Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes hosted the Vancouver Giants in the 3^rd game of their 6 game home stand Tuesday night. The Canes have been red hot as of late winning 4 of their last 5 games while the Giants continue to struggle with just 3 wins on the season. Ty Rimmer made his 17^th straight start for the Canes while the Giants turned to former Hurricane Liam Liston who is 0-6 to start the season.

Lethbridge has gotten off to a fast start recently and their best chance came just under three minutes into the game. Jamal Watson got around Reid Zalitach and fed a nice pass to Jay Merkley on the 2 on 1, but the Canes were unable to score. Two minutes later Rimmer made the initial save on the Giants but the loose puck went off Albin Blomqvist and sat there for Nathan Burns who tapped it into a wide open net giving the Giants the early 1-0 lead. Vancouver held the lead until the 13:55 mark when Graham Hood spotted Russ Maxwell and he buried the puck behind Liston. It was Maxwell’s team leading 11^th goal of the season. That was all the offence in the opening period as the Giants outshot Lethbridge 12 – 8.

Neither side could find the back of the net to pull ahead until Russ Maxwell made a backhand centering pass for Dan Johnston and he notched his 4^th of the year making it 2-1 Hurricanes. It looked like the Canes would take that lead into the 2nd intermission but Carter Popoff managed to beat Rimmer evening the game once again. Vancouver still maintained their edge in shots after 40 minutes 26 – 19 over the Canes.

In the third, the Hurricanes would grab the lead for a second time when Axel Blomqvist, who has been snakebitten as of late, finally scored his first career WHL goal to give the Canes the 3-2 edge.  It looked like the Canes were headed to their third straight win, but with Liston pulled in the final minute of the game, Dalton Sward tipped in a point shot past a screened Ty Rimmer to tie the game at 3 sending it to OT. A late penalty to the Giants gave the Canes nearly the 2 full minutes of PP time, but they couldn’t bury the winner and this one was headed to a shootout – the Canes first shootout of the season. Neither team could score after 3 rounds (Russ Maxwell, Jay Merkley, Reid Duke) and in the 4th round, Nathan Burns lifted a backhander over Rimmer to give the Giants a 4-3 come-from-behind victory.  Despite earning a point in the game, the loss gives the Canes a record of 8-7-1-1 o the season which is good for 3^rd in the Division and 4^th in the East Conference standings. Lethbridge finished the night 0/5 on the powerplay while the Giants were 0/4.

For game summary click here

Dickies Hardest Working Player: Axel Blomqvist

Three Stars: 3) Nathan Burns 2) Dan Johnston 1) Russ Maxwell

The Hurricanes are back at it Friday, November 2nd when they host their rivals from Medicine Hat. Game time is 7:00pm and you can tune into the pregame show on 94.1 CJOC with Pat Siedlecki and Fred Jack. Remember, at home or on the road you can follow your Lethbridge Hurricanes with news and team headlines on Twitter @WHLHurricanes, play by play analysis @CanesCast or by checking out our website at www.lethbridgehurricanes.com.  Fans can also follow us on our Official Facebook Fan Page at facebook.com/WHLHurricanes or check out the game live on WHL Web TV - log on to whl.ca for details and pricing. Fans can also drop by Pop's Pub South to watch the WHL Webcast live as they present all 36 Hurricanes road games this season. (Photo credit: CanesCast)