GAME PREVIEW: Calgary at Brandon – 11.02.25
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (9-3-1-0), riding a season high five-game winning streak make a Sunday afternoon stop in Manitoba today to face the Brandon Wheat Kings (6-6-1-0). Game time is 4:00 p.m. Central or 3:00 p.m. MT at Assiniboine Credit Union Place. The Hitmen opened this six-game tour of the East Division with a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory in Prince Albert on Friday night. Caine Wilke tied the game for Calgary with just 9.5 seconds remaining in regulation before Kale Dach buried the winner 37 seconds into the extra session. Goaltender Eric Tu was instrumental in the outcome turning aside 30 shots including a back door blocker save in the first period on a 5-on-3 PA power play. Brandon faces a back-to-back having played last night skating to an 8-5 home ice win over Regina. Jordan Gavin (3g, 2a) led the way with five points helping the Wheat Kings overcome deficits of 3-0 and 5-3.
BRANDON: Today marks the first of four regular season meetings between the two clubs. Last season the Hitmen went 3-0-1 against the Wheat Kings including a 1-0-1 record in Manitoba. Ben Kindel (5g, 2a) and Tanner Howe (2g, 5a) led Calgary with seven points in the season series. Marcus Nguyen (1g, 3a) was the top performing Wheat King with four points. Calgary is 4-2-2 in their last eight visits to Brandon. Their next meeting is not until Friday, Dec. 19 when the Wheat Kings visit the ‘Dome.
2024-25 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 26/24 in BDN: Wheat Kings 4 Hitmen 3 OT…Brandon overcame a trio of one goal deficits.
Jan. 12/25 in CGY: Hitmen 4 Wheat Kings 2…Carson Wetsch scored twice helping the Hitmen build leads of 1-0 and 3-1.
Feb. 21/25 in BDN: Hitmen 5 Wheat Kings 0…Daniel Hauser posted a 28 save shutout.
Mar. 9/25 in CGY: Hitmen 4 Wheat Kings 1…Ethan Moore scored twice and Tanner Howe (1g, 2a) notched three points.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 166 BDN 116 Power Plays: CGY 5-16 (31.3%) BDN 1-14 (7.1%)
STREAKIN’: Ethan Moore (2g, 5a) is on a seven-game point streak…Eric Tu has won his last five starts, stopping 137 of 145 shots for a .945 save percentage…Kale Dach (1g, 2a), Caine Wilke (1g, 1a) and Ben MacBeath (1g, 1a) all have points in back-to-back games.
ROLLING: The Hitmen have picked up 15 of a possible 18 points in their last nine games, posting a record of 7-1-1-0.
OCTOBER REWIND: The Hitmen went 7-2-1-0 last month collecting 15 of a possible 20 points. Brandon Gorzynski led the club in scoring with 11 points (6g, 5a) while Caine Wilke (5g, 4a) and Ethan Moore (3g, 6a) both notched nine. Landon Amrhein was the plus/minus leader at +7 while Eric Tu led the goaltending department going 5-0 with a 1.69 goals against average and .943 save percentage.
NOVEMBER NOTEBOOK: The Hitmen will play 11 games in 29 days this month. Six of those games are on the road with five at home. Of note Medicine Hat will be the most frequent opponent with all three of their meetings coming back-to-back-to-back from Nov. 19-22.
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.
ROSTER MOVE: On Wednesday the Hitmen recalled prospect Kale McCann from the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks and added him to the roster as an affiliate player. The 16-year-old has eight points (2g, 6a) in 12 games this season. McCann was a second-round pick of the Hitmen, 29th overall, in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft.
WELCOME BACK: Centre Harrison Lodewyk returns to the Hitmen lineup this afternoon after serving his two-game WHL imposed suspension under supplemental discipline. On Oct. 2, the Hitmen filled their final 20-year-old spot by adding Lodewyk from Prince Albert in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft and a fifth-round pick in 2028. In eight games with the Hitmen, the Red Deer product has seven points (1g, 6a).
DID YOU KNOW? Just two points separate six Hitmen from the team scoring lead currently held by Ethan Moore (4g, 9a) at 13 points …Today is just Calgary’s second game against an East Division opponent. Last season they were 19-5-1-0 against the East…The Hitmen penalty kill is a perfect 19 for its last 19 and ranked first in the WHL this season at 88.4%… Ben MacBeath (29) and Andrei Molgachev (27) both have at least one shot on goal in all 13 games this season…Calgary has 24 players on their roster including 13 forwards, nine defencemen and two goaltenders. There are only seven returning players from last season with 16 rookies on the club… The Hitmen are 4-1-1-0 on the road this season, riding a three-game winning streak and four-game (3-0-1-0) road point streak away from Scotiabank Saddledome. The Wheat Kings are 5-4-1-0 on home ice.
LEADERSHIP GROUP: The Hitmen have named Calgary Flames prospect and 20-year-old defenceman Axel Hurtig captain of this year’s team. Also wearing a letter as alternate captains are Ethan Moore, Harrison Lodewyk, Brandon Gorzynski and Hunter Aura.
CANADA CALLS: Hitmen 16-year-old defenceman Calder Hamilton is at the 2025 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. He will play for Canada White in the East Coast tournament that begins today and will continue until Nov. 8 in Truro, N.S.
WHL REGULAR SEASON MILESTONES: Aidan Hess is six saves shy of 100.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Hunter Aura (Upper Body, Day-to-Day), Andrei Molgachev (Upper Body, TBD), Parker Schellenberg (Lower Body, Week-to-Week).
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: The Hitmen road trip resumes in Regina on Tuesday, Nov. 4 in a 6:00 p.m. MT start against the Pats. This season-long six-game swing will also take the club to Moose Jaw on Wednesday (Nov. 5) and Swift Current next Friday (Nov. 7) before ending in Saskatoon on Saturday, 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.
