Morrison hat-trick powers Hurricanes past Broncos 5-1 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final

Swift Current held the edge in shots 11-8 in the first.

After an early penalty to Broncos defenceman Sahvan Khaira in the second period, the Hurricanes power play went to work.

At 2:11, Dylan Cozens just snuck the puck past Stuart Skinner to open the scoring and give Lethbridge a 1-0 lead.

Lethbridge kept pressing, but a couple of massive saves by Broncos goaltender Stuart Skinner kept the score 1-0 in favour of the Hurricanes with under six minutes to play in the second.

Before the period ended, however, the Broncos would tie things up at 1-1 thanks forward Andrew Fyten banging a loose puck home in front of Hurricanes goaltender Logan Flodell.

Just when it looked like both teams would head to the dressing room tied, a late slashing penalty to Swift Current gave Lethbridge a late power play.

On the man advantage, as he has all playoffs long, Brad Morrison came through for the Hurricanes sniping one past Skinner just under his glove to send Lethbridge into the intermission with a 2-1 lead.

In the final frame, Cozens would score another early period goal to give the Hurricanes a 3-1 lead. A couple minutes later it was Flodell’s time to shine, as he made a huge stop on Tyler Steenberger to keep it 3-1.

That’s when the chants started at the ENMAX Centre, but they weren’t for Flodell. No, instead, the fans began chants of “Skinner, Skinner” attempting to get inside the head of the former Hurricane.

At 11:35 of the third, Morrison would bury his second and five minutes later he completed the hat-trick by burying the puck into an empty net.

Head Coach Brent Kisio says his team was a bit nervous to start, but as the game wore on they got better and better.

“We had the most offensive zone time so far in the series tonight, in all the games we’ve been right there, but tonight we managed to score some goals,” Kisio said.

Kisio also had high praise for Brad Morrison after the game.

“He’s a really good hockey player,” Kisio continued. “He takes hits, gets back up, and scores goals… He’s been absolutely outstanding for us.”

Asked about the Hurricanes record on home ice, Kisio gave credit to the people in the stands.

“It’s our fans, man. It’s unbelievable coaching in this rink, and playing in this building, the support we get is absolutely outstanding,” Kisio stated.

The other standout offensive player for the Hurricanes on Tuesday, two-goal man Dylan Cozens, also gave credit to the fans for his team’s performance.

“Our fans are always behind us, they’re loud and always cheering and I think that intimidates the other team,” Cozens continued. “The Skinner chants in the third period shows they don’t care about him anymore, it’s all about us. He’s a good guy, we all liked him, but he’s not on our team anymore.”

The Hurricanes went two-for-four on the power play and Cozens says it was a big factor in the win.

“It hasn’t been that great in the first two games of the series, but today it was really good and that helped us a lot,” Cozens said, adding they’re going to need it again tomorrow night.

As is usually the case in the Western Hockey League, there’s no rest for the weary. The Hurricanes and Broncos will rest up tonight and be back at the ENMAX Centre for Game 4 on Wednesday night, with puck drop set for 7 p.m.

by Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Morrison hat-trick powers Hurricanes past Broncos 5-1 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final

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