Hurricanes Suffer Shootout Loss to Wheat Kings
Brandon, MB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes ended the month of February with a 4-3 shootout loss in Brandon to the Wheat Kings at Westoba Place on Friday.
It was the Hurricanes final regular season visit to Brandon and their first since a 3-0 victory on Remembrance Day as Lethbridge entered with a 2-0-0-0 record against the Wheat Kings this season. Logan Wormald and Leo Braillard returned to the lineup after missing 10 and five games respectively. Lethbridge had a strong first period, but fell behind 1-0 at the 11:12 mark when Jaxon Jacobson had a shot deflect of a ‘Canes defender and by Jackson Unger; Jordan Gavin and Dylan Ronald earned the assists on the goal which marked the 18th time in the last 27 games the Hurricanes surrendered the first goal. Lethbridge pulled even with 5:20 remaining in the period when Kash Andresen tipped a shot through the legs of Carson Bjarnason to make it 1-1; Anthony Wilson earned the only assists on the goal. Lethbridge pulled ahead with a power play goal with 11.3-seconds remaining in the period as Brayden Edwards scored his 26th of the season putting the ‘Canes ahead 2-1; Brayden Yager and Braillard earned the assists on the goal. Lethbridge outshot Brandon 11-8 in the first period.
The Wheat Kings started the second period with a power play with Wilson in the penalty box for a roughing penalty at the end of the first period. Brandon failed to score with the extra man, but would tie the game shortly after the expiration of the power play when Jacobson scored his second of the night on a two-on-one to make it 2-2; Matteo Michels and Jordan Gavin were credited with the assists. The penalties continued for the Hurricanes as both Chase Petersen and Caden Price were penalized resulting in a five-on-three man advantage. The Wheat Kings struck with the two-man power play when Nolan Flamand buried his 21st goal of the season to make it a 3-2 Brandon lead; Nicholas Johnson and Luke Shipley picked up the helpers on the goal. The Hurricanes came close late in the period to draw even on a point-blank chance for Luke Cozens, but he was robbed by Bjarnason as the Wheat Kings held a 3-2 lead after two periods. Lethbridge held the edge in shots 13-9.
In the third period, the Hurricanes outshot the Wheat Kings 13-6. The teams traded chances as the period flew by with a stretch of over eight-minutes without a whistle. Lethbridge found an equalizer with Braillard ripping home his 23rd goal of the season at the 12:42 mark as he buried a one-timer on a pass from Noah Chadwick to tie the game 3-3; Tristen Doyle earned the second assist on the goal. The ‘Canes had a great chance at the end of the game with a power play to find a go-ahead goal, but they only mustered two shots on goal as the game went to overtime tied.
The Hurricanes dominated the overtime period as they outshot the Wheat Kings 5-1 in the extra frame. Lethbridge had a plethora of great chances to end the game, including a pair of looks for Wormald and two from Yager that just slipped wide of the net. Neither team found a winner as the game went to the shootout.
In the shootout, Brandon struck first when Nicholas Johnson snuck one under the arm of Unger on the first attempt of the shootout. Logan Wormald, Shane Smith and Brayden Yager all shot in the shootout, but Bjarnason turned them all aside as the Wheat Kings staved the ‘Canes comeback earning the 4-3 shootout victory.
Lethbridge outshot Brandon 41-24 in the game. The Hurricanes went 1/3 on the power play while the Wheat Kings were 1/4 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Wheat Kings – #9 Jaxon Jacobson (2 goals)
2) Wheat Kings – #64 Carson Bjarnason (38-saves)
3) Wheat Kings – #62 Nicholas Johnson (1 assist, shootout winner)
The loss for the Hurricanes ended their three-game winning streak as their road record slipped to 16-13-1-2 on the season and 13-3-1-1 in their last 18 games away from home. Lethbridge’s overall record slipped to 37-19-2-2 on the season while their record against East Division opponents fell to 17-4-0-1 this year. The ‘Canes ended the month of February with an 8-4-1-1 record in the 14 games they played.
The Hurricanes will end their four-game East Division road trip on Saturday when they visit the Regina Pats at 5:00pm MT at the Brandt Centre. Lethbridge will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Wednesday, March 5th when they welcome the Kelowna Rockets. 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.
