GAME PREVIEW: Calgary at Lethbridge – 10.03.26
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (3-0-0-0) put their three-game winning streak on the line tonight as they head south to face the Lethbridge Hurricanes (1-3-0-0). Game time is 6:00 p.m. at VisitLethbridge.com Arena. Fans can watch the game for FREE on YouTube. The Hitmen have been idle since last Friday’s 6-1 home ice triumph over Edmonton. Artem Katsuro (2g, 1a) and Carter Sanderson (1g, 2a) led the charge with three points each on a night where the Hitmen struck for three power play goals and received a 24 save performance from goaltender Eric Tu. Lethbridge meanwhile is coming off last night’s 3-1 home ice win over Prince Albert despite being outshot 27-17. ‘Canes goaltender Leif Oaten made 26 saves in a first star performance.
LETHBRIDGE: Tonight marks the first of eight regular season meetings between the two clubs. Calgary grabbed the season series in 2025-26 posting a record of 5-2-1-0 against the ‘Canes including a 3-0-1-0 mark in the windy city. Ethan Moore (5g, 4a) and Kale Dach (2g, 7a) drove the Hitmen scoring attack with nine points each while Brandon Gorzynski (3g, 4a) was next with seven. Logan Wormald (2g, 5a) led the way for Lethbridge with seven points. Their next meeting is just under two weeks away on Friday, Oct. 16 this time at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.
2025-26 SERIES RECAP
Sept. 19/25 in LET: Hitmen 5 Hurricanes 3…The Hitmen raced out to a 2-0 first period lead.
Sept. 20/25 in CGY: Hurricanes 4 Hitmen 0…Koen Cleaver made 28 saves for the shutout.
Oct. 5/25 in CGY: Hitmen 5 Hurricanes 2…Calgary scored four unanswered goals after Lethbridge built a 1-0 lead.
Oct. 17/25 in LET: Hurricanes 7 Hitmen 6 OT…Lethbridge overcame a 6-1 second period deficit.
Dec. 6/25 in LET: Hitmen 4 Hurricanes 1…Nine different Hitmen recorded at least a point, and Aidan Hesse made 21 saves in the win.
Jan. 11/26 in CGY: Hitmen 5 Hurricanes 1…Ethan Moore scored twice for Calgary.
Jan. 30/26 in LET: Hurricanes 4 Hitmen 1…Owen Berge scored a hat-trick for the ‘Canes.
Mar. 21/26 in CGY: Hitmen 8 Hurricanes 5…Blake Vanek (2g, 2a) powered Calgary with four points.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 255 LET 226 Power Plays: CGY 8-25 (32%) LET 5-30 (16.7%)
FAST START: This is the first 3-0 start to the regular season for the Hitmen since 2015-16. That season Calgary began with back-to-back victories over the Kootenay ICE before defeating Brandon. The last time the Hitmen started a season with four straight wins was the 2009-10 campaign when they roared out of the gate with five straight victories. Goaltender Martin Jones picked up three of those wins. Of note, Calgary did begin the 2012-13 season with an eight-game point streak (6-0-1-1) but suffered their first non regulation loss in the fourth game with an overtime setback at home against Red Deer.
STREAKIN’: Brennan Brown (3g) has scored in all three games to start the season becoming the first Hitmen player since Adam Tambellini in 2014-15 to begin a new season with a three-game goal scoring streak. The last four-game goal scoring streak to open a new campaign was notched by Greg Chase who accomplished that feat in 2013-14. Charlie Kresl (1g, 4a) and Andrei Molgachev (1g, 2a) are on three-game point streaks. Hunter Aura (2g, 1a) and Artem Katsuro (3g, 2a) have points in back-to-back games.
RECOGNITION: The quick 3-0 start to the season has grabbed some early attention for the Hitmen as this week they entered the CHL Top-10 Rankings as the 10th ranked team. The Victoria Royals own the top spot while Medicine Hat at number six is the only other WHL entry.
SEPTEMBER RECAP: The Hitmen went 3-0 last month. Artem Katsuro (3g, 2a) and Charlie Kresl (1g, 4a) led all players with five points each while Brennan Brown (3g), Hunter Aura (2g, 1a), Carter Sanderson (1g, 2a), Andrei Molgachev (1g, 2a) and Wyatt Pisarczyk (1g, 2a) all notched three points each. Eric Tu led the goaltending department with a 1.44 goals against average while Caine Wilke and Charlie Kresl shared the plus/minus lead at +3.
OCTOBER JOURNEY: Calgary will play 11 games in 28 days this month with four of those on the road and seven at home highlighted by a five-game homestand from Oct. 12-23.
DID YOU KNOW? On Thursday the Hitmen reassigned forward Jack Poole to the Winnipeg Blues of the MJHL. Calgary now has 26 players on their roster including 13 returnees from last seasons club which finished fourth in the Eastern Conference with 85 points…Tonight marks just the second game for Calgary in a span of 13 days…Five Hitmen headed to NHL camps earlier this month: Carter Sanderson (Pittsburgh), Jakob Leander (Calgary), Blake Vanek (Ottawa), Landon Amrhein (Calgary) and Andrei Molgachev (Utah).
OFF-SEASON NOTEBOOK: On June 8, the Hitmen announced the promotion of Cass Bruni to General Manager from Assistant GM while Garry Davidson moved from the GM’s chair to a Hockey Operations Advisory Role…On June 30 the Hitmen made two picks in the 2026 CHL Import Draft selecting 19-year-old defenceman and Calgary Flames prospect Jakob Leander along with 17-year-old Russian forward Artem Katsuro…On June 29 the Hitmen announced the signing of 19-year-old forward and Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Carter Sanderson…On July 27 the Hitmen acquired 19-year-old forward Brennan Brown, a third-round pick in 2027 and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2029 from the Swift Current Broncos in exchange for 18-year-old forward Ty Meunier and a seventh-round pick in 2030…On September 11 the Hitmen inked listed prospect 18 year-old defenceman Maden Simard…On September 14 Calgary acquired a fourth-round pick in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for 18-year-old defenceman Kaden Meyer…Also on September 14, the Hitmen signed 2025 fourth-round pick and 16 year-old goaltending prospect Donagh Esler-Twiss to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement. On Sept. 27 The Hitmen inked 20-year-old forward Charlie Kresl after the product of Denver, CO, attended training camp as a free agent.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Rylan Ng (Upper Body, Week-to-Week), Landon Amrhein (Upper Body, Day-to-Day), Teague McGlynn (Lower Body, Week-to-Week).
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: Calgary returns home tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 3 to host the Regina Pats in a 2:00 p.m. puck drop at Scotiabank Saddledome. It will be the first Sunday Funday of the season presented by Brookfield Residential where fans can enjoy $7 and $5 food and drink deals all game long, plus Face Painting, the Fun Zone on the West Concourse and the option to purchase a $2 add on for the Post-Game Family Skate.
