GAME DAY: Hurricanes Welcome Ice in First of 3-in-3
Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes kick off a rare Thursday, Friday, Saturday three-in-three tonight when they host the Kootenay Ice in the first of two meetings this weekend at the ENMAX Centre at 7:00pm.
The Hurricanes are coming off a 5-2 win last Saturday over the Saskatoon Blades. Cory Millette had a career high four point game (1g-3a) while Egor Babenko had his first ever three point game (1g-2a) in the victory.
It was the Hurricanes ninth win at home this season as they improved to 9-2-0-0 at the ENMAX Centre this season and 14-9-0-0 overall. A win tonight and the Hurricanes will match their season total for home ice victories (10) from the 2014-2015 season.
Tonight will be the third meeting of the season against the Ice. The ‘Canes have won the previous two contests by 5-1 and 3-2 scores. The Ice had their two-game winning streak snapped last night with a 5-2 loss at home to the Red Deer Rebels.
Kootenay enters play tonight tied with Vancouver for last place in the WHL with 14 points. The Ice have a record of 6-17-2-0 this year and are 1-10-0-0 on the road.
“Canes Crush Cancer” month continues with the team raising awareness about Prostate Cancer. Special edition t-shirts are available on the concourse for $20.00 with the proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society.
As well, fans are encouraged to bring a toy as ROCK 106 kicks off their 2015 ‘Toy Mountain’ tonight at the ENMAX Centre.
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) – Kord Pankewicz
Wins (7) – Jayden Sittler & Stuart Skinner Shutouts (1) – Jayden Sittler
Save % (.921) – Jayden Sittler Goals Against Average (2.41) – Jayden Sittler
WHO’S HOT:
– Kord Pankewicz has points in 4 straight games (4a)
– Arvin Atwal has points in 4 straight games (1g-3a)
– Justin Gutierrez has points in 3 straight games (1g-3a); 4 of 5 games (1g-4a)
– Brett Davis has points in 2 straight games (2g)
– Egor Babenko has points in 4 of 5 games (4g-3a); 7 of 9 games (5g-6a)
– Cory Millette has points in 3 of 4 games (3g-4a); 8 of 10 games (8g-6a); in 9 of 12 games (9g-6a)
– Ryley Lindgren has points in 3 of 4 games (1g-3a); 6 of 8 games (3g-5a); 10 of 13 games (7g-7a)
– Andrew Nielsen has points in 3 of 4 games (3a); in 11 of 14 games (3g-11a)
LEAGUE LEADERS:
– Tyler Wong is tied for 5th in WHL with 16 goals
– Tyler Wong tied for 4th in WHL Power Play Goals with 5
– Brayden Burke is tied for 2nd in WHL assists with 26 & is 1st in WHL Power Play Assists with 14
– Brayden Burke is tied for 7th in WHL Scoring with 31 points
– Giorgio Estephan is tied for 9th in WHL assists with 17
– Giorgio Estephan is tied for 5th in WHL Power Play Assists with 8
– Ryley Lindgren is tied for 9th in WHL Goals with 12
– Ryley Lindgren is tied for 4th in WHL Power Play Goals with 5
– Ryley Lindgren is 2nd in the WHL Game Winning Goals with 4
– Egor Babenko is tied for 9th in WHL Goals with 12 & is 2nd in WHL Rookie Goals with 12
– Egor Babenko is tied for 3rd in WHL Rookie Scoring with 22 points
– Andrew Nielsen is tied for 2nd in WHL Defenseman Scoring with 24 points
– Andrew Nielsen is tied for 4th in WHL Defenseman Goals with 7
– Andrew Nielsen is tied for 5th in WHL Power Play Goals with 4
– Jayden Sittler is ranked 6th in WHL with a 2.41 goals against average
– Jayden Sittler is ranked 5th in WHL with .921 save percentage
MILESTONE WATCH:
– Tyler Wong is 24 points away from 150 career points
– Ryley Lindgren is 5 games away from 150 career games
NEWS & NOTES:
200 for the Captain: Tonight will the 200th WHL game for Hurricanes Captain Tyler Wong who has played all 199 games in a ‘Canes uniform. Wong currently leads the team in goals (16) and is second in points (26) heading into action tonight. Wong is the 25th Captain in Hurricanes history.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: After being selected in the third round (65th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, defenseman Andrew Nielsen signed his first NHL contract inking an entry level deal on Monday with the Leafs. In 23 games this year, Nielsen has piled up 24 points (7g-17a) matching is 2014-2015 offensive output in 36 less games. He is currently second in WHL scoring by defenseman.
Making the List: In his first 23 WHL games, rookie import forward Egor Babenko has racked up 22 points (12g-10a) and has put up seven points (4g-3a) in his last five games. The Tyumen, Russia product has been noticed by NHL scouts as the 18-year-old was recently ranked as a ‘C’ skater on the latest ‘Players to Watch List’ for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by NHL Central Scouting. Babenko is on pace to score 38 goals, the last ‘Cane import to score 30+ goals was Tomas Kopecky who had (34g-42a) in 2001-2002.
Minor Trade: The Hurricanes swung a minor trade with the Moose Jaw Warriors on November 18th. 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 9-2-0-0. The ‘Canes have won eight of their last nine home games and have outscored the opposition 48-28 (4.36 to 2.55) at the ENMAX Centre.
PK Boiling: In the last 15 games, the Hurricanes have allowed just seven power play goals against killing off an impressive 48/55, a kill percentage of 87.2%. The ‘Canes have only allowed three power play goals against in their last eight games and have killed of 18 of their last 19 penalties taken over their last six games.
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.
