If you knew Skinner in the WHL, it is easy to cheer for him

Stuart Skinner raises the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2018.

“Skin-Ner.”

Inevitably, that would be something Stuart Skinner heard every time played goal in an opposing WHL rink. In suiting up for three-and-a-half seasons with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and a half campaign with the Swift Current Broncos from 2014 to 2018, someone in an opposing rink would inevitably get up and bellow out “Skin-Ner” is his or her best imitation of Simpsons character superintendent Gary Chalmers.

During the 2018 WHL Playoffs as Skinner was backstopping the Broncos to a WHL championship win, he was asked about that heckle. The star netminder, who was 19-years-old at the time, took that noise with some amusement.

“I’ve been around it for four years,” said Skinner at that time. “I hear it every place I go.

“I like it. I think it gives more energy and kind of gets me pumped up.”

These days Skinner, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 230 pounds, is a 25-year-old professional goaltender who has played last season and the current campaign full time in the NHL for his hometown Edmonton Oilers. He has backstopped the Oilers to their first appearance in the Stanley final since 2006.

The Oilers currently trail the best-of-seven Stanley Cup final series 1-0 to the Florida Panthers. Game 2 is set for Monday in Sunrise, Florida (6 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet West).

Back in his WHL days, Skinner was good natured and had a good youthful energy to him. It felt like nothing ever got to him, and he had a lot of fun handling the big moments. In 207 career regular season contests played between the Hurricanes and Broncos, Skinner posted a 104-72-15 record, a 3.22 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and 12 shutouts.

It seemed like he was made for the big moments. He was also made for fun moments too like on March 18, 2016, when he scored an empty-net goal for the Hurricanes in a 9-3 home ice victory over their biggest rivals the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Stuart Skinner dives on a puck for the Hurricanes in 2017.

The packed crowd of 5,320 spectators at the Enmax Centre broke into a thunderous ovation as Skinner made sure to do the goal scorer’s flyby of his team’s bench. At that point in time, not too many people saw someone do a goal scorer’s flyby dressing in full goalie gear.

Skinner was a key reason the Hurricanes went on a long playoff run in 2017 and the Broncos captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions in 2018.

In the 2017 WHL Playoffs, Skinner backstopped the Hurricanes to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time in nine years. They fell in the conference title series in six games to the Regina Pats.

During the 20 contests the Hurricanes played in the post-season, Skinner posted a 10-10 record, a 3.09 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.

On January 9, 2018, Skinner was dealt to the Broncos in a blockbuster deal as Swift Current was loading up for a potential long run through the post-season. 

With Skinner holding the fort in goal, the Broncos won their first WHL championship since 1993. In 26 games in the WHL Playoffs, Skinner posted a 16-10 record, a 2.20 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and six shutouts.

Skinner’s sixth shutout was a 31-save beauty as the Broncos claimed the WHL Championship Series win a 3-0 win over the Everett Silvertops in Game 6 before a sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators at the then Innovations Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current.

At the Memorial Cup tournament that was hosted in 2018 in Regina, the Broncos were playing on fumes at the event that crowns a CHL champion. They were trying, but it was noticeable the battles they went through in the WHL post-season took their toll.

Stuart Skinner (#74) got the Hurricanes to a conference final in 2017.

While the Broncos lost all three of their games at that event, Skinner posted a .902 save percentage. In a round robin clash against the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs, Skinner made 54 saves trying to steal a game the Broncos would ultimate lose 2-1.

In the professional ranks, Skinner would face a whole different challenge. 

He was selected by the Oilers in the third round and 78^th overall by the Oilers in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The Oilers signed him to three-year NHL entry-level contract on May 14, 2018.

Skinner spent his first two seasons as a professional playing in the Oilers minor league system. He made his first NHL start in the 2020-21 campaign, and played 13 games for the Oilers in the 2021-22 campaign before becoming a full time member of the team in 2022-23.

He has put up some good numbers so far in his NHL career. In 123 career regular season games with the Oilers, Skinner has posted a 72-36-10 record, a 2.69 goals against average, a .909 save percentage and four shutouts.

If you know someone who plays in the NHL for a Canadian team, it is advised to not look at the Platform-X social media line. That goes double if the person you know is a goalie for his hometown Canadian team.

While Skinner was a finalist last year for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year, it seems like some of the Oilers supporters in the social media world expect Skinner to be Patrick Roy right now. When struggles have come Skinner’s way, some Oilers fans will basically post their team would be better off with anyone else in goal.

Stuart Skinner helped bring a WHL title to Swift Current in 2018.

In the WHL, those who play for their hometown teams are viewed that much bigger of being a hero when they succeed in good times and take seemingly twice the harder criticism in the bad times. Those extremes are seen in a larger way at the NHL level.

The Oilers dropped Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final 3-0 on Saturday in Florida despite holding a 32-18 edge in shots on goal. 

Skinner stopped 15-of-17 shots sent his way. He had no chance on the two goals the Panthers scored on him, and the Florida side sealed the win with an empty-net tally.

Still, you are going to hear voices about how Panthers star netminder Sergei Bobrovsky is going to put Skinner in his back pocket in this series. Bobrovsky was sensational making 32 saves for the shutout in Game 1, where the Oilers likely would have had seven or eight goals on any other netminder.

For those that knew Skinner during his WHL days, the soft spot in the heart for him is always there. If the Oilers ultimately don’t win this series, you hope the there won’t be an effort by some fans in Edmonton to run him out of town.

If that materializes, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Vegas Golden Knights and their brilliant general manager Kelly McCrimmon swoop in to pick him up.

Right now, it would be preferable if the storybook situation plays out here. 

Stuart Skinner will try to add a Stanley Cup win to his resume.

That would see the Oilers become the first Canadian based team to win the Stanley Cup since the 1993 victory by Roy and the Montreal Canadiens, and Skinner materializes as the ultimate hometown hero in the Alberta capital city along the way.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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“Rock You Like A Hurricane”

Lethbridge blows away Saskatoon in third period

Joe Arntsen had a monster night for the Hurricanes.

Joe Arntsen turned a tight checking game into a route.

On Wednesday night, Arntsen’s Lethbridge Hurricanes were locked in a 0-0 tie heading into the third period of their WHL regular season clash with the visiting Saskatoon Blades. In the third, Arntsen posted two goals, one assist, a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department and took part in a fight to power the Hurricanes to a 6-1 victory before 2,742 spectators at the Enmax Centre.

Just 1:44 into the third, Arntsen potted his first tally of the night to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead. His defensive partner Logan McCutcheon scored 32 seconds later to increase the host side’s advantage to 2-0.

Right before the midway point of the third, Arntsen combined with left-winger Miguel Marques to set up centre Logan Wormald for his 12^th marker of the season to extend the Hurricanes lead to 3-0.

At the 10:51 mark of the third, Blades centre Jordan Keller shoveled home his first career WHL regular season goal from the front of the Lethbridge to cut the host’s lead to 3-1. Keller was playing his eighth career regular season contest with the Blades after being called up for the rest of the current campaign from the Yale Hockey Academy under-18 prep team.

That only temporarily stopped the avalanche of goals coming from the Hurricanes.

Just under three minutes later, Arntsen netted his second of the contest to increase Lethbridge’s advantage to 4-1.

With about five minutes to play in the third, the Blades pulled overage star netminder Nolan Maier for an extra attacker. Hurricanes sophomore defenceman Chase Pauls scored into the vacated Saskatoon net with 4:29 remaining in the third to give the hosts a 5-1 lead.

Hurricanes rookie right-winger Brayden Edwards added his squad’s final goal with just under a minute to play in the frame.

Between the goals by Pauls and Edwards, Arntsen took on Blades right-winger Vaughn Watterodt in a fight to obtain the Gordie Howe hat trick.

Veteran 19-year-old netminder Bryan Thomson stopped 23 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Hurricanes. Left-wingers Justin Hall and Alex Thacker had three assists each for Lethbridge.

Justin Hall had three assists for the Hurricanes.

Maier turned away 31-of-36 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

The win was the third straight for the Hurricanes, who improved to 30-30-3-1 to sit seventh overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes need to win one of their last four regular season games or earn two more standings points to lock up a WHL playoff berth.

Their first opportunity to pull that off comes on Friday, when they travel to Red Deer to face the 43-17-2-2 Rebels (7 p.m. local time, Peavey Mart Centrium).

The Blades fell to 36-26-3-1 with the setback and made their hopes of getting home ice advantage for a first round playoff series very difficult. They remain fourth in the Eastern Conference one point behind the fourth place 36-23-3-2 Moose Jaw Warriors.

Saskatoon has two games left on its schedule, while Moose Jaw has four contests left to play. The fourth place team gets home ice advantage for a first round playoff series.

The Brandon Wheat Kings, who sit sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 33-25-3-2 record, are six points behind the Warriors and five points behind the Blades. Brandon has five games remaining on its regular season schedule.

Besides the jockeying in the standings, Maier shares the WHL’s career regular season goaltending wins record of 120 victories with Corey Hirsch and Tyson Sexsmith. The Yorkton, Sask., product was looking to take sole ownership of that record.

Hirsch picked up his 120 victories playing four seasons with the Kamloops Blazers from 1988 to 1992. Sexsmith collected his 120 wins over five seasons with the Vancouver Giants from 2005 to 2009. He also had one non-decision relief appearance for the Medicine Hat Tigers late in the 2004-05 campaign.

Saskatoon still has six regulars on the injury list. Defenceman and captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere is out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

Overage star centre Tristen Robins, who is the Blades captain for the rest of the current season, is out day to day with an upper body injury and the same goes for veteran centre Josh Pillar and overage defenceman Rhett Rhinehart.

Rookie centre Lukas Hansen is week-to-week with an upper body injury, and utility player Spencer Shugrue is day to day with a lower body injury.

Alex Thacker had three assists for the Hurricanes.

The Blades return to action on Friday when they host their archrivals the 26-33-4-1 Prince Albert Raiders (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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As always – The song in Prince Albert is still “Go Raiders Go”

Parker Kelly and the Raiders are rolling early in the current WHL campaign.

    “The Song in Prince Albert is Go Raiders Go.”

    A tune written in the early 1970s by country singer Russ Gurr still describes “Hockey Town North.” Thru good times and bad, you must never underestimate the passion the small northern Saskatchewan community has for its Raiders hockey club.

    As this season goes on, it appears that passion will get stoked to new heights as Prince Albert appears set to see the Raiders hockey team they have been dreaming of since “The Run” occurred in 2005. 

    The master plan of general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Marc Habscheid is coming to fruition as a core group of players who have been together now for their third season appear ready to really take off.

    On Friday in Lethbridge Alta., the Raiders, who are rated fourth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, posted a convincing 5-1 victory over the host Hurricanes, who are rated third in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, before 3,818 spectators at the Enmax Centre. The win allowed the Raiders to start the season 7-0 to lead the entire Western Hockey League standings in the early part of the 2018-19 regular campaign.

    The Hurricanes, who fell to 2-3, provided a formidable test despite their slow start. Lethbridge has advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship series in each of the past two years.

    In the first period of Friday’s clash, the Hurricanes threw everything including the kitchen sink at the Raiders net but were only able to beat Prince Albert’s star 19-year-old netminder Ian Scott once on 21 shots. The Hurricanes goal came courtesy of overage winger Taylor Ross.

Ian Scott held the fort early for the Raiders on Friday night.

    Scott’s efforts allowed Habscheid and his veteran coaching staff including assistant coach Jeff Truitt to go to work and make adjustments.

    From that point, the Raiders took over the contest outshooting the Hurricanes 31-15 over the final 40 minutes. The goals started to come too.

    Import defenceman Sergei Sapego tied the contest up at 1-1 at the 6:26 mark of the second. Overage winger Noah Gregor, who returned Tuesday to the Raiders after being in the AHL training camp of the San Jose Barracuda, put the Raiders up 2-1 at the 10:14 mark of the second.

    Star winger 18-year-old Cole Fonstad scored 20 seconds into the third period and again at the 2:32 mark of that frame to put the Raiders up 4-1. Gregor sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 82 seconds to play in the game.

    Scott made 35 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Sophomore 19-year-old netminder Reece Klassen turned away 35-of-39 shots taking the setback in goal for the Hurricanes.

    The Raiders haven’t won a playoff series since 2005. In that campaign, they advanced on a magical run to the Eastern Conference Champion series falling in a tough seven-game set to the Brandon Wheat Kings.

    That Raiders team was filled with a roster of characters who had character in Rejean Beauchemin, Dane Byers, Kyle Chipchura, Jeremy Colliton, Luke Fritshaw, Mike Gauthier, Mike Hellyer, Rick Kozak, Jeff May, Brett Novak, Brent Ottmann, Caine Pearpoint, Evan Schafer, Chris Schlenker and Aki Seitsonen.

Cole Fonstad scored twice for the Raiders on Friday night.

    That group was a genuine bunch that was as comfortable interacting in various social situations in the community as they were playing on the ice. In Prince Albert, those players were known just as “the boys.”

    The Raiders have “the boys” back again as their current roster matches the positive traits possessed by the group that made that last long post-season run. Prince Albert’s current roster containing the likes of Fonstad, Gregor, Zack Hayes, Brett Leason, Parker Kelly, Max Martin, Jeremy Masella, Kody McDonald, Carson Miller, Spencer Moe, Sean Montgomery, captain Brayden Pachal, Eric Pearce, Sapego and Scott.

    Last season, this group helped Raiders fans start to dream big dreams again. Playing out of an East Division that was basically a “Group of Death,” the Raiders earned a playoff berth with a 32-27-9-4 record thanks to a nine-game winning streak that occurred near the end of the regular season.

    Prince Albert faced the Moose Jaw Warriors, who finished first overall in the WHL with a 52-15-2-3 mark, in a best-of-seven first round series. The Warriors took a 3-1 series lead, but the Raiders battled back with a 5-1 win in Game 5 in Moose Jaw and a 5-4 victory in Game 6 in Prince Albert.

    The Raiders held leads of 2-0 and 3-2 in a series deciding Game 7 played in Moose Jaw on April 3. The two sides were locked in a 4-4 tie until Brayden Burke scored the game and series winner with 3:50 to play in the third period for Moose Jaw to give the Warriors a 5-4 victory.

    As heartbreaking as that series loss was, the battle the Raiders showed brought back images of the team’s glory days from the time the club was founded as a junior A franchise in the 1971-72 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League season.

Sergei Sapego had the Raiders first goal on Friday night.

    In the junior A ranks, the Raiders won four Centennial Cups as national champions in 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1982. They moved to the WHL at the start of the 1982-83 season and would win the Memorial Cup for major junior supremacy in 1985 in just their third season on the circuit.

    Still, there is caution in big dreams as factors like injuries can derail the campaigns of well-built teams. You also can’t ignore the fact a lot of time has passed since the Raiders last won a playoff series.

    As a fan in “Hockey Town North,” you want to dream big, because you can see the passion and heart these current Raiders play with. They are invested in the franchise like the players from the great Raiders teams of the past were.

    The first three home games for the Raiders attracted 2,775, 2,117 and 2,117 spectators to the Art Hauser Centre, which seats 2,580 spectators. It will likely be a common site for the crowds to push into standing room territory on a regular basis as the season progresses.

    You can bet those spectators will make appearances in opposing team rinks too. With that in mind, the Raiders return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Red Deer to take on the Rebels (4-2).

    If this is going to be a magical year for the Raiders, the faithful in Prince Albert should live in the moment and embrace everything now. Even if the big dreams aren’t realized, it is almost a given this Raiders squad will put in a lunch pail effort on a nightly basis to achieve success.

    The Raiders players should also live in the moment and embrace the fans as much as possible. When a community appearance comes up, the players should do it. Those interactions will leave a great memory for later on in life.

The Raiders faithful is ready to enjoy a lot of wins in 2018-19.

    For the alums that are thinking of making a pilgrimage back to Prince Albert to see their old team, they should do it this season.

    The relationship between the Raiders and their fans is a special one, and when everyone is “all in,” the power of that feeling will give you chills.

    Deep down for the fans in Prince Albert, the dream will always be alive like in 1985.

    The moment has finally arrived to show Canada once again that the song in Prince Albert is and will always be “Go Raiders Go.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Pats get improved effort, bounces in Game 4 win

WHL Eastern Conference title series with Hurricanes tied 2-2

The Pats celebrate a positive bounce goal from Adam Brooks (#77).

    LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – The Regina Pats came out with a strong effort, and they also received a big positive bounce to regain home ice advantage in the WHL’s Eastern Conference championship series.

    On Wednesday before a packed crowd of 5,203 spectators at the Enmax centre, the Pats were locked in a 2-2 draw with the host Lethbridge Hurricanes late in the second period of Game 4 of the WHL Eastern Conference title series.
    The visitors had the edge in play, but the game was still in the balance.

    With 1:54 to play in the second, Pats captain Adam Brooks sent a centring pass from the right corner boards in the Lethbridge zone across the face the Hurricanes goal.
    The puck deflected off the skate of Hurricanes import defenceman Igor Merezhko into the Lethbridge net to put the Pats ahead 3-2.

    The tally sent the Hurricanes reeling, and the Pats struck again before the second period expired.

Captain Adam Brooks breaks into the offensive zone for the Pats.

    With 43.8 seconds to play in the second, Pats star centre Sam Steel slipped a nice pass from the left corner of the Lethbridge zone to linemate Dawson Leedahl in front of the Lethbridge net. The overage Saskatoon product snipped home a key insurance marker to give the Pats a 4-2 lead.

    Regina cruised to a 6-2 victory from that point to even the best-of-seven series with the Hurricanes at 2-2. Game 5 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. local time in Regina at the Brandt Centre.

    “You get a two-goal lead after two periods, it is big for sure,” said Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock. “Merezhko, it just happened to hit his skate.

    “We got a bounce there. We had the urgency to probably play in their end and deserve it.”

    The Hurricanes tried to fight back in the third, and they outshot the Pats 11-6 in the stanza. With that said, the Pats were playing a more shutdown defensive style of game at that point, and they were content to dump the puck in the defensive zone and trap up the Hurricanes in the centre ice zone.

Pats winger Nick Henry is stopped by Hurricanes goalie Stuart Skinner.

    Still, Regina was opportunistic in the third. At the 7:53 mark of the third, star offensive defenceman Connor Hobbs blasted home a shot from the point to put the visitors up 5-2. Pats centre Wyatt Sloboshan popped home an empty-net goal with 2:56 to play in the third to round out the final score.

    Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio said Brooks’s lucky goal to make the score 3-2 in the second hurt the Lethbridge side, but the Pats were still putting out the better effort at that point in the contest. Kisio said his club was way better in their 3-1 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday.

Hurricanes centre Dylan Cozens follows his rebound to the net.

    “We were in the game, but we weren’t in the game,” said Kisio. “I don’t think we were playing real hard here or playing the way we had to play to beat them.

    “(Tuesday) night, we played hard. We had our feet moving. Tonight, we just stood around and watched.

    “Give Regina credit, they completely outworked us (and) completely outplayed us today.”

    Pats winger Braydon Buziak had the lone goal in a first period that was very up tempo and had a lot of scoring chances for both sides.

    Dylan Cozens batted home a floating puck in the air for the Hurricanes to tie things up at 1-1 at the 2:21 mark of the second. Pats winger Jeff de Wit put Regina ahead 2-1 at the nine-minute mark of the second.

    The Hurricanes tied things up at 2-2 just 34 seconds later, when centre Ryan Vandervlis flicked home the equalizer close in from the left side of the Regina net.

Winger Jeff de Wit had a goal for the Pats in their Game 4 win.

    Stuart Skinner turned away 28-of-33 shots to take the loss in goal for the Hurricanes. Tyler Brown stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats.

    During Wednesday’s game, the Pats played with a lot of skill and likely didn’t score on their best setups. They also buzzed in the Lethbridge zone despite missing speedy winger Austin Wagner, who left Game 3 with an injury.

    Steel appreciated the pace his side played at in the Game 4 victory.

    “We played more our style of play,” said Steel, who had two assists in the win. “They played us really hard the first few games, and a big credit to them.

    “It has been a great series so far. Tonight, I think we just found another level and made few more plays.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Hurricanes hit new heights in Game 3 win over Pats

The Hurricanes mob Jadon Joseph (#23) after he scores.

    LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Head coach Brent Kisio pretty much had no complaints about his Lethbridge Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

    Just 16 seconds into Game 3 of their WHL Eastern Conference championship series with the Regina Pats, the Hurricanes beared down on the Regina net on an odd man rush, and Lethbridge defenceman Brennan Menell cut across the face of the Pats net to tuck home his fifth goal of the post-season to give his side a 1-0 lead. Menell’s goal helped bring the 5,178 spectators that squeezed into the Enmax Centre to their feet.

    The raucous crowd backed the Hurricanes all night, who put together a textbook 3-1 playoff victory. The win gives the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final with the Pats. Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time at the Enmax Centre.

    “I liked that we stuck with our plan,” said Kisio. “We were getting pucks deep.

    “We were managing a lot better. I thought we played hard. It was real good 60-minute effort, and it was probably one of our better ones of the post-season.

Brennan Menell breaks into the offensive zone.

    “We played all four lines. I thought all our lines were skating well, and that is why we had a good 60 minutes.”

    Besides being able to roll when they had the momentum, the Hurricanes stayed steady when the Pats carried play. While the host side scored early, the Pats pushed back late in the first period gaining momentum from a power-play chance and firing a bunch of stops on Lethbridge netminder Stuart Skinner, who stood tall making 13 saves during the opening 20 minutes.

    Skinner’s sound play was one theme in the contest.

    “He (Skinner) is a good goalie,” said Pats captain Adam Brooks. “He probably one of the best ones for his age in Canada.

    “You have to do a little bit extra to beat him. You’re not going to beat him on straight shots. You have to get rebounds.

    “You have to get effort. The pucks were laying there. We just have to work to get in there.”

    Shortly after the halfway point of the second period, the Pats pulled even at 1-1, when winger Dawson Leedahl tipped home the point shot from defenceman Josh Mahura.

    The visitors had a big chance go ahead a short time after Leedahl netted the equalizer, when Hurricanes rookie centre Jadon Joseph was penalized for slashing.

Tyler Brown makes a stop in close for the Pats.

    Star offensive-defence Connor Hobbs wired a point shot on that man advantage that hit both posts of the Lethbridge goal and stayed out.

    When the penalty expired, Hurricanes defenceman Brady Pouteau was able to get the puck to Joseph as he stepped out of the penalty box. Working with a partial breakaway, Joseph wired a snap shot past Pats netminder Tyler Brown to put the Hurricanes up 2-1 heading into the second intermission.

    Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock said Menell’s goal at the start of the first period and Joseph’s tally were key turning points in the contest.

    “We obviously weren’t good enough,” said Paddock. “In saying that, once we tied it up there we had like four or five good chances on that power play.

Egor Babenko cuts into the offensive zone for the Hurricanes.

    “It was like a two-goal swing, when the guy (Joseph) comes out of the box and scores. We should have scored on the power play, and the first goal shouldn’t have happened.”

    At the 4:08 mark of the third period, the Hurricanes closed out the game’s scoring when left-winger Egor Babenko came down the right wing and wired home a set up pass from captain Tyler Wong.

    Inside the final minute of play in the third, Joseph received a big ovation from the Enmax Centre crowd for a fierce forechecking shift in the Regina zone that killed off some key seconds.

    Skinner made 28 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Hurricanes. Brown turned away 24 shots to take the loss in goal for the Pats.

    “I thought we played really well,” said Menell. “We came out to a good start, and we finished it.

    “We didn’t have any letdowns. Everyone played hard. Of course Skinner, he was amazing again tonight.”

    NOTE - Pats standout winger Austin Wagner left the contest in the second period and didn’t return. Paddock didn’t have a status update on Wagner after the game.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.