GAME PREVIEW: Calgary vs Red Deer – 10.28.25
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (7-3-1-0), riding a season high three-game winning streak, are back on home ice tonight for Hitmen Halloween as they welcome the Red Deer Rebels (4-9-0-1) to Scotiabank Saddledome. Note the 6:00 p.m. start with fans encouraged to dress in their favourite costume, come early when doors open at 5:00 p.m. and take to the concourse for trick-or-treating. The $6 food and drink Hitmen Happy Hour returns as well from when doors open until the opening faceoff. Calgary will also wear their black and pink third jersey for the first of 11 times this season featuring the original “Starburst” logo. The Hitmen are coming off Sunday’s 3-2 victory in Edmonton where Brandon Gorzynski scored twice including the game winner, snapping a 2-2 third period tie 8:47 into the final frame. Goaltender Eric Tu preserved the lead by stopping a penalty shot with 2:44 remaining. The Rebels have been idle since Saturday’s 2-1 home ice loss to the Hitmen. Calgary received power play goals from Caine Wilke and Kale Dach while goaltender Aidan Hesse made 27 saves for his first career Western Hockey League win.
RED DEER: Tonight marks the second of eight regular season meetings between the two Central Division rivals. Calgary leads the season series 1-0 after a one-goal road victory just four days ago. Last season Calgary went 2-1-1-0 on home ice against the Rebels. Their next head-to-head meeting isn’t until Sunday, Nov. 30 when Red Deer returns to the ‘Dome.
2025-26 SERIES RECAP
Sept. 25/25 in RD: Hitmen 2 Rebels 1…Calgary erased a 1-0 deficit to improve to 5-0-1-0 in their last six games with the Rebels.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 20 RD 28 Power Plays: CGY 2-2 (100%) RD 0-4 (0%)
STREAKIN’: Ethan Moore (1g, 4a) is on a five-game point streak…Hunter Aura (2a) is on a two-game assist streak…Eric Tu has won his last four starts, posting a 1.50 goals against average and .947 save percentage, stopping 107 of 113 shots… Caine Wilke (2g, 1a) saw his two-game goal scoring streak end Sunday in Edmonton while a two-game point streak for Harrison Lodewyk (1g, 1a) was also snaped. Landon Amrhein (3g, 5a) has points in eight of his last nine games.
CATCHING FIRE: The Hitmen have picked up 11 of a possible 14 points in their last seven games posting a record of 5-1-1-0.
2026 NHL DRAFT: Five Hitmen have been named by NHL Central Scouting as Preliminary Players to Watch ahead of the coming draft. Landon Amrheim and Ben MacBeath are both projected second or third-round picks while Hunter Aura, Aidan Hesse and Andrei Molgachev are all projected to be sixth or seventh-round candidates.
DID YOU KNOW? Andrei Molgachev (7g, 4a), Harrison Lodewyk (2g, 9a) and Ethan Moore (3g, 8a) are in a three-way tie for the team lead in scoring with 11 points each…Today is Calgary’s 10th game against a team from their own division in just their 12th contest overall…The Hitmen are 4-0 in games where Caine Wilke scores…The Hitmen penalty kill is a perfect 15 for its last 15 and is 87.5% overall this season.
LEADERSHIP GROUP: Last Thursday the Hitmen named Calgary Flames prospect and 20-year-old defenceman Axel Hurtig captain of this year’s team. Also wearing a letter as alternate captains will be Ethan Moore, Harrison Lodewyk, Brandon Gorzynski and Hunter Aura.
BALANCED ATTACK: A total of 11 different Hitmen have two or more goals this season. Russian rookie Andrei Molgachev has a team leading seven goals after scoring 84 times in 63 games last season for Detroit Little Caesars in the AAA U16 league.
SHOOTING MENTALITY: Ben MacBeath (23) and Andrei Molgachev (21) both have at least one shot on goal in all 11 games this season.
CANADA CALLS: Hitmen 16-year-old defenceman Calder Hamilton has departed for the 2025 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. He will play for Canada White in the East Coast tournament that begins Sunday and will continue until Nov. 8 in Truro, N.S.
ROSTER CONSTRUCTION: Calgary has 24 players on their roster including 14 forwards, eight defencemen and two goaltenders. There are only eight returning players from last season with 15 rookies on the club.
CARRYING THE LOAD: Hitmen overage forward Harrison Lodewyk is a stellar 110-160 on face-offs in his five games since joining the Hitmen in a trade from Prince Albert, for a remarkable 68.7% efficiency. As a team Calgary is 55.6% on draws.
WHL REGULAR SEASON MILESTONES: Forward Ethan Moore scored his 50th career goal on Sunday in Edmonton while goaltender Eric Tu eclipsed 500 saves the same day.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 4-2 on home ice this season having outscored their opponents 22-14 in the ‘Dome while Red Deer is 2-3-0-1 on the road.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Koy Funk was Calgary’s fourth-round pick, 77th overall, in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft. The 17-year-old from Portage La Prairie, MB spent last season in the MJHL with his hometown Portage Terriers recording 34 points (14g, 20a) in 37 games to finish fifth in team scoring despite missing over 20 games due to injury. In 2023 he was an alternate captain helping Team Manitoba win the WHL Cup.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Parker Schellenberg (Lower Body, Week-to-Week).
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: The Hitmen depart tomorrow for a six-game tour of the East Division that opens on Halloween in Prince Albert against the Raiders. The swing will also take the club to Brandon (Nov. 2), Regina (Nov. 4), Moose Jaw (Nov. 5) and Swift Current (Nov. 6) before ending in Saskatoon (Nov. 8). The next Hitmen home game isn’t until Friday, Nov. 14 when they welcome the Blades in the back half of a home and home set.
Tickets are available at HitmenHockey.com/Tickets.
