PLAYOFF GAME DAY: Hurricanes Visit Tigers in Game 7

Medicine Hat, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes will visit the Medicine Hat Tigers in a winner-take-all Game 7 tonight at 7:00pm at the Canalta Centre.

The Hurricanes will look to win their second straight Game 7 after earning a 6-2 victory in the seventh game in their first round series against the Red Deer Rebels. The ‘Canes find themselves in a Game 7 after falling 5-2 in Game 6 on Sunday night at the ENMAX Centre. Egor Babenko scored twice in the losing cause.

The Tigers were 3/6 on the power play in the Game 6 victory in Lethbridge on Sunday. Matt Bradley scored twice in the win while Steven Owre, Max Gerlach and John Dahlstrom scored the others in the victory. Michael Bullion made 24 saves in the winning cause.

The Hurricanes will look to remain perfect in Game 7’s as they are 4-0 in franchise history in seventh and deciding games, including 1-0 on the road in Game 7’s.

You can watch Game 7 at Browns Socialhouse on both the South and West Side. You can also watch the game on the WHL on SHAW or listen on 106.7 ROCK.

PLAYOFF SERIES: Tonight will be Game 7 of the best-of-seven series between the Hurricanes and the Tigers. The series is tied at 3-3. The ‘Canes and Tigers have not met in the WHL post-season since 1991 when the Hurricanes eliminated them in 7 games – that was the only time the two have faced off in playoffs.

PLAYOFF SERIES: (* if necessary)                                                 HURRICANE TOP 5 PLAYOFF SCORERS
Game 1 – April 7^th, 7:30pm – at Medicine Hat (4-0 MH)              Tyler Wong – 9G. 10A, 19 points
Game 2 – April 8^th, 7:30pm – at Medicine Hat (7-4 LH)                               Giorgio Estephan – 8G, 10A – 18 points
Game 3 – April 11^th, 7:00pm – at Lethbridge (5-2 LH)                 Egor Babenko – 6G, 11A – 17 points
Game 4 – April 12^th, 7:00pm – at Lethbridge (3-2 OT MH)         Brennan Menell – 4G, 9A – 13 points
Game 5 – April 14^th, 7:30pm – at Medicine Hat (5-4 LH)            Ryan Vandervlis – 5G, 4A – 9 points
Game 6 – April 16^th, 6:00pm – at Lethbridge (5-2 MH)
Game 7 – April 18^th, 7:00pm – at Medicine Hat

2016-2017 PLAYOFF STATS LEADERS:
Goals (9) – Tyler Wong                                                     Assists (11) – Egor Babenko
Points (19) – Tyler Wong
PIMS (18) – Jordy Bellerive                                               Plus/Minus (+8) – Ryan Vandervlis
Wins (7) – Stuart Skinner                                                   Shutouts (0) – N/A
Save % (.920) – Stuart Skinner                                        Goals Against Average (2.97) – Stuart Skinner

VS. TIGERS, REGULAR SEASON: The Hurricanes and Tigers met seven times in the 2016-2017 regular season with the ‘Canes posting a 3-4-0-0 record. The ‘Canes won three of the first four games while the Tigers took the final three head-to-head meetings.

REGULAR SEASON SERIES:                                                          HURRICANE TOP 5 SEASON SCORERS
September 23^rd/2016 – at Lethbridge (4-2 Hurricanes)                              Tyler Wong – 51G, 58A – 109 points
September 24^th/2016 – at Medicine Hat (9-3 Tigers)                   Giorgio Estephan – 35G, 54A – 89 points
December 9^th/2016 – at Lethbridge (3-2 Hurricanes)                  Zak Zborosky – 41G, 33A – 74 points
December 30^th/2016 – at Medicine Hat (9-7 Hurricanes)           Brennan Menell – 12G, 59A – 71 points
February 11^th/2017 – at Medicine Hat (5-0 Tigers)                       Matt Alfaro – 25G, 35A – 60 points
March 17^th/2017 – at Lethbridge (5-1 Tigers)
March 18^th/2017 – at Medicine Hat (8-7 Tigers)

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:
Been a While: The Hurricanes and Tigers will square off in a post-season series for just the second time in history. The only previous meeting was back in 1991 when the ‘Canes knocked off the Tigers in seven games. Bob Loucks was the head coach of the Hurricanes that season.

Seventh Heaven: Tonight will be the second Game 7 in this post-season for the Hurricanes. The ‘Canes earned a 6-2 win in Game 7 in the first round against the Red Deer Rebels. The Hurricanes are a perfect 4-0 in Game 7’s in their history with one of those coming on the road.

Road Results: It has been a road series so far. The road team has won four of the six games so far in this best-of-seven second round with both the Hurricanes and Tigers winning once on home ice. The ‘Canes have won each of the last two games at the Canalta Centre (Game 2 and Game 5).

Oh, Giorgio: Giorgio Estephan has been racking up points. The four-year veteran has tossed 17 points (8g-9a) on the board in his last nine games since returning from injury in Round 1 against Red Deer. Estephan leads the WHL in playoff points and was named the WHL and CHL Player of the Week last week.

Locked Down: The Hurricanes, who had a difficult time holding leads early in their first round series with the Rebels, were outscored 10-2 in the third period in their first four playoff games. In the last nine post-season contests, the ‘Canes have been much better outscoring the opposition 14-7.

The Comeback: For the first time in franchise history the Hurricanes erased a 3-1 deficit to win a series in seven games. The ‘Canes fell behind 3-1 after losing Games 1, 3 and 4 but were able to battle back in the series eventually eliminating the Red Deer Rebels in Game 7 in Lethbridge on Tuesday.