Hurricanes Fall 5-2 to Rebels

Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes suffered their third loss of 2022 on Friday against the Red Deer Rebels with a 5-2 loss at the ENMAX Centre.

Tonight’s match-up was the first game after the WHL trade deadline when The Hurricanes welcomed two new faces to their lineup tonight as Corson Hopwo and Brayden Edwards drew into the line-up for Friday night’s tilt.

The Rebels opened the scoring when Ben King would beat Jared Picklyk three minutes into the first period to make it 1-0. The ‘Canes had a good chance on their first power play of the game but couldn’t find the back of the net. The Rebels capitalized on their first man advantage as King once again beat Picklyk with his league-leading 14th power play goal of the season to put the Rebels up 2-0 at the end of the first period. The Canes outshot the Rebels 11-8 in the opening period.

At the start of the middle frame, the ‘Canes found themselves on another penalty kill two minutes into the second. The Rebels again found the back of the net on the power play as Liam Keeler increased the Rebels lead to 3-0. The Hurricanes got on the board when Alex Thacker beat Connor Ungar to get the ‘Canes to within a pair; Justin Hall earned the only assist on the goal. Just 1:08 later, Tristan Zandee scored his first goal as a Hurricane to make it a one-goal contest; newcomers Hayden Smith and Brayden Edwards earned their first points as ‘Canes on the tally. The one goal game would not last long as the ‘Canes once again found themselves on the penalty kill and at the 16:45 mark of the period Jackson van de Leest fired one past Picklyk on to give the Rebels a two-goal lead heading into the final 20 minutes. Red Deer lead in shots on goal 14-10 in the second period.

Heading into the final period, the Hurricanes found themselves down a pair of goals. The ‘Canes had a pair of power plays to attempt a comeback, but couldn’t solve Ungar who stood tall in the Rebels net. With two minutes left in the third, the ‘Canes pulled Picklyk for the extra man, but Red Deer would come out victorious as they score an empty-netter to seal the deal, making it 5-2.

The Rebels and ‘Canes had six shots each in the third period. Red Deer held the edge in shots with a total of 28-27 in the game. Red Deer went 3/6 on the man advantage while the Hurricanes were 0/4 with the extra man.

Three stars of the game were:
1) Rebels – Ben King (2g)
2) Rebels – Connor Ungar (stopped 28 shots)
3) ‘Canes – Brayden Edwards (1a)

The loss for the ‘Canes is their third loss, and second straight, to the Rebels this season and it’s their second regulation loss of the New Year. The ‘Canes are now 14-15-2-1 on the season while their home record changes to 9-7-2-1 on the year.

The Hurricanes will now head to Swift Current to face the Broncos on Saturday at 7:00pm. The ‘Canes will be back in action at home on Wednesday as they welcome the Saskatoon Blades at 7:00pm.

-Brynna Doucette