By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Deadline additions make instant impact in Canes debut

Jan 11, 2017 | 9:34 PM

LETHBRIDGE – It certainly didn’t take long for two of the Lethbridge Hurricanes newest players to fit in, as they helped drive the team to a 7-4 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings Wednesday night (Jan. 11).

Zak Zborosky – acquired Monday (Jan. 9) in a trade with Kootenay ahead of the WHL trade deadline – got things started on his first shift in a Hurricanes sweater, firing home the opening goal of the contest just over a minute in for his 29th of the season.

The hot start didn’t end there, as the Canes raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first period, with goals from Jordy Bellerive, Egor Babenko and Tyler Wong.

A disastrous start to the second would then turn a potential rout into a nail-biter… at least briefly. Ty Gerla notched Edmonton’s first goal of the evening at 2:58 of the middle frame, with the Oil Kings scoring two more within 35 seconds, cutting the Hurricanes edge to 4-3.

That’s when Alec Baer stepped up.

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Baer – picked up just hours after the deal that brought Zborosky to Lethbridge – scored his 4th two minutes later and his 5th a few minutes after that, helping the club to establish a comfortable 6-3 lead.

The two teams would trade goals in the third – one of which was Jordy Bellerive’s second of the night – as the Hurricanes cruised to the win.

The win is the third straight for Lethbridge, who coincidently started the modest streak Friday night at home when they beat Edmonton by an identical score of 7-4. They now own a record of 23-15-3-2, pulling them within eight points of Medicine Hat for first place in the Central Division standings.

The Hurricanes other deadline acquisition, Matt Alfaro, missed Wednesday’s game with a lower-body injury.

The Canes have a day off before playing back-to-back games at home this weekend. They will start against Prince George Friday (Jan. 13) and then meet the Oil Kings once again on Saturday (Jan. 14).