Lethbridge Hurricanes’ forward Brett Davis tallied twice and added another in the shootout, as he led his team past the Edmonton Oil Kings 5-4. Alex Cotton chipped in with three assists while the visitors received 32 saves from Beck Warm in the shootout loss.
From the get-go, this game had the feel of the playoffs. Heavy hits, strong pace and end to end action.
With the tone set, the Hurricanes went to work. Alex Cotton gained the offensive zone and snapped a shot towards the net. The puck deflected away but Davis was in the right spot at the right time. He collected the loose puck and fired it into the half-empty net for the 1-0 lead. Cotton and Chase Wheatcroft were given the helpers.
Lethbridge had another great chance not long after to increase their lead, Dylan Cozens with a toe drag to create space to be able to get off a good shot but Warm was equal to the test. That save was key in keeping this game close and it seemed the Oil Kings fed off it.
Edmonton’s pressure finally paid off late in the period. With the team buzzing around the offensive zone, Wyatt McLeod blasted a shot from above the faceoff dot past the shoulder of Carl Tetachuk. McLeod’s second goal of the season tied the game heading into the first-period intermission. Helpers on the play Carter Souch and Matthew Robertson.
The Oil Kings rode that momentum into the second period and were immediately rewarded with a power play. A power play they made no mistake on. Making quick work of the extra man, Ethan McIndoe finished the play with his 16th goal of the season. Dylan Guenther and Robertson were the setup men.
In a one-goal game, it is important for the goaltender to keep his team in the game and that is exactly what happened for a large chunk of the period. Both Warm and Tetachuk stood tall in their respective nets.
Seemingly looked like there may not be another goal scored on either goalie. That was until Cozens with a piece of individual brilliance. Going end to end and showing off his speed and skill, Cozens buried his 33rd goal of the season past Warm tying the game at 2-2.
The goal set up a big final period.
Edmonton could not have asked for or scripted a better start to the third period. Jake Neighbours jumped on the loose puck just 20 seconds in and rifled it by Tetachuk. His 23rd goal of the season gave the visitors the lead back at 3-2. Riley Sawchuk and Ethan Cap took the assists.
It became a battle of wills from there. Edmonton was not taking any unneeded risk while Lethbridge pushed, trying to find another tying goal and for a large portion of the period, Edmonton stood tall. Warm seemed unbeatable at times including being the key piece in killing off a 1:40 two-man advantage for the home team.
But despite not being successful on the five-on-three, the Hurricanes were not to be denied, showing their resiliency and sticking with it. Davis did what he does while driving the net, the Oakbank, MB native was able to get a stick on a Cotton blast redirecting it in for his 25th goal of the season.
We hit reset in a tie game.
Just over four minutes later a bit of luck struck for the Oil Kings and a disaster for the Hurricanes. Not only did Edmonton get a two on one chance but the defender lost his footing allowing Vladimir Alistrov a free pass to the net and his shot made no mistake, sliding his 18th goal of the season past Tetachuk.
There was just 2:53 left on the clock.
Lethbridge elected to pull Tetachuk with just over a minute to play as they pushed to tie the contest.
The pressure paid off, Zach Stringer with a one-time rocket into the top shelf of the net to tie the hockey game at four on Stringer’s 11th goal of the season. Calen Addison and Cotton were awarded helpers on the goal.
Off to overtime.
The extra frame was full of end to end action but neither team was able to finish their chances. Both Tetachuk and Warm were outstanding, setting up a showdown in the unpopular as ever shootout.
Davis was the first shooter and he made no mistake putting the puck through Warm, Guenther tried to respond for Edmonton but Tetachuk wasn’t fooled, making a pad save.
In round two, Cotton took a turn, making a double deke move opening up Warm and tucking the puck home. It was left to Neighbours to try and keep this game going, but he wasn’t able to find a way to get it by Tetachuk, giving the Hurricanes the 5-4 shootout win.
Coach Brent Kisio marveled at the atmosphere and the way his team dug in “It was a playoff atmosphere, I think our building was rocking. A great atmosphere for us to play in front of tonight and I thought our boys just delivered. We played hard, you know, and they are quite a good hockey team and we get up, they fought back, and they found a way to get up. What we liked is we didn’t quit, you know there were a couple of bad bounces late that we made some errors on and they got some good fortune on it. But we kept going and kept pushing and found a way to tie it up and then finish the job.”
Kisio went on the joke he didn’t actually see the tying goal. “I actually didn’t see Stringer touch it or see how it went in, I was just happy he put it in the back of the net.”
Captian Dylan Cozens was praising his team following this one “We’re really happy with how we played, you know we battled back to get the win. Great response in the third we don’t get down, you don’t get negative, we stayed focused, stayed confident and we bounced back. You know the amount of times we have done that this year just shows the resilience and character that we have on this team.”
Shooting the breeze: It was another two-goal game from Davis but he wasn’t about to take the credit calling it “A great team win.” sums it up nicely. That is now 16 goals in 15 games since being acquired by the Hurricanes, he also has 21 points in those games.
Both goalies were strong in this game Warm who was named the games’ third star made 32 saves on the night while hometown boy Tetachuk made 23 saves and stopped both shooters in the shootout.
Power plays played a small role in this one, both teams PK was strong and at times kept a team in this game Hurricanes were 1-for-5 a man up while the Oil Kings converted once on two opportunities.
Both teams are right back in action Saturday night, the Hurricanes welcome the Brandon Wheat Kings to town, Brandon is coming off a 3-2 over Calgary, that win helps the Hurricanes playoff cause. Edmonton will travel north to Red Deer to face the suddenly hot Rebels who have now won four straight games in including a 2-1 game Friday versus Winnipeg.
