(Photo: LNN)

By Christian Oldale

Hurricanes fall to Oil Kings, beat Hitmen in weekend games

Feb 3, 2025 | 12:28 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes had two games over the weekend, and came out with a win and a loss.

Saturday, February 1 vs. Edmonton Oil Kings

The first game of the weekend set saw the Hurricanes hosting the Edmonton Oil Kings at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

In the first period, the Oil Kings struck first 3:58 in. Hurricanes goalie Jackson Unger went behind the net to play the puck, but it hit a chip on the ice and jumped over his stick. Lethbridge native Marshall Finnie grabbed it behind the net and fed it out front, where former Hurricane Cole Miller was there to put it in the open net and make it 1-0.

In the second, the Oil Kings would grab their second goal, with Finnie grabbing the puck behind the net and banking it off a sprawled out Unger to make it a 2-0 game.

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Finnie’s goal would be the last scored for the Oil Kings, and the last of the game overall, with Edmonton winning 2-0. The Hurricanes outshot Edmonton in every period, leading to a shot count of 35-17 in favour of Lethbridge, but Oil Kings goalie Ethan Simcoe shut them out.

Simcoe and Finnie were named the first and second star, with Hurricanes forward Logan Wormald rounding out the three.

Sunday, February 2 vs. Calgary Hitmen

Following the loss, the team headed up north for a highly important game on Sunday against the Calgary Hitmen, who sit one place ahead of Lethbridge in the standings.

As in the previous game, the opponent struck first, with Hitmen forward Carson Wetsch capitalizing on a 3-on-1 just 1:04 in, firing it past Unger to make it 1-0.

The Hurricanes would take only 38 seconds to respond, with Caden Price letting go a shot from the blue line, which was redirected by Luke Cozens in front to tie the game. Tristen Doyle added the second assist.

40 seconds later, Leo Braillard took a pass down low from Caden Price, and fought off a defender to send a pass to Brayden Yager, who fired it from an awkward angle past Daniel Hauser to take the lead. The goal marked Yager’s fifth as a Hurricane and 16th of the season.

Later in the frame, the Hurricanes got a powerplay opportunity, and capitalized on it, with Yager scoring his second goal of the night on a hard bar-down wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle. Noah Chadwick and Logan Wormald assisted on the tally.

Yager would continue to take over the game late in the first period. With 35 seconds left, Yager took a pass from Shane Smith off a forecheck, wiring a one-timer from the slot past Hauser to complete the natural hat trick with his 18th goal of the season. The hat trick was fourth in Yager’s WHL career.

In the second period, the Hitmen changed goaltenders, with Anders Miller coming in to replace Hauser. He made his mark quickly, stopping Brayden Edwards on a 2-on-1, and denying Yager his fourth goal on an end-to-end rush.

The Hitmen would add two goals in the second period, with one from Rylan Ng and the other from Oliver Tulk on the powerplay to make it a close 4-3 game.

However, despite the comeback attempt, Unger stood strong for the Hurricanes, stopping all six shots in the third period and 27 total to take down the Hitmen 4-3. The win marked eight straight on the road for Lethbridge.

Yager’s hat trick netted him first star honours with Tulk and Unger taking home second and third stars.

Lethbridge will next return to their home ice on Friday, February 7 for a matchup against the Prince Albert Raiders. Puck drop will be at 7.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now.

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