Hurricanes Earn 4-1 Victory Against WHL-Leading Blades
Saskatoon, SK – The Lethbridge Hurricanes played the first of a two-game Saskatchewan road trip with a 4-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades at SaskTel Centre.
Lethbridge made their final trip of the regular season to Saskatoon in what was a potential first round playoff preview. The two teams – who played to a 1-0 overtime decision in the previous match up on February 16th – skated to a scoreless tie after twenty minutes of play. The Hurricanes had a great chance early in the game when Sean Tschigerl set up Dylan Sydor, who returned from a nine-game absence with injury, in the slot but Austin Elliott made a good save on the overage sniper to keep the game scoreless. The Blades had a flurry of chances in the second half of the period to open the scoring, including a point-blank chance by Tanner Molendyk who was stopped by Brady Smith. Saskatoon had another glorious opportunity when Brandon Lisowsky was set up in front of the net and with a gaping goal, the Toronto Maple Leaf prospect ripped the puck wide as the first period closed in a scoreless tie. The Blades held the edge in shots 10-6 in the opening period.
The Hurricanes had a great opening shift to start the second period as they kept the Blades pinned and had a good chance to open the scoring when Logan Wormald was stopped by Elliott. Saskatoon staved off the first shift and while the ‘Canes were changing, the Blades scored the game’s first goal on a two-on-one when Easton Armstrong tapped home his 28th goal of the season on a pass from Trevor Wong at the 1:09 mark to make it 1-0. Lethbridge pulled even just over ten-minutes later as Brayden Edwards jammed home a rebound on an odd-man rush for his 24th goal of the season to make it a 1-1 game; Wormald earned the lone assist on the goal. The Hurricanes took their first lead of the game at the 17:30 mark when Edwards buried his second of the night – and fourth goal in two games – on a power play to give the ‘Canes a 2-1 lead; Miguel Marques and Noah Chadwick were credited with the assists on the go-ahead goal. Saskatoon pushed for an equalizer in the first few minutes of the period and came close with 17.7-seconds remaining by Smith reached back to make a miraculous glove save on the goal line on Lisowsky to preserve the 2-1 advantage for the Hurricanes after two periods. Shots favoured Saskatoon 14-9 in the second period.
In the third period, the Blades pressed to look for an equalizing goal. Saskatoon had an early power play when Hayden Pakkala was assessed a penalty. The Blades had a great chance on a goal line stuff attempt by Fraser Minten but was robbed by Smith who reached back with the paddle to keep Lethbridge in front. As the penalty to Pakkala expired, the Hurricanes forward was sprung on a breakaway and made good on the chance snapping a shot through the legs of Elliott to make it a 3-1 Lethbridge lead; Kash Andresen and Sean Tschigerl earned the helpers on the insurance goal. Saskatoon pulled the goaltender in hopes of digging into the Lethbridge lead, but in the final seconds, Marques found the empty-net for his 26th goal of the season to lift the Hurricanes to a 4-1 victory.
The Hurricanes were outshot 33-21 in the game by the Blades. Lethbridge went 1/2 on the power play while Saskatoon was 0/2 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #31 Brady Smith (32-saves)
2) ‘Canes – #19 Brayden Edwards (2 goals)
3) Blades – #27 Easton Armstrong (1 goal)
The win for the Hurricanes was their second-straight road victory while it handed the Blades their third-straight home loss. The victory improved the ‘Canes record to 3-1-0-0 in their last four contests while their road record lifted to 11-18-0-0 on the year. Lethbridge’s overall record improved to 27-26-5-0 on the season. The Hurricanes finished the regular season series against the Blades with a 1-2-1-0 record.
The Hurricanes will visit the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre at 6:00pm MT. Lethbridge will return to the ENMAX Centre on Wednesday, March 6th when they welcome the Medicine Hat Tigers 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.
