Hurricanes Fall 7-3 to the Wheat Kings to Open East Trip
Brandon, MB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes opened a three-game East Division road trip on Wednesday with a 7-3 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings at Assiniboine Credit Union Place.
The Hurricanes entered the game with a 7-7-0-0 record in their previous 14-games after ending a four-game homestand with a 2-2-0-0 record. Brandon entered on a three-game winning streak, and they jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage just 1:32 into the game when Joby Baumuller cut to the middle and wired a shot over the blocker of Koen Cleaver for his 17th goal of the season; Nicholas Johnson earned the lone assist on the goal. Lethbridge had a power play just over six-minutes into the game and had a pair of good chances, but Brandon’s netminder Jayden Kraus made a couple of strong saves as the ‘Canes failed to capitalize with the lone man-advantage of the first period. The Wheat Kings continued to press coming to within an inch of their second goal, but Nathan Maloney swept a puck off the goal-line to keep it 1-0. Brandon eventually doubled their lead at the 15:37 mark when Jordan Gavin cashed in a rebound to make it a 2-0 lead potting his 10th of the year; Baumuller and Johnson picked up the helpers on the goal as the Wheat Kings led by two after twenty minutes of play. Shots favoured Brandon 12-8 in the first period.
Brandon had another fast start to the second period adding to their lead just 1:34 into the middle frame when Luke Mistelbacher scored his team-leading 19th goal of the season on an odd-man rush to make it 3-0; Chase Surkan and Lethbridge product Carter Klippenstein picked up the helpers on the goal. The Wheat Kings added another goal just over two-minutes later as Gavin potted his second goal of the game on a power play to build their lead to 4-0; Surkan and Jaxon Jacobson picked up the helpers. Lethbridge had a power play midway through the period but only generated one shot with the extra man as they fell to 0-for-2 on the man advantage. Brandon kept pressing late in the period, but Cleaver was terrific in the final ten minutes holding the Wheat Kings to a 4-0 lead after two periods. The Wheaties outshot the ‘Canes 18-10 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the teams combined for six goals with each team striking three times. The Hurricanes got on the board just 1:03 into the period when Easton Daneault centered a pass off the skate of a Wheat Kings defender and into the net to make it a 4-1 game with his fourth goal of the season; Kade Duell earned the lone assist on the goal. Lethbridge struck again with a four-on-three power play at the 5:09 mark when Hudson Kibblewhite buried a rebound for his 10th goal of the season – and team-leading fifth power play goal – to make it a two-goal game; Nathan Maloney and Luke Cozens picked up the helpers on the goal. Just over three-minutes later, Lethbridge struck again to make it a one-goal game when Cozens wired home his team-leading 16th goal of the season on a two-on-one at the 8:44 mark to make it a 4-3 game; Gavin Lesiuk earned the lone assist on the tally. Brandon, however, restored a two-goal lead when Klippenstein snuck a shot short-side on Cleaver with 8:19 remaining in the game making it a 5-3 contest. The Wheat Kings added an empty-net goal by Baumuller at 17:51 before Klippenstein had a puck bounce off of him and into the net with 1:41 remaining to round out the 7-3 victory for Brandon.
The Hurricanes were outshot 43-24 in the game by the Wheat Kings. Lethbridge went 1/2 on the power play while Brandon was 1/1 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Wheat Kings – #13 Jordan Gavin (2 goals, 1 assist)
2) Wheat Kings – #19 Carter Klippenstein (2 goal, 1 assist)
3) Wheat Kings – #17 Joby Baumuller (1 goal, 2 assists)
The loss for the Hurricanes was their second-straight defeat as they fell to 2-5-0-0 in their last seven games while falling to 7-8-0-0 in their last 15 contests. Lethbridge’s road record slipped to 5-11-0-0 this season as their overall record fell to 10-20-0-1 on the campaign. The ‘Canes are now 1-2-0-0 against the Wheat Kings and 2-7-0-0 against East Division opponents.
The Hurricanes continue their three-game East Division road trip on Friday when they visit the Saskatoon Blades at 6:00pm MT at SaskTel Centre before ending the trek in Prince Albert against the Raiders on Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre. Lethbridge will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Tuesday, December 16th at 7:00pm when they welcome the Edmonton Oil Kings in their final game before the Christmas break. 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.
