Hurricanes Drop See-Saw Battle to Broncos
Swift Current, SK – The Lethbridge Hurricanes ended the 2022 portion of their schedule on Friday with a 4-3 loss to the Swift Current Broncos at the InnovationPlex.
The Hurricanes entered the contest with a 4-1-0-0 record in the five-games against the Broncos this season. Swift Current – who hadn’t played since prior to the Christmas break – had an energized start to the game outshooting Lethbridge 9-0 in the first seven minutes. The Broncos opened the scoring at the 9:19 mark when Raphael Pelletier snapped home his 11th goal of the season on a partial two-on-one to make it a 1-0 Swift Current lead. The ‘Canes had a much better second-half to the period closing the gap in shots before tying the game on a power play when Tyson Zimmer swatted home his 11th goal of the season to make it 1-1 with just 42-seconds left in the period; Cole Shepard and Logan McCutcheon earned the assists on the goal. Broncos outshot the Hurricanes 16-11 in the first period.
Swift Current restored their lead with a tally at the 8:30 mark when Caleb Wyrostok moved in on the right-wing and a centering pass went off a ‘Canes defender and into the net to give the Broncos a 2-1 lead. Lethbridge pulled back even at the 13:01 mark as Cole Shepard buried a centering pass from Miguel Marques for his 12th goal of the season to once again tied the game at 2-2; Joe Arntsen earned the second assist on the goal. Before the period was out, the Broncos pulled back in front 3-2 as Josh Filmon ripped home his team-leading 21st goal of the season on a two-on-one as Swift Current led by one after two periods. Shots in the middle frame favoured the Broncos 9-5.
The Broncos opened the third period with just over a minute remaining on a power play, but Swift Current couldn’t add to their lead as it stayed 3-2. The Hurricanes for the third time in the game answered to tie the game as Tristen Doyle snapped home his first goal of the season at the 10:39 mark to make it 3-3; Miguel Marques and Cole Shepard earned the assists on the goal. However, just 1:20 after the ‘Canes tied the game, the Broncos pulled back ahead when Grayson Burzynski ripped home his second goal of the season off a faceoff to make it 4-3 Swift Current. The Hurricanes pulled the goaltender for the extra-attacker and despite a handful of great looks in front couldn’t find a fourth equalizers as the Broncos hung on to a 4-3 victory.
The Hurricanes outshot the Broncos 13-8 in the third period but were outshot 34-29 in the contest. Lethbridge went 1/1 on the power play while Swift Current was 0/3 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Broncos – #10 Mathew Ward (3 assists)
2) Broncos – #24 Josh Filmon (1 goal)
3) Broncos – #38 Grayson Burzynski (1 goal)
The loss for the Hurricanes was their third loss in their last four games as they fell to 20-14-0-1 on the season and 9-8-0-0 on the road this year. The ‘Canes dropped to 4-2-0-0 on the season against the Broncos. Lethbridge ended the 2022 calendar year with a 44-31-2-2 record.
The Hurricanes will open the 2023 portion of their schedule on Sunday afternoon when they visit the Edmonton Oil Kings at 2:00pm MT at Rogers Place before returning to the ENMAX Centre on Wednesday to open a five-game homestand against the Moose Jaw Warriors. Individual game tickets can be purchased in person at the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, the Yates Memorial Theatre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) and online at www.lethbridgehurricanes.com.
