Poor start plagues Hurricanes in 5-3 Game 3 loss to Hitmen

Just over a minute later at 4:43, Carson Focht took a pass from Josh Prokop and put the puck past Tetachuk increasing Calgary’s lead to 2-0 that quickly.

That’s where things sat at the end of the 1st, with the Hitmen also outshooting the Hurricanes 16-8 in the opening frame.

Calgary would go up 3-0 around the 9-minute mark of the 2nd when Josh Prokop tapped home a rebound chance after another sequence where Tetachuk made the initial stop but didn’t get much help.

Tetachuk’s team would respond after that. Just 38 seconds later Dylan Cozens and Taylor Ross were sprung on a 2-on-0 from the blue line in and eventually Cozens would finish the play by beating Hitmen goaltender Jack McNaughton to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Before the end of the 2nd period, the Hurricanes would strike again.

With Scott Mahovlich and Jackson Shepard out for Game 3 due to suspensions from the shenanigans at the end of Game 2, it provided an opportunity for Zack Stinger to draw back in the lineup and he didn’t disappoint.

The 15-year-old Lethbridge native was rewarded for going to the net and shovelling home a rebound off a Justin Hall shot from the wall at 17:38 to make it 3-2 for the Hitmen heading into the second intermission.

After a Logan Barlage slashing penalty, the Hitmen would re-take their two-goal lead on the powerplay. Carson Focht made a nice move to step away from Jordy Bellerive near the right circle and ripped it past Tetachuk giving the Hitmen a 4-2 lead at 6:13.

The Hurricanes didn’t go away quietly, however, as just over five minutes later Cozens shook free of the Calgary defence in front of the net and took a great pass from the corner by Nick Henry and beat McNaughton to make it 4-3 with less than 10 minutes to play.

Lethbridge continued to push, but a late high sticking penalty to Jake Elmer stunted their momentum, and in the final minute Luke Coleman buried a shot into an empty net for a 5-3 final.

Shots on goal ended up in the Hitmen’s favour as well, by a margin of 36-29.

After a strong effort on special teams in Game 2, the Hurricanes couldn’t get it going in Calgary as they finished 0-for-5 on the powerplay. They allowed the game-winner on this night on the powerplay, but overall Calgary finished 1-for-4.

Lethbridge will look to regroup on Thursday, Mar. 28, when they return to the ice for Game 4 back at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

by Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Poor start plagues Hurricanes in 5-3 Game 3 loss to Hitmen

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