Hurricanes Winning Streak Ends with Shutout Loss to Wheat Kings
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes had their four-game winning streak end on Friday with a 4-0 shutout loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings at the ENMAX Centre.
It marked the final meeting of the regular season between the Hurricanes and Wheat Kings who were separated by just two points in the Eastern Conference standings. Lethbridge had a good start to the game with a pair of early power play opportunities but couldn’t find an opening goal with the man advantage. Brandon opened the scoring at the 13:41 mark when Matteo Michels dangled through a ‘Canes defenceman before ripping a shot under the bar for his 16th goal of the season to make it 1-0; Lethbridge product Carter Klippenstein and Quinn Mantei earned the assists on the goal. The Wheat Kings struck again just over three-minutes later when Joby Baumuller sniped his fourth goal of the season right off a faceoff to double the Brandon lead 2-0; Rylen Roersma and Luke Shipley picked up the assists on the goal. Brandon outshot Lethbridge 17-6 in the first period.
Brandon started the second like they ended the first period and added to their lead just 41-seconds into the period as Jayden Wiens jammed home a rebound for his 22nd goal of the season to make it a 3-0 Wheat Kings lead; Nicholas Johnson and Brett Hyland were credited with the assists on the goal. The Hurricanes found their game at the midway point of the period aided by a power play when Miguel Marques was hit up high by Dominik Petr. Lethbridge had a pair of good looks on the man advantage, but Carson Bjarnason stood tall to preserve the Brandon lead at 3-0. Despite not getting on the board, the Hurricanes outshot the Wheat Kings 12-4 in the middle frame.
In the third period, the Hurricanes were outshot 8-5 by the Wheat Kings. Brandon added to their lead once again in the opening minute when Hyland ripped a shot off the post-and-in to make it a 4-0 Wheat Kings lead; Wiens earned the only assist on the goal. Lethbridge pressed to break the shutout and pulled the goaltender with over five-minutes remaining in the game, but Bjarnason stood tall helping the Wheaties to their third shutout win against the Hurricanes this season as Brandon hung on to the 4-0 victory.
Lethbridge was outshot 29-23 in the game by Brandon. The ‘Canes went 0/5 on the power play while the Wheat Kings were 0/2 with the extra man.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Wheat Kings – #74 Brett Hyland (1 goal, 1 assist)
2) Wheat Kings – #64 Carson Bjarnason (23-save shutout)
3) Wheat Kings – #14 Jayden Wiens (1 goal, 1 assist)
The loss for the Hurricanes ended a season-long four-game winning streak as their record dropped to 5-2-0-0 in their last seven games. Lethbridge’s home-ice record fell to 17-9-5-0 on the year while their overall record slipped to 29-27-5-0 on the season. The ‘Canes ended the regular season with an 0-3-1-0 record against the Wheat Kings.
The Hurricanes will return to the ENMAX Centre on Wednesday when they welcome the Edmonton Oil Kings at 7:00pm before hosting the Red Deer Rebels on Friday in the first of a three-in-three weekend. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.enmaxcentre.ca.