Hurricanes Shutout 6-0 by Wheat Kings
Brandon, MB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes ended a four-game road trip on Saturday with a 6-0 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings at Westoba Place.
It was just the second of four meetings on the season between the Hurricanes and Wheat Kings as Lethbridge made their first trip to Brandon since November of 2022. The ‘Canes came out of the gate with good start controlling the opening two minutes keeping the Wheaties hemmed in their own zone, but Ethan Eskit made a pair of good saves early to keep it scoreless. Brandon opened the scoring at the 3:34 mark on their first good look when Brett Hyland buried a loose puck in front of the net beating a screened Harrison Meneghin to make it 1-0; Roger McQueen and Quinn Mantei earned the assists on the goal. Lethbridge pushed back on the next shift in hopes of an equalizer and Kooper Gizowski rattled the goal post on a centering pass from Luke Cozens. The Hurricanes continued to pour it on the Wheat Kings as Leo Braillard had a chance back door with an open net, but a Brandon defender reached in and deflected the puck wide. Late in the period, the ‘Canes had another great scoring chance when Dylan Sydor had a partial breakaway and made a move to the forehand, but Eskit kicked out the left leg to keep it a 1-0 Brandon lead after twenty minutes of play. Shots were even 11-11 in the opening frame.
Lethbridge had a good opening half of the second period as they pressure for an equalizer. The ‘Canes had a trio of great chances at the side of the net, but Eskit continued to play lights out in the Brandon net stymieing Sydor, Wormald and Wilke with point-blank chances. The best save of the game came just seven minutes into the period as Nicholas Johnson – who made his Wheat Kings debut – was absolutely robbed by Meneghin who somehow reached back to grab the puck with his glove to keep the game a 1-0 lead. In the second half of the period, the Wheat Kings exploded for three goals in a span of 5:19. Lethbridge product Carter Klippenstein jammed home a rebound after Meneghin made a goal-line paddle save to make it a 2-0 Brandon lead; Klippenstein scoring his seventh of the season at the 11:38 mark. The Wheat Kings struck with a power play just under three-minutes later as Nolan Flamand potted his 11th of the year to make it 3-0 before defenceman Charlie Elick buried a loose puck into an empty-net after Meneghin made a stop to give Brandon a 4-0 lead after two periods. Brandon outshot Lethbridge 18-15 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the Hurricanes failed to capitalize on an early power play opportunity – their first of the game. Brady Smith replaced Meneghin to start the period and on the first shot he faced, the Wheat Kings made it a 5-0 game as Dominik Petr ripped a shot over the glove of the ‘Canes back-up goaltender at the 1:41 mark; Roersma and Shipley earned the assists on the goal. Brandon added another goal with the power play at 12:45 mark as Hyland bunted a puck out of the air and in for his second goal of the night – and 23rd of the season – to make it a 6-0 lead; McQueen and Mantei earned the assists on the goal. The Hurricanes had a late power play opportunity, but despite a pair of good looks by Noah Chadwick and Brayden Edwards, the ‘Canes weren’t able to break the shutout as the Wheat Kings hung on for the 6-0 victory.
Lethbridge outshot Brandon 11-9 in the third period while the shots were tied 38-38 in the game. The Hurricanes went 0/2 on the power play while the Wheat Kings were 2/2 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Wheat Kings – #1 Ethan Eskit (38-save shutout)
2) Wheat Kings – #74 Brett Hyland (2 goals)
3) Wheat Kings – #19 Carter Klippenstein (1 goal, 1 assist)
The loss for the Hurricanes was their third defeat in their last four games as they fell to 6-4-1-0 in their last 11 games while falling to 9-12-0-0 on the road this year. Lethbridge’s overall record fell to 21-19-3-0 on the season while falling to 2-7-1-0 in 10 games this season against East Division opponents.
The Hurricanes will return to the ENMAX Centre on Friday, January 26th when they welcome the Regina Pats at 7:00pm on Brent Seabrook Wall of Honour night before welcoming the Edmonton Oil Kings on Tuesday, January 30th at 7:00pm. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.enmaxcentre.ca.
