Hurricanes Edged 4-3 by Pats
Regina, SK – The Lethbridge Hurricanes dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Regina Pats Friday at the Brandt Centre.
The Hurricanes visited the Pats for the second time in six days on their seven-game road trip after earning a come-from-behind overtime win last Saturday. Lethbridge had a strong start to the game as Justin Hall scored his 30th goal of the season just 6:47 into the game with a power play goal to make it 1-0; Yegor Klavdiev and Logan McCutcheon earned the assists on the goal. Regina answered back just under four-minutes later when Cole Dubinsky beat Bryan Thomson from a sharp angle to make it 1-1. The Pats took the lead with a late power play goal by former Hurricane Zack Stringer as they led 2-1 after twenty minutes of play. Regina outshot Lethbridge 10-7 in the first period.
Early in the second, the Pats added to their lead when Connor Bedard scored his 35th goal of the season on a partial breakaway just 1:58 into the period to make it 3-1. The Hurricanes – who trailed 3-1 in their previous visit – cut the Pats lead to one with a buzzer beater at the end of the period when Jett Jones banged home his 17th of the season – and sixth of the road trip – on a power play with 1.6 seconds left to make it a 3-2 game after two periods; McCutcheon and Hall earned the helpers on the goal. Lethbridge held the edge on shots 10-7 in the middle frame.
The Hurricanes – who had 11 come-from-behind victories on the year – tied the game at the 7:35 mark when Nolan Bentham buried a slapshot from the blueline for his third of the year, and first in 26-games, to make it 3-3; Klavdiev earned the only assist on the goal. Regina pulled back in front with 4:20 left in regulation as Braxton Whitehead snapped home his seventh of the season to give the Pats a 4-3 lead. The Hurricanes pulled the goaltender for the extra attacker and nearly tied the game again as Jones was stymied by Matthew Kieper to preserve the Regina victory.
Lethbridge outshot Regina 7-5 in the third period and 24-22 in the game. The Hurricanes were 2/5 on the power play while the Pats went 1/2 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Pats – #98 Connor Bedard (1 goal, 1 assist)
2) ‘Canes – #9 Justin Hall (1 goal, 1 assist)
3) Pats – #52 Braxton Whitehead (1 goal, 1 assist)
The defeat for the Hurricanes dropped their record to 2-3-1-0 on their road trip with one game remaining. Lethbridge falls to 23-27-3-1 on the season but remain seventh in the Eastern Conference.
The Hurricanes end they seven-game road trip on Saturday in Moose Jaw against the Warriors. The ‘Canes will return to the ENMAX Centre on Wednesday, March 16th when they welcome the Pats at 7:00pm. Tickets can be purchased online at www.lethbridgehurricanes.com or in person at the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre.
