GAME DAY: Hurricanes Host Rebels in Rare Tuesday Game

Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes play a rare home Tuesday game tonight as they welcome the Red Deer Rebels to the ENMAX Centre. It is the first of just two Tuesday games this year at home.

The Hurricanes are coming off a 6-3 loss on Sunday night against the defending WHL Champion Kelowna Rockets. Tyler Wong scored a pair of goals in the game while Justin Gutierrez added the other in the losing cause. The Hurricanes had plenty of chances in the game but failed to beat Jackson Whistle on three separate breakaways as they would fall to 2-2-0-0 on the season.

Meanwhile, the Rebels are off to a hot start having started the new campaign a perfect 4-0-0-0. The 2016 Memorial Cup hosts have outscored their opponent 19-8 (4.75-2.00) in their four contests this season. Rookie import forward Michael Spacek is off to a torrent pace having scored nine points (5g-4a) in the four wins for the Rebels.

It’s the first of six meetings on the season between the Hurricanes and Rebels and it goes at 7:00pm tonight. 

 

SEASON SERIES:                                                                    HURRICANES TOP 5 SCORERS
October 6^th/2015 – at Lethbridge                                               Tyler Wong – 5G, 2A – 7 points
December 5^th/2015 – at Lethbridge                                            Brayden Burke – 2G, 5A – 7 points
December 19^th/2015 – at Red Deer                                            Jordy Bellerive – 1G, 3A – 4 points
January 8^th/2016 – at Red Deer                                                 Egor Babenko – 1G, 2A – 3 points
March 11^th/2016 – at Lethbridge                                                Giorgio Estephan – 1G, 2A – 3 points
March 12^th/2016 – at Red Deer

2015-2016 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (5) – Tyler Wong                                      Assists (5) – Brayden Burke
Points (7) – Tyler Wong & Brayden Burke
PIMS (14) – Andrew Nielsen                             Plus/Minus (+5) – Kord Pankewicz
Wins (1) – Stuart Skinner & Jayden Sittler      Shutouts (0) – Stuart Skinner/Jayden Sittler
Save % (.945) – Jayden Sittler                         Goals Against Average (1.48) – Jayden Sittler

2015-2016 PRE-SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (3) – Egor Babenko & Brett Davis         Assists (4) – Arvin Atwal & Brayden Burke
Points (5) – Egor Babenko & Arvin Atwal
PIMS (31) – Ryley Lindgren                              Plus/Minus (+5) – Zane Franklin
Wins (2) – Jayden Sittler                                    Shutouts (0) – Stuart Skinner/Jayden Sittler
Save % (.942) – Jayden Sittler                         Goals Against Average (1.99) – Jayden Sittler

WHO’S HOT:
– Tyler Wong has points in four straight games (5g-2a)
– Brayden Burke has points in four straight games (2g-5a)

LEAGUE LEADERS:
– Jayden Sittler is ranked 5^th in WHL with a 1.48 goals against average
– Jayden Sittler is ranked 5^th in WHL with .945 save percentage
– Tyler Wong is tied for 2^nd in WHL with 5 goals (tied w/ Red Deer’s Michael Spacek)
– Brayden Burke is tied for 2^nd in WHL with 5 assists
– Andrew Nielsen is ranked 4^th in WHL with 14 penalty minutes

MILESTONES:
– Cory Millette is 8 games away from 250 career games
– Justin Gutierrez is 10 games away from 200 career games
– Giorgio Estephan is 15 games away from 150 career games
– Giorgio Estephan is 21 points away from 100 career points

NEWS & NOTES:

100 For Reagan: Hurricanes defenseman Brady Reagan will suit up in his 100^th WHL game tonight against the Rebels. The Calgary, AB product has played 38 of those games with the Hurricanes, the other 61 came with the Regina Pats.

Goal Scoring: The Hurricanes struggled last year scoring goals averaging just 2.81 goals per game, however, so far through three games the ‘Canes have been able to find the back of the net lighting the lamp a total of 16 times – an average of 4.00 goals per game.

Captain Clutch: Four year veteran Tyler Wong was unveiled as the 25^th Captain in Lethbridge Hurricanes history prior to the Home Opener on September 25^th. Wong, who is the longest serving Hurricane, led the team in scoring last season with 56 points (27g-29a). He is currently tied for second in the WHL with goals having potted five in the first four games.

Young Star: The Hurricanes 2014 second overall pick in the WHL Bantam Draft, Jordy Bellerive, has been impressive to start his WHL career. The 16-year-old from North Vancouver has collected four points (1g-3a) in his first three WHL games. The rookie scored his first WHL goal in Kootenay on Saturday and had an assist on his first ever WHL shift on September 25^th against the Tigers.

NHL Experience: Andrew Nielsen and Giorgio Estephan attended NHL camps for the first time after both being drafted in June. Nielsen, a third round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, while Estephan was taken in the sixth round by the Buffalo Sabres. Nielsen appeared in one pre-season game with the Maple Leafs in Montreal at the Bell Centre.

Roster Moves: The Hurricanes are currently carrying 23 players on their roster, including two goaltenders, eight defenseman and 13 forwards. The ‘Canes made four separate roster moves over the last two weeks:
– 16-year-old forward Zane Franklin was assigned to the Lloydminster Bobcats Midget AAA
– 19-year-old forward Ben Duperreault was released
– 19-year-old defenseman Scott Allan was re-assigned to the West Kelowna Warriors of the BCHL
– 18-year-old forward Johnny Wesley was re-assigned to the Surrey Eagles of the BCHL
– 18-year-old goaltender Brandon Kegler was re-assigned to the Lloydminster Bobcats of the AJHL