Hurricanes Earn Comeback Shootout Victory Over Warriors
Moose Jaw, SK – The Lethbridge Hurricanes returned to the win column on Saturday as they earned a come-from-behind 3-2 shootout victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
The Hurricanes played their lone road game in a stretch of five games on Saturday. Lethbridge had a good start to the game as they rolled four lines early after travelling to Moose Jaw earlier in the day. The two teams traded chances early as Dylan Sydor was stopped by Dmitri Fortin on a good look for the Hurricanes. The Warriors had the lone power play of the first period just past the midway point when Noah Chadwick was assessed a high-sticking penalty. Moose Jaw’s number one ranked power play in the WHL generated a few good chances, including a slot chance by Matthew Savoie but Brady Smith made a good stick save to keep the game scoreless. Near the end of the man advantage, the ‘Canes had their best scoring opportunity in the first period when Hayden Pakkala was stopped on a breakaway as Fortin knocked the puck away with his glove. Moose Jaw outshot Lethbridge 11-5 in the first period.
Lethbridge had a great start to the second period as they outshot the Warriors in the early going and nearly opened the scoring as Leo Braillard ripped a shot off the crossbar as he looked for his 13th goal of the season. Moose Jaw pressed back and came close to striking first on a point-blank chance for Brayden Yager who fired a shot from between the hash-marks, but Smith made a terrific pad save to keep the game scoreless. Moose Jaw did open the scoring while four-on-four as Matthew Savoie outwaited Smith and lifted home his 28th goal of the year to make it a 1-0 Warrior lead at the 11:58 mark; Vojtech Port earned the lone assist on the two-on-one. The ‘Canes came close to tying the game in the final minute when Luke Cozens wired a one-timer on goal, but Fortin was able to make a save squeezing the puck between his arm and body to preserve the 1-0 Warrior lead after two periods. Lethbridge held the edge in shots 10-9 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the Warriors added to their lead just 1:35 into the frame when Brayden Yager rifled home a shorthanded goal to make it a 2-0 Moose Jaw lead; Jagger Firkus earned the lone assist on the goal. Just over five-minutes later, the ‘Canes pulled back to within one when Brayden Edwards banged home a rebound for his 27th goal of the season to make it a 2-1 contest; Dylan Sydor and Logan Wormald were credited with the assists on the goal. Late in the frame, the Hurricanes tied the game as Sydor redirected a Chadwick point shot through the leges of Fortin to tie the game with just over four-minutes remaining in the game; Logan McCutcheon picked up the second assist on the equalizer. Neither team found a go-ahead goal before the end of the third period as the game went to overtime. Lethbridge outshot Moose Jaw 10-8 in the third period.
In the extra time, the teams traded chances to win the game. Lethbridge came close on an Edwards chance, but Fortin made a stick save to keep the game alive. Atley Calvert – who entered on a career-long 21-game point streak had a breakaway at the midway point of overtime but rifled a shot off the crossbar. Just over a minute later, Yager was sprung on a clear-cut breakaway and looked to beat Smith over the glove, but the rookie netminder reached out and kept the game going as the contest went to a shootout.
In the shootout, Savoie mishandled a shot only to see Wormald slip home a shot on the backhand to give the Hurricanes the advantage. After Firkus and Chadwick both failed to score, Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk needed to score but Smith stopped him with the glove to give the ‘Canes the come-from-behind 3-2 shootout win.
The Hurricanes were outshot 30-28 in the hockey game. Lethbridge went 0/1 on the power play while Moose Jaw was 0/2 on the man advantage.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #31 Brady Smith (28-saves)
2) Warriors – #93 Matthew Savoie (1 goal)
3) ‘Canes – #10 Dylan Sydor (1 goal, 1 assist)
The win for the Hurricanes improved their record to 6-2-0-0 in their last eight games while extending their road-winning streak to four-straight games. Lethbridge’s road record improved to 13-18-0-0 on the season while their overall record lifted to 30-27-5-0 on the season. The ‘Canes ended the regular season series with a 3-2-0-0 record against the Warriors.
Lethbridge will return to the ENMAX Centre on Wednesday when they welcome the Edmonton Oil Kings at 7:00pm before hosting the Red Deer Rebels on Friday in the first of a three-in-three weekend. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.enmaxcentre.ca.
