Canes season ends in Game 4 double overtime

By Lethbridge Herald on April 3, 2024.

Noah Chadwick consoles goaltender Harrison Meneghin as the Lethbridge Hurricanes saw their season come to an end in a double overtime loss to the Swift Current Broncos Wednesday night at the Enmax Centre. Herald photo by Justin Seward

Justin Seward – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – sports@lethbridgeherald.com

The Lethbridge Hurricanes’ season came to an end Wednesday night as Conor Geekie scored the game winner in double overtime to hand the Swift Current Broncos a 5-4 victory and a sweep in the teams’ first round Western Hockey League playoff series. 

“It’s tough,” said Bill Peters, Hurricanes head coach.

“You got to let it digest a little bit. But … anytime your season ends, it’s (a) tough pill to swallow.”

Peters felt there was lots throughout the series that the team did well.

“Just in big moments and the most important moments in the series, they made more plays than we did,” said Peters.

The loss ended captain Joe Arntsen’s five-year career with the club.

“The guys battled hard,” said Arntsen.

“It’s playoffs and it’s the way it goes, and the guys got to find a way to get out of this playoff slump that we’re in. It’s hard, it’s not the way you want your season to end.”

The Canes got the start they were looking for as Trae Wilkie finished off a nice passing play with Hayden Pakkala and Logan Wormald to give the home team a 1-0 lead just 1:27 into to the first period.

Carter Dereniwsky one timed the puck into a yawning cage 8:58 into the first period from Kash Andresen and Logan McCutcheon to make the score 2-0 for Lethbridge.

Brayden Edwards made it 3-0 Lethbridge with his second of the postseason at the 15:15 mark of the first period from Tristen Doyle and Wormald.

Swift Current got one back with 40 seconds to go in the first period when a puck was redirected off Josh Filmon’s head into the back of the net from Mathew Ward and Connor Hvidston to make the score 3-1 heading into the first intermission.

Pakkala gave the Canes a 4-1 lead when he tucked in a goal on a breakaway 3:27 into the second period from McCutcheon and Harrison Meneghin.

The Broncos cut the lead in half when Clarke Caswell scored his second of the postseason on the powerplay 13:17 into the middle frame from Ward and Conor Geekie.

Luke Mistelbacher made the score 4-3  with over five minutes to go in the second from Ward and Owen Pickering.

The Broncos Grayson Burzynski tied the game 4-4 11:23 into the third period from Rylan Gould and Peyton Kettles.