Estephan powers Hurricanes past Tigers in game two, ‘Canes tie series at one

On a night where the Lethbridge Hurricanes were missing several key players, the team gutted out a 7-4 game two win over the Medcine Hat Tigers. Saturday night the ‘Canes fought back from an early two goal deficit to tie their series with the Tigers at 1-1.

“It’s huge, anytime you’re coming into a series without home-ice, it’s big to split,” Hurricanes forward Giorgio Estephan said. “Coming out after that first game and getting shut out, this was a good response from our team and a confidence boost coming into game three and four.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's huge, anytime you're coming into a series without home-ice, it's big to split," Hurricanes forward Giorgio Estephan said. "Coming out after that first game and getting shut out, this was a good response from our team and a confidence boost coming into game three and four."

The Hurricanes tied the game at two in the first after Giorgio Estephan, and Alec Baer scored goals just 27 seconds apart. The two teams then exchanged goals late in the opening frame to make it 3-3 at the first intermission.

With the Tigers leading 4-3 in the second period, Ryan Bowen found Dylan Cozens streaking towards the net to even the game at four. It was a special moment for the 16-year-old Cozens, who was called up for game two with the ‘Canes missing several players.

The Hurricanes were without injured overage forwards Matt Alfaro, Zak Zborosky, and rookie Defenceman Calen Addison in game two. Short-handed, they turned to an old reliable source of offence. Star forward Giorgio Estephan had a monster night for the Hurricanes finishing with a hat trick, and four points in the critical win.

Midway through the third period Estephan scored the game winner when he buried his own rebound on a power play to give the ‘Canes a 5-4 lead.

“He was awesome, absolutely awesome,” Kisio said. “He stepped up again, like he always does. He’s great on face-offs, scoring goals for us. He’s one of our biggest leaders, and in games like this those are the guys you need to step up, and once again he did.”

Facing a two goal deficit, without key players, it would have been easy for the Hurricanes to wilt Saturday night. Maybe that’s what would have happened in the past, but not this team, not Saturday night.

“It’s what we’ve done all year,” said Kisio. “This is a team that’s battled through a lot this year. We’ve had a lot of adversity, a lot of ups and downs. I’m really proud of this group, when adversity happens to us, we respond in the right way. I think you saw that tonight.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's what we've done all year," said Kisio. "This is a team that's battled through a lot this year. We've had a lot of adversity, a lot of ups and downs. I'm really proud of this group, when adversity happens to us, we respond in the right way. I think you saw that tonight."

The Hurricanes and Tigers play game three Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. in Lethbridge.