Hurricanes Suffer First Home Regulation Loss of Season
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes ended a three-game homestand on Friday with a 5-3 loss to the Calgary Hitmen at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
Lethbridge entered with an 8-3-1-0 record on the season having suffered two regulation losses to the Hitmen in their previous two meetings. Calgary had a great start to the game as Lethbridge product Rylan Ng banged home his second goal of the season, and first in his hometown, to give the Hitmen a 1-0 lead; David Adaszynski and Maxim Muranov earned the helpers on the goal. Just over two-minutes later, the Hurricanes tied the game as Logan Wormald wired home his team-leading eighth goal of the season on a two-on-one with Brayden Edwards to tie the game 1-1; Miguel Marques picked up the second assist on the goal. Calgary controlled the pace after the ‘Canes equalizing goal and pulled back in front with 4:13 remaining in the period as Chase Valliant snuck home his first goal of the season to give the Hitmen a 2-1 lead after twenty minutes of play. The Hitmen outshot the Hurricanes 17-7 in the opening period.
Calgary carried the momentum into the second period as they outshot Lethbridge 16-9. The Hitmen added to their lead making it a 3-1 game at the 8:16 mark as David Adaszynski netted his second goal of the season on a two-on-one; Ng and Muranov picked up the assists on the tally. Calgary made it a 4-1 advantage when Connor Hvidston buried his fourth as a Hitmen with 3:15 left in the period; Oliver Tulk and Brandon Gorzynski earned the assists on the goal. Lethbridge cut the lead back to two in the final minute as the Hitmen goaltender Eric Tu had trouble with a dump and Landen Ward drove the net to slap home a loose puck to make it 4-2 with 36-seconds left in the period; Kooper Gizowski and Carsen Adair were credited with the assists on the goal as the ‘Canes trailed by a pair after forty minutes of play.
In the third period, the Hurricanes pressed in an attempt of another come-back. Lethbridge came close early with a strong look for Wormald in tight, but Tu made a strong left pad save to keep the Calgary lead two. Calgary pushed back with a trio of chances including two breakaways, but they failed to beat Smith who made a cluster of saves. Lethbridge pulled to within a goal with 6:57 remaining when Marques potted his sixth goal of the year on a breakaway of his own which slid through the Hitmen goaltender and into the net to make it a 4-3 game; Edwards and Will Sharpe earned the helpers on the goal. Calgary, however, would answer back following a media timeout to restore a two-goal lead as Adaszynski buried his second goal of the game to make it 5-3 Hitmen lead. The ‘Canes could not generate any scoring chances in the final minutes as the Hitmen held on to the 5-3 victory.
The Hurricanes were outshot 41-22 in the game. Lethbridge 5/5 on the penalty kill while they did not receive a power play opportunity in the contest.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Hitmen – #39 Rylan Ng (1 goal, 1 assist)
2) Hitmen – #15 Maxim Muranov (3 assists)
3) ‘Canes – #31 Brady Smith (36-saves)
The loss for the Hurricanes ended a four-game home winning streak as they suffered their first regulation loss on home ice this season falling to 7-1-1-0 at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. Lethbridge’s overall record fell to 8-4-1-0 on the season while slipping to 0-3-0-0 against Calgary.
The Hurricanes will visit the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday at 7:00pm at the Peavey Mart Centrium. Lethbridge will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Wednesday, November 6th when they welcome the Medicine Hat Tigers 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.
