PLAYOFF GAME DAY: Hurricanes Open Second Round Against Hitmen
Calgary, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes open their second-round of the WHL Playoffs presented by Stringam Law tonight at 7:00pm as they visit the Calgary Hitmen in Game 1 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Hurricanes (4-1-0-0) enter having eliminated the Brandon Wheat Kings in five games in the first-round of the playoffs earning a 5-2 win on Friday at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. Brayden Yager led the ‘Canes in scoring in the first round with eight points (4g-4a) while six players finished the first round with a point-per-game rate or better. Jackson Unger posted a 2.81 goals against average and a .911 save percentage in the first round as the Hurricanes advanced to the second round for the first time since 2018.
The Hitmen (4-0-0-0) are coming off a four-game sweep of the Saskatoon Blades in the first-round after eliminating the two-time defending conference finalists last Wednesday with a 6-2 win on the road. Calgary outscored Saskatoon 19-6 in the four games as they were led offensively by Tanner Howe who racked up nine points (2g-7a) in the four games while four other players finished with a point-per-game rate or more. The Hitmen advanced to the second round for the first time since the 2019 WHL Playoffs.
Tonight will be Game 1 of the best-of-seven second-round series between the Hurricanes and Hitmen. Lethbridge posted a 2-5-1-0 record against Calgary during the regular season while having gone 2-2-1-0 in the last five; the ‘Canes were 1-2-1-0 to four trips to the Saddledome during the year while going 1-0-1-0 in the last two visits. The game can be streamed on Victory+, watched at Browns Socialhouse in Lethbridge or heard on 106.7 ROCK.
DOWNLOAD MEDIA KIT: 2025-04-10 – LET at CGY – GM1
2025 PLAYOFF SERIES: (*If necessary)
Game 1 – Thursday, April 10th – 7:00pm – Lethbridge at Calgary
Game 2 – Saturday, April 12th – 6:00pm – Lethbridge at Calgary
Game 3 – Tuesday, April 15th – 7:00pm – Calgary at Lethbridge
Game 4 – Wednesday, April 16th – 7:00pm – Calgary at Lethbridge
*Game 5 – Friday, April 18th – 7:00pm – Lethbridge at Calgary
*Game 6 – Saturday, April 19th – 7:00pm – Calgary at Lethbridge
*Game 7 – TBD – Lethbridge at Calgary
2025 PLAYOFF STATS LEADERS:
Goals (4) – Brayden Yager
Assists (4) – Four Players
Points (8) – Brayden Yager
PIMS (18) – Caden Price
Plus/Minus (+5) – Carsen Adair
Wins (4) – Jackson Unger
Shutouts (0) – N/A
Save % (.911) – Jackson Unger
Goals Against Average (2.81) – Jackson Unger
REGULAR SEASON vs. HITMEN: During the regular season, the Hurricanes faced the Hitmen on eight occasions posting a record of 2-5-0-1 while going 2-2-1-0 in the final five regular season meetings. Lethbridge was outscored 27-18 in the eight games as they averaged 2.25 goals per game while allowing 3.38 goals per game. The ‘Canes went 20.8% on the power play and 82.8% on the penalty kill in the eight-game regular season series.
2024-2025 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
September 29th/2024 – at Calgary (3-1 CGY)
October 19th/2024 – at Calgary (6-1 CGY)
November 1st/2024 – at Lethbridge (5-3 CGY)
December 27th/2024 – at Lethbridge (4-1 LET)
January 25th/2025 – at Lethbridge (3-2 CGY)
February 2nd/2025 – at Calgary (4-3 LET)
February 11th/2025 – at Calgary (3-2 OT CGY)
March 15th/2025 – at Lethbridge (3-1 CGY)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
October 18th/2023 – at Lethbridge (3-2 OT LET)
October 22nd/2023 – at Calgary (4-3 CGY)
October 27th/2023 – at Lethbridge (4-3 OT CGY)
November 29th/2023 – at Lethbridge (4-1 LET)
February 3rd/2024 – at Lethbridge (6-0 LET)
February 25th/2024 – at Calgary (9-2 LET)
March 17th/2024 – at Calgary (3-2 CGY OT)
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)
NEWS & NOTES:
Game 1’s: The Hurricanes have posted an all-time record of 21-20 in Game 1’s in their WHL post-season history. Lethbridge earned a 6-3 victory in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Brandon Wheat Kings. The ‘Canes have posted an all-time record of 3-2 in Game 1’s against the Hitmen in the post-season.
All-Time Record: In the playoffs, the ‘Canes have posted an all-time record of 90-117 in 207 post-season games in their team history. Lethbridge posted an all-time record of 19-22 in 41 playoff series. In their history when not holding home-ice advantage, the Hurricanes have posted a record of 4-19 in 23 playoff series. One of those four playoff victories came against Calgary in the 2008 WHL Playoffs.
Hitmen History: The ‘Canes will face the Calgary Hitmen for the sixth time in their playoff history and first time since the first-round of the 2019 WHL Playoffs. Lethbridge has posted an all-time record of 1-4 series record against Calgary with their lone win coming in 2008 when the Hurricanes swept the Hitmen in the Eastern Conference Championship Series. The Hitmen were victorious in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2019.
Playoff Experience: The Hurricanes enter tonight with a total of 341 man-games worth of WHL Playoff experience. The most experienced ‘Cane is Brayden Yager with 45 career post-season games followed by Jordan Gustafson who has appeared in 38 playoff games. By comparison, Calgary has 266 playoff man-games with Sawyer Mynio leading the way with 44 career games.
Nine-Straight: Hurricanes netminder Jackson Unger suffered his first regulation loss of the post-season in Game 4 against the Wheat Kings which ended a stretch of nine-straight playoff wins. The Calgary, AB, product allowed just 20 goals on the 302 shots he’s faced in the nine-game streak posting a 2.20 goals against average and a .934 save percentage. The nine-straight wins included Games 6 & 7 of the 2024 Eastern Conference Final, a four-game sweep in the 2024 WHL Championship Series and the first three games these playoffs. Unger has posted a 4-1 record with a 2.81 GAA and a .911 SV% this post-season
Award Nominations: The Hurricanes have been nominated for multiple WHL Awards. Bill Peters was named a finalist for the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy for the WHL’s Coach of the Year, Shane Smith was a nominee for the WHL’s Humanitarian of the Year while Brayden Yager has been named a finalist for the WHL’s Most Sportsmanlike Award – a trophy he has won two-straight seasons. The Hurricanes organization has also been nominated for the Business of the Year Award.
All-Stars: The WHL named Hurricanes Captain Noah Chadwick as a First Team All Star while Brayden Yager was named a Second Team All Star. Chadwick finished the regular season with 53-points to rank third among rearguards in the Eastern Conference while Yager ended the year with 83-points finishing fifth among forward in the Eastern Conference in points-per-game.
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.
PP Rollin’: The ‘Canes ended the regular season red host on the power play. In their last 24 games, the Hurricanes went 26/76 (34.2%) with the extra man 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 ranked seventh overall in the WHL. The ‘Canes are 4/17 (23.5%) on the power play in the playoffs ranking 10th.
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 was ranked first overall. The ‘Canes are 4/15 (73.3%) on the penalty kill in the playoffs ranking ninth.
