Hurricanes Suffer Lopsided Loss to Winterhawks
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes opened a three-game long-weekend as they suffered a 9-4 loss to that Portland Winterhawks in their lone meeting of the season at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
The Hurricanes entered in search of their first home win of the season as they entered 0-3-0-0 to start the year. Portland played the sixth of a stretch of 11-straight road games to open the season. The ‘Hawks had a great start to the game as they outshot the ‘Canes 6-0 in the first five minutes and jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Max Psenicka was credited with his third goal of the season on a power play just 5:23 into the game; Kyle McDonough and Will McLaughlin picked up the assists on the goal. Lethbridge found their game midway through the period and pulled even at the 8:59 mark when Logan Wormald wired a shot over the glove of Ondrej Stebetak for his third goal of the year to tie the game 1-1; Shane Smith and Luke Cozens earned the assists on the goal. Portland pressed with a power play to pull back in front, but Koen Cleaver made two outstanding saves on Ryan Miller to keep the game tied. Lethbridge took their first lead of the game with 6.8-seconds left in the opening frame when Hudson Kibblewhite jammed home a loose puck to put the ‘Canes in front 2-1; Smith and Cozens picked up the helpers on the goal. Lethbridge outshot Portland 13-12 in the first period.
The two teams combined for six goals in the second period with Portland striking four times. The Winterhawks tied the game 2-2 just 42-seconds into the frame with a power play goal by Nathan Free who buried his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Just 45-seconds later, the ‘Hawks pulled in from on a goal by Alex Weiermair to make it 3-2 Portland. Lethbridge quickly tied the game at the 4:10 mark when Nathan Maloney buried his first goal in the WHL ripping a shot low blocker side on on Stebetak to tie the game; Gavin Lesiuk and Kibblewhite were credited with the assists on the equalizer. The see-saw period continued when the Winterhawks made it a 4-3 advantage at the 7:27 mark with yet another power play goal by Nathan Brown who tapped home his second goal of the game. Just over three-minutes later, the ‘Canes tied the game again as Wormald potted his second goal of the game – and fourth of the season – pulling away from a defender before slipping a shot through the legs of the Portland netminder at the 10:33 mark to tie it 4-4; Grady Pichette and Tomas Malinek earned the assists (the first WHL point for Malinek). The tie game lasted for just over one minute as Portland took a 5-4 lead as Carter Sothern ripped home his first goal of the season to give Portland back the lead. Lethbridge was outshot 14-9 in the middle frame as the ‘Hawks held a one goal lead through forty minutes of play.
In the third period, the Winterhawks continued to keep their foot on the gas adding four more goals. The Winterhawks made it a two-goal lead when Free potted his second goal of the game to make it a 6-4 Portland lead. Just under four-minutes later, the Winterhawks scored on a turnover when Kayd Ruedig rifled home a shot short-side on Cleaver to make it a 7-4 game. Portland continued to pour it on the Hurricanes added two more goals before the end of the game as the Spehar brothers each scored their first goals of their career; Sam scoring at 13:49 before Finn finished the scoring at the 18:45 mark to round out a 9-4 victory for the Winterhawks. Portland outshot Lethbridge 11-3 in the third period.
The Hurricanes were outshot 37-25 in the contest by the Winterhawks. Lethbridge went 1/4 on the power play while Portland was 4/6 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Winterhawks – #28 Nathan Brown (2 goals, 1 assist)
2) ‘Canes – #18 Logan Wormald (2 goals)
3) Winterhawks – #59 Carter Sotheran (1 goal, 2 assists)
The loss for the Hurricanes dropped their overall record to 2-6-0-0 on the season. It also dropped Lethbridge’s home record to 0-4-0-0 this year as the ‘Canes continue to look for their first home win of the year. The Hurricanes dropped their fourth-straight game against the Winterhawks dating back to the 2019-2020 season.
The Hurricanes will welcome the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday at 6:00pm at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena before visiting the Edmonton Oil Kings on Monday afternoon at 12:00pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased by visiting the VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca.
