GAME PREVIEW: Calgary at Medicine Hat – 04.10.25
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (2–1-0-0) face a pair of Central Division rivals this weekend and it all begins tonight on the road in Medicine Hat against the Tigers (3-1-0-0). Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Co-op Place. The Hitmen swing back into action for the first time in seven days as the club has been idle since last Saturday’s 6-3 home ice triumph over Edmonton. With the Oil Kings leading 3-2 early in the third period,the Hitmen rallied with four unanswered goals in the final 12:01 to nab the two points. Landon Amrhein, Ben MacBeath and Keaton Jundt all tallied their first career Western Hockey League goals in the triumph while Axel Hurtig, Ethan Moore and Kale Dach, into an empty net, completed the scoring. Moore (1g, 2a) finished with a team-leading three points while Caine Wilke, Andrei Molgachev and Wyatt Pisarczyk all had two assist outings. Goaltender Anders Miller made 28 saves in the victory improving to 2-0. Medicine Hat meanwhile faces a back-to-back having played in Lethbridge last night where they skated to a 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes. Eleven different Tigers recorded a point on a night where there were no multi-point performers. Kadon McCann broke a 2-2 tie for the Tigers, scoring the game winner with 6:02 remaining in the second period. Goaltender Jordan Switzer made 28 saves to collect the win as the Tigers outshot the ‘Canes 44-30.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Hitmen are off to a 2-1 start, which at four points has them third in the Central Division and tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference. The Tigers at 3-1 sit second in the division and are tied for third in the conference with Moose Jaw at six points.
MEDICINE HAT: Tonight marks the first of eight regular season meetings between the two Central Division rivals. Last season Calgary went 1-5-0-2 against the Tigers, including a 0–3-0-1 record in the Gas City. Medicine Hat outscored the Hitmen by a combined 34-18 with the Tigers clinching the Central Division banner with a road victory in Calgary on the final day of the regular season. Ben Kindel (4g, 6a) was the top performer for Calgary with 10 points while Oliver Tulk (3g, 3a) was next with six. Gavin McKenna (8g, 8a) topped Medicine Hat with 16 points while Oasiz Wiesblatt (2g, 9a) recorded 11. Over the last five seasons the Hitmen are a combined 8-8-0-1 at Co-op Place.
2024-25 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 23/24 in MH: Tigers 4 Hitmen 2…Tied 2-2, the Tigers scored two-third period goals 46 seconds apart.
Oct. 30/24 in CGY: Tigers 4 Hitmen 3 Shootout…The Tigers clawed back from a 3-1 second period deficit.
Nov. 30/24 in MH: Tigers 7 Hitmen 3…Gavin McKenna led the Tigers with four points (3g, 1a).
Dec. 29/24 in CGY: Hitmen 4 Tigers 3 OT…Ben Kindel (2g, 1a) led Calgary with three points including the game winning goal.
Dec. 30/24 in MH: Tigers 5 Hitmen 2…The Tigers snapped a 2-2 just 44 seconds into the third period.
Jan. 17/25 in CGY: Tigers 3 Hitmen 0…Oasiz Wiesblatt (1g, 1a) and Gavin McKenna (2a) had two points each.
Jan. 18/25 in MH: Tigers 3 Hitmen 2 Shootout…Jonas Woo scored the winner in Round 8.
Mar. 23/25 in CGY: Tigers 5 Hitmen 2…Harrison Meneghin made 35 saves while Gavin McKenna tallied three points (2g, 1a).
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 226 MH 234 Power Plays: CGY 7–33 (21.2%) MH 9-29 (31%)
OCTOBER SCHEDULE: Tonight begins a new month for the Hitmen with Calgary set to play 10 times in October. It’s an even split with five games on the road and five at home. October wraps up on Halloween when the Hitmen visit the Prince Albert Raiders to begin a six-game road trip. Home dates will include visits from Lethbridge (Oct. 5), Medicine Hat (Oct. 10), Portland (Oct. 13), Spokane (Oct. 19) and Red Deer (Oct. 29).
TRANSACTIONS: Yesterday the Hitmen announced a trade with Seattle which saw the club acquire the rights to Calgary Flames 2025 second-round pick Theo Stockselius. In return the Hitmen surrender a fourth-round pick in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft plus a trio of conditional selections, a first-round pick in 2027, a fifth–round pick in 2029 and a sixth–round pick in 2026. Yet to sign a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement, the 18-year-old Stockselius is currently playing U20 in Sweden where he has seven assists in five games with Djurgardens IF. Also on Thursday the Hitmen placed Teodor Vapenik on CHL Import Waivers leaving the club with eight defencemen on the roster. On Wednesday the Hitmen filled their final 20-year-old spot by adding forward Harrison Lodewyk from the Prince Albert Raiders in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft and a fifth-round pick in 2028. Lodewyk has played his entire WHL career with the Raiders appearing in 233 games. The product of Red Deer, AB, has four points (1g, 3a) in four games this season. Rounding out the Hitmen 20-year-old class this season are Ethan Moore and Axel Hurtig.
BEHIND THE BENCH: The Hitmen have a new coaching staff this season led by Head Coach Dustin Friesen, taking over from Paul McFarland who is now an Assistant Coach with the Edmonton Oilers. Friesen is joined by Assistants Brad Moran and Dakoka Krebs. Moran, a Hitmen standout player from 1995-2000, spent the previous seven seasons with the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks, the last six as GM and Head Coach where he won two league championships and the 2025 Centennial Cup. Krebs meanwhile gets a promotion after working in the role as Hitmen Video Coach last season. The new Hitmen Video Coach is Lukas Lomicky.
SPECIAL TEAMS TRACKER: The Hitmen are 2-13 on the powerplay (15%) which has them ranked tied for 17th in the WHL. The penalty kill leads the league at 91.7% having killed 11 of their 12 shorthanded situations.
LET’S GO CAMPING: Five Hitmen from the current 27-player roster headed to NHL camps in September: Kale Dach (Pittsburgh), Brandon Gorzynski (Dallas), Axel Hurtig (Calgary), Ben Kindel (Pittsburgh) and Anders Miller (Tampa Bay). So far only Kindel remains with the Penguins where he played in all but one of the ‘Pens preseason games.
WHL REGULAR SEASON MILESTONES: Ethan Moore is one assist shy of 50 and three points away from 100. Goaltender Anders Miller eclipsed 500 career saves last Saturday against Edmonton.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Paker Schellenberg (Lower Body, Week-to-Week).
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: The Hitmen are back at home tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 5 to host the Lethbridge Hurricanes in a 4:00 p.m. start at Scotiabank Saddledome. It’s the first Sunday Funday of the season presented by Brookfield Residential. Fans can enjoy $6 food and drink deals all game long plus Face Painting and the Fun Zone on the West Concourse. Back by popular demand is also the Post-Game Family Skate. Tickets are available at HitmenHockey.com/Tickets.
