Hurricanes Fall 7-4 in Swift Current to Broncos
Swift Current, SK – The Lethbridge Hurricanes dropped a 7-4 decision on Saturday to the Swift Current Broncos at the InnovationPlex.
Lethbridge entered after earning a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime win over Swift Current on Friday at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. The ‘Canes had a strong start to the rematch against the Broncos keeping Swift Current hemmed in their own zone for the first five minutes of the contest. Lethbridge had a good early look, but Archer Cooke made a good stop on a redirect to keep the game scoreless. Swift Current generated some momentum after a power play and would open the scoring at the 11:01 mark when Brennan Brown swatted home a rebound for his second goal of the season to make it 1-0 Broncos. Just 1:40 later, the Broncos would strike again on a two-on-one as Zach Pantelakis ripped a shot through the legs of Koen Cleaver to double the lead. Swift Current kept pouring it on and added another goal at the 13:45 mark as Parker Rondeau deked through a ‘Canes defender before firing a shot over the blocker of Cleaver to make it a 3-0 lead – the Broncos scoring three goals in a span of 2:44. Lethbridge outshot Swift Current 11-10 in the opening period, but trailed by three.
The Hurricanes got a spark early in the second period when Tyden Lafournaise would drop the mitts for the first time in his WHL career fighting Broncos’ defenceman Nathan Gray. Lethbridge struck shortly after the fight when Andrew Petruk netted a beautiful goal for his third goal of the year to match a career-high making it a 3-1 game. Less than a minute later, the Broncos struck when Sawyer Dingman buried a loose puck in front of the net for his eighth of the year to make it 4-1. Swift Current added another when Jaxen Gauchier ripped a shot off the post giving it the Broncos a 5-1 advantage; that was the end of the night for Cleaver who allowed five goals on 15 shots as he was replaced by Leif Oaten. The ‘Canes would strike for a pair of goals in 22-seconds just past the midway point of the game when Nathan Maloney ripped home a one-timer to make it a 5-2 game; Kayden Longley and Owen Berge picked up the assists on the goal. Lethbridge struck again when Hudson Kibblewhite banged home a rebound for his 11th of the year to make it a two-goal game; Luke Cozens and Kade Duell earned the assists on the tally. The Hurricanes would get a power play late in the period but would surrender a shorthanded goal when Hudson Darby scored his eighth of the year at the 17:29 mark to restore a three-goal Swift Current lead after two periods of play. The Broncos outshot the Hurricanes 9-7 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the Hurricanes once again pulled to within two with a goal at the 9:51 mark when Kai Anderson ripped a low shot past Archer Cooke to make it a 6-4 contest with the unassisted tally; for Anderson, it was his eighth goal of the season – fourth against Swift Current. The Hurricanes pressed to get back to within a goal, but the Broncos would add the knock out punch at the 13:42 mark when Oleskiw scored on a breakaway to make it a 7-4 final.
The Hurricanes were outshot 25-24 in the game by the Broncos. Lethbridge went 0/4 on the power play while Swift Current was 0/2 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Broncos – #29 Hudson Darby (1 goal, 1 assist)
2) Broncos – #32 Sawyer Dingman (1 goal, 2 assist)
3) Broncos – #26 Jayden Oleskiw (1 goal, 1 assist)
The loss for the Hurricanes was their seventh-straight road defeat dating back to November 18th. Lethbridge’s record fell to 1-2-0-0 this season against Swift Current this year. The ‘Canes are now 2-6-0-0 in their last ten games with their road record slipping to 5-15-0-0 while their overall record fell to 12-26-0-1 this season.
Lethbridge will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Wednesday when they welcome the Seattle Thunderbirds at 7:00pm before embarking on a two-game road trip next weekend in Medicine Hat and Calgary. 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.
