By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Newcomer Ty Kolle scores two to help Hurricanes win first home game of the season 4-2 over the Regina Pats

Oct 10, 2018 | 10:31 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Home cooking finally paid off for the Lethbridge Hurricanes as they defeated the Regina Pats 4-2 at the ENMAX Centre on Wednesday, Oct. 10.

Leading the way for the Hurricanes in this one was newcomer Ty Kolle, who had two goals on the night.

“I think in the past I haven’t really contributed to the previous team I was on very much and coming here it was kind of my goal to be a player that contributes to the team, so it feels good,” Kolle told the media after his big performance.

Things didn’t start off great for Lethbridge, though. Just over a minute and a half into the 1st period Pats forward Riley Krane beat Hurricanes goaltender Reece Klassen to make it 1-0 for the visitors.

A penalty kill a few minutes later gave the home side some pep in their step, and then at 11:08 Jake Elmer converted a one-timer pass by Jadon Joseph from behind the net past Pats goalie Max Paddock to knot things up at 1-1.

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That’s where things stood after a period of play, with shots favouring Regina 11-8. 

The Pats took a holding penalty early in the 2nd period, and the Hurricanes powerplay went to work. 

Captain Jordy Bellerive’s shot was stopped by Paddock, but from a tight angle, Kolle buried his first goal as a Hurricane to give his team a 2-1 lead. 

Lethbridge kept pushing as the period went along and eventually it paid off when a Calen Addison point shot was deflected in front of the net by Dylan Cozens. His 6th goal of the season put the ‘Canes up 3-1, and eventually stood up as the game winner.

In the 3rd period, Bellerive got a little too aggressive in the Pats’ crease and was sent off for roughing at 7:09. 

With the man advantage, the Pats pushed back, and Robbie Holmes converted a bang-bang play at the net past Klassen to make it a one-goal game with lots of time left.

But that’s when Klassen stood tall, stopping several grade-A opportunities from the Pats who used the momentum of the powerplay goal to keep the pressure on Lethbridge. 

That was until a fortunate bounce made its way to Logan Barlage, who got the puck to Kolle and he made no mistake burying his second of the night past Paddock to make it 4-2 Hurricanes at 16:01. 

The insurance goal was all Lethbridge would need, as they held on for a 4-2 victory to move to 3-3-0-1 on the season.

Shots finished 33-26 in favour of the Hurricanes, and the home team went 1-for-3 with the man advantage. 

Head Coach Brent Kisio says a win is a win but added they know they’ve got to keep getting better.

“We’ve got a lot of things to work on, but the main thing was getting a win tonight. I thought we got better as the game went along especially in the 2nd period. The 3rd period was pretty solid, a couple of turnovers, but a step in the right direction,” Kisio said.

The Hurricanes bench boss was happy about Kolle’s big night, especially the insurance marker, but he had high praise for the combination of Shepard, Joseph and Elmer.

“They worked hard from the start, they got us back in the game to tie it up,” Kisio continued. “The whole night they just kept working hard and played the right way.”

And his thoughts on the guy between the pipes?

“Klass has been good for us for the whole year so far. He’s probably been our best player to date, night in and night out, and we know we can rely on him,” Kisio said, adding when they had breakdowns he made the big saves they needed.

Next up for the Hurricanes is a trip to Calgary on Friday where they’ll battle the Hitmen, before returning home on Saturday night to take on the Prince George Cougars.