Hurricanes Hold Off Hitmen in Game 7 Victory; Advance to Conference Final
Calgary, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes earned a 3-1 victory on Wednesday in Game 7 over the Calgary Hitmen at Scotiabank Saddledome to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship Series.
Lethbridge entered having posted a 6-1 record in their history in Game 7’s while having gone 2-0 on the road. The Hurricanes, who forced a seventh game with a 5-1 win in Game 6 on Saturday, struck first early in the game when Brayden Edwards buried a rebound just 3:22 into the game to make it 1-0; Luke Cozens and Caden Price earned the assists on the goal. Calgary answered with an equalizing goal at the 12:48 mark when David Adaszynski knocked home a loose puck for his fourth goal of the playoffs to tie the game 1-1; Ben Kindel and Oliver Tulk picked up the assists on the goal. Before the end of the period, the Hurricanes pulled back in front when Logan Wormald wired home a shot on a two-on-one with Edwards – Logan McCutcheon earned the second assist – to make it a 2-1 game; for Wormald, it was his fourth goal of the playoffs. Lethbridge outshot Calgary 13-10 in the middle frame.
It was a tentative second period which saw the teams combine for his 11 shots with Calgary holding the edge 6-5 in the frame. The Hitmen had a power play opportunity at the midway point of the period when Noah Chadwick was assessed a cross-checking penalty, but Calgary was unable to generate a shot as the ‘Canes penalty kill was strong. Lethbridge had a glorious opportunity to add to their lead when Miguel Marques had a partial breakaway but was stopped by Anders Miller to keep it a one-goal game after forty minutes of play.
In the third period, the Hurricanes potted an insurance goal just 3:33 into the frame when Luke Cozens lifted home his first career playoff goal to make it a 3-1 game; Edwards earned the lone assist on the tally. Calgary poured it on Lethbridge after the goal in hopes of digging back into the game, but Jackson Unger was outstanding. The Hitmen peppered the ‘Canes with a four-minute power play chance when Easton Daneault was handed a tripping and high-sticking penalties on the same play. Calgary had countless opportunities on the man advantage, but Unger stood tall preserving the two-goal advantage. The Hitmen failed to score on the power play but continued to press outshooting the Hurricanes 19-7 in the third period. Calgary pulled the goaltender late but could not solve Unger as Lethbridge hung on to the 3-1 Game 7 victory.
The Hurricanes were outshot 35-25 in the game by the Hitmen. Lethbridge went 0/1 on the power play while Calgary was 0/4 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were the Hitmen overagers:
1) Hitmen – #21 Connor Hvidston
2) Hitmen – #8 Kalem Parker
3) Hitmen – #31 Daniel Hauser
The win for the Hurricanes ended the series as Lethbridge improved to 7-1 lifetime in Game 7’s while their record lifted to 3-0 all-time on the road in Game 7’s. The ‘Canes improved to 2-4 all-time in playoff series against the Hitmen.
The Hurricanes will face the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Eastern Conference Championship Series starting on Friday and Saturday in Game’s 1 & 2 at Co-op Place before the series shifts to Lethbridge for Games 3 & 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:00pm. Tickets for Games 3 & 4 will go on sale on Thursday, April 25th at 10:00am and 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.
