Hurricanes Suffer 5-3 Loss to Hitmen in Game 3
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes suffered their first loss of the second-round on Tuesday as they dropped a 5-3 decision to the Calgary Hitmen at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
The ‘Canes entered the game holding a 2-0 series lead after earning 4-0 and 2-1 victories in Calgary to open the best-of-seven series. Lethbridge had a strong first period in hopes of taking a 3-0 series stranglehold for the second-straight series. The Hurricanes had a good look early in the contest when Brayden Yager had a pair of chances cutting off the wall and into the middle, but Anders Miller – who made his second-straight start in the series – came up large early to keep the game scoreless. Calgary had a power play late in the period when Miguel Marques was assessed a hooking penalty, but the Hitmen were unable to find the net as the game was scoreless after twenty minutes of play. Shots favoured the Hurricanes 10-5 in the opening period.
Calgary upped their game in the second period as they outshot Lethbridge 13-8. The Hitmen pulled in front as they struck 6:16 into the frame when Carson Wetsch lifted a shot over the glove of Jackson Unger to make it 1-0 Calgary; Connor Hvidston earned the lone assist on the goal. The Hurricanes responded less than four-minutes later when Trae Johnson wired home his first of the playoffs on a two-on-one to tie the game 1-1; Kash Andresen was credited with the only helper on the goal. Calgary continued to press after the goal and quickly pulled back in front 2-1 when David Adaszynski banged home a loose puck in front of the net to give the Hitmen a one-goal lead; Ethan Moore and Kalem Parker earned the assists on the goal. The ‘Canes came close at the end of the period to tie the game, but couldn’t solve Miller as the Hitmen held a 2-1 lead after two periods.
In the third period, the Hurricanes pulled even just 6:21 into the frame when Shane Smith – who returned from a two-game suspension – rifled home a shot on an odd-man rush for his third goal of the playoffs to make it a 2-2 game; Logan McCutcheon and Kai Anderson picked up the helpers on the equalizing goal. Just passed the halfway point of the period, Calgary pulled back in front as Axel Hurtig leaned into a slapshot on a delayed penalty to make it 3-2 Hitmen with 9:38 remaining in the game. The ‘Canes pulled the goaltender with two-minutes remaining in the game to press for a tying goal. Lethbridge pressed, but after a turnover in the slot, Wetsch turned and fired a shot down the ice and into the empty net to make it a 4-2 game. With 39-seconds left in the game, Caden Price struck to pull Lethbridge back to within a goal as he ripped a shot over the glove of Miller for his first goal of the playoffs to make it 4-3; Andresen and Smith picked up the helpers on the goal. The Hurricanes pulled the goaltender again, but Calgary would hang on before adding another empty net goal to make it a 5-3 final.
The Hurricanes outshot the Hitmen 11-5 in the third period and 29-23 in the game. Lethbridge did not have a power play opportunity in the game while Calgary was 0/1 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Hitmen – #17 David Adaszynski (1 goal)
2) ‘Canes – #26 Trae Johnson (1 goal)
3) Hitmen – #6 Axel Hurtig (1 goal)
The loss for the Hurricanes ends their three-game playoff winning streak as they now hold a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-seven series against the Hitmen. The ‘Canes overall record in the post-season slips to 6-2-0. Lethbridge fell to 1-4-0-0 against Calgary on home ice during the season, playoffs and regular season combined, as all three games have been won by the road team.
The Hurricanes will look to bounce back against the Hitmen in Game 4 on Wednesday night at 7:00pm at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena before the series shifts back to Calgary for Game 5 on Friday. 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.
