GAME PREVIEW: Calgary at Lethbridge | 12.06.25
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (13-8-3-1) play their second game within 24 hours tonight as they head south to face the Hurricanes (10-18-0-1) in Lethbridge. Puck drop is 6:00 p.m. at VisitLethbridge.com Arena. The Hitmen opened the weekend last night with a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over the CHL’s #3 ranked Prince Albert Raiders. Trailing 2-0 just over seven minutes into the game, the Hitmen rallied on goals from Wyatt Pisarczyk, Kale Dach and Calder Hamilton. The Hamilton tally was his first career Western Hockey League goal and snapped a 2-2 tie with 10:30 remaining in regulation. Goaltender Eric Tu was instrumental in the outcome making 29 saves to record the win. Lethbridge also played at home last night and dropped the Wenatchee Wild 2-1. Rookie goaltender Leif Oaten made 36 saves in a first-star performance on a night when the ‘Canes were outshot 37-23. Kayden Longley and Grady Pichette provided the scoring for Lethbridge.
LETHBRIDGE: Tonight marks the fifth of eight regular season meetings between the two clubs but their first in just under two months. The Hitmen are 2-1-1-0 against Lethbridge while the road team is also 2-1-1-0. The Hitmen are led by Brandon Gorzynski (3g, 3a) who has six points. Kale Dach (1g, 4a) is next with five while Andrei Molgachev (3g, 1a) and Ethan Moore (1g, 3a) have four points each. Luke Cozens (4g, 2a) and Logan Wormald (1g, 5a) are the top performing Hurricanes with six points each while Will Scott (4a) has four points. Their next meeting is not 2026 when Lethbridge makes a trip to Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday, Jan. 11.
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 while Luc Cozens and Shane Smith tallied two points each.
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.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 125 LET 109 Power Plays: CGY 5-17 (29.4%) LET 1-15 (6.6%)
STREAKIN’: Hunter Aura (4a) is on a season high four-game assist streak…Kale Dach (3g) has scored in back-to-back games…Caine Wilke (6a) has assists in six of his last seven games…Brandon Gorzynski (1g, 2a) and Andrei Molgachev (1g, 1a) both saw their two-game point streaks end last night against Prince Albert.
WHERE THEY STAND: Calgary is tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference with Saskatoon at 30 points, however the Hitmen have three games in hand on the Blades. At 21 points, Lethbridge is ninth in the conference, two points behind Red Deer for the final playoff spot but the ‘Canes have played three more games than the Rebels.
DECEMBER DOCKET: Calgary has nine games on their schedule this month and counting tonight there are four remaining at home and four on the road. Those nine games are against eight different opponents while facing Red Deer twice. In November, the Hitmen went 3-5-2-1. Kale Dach (7g, 8a) led all players with 15 points. Brandon Gorzynski (5g, 8a) was next with 13 followed by Ben MacBeath (2g, 7a) with nine. Gorzynski also led the club in plus/minus at +2.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTEBOOK: The Hitmen power play has scored at least once in eight of their last nine games, going a combined 13-32 (40.6%) during that span.…The Hitmen penalty kill is tied for second in the WHL with Kelowna at 84%.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Kale Dach (13g, 15a) leads the Hitmen in scoring with 28 points which is tied for 39th overall in the WHL scoring race…Brandon Gorzynski owns the team lead in shots on goal at 75, Ethan Moore is next with 74…Calgary has 23 players on their roster including 14 forwards, seven defencemen and two goaltenders. There are only seven returning players from last season with 14 rookies on the club…Calgary is 7-4-2-1 against teams from their own division.
WHL LEADERBOARD: Eric Tu is sixth in goals against average at 2.56 while his .906 save percentage is seventh. Calgary has four of the WHL’s Top-20 Rookie scorers. Kale Dach is fourth with 28 points (13g, 15a) while Andrei Molgachev (9g, 7a) is 18th with 16 points. Ben MacBeath (5g, 10a) and Landon Amrhein (5g, 10a) are tied for 19th with 15 points each.
2026 NHL DRAFT: Five Hitmen are on NHL Central Scouting’s list as Preliminary Players to Watch ahead of the 2026 draft. Landon Amrheim and Ben MacBeath are forecast as second or third-round picks. Hunter Aura, Aidan Hesse and Andrei Molgachev are projected to be sixth or seventh-round candidates.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 7-2-2-1 on the road and riding a three-game road point streak (2-0-1-0). Lethbridge is 5-8-0-1 at home.
WHL REGULAR SEASON MILESTONES: Harrison Lodewyk is two assists shy of 50.
ALUMNI WATCH: Oliver Tulk is playing in the NCAA with the University of Wisconsin Badgers. The 20-year-old forward has 11 points (2g, 9a) in 14 games. Tulk played four seasons with the Hitmen from 2021-2025 and is fifth in franchise history with 111 goals.
PROSPECT WATCH: Donagh Esler-Twiss, Calgary’s fourth round pick, 86th overall, in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft is playing U17 Prep in the CSSHL with Shawnigan Lake School. The 15-year-old goaltender is 3-5-0 with a 3.97 goals against average and .901 save percentage.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Harrison Lodewyk (Upper Body, Day-to-Day).
HITMEN VS: BDN (1-0), EDM (2-0), EVT (0-0), KAM (0-0), KEL (0-0), LET (2-1-1-0), MH (1-2-1-1), MJ (0-2), PEN (0-0), POR (0-1), PA (2-0), PG (0-0), RD (2-1), REG (0-0-1-0), SAS (1-1), SEA (0-0), SPO (1-0), SC (1-0), TC (0-0), VAN (0-0), VIC (0-0), WEN (0-0).
12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS: All five teams under the CSEC umbrella are once again offering a 12 Days of Christmas sale with a daily deal for the Hitmen, Flames, Wranglers, Stampeders and Roughnecks until Dec. 12. Go to https://www.nhl.com/flames/tickets/12-days to secure today’s Hitmen offer, a BOGO (Buy One Get One) ticket to the Saturday, Jan. 24 home game against the Regina Pats.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: Calgary caps the weekend tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 7 in the 2025 Teddy Bear Toss powered by ENMAX when the Wenatchee Wild visit Scotiabank Saddledome. Game time is 4:00 p.m. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. Press Level seating remains for the holiday season spectacle which will see fans bring a Teddy Bear to the game to toss on the ice when the Hitmen score their first goal. There is a charitable ask for 30,000 bears this holiday season.
