Hurricanes Drop 3-2 Decision to Hitmen
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes opened their final homestand of the regular season on Wednesday with a 3-2 loss to the Calgary Hitmen at the ENMAX Centre.
It was the final of seven meetings on the season and the third meeting in a week between the Hurricanes and Hitmen. Lethbridge, who was outshot early, managed to open the scoring just 2:51 into the contest as Hayden Smith bust in on a partial breakaway and ripped home his 12th goal of the season to make it 1-0 with the ‘Canes first shot of the game; Tristan Zandee and Joe Arntsen earned the helpers on the goal. Smith struck again at the 10:09 mark as he finished a centering pass from Miguel Marques to make it a 2-0 Hurricanes advantage. Just 26-seconds after the Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead, Calgary struck to make it a 2-1 game as Oliver Tulk buried his 23rd of the season. Three minutes after the Tulk goal, the Hitmen tied the game when Sean Tschigerl ripped his 26th goal off the post-and-in to make it a 2-2 game after one period. The Hitmen outshot the Hurricanes 17-11 in the opening period.
The teams traded chances in the second period as the game settled in from the crazy offensive explosion that occurred in the opening period. Lethbridge had an early chance to take the lead back as Logan Wormald was sprung on a breakaway but shot wide. Later in the frame, the ‘Canes had another breakaway when Cole Shepard was sent home-free out of the penalty box, but Brayden Peters made a great glove save to keep the game tied 2-2 after forty minutes of play. Calgary outshot Lethbridge 11-10 in the second period.
In the third, the Hurricanes were outshot 13-8 and the Hitmen found a go-ahead goal as Keagan Slaney hooked home his fifth goal of the season at the 8:44 mark as he threw a puck to the net that deflected off a defender and passed Thomson; Tschigerl and Tulk earned the assists on the goal. The Hurricanes looked to tie the game and had a glorious opportunity when Nolan Bentham received a give-and-go with Miguel Marques resulting in a break to the net, but Peters made a blocker save to keep Calgary in front. The ‘Canes pulled Thomson in the dying minutes but couldn’t find an equalizer as the Hitmen hung on for the 3-2 victory.
Lethbridge was outshot 41-29 in the contest by Calgary. The Hurricanes were 0/1 on the power play while the Hitmen went 0/5 on the man advantage.
Three stars of the game:
1) Hitmen – #19 Sean Tschigerl (1 goal, 2 assists)
2) ‘Canes – #22 Hayden Smith (2 goals)
3) Hitmen – #37 Oliver Tulk (1 goal, 1 assist)
The loss for the Hurricanes ended a two-game winning streak which saw them outscored the opposition 12-5 in the two games. Lethbridge dropped their home-ice record to 20-10-1-2 on the season while their overall record slipped to 35-25-3-3 on the season. The ‘Canes finish the regular season series against the Hitmen with a 4-3-0-0 record.
The Hurricanes will play their final home game of the regular season on Friday, March 24th when they welcome the Red Deer Rebels at 7:00pm on Awards and Jersey’s Off Our Back Night. Individual game tickets are available 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.
