Lethbridge Hurricanes gearing up for second-round matchup against Hitmen

Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters shows players some game film during a practice, ahead of the team's second-round matchup against the Calgary Hitmen. (CTV News)

LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. — The Lethbridge Hurricanes put their past playoff problems behind them and are now preparing to take on the Calgary Hitmen in the second round.

The ‘Canes beat the Brandon Wheat Kings in five games to win their first playoff series since 2018.

“It’s pretty exciting. I mean, we haven’t been in the playoffs, in the second round here for a while, so we’re excited and ready to get going and it should be great,” said Hurricanes defenceman Caden Price.

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It’s an exciting time for the team, but they’ve had to refocus quickly to take on the Hitmen.

Lethbridge struggled against Calgary this season, only winning two out of the eight-game season series.

“We’ve got to be aware of how they play; (a) very, very competitive team. And they don’t give up much, very good defensively. We can’t get frustrated with any of that,” said Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters.

“We have to play our game and get it established early in the game and then stay with it.”

The Hurricanes have been preparing for their matchup against the Hitmen since their series against Brandon ended.

While the regular season series didn’t go their way, they know playoffs are a different story.

“Playoffs is a whole new animal rather than the regular season. We’ve had a good week of practice here and tweaked some things. We’ll come out ready,” said forward Logan Wormald.

Unlike round one, Lethbridge will start round two on the road. The team knows grabbing at least one win in the first two games will be crucial.

“Obviously, we’re going in there looking to at least split and, if not, get two. So yeah, that’s all right with us. And I don’t think their atmosphere is going to be a big problem for us,” Wormald said.

Puck drop for Game One on Thursday is scheduled for 7 p.m.