Lethbridge Hurricanes have high WHL hopes after disappointing playoff finish

After ending the Western Hockey League preseason with a pair of wins over the Red Deer Rebels, Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio is feeling good as his team turns its attention to the regular season.

“We finished our last two games really strong and our structure got better. We competed and worked hard,” Kisio said. “Red Deer’s going to be a pretty good hockey club this year in our division and I thought we played them hard.”

This year’s team brings back a large part of its veteran core, including co-captains Joe Arntsen and Jett Jones, along with Ty Nash, Alex Thacker, Chase Pauls and Nolan Bentham.

One player who won’t return — at least for the start of the season — is netminder Bryan Thomson, who Kisio expects will be out until early November as he recovers from offseason surgery.

1:51 Hurricanes’ focus shifts to preseason as training camp wraps

In Thomson’s place will be Jared Picklyk, who appeared in 25 games for the team last season, and Harrison Meneghin.

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Both goalies managed goals against averages of 2.00 or lower and save percentages over .930 in the preseason.

“Picks played some games for us last year and did a great job when he was in net,” Kisio said. “It’s his start this year to kind of take the ball and run with it.

“Then we’ve got Meneghin in net as well, who’s showed real well in preseason so we feel very confident in our goaltending.”

“I spent a lot of time this summer working on my game and I feel good about this season,” Picklyk said. “I feel good about these upcoming games and I’m really excited for this season.”

The Hurricanes will be leaning on their hard-earned experience from the 2022 playoffs, where they fell to the eventual Western Hockey League champion Edmonton Oil Kings in four straight games.

“The playoffs is everybody’s goal,” said defenceman Joe Arntsen.

“We got a little bit of a taste last year. I know there’s a lot of us that are pretty sour with how things went last year in the playoffs.

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“Get back there and get a good run going.”

The Hurricanes begin the regular season against their Highway 3 rivals, the Medicine Hat Tigers, on Saturday, before hosting the Tabbies for their home opener the following weekend.