0 Warrior lead. Lethbridge answered with a power play goal just over six minutes later as Jett Jones stuffed home his first career playoff goal at the 11:13 mark to make it 1-1; Cole Shepard and Tyson Laventure earned the assists on the equalizer. The Warriors pulled back in front with just 1:08 left in the period when Jagger Firkus lifted home a backhand to make it 2-1. Lethbridge outshot Moose Jaw 10-8 in the first period.
Moose Jaw added to their lead 8:16 into the second period as Firkus stole a puck at centre and was able to beat Thomson on a partial breakaway for his second goal of the game to make it a 3-1 lead. Just over three minutes later, the Warriors added another as Firkus completed the natural hat-trick tapping home a centering pass from Brayden Yager to go up 4-1. Moose Jaw struck again in the middle frame at the 14:58 mark as Martin Rysavy deflected a Firkus shot through the legs of Thomson to make it a 5-1 Warrior lead after forty minutes of play. Moose Jaw outshot Lethbridge 10-6 in the second period.
Lethbridge made a goaltending change to open the third period as Harrison Meneghin replaced Thomson who allowed five goals on 18 shots in the opening forty minutes. Meneghin – who hadn’t played since February 21st due to a lower body injury – turned aside all five shots he faced in the third period. The Hurricanes struck at the 7:20 mark to make it a 5-2 game when Brayden Edwards redirected a Noah Chadwick point shot passed Connor Ungar; Miguel Marques earned the second assist on the goal. The ‘Canes continued to press pulling the goaltender with over four-minutes remaining in regulation but couldn’t find another goal before Moose Jaw sealed the victory with an empty-net goal by Calvert, his second of the night, to make it a 6-2 final.
The Hurricanes outshot the Warriors 10-6 in the third period and 26-24 in the game. Lethbridge went 1/4 with the power play while going 3/3 on the penalty kill.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Warriors – #27 Jagger Firkus (3 goals, 1 assist)
2) Warriors – #29 Brayden Yager (2 assists)
3) ‘Canes – #19 Brayden Edwards (1 goal)
The Hurricanes now trail the best-of-seven series three games to none having been outscored 11-3 in the last two games. Lethbridge has now lost eight-straight playoff games dating back to April of 2019 and are on the brink of being swept in the first-round for the second straight season.
Lethbridge will look to stave off elimination on Wednesday as they welcome the Warriors in Game 4 at 7:00pm at the ENMAX Centre. Individual playoff tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, the Yates Memorial Theatre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.lethbridgehurricanes.com.
