Hurricanes End Homestand with 7-4 Loss to Hitmen
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes ended a three-game homestand on Saturday with a 7-4 loss to the Calgary Hitmen at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
The Hurricanes had a great start to the game following a pre-game ceremony that introduced over 50 ‘Canes alumni in celebration of the hockey club’s 40th Anniversary Season. Lethbridge jumped out to an early 1-0 lead just 2:10 into the game when Kai Anderson swatted home a loose puck for his second goal of the season; Oliver Vanha earned his first WHL point on the goal while Kade Duell picked up the second helper. The Hurricanes doubled their lead just 1:44 later when Easton Daneault slipped home his first goal of the season to make it a 2-0 advantage; Owen Berge and Oliver Sichtar earned the assists on the goal. Calgary cut the Lethbridge lead in half with a power play goal at the 14:22 mark when Carter Sanderson buried his first of three goals in the game to make it 2-1. Before the end of the period, the Hitmen pulled even as Wyatt Pisarczyk wired home his second of the year to make it 2-2 after one period. The Hurricanes were outshot 13-10 in the opening frame.
Lethbridge pulled back in front 7:23 into the second period from an unassisted breakaway goal by Logan Stuart as he ripped a shot through the legs of Calgary netminder Aidan Hesse for his third of the year giving the ‘Canes a 3-2 lead. The Hitmen once again responded off the rush as Sanderson ripped home his third goal of the year to pull even 3-3; Charlie Kresl and Calder Hamilton were credited with the assists on the goal. Just over three minutes later, however, the Hurricanes took their third lead of the game on a two-on-one as the Captain Owen Berge rifled home his third goal at 13:49 to make it 4-3; Daneault and Sichtar earned picked up their second point of the game. The resilient Hitmen once again tied the game before the end of the period as Andrei Molgachev slipped home his second goal to make it a 4-4 contest after forty minutes of play. Lethbridge outshot Calgary 16-12 in the middle frame.
In the third, Calgary won the special teams battled scoring a pair of goal on the man advantage while also adding a shorthanded goal. The Hitmen took their first lead of the game at the 1:53 mark when Brennan Brown tipped home a Julien Maze point-shot for his fourth of the season giving Calgary a 5-4 advantage. Just over six-minutes into the period, Berge was assessed a five-minute major kneeing penalty and game misconduct after a referee review. On the ensuing power play, the Hitmen struck as Blake Vanek – who made his season debut – one-timed home his first goal of the year to give Calgary a 6-4 lead; Artem Katsuro and Kresl picked up the helpers. Lethbridge pulled the goaltender late in the game while on a power play, but Sanderson for the Hitmen completed his hat-trick with an empty-net, shorthanded goal with 1:33 remaining in regulation to seal a 7-4 win for Calgary. The Hitmen edged the Hurricanes in shots 8-7 in the third period.
Lethbridge and Calgary both directed 33-shots on goal in the contest. The Hurricanes went 0/4 on the power play while the Hitmen were 3/4 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Hitmen – #9 Carter Sanderson (3 goals, 1 assist)
2) ‘Canes – #16 Easton Daneault (1 goal, 1 assist)
3) Hitmen – #25 Charlie Kresl (3 assists)
The loss for the Hurricanes dropped their record to 1-4-0-0 to begin the season. Lethbridge’s home record fell to 1-3-0-0 on the season as they ended a three-game homestand with a 1-2-0-0 record.
Lethbridge will open a three-game US Division road trip on Wednesday when they visit the Tri-City Americans at 8:00pm MT at the Toyota Center. The Hurricanes will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Wednesday, October 14th when they welcome the Victoria Royals 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.
