Hurricanes Stun Oil Kings in Comeback Shootout Victory
Edmonton, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes rallied late to earn a come-from-behind 4-3 shootout win over the Edmonton Oil Kings on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Place.
It marked the final of a three-game weekend between the Hurricanes and Oil Kings which saw Edmonton earn a 7-3 win on Friday before a 5-2 victory on Saturday. Lethbridge had a better start to the game as they peppered Alex Worthington early in the game jumping out to a 5-1 shot advantage in the first five minutes but couldn’t open the scoring. The Oil Kings had a power play opportunity at the midway point of the period, and they came close to scoring first when Rylen Roersma wired a shot off the goal post. Edmonton eventually scored first at the 17:24 mark when Marshall Finnie bulldozed to the net and jammed home a loose puck in front to make it 1-0; Gavin Hodnett and Joe Iginla earned the assists on the goal as the Oil Kings led 1-0 after one period. Lethbridge was outshot 10-9 in the first period.
The Hurricanes were tagged with a pair of penalties early in the second period and Edmonton doubled their lead with a power play goal just 1:20 into the period when Lukas Sawchyn one-timed a pass from Gracyn Sawchyn to the back of the net to make it 2-0 with a five-on-three goal; Hodnett earned the second assist on the goal. Lethbridge pressed to get on the board and nearly broke the tie when Logan Wormald bust through a seam with a backhand shot but was stopped by Worthington. The ‘Canes earned a power play, but while up a man they surrendered a shorthanded goal for the third straight game as Landon Hanson slipped a shot through the legs of Koen Cleaver to make it 3-0 after two periods. Lethbridge outshot Edmonton 13-12 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the ‘Canes had an early power play opportunity and Wormald had yet another great chance to get Lethbridge on the board on a cross-seam chance, but Worthington slid over to make a wonderful save with the blocker. Edmonton pressed back with a power play of their own and Roersma wired a goal post – his third post of the game – as the Oil Kings remained in front 3-0. The Hurricanes kept pressing and broke the shutout bid for Worthington as Logan McCutcheon ripped home his fourth goal of the year while four-on-four; Will Sharpe and Brayden Yager earned the helpers on the goal. Late in the period, the Hurricanes pulled the goaltender and with 1:27 remaining Braillard banged home a loose puck in front to make it a 3-2 game with his 14th goal; Yager and Edwards earned the assists on the goal. After the goal, the ‘Canes called their 30-second timeout and then pulled the goaltender again. With 41.3-second left, Lethbridge tied the game at 3-3 with a goalmouth tap-in by Logan Wormald who potted his 19th goal as the Hurricanes scored three goals in a span of 8:10 to erase a three-goal deficit and force overtime.
Edmonton and Lethbridge traded chances in the extra session with the Hurricanes creating an early chance to end it when Sharpe ripped a shot wide before the Oil Kings Gracyn Sawchyn tapped a puck out of the air and just wide of the net. The Oil Kings outshot the Hurricanes 5-2 in the five-minutes of three-on-three hockey, but neither team was able to find the winner as it went to a shootout.
It marked the second shootout game of the season for the Hurricanes who received goals from Wormald Braillard and Gizowski before Edwards scored the shootout winner in the sixth-round to complete the come-back for Lethbridge as they earned the shocking 4-3 victory.
The Hurricanes outshot Edmonton 47-35 in the contest, marking a new season-high in shots for the ‘Canes. Lethbridge went 0/4 on the power play while Edmonton was 1/4 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #19 Brayden Edwards (1 assist, shootout winner)
2) Oil Kings – #29 Alex Worthington (43-saves)
3) ‘Canes – #29 Brayden Yager (3 assists)
The win for the Hurricanes ended a two-game losing streak, both to Edmonton, as they improved to 2-1-0-0 in their last three road games while their road record lifted to 6-10-0-1 on the season. Lethbridge’s overall record lifted to 20-14-1-1 on the season while they even the season series at 2-2-0-0 with Edmonton.
Lethbridge will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Tuesday when they welcome the Moose Jaw Warriors at 7:00pm. Tickets 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.
