Hurricanes Earn Come-From-Behind 6-5 Overtime Win Against Pats
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes won their second-straight game on Friday with a come-from-behind 6-5 overtime victory over the Regina Pats at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
It was the final of a two-game homestand for the Hurricanes as they entered with a 2-0-0-0 record against the Pats this season. Lethbridge had a strong start to the game as they kept Regina pinned in their zone but only mustered one shot on goal in the first ten minutes. The Pats jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Cohen Klassen beat a screened Koen Cleaver – who made his second straight start – with a point shot at the 10:21 mark; Cameron Kuzma and Brayden Smith earned the assists on the goal. Regina doubled their lead with a power play goal with 3:55 mark when Zach Pantelakis had a Keets Fawcett shot deflect off his shinpad and in to make it a 2-0 advantage. The Pats outshot the Hurricanes 9-5 in the first period.
The Hurricanes were strong in the second period as they outshot the Pats 18-9 in the middle frame. Lethbridge came close on a pair of chances by Leo Braillard, but he was stymied by Kelton Pyne twice – his best on a back door chance on a power play when he stuck the paddle out to take one off away. The Pats added to their lead at the 13:16 mark when Ashton Brown poked home his third of the season to make it 3-0. Lethbridge answered just 10-seconds later when Anthony Wilson wired home his first as a Hurricane – and eighth of the season – to make it a two-goal game again. The ‘Canes pulled to within a goal with a power play marker when Brayden Edwards tapped home his 22nd goal of the year on a centering pass from Braillard to make it 3-2; Brayden Yager picked up the second assist to extend a point-streak to six straight games as it was his 55th career point against Regina. Just over two-minutes later, the Pats jammed home a loose puck as Keets Fawcett gave Regina a 4-2 lead, however, the ‘Canes once again answered less than a minute later when Wilson cut to the net and slipped one under Pyne and into the net to make it a one-goal game after forty minutes of play; Kash Andresen and Trae Johnson earned the assists on the goal.
In the third period, Cleaver was replaced by Jackson Unger in the ‘Canes crease. Lethbridge came close to tying the game at the eight-minute mark when Braillard ripped a shot off the crossbar. The ‘Canes pulled even at the 8:28 mark when Kooper Gizowski buried his ninth of the season on a give-and-go with Yager on an odd-man rush to make it a 4-4 game. The see-saw game continued when Klassen sniped his second goal of the game with 3:27 remaining in regulation to make it a 5-4 Regina lead. The Hurricanes pulled the goaltender and with 6.9-seconds remaining they tied the game when Braillard scored his 22nd goal of the season on a centering pass from Edwards; Yager earned the second helper as Lethbridge forced overtime. The Hurricanes outshot the Pats 10-4 in the third period.
Lethbridge ended the game early in overtime when Shane Smith stepped over the blue line and snapped home first ninth goal of the year and first career OT winner just 1:19 into the extra session to give the Hurricanes the come-from-behind 6-5 overtime win; Edwards and Tristen Doyle picked up the assists on the game-winning goal.
The Hurricanes outshot the Pats 34-23 in the game. Lethbridge and Regina both went 1/3 on the power play in the contest.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #21 Anthony Wilson (2 goals)
2) Pats – #37 Cohen Klassen (2 goals)
3) ‘Canes – #28 Leo Braillard (1 goal, 1 assist)
The win for the Hurricanes was their third-straight victory on home ice as they improved to 20-5-1-0 on the season at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. It marked the 17th time in team history that the ‘Canes hit the 20-home win mark. Lethbridge’s overall record improved to 34-16-2-1 on the season as the lifted to 15-3-0-0 against East Division opponents this season while improving to 4-2-0-0 in overtime.
The Hurricanes will open a two-game road trip on Saturday as they visit the Edmonton Oil Kings at 7:00pm at Rogers Place before visiting the Medicine Hat Tigers on Monday afternoon at 2:00pm. Lethbridge will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Wednesday when they host the Saskatoon Blades at 7:00pm. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Yates Memorial Theatre or VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca.
