Based on what he’s done in the past few days, Oliver Okuliar won’t want to leave Manitoba. He will do just that, but he’ll do so after he had a few all-star performances which included several goals.
Playing their second game in as many nights, the Hurricanes made their way to Westoba Place to challenge the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Both teams were fresh off wins. Brandon dispatched of Swift Current on Friday night and Lethbridge got past Winnipeg on Friday.
During Friday’s game, Okuliar scored three times to fuel the Canes’ over the newest WHL team. On Saturday night, Okuliar had himself another great night as he helped Lethbridge leave Manitoba with another two points.
Okuliar recorded a hat-trick for the second straight game as Lethbridge topped Brandon, 5-2 in the Wheat City.
(Photo – Lethbridge Hurricanes)
He kicked off the scoring at the 8:01 mark as Okuliar’s 13th of the season had Lethbridge up 1-0. Calen Addison and Dylan Cozens had the power play assists. Dylan’s assist was the first of three on the night.
The Wheat Kings gave their fans something to cheer about just more than six minutes later. At the 14:19 mark, Neithan Salame scored his first goal of the campaign with Ben McCartney and Ridly Greig getting the helpers on the game-tying marker.
Tied at one after 20 minutes, the Hurricanes took things over. Okuliar scored his 14th of the season and second of the night at the 8:33 mark of the second. Dylan Cozens picked up his second assist while D-Jay Jerome also had one.
Up 2-1, the Canes’ did more work. Alex Thacker scored the eventual game-winning tally with 7:46 left in the midway frame.
Lethbridge took that 3-1 lead into the third, but the Wheat Kings didn’t go down without a fight. On a power play of their own, Ridly Greig scored his third goal of the season at the 7:19 mark. Ben McCartney earned his second assist of the game and Vincent Iorio had the secondary helper.
That, however, is as close as Brandon would get.
With 8:40 left in the third, D-Jay Jerome scored his sixth of the season to give the Canes’ a 4-2 lead. Dylan Cozens picked up his third assist and Alex Cotton also got one.
On the penalty kill late, Okuliar capped things off perfectly. While shorthanded, he got away on a breakaway and he beat Ethan Kruger for his 15th of the season and third of the night.
Oliver’s third goal of the game gave him six in the past two nights. He finished the final two games of the team’s road trip with seven points overall.
Carl Tetachuk made 29 saves in the win for the Hurricanes who are now 11-4-0-3. The 25 points have them in a tie for the top spot in the Central Division with the Oil Kings who have played three fewer games.
Brandon, meanwhile, is 7-10 on the season.
Wheat Tips:
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- Lethbridge continues to have two scorers in the Top 5. Cozens has 25 points while Okuliar has 24. Oliver also leads the league with 15 goals, three more than Aliaksei Protas.
- Lethbridge earned five-of-six points on their three-game Manitoba trip.
- They will now return home for three straight while Brandon plays Red Deer on Tuesday in Brandon.
- The Canes’ will be back in Brandon on January 25.
