Hurricanes Fall 5-2 in Game 1 of Eastern Conference Championship to Tigers
Medicine Hat, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes opened the 2025 Eastern Conference Championship Series with a 5-2 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers in Game 1 at Co-op Place.
It marked the first time the Hurricanes appeared in the Eastern Final since 2018 after earning a Game 7 win on Wednesday against the Calgary Hitmen while it opened just the third ever meeting in the playoffs between Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The Tigers, who hadn’t played for the previous eight days, came out flying to open the first period as they jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Schaeffer Gordon-Carroll scored his second of the playoffs just 2:17 into the period; Markus Ruck and Tanner Molendyk earned the assists on the goal. Just six-seconds later, the Tigers struck again when Gavin McKenna extended a playoff and regular season point streak to 50-straight games with his seventh of the playoffs beating Jackson Unger from the high-slot to make it 2-0. The Hurricanes cut the lead back to a goal when Logan Wormald wired home a shot from the blueline at the 6:17 mark for his fifth of the playoffs to make it a 2-1 game; Brayden Edwards and Logan McCutcheon were credited with the assists on the goal. The see-saw first period continued at the 9:20 mark when the Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt tapped home his 11th goal to make it a 3-1 game after twenty minutes of play. Medicine Hat outshot Lethbridge 16-6 in the first period.
The Tigers continued to keep their foot on the gas to open the second period as their top-line struck again at the 6:34 mark when Ryder Ritchie cut to the net before tucking home a back-hand to give Medicine Hat a 4-1 lead; Wiesblatt picked up the lone assist on the goal. The ‘Canes remained on their heels in the middle frame as the Tigers continued to pour it on and they found another goal at the 11:39 mark when Ethan Neutens snuck one through the legs of Unger making it a 5-1 game. Lethbridge replaced Unger at the 13:09 mark as Koen Cleaver made his first appearance in his career in the WHL Playoffs. The Hurricanes received a spark and had a four-minute power play when Wiesblatt was assessed a double-minor for slew-footing. On the man advantage, the Hurricanes pulled back to within three when Brayden Yager wired home his team-leading seventh goal of the post season at the 16:11 mark; Edwards and Caden Price were credited with the assists on the goal. The ‘Canes had a great chance late in the period to make it a two-goal game when Noah Chadwick ripped a shot just wide of an open net as the Tigers held a 5-2 lead after two periods of play. Shots favoured the Tigers 12-8 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the Tigers outshot the Hurricanes 8-5, but neither team added to the scoring. Medicine Hat had a pair of great chances on a power play opportunity, but Cleaver was strong making two great sliding saves to stop one-timers keeping it a three-goal game. Cleaver made another 10-bell save later in the game when he scorpion-shot his leg in the air to rob a Tiger. The physicality and animosity between the two teams lifted late in the game resulting in multiple post whistle scrums until the end of the game as the Tigers hung on to the 5-2 Game 1 victory.
The Hurricanes were outshot 36-19 in the contest by the Tigers. Lethbridge went 1/4 on the power play while Medicine Hat was 0/4 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Tigers – #72 Gavin McKenna (1 goal, 1 assist)
2) Tigers – #7 Oasiz Wiesblatt (1 goal, 2 assists)
3) Tigers – #11 Schaeffer Gordon-Carroll (1 goal)
The loss for the Hurricanes ends a two-game playoff winning streak as they trail the Eastern Conference Championship Series 1-0. It marked the first time this playoff that Lethbridge failed to win the opening game of the series as their record slipped to 2-1 in Game 1’s in these playoffs and 22-21 all-time.
The Hurricanes will face the Medicine Hat Tigers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Championship Series on Saturday at Co-op Place at 7:00pm. Lethbridge will welcome Medicine Hat on Tuesday and Wednesday at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena at 7:00pm in Games 3 & 4. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Yates Memorial Theatre or VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca.
