PLAYOFF GAME DAY: Hurricanes Look to Take 2-0 Series Lead in Game 2 Against Wheat Kings
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes welcome the Brandon Wheat Kings at 6:00pm in Game 2 of their first-round best-of-seven series at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
The Hurricanes (1-0-0-0) enter after ending a 13-game playoff losing streak with a 6-3 victory over the Wheat Kings in Game 1 on Friday night. Leo Braillard scored twice while Vojtech Port, Shane Smith, Anthony Wilson and Kooper Gizowski added the others; Jackson Unger made 32-saves in the win. Lethbridge enters tonight with an all-time record of 17-23 in Game 2’s in their history.
The Wheat Kings (0-1-0-0) enter after dropping the 6-3 decision to the Hurricanes on Friday as it was their seventh-straight playoff loss. Nolan Flamand, Roger McQueen and Dylan Ronald scored in the defeat while Carson Bjarnason made 37-saves before having to leave the game due to injury; Ethan Eskit stopped all three shots he faced in relief.
Tonight will be Game 2 of their best-of-seven series as the Hurricanes will look to take a 2-0 series lead before the series shifts to Manitoba for Games 3 & 4 in Virden.
Tickets for tonight’s game 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.
DOWNLOAD MEDIA KIT: 2025-03-29 – LET vs. BRD – GM 2
2025 PLAYOFF SERIES: (*If necessary)
Game 1 – Friday, March 28th – 7:00pm MT – Brandon at Lethbridge (6-3 LET)
Game 2 – Saturday, March 29th – 6:00pm MT – Brandon at Lethbridge
Game 3 – Tuesday, April 1st – 6:00pm MT – Lethbridge at Brandon
Game 4 – Wednesday, April 2nd – 6:00pm MT – Lethbridge at Brandon
*Game 5 – Friday, April 4th – 7:00pm MT – Brandon at Lethbridge
*Game 6 – Sunday, April 6th – 4:00pm MT – Lethbridge at Brandon
*Game 7 – Tuesday, April 8th – 7:00pm MT – Brandon at Lethbridge
REGULAR SEASON vs. WHEAT KINGS: During the regular season, the Hurricanes faced the Wheat Kings on four occasions posting a record of 3-0-0-1. Lethbridge went 2-0-0-0 at home while going 1-0-0-1 in Brandon. The ‘Canes outscored the Wheat Kings 14-7 in the four game season series averaging 3.50 goals per game while allowing 1.75 goals against per game. Lethbridge went 23.1% on the power play while going 80% on the penalty kill and 49.8% in the faceoff circle. The Hurricanes have posted a 78-85-4-2 record with 10 ties against the Wheat Kings all-time in the regular season.
2024-2025 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS vs. BRANDON:
Goals (4) – Logan Wormald
Assists (3) – Anthony Wilson
Points (6) – Logan Wormald
PIMS (9) – Chase Petersen
Plus/Minus (+5) – Three Players
Wins (2) – Koen Cleaver
Shutouts (1) – Koen Cleaver
Save % (.957) – Koen Cleaver
Goals Against Average (1.50) – Koen Cleaver
2024-2025 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
October 12th/2024 – at Lethbridge (4-3 LET)
November 11th/2024 – at Brandon (3-0 LET)
February 28th/2025 – at Brandon (4-3 SO BRD)
March 7th/2025 – at Lethbridge (3-1 LET)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
October 11th/2023 – at Lethbridge (1-0 OT BRD)
January 20th/2024 – at Brandon (6-0 BRD)
February 9th/2024 – at Brandon (4-1 BRD)
March 8th/2024 – at Lethbridge (4-0 BRD)
2024-2025 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (31) – Brayden Edwards
Assists (57) – Brayden Yager
Points (82) – Brayden Yager
PIMS (92) – Trae Johnson
Plus/Minus (+35) – Logan Wormald
Wins (26) – Jackson Unger
Shutouts (2) – Koen Cleaver & Jackson Unger
Save % (.899) – Jackson Unger
Goals Against Average (3.15) – Jackson Unger
END OF SEASON STREAKING:
– Miguel Marques has points in 8 straight games (4g-5a); 10 of 11 games (5g-6a); 23 of 29 games (14g-24a)
– Jordan Gustafson has points in 2 straight games (1g-2a); 4 of 6 games (5g-2a); 14 of 18 games (14g-8a)
– Brayden Yager has points in 8 of 9 games (2g-9a); 10 of 12 games (2g-13a); 42 of 54 games (23g-57a)
– Brayden Edwards has points in 8 of 9 games (6g-4a); 11 of 13 games (8g-6a); 48 of 65 games (31g-46a)
– Leo Braillard has points in 7 of 9 games (4g-5a); 12 of 16 games (7g-11a); 32 of 53 games (26g-20a)
– Logan Wormald has points in 6 of 7 games (2g-11a); 15 of 19 games (10g-19a); 43 of 56 games (30g-40a)
– Noah Chadwick has points in 3 of 4 games (1g-2a); 7 of 10 games (2g-5a); 40 of 66 games (13g-40a)
– Kooper Gizowski has points in 2 of 5 games (4g); 9 of 15 games (9g-5a); 10 of 18 games (10g-5a)
– Logan McCutcheon has points in 3 of 8 games (1g-4a); 6 of 12 games (2g-8a); 7 of 16 games (2g-9a)
– Shane Smith has points in 3 of 8 games (1g-4a); 4 of 10 games (2g-4a); 10 of 21 games (8g-9a)
NEWS & NOTES:
Game 2’s: The Hurricanes have posted an all-time record of 17-23 in Game 2’s in their WHL post-season history. Last year, Lethbridge suffered a 4-3 loss in Game 2 against the Swift Current Broncos. In 2018, the Hurricanes earned a come-from-behind 5-4 overtime win against the Wheat Kings in Game 2.
All-Time Record: In the playoffs, the ‘Canes have posted an all-time record of 87-116 in 203 post-season games in their team history. Lethbridge posted an all-time record of 18-22 in 40 playoff series. The Hurricanes have posted an all-time series record of 14-3 when holding home-ice advantage – a win percentage of .823%. It’s the first time since 2019 Lethbridge has held home-ice advantage in a series.
Wheat Kings & Pretty Things: The ‘Canes will face the Brandon Wheat Kings for the fifth time in their post-season history. The last time the Hurricanes and Wheaties met in the post-season, Lethbridge defeated Brandon in five games (4-1) in the second-round in the 2018 WHL Playoffs. The ‘Canes are 2-2 in the previous four playoff meetings winning the series in 2008 and 2018 while falling in 1994 and 1998.
Playoff Experience: The Hurricanes enter tonight with a total of 266 man-games worth of WHL Playoff experience. The most experienced ‘Cane is Brayden Yager with 41 career post-season games followed by Jordan Gustafson who has appeared in 34 playoff games. By comparison, Brandon has 135 playoff man-games with Marcus Nguyen leading with 39 career games.
Cloud-9: The 2025 WHL Playoffs marks the ninth-straight season that the Hurricanes have qualified for the post-season while it will be the eighth-straight playoff that Lethbridge will compete in after the 2020 post-season was cancelled due to COVID. It extends the ‘Canes franchise record for consecutive years in the playoffs. Their previous longest stretch was six-straight years from 1989 to 1994.
This is 40+: The Hurricanes finished the 2024-2025 season with a record of 42-21-3-2 on the year. Lethbridge ended the year with a 25-7-2-0 record at home while going 17-14-1-2 on the road. It marked just the eighth time in team history the ‘Canes recorded 40-or-more victories and their first since 2018-2019. It was also just the sixth time Lethbridge finished with 25-or-more home ice wins in a season. It also marked the 11th time in team history that the Hurricanes eclipsed the 80-point mark during a regular season.
Hot Finish: The ‘Canes finished the season with a 24-7-2-1 record in their final 32 games – a 51-win pace over a 68-game schedule – while collecting a win percentage of .750 in that span. Lethbridge also finished the season going 11-3-1-0 in their final 15 home games while going 12-3-1-1 in their final 17 road games.
Comeback ‘Canes: During the regular season, the Hurricanes finished with the second-most come-from-behind victories when trailing after two periods of play ending the year with a 7-21-2-1 record. Lethbridge was tied with Medicine Hat with the seven wins while Seattle led the league with eight.
Locked Down: The Hurricanes ended the regular season as one of the best teams in the WHL when leading a game after two-periods of play finishing the season with a 25-0-1-0 record. Lethbridge, Everett, Prince George and Saskatoon were the only teams to not suffer a regulation loss when leading after two periods. The ‘Canes held the best point percentage, however, going .981 when leading after forty minutes. Lethbridge ended the year with a 35-0-1-1 record when either tied or ahead after two periods of play. The Hurricanes are 1-0-0-0 when leading after two periods in the post-season.
Stingy D: Lethbridge finished the regular season as the fourth-best defensive team in the WHL allowing 2.93 goals against per game, trailing Everett (2.62), Calgary (2.69) and Medicine Hat (2.84). The Hurricanes allowed three-or-less goals in 24 of their final 32 regular season games while allowing two-or-less in 19 of those games. The ‘Canes allowed three-or-less goals in 33 of their last 45 regular season games.
PP Rollin’: The ‘Canes power play was red hot in the month of February. Lethbridge went 13/41 in February with a success rate of 31.7%. In their last 24 games, the Hurricanes have gone 26/76 (34.2%) while having scored at least one power play goal in 12 of their last 16 games and 15 of their last 20 outings. Lethbridge’s power play ranks sixth overall in the WHL. The ‘Canes are 1/2 (50%) on the power play in the playoffs.
Penalty Killed: In their last 45 games, Lethbridge has allowed the opposition just 19 power play goals with the ‘Canes going 126/145 for a kill percentage of 86.9% in that span. The Hurricanes have allowed just nine power play goals in their last 28 games going 71/82 (86.6%) in those games. They have allowed one-or-less PPG against in 36 of 37 games and 42 of 44 contests. Lethbridge’s penalty kill is ranked first overall. The ‘Canes are 4/5 (80%) on the penalty kill in the playoffs.
