Hurricanes Stunned by Raiders in 4-3 Overtime Loss
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes played the second of a three-game long weekend on Saturday as they were downed 4-3 in overtime by the Prince Albert Raiders at the ENMAX Centre.
It was a battle of the seventh and eighth placed teams in the Eastern Conference standings as the ‘Canes entered sitting two points back of the Raiders. Lethbridge had a great start to the game as they were physical and fast in the first period. The Hurricanes outshot the Raiders 14-7 in the opening frame marking the first time in 18 periods that Lethbridge reached double-digits in shots on goal. Miguel Marques had a glorious opportunity in the first five minutes as he danced through the Raiders defence before he was stopped by Max Hildebrand with a big glove save to keep the game scoreless early. The Hurricanes opened the scoring at the 14:04 mark as Trae Wilke buried his ninth goal of the season – and first in 13 games – to give Lethbridge a 1-0 lead; former Raider Hayden Pakkala and Landen Ward earned the assists on the goal as the Hurricanes held the one goal lead after twenty minutes of play.
Lethbridge kept their foot on the gas in the second period as they added to their lead early in the middle frame as Marques got the better of Hildebrand as he accepted a stretch pass by Logan McCutcheon before rifling home his 23rd goal of the season ripping a shot bardown on a two-on-one to make it 2-0; Logan Wormald earned the second assist on the goal. Just under five-minutes later, the Hurricanes struck again when Kale Tipler was sprung out of the penalty box for a breakaway and he made no mistake beating Hildebrand over the glove for his first goal in the Western Hockey League to make it a 3-0 Lethbridge lead; Joe Arntsen was credited with the lone assist on the goal which marked his 100th career point in the WHL. Lethbridge outshot Prince Albert 10-4 in the middle frame as they led 3-0 after two periods of play.
In the third period, the Raiders cut the Hurricanes lead to two with a power play goal by Krzysztof Macias that deflected off a ‘Canes defender and passed Harrison Meneghin to make it a 3-1 game just 8:46 into the contest; Sloan Stanick and Justice Christensen earned the assists on the goal. Prince Albert was assessed a late penalty when Niall Crocker was handed an interference penalty, but while shorthanded, the Raiders were able to find a goal to make it a one-goal game. Christensen let fly with a shot from the win that snuck through the ‘Canes goaltender and just crossed the line to make it a 3-2 game. The Raiders pulled the goaltender and with 4.8-seconds left, Prince Albert pulled even when Turner McMillen buried a shot to the top-shelf to tie the game after a failed clear to force overtime. Lethbridge was outshot 14-8 in the third period.
On the first shift of the extra session, the Raiders completed the comeback when Stanick jumped on a loose puck in the slot after it was knocked away from Aiden Oiring and Stanick snapped home his team-leading 23rd goal of the season to give Prince Albert a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime victory.
Lethbridge outshot Prince Albert 32-26 in the game marking the first time in eight games the ‘Canes held the edge in shots. The Hurricanes went 0/5 on the power play while the Raiders were 1/4 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #6 Kale Tipler (1 goal)
2) ‘Canes – #7 Joe Arntsen (1 assist)
3) ‘Canes – #22 Hayden Pakkala (1 assist)
The loss was the second straight overtime defeat for the Hurricanes as they fell to 7-1-3-0 in their last 11 games at the ENMAX Centre as their home-ice record dropped to 15-7-5-0 on the season. Lethbridge’s overall record fell to 24-24-5-0 on the season while falling to 0-2-1-0 in the three games against Prince Albert this season.
The Hurricanes will visit the Red Deer Rebels on Family Day Monday at 2:00pm at Peavey Mart Centrium. Lethbridge will return to the ENMAX Centre on Wednesday at 7:00pm as they welcome the Moose Jaw Warriors in the first of a two-game homestand. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.enmaxcentre.ca.
