Hurricanes Fall in Overtime to Rebels
Red Deer, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes suffered their second-straight loss on Sunday with a 4-3 overtime loss in Red Deer to the Rebels at Marchant Crane Centrium.
Lethbridge entered with a 4-3-0-0 record in their previous seven games as they made their final visit to Red Deer this season. The Rebels had a strong start to the game as they opened the scoring just 2:03 into the game when Matej Mikes buried his seventh goal of the season to make it 1-0 Red Deer; Cameron Kuzma and Kalder Varga earned the assists on the goal. The Rebels doubled their lead at 8:57 when Matus Lisy centered a puck that deflected off a defender and into the net to make it 2-0 less than nine-minutes into the game. Before the end of the first period, the Hurricanes cut the Rebels lead in half when Grady Pichette ended a 20-game goal drought with his second of the season ripping a shot over the blocker of Matthew Kondro to make it a 2-1 game; Oli Chenier earned the only helper on the goal as the ‘Canes trailed by a goal after one period. The Hurricanes were outshot 13-8 in the first period.
The teams traded chances in the second period as the Rebels had an early chance to open the frame when Poul Andersen ripped a shot off the goal post. Koen Cleaver was outstanding in the period as he turned aside all 16 shots he faced, including a trio of great stops keeping the Hurricanes within a goal. Lethbridge pulled even with 8:18 remaining in the second period when Kayden Longley redirected a point shot past Matthew Kondro to tie the game 2-2 with his 10th of the year; Pichette and Tomas Malinek were credited with the assists on the goal. The Rebels held the edge in shots 16-12 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the Rebels pulled back in front just 1:25 in when Patrick Sopiarz deflected home his seventh goal of the season to make it 3-2 Red Deer; Lisy and Andersen earned the assists on the goal. The Hurricanes pressed for an equalizer and tied the game at the 15:47 mark as Owen Berge rifled home his team-leading 19th goal of the season beating Kondro over the blocker; Berge collecting his eighth goal in his last eight games – Kade Duell and Easton Daneault picked up the helpers on the tying goal. The ‘Canes were penalized in the final minute when Gavin Lesiuk was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking. Red Deer failed to score in the final 58-seconds of regulation as the game went to overtime. Lethbridge was outshot 13-12 in the third period.
The Rebels outshot the Hurricanes 7-0 in the overtime period carrying the play with the man advantage which carried over from the third period. Red Deer had a pair of great chances to end the game, but Cleaver was terrific keeping the ‘Canes alive. However, at the 2:49 mark, the Rebels scored the winner when Andersen struck for his 18th goal of the season to lift Red Deer to the 4-3 overtime victory.
The Hurricanes were outshot 49-32 in the game by the Rebels. Lethbridge went 0/3 on the power play while Red Deer was 1/2 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Rebels – #11 Poul Andersen (1 goal, 1 assist)
2) ‘Canes – #30 Koen Cleaver (45-saves)
3) Rebels – #17 Matus Lisy (1 goal, 1 assist)
The loss for the Hurricanes was their first overtime blemish of the season as they fall to 5-1 this season in the extra session. Lethbridge’s overall record slipped to 16-36-1-1 on the season with the defeat while their road record fell to 6-20-1-0 this year. The Hurricanes are now 1-5-1-0 against the Rebels in the season series.
The Hurricanes will visit the Edmonton Oil Kings on Monday afternoon at 2:00pm at Rogers Place to end a stretch of six games in six different cities. Lethbridge will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Friday, February 20th when they welcome the Medicine Hat Tigers at 7:00pm. 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.
