By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Hurricanes fall 6-5 to Cougars in a shootout

Oct 13, 2018 | 11:14 PM

LETHBRIDGE – From a purely entertainment perspective, fans got full value from Saturday night’s tilt between the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Prince George Cougars.

There was plenty of scoring, multiple lead changes, power play and shorthanded goals, overtime, and – while some fans may not love it – a shootout.

On the results side though, it was the continuation of a troubling start to the season for the Hurricanes, as they were edged 6-5 by the Cougars. They fell to Calgary one night earlier by the same score, giving the Hitmen their first win of the season. Through nine games to open the year, Lethbridge has now surrendered 41 goals against – the third most in the WHL, trailing only Edmonton and Kelowna.

Sure, they’ve scored the fourth most goals over that span as well. But their 35 for hasn’t been enough to balance the books.

Taking a closer look at Saturday’s game in Lethbridge, it was Taylor Ross who opened the scoring for the ‘Canes just over six minutes in, as he beat the Cougars’ Isaiah DiLaura just over six minutes in. After falling behind 2-1, the hosts then evened things up at 2-2 with Keltie Jeri-Leon firing home a power play goal with only two seconds left in the second period.

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The third would feature of flurry of action, led off by an exchange of shorthanded goals between the two clubs. The Cougars recaptured the lead 42 seconds after Jake Elmer’s shorty, but Elmer would quickly knot things up again just 36 seconds later with his second of the night. The Hurricanes took a 5-4 lead less than a minute after that with Ross scoring his second on the power play. Then, with under five minutes to play in regulation, the Cougars’ Cole Moberg struck, forcing overtime.

With the extra time failing to produce a decision, the matchup moved to the shootout – which was not kind to either goaltender.

Ty Kolle and Dylan Cozens scored on their solo attempts for the Hurricanes, but Jordy Bellerive’s miss would prove costly as all three Prince George shooters beat Lethbridge goalie Reece Klassen to take the win.

The Hurricanes now have two days off to rally, before hosting the Kootenay Ice Tuesday, Oct. 16 at the ENMAX Centre.