Central Division Bracket #2 Lethbridge Hurricanes vs. #3 Red Deer Rebels
Season Series:
Lethbridge: 4-2-0-0 20 Goals For 19 Goals against
Red Deer: 2-2-1-1 19 Goals For 20 Goals against
Leading scorers
Lethbridge:
| Player | Regular Season | Season Series |
| Jordy Bellerive | 45-46-91pts | 3g-4a |
| Brad Morrison | 27-48-75pts | 3g-4a |
| Dylan Cozens | 22-30-52pts | 2g-4a |
| Calen Addison | 11-54-65pts | 1g-2a |
Red Deer:
| Player | Regular Season | Season Series |
| Mason McCarty | 38-36-74pts | 4g-5a |
| Brandon Hagel | 18-41-59pts | 2g-4a |
| Kristian Reichel | 34-23-57pts | 3g-6a |
| Alexander Alexeyev | 7-30-37pts | 1g-3a |
Hurricanes story: Despite inconsistent play throughout the regular season, the Hurricanes managed to hold on to the second spot in the Central Division. The Canes snapped an eight game losing streak in the final contest of the season.
A trade deadline deal saw their top scorer (Giorgio Estephan) and number one goaltender (Stuart Skinner) shipped off to Swift Current, yet the returning players, netminder Logan Flodell and 16-year-old Logan Barlage, forward Owen Blocker and defenceman Matthew Stanley, have all turned into key contributors.The addition of Brad Morrison from the Vancouver Giants has also paid dividends, as the speedster finished second on the team in scoring with 75 points.
The offence runs through captain Jordy Bellerive, whose career year lead the Canes in scoring. Bellerive finished with 46 goals and 46 assists to top the team. Rearguard Calen Addison also had a career season, notching 65 points in his draft year, numbers that haven’t gone unnoticed. 16-year-old Dylan Cozens had a breakout campaign, with 22 goals and 31 assists in his first full season. Cozens and Barlage teamed to form a formidable duo following the Swift Current trade.
In goal, Flodell will handle the load for Lethbridge. The 20-year-old was a steadying influence on the Canes in the second half of the year, despite being under siege at times. Reece Klassen will be the back up, but Flodell will see most, if not all the action for Lethbridge
Rebels story: The season was a disappointment for many in central Alberta. The team was expected by most to be contending for the division championship. And they probably would have been in contention had they not suffered through a 25 game string where they won just once. They were only able to collect 10 points in that time. The team was able to go 17-7-2-0 down the stretch to get themselves into a playoff spot after being dead last in the WHL on January 23rd.
Alexander Alexeyev has had a tough go through his WHL tenure. This will be his first taste of playoff action if he is able to get back into the lineup following an upper body injury suffered about a month ago. The remaining defensemen will need to eat his minutes and that is no small task as he was the leader on the blueline, especially in important situations.
At the trade deadline, Red Deer was mainly quiet, they had already traded Lane Zablocki to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for Josh Tarzwell and draft picks. On January 5th, Red Deer sent a 4th round 2020 draft pick and Brandon Schuldhaus to the Moose Jaw Warriors for Colin Paradis and 2nd round picks in 2019 and 2020. They then sent forward Austin Pratt to Regina for a 2019 3rd round pick on January 6th.
What does Lethbridge have to do to win this series?
Secondary scoring is a must for Lethbridge. During their late season swoon, the offence dried up for the ‘Canes. Teams began keying on Bellerive, and the team struggled to respond.
Players like Taylor Ross, Zane Franklin and Jake Elmer, as well as youngsters Cozens and Barlage will need to step up and provide other avenues of scoring for the Rebels to worry about.
The team must score early as well. If they fell behind they tended to open things up, often leaving their netminders out to dry.
Flodell will be solid in the cage for Lethbridge, but cant do it all. A defense that was steady when they were good will need to be just that. Igor Merezhko anchors the stay at home aspect of the ‘Canes game and provides a nasty edge to the back end
What does Red Deer have to do to win this series?
The Rebels will need to continue to see the production of their top 6 that they enjoyed through the final 26 games of the season.
The team will need to stay disciplined and out of the penalty box. The Rebel’s penalty killing was only 13th in the WHL and will need to be sure not to be goaded into taking bad or retaliation penalties. Also not taking penalties 200 feet from their own net will be important.
Riley Lamb is key to the Rebels success on the road to the Ed Cheynoweth Cup, he has been mostly outstanding in his last 15 starts. Lamb was the goalie of record for Red Deer last season during the playoff series loss to Lethbridge. He finished the season with a 3.27 goals against average and a .902 save percentage. He will need stronger numbers to slide past the Hurricanes.
Six series impacts:
- Reese Johnson – While he is not among the leading scorers on the Rebels he was named the player’s choice for top player on the Rebels. He also scored the most goals of any player in the season series with 5.
- Jordy Bellerive – The Hurricanes captain is always dangerous and as an overage player, he is expected to carry the load for his team.
- Brad Morrison – The former Giant played well against the Rebels this year matching Bellerive’s 3 goals and 4 assists
- Josh Tarzwell – Has played his best hockey against his former club. Will crash and bang against the Hurricanes and leave everything on the ice.
- Red Deer’s Top 3 forwards – Mason McCarty, Kristian Reichel and Brandon Hagel. Combined to score nine goals and added 15 assists in the season series. If they can be shut down, say goodbye to the Rebels chances of moving on. If they stay hot, they will will this team to win.
- Logan Flodell – Flodell has the ability to steal games and will look to do so against a Rebels team that at times struggled to score, he can and will get into their heads if he can stymie them early.
Predictions: Doug Wyrostok – Hurricanes in seven, Paul Figler – Red Deer in six
Banner photos by Andy Devlin.
