By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Hurricanes take 2-1 series lead with solid win over Pats

Apr 26, 2017 | 12:12 AM

LETHBRIDGE – An early goal combined with offence from an unlikely source, and the Lethbridge Hurricanes have jumped ahead 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Final against the Regina Pats.

The Hurricanes came out on top 3-1 Tuesday night (Apr. 25), with the first goal of the evening coming off the stick of defenceman Brennan Menell just 16-seconds into the contest, as most fans were still settling into their seats.

“You can’t script it better… when you get that first goal in a packed building like we had tonight, with the energy up like that, it was the perfect start for us,” said Lethbridge head coach Brent Kisio after the game.

“I like that we stuck with our plan tonight,” he continued. “We were getting pucks deep, we were managing a lot better, I thought we played hard. It was just a real good 60-minute effort, and it was probably one of our better ones of the post season.”

A couple of penalties to the Hurricanes in the first period allowed the Pats to start to dictate the play, but as was the case through games one and two of the series, Hurricanes’ goaltender Stuart Skinner was lights-out, holding onto the lead as the opening frame came to a close.

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Lethbridge exploded out of the gate again in the second, with Regina netminder Tyler Brown becoming the busier of the two goalies, and holding on long enough for his team to tie things up midway through the period, as Dawson Leedahl tipped a point-shot past Skinner.

Then came the turning point of the game.

One minute after the tying goal, Hurricanes’ fourth line centre, Jadon Joseph, took an ill-advised slashing penalty, giving the Pats’ lethal power play a chance to pull ahead.

As the penalty expired – following a flurry of chances for the visitors, turned aside by Skinner and key shot-blocks from Brady Pouteau and Tanner Nagel – Joseph stepped out of the box to find the puck coming his way and a clear path to the net. Streaking down the wing with Pats’ defender Connor Hobbs chasing him down, Joseph beat Brown clean over his glove hand, giving his club their second lead of the night.

Egor Babenko capped the scoring four minutes into the third, giving his team some insurance as they cruised to the 3-1 victory.

Speaking to Lethbridge News Now about the game winner – his second of the playoffs, after scoring only three goals in 68-regular season games – Joseph admitted that he was feeling guilty about the penalty and was relieved that his team was able to bail him out. He added that he was “lucky” to put the puck in – although, looking at the shot he ripped off the crossbar and in, luck wasn’t the prevailing factor.

Game winning goals aside, Joseph’s line – as noted by Kisio – has been one of the Hurricanes’ most consistent throughout the playoffs, working to grind teams down with their heavy, in-your-face style of play.

When asked about the work done by himself and wingers Zane Franklin and Nagel, he said it all comes down to chemistry developed throughout the season.

“Frankie and I, we’ve know each other for a long time, so that always helps, and then Nags, he’s a good guy, so we really got along right off the bat,” said Joseph. “We just stick to the plan, we all know what we have to do and it works out for us.”

The best-of-seven series resumes Wednesday night (Apr. 26) at 7 p.m. at the ENMAX Centre.