Hurricanes Edge Blades 2-1 on Wednesday
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes continued a four-game homestand on Wednesday with a 2-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
Lethbridge opened a stretch of four games in five days to head into the Christmas break as they faced Saskatoon for the second time this season. The Hurricanes had a great first period as they controlled the pace of play outshooting the Blades 14-8 in the period. The Blades had a pair of power play opportunities in the frame and their best chance to open the scoring came on a point shot that redirected off a ‘Canes defender and hit the post but stayed out. Lethbridge came close late in the period, but the first closed in a scoreless tie.
The Hurricanes struck first early in the second period while shorthanded when Miguel Marques jumped after a loose puck in the Blades zone after a dump in by Logan Wormald and Marques buried a quick shot for his first WHL shorthanded goal to make it 1-0; Wormald and Carsen Adair picked up the assists on the goal. Marques came close to score his second goal of the period when he was sprung on a breakaway on a pass by Will Sharpe, but the ‘Canes goal scorer was denied on a breakaway. The Hurricanes doubled their lead at the 16:58 mark when Chase Petersen buried his first WHL goal beating Ethan McCallum over the blocker to make it 2-0; Gavin Lesiuk and Logan McCutcheon were credited with the helpers. Just 38-seconds after the Hurricanes made it 2-0, Saskatoon cut the lead back to one with a point shot by Ben Saunderson which redirected off a defender and passed Jackson Unger to make it 2-1 after forty minutes of play. Lethbridge outshot Saskatoon 12-3 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the ‘Canes continued to control the pace of the game as they outshot the Blades 12-7. Lethbridge had a great look to add to their lead as Luke Cozens was denied on a breakaway by McCallum with a poke check to keep it a 2-1 game. Lethbridge has another breakaway with just over six minutes remaining as Leo Braillard bust through a seam to ripped a shot on goal that was turned aside by the Blades goaltender. Saskatoon pulled the goaltender in the final minute and came close to an equalizing goal but Jackson Unger was strong in the ‘Canes net to earn his third straight win since joining the Hurricanes as Lethbridge held on to a 2-1 victory.
The Hurricanes outshot the Blades 38-18 in the contest. Lethbridge went 0/2 on the power play while going 3/3 on the penalty kill.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #20 Chase Petersen (1 goal)
2) Blades – #33 Ethan McCallum (36-saves)
3) ‘Canes – #2 Logan McCutcheon (1 assist)
The win for the Hurricane was their third-straight victory as they improved to 11-2-1-0 on home ice this season. Lethbridge’s overall record lifted to 15-10-1-1 on the season while they improved to 9-3-0-0 against East Division opponents and 1-1-0-0 against Saskatoon.
The Hurricanes will end a four-game homestand on Friday at 7:00pm when they welcome the Red Deer Rebels at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena in the first of a three-in-three weekend. 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.
