Hurricanes Drop See-Saw Battle to Broncos
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes opened the second half of the season on Wednesday with a wild 7-6 overtime loss to the Swift Current Broncos at the ENMAX Centre.
It was the ‘Canes penultimate home game in 2023 against the Broncos, which marked the fifth of eight meetings on the season. Swift Current had a great start to the game as Josh Filmon scored his 13th goal of the season just one-minute into the contest to give the Broncos an early 1-0 lead as Filmon redirected a point shot through the legs of netminder Koen Cleaver. Lethbridge tied the game just 5:29 later as Will Sharpe ripped home his first WHL goal beating Joey Rocha; Miguel Marques earned the assist on the goal. The Broncos restored their lead with a power play goal when Connor Hvidston cashed in a rebound for his 14th goal of the season to make it 2-1, but just 31-seconds later the ‘Canes tied the game as Marques roofed a loose puck after Trae Wilke was robbed in front of the net to draw back even at 2-2; Tyson Zimmer earned the second assist on the equalizer. Before the period was out, the Hurricanes pulled in front as Wilke feathered a pass to Logan McCutcheon who jumped into the rush and snapped home his fourth of the season to give Lethbridge a 3-2 lead after one period of play; Marques earned the secondary helper on the goal. Shots were even 9-9 in the first period.
The Broncos came out flying to open the second period outshooting the Hurricanes handily in the first half of the period. Swift Current pulled even with a goal at the 5:21 mark when Maddix McCagherty scored his fifth of the season to tie the game 3-3. The Broncos took the lead just over three-minutes later as Luke Mistelbacher was set up alone in front of the net and netted his sixth of the season – third against the Hurricanes – to five Swift Current a 4-3 advantage. In the second half of the period, the Hurricanes found their game and closed the gap in shots and tied the game when Brayden Edwards redirected home his 15th goal of the season on a power play to make it a 4-4 game; Logan Wormald and Noah Chadwick were credited with the assists on the goal. The ‘Canes pulled ahead as Sharpe buried a one-timer on a delayed penalty for his second goal of the game – assists went to Tristen Doyle and Zimmer – giving the Hurricanes and 5-4 lead after two periods. Shots were 13-12 in the second period in favour of the Broncos.
In the third period, the see-saw battle continued when Brady Birnie beat a screened Cleaver with a point shot just 7:02 into the frame once-again tying the game 5-5. Just over four-minutes later, the ‘Canes pulled back in front as Marques beat Broncos netminder Joey Rocha – who allowed six goals on 27 shots in the game – with a bullet of a shot over the glove on a man advantage to give Lethbridge a 6-5 lead; Chadwick and Wormald drew the assists on the goal. Marques had another glorious opportunity just a few minutes later as he was sprung on a breakaway but couldn’t beat the Broncos goaltender with a deke to the back-hand; on the ensuing rush back up ice, Swift Current ended up tying the game with a bank shot from the corner by Birnie who tied the game at 6-6. Neither team found a go-ahead goal in the dying minutes of the third period as the game went to overtime.
In the extra session, the Hurricanes had a glorious chance to end the game as Marques – who finished the game with a career-high four points – bust through the Broncos defence and was hacked down right as he went to take a shot on a breakaway. Neither referee called a penalty and the Broncos transitioned up ice and Rylan Gould snapped home his 10th goal of the season over the blocker of a frozen Cleaver to win the game giving Swift Current the 7-6 victory.
The Hurricanes were outshot 10-6 in the third period and 1-0 in overtime. Swift Current held the edge in shots 33-27 in the contest marking the ninth time in the last ten games that Lethbridge was outshot in a contest. The ‘Canes were 2/2 on the power play while the Broncos went 1/1 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #14 Miguel Marques (2 goals, 2 assists)
2) ‘Canes – #17 Will Sharpe (2 goals)
3) Broncos – #21 Connor Hvidston (1 goals, 2 assists)
The loss for the Hurricanes extended their winless streak to five-straight games as they have now lost six of their last seven outings. Lethbridge falls to 8-6-3-0 at home this season while their overall record slipped to 15-15-3-0 on the year.
The Hurricanes will play their final home game in 2023 on Friday when they welcome the Red Deer Rebels at 7:00pm at the ENMAX Centre before visiting the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.enmaxcentre.ca.
