GAME PREVIEW: HITMEN AT OIL KINGS
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (4-4-1-1) make a Friday night visit to Rogers Place to take on the Edmonton Oil Kings (1-10-1-0) tonight. Game time is 7:00 p.m. with the Hitmen coming off Sunday’s 6-2 home ice win over Prince Albert. Captain Riley Fiddler-Schultz turned in a record breaking performance setting a new franchise record for the fastest three goals by a single player, scoring three times in a span of 2 minutes and 43 seconds. His four-goal first period tied a club record for most goals in a period while his five-goal game total equaled the Hitmen record set by Pavel Brendl on Nov. 11, 2000. Grayden Siepmann, shorthanded, counted the other Calgary marker while Brayden Peters turned aside 29 shots to record the win. For Edmonton, tonight is their second games in as many days as last night the Oil Kings dropped a 2-1 home ice decision to Vancouver
EDMONTON: Tonight is the first of eight regular season meetings between the two clubs. Calgary was 1-7 against Edmonton last season and has dropped seven straight to their provincial counterparts. Riley Fiddler-Schultz (3g, 2a) led the Hitmen in the season series with five points while Oliver Tulk (2g, 2a) and Tyson Galloway (4a) were next with four points each. Dylan Guenther (7g, 5a) was the top performing Oil King with 12 points. The Hitmen are 2-11-1-0 in their last 14 visits to the Alberta capital.
2021-22 SERIES RECAP
Nov. 5/21 in CGY: Hitmen 6 Oil Kings 5…The Hitmen never trailed and led 6-3 after 40 minutes.
Nov. 6/21 at EDM: Oil Kings 3 Hitmen 2…Slovak import Jakub Demek netted a pair of goals for Edmonton.
Nov. 21/21 at EDM: Oil Kings 3 Hitmen 2…Edmonton with 18 minutes in power play time, scored twice with the man advantage.
Dec. 15/21 in CGY: Oil Kings 5 Hitmen 2…Jakub Demek led Edmonton with two goals and an assist.
Mar. 4/22 in EDM: Oil Kings 7 Hitmen 2…The Oil Kings scored five unanswered goals breaking a 2-2 second period tie.
Mar. 5/22 in CGY: Oil Kings 6 Hitmen 1…Dylan Guenther (2g, 2a) led Edmonton with four points.
Mar. 18/22 in EDM: Oil Kings 4 Hitmen 1…Dylan Guenther scored twice for the Oil Kings.
Apr. 10/22 in CGY: Oil Kings 4 Hitmen 1…Jake Neighbours and Dylan Guenther both notched a goal and an assist.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 212 EDM 331 Power Plays: CGY 2-42 (4.8%) EDM 6-36 (16.7%)
STREAKS: Grayden Siepmann (2g, 2a) has points in four of his last five games. Riley Fiddler-Schultz (5g, 1a), Zac Funk (1g, 3a), Sean Tschigerl (1g, 3a), Tyson Galloway (1g, 2a) and Carter Yakemchuk (3a) all have points in two of their last three outings.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: Calgary is 2-2-1-0 on the road with 14 goals for and 14 against. Edmonton is 0-4-1-0 at home.
FAST FACTS: With Calgary’s next three games on home ice, their next road game isn’t until Saturday, Nov. 12 when they kick off a five-game U.S. Division tour…David Adaszynski is the only Hitmen to record at least one shot on goal in all 10 games this season. His 24 combined shots rank tied for third on the club with Oliver Tulk trailing Riley Fiddler-Schultz (36) and Sean Tschigerl (25)…Calgary’s penalty kill is tied for fourth in the WHL at 85.4%…Matteo Danis is tied for 10th in WHL rookie scoring with five points (2g, 3a) in nine games while Grayden Siepmann is tied for 10th in WHL defencemen scoring with nine points (3g, 6a) in 10 games.
SCOUTS EYE: This week NHL Central Scouting released its ‘Preliminary Players to Watch’ list for the 2023 NHL Draft. Hitmen defenceman Grayden Siepmann gained recognition as a ‘C’ ranked skater, projecting as a fourth-fifth or sixth round candidate. A total of 43 WHLers are on the list including seven potential first-round candidates.
CANADA CALLS: Hitmen forward Carson Wetsch has been named to Team Canada Red for the upcoming 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. The 10 day event will be held in British Columbia from November 3-12 and co-hosted by Langley and Delta. Wetsch is in his rookie season in the WHL and is tied for fifth in team scoring with four points (2g, 2a) in six games.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Ethan Buenaventura (lower body, day-to-day).
REGULAR SEASON CAREER MILESTONE WATCH: Sean Tschigerl eclipsed the 100 point mark in Sunday’s win over Prince Albert while Riley Fiddler-Schultz soared past the 50 goal total.
ALUMNI WATCH: On Thursday, Mark Kastelic signed a two-year contract extension with the Ottawa Senators keeping the power forward with the club through the 2024-25 season. In six games this season, the former Hitmen captain has two goals.
UPCOMING GAMES: Calgary returns to Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday, Oct. 30 for a 2:00 p.m. start against the Vancouver Giants for another Sunday Funday, presented by Brookfield Residential. In addition to $2 sips and snacks specials all game long, look for concourse activities from TELUS Spark including Halloween pre-game trick-or-treating and a cast of characters outfitted by the Costume Shoppe. There are also $6 Hitmen Happy Hour food and drink deals throughout the day and a post-game family skate.
TICKETS: Let the fur fly! Fans can purchase tickets to one of the most anticipated games of the regular season, the ENMAX Teddy Bear Toss. The game is Sunday, Dec. 4 at 2:00 p.m. in the ‘Dome against 2023 projected first-round NHL Draft prospect Brayden Yager and the Moose Jaw Warriors. Admission is $25.99 for adults and $15.99 for kids. Find full details at hitmenhockey.com.
