Hurricanes End Trip with 6-2 Loss to Cougars
Prince George, BC – The Lethbridge Hurricanes ended a season-long seven-game road trip on Friday with a 6-2 loss to the Prince George Cougars at the CN Centre.
The Hurricanes entered the with a 3-3-0-0 record through their first six games of their longest trip of the season but entered with losses in two of their previous three outings while the Cougars entered leading the BC Division with a 14-7-0-0 record. Prince George came out flying to start the first period after a week off since their last game as they struck just 42-seconds into the game when Dmitri Yakutsenak buried a centering pass form Brock Souch to make it 1-0; it marked the third straight game the Hurricanes allowed a goal in the opening minute of the game. The Cougars doubled their lead at the 2:48 mark when projected first-round draft pick Carson Carels buried his sixth goal of the season with a wrist shot from the blueline passed a screened Koen Cleaver to make it 2-0. Prince George continued to keep their foot on the gas striking for two goals in a span of 15-seconds; at the 4:12 mark Yakutsenak scored his second goal of the period to make it 3-0 before Lethbridge product Terik Parascak sniped his team-leading 17th goal of the year flying down the right-wing to give Prince George a 4-0 lead with four goals on five shots. Leif Oaten replaced Cleaver just 4:27 into the game. The Hurricanes got on the board with a power play goal at the 6:19 mark when Kayden Longley lifted home a back-hand goal for his first as a ‘Cane – and sixth of the season – to make it a 4-1 game; Hudson Kibblewhite picked up the only assist on the goal. Prince George outshot Lethbridge 8-7 in the first period as the Cougars held a 4-1 lead through one period.
The Hurricanes had a much better second period as they outshot the Cougars 12-8 in the middle frame. Lethbridge pulled to within a pair of goals with a power play strike by Owen Berge at the 9:02 mar as he ripped a shot over the blocker of Cougars netminder Alexander Levshyn; Berge extending a point streak to five-straight games with his seventh goal as Logan Wormald and Kibblewhite were credited with the assists on the tally. The ‘Canes continued to get chances including a point-blank look for Kade Duell on a partial two-on-one, but his shot grazed the post to stay out. Prince George restored a three-goal lead with just 2.5-seconds left when Yakutsenak one-timed home his hat-trick goal finishing a cross-seam pass from Carels to put the Cougars ahead 5-2 after two periods of play.
In the third period, the Hurricanes out-chance the Cougars in hopes of chipping into the Prince George lead. The ‘Canes had a great look on a power play midway through the period when Berge ripped a shot to the top shelf, but Levshyn got a piece of the shot with his left shoulder. Lethbridge had another power play with just over five minutes remaining in the game and the ‘Canes pulled the goaltender. Despite a pair of early chances, the Cougars were able to seal the game with an empty-net goal when Lee Shurgot scored his fourth goal of the season with 4:10 remaining in the game to seal a 6-2 victory.
The Hurricanes outshot the Cougars 26-19 in the game. Lethbridge went 2/5 on the power play while Prince George was 1/4 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Cougars – #18 Dmitri Yakutsenak (3 goals)
2) Cougars – #9 Brock Souch (2 assists)
3) Cougars – #11 Kooper Gizowski (3 assists)
The loss for the Hurricanes was their second-straight defeat as they end their season-long seven-game road trip with a 3-4-0-0 record. Lethbridge ended the BC Division portion of their trip with a 3-3-0-0 record as they fell to 8-17-0-1 on the year. The ‘Canes road record slipped to 5-10-0-0 this season.
Lethbridge returns to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Friday, November 29th when they welcome the Moose Jaw Warriors at 7:00pm in the first of a four-game homestand. Tickets for the game can be purchased by visiting the VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca.
