Hurricanes top line gets it done against the Rebels

By Dale Woodard on April 11, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDsports@lethbridgeherald.com

Lethbridge Hurricane Logan Barlage set up a pair of first period goals and was rewarded with a gimme of a goal to start the second.

That goal ultimately stood up as the winner as the Hurricanes downed the Red Deer Rebels 5-2 in Western Hockey League play Saturday night at the Enmax Centre.

Barlage had helpers on first period goals from Justin Hall and Liam Kindree and then had a wide open net to score into 5:30 into the second after Rebels goaltender Ethan Anders lost a race to the puck to Hall for a 3-1 lead.

It set up a stats night for the top trio of Hall, Barlage and Kindree as Kindree added three assists for a four-point night and Hall added two helpers for a three-point outing.

Canes forward Noah Boyko chipped in with a pair of goals as Lethbridge downed the Rebels for the second time in as many nights following a 6-3 decision Friday night in Red Deer.

But the Rebels, coming off the news of the resignation of head coach Brent Sutter earlier in the day and down to four defencemen with the injury bug taking its toll, carried most of the play in the first period, outshooting Lethbridge 14-12 in the opening 20 minutes.

The win improves the Hurricanes to 5-6-0-2, while the Rebels are now 2-11-2-0. The teams wrap up their weekend series Monday at 7 p.m. back at the Enmax Centre.

The Rebels were first on the board 6:01 into the first when Jhett Larson hammered home a generous rebound past Canes goaltender Bryan Thomson for his first career WHL goal and a 1-0 lead.

Red Deer nearly went up 2-0 shortly afterwards after a Hurricanes giveaway in their end that produced a couple rebounds the Rebels weren’t able to bang past Thomson.

The Hurricanes pulled even with 8:31 left in the first period as their power play struck for the fourth time this weekend as leading scorer Hall buried his ninth of the season off the left wing to knot it at 1-1.

Despite being outshot 14-12 in the first, the Hurricanes took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission when Kindree made no mistake on a one-timer from Hall off the right circle with 55 seconds left in the first period.

The Hurricanes went up 3-1 into the second when Anders went out to play the puck against Hall, but couldn’t get a handle on the puck. That set up Barlage, who put it in the empty cage for a two-goal lead.

The teams swapped goals late in the second period.

Boyko was the recipient of a big rebound that he buried for his fourth of the season for a 4-1 lead with 4:22 left in the second, but Red Deer’s Mason Ward cut that lead in half with a shot off the right wing that got past Thomson to make it 4-2 heading into the second intermission.

The teams exchanged odd-man rush scoring chances to start the third.

Rebels forward Arshdeep Bains missed on one chance, while going back the other way, Hurricanes forward Zack Stringer shot high on a two-on-one.

Hurricanes rookie forward Reid MacKay left the game midway through the third after a hit from Ward along the boards. MacKay left hunched over with his right arm dangling down and didn’t return.

The Hurricanes went up by three with a little over six minutes to go on the power play as Boyko netted his second of the game, burying a rebound off a mad scramble in the Red Deer crease.

Red Deer almost pulled within two with 7:14 to go, but Thomson was able to reach out and deny Ben King on a rebound.

The Hurricanes outshot the Rebels 41-34. Lethbridge’s power play was 2-for-5, while the Rebels were scoreless in five chances.

Thomson stopped 32 of 34 shots to post the win and improve his record to 2-3-0-0, while Anders made 36 saves.

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