Canes excite fans with long playoff run
The Lethbridge Hurricanes gave their fan base a March and April to remember. After making the Western Hockey League playoffs for the second time in as many seasons, the Canes proceeded to battle their way through three rounds and 20 games of postseason hockey that won’t likely be forgotten any time soon.
It all began — and nearly ended early — in the first round against the Red Deer Rebels.
After splitting the first two games in Lethbridge, the Hurricanes lost Games 3 and 4 in Red Deer, including Game 3 in double overtime to fall behind 3-1 in the series.
Down to their last playoff life, the Hurricanes rattled off three consecutive wins, including a decisive 6-2 win in Game 7 at the Enmax Centre to advance to round two.
What followed was another seven-game roller-coaster against the Canes’ rivals down Highway 3 as the team tangled with the Medicine Hat Tigers.
After splitting the first two games in Medicine Hat and Games 3 and 4 in Lethbridge, the Hurricanes went up 3-2 in the series with a 5-4 win in Game 5. But the Tigers stayed alive in Game 6 with a 5-2 win in Lethbridge to set the table for a memorable Game 7 back in Medicine Hat.
After blowing a 3-1 lead after the first, the Hurricanes trailed the Tigers 4-3 late in the third. With time ticking down, affiliated 16-year-old forward Dylan Cozens tied the game with a little under three minutes left to force overtime.
Early in the extra frame and with the Hurricanes shorthanded, captain Tyler Wong dialed up the dramatics, gaining the Tigers’ zone and scoring the game- and serieswinner to send his team to the Eastern Conference final against the Regina Pats. It was the first time the Hurricanes advance to the Eastern Conference final since 2008.
Like their second-round series, the Hurricanes and Pats split the opening two games in Regina and the next two in Lethbridge.
However, the memorable spring run came to an end when the Pats prevailed with a 5-3 win in Game 5 in Regina and sealed the series back in Lethbridge in Game 6 with a 74 win April 30 as the Hurricanes narrowly missed extending their season into May.