By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

First period flurry powers Hurricanes past Hitmen 6-2

Feb 13, 2019 | 9:47 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – On the backs of five 1st period goals, the Lethbridge Hurricanes snapped their three-game losing streak with a decisive 6-2 win over the Calgary Hitmen on Wednesday, Feb. 13.

Lethbridge didn’t take long to get started, as not even three minutes into the opening frame it would be Jake Elmer beating Hitmen goaltender Carl Stankowski to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Then at 7:05 Jake Leschyshyn stole the puck and carried into the Hitmen zone, and after a great drag move to the middle of the ice, he found the back of the net to make it 2-0 for the Hurricanes.

Calgary would answer two and half minutes later, thanks to Riley Stotts 18th of the season to cut the Hurricanes lead to 2-1.

The Hitmen had a chance to even the game with Taylor Ross in the penalty box for tripping with less than six minutes to play in the 1st, but instead, it would be Jake Elmer shorthanded making the Hitmen pay. His 24th of the year put the home side up 3-1 after just sneaking past Stankowski.

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

21h ago

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

Just over a minute later, off an offensive zone faceoff, Jordy Bellerive got in on the action making it 4-1 for the Hurricanes and chasing Stankowski from the game.

Lethbridge wasn’t done there, regardless of who was in net, as Taylor Ross drove the net and put the puck past Brayden Peters who had come in to replace Stankowski to increase the Hurricanes lead to 5-1.

Horn sounded to end the 1st with that score holding up, Lethbridge also outshot Calgary 16-11 in the first 20 minutes of play.

Jump to the midway point of the 2nd period, where Hitmen forward Ryder Korczak quickly jumped out of the penalty box and streaked in on a breakaway, beating Tetachuk to the glove side to cut the Hurricanes lead to 5-2.

Before the middle frame came to a close, Koletrane Wilson and Jackson van de Leest dropped the mitts, with Wilson teeing up a couple big shots before losing his balance and falling to the ice.

Lethbridge came close again at the end of the period, but the 2nd came to a close with no more scoring in the period. Shots were tied at 25 apiece after 40 minutes.

Calgary came out firing in the 3rd period, but couldn’t beat Tetachuk again on this night. At 6:36, the Hurricanes would wrap things up when Leschyshyn tried a wraparound from behind the net that Peters got a piece of it, but after jamming away it found its way into the back of the net to make it 6-2.

Shots finished 38-33 in Calgary’s favour, with Tetachuk rebounding from a tough outing on the weekend to make 36 saves in his 14th win of the season.

Neither team could connect on the man advantage, with Lethbridge finishing 0-for-4 and Calgary 0-for-3.

Head Coach Brent Kisio thought his team had a great first period obviously but didn’t much like their game after that.

“We came out and were skating well, scored a bunch of goals but kind of just sat bat and relied on that after,” Kisio said.

The head coach was also displeased with the power play’s performance, adding “We’ll have to address that, we’ve worked lots on it but we’ll have to work a lot more.”

With the win, the Hurricanes record improves to 28-16-5-5 on the season.

Next up for the Hurricanes is a three game in four night set this weekend.

On Friday, Feb. 15, Lethbridge travels to Swift Current to take on the Broncos. The following night they’ll be back on home ice welcoming the Saskatoon Blades to the ENMAX Centre.

Finally, on Monday, Feb. 18, the Hurricanes travel to Cranbrook to take on the Kootenay Ice.