Hurricanes Suffer Sixth-Straight Loss With 7-2 Defeat to Warriors
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes opened a two-game homestand with a 7-2 loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
Lethbridge entered on a five-game losing streak after suffering an overtime loss in Medicine Hat last Saturday while Moose Jaw entered on a season-long nine-game losing streak. The Warriors had a strong start to the game when Kash Andresen buried a rebound past Koen Cleaver just 37-seconds into the game to make it 1-0; Jan Trefny earned the lone assist on the goal. Moose Jaw had a glorious opportunity to double their lead on a two-on-one shortly after, but Cleaver made a remarkable pad save on a one-timer by Pavel McKenzie to keep it a one-goal game. At the 6:53 mark, the Warriors added to their lead when Casey Brown wired a shot over the glove of Cleaver to make it 2-0; Trefny picked up the assist on the goal. Lethbridge struck late in the period to cut the lead in half when Kade Duell tipped home his 15th goal of the year with 3:46 remaining in the period; Easton Daneault picked up the helper on the goal which came on an odd-man rush. The Warriors outshot the Hurricanes 14-10 in the opening period.
The Hurricanes came out flying to open the second period as they carried the play allowing just two shots in the first 14 minutes of the period. Lethbridge pulled even at the midway point when Daneault fooled Chase Wutzke with a low shot from the left corner slipping home his 11th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2; Duell and Kyle Heger picked up the assists on the goal. The ‘Canes had a trio of power play opportunities in the middle frame but failed to capitalize with the extra man. Moose Jaw answered back to take the lead with 3:30 remaining in the period when Brown ripped a shot short-side on Cleaver for his second goal of the game – and 19th of the year – putting the Warriors ahead 3-2. Just over a minute later, the Warriors restored their two-goal lead when Colt Carter stuffed home a rebound off the end boards for his eighth goal to make it 4-2 after forty minutes of play. Lethbridge dominated the shots outshooting Moose Jaw 14-5 in the second period.
In the third period, Moose Jaw continued to add to their lead just 1:03 into the game when Ethan Semeniuk scored his 15th goal of the season to make it 5-2; Nolan Paquette picked up the helper on the goal. The Warriors struck again at the 5:02 mark when Aiden Ziprick ripped home his 16th goal on a power play to make it 6-2 game. Moose Jaw rounded out the scoring with just under four-minutes remaining in the game when Dominik Pavlik banged home a loos puck to make it a 7-2 final. Moose Jaw held the edge in shots 11-6 in the final frame.
Lethbridge and Moose Jaw each had 30 shots in the game. The Hurricanes went 0/3 on the power play while the Warriors were 1/2 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Warriors – #19 Casey Brown (2 goals)
2) ‘Canes – #9 Kade Duell (1 goal, 1 assist)
3) Warriors – #4 Nolan Paquette (2 assists)
The loss for the Hurricanes was their sixth-straight defeat falling to 0-4-2-0 in that span as the Warriors ended their nine-game losing streak. Lethbridge’s home record slipped to 10-18-1-0 on the season while their overall record fell to 16-39-2-1 on the year. The ‘Canes are now 1-2-0-0 this season against the Warriors while their record against East Division opponents fell to 6-14-0-0 on the season.
The Hurricanes will end their two-game losing streak on Friday when they welcome the Swift Current Broncos at 7:00pm on Real Canadian Superstore Jersey Night. 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.
