U18 Hurricanes locked in tie for second place in South Division

By Dale Woodard - Lethbridge Herald on December 15, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDsports@lethbridgeherald.com

A 1-1 weekend has kept the Lethbridge U18 Hurricanes locked in a tie for second place in the South Division.
The Canes started the weekend with a 3-2 win over the Calgary Buffaloes Saturday afternoon at Nicholas Sheran Arena, but were topped 2-1 on the road by the Airdrie CFR Bisons Sunday.
With the win and the loss, the Hurricanes are 12-7-3 and tied for second in the South Division with the Buffaloes (13-8-1) and seven back of the division-leading Calgary NW Flames (15-4-4).
On Sunday in Airdrie, all the scoring was done in the first period as the Bisons jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Lethbridge’s Braigh LeGrandeur pulled the Canes within one with 1:50 left in the first.
The Bisons outshot the Hurricanes 43-21 as Erick Roest made 41 saves for Lethbridge.
On Saturday at Nicholas Sheran Arena, the Hurricanes opened up a 3-1 lead before the Buffaloes scored with 39 seconds to make it close.
Nathan Verloop, Ty Fraser and LeGrandeur were the Hurricanes goal scorers.
LeGrandeur added an assist for a two-point game and ultimately a three-point weekend.
Ryan Henderson added two helpers for Lethbridge and Beck Boiteau stopped 26 of 28 shots for the win.
Fraser’s 16 goals and 22 points in 18 games has him tied for eighth in AEHL league scoring. His 16 goals are second best in the league.
Roest’s .943 save percentage is tops in the league and his 1.79 goals against average has him ranked second. His eight wins this season is also tied for second in the league. He is one of three goaltenders with two shutouts this season, while Boiteau has one.
Boiteau is in sixth in the AEHL in goals against average at 2.32.
The Hurricanes wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule with a pair of home games this weekend.
They host the Calgary Royals Saturday at 4:15 p.m. and the Okotoks Bow Mark Oilers at 2:15 p.m. Sunday.
The Lethbridge U16 Headwater Hurricanes enjoyed a pair of high-scoring wins at the Logan Boulet Arena last weekend.
The Canes posted 7-4 wins over the Fort Saskatchewan TC Infrastructure Rangers Saturday and the Calgary Bulls (CBHA) Sunday.
The wins pull the Hurricanes to an even 8-8-0 and into a tie for fifth with the Medicine Hat SEAC Tigers (8-10-0) and the Bulls (7-9-2), who the Canes have two games in hand on.
On Sunday, the Canes roared out to a 4-0 lead in the opening 13:56 of the first enroute to the win.
Adrien Fox paced the Canes with two goals and an assist.
Braeden Jack, Kasey Russell Jr., Aidyn Law, Oakley Hill and Ty Christie added singles for Lethbridge.
Russell Jr., Law and Christie each added an assist for two points.
Rhyle Weaselhead and Carter Cunningham chipped in with two assists each.
Kahil Wright turned aside 28 of 32 shots in the win.
The Hurricanes got goals from seven different players in Saturday’s win over the Rangers as Russell Jr., Cunningham, Law, Connor Chapman, Weaselhead, Deegan Kinniburgh and Christie found the back of the net for the hosts.
Russell Jr. and Law each added two assists for a three-point game.
Kinniburgh, Weaselhead and Cunningham each had an assist for two points.
Harrison DeJong stopped 38 of 42 shots for the win.
The Hurricanes head into the holiday season with two games at the Logan Boulet Arena this weekend.
On Saturday the Edmonton MLAC Leafs are in town at 3 p.m.
The Canes are back on home ice Sunday at 11:45 a.m. when they take on the Edmonton Knights of Columbus (KC) Centennials.
The Lethbridge U15 Val Matteotti Golden Hawks earned their third win of the season last weekend.
The Golden Hawks downed the Calgary Royals 5-3 Saturday afternoon at Nicholas Sheran Arena, but were defeated 5-2 by the Medicine Hat South East (SEAC) Tigers Sunday, also at Nicholas Sheran Arena.
With the .500 weekend the Golden Hawks are 3-16-0.
On Saturday, Dominic Grieco had the hat trick and added an assist, while Cassius Day Chief scored once and added three assists for a four-point games.
Braxton Hanna added the other Golden Hawks goal.
Kayson Christian added two assists in the win, while goaltender Brylin Noble had a 46-save performance.
The Golden Hawks fell behind 3-1 after the first period in Sunday’s loss as Kobe Urasaki and Zakary Wright scored for Lethbridge.
Seth Bird-Goodstriker stopped two of four shots and Noble made 22 saves.
The Golden Hawks head to Calgary Saturday to face the Royals at 4:45 p.m. and are back at Nicholas Sheran Arena at noon to host the Okotoks Oilers before heading into the Christmas break.

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