Hurricanes Edge Rebels 3-2 for Second Win of the Season
Red Deer, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes earned their second victory of the season on Tuesday with a 3-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels at Marchant Crane Centrium.
Lethbridge entered on a four-game losing streak after dropping a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Hitmen on Sunday, but the ‘Canes had a great first period in their second meeting of the season against Red Deer. The Hurricanes had a great early scoring chance when Shane Smith was sprung on a partial breakaway, but he couldn’t solve Chase Wutzke as the game remained scoreless. Midway through the first period the Rebels got into penalty trouble and on the third man advantage the Hurricanes opened the scoring when Kade Duell lifted home his second goal of the season from a sharp angle to make it a 1-0 lead; Enzo DiDomenicantonio and Easton Daneault picked up the assists on the go-ahead goal. Just one-minute later, Lethbridge doubled their lead on the first WHL goal for Tyden Lafournaise who tipped home a pass from Smith in front of the net and through the legs of Wutzke to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 advantage; Logan Wormald was credited with the secondary assist on the goal of the former first-round draft pick. The ‘Canes outshot the Rebels 13-4 in the first period.
Red Deer opened the second period with a power play opportunity but failed to capitalize on the man advantage. Lethbridge pushed in the opening ten minutes of the middle frame with a trio of great scoring chances; Carsen Adair leaned into a slapshot from the left point only to see Wutzke shoot out the glove to make a great stop. Wutzke remained sharp turning aside a pair of two-on-one opportunities: first stopping DiDomenicantonio then moments later denying Luke Cozens keeping the game a two-goal Lethbridge lead. The Rebels pulled to within a goal at the 13:39 mark when Matus Lisy scored his first goal in the WHL on a rush down the right-wing before lifting a shot over the glove of Koen Cleaver to make it a 2-1 game after forty minutes of play. Red Deer outshot Lethbridge 13-8 in the second period.
In the third period, the Hurricanes added to their lead at the 7:14 mark when Wormald ripped a low shot through Wutzke for his second of the season to make it a 3-1 Lethbridge lead; Luke Cozens earned the lone assist on the goal. Red Deer poured it on in a come-back attempt and they pulled to within a goal when Ty Coupland buried his third goal of the season with 7:49 to play making it a 3-2 game. The Rebels pulled the goaltender late and came close to tying the game when Samuel Drancak was robbed by Cleaver in the final minute of the game to preserve the victory for the Hurricanes who hung to the 3-2 win.
The Hurricanes were outshot 31-27 in the contest by the Rebels. Lethbridge went 1/5 on the power play while Red Deer was 0/3 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #18 Logan Wormald (1 goal, 1 assist)
2) Rebels – #17 Matus Lisy (1 goal)
3) ‘Canes – #12 Tyden Lafournaise (1 goal)
The win for the Hurricanes ended a four-game losing streak as their record improved to 2-5-0-0 on the season. Lethbridge’s road record lifted to 2-2-0-0 on the year while their record against Red Deer improved to 1-1-0-0 this season. The Hurricanes are now 8-2-0-0 in the last ten meetings against the Rebels dating back to last season.
The Hurricanes will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Friday, October 10th when they welcome the Portland Winterhawks at 7:00pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased by visiting the VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca.
