2018 TELUS Cup

HURRICANES SCORE TWICE IN FIRST, EDGE WOLVES IN TELUS DEBUT

CAROLINA KEEN

SUDBURY, Ont. – Kye Buchanan and Keegan McDowell scored first-period goals, and the Lethbridge Hurricanes made them stand up in a 2-1 win over the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves to finish the opening day of action Monday at the 2018 TELUS Cup.

The Hurricanes were victorious in their debut at Canada’s National Midget Championship, and came within just seconds of the first Day 1 shutout of a host team since 1995.

Just shy of the eight-minute mark of the first period, Ronan Seeley breezed through the Nickel Capital Wolves defence to get a shot on goaltender Alex Vendette, and Buchanan beat his man to the rebound to put the Hurricanes in front.

McDowell would add to the lead at 16:58; Nicholas Draffin found Zack Stringer in the corner, and his feed set up McDowell to launch the puck past Vendette for a 2-0 advantage after one period.

The Hurricanes kept up the pressure in the second period with nine shots on Vendette, compared to just three by the Wolves, but the 17-year-old goaltender held his own to keep it a two-goal game.

The Wolves controlled the play in the third period, directing more shots at Lethbridge netminder Carl Tetachuk than in the first two periods combined, but could not find their all-important first goal until it was too late.

Tommy Vlahos took advantage of a mix-up between Draffin and Tetachuk, slipping a shot under the goaltender and getting the Wolves on the board with just 22 seconds left, denying Tetachuk the shutout.

The Hurricanes finished with a 27-22 advantage in shots on goal in what was a defensive battle.

The Hurricanes will take on the Moncton Flyers on Tuesday afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET), preceding the Nickel Capital Wolves’ match-up against the Notre Dame Hounds (7 p.m. ET).