Hurricanes Win Sixth Straight with 4-2 Victory Over Wild
Wenatchee, WA – The Lethbridge Hurricanes earned their sixth-straight victory on Friday with a 4-2 win over the Wenatchee Wild at the Town Toyota Center.
Lethbridge made their first ever appearance to Wenatchee to face the Wild. The Hurricanes had a sluggish first period as they were outshot 8-5 by the Wild. The ‘Canes had an early chance on a pinball puck in front, but Alex Garrett made a good save to keep the game scoreless. Wenatchee had a power play midway through the period when Brayden Yager was penalized for a hook. The Wild failed to score on the man advantage as the ‘Canes penalty kill remained strong having killed at over 86-percent in their last 20 games. Late in the period, the Wild opened the scoring with 2:01 remaining, Miles Cooper banged home a rebound past Koen Cleaver for his 16th goal of the season to make it 1-0 Wenatchee; Tyler Russell and Brendan Dunphy picked up the assists as the Wild held the one-goal lead after twenty minutes of play.
The Hurricanes pulled even early in the second period at the 1:39 mark when Leo Braillard wired home his 15th goal of the year beating Alex Garrett over the glove to make it 1-1; Brayden Yager and Caden Price picked up the assists on the goal as Price earned his first point as a Hurricane. Lethbridge took the lead when Braillard struck again from the same spot on a power play to make it 2-1; Yager and Noah Chadwick earned the helpers on the goal which marked Braillard’s third multi-goal game of the season. Wenatchee on a delayed penalty tied the game when Grant Reid buried his first WHL goal at the 12:41 mark to make it a 2-2 game. The Hurricanes continued to press in the middle frame and would retake the lead with 2:51 remaining as Brayden Edwards redirected a Logan Wormald point shot through the legs of Garrett for his 17th goal of the season to make it a 3-2 Lethbridge advantage after two periods – Chadwick picked up the second assist on the goal. The Hurricanes held the edge in shots 12-8 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the Hurricanes opened the period with a power play after Brayden Pankey was assessed a cross-checking penalty at the end of the second period. The ‘Canes had some good looks on the man advantage but couldn’t find an insurance marker. Lethbridge finally added to their lead with just 1:37 remaining in regulation when Logan Wormald extended his goal streak to three-straight games with his team-leading 25th goal of the season burying a rebound to make it 3-1; Brayden Edwards and Cameron Norrie earned the assists on the goal. Wenatchee pulled the goaltender late for the extra attacker but the Hurricanes were able to hold off a late push for the 4-2 victory.
The Hurricanes outshot the Wild 24-20 in the game. Lethbridge went 1/2 on the power play while going 2/2 on the penalty kill.
Three stars of the game were:
1) ‘Canes – #18 Logan Wormald (1 goal, 1 assist)
2) ‘Canes – #28 Leo Braillard (2 goals)
3) Wild – #15 Grant Reid (1 goal)
The win for the Hurricanes was their sixth-straight victory as they improved to 6-1-0-0 in their last seven road games. Lethbridge’s road record lifted to 10-11-0-1 on the season while their overall record improved to 25-14-1-1 on the year. The ‘Canes have posted a 2-2-0-1 record in five games against the US Division so far this season.
The Hurricanes will end a five-game road trip on Saturday as they visit the Spokane Chiefs at 7:00pm MT at the Spokane Arena. Lethbridge will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Wednesday, January 22nd when they welcome the Regina Pats 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.