CANES go for 2
The Lethbridge Hurricanes try to win their second straight against the Pats in
They saw their lead vanish in seconds but the Regina Pats rallied when it counted the most.
The Pats defeated the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime of Game 2 in the Western Hockey League Eastern Conference final Saturday night at the Brandt Centre in Regina as Adam Brooks scored 17:05 into the extra session.
The Pats looked to be in the driver’s seat late in the third when Austin Wagner scored shorthanded for a 2-0 Regina lead.
But just when it looked like the Pats were going to even the series, the Canes got goals from Zane Franklin and Jordy Bellerive 33 seconds apart to force overtime.
With time winding down in the first overtime, Brooks took a feed from Sergey Zborovskiy and sent a shot past Hurricanes goaltender Stuart Skinner for the win and the key 1-1 split as Games 3 and 4 head to the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge Tuesday and Wednesday.
“I thought in the first two periods and even in half of the third period they were outplaying us,” said Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio. “They were moving their feet. You could see their desperation and urgency and we didn’t have it there. I thought once we got that goal we started to push back and had a good late period and a good overtime as well and had some chances.”
Like they did in Game 1, the Pats held a 1-0 lead after the first period.
Jeff de Wit got his stick on a point shot from Liam Schioler and deflected it past Skinner for a 1-0 Regina lead at the 9:24 mark.
The Pats had a pair of power plays in the second, but were unable to add to their lead.
But Regina almost doubled their lead with seven minutes left in the first when Brooks fed Wagner, but the Pats forward fired high.
Hurricanes captain Tyler Wong had a chance 5:10 into the third, cutting in on Pats goaltender Tyler Brown, but was denied with Regina still holding a 32-13 shots-on-goal advantage.
Hurricanes defenceman Igor Merezhko was then denied on a two-on-one feed less than minute later as Brown slid across to make the save and keep it 1-0 Regina.
The Hurricanes went to the power play a little over seven minutes into the third when Connor Hobbs was called for tripping, but the Pats doubled their lead when Wagner broke in alone on Skinner to make it 2-0 7:21 into the third.
It didn’t take the Hurricanes long to even the score.
The Hurricanes found a way past Brown on their 17th shot of the night as Franklin found the back of the net make it 2-1 and 33 seconds later it was 2-2 when Bellerive struck for his second goal in as many nights and his sixth of the post season to make it 2-2.
After a few chances at both ends during overtime, Brooks struck for the winner with 2:55 remaining.
“I knew when Sergey had the puck he was going to find me,” said Brooks. “He’s a great player and great players make great plays at key moments. He found me there and all I had to do was put it home.”
Franklin’s goal was his second of the postseason.
“I don’t think we had our best start,” said Franklin. “It wasn’t like yesterday when we came out flying in the first period and we struggled with that today. But Stuey kept us in it all game and we found some chances to score in the third and we capitalized. It was a good overtime. It could have gone either way and unfortunately they got that lucky bounce, but we’ll be ready for Tuesday.”
Despite chasing the Pats for the majority of the game, Kisio credited his team for finding a way to force overtime.
“That’s one thing we can do. We can respond in moments like that. I thought it was a gutsy kind of effort to get back into the game considering how we had played. But it wasn’t a good enough game. Regina deserved to win tonight. Their top guys were outstanding and I thought our top guys really struggled.”
With the Game 1 win, the Hurricanes nonetheless take a 1-1 split back to Lethbridge Tuesday and Wednesday.
“I think that’s what you want,” said Franklin. “Obviously we would have wanted to come out here with both wins, but I think we’re mostly happy. We have to be ready for Tuesday. They’re going to come out hard, but we’re going to have the crowd on our side and it should be good.”