TOUGH test for Canes
Hurricanes hosted the Swift Current Broncos, one of the top teams in the CHL, last night —
The Swift Current Broncos big guns spoiled the first of a seven-night homestand for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Broncos forward and league-leading scorer Tyler Steenbergen scored four goals and added an assist as Swift Current handed the Canes a 6-4 loss in Western Hockey League action Friday night at the Enmax Centre.
Hurricanes assistant captain Jordy Bellerive responded with a pair of goals and Lethbridge went 2-for-3 on was also 2-for-2, but the Broncos top line of Steenbergen, Aleksi Heponiemi and Glen Gawdin made good on the chances they were given. Heponiemi put up a goal and three assists and Gawdin had four helpers.
Steenbergen leads the league with 20 goals and 30 points in 10 games, while Heponiemi upped his points total to 26, good for fourth in the league. Gawdin is tied for fifth in the league with 22 points.
“I think they’re the top guys in the league for a reason,” said Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio, whose team outshot the Broncos 35-25 on the night. “We had a hard time handling them and they scored a lot of goals for them.”
Sahvan Khaira and Bellerive swapped goals late in the first before Steenbergen struck for his first of four with 43 seconds left in the opening period for a 2-1 Swift Current lead.
The Broncos upped their lead to 4-1 in the opening 6:56 of the second on goals from Heponiemi and Steenbergen, but Canes rookie Dylan Cozens cut that lead in half on the man advantage with 2:56 left in the second, taking a tape-to-tape feed from deep in the Lethbridge zone from defenceman Calen Addison and beating Broncos goaltender Logan Flodell to make it 4-2.
Steenbergen completed his hat trick bid before the second was over and added his 20th of the season late in the third.
Zane Frankin — on the power play — and Bellerive’s second with 49 seconds to go rounded out the scoring.
Hurricanes goaltender Stuart Skinner stopped 12 of 17 shots before backup Reece Klassen came on in the third and made seven saves.
“I think we take away that line it’s a completely different game,” said Bellerive. “Obviously you can’t do that, but I think besides them we were all over them. We took control down low and we were working in the corners and our power play was alright. We just have learn to shut those guys down and be aware of them when they’re one the ice. We weren’t today and it bit us in the back.”
The Hurricanes are back at the Enmax Centre Sunday at 6 p.m. when the Medicine Hat Tiger visit.
“I thought we played hard,” said Kisio. “I don’t think the score was indicative of the game. I thought it was a pretty even game and we’ll take some positives from it, learn from our mistakes and we’ll be ready for Medicine Hat.”