By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Hurricanes remain hot on home ice after 2-0 victory over the Regina Pats

Oct 25, 2017 | 10:19 PM

LETHBRIDGE – In their first meeting since the 2017 WHL Eastern Conference Finals, the Lethbridge Hurricanes earned some revenge with a 2-0 victory over the Regina Pats on Wednesday night.

The teams were scoreless after the first period, and with 9:48 gone in the second frame forward Josh Tarzwell dropped the gloves for a fight with Regina forward Tanner Sidaway with each landing a few bombs before Sidaway managed to get Tarzwell to the ice where the linesman stepped in.

The fight seemed to spark the Hurricanes who turned up the heat in the second, ultimately firing home the ice breaker at 16:34 off the stick of Dylan Cozens. The goal was Cozens 7th of the season, and it was assisted by Zane Franklin and Jordy Bellerive.

After two periods the Hurricanes had themselves a 1-0 lead. Then in the 3rd period off a nice setup from Bellerive again, Ryan Vandervlis fired home his second goal of the season to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead and that would stand up as the final.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 36 saves for his 7th career WHL shutout and his 6th win of the season.

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: April 15, 2024

Apr 15, 2024

Week-in-review: Street sweeping, policing in Coaldale and #SlowYourRoll

Apr 13, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: April 12, 2024

Apr 12, 2024

Head Coach Brent Kisio says it was a hard-fought game, and he thought it was a little like playoff hockey.

“There wasn’t a lot of chances either way going on, but I think both teams were working hard as you would expect and that’s why it was hard to get a scoring chance tonight,” Kisio continued. “It felt like a game where whoever scored first was probably going to win because it was so hard to get a chance. I didn’t think it was sloppy in the early going, it was just a hard game.”

Kisio was asked about whether the Tarzwell fight gave his team a spark.

“It was a great job by Tarzy stepping up, he wanted to provide some energy and that’s exactly what he did,” Kisio said.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner says the shutout felt nice, especially against the Regina Pats.

“They’re kind of our arch enemy after what happened in the playoffs. But what I can I say? It wasn’t just me out there, we have five guys on the ice at all times battling for one another. I could go on all night talking about the performances from guys. It was a great team effort,” Skinner said.

The win brings the Hurricanes record to 6-5 on the season, but 5-2 on home ice. Skinner was quick to point out how important the home town fans are to him and his teammates.

“They’re incredible, in my opinion the best fans in the WHL. They clap, cheer and encourage us at all times no matter what the score is,” he continued. “We need to find a way to replicate what we do on home ice when we hit the road.”

The Hurricanes won’t be worrying about any road games for the next little while though.

Their next game is Friday night against the Calgary Hitmen, and after that they’ll play three more at home before hitting the road again when they travel to Calgary on Nov. 4.