Game Preview: Calgary at Tri City – 11.11.24
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (7-7-2-1) play their third game in four nights on this six-game U.S. Division tonight with a stop in Kennewick against the Tri-City Americans (12-3-1-0). Game time is 8:05 p.m. (MT) at Toyota Center. The Hitmen are 1-1 on the swing and coming off Saturday’s 5-3 loss in Everett. Ethan Moore scored twice for Calgary while Ben Kindel added his team-leading 11th goal of the season. Tri-City meanwhile extended their winning streak to 11 games on Saturday with a 7-2 home ice win over Red Deer despite being outshot 49-28. Brandon Whynott (2g, 1a) and Carter MacAdams (3a) led the way for the Americans with three points each.
TRI-CITY: Tonight is the lone regular season meeting between the two clubs. Last season Tri-City made the trip to Alberta on Jan. 14 and fell 6-4 to the Hitmen at Scotiabank Saddledome. Keets Fawcett led the Hitmen attack with three points (1g, 2a) while Ethan Moore scored twice on a day when Calgary fired 51 shots on goal. The last time the Hitmen played in Kennewick was on Nov. 18, 2022, when the Americans rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to post a 4-3 overtime win. Tyson Greenway not only tied the game but added the OT winner. Oliver Tulk scored twice for Calgary.
STREAKS: Carson Wetsch (1g, 2a) is on a three-game point streak. Ben Kindel (2g) has goals in back-to-back games. Carson Wetsch (1g, 1a) and David Adaszynski (2a) are on two-game point streaks. Rylan Ng (2g, 2a) and Oliver Tulk (1g, 2a) saw three-game point streaks end Saturday in Everett while a two-game streak for Carter Yakemchuk (1g, 2a) was also halted. Eric Tu has started five games in a row in goal.
TRAVEL MAP: The Hitmen left Calgary on Wednesday morning for this U.S. road trip which so far has seen the team travel 1,582 kilometers. Before returning home to Alberta they will play their six games in just nine nights.
GUESS WHO’S BACK? Hitmen video coach Dakota Krebs returns to Tri-City tonight where he played parts of three seasons with the Americans from 2015-18 before his trade to the Hitmen. Krebs appeared in 151 games with the Ams recording 12 points (2g, 10a) after he was signed by the club in the fall of 2015.
QUARTER POLL: The Hitmen are officially through 25 percent of their 68-game regular season schedule and are on pace for a record of 28-28-8-4, good for 68 points.
ROSTER MOVES: On Wednesday the Hitmen added goaltending prospect Kason Kobelka to the roster. The 17-year-old joins the club as an affiliate player following the same day release of 20-year-old netminder Ethan Buenaventura. Kobelka, who signed with the club this past summer, has a 2.21 GAA and .922 save percentage in eight games this season with the Calgary AAA U18 Northstars. The Hitmen now have an opening for an additional 20-year-old as they are one shy of the league maximum of three.
FAMILIAR FACES: The Tri-City roster includes two former Hitmen in Brandon Whynott and Carter MacAdams. MacAdams played just 36 games in Calgary during parts of two seasons, recording 16 points (5g, 11a) from Jan of 2023 to November of 2023. Whynott meanwhile played parts of three seasons with the Hitmen from 2020-23 appearing in 141 games while recording 37 points (12g, 25a).
SPECIAL TEAMS TRACKER: The Hitmen power play is tied for 14th in the WHL at 21.1% while the penalty kill is tied for fifth at 80%.
THE INCREDIBLE TULK: Hitmen 19-year-old centre Oliver Tulk has a remarkable efficiency on faceoffs this season having won 181 of his 259 draws for a winning percentage of 69.8%. Tulk has won 1,927 career faceoffs in 214 career games.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISION: The Hitmen saw their four-game road point streak end Saturday in Everett and are now 3-5-1-0 away from Scotiabank Saddledome this season. Tri-City is 9-1 at home.
NHL WATCH: Two Hitmen in Ben Kindel and Reese Hamilton have been selected to play in the 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota. The two-game series will see the top first-year NHL Draft-eligible prospects from the CHL take on the U.S. National Under-18 team Nov. 26 and 27 in London and Oshawa, Ontario.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH: David Adaszynski is one assist shy of 50…Eric Tu eclipsed the 500-minute park Saturday in Everett …Carter Yakemchuk played career game 200 Friday in Seattle…Oliver Tulk is tied with Riley Fiddler-Schultz for 19th place on the clubs’ all-time goal scoring list with 77 goals. Brodie Dupont is 18th with 81.
ROSTER CONSTRUCTION: There are 24 players on the Hitmen roster with 15 veterans and nine rookies. 20’s (2) – Hvidston, Muranov, 19’s (6) – Adaszynski, Moore, Tulk, Hurtig*, Williams, Yakemchuk, 18’s (4) – Wetsch, Valliant, Fawcett, Bowland*, 17’s (8) – Hamilton, Mayes, Kindel, Kobelka*, Gorzynski, Pisarczyk. Aura*, Svancara*, 16’s (4) – Kosick*, LaPlante*, Tu*, Ng* *Denotes rookie
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Robin Svancara (Upper Body – Indefinitely).
PROSPECT WATCH: Calder Hamilton, Calgary’s first-round pick in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft is playing AAA U18 Hockey in Saskatchewan as a 15-year-old with the Warman Wildcats. In nine games the defenceman has eight points (3g, 5a).
UPCOMING GAMES: The Hitmen road trip heads to Portland for a date with the Winterhawks on Wednesday, Nov 13 before stops in Spokane (Nov. 15) and Wenatchee (Nov. 16). Their next home game isn’t until Friday, Nov. 22 when they welcome the Victoria Royals to the ‘Dome. Game time is 7:00 p.m.
