Hurricanes Drop Third Straight Road Game with 3-1 Loss to Blades
Saskatoon, SK – The Lethbridge Hurricanes opened a stretch of four straight road games on Tuesday with a 3-1 loss to the Saskatoon Blades at SaskTel Centre.
Lethbridge made their first of two trips to Saskatoon this season for what was the first of three meetings in the next month between the Hurricanes and Blades. The ‘Canes had a good start to the contest as they jumped out firing shots on Austin Elliott who was sharp early. Lethbridge had an early power play opportunity, but the Hurricanes failed to score despite two good chances by Brayden Edwards and Leo Braillard in front as the game remained scoreless. Saskatoon pressed in the middle part of the period as they started to pepper Harrison Meneghin who made his seventh straight start. Brandon Lisowsky had a great look to open the scoring from the short-side but ripped a shot off the goal post. Late in the frame, the Blades did strike first on a solo rush from Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Fraser Minten barreled down the left-wing before rifling a shot bar-down over the blocker of Meneghin for his 15th goal of the season to make it 1-0; Grayden Siepmann and Charlie Wright earned the assists on the goal that gave Saskatoon a one-goal lead after one period of play. Shots favoured the Blades 15-6 in the first period.
The Blades doubled their lead early in the second period when Misha Volotovskii ripped a one-timer passed the blocker of Meneghin just 4:48 into the frame to make it a 2-0 Saskatoon lead; Siepmann earned his second assist on the goal while Rhett Melnyk was credited with the other. Two minutes later, the Hurricanes pulled back to within one when Will Sharpe pinched in and poked a puck on goal that rolled by Elliott to cut the lead to 2-1; Sharpe credited with his third goal of the season as Miguel Marques and Brayden Edwards earned the assists on the goal. Saskatoon had a power play midway through the period as they pressed to restore their two-goal lead, but the ‘Canes penalty kill continued to stand tall as it killed both Blades opportunities in the middle frame. With just 5:41 left in the period, Saskatoon went back ahead by a pair as Easton Armstrong buried a rebound for his 27th goal of the season to make it 3-1; Brandon Lisowsky and Minten were given the helpers as Saskatoon led by two after two periods. The Blades outshot the Hurricanes 14-6 in the period.
In the third period, the Blades locked it down defensively allowing just five shots on goal while collecting just seven themselves. Despite just the five shots, the Hurricanes generated some good chances in hopes of mounting a come back. Lethbridge nearly made it a one-goal game when Noah Chadwick ripped a shot off the goal post beating Elliott low-blocker. The ‘Canes had a power play midway through the frame, but the Blades kept Lethbridge at bay. The Hurricanes pulled the goaltender late but couldn’t get on the board as Saskatoon hung on for the 3-1 victory.
Lethbridge was outshot 7-5 in the third period and 36-17 in the game. The Hurricanes and Blades both went 0/2 on the power play.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Blades – #16 Fraser Minten (1 goal, 1 assist)
2) Blades – #21 Grayden Siepmann (2 assists)
3) ‘Canes – #35 Harrison Meneghin (33-saves)
The loss for the Hurricanes dropped their record to 3-2-0-0 in their last five games as it was their third-straight road defeat. The ‘Canes fell to 1-5-0-0 in their last six games away from home. The defeat dropped Lethbridge’s road record to 9-14-0-0 this season while their overall record fell to 24-21-3-0 on the season.
The Hurricanes will continue their four-game road trip on Wednesday when they visit the Prince Albert Raiders at 6:00pm MT at the Art Hauser Centre. Lethbridge will return to the ENMAX Centre on Friday, February 16th when they welcome the Blades at 7:00pm. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.enmaxcentre.ca.
