Boyko scores hat trick, Hurricanes top Oil Kings in a shootout

By Dale Woodard on April 18, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDsports@lethbridgeherald.com

The Lethbridge Hurricanes have done what only one other team has done this season and taken points off the Edmonton Oil Kings.

It went to round four of a shootout, but the Hurricanes downed the Oil Kings 6-5 in Western Hockey League play Saturday night in Edmonton, avenging a 4-0 loss to the Oil Kings Thursday night at the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge.

Hurricanes forward Noah Boyko scored his first career WHL hat trick and after three scoreless shootout rounds, Lethbridge’s Logan Barlage buried the winner which improves the Hurricanes to 7-7-2-0.

The Oil Kings are now 13-1-0-1 as the teams wrap up their three-game weekend Sunday night back at the Enmax Centre at 7 p.m.

Boyko’s hat trick gives him eight goals on the season. He had two previous two-goal games before finally earning his first hat trick Saturday night.

On a night when the Canes never trailed in regulation, Lethbridge jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening 7:21 of the game when leading scorer Justin Hall scored his 12th of the season before Boyko tallied his first of the game 6:02 later for a 2-0 lead on a man advantage marker.

The Oil Kings cut that lead in half 15 seconds later on a goal from Jalen Luypen, but the Canes carried a 3-1 lead into the first intermission on Boyko’s second of the game.

Edmonton struck twice in the opening 2:49 of the second to knot the score at 3-3.

Kaid Oliver scored 55 seconds in and Jake Neighbours was awarded a penalty shot while Edmonton was shorthanded and beat Hurricanes goaltender Bryan Thomson to tie it at 3-3.

The teams swapped goals from there as Boyko completed his hat trick bid 7:12 into the second before Caleb Reimer replied with his first career WHL goal with 6:16 to go in the second.

Lethbridge got the lead back before the second period was over on Zack Stringer’s fifth goal of the season.

Ethan Cap supplied the only goal of the third period to force overtime, scoring for Edmonton midway through the period to tie it at 5-5.

In overtime, Hurricanes defenceman Alex Cotton was denied on a breakaway chance by Oil Kings goaltender Sebastian Cossa as the teams headed to a shootout.

In the shootout, Thomson turned asidŒe Luypen, Carter Souch, Josh Williams and Neighbours before Barlage supplied the lone shootout goal to hand the Hurricanes the extra point.

Cossa stopped Liam Kindree, Cotton and Boyko in the opening three rounds of the shootout.

Hall added an assist for a two-point night, while Kindree had two assists.

For the Oil Kings, Neighbours had one assist for two points and Williams added two helpers.

The Oil Kings outshot the Hurricanes 39-36.

The Hurricanes power play was 2-for-5, while Edmonton was 1-for-5 on the man advantage.

Hurricanes defenceman Trevor Thurston was injured 4:35 into the second period when he crashed into the end boards on an icing call after being slew footed by Oil King Tyler Horstmann. Horstmann was assessed a five-minute major and a misconduct. Thurston did not return to the game.

Thomson stopped 34 of 39 shots, while Cossa turned away 31 of 36.

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