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Remarkable playoff run comes to an end as Hurricanes fall to Pats

May 1, 2017 | 12:29 AM

LETHBRIDGE – It began with nervous energy, shifted to overwhelming excitement, then to utter heartbreak. But when the dust finally settled, there was hope.

All of that in just one hockey game, as the Lethbridge Hurricanes impressive run through the WHL playoffs came to an abrupt end Sunday night (Apr. 30), as they fell 7-4 to the Regina Pats, who ended up taking the Eastern Conference Championship series 4-2.

What made the loss particularly painful, is the fact that just eight minutes into the game, the Hurricanes had built up a 3-0 lead with goals from Egor Babenko, Jordy Bellerive and Ryan Vandervlis – the latter two of which came on the power play.

While the Pats would add two of their own in the first, another power play goal from Giorgio Estephan to open the second period, had things looking good for the home team.

Before the end of the second though, Regina would tie the game, as they bombarded Stuart Skinner in the Lethbridge net – firing 20 of their 45 shots his way in the period – and dominating the ‘Canes in most aspects of the game.

The Pats added another three goals in the third – including an empty netter – to put the game away and advance to the WHL Final, where they will now face the Seattle Thunderbirds.

As the two teams finished shaking hands, the Hurricanes’ faithful started a loud ‘GO CANES GO’ chant for their team. The sentiment was echoed across social media, with a sense of optimism for what’s to come from a team full of young faces that made it to the Eastern final, beating Red Deer and Medicine Hat along the way.

“This, I believe, is the new normal,” said Hurricanes General Manager, Peter Anholt, after the loss. “Hopefully, our young guys can take this to a whole other step and keep getting better and remember how much this hurt.

“I think [this playoff run] rubber-stamped basically what we’ve done over the last two-and-a-half years,” he continued. “I really feel our coaches do a fantastic job of preparing this team to play on any given night, and I think our players understand how hard it is to win. It’s hard to win in this league. Going into the third round, and deep into the third round, I thought was very impressive, but now we’ve got to learn from it, and hopefully we can take another step.”

Head coach Brent Kisio was on the same page as his GM, making a point of repeatedly saying how proud he was of the team.

“I don’t think anybody thought we’d beat Medicine Hat, and we found a way to do that. I don’t think anybody thought this series would be even close, it was a close series. It’s terrible when you’re on the wrong side of it, but that’s hockey sometimes, and as long as you learn from it, you get better for it – which our young guys will, I think – the future’s bright,” said Kisio.

Of course, there is a prominent member of the organization who won’t get another chance. This was it for captain Tyler Wong, along with fellow over-agers Zak Zborosky and Matt Alfaro, as their WHL eligibility came to an end with the final horn.

While working hard to keep his emotions in check, and having to wipe his eyes a couple of times throughout the interview, Wong said exactly what a captain needs to say.

“I know it’ll make us stronger to go through this, just like it did last year. Last year we went through that game five loss [to Regina in the first round] and it would have been easy to lose in game five against Red Deer [in the first round this year]. We learned from the past and you keep getting stronger, and that’s what tough times are for,” stated Wong.

He then took a moment to deliver a special message to those who have supported him and the team throughout his time in Lethbridge.

“I just want to say thank you, just thank you so much for making my time here the best time of my life, and for cheering us on through good times and bad times, for always supporting us, it’s like a second home to me.

“I know that Lethbridge will always have a special place in my heart, and I’ll always come back and cheer the ‘Canes on,” he said, while choking back tears.

“This will always be my team.”