MEDICINE HAT - The Medicine Hat Tigers unloaded for 4 goals in the second period as they beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 7-2 Saturday night in the final game of the regular season for both teams.
A fairly spirited opening period of hockey in this final game of the season. Medicine Hat would open the scoring on home when Boston Leier made a great move, undressing the Lethbridge defence and beat Chris Tai with a pretty backhander. That gave the home team a 1-0 lead. The Canes a few chances, but Cam Lanigan kept them off the score clock. The Tigers out Lethbridge 14-7.
In the second, Medicine Hat would blow the game wide open with four more goals. First off, Matt Staples' shot beat Chris Tai less than three minutes into the period. That made it 2-0 Medicine Hat. A few minutes later the Hurricanes would get into some penalty trouble. On a 5-on-3 power play, Curtis Valk ripped a shot past Tai giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead. They weren't done there. Logan McVeigh was left alone at the side of the Canes goal and he beat Chris Tai to give the home side a 4-0 lead. Lethbridge would get one of those back a minute later when Graham Hood scored his 13th of the season in his final game in the WHL. Medicine Hat regained it's 4 goal lead on yet another power play, when Hunter Shinkaruk scored to make it 5-1 Tigers after 40 minutes. Medicine Hat held a big 31-15 edge in shots.
In the third, the Hurricanes would score once more when Reid Duke snapped home his 8th of the season to cut the Tigers lead to 5-2. Medicine Hat though would get that back and more. The Hurricanes got themselves into more penalty trouble and the Tigers would capitalize on another 5-on-3 power play. Curtis Valk scored his 2nd of the game to make it 6-2 Medicine Hat and then on the second half of that same power play, the Tigers' Gavin Broadhead scored to put Medicine Hat ahead 7-2. That's the way the game would end. The Tigers out shot Lethbridge 44-30 in this game.
The Tigers made the Hurricanes pay for their penalties in this game, going 4/8 on the power play. The Canes went 0/5.
The Hurricanes finish the season with a record of 28-34-3-7, which is one less victory than the club had all of last season. The Canes will miss the WHL playoffs for a 4th consecutive season.
IRON MAN HURRICANES
Four Hurricanes players managed to suit up in all 72 regular season games for the Lethbridge Hurricanes this season. Sam McKechnie, Jaml Watson, Lenny Hackman, and Macoy Erkamps accomplished that feat this season.
HURRICANES TIHS WEEK
Our final radio show of the 2012-2013 WHL season will take place Monday, March 18th. We will bring back the Hurricanes Media Roundtable for a post-mortem of this season. Paul Kingsmith from Global TV and Dylan Purcell from the Lethbridge Herald will join myself and Fred Jack for the show. The program airs at 7:00 pm MDT.
Thanks,
Pat
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