Game Preview: Calgary at Brandon – 10.26.24
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (5-5-1-0) play their second game in as many days on the road tonight with a stop in Brandon to face the Wheat Kings (6-4-1-1). Game time is 6:00 p.m. (MT) in the conclusion of a three-game road trip for Calgary. The Hitmen were in Regina last night and skated to a 3-1 win over the Pats. Ben Kindel scored a pair of power play goals for the Hitmen including the game winner which snapped a 2-2 tie with 7:20 remaining. Brandon Gorzynski added an empty net marker while Eric Tu made 25 saves to record the victory. Brandon meanwhile hosted Saskatoon last night and dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Blades. Ben Riche scored the winner for Saskatoon 1:37 into the extra session while Jaxon Jacobson scored twice in the loss for Brandon.
BRANDON: Tonight is the first of four regular season meetings between the two clubs. Last season Calgary went 3-1 against the Wheat Kings. Oliver Tulk (5g, 1a) posted a team-leading six points in the season series. Maxim Muranov (2g, 3a), Carson Wetsch (1g, 4a) and Carter Yakemchuk (5a) were all next with five points each. Jayden Wiens (1g, 3a) was the top performing Wheat King with four points while Brett Hyland (1g, 2a) and Caleb Hadland (2g, 1a) both notched three. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 4-3-1-0 in Brandon. They won’t meet again until Sunday, Jan. 12 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.
2023-24 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 7/23 in BDN: Hitmen 4 Wheat Kings 3…Carter MacAdams broke a 3-3 tie with 7:07 left in regulation.
Jan. 26/24 in CGY: Hitmen 8 Wheat Kings 0…Maxim Muranov and Ben Kindel both scored twice. Alex Garrett posted a 33 save shutout.
Feb. 16/24 in BDN: Wheat Kings 5 Hitmen 3…Brandon scored the only two goals of the third period to break a 3-3 tie.
Mar. 6/24 in CGY: Hitmen 3 Wheat Kings 2 (OT)…Oliver Tulk scored the winner 33 seconds into the extra session.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 141 BDN 125 Power Plays: CGY 3-17 (17.6%) BDN 1-13 (7.7%)
STREAKS: Two Hitmen in Ben Kindel (6g, 6a) and Carter Yakemchuk (3g, 5a) are both on five-game point streaks. Carson Wetsch (4g) saw his four-game goal scoring streak end last night in Regina while two-game point streaks for Maxim Muranov (2a) and Ethan Moore (1g, 1a) were also halted.
FAST FACTS: The Hitmen have scored a least one power play goal in five straight games and have outshot their opponents in each of the last three games…Three Hitmen have at least one shot on goal in all 11 games this season in Ben Kindel, Carson Wetsch, and Oliver Tulk…On Monday the Hitmen reassigned 18-year-old defenceman Brandon Osborne to a TBA team…Eric Tu celebrates his 16th birthday today.
BACK-TO-BACK DATA: The Hitmen are 2-0 this season in the second half of games on consecutive days. Both wins however have been recorded at home with victories over Lethbridge (3-1 on Sept. 29) and Vancouver (4-3 on Oct. 6).
INKED: Nine days ago, on Oct. 17 the Hitmen signed 16-year-old prospect Noah Kosick to a Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement. Kosick was Calgary’s first-round pick, 11th overall in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft. Last season the product of Victoria, BC, recorded 62 points (12g, 50a) in 29 games as a 15-year-old playing U18 Prep in the CSSHL with Pacific Coast Academy. Kosick made his WHL debut last Saturday against Lethbridge and scored his first career goal.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISION: The Hitmen are 1-4-0-0 on the road this season. Brandon is 4-1-1-1 at home.
PROSPECT WATCH: Two Hitmen in Ben Kindel and Reese Hamilton have been selected to play in the 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota. The two-game series will see the top first-year NHL Draft-eligible prospects from the CHL take on the U.S. National Under-18 team Nov. 26 and 27 in London and Oshawa, Ontario.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Forward Connor Hvidston is in his fourth and final WHL season as an overage 20-year-old. He has played in 181 career games recording 168 points (63g, 105a). The product of Tisdale, SK, has also won over 1,550 career faceoffs and was a former seventh-round pick of the Swift Current Broncos in the 2019 WHL Prospects Draft before being acquired by the Hitmen this past September. Since his arrival he has already recorded five multi-point games with Calgary.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH: Maxim Muranov is four points shy of 100. Oliver Tulk is one goal back of Riley Fiddler-Schultz for 19th place on the clubs’ all-time goal scoring list. Fiddler-Schultz scored 77 goals, Tulk has 76. Tulk is also three assists away from 100 in his WHL career.
ROSTER CONSTRUCTION: There are 24 players on the Hitmen roster with 18 veterans and seven rookies. Roster breakdown as follows:
20’s (3) – Buenaventura, Hvidston, Muranov, 19’s (6) – Adaszynski, Moore, Tulk, Hurtig*, Williams, Yakemchuk, 18’s (5) – Wetsch, Valliant, Leonard, Fawcett, Bowland*, 17’s (7) – Hamilton, Mayes, Kindel, Gorzynski, Pisarczyk. Aura*, Svancara*, 16’s (3) – Kosick*, Tu*, Ng*
*Denotes rookie
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Robin Svancara (Upper Body – Indefinitely).
UPCOMING GAMES: The Hitmen return home to face the Medicine Hat Tigers on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Note the 6:00 p.m. start at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary then heads to Lethbridge to face the Hurricanes on Friday, Nov. 1 before returning to the ‘Dome to host Red Deer on Monday, Nov. 4 at 7:00 p.m.
