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Hurricanes start slow, lose 5-3 to the Blades in first game of a four game road trip

Dec 12, 2017 | 7:44 PM

SASKATOON – The first game of a four-game road trip before the Christmas break didn’t get off to a good start for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, as they were beaten 5-3 by the Saskatoon Blades on Tuesday (Dec. 12) night.

Things didn’t start off great for the Hurricanes, as Saskatoon’s Bradly Goethals open the scoring just 4:39 into the first period.

Lethbridge forward Shawn Harke would take a a tripping penalty at the eight-minute mark of the period, and the Blades would make the Hurricanes pay.

Just 38 seconds into their first powerplay of the night, Saskatoon centreman Cameron Hebig gave the home side a 2-0 lead. Under a minute later, the Blades would score again, this time on the stick of Josh Paterson.

The first period ended with the Blades up 3-0, and with a healthy lead on the shot clock at 15-6.

Early in the second period, the Hurricanes would begin to fight back. Dylan Cozens scored his 9th goal of the season to cut the lead to 3-1 just under three minutes in.

However, another Blades PP goal courtesy of Kirby Dach would give Saskatoon a three-goal lead again at 9:35 of the second.

Hurricanes defenceman Calen Addison scored before the second came to a close to cut the lead down to 4-2 heading into the third period.

Shots in the second period were 15-14 in favour of Lethbridge, and 29-21 overall after two periods of play for Saskatoon.

The Hurricanes managed to cut the deficit down to 4-3 early in the third period, thanks to Jake Elmer’s 9 th of the season. But the second goal of the game for Cameron Hebig at 15:25 of the third put the game out of reach.

The Blades outshot the Hurricanes 41-31 overall, and the loss drops Lethbridge to 14-14-2 on the season.

In the WHL at this time of year, there’s no rest for the weary. The Hurricanes head up the road tomorrow for a matchup against the Prince Albert Raiders, with puck drop set for 6 p.m. mountain time.

After that, the Hurricanes play their final two games before the Christmas break on Friday and Saturday night against the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Regina Pats.