Hurricanes Edged 5-2 by Tigers in Dairy Queen Home Opener
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes opened the 2026-2027 regular season on Friday with a 5-2 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
The Hurricanes opened their 40th Anniversary season with their 24th time welcoming the Tigers in their home openers. Medicine Hat had an early power play opportunity in the game as newcomer Logan Stuart was assessed a goaltender interference penalty, but the Hurricanes penalty kill stood tall keeping the game scoreless. The ‘Canes started to carry the play midway through the first period as the Stuart, Easton Daneault and Gavin Lesiuk line buzzed in the offensive zone as Stuart registered five shots on goal in the opening period. Both Koen Cleaver – who made his second straight opening night start – and Carter Casey were strong in the opening period. The Tigers had a pair of goal posts in the frame, but it was scoreless after one period. Shots favoured the Tigers 12-8 in the period.
Lethbridge continued their strong play to open the middle frame with a glorious opportunity on a power play when Stuart was set up cross-ice for a one-time chance on a pass by Daneault, but Casey slid across to rob the ‘Canes forward for his first WHL goal. Medicine Hat broke the tie at the 12:35 mark when overage forward Josh Evaschesen outwaited Cleaver and lifted home his first as a Tiger to make it 1-0; Jake Burmis and Arvid Drott picked up the assists on the goal. The Hurricanes appeared to tie the game when Owen Berge snapped a shot through Casey, but on review it was deemed no-goal as the puck didn’t cross the line. Shortly after, Medicine Hat doubled their lead when Tyson Moss tapped home a rebound to give the Tigers a 2-0 advantage after two periods. Medicine Hat held the slight edge in shots 12-11 in the middle frame.
In third period, the Tigers struck on an early power play to take a three-goal lead when Evaschesen banked a centering pass past Cleaver just 20-seconds into the period. Lethbridge answered with a power play goal of their own when Dayne Beuker rifled home his first WHL goal just 2:11 after the Tigers goal to make it 3-1; Berge and Stuart picked up the helpers on the goal. The ‘Canes pressed to pull to within one, but Medicine Hat struck off an offensive zone faceoff as Cam Parr lifted home his first goal of the season to restore a three-goal lead. Lethbridge pulled back to within two when Berge buried his first of the new campaign – and first as team Captain – with 6:17 remaining in regulation to cut the Medicine Hat lead to 4-2; Beuker and Nathan Maloney earned the assists on the goal. The Hurricanes continued to press in hopes of making it a one-goal game and nearly struck when Kyle Heger ripped a shot off the inside of the goal post. Late in the game, the ‘Canes pulled the goaltender, but the Tigers sealed the victory with an empty-net goal to give Medicine Hat a 5-2 road victory to start the season.
The Hurricanes were outshot 36-27 in the contest by the Tigers. Lethbridge went 1/5 with the power play while Medicine Hat was 1/3 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Tigers – #23 Josh Evaschesen (2 goals)
2) ‘Canes – #21 Logan Stuart (1 assist)
3) Tigers – #1 Carter Casey (25-saves)
The loss for the Hurricanes dropped their record to 0-1-0-0 to begin their 40th Anniversary season. Lethbridge’s defeat was their 21st straight loss to Medicine Hat dating back to the 2024-2025 campaign. The ‘Canes fell to 23-24-0-1 with two ties all-time in Dairy Queen Home Opener’s in their history.
The Hurricanes will visit the Tigers in the rematch on Saturday at 7:00pm in their first of four visits to Co-op Place this season. Lethbridge will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Friday, September 25th when they welcome the Red Deer Rebels at 7:00pm. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Yates Memorial Theatre and VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca.
Season Tickets for the 2026-2027 season, which will mark the Hurricanes 40th Anniversary season in Lethbridge, are now on sale. Premium Season Tickets are also available for an additional $250 per seat. Season Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Yates Memorial Theatre and VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca.
