Hurricanes ready for tough test against Prince Albert, Brandon

By Lethbridge Herald on November 4, 2025.

By Nathan Reiter

Lethbridge Herald- Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

The Lethbridge Hurricanes are preparing for a tough test on home ice before the team prepares for their B.C. division road trip next week.

Lethbridge will welcome the Prince Albert Raiders (10-0-3-0) to the VisitLethbridge.com tonight before taking on the Brandon Wheat Kings (6-7-1-0) on Friday. The Hurricanes will then begin a season-long seven game road beginning on Saturday night in Swift Current. 

Hurricane assistant coach Ryan Aasman says the upcoming schedule will be an important teaching tool for the Lethbridge coaching staff. 

“The three in four is always good for our young group to keep learning how to show up every day. I think it’s important that we try to find ways to not worry so much about the result, but let’s make sure that their process is good. We’re doing things the right way, what we’re implementing in terms of our structure is there and our competitive spirit has to be there at all times. That’s what we ask out of our group as much as we ask for work ethic and details, we just want you to compete and try to win your 50-50 battles.” 

It will be the second of four meetings for the Hurricanes against Brandon. Lethbridge fell 7-0 to the Wheat Kings in Brandon back on Oct. 25. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have yet to face the Raiders head-to-head this season. In the season series last year against Prince Albert, Lethbridge posted a 3-1-0-0 record including wins in both meetings at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

Aasman says both teams provide their own challenges. 

“When we talk about Brandon, we went into their barn, it’s always a tough barn and it was a tough loss, a little bit of a scheduling loss when we played Wednesday and Friday with travel and they hadn’t played since Saturday so they were rested and ready to go. Nonetheless, it was a good learning experience for our group and a game that Brandon needed to start to take off a little bit because they’re a very solid team that’s got a lot of weapons. PA, we know what they are in the standings. They’ve built this team up really well. They’re well coached and well managed and a lot of pieces varying in age too. They’ve got really good 20-year-olds, you add a good ‘06 in Max Heise. Those young drafts will really come on, so it’s a good program.”

For Hurricane defenceman Matteo Fabrizi, it will be the first time he’s taken on his former team after Lethbridge acquired Fabrizi in an offseason trade with the Raiders. Fabrizi spent half a season in Prince Albert last year after being acquired from Red Deer in late December. During his time with the Raiders, Fabrizi played a key defensive role helping Prince Albert capture the East Division title and knock off the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first round of the playoffs in a seven-game series. 

Fabrizi says he is looking forward to seeing a lot of his former teammates. 

“I’m excited to see lots of the guys that I got to know while I was there for a few months. Obviously, a couple guys on that team that I skate with in the summer. So, it’ll be nice to see them again.”

On the offensive side, Prince Albert is led by former second overall pick Riley Boychuk who has 16 points (2g, 14a) in 13 games played. 20-year-olds Aiden Oiring and Brayden Dube play together on the Raider top line and are always offensive threats for Prince Albert.

Fabrizi says Lethbridge will need to make the smart, simple plays defensively against the Raiders. 

“They have a pretty dynamic offense. We’re going to have to really hone in on our defensive game. You want to be simple with pucks, be very disciplined in our structure. Obviously, they’re buzzing right now, so we’ve got to wrestle them now.”

One area that will need to be sharp for Lethbridge throughout the week will be their discipline and staying out of the penalty box. Brandon ranks first in the WHL in power play proficiency converting at a 42 percent clip. Prince Albert ranks third with their man advantage humming along at a 30 percent proficiency. 

Aasman says it will be a reminder for Lethbridge to play a clean defensive game. 

“I think it’s also just important to keep our younger guys learning this stuff. We’ve taken maybe a bad penalty or two a game just by immaturity. Sometimes it’s not from a lack of effort, but we have to learn about managing those things, being smart with how we check with our sticks and being above players. It’s hard to take penalties when you’re above players and then timing on the clock. You want to make sure that you’re not going in the penalty box at certain times and then hopefully we don’t sway momentum.”

While the Hurricanes are without netminder Leif Oaten who is attending the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, both Brandon and Prince Albert will also be missing key young players from their lineup due to the tournament. The Raiders will be without defenceman Brock Cripps, forward Ben Harvey along with their head coach Ryan McDonald who is the bench boss for Canada Red. Brandon will be missing their leading goal scorer Chase Surkan.

Puck drops between the Raiders and Hurricanes tonight at 7 p.m. from the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.