GAME DAY: Hurricanes Face Rockets
Kelowna, BC – After having their eight game winning streak snapped Friday night the Lethbridge Hurricanes look to start a new winning streak tonight when they make the first of two stops this season at Prospera Place to face the Kelowna Rockets tonight at 8:00pm MT.
The Hurricanes are coming off a 7-3 loss last night in Kamloops against the Blazers. Giorgio Estephan scored twice while Ryley Lindgren scored the other. Hurricanes were outshot for the fourth straight game 38-21 on the night. The Hurricanes are now 10-3-0-0 on the season.
The Rockets are also coming off a Friday night loss as they were upended 2-1 by the Prince George Cougars at Prospera Place. Cole Linaker scored their only goal of the game. The Rockets enter action tonight with a 9-5-0-0 record and sit second in the Western Conference.
Tonight will be the fifth of a season-long six-game road trip for the Hurricanes; the ‘Canes are 3-1-0-0 in the first four games on the trip.
2015-2016 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS:
Goals (14) – Tyler Wong Assists (21) – Brayden Burke
Points (25) – Brayden Burke
PIMS (36) – Andrew Nielsen Plus/Minus (+14) – Tyler Wong
Wins (5) – Jayden Sittler & Stuart Skinner Shutouts (1) – Jayden Sittler
Save % (.933) – Jayden Sittler Goals Against Average (1.91) – Jayden Sittler
WHO’S HOT:
– Andrew Nielsen has points in 4 straight games (1g-5a); in 8 of 9 games (5g-10a)
– Tyler Wong has points in 3 straight games (2g-3a); in 12 of 13 games this year
– Giorgio Estephan has points in 3 straight games (3g-2a); in 8 of 9 games (4g-11a)
– Ryley Lindgren has points in 3 straight games (4g-1a); 4 of 5 games (5g-1a)
– Brayden Burke has points in 3 straight games (1g-6a); in 11 of 13 games this year
– Jaeger White has points in 2 straight games (0g-2a)
LEAGUE LEADERS:
– Tyler Wong is 1st in WHL with 14 goals
– Tyler Wong is tied for 2nd in WHL Shorthanded Goals with 2
– Tyler Wong is tied for 3rd in WHL Power Play Goals with 4
– Tyler Wong is tied for 2nd in WHL Plus/Minus with a +14
– Brayden Burke is tied for 3rd in WHL Plus/Minus with a +13
– Brayden Burke is 1st in WHL with 21 assists
– Brayden Burke is 1st in WHL Power Play assists with 12
– Giorgio Estephan is 5th in WHL assists with 13
– Giorgio Estephan is tied for 4th in WHL Power Play Assists with 7
– Giorgio Estephan is tied for 3rd in WHL Plus/Minus with a +13
– Ryley Lindgren is tied for 2nd in WHL Power Play Goals with 5
– Ryley Lindgren is 1st in the WHL Game Winning Goals with 3
– Andrew Nielsen is tied for 5th in WHL with 36 penalty minutes
– Andrew Nielsen is tied for 4th in WHL Plus/Minus with a +12
– Jayden Sittler is ranked 3rd in WHL with a 1.91 goals against average
– Jayden Sittler is ranked 4th in WHL with .933 save percentage
MILESTONES:
– Tyler Wong is 11 games away from 200 career games
– Giorgio Estephan is 6 games away from 150 career games
– Giorgio Estephan is 5 points away from 100 career points
– Ryley Lindgren is 15 games away from 150 career games
NEWS & NOTES:
200th for Gutierrez: Hurricanes overage forward Justin Gutierrez will suit up in his 200th regular season WHL game tonight against the Rockets. The Anchorage, Alaska product has played 13 games with the Hurricanes and a total of 186 games with the Tri-City Americans.
No Tricks, All Treats in October: The Hurricanes have had a great month which included an eight game winning streak. The ‘Canes currently sit with a record of 9-2-0-0 in the month of October. The Hurricanes are 4-1-0-0 at home during the month while are 5-1-0-0 on the road. The ‘Canes are 3-1-0-0 on their current season-long six game trip. The ‘Canes have the third best winning percentage in the WHL (.769).
Great Special Teams: The Hurricanes have been lights out on the PK in their last five games going 14/16 on the PK, a kill rate of (87.5%). On their current six game road trip, the ‘Canes PK is killing at 85.7% going 12/14 while their power play has gone 6/14 in the four games, a percent rate of 42.9%.
Brayden “Assist-Man” Burke: Second year forward Brayden Burke is off to a great start. The Edmonton product has racked up a team-high 25 points in 13 games. He also leads the WHL in assists with 21; he also leads the WHL in power play assists with 11. He has also racked up 10 multi-point games this year.
Captain Clutch: Tyler Wong is currently first in the WHL with goals having potted 14 in the first 12 games. He has had four multi-goal games already this season including his third career hat-trick on October 14th against the Pats. He has scored 24.1% of the Hurricanes goals this season.
Best Start in 19 Years: The ‘Canes enter tonight having had their eight game winning streak, the longest winning streak since November of 2007, snapped with a 7-3 loss in Kamloops. The ‘Canes enter with a record of 10-3-0-0; that’s the best start to a season after 13 games the Hurricanes have had since 1996-97.
Prospects Central: Two Hurricanes prospects will be taking part in the Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup in Calgary at Winsport from October 28th to November 1st. Josh Tarzwell, who was selected in the second round, will represent Team Alberta while sixth round pick Zack Kosteniuk will represent Team Saskatchewan.
Three ‘Canes to Represent Canada: Jordy Bellerive, Nick Watson (Team Red) and Brett Davis (Team White) are all currently attending the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Three players is the most of any WHL team. The tournament takes place from October 30th until November 7th in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, BC.