GAME DAY: Hurricanes Look For 10th Straight

Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes wrap up their five game home stand tonight when they welcome the Edmonton Oil Kings at 6:00pm at the ENMAX Centre.

The Hurricanes will look for their 10^th straight victory after winning their ninth straight with a 4-3 overtime win last night over the Moose Jaw Warriors. Tyler Wong scored the overtime winner while Brayden Burke led all scorers with a goal and three assists.

The Hurricanes enter tonight’s game with an overall record of 35-12-0-0 on the season and sit first place in the entire Western Hockey League. The ‘Canes are also 21-3-0-0 on home ice and have won eight straight at home.

The Oil Kings are coming off a 1-0 shutout victory over the Everett Silvertips at Rexall Place on Friday night. Edmonton was one of two teams in the WHL on Saturday to have the night off. The Oil Kings have won two straight after losing five in a row.

Tonight will be the third of six meetings on the season between the ‘Canes and Oil Kings, Lethbridge won the first two in Edmonton. The ‘Canes haven’t defeated Edmonton in Lethbridge since December 5^th, 2012.

Tickets are still available, but are going fast. Secure your seats by calling (403) 329-SEAT or by visiting the ENMAX Centre Ticket Centre. 

 

2015-2016 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (27) – Tyler Wong                                    Assists (55) – Brayden Burke
Points (73) – Brayden Burke
PIMS (80) – Andrew Nielsen                             Plus/Minus (+36) – Brayden Burke
Wins (18) – Stuart Skinner                                 Shutouts (2) – Stuart Skinner
Save % (.920) – Stuart Skinner                        Goals Against Average (2.71) – Jayden Sittler

WHO’S HOT:
– Giorgio Estephan has points in 13 straight games (13g-12a); 17 of 18 games (17g-15a)
– Tyler Wong has points in 2 straight games (1g-3a); 8 of 9 games (3g-10a); 16 of 24 games (11g-18a)
– Brayden Burke has points in 2 straight games (4g-3a); 11 of 12 games (9g-14a); 19 of 23 games (13g-29a)
– Arvin Atwal has points in 7 of 8 games (1g-11a); 8 of 10 games (2g-11a); 12 of 15 games (2g-15a)
– Egor Babenko has points 6 of 7 games (5g-4a); 10 of 13 games (6g-a); 20 of 25 games (13g-24a)
– Andrew Nielsen has points in 5 of 6 games (3g-4a); 13 of 15 games (5g-15a); 16 of 19 games (5g-19a)
– Cory Millette has points in 4 of 6 games (5g-2a)
– Justin Gutierrez has points 7 of 9 games (4g-4a); 15 of 18 games (10g-14a); 22 of 26 games (18g-18a)

LEAGUE LEADERS:
– Tyler Wong is tied 5^th in WHL Goals with 27 & is tied for 9^th in WHL scoring with 56 points
– Tyler Wong tied for 5^th in WHL Power Play Goals with 8 & 3^rd in First Goals with 5
– Brayden Burke is 1^st in WHL assists with 55 & is 1^st in WHL Power Play Assists with 23
– Brayden Burke is 1^st in WHL Scoring with 73 points
– Giorgio Estephan is tied for 5^th in WHL Power Play Assists with 15 & tied for 7^th in WHL Assists with 36
– Giorgio Estephan is tied for 6^th in WHL Goals with 26 & tied for 6^th in WHL Scoring with 62 points
– Ryley Lindgren is 2^nd in WHL Game Winning Goals with 7 & tied for 4^th in WHL Power Play Goals with 9
– Ryley Lindgren is tied for 13^th in WHL Goals with 19
– Cory Milliette is tied for 12^th in WHL Goals with 20 & is tied for 5^th in WHL Power Play Goals with 7
– Justin Gutierrez is tied for 10^th in WHL Goals with 22 & is tied for 14^th in WHL Scoring with 49 points
– Kord Pankewicz is tied for 4^th in WHL Power Play Assists with 16
– Egor Babenko is tied for 8^th in WHL Goals with 24 & is tied for 9^th in WHL assist with 32
– Egor Babenko is tied for 2^nd in WHL Rookie Goals with 24 & is 1^st in WHL Rookie Points with 56
– Egor Babenko is tied for 6^th in WHL Power Play Goals with 7 & tied for 9^th in WHL scoring with 56 points
– Andrew Nielsen is tied for 5^th in WHL Assists with 39 & is 1st in WHL Defenseman Scoring with 51 points
– Jayden Sittler is ranked 8^th in WHL with a 2.71 GAA & 12^th in WHL with a .910 SV%
– Stuart Skinner is ranked 9^th in WHL with a 2.73 GAA & 4^th in WHL with a .920 SV%

MILESTONE WATCH:                       
– Kord Pankewicz is 6 games from 200 career game    – Kord Pankewicz is 12 points from 100 career
– Brayden Burke is 9 games from 100 career games     – Colton Kroeker is 5 games from 100 career games

NEWS & NOTES:
Top 10, Again: The Hurricanes again have cracked the CHL’s BMO Top 10 rankings for the sixth straight week as they were listed at #6 for Week 17. The ‘Canes were also listed in Weeks 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and were named an Honourable Mention in the Week 6 edition of the Top 10.

Deadline Deals: The ‘Canes made two minor trades on deadline day sending defenseman Scott Allan to Calgary for a seventh round pick in 2017. The bigger of the two trades was the acquisition of 1997-born forward Colton Kroeker from the Regina Pats in exchange for a third round selection in 2016.

Beast Mode: Giorgio Estephan has officially entered Beast Mode. The Sabres draft pick is riding a 13 game point streak collecting 25 points (13g-12a) in that span. He has 32 points (17g-15a) in his last 19 games having scored points in 17 of those outings. He has 18 multi-point games this season.

Gone Streakin’: The Hurricanes enter tonight riding a nine game winning streak. It’s the ‘Canes first nine game winning streak since March of 2005. If the ‘Canes win tonight to make it 10 straight, it will be the longest unbeaten streak since the 2004-2005 season when the ‘Canes posted 12 wins and two ties in a 14 game stretch between November 7^th to December 10^th of 2004, but they did not win ten consecutive games. The Hurricanes didn’t even win ten straight in their 1996-1997 Championship season.

Central Scouting: The NHL’s Central Scouting Service released their midterm rankings on Tuesday and Brayden Burke and Egor Babenko both found their names among the Top 100 of North American skaters. Burke came in at #68 while Babenko cracked the list at #77.

30 Mark: For the first time since 2008-2009, the Hurricanes have cracked the 30 win plateau after earning their 30^th victory on January 9^th against the Kootenay Ice. The Hurricanes are on pace for 54 victories this season; only once have they cracked 50 that was in 1989-1990 when they won 51.

Home Cookin’: The Hurricanes wrap up a five game home stand tonight against the Edmonton Oil Kings, the longest of the season. The Hurricanes are 21-3-0-0 on home ice this season, the most home ice victories in the entire WHL.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Andrew Nielsen, who was drafted in the third round (65^th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs, signed his first NHL contract in November inking an entry-level deal with Toronto. In 47 games this year, the Red Deer product has collected 51 points (12g-39a). He is first in WHL scoring by a d-man.

Impactful Import: Selected fifth overall in the 2015 CHL Import Draft, Egor Babenko has scored 56 points (24g-32a) in 478 games. He was ranked 77^th among North American Skaters for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by NHL Central Scouting. Babenko is on pace to score 36 goals and 85 points. The last ‘Cane import to score 30+ goals was Tomas Kopecky who had (34g-42a) in 2001-2002.