Hurricanes Open Final Homestand with Loss to Rebels
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes suffered their seventh-straight loss on Wednesday with a 4-3 defeat to the Red Deer Rebels at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
Lethbridge entered with a 1-7-2-0 record in their previous ten games after falling 6-5 in overtime in Medicine Hat on Saturday. The ‘Canes had a great start to the game jumping out to a 1-0 lead just 1:56 into the game when Tyden Lafournaise buried his 11th goal of the season; Kayden Longley and Carsen Adair picked up the assists on the goal. Red Deer responded at the 10:17 mark to tie the game when Beckett Hamilton scored a power play goal on a breakaway to make it a 1-1 game; Patrick Sopiarz and Poul Andersen picked up the assists on the goal. The Rebels took the lead at the 11:59 mark when Kalder Varga scored his 20th goal of the season to make it 2-1. Red Deer continued to pepper the ‘Canes when Andersen scored his 22nf goal to make it a 3-1 Rebels lead; Nate Yellowaga and Hamilton earned the assists on the goal. Just 29-seconds later, the Rebels struck again with another power play goal by Sopiarz who buried his eighth goal to make it a 4-1 game as Red Deer scored four goals in a span of 4:59. Before the end of the period, the Hurricanes scored on the power play when Longley finished a back-door pass from Owen Berge to make it a 4-2 contest; Kade Duell picked up the second assist on the goal. The Hurricanes were outshot 19-8 in the first period by the Rebels.
The Hurricanes had a great second period as they kept the Rebels hemmed in their zone for most of the frame. Lethbridge had a glorious opportunity to tie the game when Adair was sprung on a partial breakaway before firing a back-hand shot to the net; the loose disc redirected to the net but just missed the post. Matthew Kondro was outstanding in the middle frame turning aside all 14 Lethbridge shots. The Hurricanes dominated the shots outshooting Red Deer 14-2 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the Hurricanes continued to pepper the Rebels. Lethbridge pulled to within a goal at the 2:52 mark when Matteo Fabrizi whacked home a rebound for his fifth goal of the season to make it a one-goal game; Berge and Adair Picked up the assists on the goal as Fabrizi faced his former team for the final time in his 280th career game. The Hurricanes continued to press for the equalizer as they pulled the netminder late in the game but couldn’t solve Kondro as the Rebels hung on to a 4-3 road victory. The ‘Canes held the edge in shots 11-4 in the third period as they outshot the Rebels 25-6 in the final forty minutes of play.
The Hurricanes outshot the Rebels 33-25 in the game. Lethbridge went 1/2 on the power play while Red Deer was 2/3 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Rebels – #21 Beckett Hamilton (1 goal, 2 assists)
2) ‘Canes – #15 Kayden Longley (1 goal, 1 assist)
3) ‘Canes – #4 Carsen Adair (2 assists)
The loss for the Hurricanes was their seventh straight loss as they fell to 1-8-2-0 in their last 11 games. Lethbridge fell to 17-45-3-1 on the season with the defeat while falling to 11-21-0-1 on home ice. The ‘Canes end the regular season with a 1-6-1-0 record against the Rebels this year.
The Hurricanes will play their final home game of the regular season on Friday when they welcome the Edmonton Oil Kings at 7:00pm for Jersey’s Off Our Backs Night before ending the season on Saturday at 6:00pm at Scotiabank Saddledome against the Calgary Hitmen. 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.
