By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Hurricanes shutout by Wheat Kings for fourth straight loss

Dec 15, 2017 | 9:54 PM

BRANDON – The Lethbridge Hurricanes came up against a brick wall Friday night (Dec. 15), as Brandon Wheat Kings’ goaltender Logan Thompson, turned aside all 38 shots he saw to record his second shutout of the season.

The 3-0 loss is now the fourth straight for Lethbridge, as they played game three of a four game road trip through Saskatchewan leading into the Christmas break.

It certainly didn’t help their cause that they had to face the scorching-hot Wheat Kings, who have rattled off an impressive 10 wins in a row.

Making the loss sting a little more was the fact that the two Brandon goals scored with ‘Canes netminder Stuart Skinner in net, came with under a minute left to play in the each of the first two periods. The third – scored on an empty net – came with just 1:18 left to play in the third.

As far as positives go, it is worth noting that after being outshot 15-10 in the first, the Hurricanes surged ahead in that category through the remaining 40 minutes – especially in the second where they held a 13-5 edge in shots on goal.

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The road hasn’t been particularly kind to the Hurricanes this season, as they are now 5-10 as the visitors, compared to 9-6-2 at home. Adding to that is the relative strength of the East Division that they’re currently making their way through. The Saskatoon Blades – who beat Lethbridge 5-3 to open the road trip – are last in the division with 31 points, which is one more than the Hurricanes have.

Again, looking at the positive, the Hurricanes are still in relatively good shape, despite the loss. They rank second in the much weaker Central Division, and while third place Kootenay is only two points back, they have a five point cushion over Red Deer.

Next up is a matchup against the Regina Pats on Saturday, Dec. 16. Fortunately for Lethbridge, Regina has lost two in a row and only managed three wins in their last 10 outings.

It should also give the visitors a chance to get their offence going again, as the Pats lead the WHL in penalties and have the league’s second worst penalty kill. The Hurricanes meanwhile, boast the third best road power play in the league at 31.8-per cent.