Lethbridge Hurricanes rolling ahead of Christmas break

The first stretch of the Western Hockey League season has been a tale of two halves for the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Since entering November with a losing record, the ‘Canes have won 13 of their last 17 games and now sit second in the central division.

“I think we started off a little bit slower than we like, but our last 17 to 18 games have been really good for us,” said defenceman Joe Arntsen.

“We kind of found our groove and what style of play gets us wins and everyone’s buying in.”

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Offensively, the line of Jett Jones between Tyson Laventure and Tyson Zimmer is leading the way as they sit one, two and three in team scoring.

The production includes a WHL player of the week performance by Laventure earlier this month.

“We’re just bonding as a group and now we’re playing as a team,” Laventure said.

“Obviously, me and my linemates have been finding chemistry and getting things going here.”

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“(Laventure and Zimmer) are both great players. They make my job a lot easier,” said Jones.

“It’s nice being able to trust guys out there and building that chemistry, so hopefully the luck for us continues and we stay hot.”

Meanwhile, rookie netminder Harrison Meneghin is providing a solid presence between the pipes.

The WHL’s November goaltender of the month sits second in the league in wins. Among goalies with at least 10 appearances is third in save percentage.

“He’s been out best player a lot of nights this year,” Jones said.

“He came in with injuries and he got that starter’s spot for us and he’s been playing terrific.”

Now the Canes feel they’ve positioned themselves well for the season’s second half.

“We know what we are,” assistant general manager and coach Matt Anholt said.

“We’re a defensively-sound team with a good back end and a lot of depth scoring up front. So we’re not straying away from that and hopefully we keep getting really good goaltending out of Harry.”

“We know what works for us. We don’t want to get away from that,” Arntsen said.

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The Canes host the Kelowna Rockets Friday night, before the Calgary Hitmen come to the Enmax Centre on Saturday.

Lethbridge returns from the Christmas break on Dec. 27, when they welcome the Medicine Hat Tigers.