Hurricanes End Trip with 5-2 Win Over Warriors
Moose Jaw, SK – The Lethbridge Hurricanes ended a season-long seven-game road trip on Saturday with a 5-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors at Mosaic Place.
The Hurricanes had a good start to the game capitalizing early when Corson Hopwo buried a rebound for his 11th of the season to make it 1-0 Lethbridge just 4:52 into the contest; Kade Nolan and Yegor Klavdiev earned the assists on the goal. The ‘Canes doubled their lead with an own-goal which was credited to Nolan – his third of the year – after his shot was stopped by 16-year-old goaltender Jackson Unger but the rebound bounced off the Moose Jaw defender and into make it 2-0 Lethbridge. The Warriors cut the Hurricanes lead in half when Jagger Firkus potted his team-leading 32nd goal of the season on a power play to make it 2-1 after twenty minutes of play. The Hurricanes outshot the Warriors 15-9 in the first period.
Lethbridge started the second period on a power play after Ryder Korczak was assessed a roughing penalty at the end of the first period; on the man-advantage, the Hurricanes would surrender a shorthanded goal as Brayden Yager ripped home his 29th goal of the season to tie the game 2-2. Lethbridge answered just 2:23 later as Klavdiev was sprung on a breakaway by a beautiful outlet pass by Nolan Bentham and Klavdiev made no mistake burying five-hole to match his jersey number with his 11th goal of the year to make it 3-2 ‘Canes. Lethbridge added a shorthanded goal just over ten-minutes later as Justin Hall scored his WHL-leading fifth shorthanded tally on a partial breakaway to make it 4-2 Hurricanes; Brayden Edwards earned the lone assist on the goal. Carl Tetachuk entered the game for the Warriors after the Hall goal and he stopped the two shots he faced in the middle frame as the Hurricanes led 4-2 after two periods.
In the third period, the Hurricanes had a great chance early to add to their lead as Chase Pauls hit the post with a point shot but after a review the play was ruled no-goal. Lethbridge did add to their lead with a power play goal when Brayden Edwards muscled home his second of the season at the 5:25 mark to make it a 5-2 advantage; Ty Nash and Tyson Laventure earned the assists on the goal. Neither team would strike the rest of the way as the Hurricanes hung on for the 5-2 win to earn their third straight win against Moose Jaw in the season series.
The Hurricanes outshot the Warriors 17-13 in the third period and 39-31 in the game. Lethbridge went 2/4 on the power play and 2/3 on the penalty kill.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #11 Yegor Klavdiev (1 goal, 1 assist)
2) ‘Canes – #19 Brayden Edwards (1 goal)
3) Warriors – #29 Brayden Yager (1 goal)
The win for the Hurricanes ends a three-game losing streak as they finish their seven-game road trip with a 3-3-1-0 record earning seven of a possible 14 points. The victory improves the ‘Canes road record to 11-17-1-0 on the year while lifting their overall record to 24-27-3-1 as they hold down seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
The Hurricanes return to the ENMAX Centre on Wednesday, March 16th when they welcome the Regina Pats at 7:00pm in the first of a two-game homestand. Tickets can be purchased online at www.lethbridgehurricanes.com or in person at the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre.
