GAME PREVIEW: CALGARY AT RED DEER
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (18-9-3-1), winners of four in a row, open a home-and-home set with the Rebels (23-6-1-3) tonight in Red Deer. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Peavy Mart Centrium. The Hitmen are coming off last night’s 8-2 home ice win over Edmonton. David Adaszynski and Sean Tschigerl both scored twice for Calgary with Adaszynski adding a pair of assists to finish with a career high four points. Defenceman Trey Patterson also had a career night recording three assists. The Rebels have been off since Tuesday when they posted a 7-1 home ice win over the Oil Kings thanks to a hat-trick from Kai Uchacz.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Hitmen are sixth in the Eastern Conference with 40 points and sit ninth overall in the WHL. Red Deer is second in the conference and third in the league with 50 points.
RED DEER: Tonight is the fourth of eight regular season meetings between the Hitmen and Rebels. Calgary is 0-1-2-0 against Red Deer despite recording 10 more shots. Jacob Wright (2g, 2a) is the top performer for Calgary with four points. Oliver Tulk (3a) is next with three. Kalan Lind (2g, 3a) leads the Rebels with five points while goaltender Kyle Kelsey is 3-0 with a 1.95 goals against average and .942 save percentage. Calgary is 5-4-3-0 in their last 12 visits to Central Alberta.
2022-23 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 8/22 in RD: RD 3 CGY 2 OT…Jace Isley scored twice including the winner on a penalty shot.
Oct. 19/22 in RD: RD 5 CGY 2…Ben King led the Rebels with three points (2g, 1a).
Nov. 27/22 in CGY: RD 3 CGY 2 OT…Hunter Mayo scored the winner on a power play 3:51 into extra time.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 103 RD 93 Power Plays: CGY 1-13 (7.7%) RD 3-14 (21.4%)
INSIDE THE STREAK: Calgary has outscored their opponents by a combined 25-6 during their current four-game winning streak. It’s their longest such run since the club rattled off a season high seven straight victories from Oct. 23 to Nov. 13.
PLAYER STREAKS: Riley Fiddler-Schultz (6g, 4a) and Zac Funk (4g, 8a) are both on six-game point streaks. Grayden Siepmann (5a) has points in four consecutive games. Tyson Galloway (3a) is on a three-game point streak while Tomis Marinkovic (1g, 1a) has points in back-to-back games. Ethan Buenaventura has won his last four starts in goal. Sean Tschigerl (5g, 5a) has points in seven of his last eight games. Matteo Danis (2g, 1a), Carson Wetsch (2a) and Brandon Whynott (2a) all saw their two-game point streaks end last night against Edmonton.
FAST FACTS: Scoring against Edmonton last night, Riley Fiddler-Schultz became the first Hitmen player to reach the 20-goal mark this season. It’s the second time in his career he has reached that milestone after scoring 28 goals last season…Tonight is the second stop in a busy stretch for the Hitmen that will see the club play seven games in 12 days culminating with a Jan. 8 visit to Regina…The Hitmen are 6-2 in their last eight games and 15-5-2-0 in their last 22…Calgary is 8-2-2-1 against teams from their own division…The Hitmen have outshot their opponents in five straight games and in seven of their last eight outings…Sean Tschigerl is on the verge of becoming the third Hitmen player to reach the century mark in shots this season He has 97…The Hitmen are a +32 in the goals for/goals against differential.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Brayden Peters illness day-to-day, Riley Fiddler-Schultz illness day-to-day, Jacob Wright illness day-to-day, Keagan Slaney upper body week-to-week
WHL TOP-10: Brayden Peters has the eighth best save percentage in the WHL at .912 and the ninth best goals against average a 2.52. Riley Fiddler-Schultz is fifth in shots on goal with 132 and fifth in face-off wins with 382. Grayden Siepmann is 10th in defencemen scoring with 30 points.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Calgary’s penalty kill is number one in the WHL at 88.7% and has killed 22 of its last 23 shorthanded situations. On the flip side the power play is 15th at 19.8 %.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 10-5-2-0 in enemy buildings. Tonight is road game 18. Only Edmonton and Regina, both with 20, have played more road games this season. Red Deer is 12-3-1-1 on home ice.
ONE YEAR AGO: Calgary is seven points ahead of their start through 31 games last season when they owned a record of 14-12-3-2.
REGULAR SEASON CAREER MILESTONE WATCH: Ethan Buenaventura is 59 saves shy of 1,000. Keagan Slaney is four games away from 150. Sean Tschigerl passed 50 goals last night against Edmonton.
TEAM LEADERS: GOALS– Riley Fiddler-Schultz 20 / ASSISTS– Grayden Siepmann 24 / POINTS– Riley Fiddler-Schultz 38
PLUS/MINUS– Zac Funk +24 / WINS– Brayden Peters 10
HITMEN MONTH-BY-MONTH: September (1-0-0-1), October (5-4-1-0), November (6-2-2-0), December (6-3-0-0).
UPCOMING GAMES: Calgary is back home to host the Rebels in a rematch on New Year’s Day, Sunday, Jan. 1. Game time is 1:00 p.m. at the ‘Dome for another Sunday Funday, presented by Brookfield Residential. In addition to $2 sips and snacks specials all game long, look for concourse activities from TELUS Spark and a cast of characters outfitted by the Costume Shoppe. There are also $6 Hitmen Happy Hour food and drink deals throughout the day and a post-game family skate.
