GAME DAY: Hurricanes Welcome Cougars
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes continue their longest home stand of the season as they welcome the Prince George Cougars at the ENMAX Centre tonight at 7:00pm.
The Hurricanes are coming off a 4-3 win on Wednesday night over the Everett Silvertips that snapped a three game losing streak. Egor Babenko and Cory Millette each scored twice in the win while Jayden Sittler made 31 saves in the victory.
The ‘Canes have won seven straight home games entering into tonight’s game and are an impressive 8-1-0-0 at the ENMAX Centre – the best home record in the WHL. The ‘Canes currently sit second in the Central Division with a record of 13-8-0-0 on the year.
The Cougars enter tonight having dropped two straight games, both coming on the road, by a combined score of 12-1. Prince George dropped a 3-1 decision on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Saddledome to the Calgary Hitmen.
Tonight will be the final of two meetings on the season between the Hurricanes and Cougars, Prince George took the first one on November 2nd by a score of 4-3 at the CN Centre.
“Canes Crush Cancer” month continues with the team raising awareness about Liver Cancer. Special edition t-shirts are available on the concourse for $20.00 with the proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society.
2015-2016 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (16) – Tyler Wong Assists (26) – Brayden Burke
Points (31) – Brayden Burke
PIMS (42) – Andrew Nielsen Plus/Minus (+9) – Andrew Nielsen & Giorgio Estephan
Wins (7) – Jayden Sittler Shutouts (1) – Jayden Sittler
Save % (.924) – Jayden Sittler Goals Against Average (2.36) – Jayden Sittler
WHO’S HOT:
– Egor Babenko has points in 3 straight games (3g-1a); 6 of 7 games (4g-4a)
– Kord Pankewicz has points in 2 straight games (2a)
– Arvin Atwal has points in 2 straight games (1g-1a)
– Cory Millette has points in 2 straight games (2g-1a); 7 of 8 games (7g-3a); in 8 of 10 games (8g-3a)
– Ryley Lindgren has points in 2 straight games (2a); 5 of 6 games (2g-4a); 9 of 11 games (6g-6a)
– Andrew Nielsen has points in 2 straight games (2a); 5 of 6 games (1g-5a); in 10 of 12 games (3g-10a)
– Giorgio Estephan has points in 9 of 11 games (5g-6a); in 14 of 17 games (6g-15a)
– Justin Gutierrez has points in 2 of 3 games (3a)
LEAGUE LEADERS:
– Tyler Wong is tied for 3rd in WHL with 16 goals
– Tyler Wong tied for 3rd in WHL Power Play Goals with 5
– Brayden Burke is 1st in WHL assists with 26 & WHL Power Play Assists with 13
– Brayden Burke is tied for 4th in WHL Scoring with 27 points
– Giorgio Estephan is tied for 7th in WHL assists with 17
– Giorgio Estephan is tied for 4th in WHL Power Play Assists with 8
– Ryley Lindgren is tied for 7th in WHL Goals with 11
– Ryley Lindgren is tied for 3rd in WHL Power Play Goals with 5
– Ryley Lindgren is 2nd in the WHL Game Winning Goals with 4
– Egor Babenko is tied for 7th in WHL Goals with 11 & is tied for 2nd in WHL Rookie Goals with 11
– Egor Babenko is tied 3rd in WHL Rookie Scoring with 19 points
– Andrew Nielsen is 2nd in WHL Defenseman Scoring with 23 points
– Andrew Nielsen is tied for 2nd in WHL Defenseman Goals with 7
– Andrew Nielsen is tied for 4th in WHL Power Play Goals with 4
– Jayden Sittler is ranked 8th in WHL with a 2.36 goals against average
– Jayden Sittler is ranked 7th in WHL with .924 save percentage
MILESTONE WATCH:
– Tyler Wong is 3 games away from 200 career games
– Tyler Wong is 25 points away from 150 career points
– Ryley Lindgren is 7 games away from 150 career games
NEWS & NOTES: Minor Trade: Following their game on Wednesday night, the Hurricanes swung a minor trade with the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Hurricanes acquired a 7th round draft pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft in exchange for 18-year-old defenseman Brandon Kennedy.
Home Ice Advantage: The Hurricanes are currently tied for the most home wins in the WHL entering play tonight with a record of 8-1-0-0. The ‘Canes have won seven straight home games and have outscored the opposition 41-22 (4.56 to 2.44) at the ENMAX Centre.
PK Boiling: Over their last 13 games, the Hurricanes have been lights out on the penalty kill. The Hurricanes in their last 13 outings have allowed just six power play goals against killing off an impressive 43/49, a kill percentage of 87.8%. The ‘Canes have only allowed two power play goals against in their last six games and have killed of 13 consecutive penalties taken heading into tonight.
Russian Delight: First year rookie import Egor Babenko is having a strong start to his WHL career. In his first 21 games, the product of Tyumen, Russia as scored 19 points (11g-8a) and is on pace to record 65 points (37g-28a) in a 72 game season. The last Hurricane import to 30+ goals was Tomas Kopecky in 2001-2002 when he racked up 76 points (34g-42a) in 60 games.
Offense from the Defense: Second year rearguard Andrew Nielsen is off to a torrent start. The third round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in June has recorded 23 points (7g-16a) in his first 21 games. The Red Deer, AB product is on pace to score 79 points. Nielsen is only behind Victoria’s Joe Hicketts for tops in WHL scoring among defenseman
Brayden “Assist-Man” Burke: Second year forward Brayden Burke is off to a great start. The undrafted Edmonton product has racked up a team-high 31 points (5g-26a) in 21 games. He is first in the WHL in assists with 26 and first in power play assists with 14. He has also racked up 11 multi-point games this year.
Best Start in 19 Years: The Hurricanes started the season 10-2-0-0 through their first dozen games, which was the best start to a season after 12 games the Hurricanes have had since 1996-97. In that 12 game span, the Hurricanes also reeled together an eight game winning streak, their longest since November 2007.
Gold Medal Showing: Hurricanes first year forward Brett Davis was one of three ‘Canes to represent Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, BC; Jordy Bellerive and Nick Watson were the others. Watson and Bellerive finished fourth on Canada Red while Davis took home Gold with Canada White.
