Game Preview: Calgary at Brandon – 02.16.24
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (22-22-6-1) play the second of five straight games on the road tonight when they face the Wheat Kings (26-21-5-1) in Brandon. Game time is 6:00 p.m. MST at Westoba Place. The Hitmen are coming off Tuesday’s 6-1 loss in Red Deer with Ben Kindel supplying the lone Calgary marker. The Rebels built period leads of 2-0 and 4-0 en-route to victory. Brandon faces a quick turnaround having dropped a 4-2 decision to the Warriors in Moose Jaw last night. The Warriors had a strong second period with three goals to snap a 1-1 tie. Jayden Wiens and Caleb Hadland both scored for Brandon.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Hitmen (51pts) are tied with Lethbridge (51pts) for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, one point back of seventh place Prince Albert (52pts). The Hurricanes host Saskatoon tonight while the Raiders are in Medicine Hat. Brandon (58pts) is sixth in the conference, two points behind Swift Current (60pts).
PLAYOFF PUSH: Counting tonight, the Hitmen have 17 games remaining in the regular season with seven at home and 10 on the road. Their opponent breakdown is as follows; (EDM 3X’s), (RD 3X’s), (BDN 2X’s), (SC 2X’s), (LET 2X’s), MJ, SAS, WEN, REG, MH.
BRANDON: Tonight is the third of four regular season meetings between the two clubs with Calgary 2-0 against the Wheat Kings. Carson Wetsch (1g, 3a) leads the Hitmen in the season series with four points while Ben Kindel (3g), Maxim Muranov (2g, 1a), Reese Hamilton (3a) and Carter Yakemchuk (3a) all have three. Dominik Petr (2g) and Rylen Roersma (2a) are the top performing Wheat Kings with two points each. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 4-2-1 in Brandon. They will meet again on Wednesday, Mar. 6 back at Scotiabank Saddledome.
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 while Alex Garrett made 33 saves for the shutout.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 77 BDN 61 Power Plays: CGY 1-7 (14.3%) BDN 0-7 (0%)
STREAKIN’: Wyatt Pisarczyk (1g, 4a) is on a career high five-game point streak. Brandon Gorzynski (1g, 2a) is on a career high three-game point streak.
CHASING HISTORY: Carter Yakemchuk enters tonight tied with Jake Bean for the franchise record for most goals in a single season by a defenceman with 24. Yakemchuk hit the 24-goal mark Friday night against Medicine Hat while Bean, now with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, scored 24 times in the 2015-16 season.
FAST FACTS: The Hitmen are 9-5-3 in their last 17 games…Brandon is 4-3-1 in their last eight…The Hitmen along with Spokane have played a the second fewest road games in the WHL at 24…Centre Oliver Tulk eclipsed 500 faceoff wins on Tuesday in Red Deer…The Hitmen have seven players with 12 or more goals this season. That number grows to eight if you include Sean Tschigerl who scored 19 goals before his January trade to Lethbridge.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 6-14-4 on the road, including a 2-2-2 record in their last six away from the ‘Dome. Brandon is 19-7-2 on home ice and has won three in a row in the Wheat City. Their 40 points secured at Westoba Place rank fifth best in the WHL.
DID YOU KNOW? Since the Jan. 10 WHL Trade Deadline, the Hitmen are 7-5-1…Calgary was outshot for the first time in six games on Tuesday in Red Deer…As a team, Calgary is 53.1 percent on faceoffs this season…The Hitmen have 12 rookies on their 23-man roster.
WHL TOP-10: Carter Yakemchuk leads the league in goals among defencemen with 24 while his 53-points rank tied for fourth among blueliners… Goaltender Ethan Buenaventura is fourth in the WHL in saves with 1,153 and fourth in minutes played at 2,183…Ben Kindel is tied for fourth in rookie scoring with 46 points while Keets Fawcett is seventh with 38.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Chase Valliant (Upper Body, Week-to-Week), David Adaszynski (Upper Body, Out Indefinitely), Connor Dale (Illness, Day-to-Day).
NHL RADAR: Five Hitmen are on NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings for the 2024 NHL Draft among North American skaters. Carter Yakemchuk is sixth, Carson Wetsch 44th, Keets Fawcett 163rd, Chase Valliant 195th and Dax Williams 211th. Both Yakemchuk and Wetsch played in 2024 CHL/NHL Top Prospects game in Moncton, NB.
WHL CAREER MILESTONES: Maxim Muranov is one assist shy of 50 while Tyson Greenway is three points away from 100. Greenway collected his 50th career assist last night against Medicine Hat. Connor Dale is two games shy of 100.
PROSPECT WATCH: Griffin Horne, Calgary’s eighth-round pick (158th overall) in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft is playing with the U17 Prairie Hockey Academy in the CSSHL. The 15-year-old forward has 28 points (17g, 11a) in 28 games to sit fourth in team scoring and second in goals.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Defenceman Aleksey Chichkin is in his first season with the Hitmen after signing with the club in March of 2023. He was listed by Calgary on January 31, 2023, and spent last season in the BCHL with the Merritt Centennials recording seven points (1g, 6a) in 31 games. The 18-year-old 6’4.5, 205-pound rearguard played the 2021-22 season with the U18 Prep Burnaby Winter Club and was a teammate of Hitmen forward Carson Wetsch. Chichkin also played in the BCHL’s Top Prospects Game last season. In 44 games with the Hitmen, the product of Vancouver, BC has 10 points (1g, 9a).
UPCOMING GAMES: The Hitmen are back on the ice tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 17 in Moose Jaw to face the Warriors at 6:00 p.m. MST. It’s then off to Regina to meet the Pats on Family Day, Monday, Feb. 19 at 1:00 p.m. MST before their final stop in Edmonton on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 11:00 a.m. MST. Calgary’s next home game isn’t until Friday, Feb. 23 when the Wenatchee Wild make their first-ever visit to Scotiabank Saddledome for a 7:00 p.m. start.
