Game Preview: Calgary at Medicine Hat – 11.30.24
HITMEN HEADLINES: Winners of a season high five games in a row, the Calgary Hitmen (12-7-3-1) face a back-to-back tonight as they meet the Tigers (14-11-1-0) in Medicine Hat. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Co-op Place. The Hitmen are coming off last night’s 4-2 home ice triumph over Edmonton where Carter Yakemchuk scored the game winner, breaking a 2-2 tie with 2:57 remaining. Ben Kindel then added an empty net tally to seal victory. The Tigers also played last night skating to a 7-5 home ice win over Brandon. Tied 5-5, Ryder Ritchie netted the go-ahead goal 5:43 into the third period before Veeti Vaisanen added an insurance marker for Medicine Hat just past the midway mark.
MEDICINE HAT: Tonight is the third of eight regular season meetings between the two Central Division rivals. Calgary is 0-1-0-1 against the Tigers with tonight their first head-to-head battle in exactly a month. Ethan Moore (2g, 1a) and Ben Kindel (1g, 2a) top Calgary in the season series with three points each while Gavin McKenna (3g, 2a) has powered Medicine Hat with five points. Hunter St. Martin (2g, 1a) is next with three. Calgary is 8-6 in their last 14 visits to the Gas City. The two clubs will meet again on Sunday, Dec. 29 again in Medicine Hat.
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 SO…The Tigers clawed back from a 3-1 second period deficit.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 62 MH 60 Power Plays: CGY 4-10 (40%) MH 1-9 (11.1%)
STREAKS: Ben Kindel (5g, 8a) is on a career high eight-game point streak…Oliver Tulk (5g, 4a) and Carter Yakemchuk (4g, 2a) are both riding four-game goal scoring streaks…Hunter Aura (1g, 1a), Tanner Howe (3a) and Connor Hvidston (3a) all have points in back-to-back games…Maxim Muranov (2g, 4a) has points in three of his last four games.
FAST FACTS: The Tigers lead Calgary by just a single point for first place in the Central Division although the Hitmen have three games in hand…Calgary’s Carson Wetsch is 13th in the WHL with 92 shots on goal while Medicine Hat’s Gavin McKenna leads the league with 127 shots…The Hitmen have outshot their opponent in each of the last four games while recording at least 30 shots on goal in each contest…The Hitmen power play is 16th in the WHL at 20.6% while the penalty kill is ninth at 78.6%…Axel Hurtig is a combined plus-8 in his last five games while Dax Williams is plus-7 in that same span.
ROSTER MOVES: This week the Hitmen released 17-year-old forward Robin Svancara in a transaction to reduce their number of imports to the WHL maximum of two players in Maxim Muranov and Axel Hurtig…On Nov. 21, the Hitmen acquired Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Tanner Howe from the Regina Pats in exchange for Keets Fawcett, Resse Hamilton and two draft picks, a third-round selection in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft and a second-round pick in 2027. Howe has been a prolific point producer in the WHL and has three assists in two games with the Hitmen…On Nov. 19 the Hitmen signed 18-year-old goaltender Anders Miller to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement and added him to the roster while reassigning goalie Kason Kobelka to the U18 AAA Calgary Northstars. Miller, who is 2-0 with Calgary, had spent the season in the AJHL with Lloydminster posting a 1.98GAA and .919SV% in 10 games…On Nov. 18 the Hitmen signed defenceman Linden Burrett and added him to the roster. In 15 games with Cowichan Valley of the BCHL this season, Burrett registered nine points (3g, 6a)…On Nov. 17 the Hitmen filled their last 20-year-old spot by acquiring Kalem Parker from the Moose Jaw Warriors in return for 2009-born prospect Nathan Gardiner, a second-round pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft plus third and seventh-round picks in 2026. Parker, a Minnesota Wild prospect, helped the Warriors win the WHL Championship last season.
INSIDE THE DIVISION: Calgary is 4-4-1-1 against teams from the Central Division.
THE INCREDIBLE TULK: Hitmen 19-year-old centre Oliver Tulk has a remarkable efficiency on faceoffs this season having won 244 of his 354 draws for a winning percentage of 68.9%. Tulk has won 1,990 career faceoffs in 220 career games.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISION: The Hitmen are riding a three-game road winning streak and have picked up a point in four consecutive games away from Scotiabank Saddledome going 3-0-1-0. Overall, they are 6-5-2-0 on the road this season. Their 14 points collected in enemy buildings are the fourth most in the WHL…Medicine Hat meanwhile has the sixth best home ice record at 9-4-1-0.
NHL RADAR: Hitmen forward Ben Kindel suited up this week in the 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota. The two-game series saw the top first-year NHL Draft-eligible prospects from the CHL take on the U.S. National Under-18. Kindel finished with one assist.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH: Maxim Muranov is set to play his 200th career game tonight in Medicine Hat while Ethan Moore is in line to skate in career game 150…Carter Yakemchuk is just one goal behind Matt Kinch for the clubs’ all-time goal scoring lead among defencemen. Kinch finished his Hitmen career with 63 goals while Yakemchuk currently has 62…Tanner Howe is two goals away from 100…Oliver Tulk is 17th on the clubs’ all-time goal scoring list with 83, two goals behind Jake Virtanen who scored 85.
ROSTER CONSTRUCTION: There are 22 players on the Hitmen roster with 15 veterans and seven rookies. 20’s (3) – Hvidston, Parker, Muranov, 19’s (7) – Adaszynski, Howe, Moore, Tulk, Hurtig*, Williams, Yakemchuk, 18’s (4) – Burrett*, Miller*, Wetsch, Valliant, 17’s (5) – Mayes, Kindel, Gorzynski, Pisarczyk. Aura*, 16’s (3) – Kosick*, Tu*, Ng* *Denotes rookie
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: None.
UPCOMING GAMES: Calgary will wrap up their three-game weekend at home tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 1 in the Teddy Bear Toss powered by ENMAX Energy. Game time is 4:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome against the Moose Jaw Warriors. Special Press Level pricing is in effect starting at $25 for adults and $18 for kids. Doors open at 2:30 with fans asked to bring a small or medium sized stuffed toy to the game and toss it on the ice when the Hitmen score their first goal. There is a charitable request for almost 30,000 bears to be shared by over 70 local agencies this holiday season.
