GAME PREVIEW: CALGARY AT PRINCE ALBERT
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (18-15-5-2) open a four-game Saskatchewan road trip tonight in Prince Albert against the Raiders (15-24-1-1). Game time is 6:00 p.m. MT at Art Hauser Centre. The Hitmen are coming off Sunday’s thrilling 5-4 home ice overtime triumph against the Regina Pats. Grayden Siepmann tied the game for Calgary with 11.5 seconds remaining before Sean Tschigerl netted the winner 32 seconds into extra time. Steel Quiring, Oliver Tulk and Blake Allan also scored for the Hitmen with Allan adding a pair of assists for a team leading three points. Goaltender Brayden Peters tied a career high with 46 saves to record the win. The Raiders have been off since Saturday’s 5-2 home ice loss to Edmonton. The Hitmen are seventh in the Eastern Conference with 43 points, one point back of Brandon for sixth while Prince Albert is 11th with 32 points, five points out of a playoff spot.
STREAKS: Blake Allan (1g, 4a) and Oliver Tulk (1g, 2a) are both on three-game point streaks. Zac Funk (3g, 1a) saw his three-game goal scoring streak end Sunday against the Pats while a three-game point streak for Tyson Galloway (3a) was also snapped the same day.
VS. PRINCE ALBERT: Tonight is the third of four regular season meetings. The clubs have split their first two games but the home team is 2-0. Riley Fiddler-Schultz (2g, 2a) leads the Hitmen in the season series with four points. Sean Tschigerl (2g, 1a) is next with three. Cale Sanders (1g, 1a) and Keaton Sorenson (1g, 1a) are the top performing Raiders with two points each. Calgary is 0-3-3-1 in their last seven visits to PA. The two teams will conclude their regular season head-to-head schedule on Wednesday, Feb. 23 in Calgary.
2021-22 SERIES RECAP
Dec. 11, 2021 in PA: PA 4 CGY 3 Shootout…Prince Albert scored the only two goals of the shootout.
Jan. 15, 2022 in CGY: CGY 4 PA 1…Calgary scored three times in a span of 5:12 to erase a 1-0 deficit.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 64 PA 53 Power Plays: CGY 2-6 (33.3%) PA 0-5 (0%)
FAST FACTS: Of Calgary’s 40 games, 18 have been decided by a single goal with the club posting a record of 6-5-5-2 in those outcomes…Calgary’s 10 overtime appearances lead the Eastern Conference…The Hitmen are averaging 34.45 shots for per games which is seventh best in the WHL and 31.03 shots against which ranks 13th…Today’s game against the Raiders is the second in a stretch of 11 games in 22 days for the Hitmen…Calgary is 11-6-5-2 in their last 24 games…The Hitmen are 8-3-1-1 against East Division opponents.
WHL TOP-10: Riley Fiddler-Schultz is tied for seventh in the league in shots on goal with 170. His five game winning goals are tied for eighth…Sean Tschigerl tops the WHL in shorthanded markers with five…Blake Stevenson is tied for 10th in power play assists with 16…Brayden Peters is fourth in minutes played at 1,917 and fifth in saves with 902. His 16 wins are tied for seventh.
DRAFT WATCH: NHL Central Scouting has named two Hitmen players to its midterm rankings ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft. Defenceman Grayden Siepmann checks in at 139 among North American skaters while forward Maxim Muranov is 141.
ROSTER MOVE: On Feb. 2, the Hitmen signed 16-year-old prospect Dax Williams to a standard WHL Player Agreement and added him to the roster as an AP. The left-shot defenceman from Calgary, AB has been playing in the U18 AAA Alberta Elite League for the Calgary Buffaloes. In 28 games, he has 15 points (2g, 13a). Williams made his WHL debut on Sunday against Regina and picked up an assist.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 7-8-1-2 on the road this season including a 3-1 mark in their last four games away from Scotiabank Saddledome. Prince Albert is 6-12-1-1 at home.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Billal Noori (indefinitely, upper body), Keagan Slaney (indefinitely, upper body), Blake Heward (TBD, upper body).
HITMEN VS: (BDN 1-0-1-0), (EDM 1-3), (LET 0-2-2-1), (MH 5-1), (MJ 1-2), (PA 1-0-0-1), (RD 1-4-2-0), (REG 3-0), (SAS 2-0), (SC 3-2), WPG (0-1).
OLYMPIC STORY: Adam Tambellini, who played two seasons with the Hitmen from 2013-2015, is on Canada’s Men’s Hockey Team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Canada opens preliminary round play on Feb. 10 against Germany. Tambellini tallied 125 points (64g, 61a) with the Hitmen in 102 games. Fellow Hitmen alumnus, goaltender Justin Pogge, has been named as a reserve player for the Canadian roster.
REGULAR SEASON CAREER MILESTONE WATCH: Blake Stevenson needs three assists for 50. Brandon Whynott is two games away from 50.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Forward Blake Allan is in his fifth and final season in the WHL. Acquired by the Hitmen on Oct. 19, 2019 from Regina in exchange for an eighth-round pick in 2020, he broke into the league with the Kootenay ICE. In 180 career games, Allan has 43 points (15g, 28a). This season the 20-year-old from Davidson, SK has 16 points (5g, 11a) in 32 games. His 207 faceoff wins rank third on the team while his three-point outing (1g, 2a) against the Pats on Sunday was a career-high. Tonight will see Blake face his younger brother Nolan who is a defenceman for Prince Albert.
UPCOMING GAMES: Calgary’s road trip resumes tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 9 in Saskatoon before heading to Regina (Feb. 11) and Moose Jaw (Feb. 12). The Hitmen will then open a four-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 16 in a rematch with the Warriors. Game time at Seven Chiefs Sportsplex on Tsuut’ina Nation is 7:00 p.m.
