PLAYOFF GAME DAY: Hurricanes Face Pats in Game 2

Regina, SK – The Lethbridge Hurricanes will play Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Championship Series tonight at 7:00pm as they will look for a 2-0 series lead over the Regina Pats.

The Hurricanes earned a 3-1 victory in Game 1 in their third round best-of-seven series with the Pats on Friday night. Stuart Skinner was outstanding in the opening game of the series as he stopped 36 of 37 and was named the first star. Giorgio Estephan scored twice while Jordy Bellerive added the other.

The Pats were handed their first regulation loss in the post-season on Friday night. Regina scored 1:10 into the hockey game in Game 1 as Austin Wagner scored his team-leading 11^th goal of the playoffs but failed to be able to solve Skinner the rest of the way.

The ‘Canes will look to take a 2-0 lead in the series before it shifts back to Lethbridge for Game’s 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The game tonight can be seen on the WHL on SHAW and heard on 106.7 ROCK.

PLAYOFF SERIES: Tonight will be Game 1 of the best-of-seven series between the Hurricanes and the Pats. The ‘Canes lead the series 1-0. This is the second straight post-season that the ‘Canes and Pats have met after Regina eliminated Lethbridge in five games in the first round in 2016.

PLAYOFF SERIES: (* if necessary)                                                 HURRICANE TOP 5 PLAYOFF SCORERS
Game 1 – April 21^st, 7:00pm – at Regina (3-1 LH)                       Tyler Wong – 11G. 11A, 22 points
Game 2 – April 22^nd, 7:00pm – at Regina                                       Giorgio Estephan – 10G, 11A – 21 points
Game 3 – April 25^th, 7:00pm – at Lethbridge                                                 Egor Babenko – 7G, 12A – 19 points
Game 4 – April 26^th, 7:00pm – at Lethbridge                                                 Brennan Menell – 4G, 9A – 13 points
*Game 5 – April 28^th, 7:00pm – at Regina                                      Jordy Bellerive – 5G, 6A – 11 points
*Game 6 – April 30^th, 6:00pm – at Lethbridge
*Game 7 – May 2^nd, 7:00pm – at Regina

2016-2017 PLAYOFF STATS LEADERS:
Goals (11) – Tyler Wong                                                   Assists (12) – Egor Babenko
Points (22) – Tyler Wong
PIMS (20) – Jordy Bellerive                                               Plus/Minus (+9) – Giorgio Estephan
Wins (9) – Stuart Skinner                                                   Shutouts (0) – N/A
Save % (.922) – Stuart Skinner                                        Goals Against Average (2.90) – Stuart Skinner

1. PATS, REGULAR SEASON: The Hurricanes and Pats met four times in the regular season with both teams winning twice. Regina took the first two head-to-head meetings while Lethbridge took the last two. Both teams won once at home and once on the road.

REGULAR SEASON SERIES:                                                          HURRICANE TOP 5 SEASON SCORERS
October 15^th/2016 – at Lethbridge (7-2 Pats)                                 Tyler Wong – 51G, 58A – 109 points
October 18^th/2016 – at Regina (6-1 Pats)                                       Giorgio Estephan – 35G, 54A – 89 points
December 7^th/2016 – at Lethbridge (5-4 OT Hurricanes)            Zak Zborosky – 41G, 33A – 74 points
February 28^th/2017 – at Regina (4-1 Hurricanes)                         Brennan Menell – 12G, 59A – 71 points
Matt Alfaro – 25G, 35A – 60 points

2016-2017 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (51) – Tyler Wong                                                    Assists (59) – Brennan Menell
Points (109) – Tyler Wong
PIMS (103) – Zane Franklin                                              Plus/Minus (+29) – Tyler Wong
Wins (34) – Stuart Skinner                                                 Shutouts (2) – Stuart Skinner
Save % (.906) – Stuart Skinner                                        Goals Against Average (3.26) – Stuart Skinner

2016-2017 REGULAR SEASON LEAGUE LEADERS:
– Tyler Wong was tied 1^st in WHL Goals with 51 & 3^rd in WHL Scoring with 109 points
– Tyler Wong was tied 4^th in WHL PP Goals with 15 & tied 2^nd in WHL Game Winning Goals with 10
– Giorgio Estephan was tied 11^th in WHL Goals with 35 & is tied 9^th in WHL Scoring with 89 points
– Zak Zborosky was 5^th in WHL Goals with 41 & tied 3^rd in WHL Power Play Goals with 16
– Brennan Menell was tied 3^rd in WHL PP Assists with 28 & 2^nd in WHL Defenseman Scoring with 71 points
– Brennan Menell was tied 9^th in WHL Defenseman Goals with 12 & 1^st in WHL Defenseman Assists with 59
– Calen Addison was tied 10^th in WHL Rookie Scoring with 33 points (2^nd among Rookie D-man Scoring)
– Calen Addison was 1^st among 2000-born scorers in the WHL with 33 points
– Stuart Skinner was 2^nd in Games Played (60); 2^nd in WHL Wins with 34 & tied 6^th in WHL Losses with 18
– Stuart Skinner was 2^nd in WHL Minutes by a Goalie (3386) & 2^nd in WHL Shots (1933) & 2^nd Saves (1749)

NEWS & NOTES:
So We Meet Again: The Hurricanes and Pats will square off in the post-season for the second consecutive year. In the 2016 WHL Playoffs, the Hurricanes were eliminated by the Pats in five games in the first round of the post-season. After winning Game 1, the ‘Canes went on to lose the next four.

Road Warriors: The Hurricanes have been good on the road this post-season. Heading into tonight’s Game 2, the ‘Canes have won four straight road games and have won five of their last six games away from the ENMAX Centre in the playoffs. The ‘Canes have scored 20 goals in their last four road games.

Oh, Giorgio: Giorgio Estephan has been racking up points. The four-year veteran has tossed 20 points (10g-10a) on the board in his last 11 games since returning from injury in Round 1 against Red Deer. The Hurricanes are 9-0-1 in the playoffs when Estephan records a point.