HURRICANES TAKE 2-0 SERIES LEAD
Lethbridge, Alberta — For the second straight night, special teams were the difference Saturday as the Lethbridge Hurricanes upended the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings 4-3 to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Hockey League Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series.
rAfter scoring two third period powerplay goals to score a come from behind 2-1 victory in Friday’s series opener, Lethbridge scored three more powerplay goals in game two. Most nights that would have been more than enough but the Hurricanes added a second period shorthanded goal for good measure and it turned out to be the game winner.
rThe best of seven opening round playoff series will now shift to Brandon’s Westman Place for games three, four and five (if necessary) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday nights.
rLucas Sbisa scored once and set up another for the ‘Canes, who scored two unanswered second period goals to break open a 2-2 tie en route to the win. Singles came off the sticks of Nicholas Hotson, Mike Wuchterl and Zach Boychuk, with his second goal in as many nights.
rLethbridge was 3-8 on the powerplay and is now 5-14 in the series. Brandon went 1-8 in game two.
rMatt Lowry, with a first period shorthanded goal to open the scoring, captain Daryl Boyle and 16-year old rookie Scott Glennie, with his first ever playoff goal, replied for the Wheat Kings, who outshot Lethbridge 27-26.
r“I think we deserved a little bit better fate,“ Wheat Kings’ coach and general manager Kelly McCrimmon told CKLQ’s Bruce Luebke during Saturday night’s post-game show. “I thought we’ve had good efforts both nights and I know people will look at special teams….but what has been encouraging is how well we have played five on five.“
rAll six Hurricanes’ goals in this series have come on special teams. In fact, Brandon has outscored Lethbridge 2-0 in five on five play during the first two games of the series.
rWhile losing two close games on the road is tough, the Wheat Kings look forward to returning home to the friendly confines of Westman Place – a building that they’ve enjoyed tremendous success in during the 2007-08 campaign. In addition to owning the second best home ice record (26-9-1-0) in the Eastern Conference, the Wheat Kings enter Tuesday’s game riding a 6-game winning strreak and compiled an impressive 11-1-1 record during their final thirteen regular season home games.
rAll fans attending Tuesday’s game will receive a discount coupon from Husky – Mohawk while those attending game four will receive a complimentary spaghetti dinner from Pizza Place (located in Thunderbird Bowl).
rTickets are on sale at the Keystone Centre box office, by calling 726-3555 or online at ticketmaster.ca As of Saturday afternoon, only 2,000 tickets had been sold for each game.
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