Hurricanes drop two of three against Oil Kings in weekend series

The Hurricanes would tally their own goal 14:04 into the frame on the powerplay. Trae Johnson scored his third goal of the season on a tic-tac-toe passing play from Kash Andresen and Will Sharpe to cut the deficit to two.

In the second, the Oil Kings kicked off the scoring again early, but the Hurricanes responded with two goals in the frame. The first came from Kash Andresen, who fired it past Alex Worthington on a breakaway pass from Johnson. The goal was Andresen’s fifth of the season.

With just 8.2 seconds left in the period, the Hurricanes cut Oil Kings’ lead to just one when Johnson redirected a shot from Tristen Doyle in front of the net for his second of the game. Sharpe got the secondary assist once again.

However, that would be the last bit of hope for the Canes in the game, as Edmonton scored three goals in the third period to ice the game at 7-3.

Johnson was named the game’s first star for his three point effort, while Hanson and Parker Alcos were named second and third star.

January 4, 2025

Coming off the loss, the Hurricanes traveled up to Edmonton the next day for game two of the three-game set.

The Hurricanes got some reinforcements, as Brayden Yager and Leo Braillard rejoined the team from the World Juniors. Yager captained Canada at the tournament, while Braillard represented Switzerland.

However, the Oil Kings would again dominate the scoring in the first period, as they got goals from Luke Powell and Lukas Sawchyn to make it 2-0. Edmonton also outshot Lethbridge by a wide margin in the first, tallying 16 shots to the Hurricanes’ three.

In the second, the Oil Kings once again opened the scoring when Hanson scored 1:17 into the period. The Hurricanes would respond about six and a half minutes later, when Will Sharpe attempted a wraparound, and Braillard jumped on a loose puck, firing it past Ethan Simcoe to make it a 3-1 game. The goal was Braillard’s 13th of the season, and Shane Smith added the second assist.

Later on, 13:29 into the period, Yager also capitalized in his return, one-timing a pass from Noah Chadwick past Simcoe for his own 13th goal of the season, and second as a Hurricane. Brayden Edwards added the second assist on the goal, marking his 40th point of the year.

Edmonton would add another goal at the 15:32 mark, as Gracyn Sawchyn added a shorthanded marker to make it 4-2. The Hurricanes outshot Edmonton 23-5 in the second period.

In the third, Edmonton would fully seal their 5-2 victory as Woodward scored 3:42 in to make it back to back wins.

Sawchyn and Hanson were named the first two stars respectively, while Yager’s goal netted him third star of the game.

January 5, 2025

The two teams met again on Sunday, with Lethbridge looking for a win to keep pace in a very competitive Central Division.

After a mostly scoreless first period, the Oil Kings were once again the first on the scoreboard, as Lethbridge native Marshall Finnie scored 17:23 in to make it 1-0.

Lethbridge’s woes would continue on in the second period, as Edmonton tallied two more goals in the frame off the sticks of Lukas Sawchyn and Landon Hanson, taking a 3-0 lead for the third straight game.

However, in the third period, the Hurricanes would come alive. After a first half of the period with sustained pressure, but no goals, Logan McCutcheon scored to break Alex Worthington’s shutout 11:08 in. Will Sharpe and Brayden Yager nothced the assists on the goal.

Later in the frame, with time winding down, the Hurricanes would cut the lead to one when Leo Braillard took the puck off a rebound and fired it into an open net for his 14th goal of the season. Yager and Brayden Edwards assisted on the goal.

In the dying minute of the game and needing a goal, the Hurricanes got one when Leo Braillard fed Logan Wormald a pass down low, who shot it past Worthington to tie the game at 3-3. Yager added his third assist of the night on the goal.

Overtime solved nothing on the scoresheet, so it went to a shootout. It was a high-scoring one, as Wormald, Braillard and Kooper Gizowski all tallied goals for Lethbridge, while Edmonton responded with goals from Gavin Hodnett, Gracyn Sawchyn and Hanson.

The winning goal would come from the Hurricanes’ sixth shooter, as Brayden Edwards deked out Worthington and switched to his bakchand, firing it over his pad to take the lead in the shootout. Koen Cleaver then stopped Joe Iginla on the next shot to clinch the 4-3 victory.

Edwards was named first star, with Worthington’s 44 saves getting him second star honours. For the second night in a row, Yager was named third star afer tallying three assists.

The Hurricanes will now get one day off before taking on the Moose Jaw Warriors at home on Tuesday, January 7. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now.

—

If you have a news tip, question or concern, please email Lethbridge.newsroom@Pattisonmedia.com.

by Christian Oldale

Hurricanes drop two of three against Oil Kings in weekend series

What's Happening