Hurricanes Squash Blazers 7-3 in Bounce Back Victory
Kamloops, BC – The Lethbridge Hurricanes played the fourth of a five-game road trip on Wednesday as they bounced back with a convincing 7-3 win over the Kamloops Blazers at the Sandman Centre.
The game marked the first visit by the Hurricanes to Kamloops in 1,356 days dating back to March 6, 2020. Lethbridge had a tentative start to the game as they were outshot 4-1 in the early going of the period. Kamloops opened the scoring at the 10:57 mark when Logan Bairos beat a screened Brady Smith – who made his first start since October 22 in Calgary – to give the Blazers a 1-0 lead on a power play; Fraser Minten and Lethbridge product Emmitt Finnie earned the helpers on the goal. The Hurricanes tied the game with 1:46 remaining as the top-line struck with Logan Wormald centering to Brayden Edwards and he redirected home his team-leading 12th goal of the season to draw the ‘Canes even 1-1. Lethbridge outshot Kamloops 13-6 in the first period.
It was a wild second period that saw the teams combine for seven goals – five of which belonged to the Hurricanes. Lethbridge pulled ahead by two as Edwards redirected a point shot on a power play just 2:57 into the middle frame for his second of the night to make it 3-1; Noah Chadwick and Miguel Marques earned the helpers on the goal. The ‘Canes then scored twice in 24-seconds as Leo Braillard tapped home a centering pass from Wormald on a delayed penalty before Kooper Gizowski returned to the score sheet with his 12th goal – and 11th goal in his last 11 games – to put the Hurricanes ahead 4-1; Kash Andresen earned his first WHL point on the goal. Kamloops answered with a power play goal when their captain, and Toronto Maple Leaf prospect, Fraser Minten ripped home his first of two in the period to make it a two-goal game. Lethbridge struck again for a pair in quick succession as Wormald wired home his sixth of the season bardown to make it 5-1 before Tyson Zimmer scored his eighth of the season just 19-seconds later to put the Hurricanes ahead 6-2. Before the period was out, the Blazers struck again on a two-on-one Shea Van Olm played catch with Minten who beat Smith for his third point of the game – and 150th career point to make it 6-3 after two periods of play. The Blazers outshot the Hurricanes 14-11 in the middle frame. The five goals in the middle period marked a season-high for goals in a period by the Hurricanes.
The Blazers started the third period with 1:24 remaining on a power play that carried over from the second period, but Kamloops couldn’t find a goal to get back to within two as the ‘Canes killed off just their second penalty of the game. Lethbridge struck on a power play of their own as Marques wired home his eighth goal of the season to make it a 7-3 Hurricanes lead; Noah Chadwick and Wormald picked up the assists on the goal – the helper for Wormald marked his 100th career point with the ‘Canes. Lethbridge was outshot 19-11 in third period, but Kamloops couldn’t solve Brady Smith who turned aside every Blazer shot in the final twenty minutes en route to his first WHL victory as the ‘Canes downed the Blazers 7-3.
The Hurricanes were outshot 39-35 in the game. Lethbridge went 2/5 on the power play while Kamloops was 2/4 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #19 Brayden Edwards (2 goals)
2) Blazers – #16 Fraser Minten (2 goals, 1 assist)
3) ‘Canes – #18 Logan Wormald (1 goal, 3 assists)
The win for the Hurricanes improved their record to 4-1-0-0 in their last five games while lifting their record to 3-1-0-0 thru four games on their BC Division road trip. The victory improved the ‘Canes road record to 7-6-0-0 on the season while their overall record improved to 13-9-2-0.
The Hurricanes will end their five-game road trip on Friday at 8:00pm MT as they visit the Prince George Cougars at the CN Centre. Lethbridge will return to the ENMAX Centre on Wednesday, November 29th when they welcome the Calgary Hitmen at 7:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.enmaxcentre.ca.
