Hurricanes Fall 5-1 to Tigers in Medicine Hat
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes dropped a second-straight decision on Saturday with a 5-1 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers at Co-op Place.
The Hurricanes made their first of four visits during the regular season to Medicine Hat in the back-half of a home-and-home weekend against the Tigers after suffering a 5-2 defeat on Friday in Lethbridge. Following the opening ceremonies which saw the Medicine Hat team introduced, the Tigers came out buzzing and outshot Lethbridge early in the game. The Tigers opened the scoring at the 12:57 mark when Gavin Kor wired a one-time shot over the glove of Leif Oaten to make it 1-0; Jaxson Craig and Luke Ruptash earned the assists in the goal. Late in the period, the Tigers struck twice in 22-seconds while four-on-four in the final minute. Former Hurricane Luke Cozens potted his first of the season at the 19:33 mark to double the Tigers lead before he struck again on the next shift on a two-on-one giving Medicine Hat a 3-0 advantage after twenty minutes of play. Shots in the opening period favoured the Tigers 13-8.
The teams went back-and-forth in the second period which saw Medicine Hat outshot Lethbridge 13-7 . The Tigers had a power play midway through the frame when Dominick Byrtus was assessed a hooking penalty. Despite some good looks, the Tigers failed to capitalize as Oaten – who made his first start of the season – was strong keeping it a three-goal game. However, Medicine Hat added to their lead with 2:06 remaining in the period when Ruptash scored his first WHL goal to make it 4-0 Tigers after forty minutes of play.
It was a penalty-filled third period which saw the Hurricanes have five power play opportunities. Lethbridge cut into the Medicine Hat lead near the midway point of the frame when Logan Stuart wired home his first WHL goal at the 7:44 mark on a man advantage; Dayne Beuker and Kyle Heger earned the assists on the goal to make it 4-1. Lethbridge two more power play chances, but couldn’t strike before Medicine Hat added an empty-net goal with 1:34 remaining as Cozens completed the hat-trick for the Tigers making it a 5-1 final. Lethbridge outshot Medicine Hat 16-7 in the third period.
The Hurricanes were outshot 33-31 in the game by the Tigers. Lethbridge went 1/7 with the power play while Medicine Hat was 0/3 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Tigers – #16 Luke Cozens (3 goals)
2) Tigers – #1 Carter Casey (30-saves)
3) Tigers – #4 Gavin Kor (1 goal, 1 assist)
The loss for the Hurricanes dropped their record to 0-2-0-0 to start the season with a pair of losses against the Tigers. With the defeat, the ‘Canes losing streak extended to 11-straight contests dating back to last season while it marked the 22nd straight loss – pre-season, regular season and playoffs – against Medicine Hat dating back to the 2024-2025 campaign.
Lethbridge will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Friday, September 25th when they welcome the Red Deer Rebels 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.
Season Tickets for the 2026-2027 season, which will mark the Hurricanes 40th Anniversary season in Lethbridge, are now on sale. Premium Season Tickets are also available for an additional $250 per seat. Season 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.
