Hurricanes End Losing Streak with Shootout Victory Over Rebels
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes ended a five-game losing streak on Friday with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Red Deer Rebels at the ENMAX Centre in front of 4,407 fans.
The Hurricanes played their final home game in 2023 as they looked to end their five-game losing streak; Harrison Meneghin made his return to the lineup after missing five games with an upper-body injury. Meneghin was tested early by a physical Red Deer Rebels team who outshot Lethbridge 7-3 in the first six minutes of the contest but the ‘Canes number one netminder was sharp early in his return keeping the game scoreless. The Hurricanes pushed back in the middle of the period and were able to find the game’s first goal at the 15:39 mark when Kooper Gizowski ended a five-game goal drought beating a screened Chase Wutzke for his 14th goal of the season to make it 1-0; Tristen Doyle and Blake Swetlikoff earned the assists on the goal. Lethbridge outshot Red Deer 11-10 in the first period.
It was a power play filled second period as both teams had a trio of chances with the extra man. The ‘Canes generated some good chances on an early man advantage but couldn’t solve Wutzke who turned aside all 12 Lethbridge shots in the middle frame. Meneghin continued his strong play as he kept the Rebels at bay also stopping all 12 shots in the period. The best scoring chance of the frame, however, came for the Hurricanes late in the frame as Trae Wilke had a beautiful chance down the slot while four-on-four but his shot just grazed the pad of Wutzke and stayed out as the ‘Canes held their 1-0 advantage after two periods of play. Shots favoured Lethbridge 23-22 after two periods of play.
In the third period, the Rebels outshot the Hurricanes 10-7 as they pressed for an equalizing goal. The ‘Canes had some good opportunities to add to their lead, but Wutzke stood tall keeping the game within reach and not allowing Lethbridge to build on their 1-0 advantage. Red Deer eventually tied the game on a goal in transition; after a great offensive zone shift for the Hurricanes, the Rebels quickly moved up ice and Kalan Lind redirected a centering pass from Ollie Josephson on a two-on-two rush and beat Meneghin low blocker to tie the game 1-1 with 5:46 remaining in regulation. The Rebels continued to press as they looked for their first lead as Kai Uchacz had three glorious opportunities only to see Meneghin turn all of them aside as the game went to overtime.
It was the second straight game in which the Hurricanes went passed sixty-minutes. On their first shift of the extra session, Lethbridge came close to ending the game when Brayden Edwards cut to the net and ripped a shot off the crossbar. The Rebels outshot the Hurricanes 2-1 in the five-minute three-on-three frame but neither team found a winner as the game went to a shootout.
In the shootout, the Hurricanes and Rebels each scored twice in the first three rounds before the goaltenders put on a clinic. In the seventh round, defenceman Logan McCutcheon ripped home a shot beating Wutzke over the blocker before Josephson was stopped by Meneghin to preserve a 2-1 victory for the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes were outshot 34-32 in the contest. Lethbridge went 0/3 on the power play while Red Deer went 0/4 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #35 Harrison Meneghin (33 saves, 5-for-7 in shootout)
2) Rebels – #33 Chase Wutzke (30-saves, 4-for-7 in shootout)
3) ‘Canes – #12 Kooper Gizowski (1 goal)
The win for the Hurricanes ended their season-long five-game losing streak as they earned their first victory since December 8th against the Swift Current Broncos. Lethbridge improved their home-ice record to 9-6-3-0 on the season while their overall improved to 16-15-3-0 on the year. The ‘Canes finished the calendar year of 2023 with a record of 19-11-4-1 record at the ENMAX Centre.
The loss for the Hurricanes was their sixth straight defeat as they fell to 0-5-1-0 in that span. The ‘Canes home ice record fell to 8-7-3-0 on the season while their overall record slipped to 15-16-3-0 on the year. Lethbridge finished the calendar year of 2023 with a record of 18-12-4-1 at the ENMAX Centre.
The Hurricanes will end their 2023 portion of the schedule on Saturday when they visit the Central Division-leading Medicine Hat Tigers at 7:00pm at Co-op Place. The ‘Canes will return to the ENMAX Centre on Wednesday, January 3rd when they host the Swift Current Broncos at 7:00pm in the first of a four-game homestand. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.enmaxcentre.ca.
