PLAYOFF GAME DAY: Hurricanes Return Home, Look for First Win of Series
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes will look for their first win of their first-round playoff series against the Swift Current Broncos tonight at 7:00pm in Game 3 at the ENMAX Centre.
The Hurricanes suffered a 4-3 loss on Saturday in Game 2 in Swift Current to the Broncos to go down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. Leo Braillard, Sean Tschigerl and Hayden Pakkala scored in the loss while Harrison meneghin made 37-saves in the setback. Lethbridge was outshot 41-32 in the game. The ‘Canes finished the regular season with an 18-10-6-0 record at home while going 10-4-4-0 in their final 18 games at the ENMAX Centre.
The Broncos took a 2-0 series lead with the 4-3 victory in Game 2 on Saturday. Josh Filmon, Ryan McCleary, Connor Hvidston and Conor Geekie scored in the victory while Reid Dyck made 29-saves. The Broncos went 2/4 on the power play in the game while going 2/2 on the penalty kill. Swift Current finished the regular season with a 15-17-1-1 record on the road while going 2-3-0-0 in their final five away from home.
Tonight will be Game 3 of the best-of-seven series as the Hurricanes will look to end an 11-game playoff losing streak dating back to March 31, 2019. Lethbridge posted a 3-0-1-0 record against Swift Current at the ENMAX Centre during the regular season.
The ‘Canes will host a pregame tailgate party on the ENMAX Centre plaza between 5:00pm and 7:00pm with Browns Socialhouse cooking burgers, by donation; all proceeds will benefit the United Way Lethbridge & South Western Alberta. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre, the Yates Memorial Theatre Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.lethbridgehurricanes.com.
DOWNLOAD GAME NOTES/STATS HERE: 2024-04-02 – Game 3 – LET vs. SC
2024 PLAYOFF SERIES: (*If necessary)
Game 1 – Fri, March 29th – 7:00pm – Lethbridge at Swift Current (3-0 SC)
Game 2 – Sat, March 30th – 7:00pm – Lethbridge at Swift Current (4-3 SC)
Game 3 – Tue, April 2nd – 7:00pm – Swift Current at Lethbridge
Game 4 – Wed, April 3rd – 7:00pm – Swift Current at Lethbridge
*Game 5 – Fri, April 5th – 7:00pm – Lethbridge at Swift Current
*Game 6 – Sun, April 7th – 6:00pm – Swift Current at Lethbridge
*Game 7 – Tue, April 9th – 7:00pm – Lethbridge at Swift Current
REGULAR SEASON VS. BRONCOS: During the regular season, the Hurricanes faced the Broncos on eight occasions, posting a record of 4-3-1-0. Lethbridge went 3-0-1-0 in the four games at the ENMAX Centre while going 1-3-0-0 in four trips to the InnovationPlex. The ‘Canes outscored the Broncos 27-20 in the eight meetings (3.38 to 2.50 avg.). Lethbridge has gone 8-3-1-0 in the last 12 head-to-head meetings against Swift Current dating back to the 2022-2023 season. The Hurricanes posted an all-time record of
96-103-8-3 with 12 ties against the Broncos while going 32-69-2-1 with seven ties all-time in Swift Current.
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
September 22nd/2023 – at Lethbridge (3-1 LET)
September 23rd/2023 – at Swift Current (5-2 LET)
December 8th/2023 – at Lethbridge (5-3 LET)
December 9th/2023 – at Swift Current (3-1 SC)
December 27th/2023 – at Lethbridge (7-6 OT SC)
January 3rd/2024 – at Lethbridge (6-3 LET)
January 31st/2024 – at Swift Current (6-0 SC)
February 14th/2024 – at Swift Current (4-1 SC)
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES:
October 22nd/2022 – at Swift Current (3-2 LET)
October 26th/2022 – at Swift Current (5-4 SC)
November 12th/2022 – at Lethbridge (2-1 LET)
December 6th/2022 – at Lethbridge (7-2 LET)
December 10th/2022 – at Swift Current (4-3 SO LET)
December 30th/2022 – at Swift Current (4-3 SC)
January 11th/2023 – at Lethbridge (5-3 LET)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (31) – Brayden Edwards
Assists (46) – Miguel Marques
Points (74) – Miguel Marques
PIMS (120) – Landen Ward
Plus/Minus (+27) – Brayden Edwards
Wins (27) – Harrison Meneghin
Shutouts (3) – Harrison Meneghin
Save % (.919) – Harrison Meneghin
Goals Against Average (2.58) – Harrison Meneghin
END OF SEASON STREAKING:
– Logan Wormald had points in 2 straight games (1g-1a); 5 of 7 games (1g-4a); 32 of 48 games (17g-32a)
– Miguel Marques had points in 4 of 5 games (2g-4a); 5 of 8 games (2g-5a); 33 of 48 games (24g-35a)
– Logan McCutcheon had points in 3 of 4 games (4a); 4 of 7 games (5a); 8 of 15 games (12a)
– Brayden Edwards had points in 2 of 3 games (2g-1a); 9 of 12 games (10g-4a); 41 of 63 (27g-36a)
– Carter Dereniwsky had points in 2 of 3 games (1g-1a); 5 of 12 games (3g-2a)
– Noah Chadwick had points in 4 of 7 games (1g-5a); 5 of 9 games (1g-7a); 37 of 66 games (12g-44a)
– Hayden Pakkala had points in 5 of 12 games (4g-4a); 6 of 16 games (4g-5a)
– Dylan Sydor had points in 2 of 5 games (3g); 5 of 10 games (6g-2a); 18 of 33 games (15g-11a)
– Sean Tschigerl had points in 5 of 11 games (1g-7a); 7 of 15 games (1g-9a); 16 of 35 games (14g-17a)
– Joe Arntsen had points in 2 of 5 games (4a)
– Tristen Doyle had points in 2 of 5 games (1g-2a)
– Braeden Wynne had points in 2 of 4 games (2a)
NEWS & NOTES:
Game 3’s: The Hurricanes have posted an all-time record of 17-22 in Game 3’s in their WHL post-season history. Last year, the Hurricanes dropped a 6-2 decision to the Moose Jaw Warriors in Game 3 of their first-round matchup in double overtime.
All-Time Record: In the playoffs, the Hurricanes have posted an all-time record of 86-114 in 202 post-season games in team history. Lethbridge has also posted an all-time series record of 18-21 in 39 playoff series. The ‘Canes were swept in the first-round of the 2023 WHL Playoffs by the Moose Jaw Warriors, marking the 10th time the Hurricanes had been swept in a playoff series. The Hurricanes have posted just a 4-18 series record in the 22 times Lethbridge did not hold home-ice advantage.
Two By Five: This year will mark just the second time ever that the Hurricanes and Broncos will face off in the WHL playoffs. Swift Current downed Lethbridge in six games in their only previous match-up in the 2018 Eastern Conference Final. The Hurricanes and Broncos franchises, however, had met a total of five times previously between 1977 and 1985 when the Lethbridge Broncos (now Swift Current) faced the Calgary Wranglers (now Lethbridge). The Broncos franchise won three of the series (1977, 1979 and 1983) while the Wranglers won twice (1981 and 1985)
Playoff Experience: The Hurricanes enter tonight with a total of 145 man-games worth of WHL Playoff experience. The most experienced ‘Canes is Dylan Sydor who has played in 32 career playoff games, including four games at the 2023 Memorial Cup. By comparison, Swift Current has 97 man-games led by Conor Geekie who has appeared in 36 career post-season contests.
Strong Finish: Lethbridge ended the 2023-2024 regular posting a 9-3-2-0 record in their final 14 games. The ‘Canes went 7-2-2-0 in the month of March. The Hurricanes outscored the opposition 49-37 in those 14 contests while averaging 4.77 goals per game in their final nine victories while allowing an averaging just 2.11 goals against per game. The ‘Canes ended the regular season with a 33-28-7-0 record.
Road Warriors: The ‘Canes posted a record of 15-18-1-0 in 34 road games during the regular season. Lethbridge finished the season posting a 6-0-1-0 record in their final seven away games while outscoring the opposition 29-16 in those seven contests. Their last four road games went to overtime or beyond.
Gr-Eight: The 2024 WHL Playoffs marks the eighth straight season the Hurricanes have qualified for the post-season, marking the longest stretch in team history. This year will be the seventh straight post-season the ‘Canes will compete in after qualifying for the playoffs in 2020 before the season was cancelled.
All-Stars: The WHL announced that goaltender Harrison Meneghin and defenceman Noah Chadwick were named to the Central Division All-Star teams. Meneghin was named a first team all-star, marking the second-straight season he was named an all-star after a second team nod last year. While Chadwick was named a second team all-star – the first time in his career he was honoured.
