Game Preview: Calgary at Edmonton – 09.28.24
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (0-0-0-0) open their 30th anniversary season this afternoon on the road against the Edmonton Oil Kings (0-0-0-0). Game time in the provincial capital is 2:00 p.m. at Rogers Place. The Hitmen joined the Western Hockey League as an expansion team in the 1995-96 season. During their 29 seasons the club has won two league titles, the first in 1999 with the second in 2010. The Hitmen now continue the legacy celebrating three decades of Hitmen Hockey and will debut their 30th Anniversary jerseys at their home opener on Sunday, September 29th.
EDMONTON: Today is the first of eight regular season meetings between the two Central Division rivals. Last season Calgary went 7-2 against Edmonton with a 2-2 record Rogers Place. Oliver Tulk (8g, 10a) led all Hitmen in the season series with 18 points with Carter Yakemchuk (9g, 5a) next with 14. Gavin Hodnett (3g, 8a) was the top performing Oil King with 11 points.
2023-24 SERIES RECAP
Nov. 10/23 in CGY: Hitmen 6 Oil Kings 1…Calgary built period leads of 3-0 and 4-1 while 10 different Hitmen notched at least a point.
Nov. 11/23 in EDM: Hitmen 10 Oil Kings 2…Sean Tschigerl, Carson Wetsch and Maxim Muranov all scored twice for Calgary.
Nov. 25/23 in CGY: Hitmen 7 Oil Kings 3…Carson Wetsch scored twice for Calgary.
Jan. 7/24 in CGY: Hitmen 5 Oil Kings 1…Ethan Buenaventura made 50 saves in a first-star performance.
Feb. 2/24 in EDM: Hitmen 6 Oil Kings 5 OT…Carter Yakemchuk scored the game winner 3:57 into extra time.
Feb. 4/24 in CGY: Hitmen 8 Oil Kings 1…After the Oil Kings opened the scoring, the Hitmen counted the next eight.
Feb. 21/24 in EDM: Oil Kings 5 Hitmen 4…Edmonton scored twice in the final 32.3 seconds to erase a 4-3 deficit.
Feb. 28/24 in CGY: Hitmen 6 Oil Kings 3…Oliver Tulk and Maxim Muranov both scored twice for Calgary.
Mar. 15/24 in EDM: Oil Kings 6 Hitmen 2…Edmonton erased a 2-0 first period deficit.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 282 EDM 240 Power Plays: CGY 16-40 (40%) EDM 7-43 (16.3%)
LET’S GO CAMPING: Four Hitmen headed to NHL camps earlier this month: Axel Hurtig (Calgary), Oliver Tulk (Los Angeles), Carson Wetsch (San Jose) and Carter Yakemchuk (Ottawa). Hurtig, Tulk and Wetsch have returned from their respective clubs while Yakemchuk remains with the Senators.
ROSTER CONSTRUCTION: There are currently 24 players on the Hitmen roster with 18 returning veterans and five rookies. With the acquisition of Connor Hvidston from the Swift Current Broncos and the return of Russian import Maxim Muranov, all three overage spots are filled rounded out by 20 year-old goaltender Ethan Buenaventura. The roster breakdown is as follows:
3 – 20 year olds (’04)
6 – 19 year olds (’05)
6 – 18 year olds (’06)
7 – 17 year olds (’07)
2 – 16 year olds (’08)
2024 PRE-SEASON RECAP: Calgary went 3-1 during their four-game exhibition schedule. Rookie defenceman Hunter Aura (4a) led the team in points with four, while forwards Ben Kindel (3g) and Rylan Ng (3g) were next with three points each.
TRANSACTIONS: On Tuesday, Calgary traded 19 year-old defenceman Aleksey Chichkin and 17 year-old forward Connor Bear to the Regina Pats. The club also reassigned 16 year-old forward Koy Funk.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Robin Svancara (Upper Body, Indefinitley)
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Ben Kindel returns to the Hitmen roster this season. Kindel is coming off an impressive rookie year, posting 60 points (15g, 45a), in 68 games played. This earned him the Calgary Hitmen Rookie of the year at this past season’s Hitmen awards. The forward from Coquitlam, BC represented team Canada this past summer at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and returned home with a gold medal.
BEHIND THE BENCH: The Hitmen have a new coaching staff this season led by Head Coach Paul McFarland who is joined by Assistants David Liffiton and Ben Wilson. Dakota Krebs also joins the staff as a Video Coach. McFarland brings a decorated resume to the position having spent six seasons on an NHL bench as an Assistant Coach with Seattle (2021-24), Toronto (2019-20) and Florida (2017-19). Liffiton enjoyed a lengthy pro career (2004-2017) in both North America and Europe before joining the coaching ranks while both Wilson and Krebs have gone full circle from former Hitmen defencemen to now members of the coaching staff.
ALUMNI REPORT: Former Hitmen Jake Bean has made his return to Calgary but this time as a Calgary Flame. The defenceman signed a two-year deal with the club back in July. Bean had an illustrious career during parts of four seasons with the Hitmen highlighted by a pair of franchise records. In 2015-16 he tallied 24 goals to set a new single-season franchise mark for goals by a blueliner which was only broken last season by current Hitmen defenceman Carter Yakemchuk. Bean still holds the Hitmen record for most points by a rookie defenceman with 39.
REGULAR SEASON CAREER MILESTONE WATCH: Oliver Tulk is three games shy of 200 career games. Keets Fawcett is five points shy of 50 career points.
UPCOMING GAMES: Calgary is back on the ice tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 29 for their 30th Anniversary season home opener against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Game time is 2:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome. The team will be debuting a special 30th Anniversary Jersey. The game will include special guests including former General Manager Kelly Kisio, Alumni Brad Moran and team co-founder Bret Hart in a special pregame ceremony.
SUNDAY FUNDAY: Sunday’s game marks the first Sunday Funday presented by Brookfield Residental. Tickets start at $22 for adults and $14 for kids. Fans can expect $3 food and beverage deals all game long as well as fun activities on the concourse. Tickets are available here
