GAME DAY: Hurricanes Visit Rexall Place for Final Time
Edmonton, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes get right back at it this afternoon as they visit the Edmonton Oil Kings at Rexall Place today at 2:00pm.
The Hurricanes are coming off a 5-3 win last night in Lethbridge over the Tri-City Americans. Tyler Wong scored his fourth career hat-trick in the victory while Brayden Burke added two more assists to his point total. Carter Folk and Ryley Lindgren scored the other goals in the victory.
The win was the Hurricanes second consecutive and their third win in their last four games. The Hurricanes are now 39-16-0-0 on the season.
The Oil Kings have been idle since Tuesday when they were handed an 8-2 loss in Victoria to wrap up a four game road trip. Edmonton posted a 2-2-0-0 record in the four games winning the first two and dropping the final two.
The Oil Kings enter today’s game with a record of 23-25-6-1 and hold down the first of two Wild Card playoff berths in the Eastern Conference.
Today is the fourth meeting of the season between the Hurricanes and the Oil Kings, Lethbridge has won the first three outings head-to-head.
Listen to Lethbridge Kia Hurricanes Hockey on ROCK 106 starting at 1:45pm.
2015-2016 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (31) – Tyler Wong Assists (62) – Brayden Burke
Points (82) – Brayden Burke
PIMS (99) – Andrew Nielsen Plus/Minus (+36) – Brayden Burke
Wins (21) – Stuart Skinner Shutouts (3) – Stuart Skinner
Save % (.924) – Stuart Skinner Goals Against Average (2.56) – Stuart Skinner
WHO’S HOT:
– Tyler Wong has points in 2 straight (4g-2a); 4 of 5 games (4g-4a); 21 of 32 games (15g-23a)
– Brayden Burke has points in 2 straight games (1g-5a); 7 of 10 games (6g-10a); 24 of 31 games (15g-36a)
– Arvin Atwal has points in 2 straight games (1g-1a); 10 of 16 games (2g-13a); 15 of 23 games (3g-17a)
– Andrew Nielsen has points in 2 straight (2g-1a); 9 of 13 games (5g-7a); 20 of 26 games (7g-22a)
– Cory Millette has points in 2 straight games (2a); 4 of 6 games (4g-3a); 9 of 14 games (9g-6a)
– Carter Folk has points in 2 straight games (2g)
– Egor Babenko has points in 3 of 8 games (2g-2a); 8 of 14 games (6g-5a); 22 of 32 games (14g-25a)
– Justin Gutierrez has points 7 of 9 games (4g-4a); 15 of 18 games (10g-14a); 22 of 26 games (18g-18a)
– Giorgio Estephan has points in 14 of 17 games (14g-12a); 18 of 22 games (18g-15a)
LEAGUE LEADERS:
– Tyler Wong is tied 5th in WHL Goals with 31 & is tied for 12th in WHL Assists with 34
– Tyler Wong tied for 5th in WHL Power Play Goals with 9 & is tied for 8th in WHL scoring with 65 points
– Brayden Burke is 1st in WHL assists with 62 & is 1st in WHL Power Play Assists with 27
– Brayden Burke is tied for 2nd in WHL Scoring with 82 points
– Giorgio Estephan is tied for 8th in WHL Power Play Assists with 15 & tied for 10th in WHL Assists with 36
– Giorgio Estephan is tied for 8th in WHL Goals with 27 & tied for 10th in WHL Scoring with 63 points
– Ryley Lindgren is 2nd in WHL Game Winning Goals with 7 & tied for 4th in WHL Power Play Goals with 10
– Ryley Lindgren is tied for 14th in WHL Goals with 21
– Justin Gutierrez is tied for 13th in WHL Goals with 22
– Cory Milliette is tied for 11th in WHL Goals with 24 & is tied for 7th in WHL Power Play Goals with 7
– Egor Babenko is tied for 10th in WHL Goals with 25 & is tied for 14th in WHL assist with 33
– Egor Babenko is tied for 2nd in WHL Rookie Goals with 25 & is 2nd in WHL Rookie Points with 58
– Egor Babenko is tied for 7th in WHL Power Play Goals with 7 & tied for 15th in WHL scoring with 58 points
– Andrew Nielsen is tied for 5th in WHL Assists with 42 & is 1st in WHL Defenseman Scoring with 56 points
– Jayden Sittler is ranked 7th in WHL with a 2.70 GAA & 11th in WHL with a .910 SV%
– Stuart Skinner is ranked 4th in WHL with a 2.50 G1A & 1st in WHL with a .924 SV%
MILESTONE WATCH:
– Arvin Atwal is 6 points from 100 career points – Tonight is Brayden Burke’s 100th career game
– Cory Millette is 7 games from 300 career game – Tonight is Brady Reagan’s 150th career game
NEWS & NOTES:
Oh My Burke: Second year forward Brayden Burke is having a great year. With a four point night on Wednesday against the Blades, Burke has reached the 80-point plateau becoming the third player in the WHL to reach that mark. He’s the first Hurricane since Colton Sceviour did it in 2008-2009.
Sensational Skinner: Stuart Skinner was named the WHL’s Vaughn Goaltender of the Month for the January. The 17-year-old posted a 5-1-0-0 record in January with a 1.50 goals against average and a .955 save percentage. Skinner is 9-2-0-0 in his last 11 starts posting a 1.73 GAA and a .949 SV%.
Top 10, Again: The Hurricanes again have cracked the CHL’s BMO Top 10 rankings for the ninth straight week as they were listed at #8 for Week 20. The ‘Canes were also listed in Weeks 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and were named an Honourable Mention in the Week 6 edition of the Top 10.
Walking Wounded: The Hurricanes players have been dropping like flies. The latest injury was Giorgio Estephan who suffered a lower-body injury on February 2nd in Kelowna (he’ll be out 3-6 weeks). Since Christmas, the ‘Canes have lost 34-man games to injury.
Close to Clinch Time: The Hurricanes, who have not made the post-season in six seasons, are inching closer to clinching a 2016 playoff spot. Heading into action tonight, the Hurricanes magic number is five points as 83 points secures a post-season berth.
40 Mark: The Hurricanes are just one win shy of the 40 win mark, if reached, it’ll be the first time since 2007-2008 that they have accomplished that feat. The Hurricanes are on pace for 51 victories this season; only once have they cracked 50 that was in 1989-1990 when they won 51.
Gone Streakin’: The Hurricanes strung together a 10-game win streak in January. It was 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 7th to December 10th of 2004.
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.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Andrew Nielsen, who was drafted in the third round (65th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015, signed his first NHL contract in November inking an entry-level deal. In 54 games this year, the Red Deer product has collected 56 points (14g-42a). 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 58 points (25g-33a) in 54 games. Babenko is on pace to score 33 goals and 77 points. The last ‘Cane import to score 30+ goals was Tomas Kopecky who had (34g-42a) in 2001-2002.
