The Lethbridge Hurricanes are headed back to the second round of the WHL playoffs after eliminating the Brandon Wheat Kings Friday night, winning Game 5 by a score of 5-2.
Braden Yager was interfered with on a breakaway, then missed the penalty shot, but a few minutes later, scored on a power play to give Lethbridge an early 1-0 lead.
Brandon bounced back, getting a goal when Quinn Martel scored, and then Wheat King Joby Baumuller got hit by a puck that found its way past Jackson Unger, giving the visitors a one-goal lead after the first period.
In the second, the Hurricanes stormed back, getting a goal from Jordan Gustafson but couldn’t solve Ethan Eskit, who stopped 20 of the 21 shots that the Hurricanes fired at him in the period.
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— X - Lethbridge Hurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) April 5, 2025
In the third, Noah Chadwick scored 33 seconds in, giving the Hurricanes a lead they would not relinquish.
A couple of minutes later, Yager set up Logan McCutcheon to double the lead to 4-2, and Brayden Edwards scored an empty-netter to send the Hurricanes on to the next round.
Lethbridge outshot Brandon 53-26. It was the Hurricanes’ first playoff series win since 2018, when they also beat Brandon in five.
They take on the Calgary Hitmen in the second round, the first time the two rivals have met since the opening round of the 2019 playoffs.
The schedule for Round 2 hasn’t been announced yet.
