GAME PREVIEW: Calgary at Regina – 11.04.25
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (10-3-1-0), riding a season high six-game winning streak, take their game to the Saskatchewan capital tonight for a date with the Regina Pats (5-8-1-1). Game time is 7:00 p.m. Central/6:00 p.m. MT at Brandt Centre. The Hitmen are 2-0 on their six-game tour of the East Division and coming off Sunday’s 3-1 victory in Brandon. Calgary scored once in each period receiving markers from Kale Dach, Kaden Meyer and Brandon Gorzynski. For Meyer it was his first career WHL goal. Defensively the Hitmen held the highest scoring team in the WHL to just 20 shots on goal as Eric Tu made 19 saves to record the win. The Pats haven’t played since last Saturday’s 8-5 loss in Brandon.
REGINA: Today marks the first of four meetings between the two clubs. Calgary went 4-0 against the Pats last season, outscoring Regina by a combined 17-4. Oliver Tulk (4g, 5a) led Calgary in the season series with nine points while Ben Kindel (3g, 4a) had seven. Zachary Lansard (1g, 2a) was the top performing Pat with three points. The Hitmen are 3-6 in their last nine visits to Regina. Their next meeting is not until Saturday, Jan. 24 when the Pats visit Scotiabank Saddledome.
2024-25 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 25/24 in REG: Hitmen 3 Pats 1…Ben Kindel scored twice for Calgary including the game winner with 7:20 remaining.
Jan. 5/25 in CGY: Hitmen 5 Pats 2…Carson Wetsch paced the Hitmen with three points (2g, 1a).
Jan. 19/25 in CGY: Hitmen 4 Pats 1…Ben Kindel set up three goals for the Hitmen while Oliver Tulk scored twice.
Feb. 19/25 in REG: Hitmen 5 Pats 0…Oliver Tulk (2g, 1a) recorded three points and Daniel Hauser made 14 saves for the shutout.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 142 REG 95 Power Plays: CGY 4-18 (22.2%) REG 1-8 (12.5%)
STREAKIN’: Eric Tu has won his last six starts, stopping 156 of 165 shots for a .945 save percentage…Kale Dach (2g, 3a) and Ben MacBeath (1g, 2a) are both on three-game point streaks. Brandon Gorzynski (1g, 2a) has points in back-to-back games… Ethan Moore (2g, 5a) saw his seven-game point streak end Sunday in Brandon while a two-game streak for Caine Wilkie (1g, 1a) was also halted.
ROLLING: The Hitmen have picked up 17 of a possible 20 points in their last 10 games, posting a record of 8-1-1-0.
TRAVEL LOG: So far on this season long six-game road trip the Hitmen have traveled 1,797 kilometers.
FAST FACTS: The Pats roster features three former Hitmen in Keets Fawcett, Reese Hamilton and Connor Bear. All three were dealt to the Pats in two different trades last season.
OCTOBER REWIND: The Hitmen went 7-2-1-0 last month collecting 15 of a possible 20 points. Brandon Gorzynski led the club in scoring with 11 points (6g, 5a) while Caine Wilke (5g, 4a) and Ethan Moore (3g, 6a) both notched nine. Landon Amrhein was the plus/minus leader at +7 while Eric Tu led the goaltending department going 5-0 with a 1.69 goals against average and .943 save percentage.
NOVEMBER NOTEBOOK: The Hitmen play 11 games in 29 days this month. Counting tonight, five of those games are remaining on the road with five at home. Of note Medicine Hat will be the most frequent opponent with all three of their meetings coming back-to-back-to-back from Nov. 19-22.
2026 NHL DRAFT: Five Hitmen have been named by NHL Central Scouting as Preliminary Players to Watch ahead of the coming draft. Landon Amrheim and Ben MacBeath are both projected second or third-round picks while Hunter Aura, Aidan Hesse and Andrei Molgachev are all projected to be sixth or seventh-round candidates.
ROSTER MOVE: Last Wednesday the Hitmen recalled prospect Kale McCann from the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks and added him to the roster as an affiliate player. The 16-year-old has eight points (2g, 6a) in 12 games this season. McCann was a second-round pick of the Hitmen, 29th overall, in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft.
DID YOU KNOW? Just three points separate six Hitmen from the team scoring lead currently held by Kale Dach (6g, 8a) at 14 points …Today is just Calgary’s third game against an East Division opponent, they are 2-0. Last season they went 19-5-1-0 against the East…The Hitmen penalty kill is a perfect 19 for its last 19 and ranked second in the WHL this season at 88.4%… Ben MacBeath (31) has at least one shot on goal in all 14 games this season…Calgary has 24 players on their roster including 13 forwards, nine defencemen and two goaltenders. There are only seven returning players from last season with 16 rookies on the club… The Hitmen are 5-1-1-0 on the road this season, riding a four-game winning streak and five-game (4-0-1-0) road point streak away from Scotiabank Saddledome. The Pats are 2-3-1-1 on home ice.
LEADERSHIP GROUP: The Hitmen have named Calgary Flames prospect and 20-year-old defenceman Axel Hurtig captain of this year’s team. Also wearing a letter as alternate captains are Ethan Moore, Harrison Lodewyk, Brandon Gorzynski and Hunter Aura.
CANADA CALLS: Hitmen 16-year-old defenceman Calder Hamilton is at the 2025 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with Canada White. Canada White, finished their preliminary schedule 1-1 and now await Thursday’s quarter-final schedule. The tournament, happening in Truro, Nova Scotia, wraps up on Sunday.
WHL REGULAR SEASON MILESTONES: Aidan Hess is six saves shy of 100.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Hunter Aura (Upper Body, Day-to-Day), Andrei Molgachev (Upper Body, TBD), Parker Schellenberg (Lower Body, Week-to-Week).
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: The Hitmen road trip is back on the ice tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 5 in Moose Jaw before heading to Swift Current on Friday, Nov. 7 then ending in Saskatoon on Saturday, Nov. 8. The next Hitmen home game isn’t until Friday, Nov. 14 when they welcome the Blades in the back half of a home and home set. Tickets are available at HitmenHockey.com/Tickets.
