Hurricanes End Season with 8-5 Loss to Hitmen in Calgary
Calgary, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes ended the season with an 8-5 defeat to the Calgary Hitmen at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday night.
The Hurricanes entered the game on an eight-game losing streak as they wrapped up their 2025-2026 season. Calgary, who held their Awards Ceremony prior to the game, jumped out to an early 1-0 lead just 30-seconds into the game when Blake Vanek tucked home a rebound for his 18th goal of the season; Harrison Lodewyk and Axel Hurtig picked up the helpers on the goal. Calgary doubled their lead at the 4:38 mark when Caine Wilke buried his 15th goal lifting home a back-hand to make it 2-0. Under a minute later, the Hurricanes cut the Hitmen lead in half when Andrew Petruk buried his fifth goal of the season in his final WHL game to make it a 2-1 game; Mykolas Skadauskas and Kyle Heger earned the assists on the goal. Lethbridge tied the game at the 12:36 mark when Gavin Lesiuk ended a 14-game point drought with his eighth goal of the year to tie the game 2-2; Skadauskas and Kayden Longley were credited with the assists on the equalizer. The Hitmen pulled back in front with a goal on an odd-man rush when Ethan Moore ripped home a shot over the blocker of Leif Oaten to make it a 3-2 game. Just over a minute later, the Hitmen restored a two-goal lead with a power play goal by Ty Meunier scored his 12th of the year to make it a 4-2 Calgary lead after one period. The Hitmen outshot the Hurricanes 16-11 in the first period.
The see-saw offensive battle continued in the second period as the Hurricanes pulled back to within a goal with a two-on-one goal by Lesiuk who shelfed a short over the glove on Eric Tu to make it a 4-3 game; Longley and Kyle Heger earned the assists on Lesiuk’s first ever two-goal game in the WHL. Lethbridge erased the two-goal deficit again just under a minute after the Lesiuk goal when Lukas Lima potted his second goal of the season as his shot deflected off a Hitmen defender and in to tie the game 4-4; Grady Pichette was credited with the lone assist on the tying goal. Calgary once again pulled back in front less than a minute later when Lodewyk chipped home his 17th goal of the season to make it a 5-4 Hitmen lead; Vanek and Keaton Jundt picked up the assists on the tally. Before the end of the period, the Hurricanes would once again pull even with a power play goal when Longley tapped home a back-door pass from Easton Daneault to tie the game 5-5 after forty minutes of play; Duell earned the second assist on the goal. Lethbridge outshot Calgary 11-9 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the Hitmen pulled ahead with a goal at the 7:10 mark when Vanek buried his second goal of the game to give Calgary their fourth lead of the game making it a 6-5 score; Meunier and Ben MacBeath picked up the helpers on the goal. Lethbridge had a power play shortly after the Hitmen took the lead but failed to score with the extra man as Calgary remained up by a goal. The Hitmen struck again to take another two goal lead when Lodewyk netted his second goal of the game making it a 7-5 Calgary lead. Late in the game, the Hitmen added an empty-net goal for an 8-5 final when Keaton Jundt buried his 12th of the season. Lethbridge was outshot 11-8 in the third period by Calgary.
The Hurricanes were outshot 36-30 in the game by the Hitmen. Lethbridge went 1/4 with the power play while Calgary was 1/1 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were the Calgary Hitmen overage players:
1) Hitmen – #18 Ethan Moore (1 goal, 1 assist)
2) Hitmen – #6 Axel Hurtig (1 assist)
3) Hitmen – #9 Harrison Lodewyk (2 goals, 1 assist)
The Hurricanes end the regular season with nine consecutive losses as they end the year with a record of 17-47-3-1 on the season. Lethbridge ended the season with a road record of 6-25-3-0 this year while finishing their campaign with a 3-5-0-0 record against Calgary.
