GAME PREVIEW: Calgary vs Lethbridge – 02.11.25
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (32-13-3-2), riding a two-game winning streak, put the final touches on a four-game homestand tonight as they welcome the Lethbridge Hurricanes (32-16-1-1) to Scotiabank Saddledome. Game time is 7:00 p.m. Be sure to take advantage of the $6 Hitmen Happy Hour from when doors open at 6:00 p.m. up until the opening faceoff. Items include pizza, burgers, hot dogs, 14-ounce beer, highballs and 6-ounce house wine. It’s another Nutrien Chuck-A-Puck night in support of Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids. Pucks will be tossed in the second intermission and are available for purchase behind Section 117 and 223 with awesome prizes to be won. The Hitmen are coming off last Friday’s 4-3 overtime win against Edmonton. Defenceman and Vancouver Canucks prospect Sawyer Mynio buried the winner 2:59 into the extra session. Axel Hurtig, Brandon Gorzynski and Carson Wetsch also scored for Calgary while Anders Miller turned aside 28 shots to record the victory. Lethbridge has been off since Saturday’s 4-0 victory in Red Deer where goaltender Koen Cleaver made 25 saves for the shutout and Leo Braillard scored the game winner.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Hitmen are third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with 69 points, just one point behind the front-running Medicine Hat Tigers while Lethbridge is fourth with 66 points.
LETHBRIDGE: Tonight is the seventh of eight regular season meetings between the two Central Division rivals. Calgary leads the season series 4-2 with a record of 2-1 at home. Ben Kindel (2g, 6a) has led the way with eight points while Oliver Tulk (2g, 5a) is next with seven. Logan Wormald (3g, 5a) is the top performing Hurricane with eight points. Brayden Edwards (3g, 4a) is next with seven. Both clubs have used four different goalies in the season series. Their final meeting is Saturday, Mar. 15 in Lethbridge.
2024-25 SERIES RECAP
Sept. 29/24 in CGY: Hitmen 3 Hurricanes 1…The Hitmen raced out to a 2-0 first period lead.
Oct. 19/24 in CGY: Hitmen 6 Hurricanes 1…Six different Hitmen counted goals in the victory.
Nov. 1/24 in LET: Hitmen 5 Hurricanes 3…David Adaszynski scored twice for Calgary.
Dec. 27/24 in LET: Hurricanes 4 Hitmen 1…Tristen Doyle (2g, 1a) led the ‘Canes with three points.
Jan. 25/25 in LET: Hitmen 3 Hurricanes 2…Calgary built a 3-0 first period lead on goals from Ben Kindel, Carson Wetsch and Chase Valliant.
Feb. 2/25 in CGY: Hurricanes 4 Hitmen 3…Brayden Yager led the ‘Canes with a hat trick.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 194 LET 142 Power Plays: CGY 4-25 (16%) LET 4-20 (20%)
STREAKS: Oliver Tulk (8g, 8a) is on a 10-game point streak and has points (25g, 36a) in 30 of his last 31 games…Carson Wetsch (4g, 1a) and Connor Hvidston (3g, 5a) are both riding five-game point streaks…Brandon Gorzynski (1g, 1a) has points in back-to-back games…Anders Miller is 6-0-0-1 in his last eight appearances with a 1.67 goals against average and .934 save percentage… Ben Kindel (2g, 2a) saw his three-game point streak end Friday against Edmonton.
NHL RADAR: Three Hitmen are on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings of the top North American skaters and goalies eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft. Among the skaters, Ben Kindel is ranked 20th with Brandon Gorzynski on the document 81st. In the goaltending department, Anders Miller is 19th. Overall, a total of 66 WHL players cracked the rankings.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISION: The Hitmen are 20-4-1-1 at Scotiabank Saddledome. The Hitmen went 20-10-3-1 on home ice last season. Their 42 home points trail only Everett (43). Lethbridge is 14-11-0-1 away from VisitLethbridge.com Arena. The ‘Canes are riding a nine-game road winning streak.
FEBRUARY SCHEDULE: The Hitmen play 12 games this month with seven of those games on the road and only two remaining at home counting tonight.
HAUSER’S HISTORIC CLIMB: Hitmen goaltender Daniel Hauser picked up career victory 112 last Wednesday against PA. He is now two wins behind Griffen Outhouse who sits ninth on the WHL’s all time regular season wins list with 114.
FAST FACTS: Calgary’s 32 wins are their most in a single season since the Covid-19 shorted 2019-20 campaign when they were seventh in the Eastern Conference Standings with 35 wins in 64 games before the season was halted…The Hitmen have outshot their opponent 39 times this season…The Hitmen have risen in the CHL Top-10 Rankings, now sitting seventh…Since starting the season with a record of 2-4, Calgary has gone 30-9-3-2 including 14-2-0-1 in their last 17…The Hitmen are 12-9-1-2 against teams from the Central Division…Calgary is +51 in goals for and against while Lethbridge is +27.
WHL LEADERBOARD: The Hitmen have two of the WHL’s Top-3 scorers as Oliver Tulk and Ben Kindel are tied for third place with 82 points each. It’s the first time the Hitmen have had two 80-point scorers in a single season since the 2013-14 campaign when Brady Brassart and Greg Chase tied for the team lead with 85 points each.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH: Ben Kindel needs two assists to reach 100…Oliver Tulk is sixth all-time in franchise scoring with 241 points, 15 points behind Kris Beech (256) for fifth place…Tulk became the sixth member of the Hitmen 100 goal-club in late January. He is seven goals behind Brandon Segal (110) for fifth place on the clubs’ all-time goal scoring list.
DID YOU KNOW? Calgary is second in the Eastern Conference in goals for with 196. Their 145 goals against are the second fewest, trailing only the Hurricanes who have surrendered 138.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Lukas Hansen (Upper Body, Week-to-Week).
HITMEN MONTH-BY-MONTH: Sept. (1-1-0-0), Oct. (4-4-2-1), Nov. (7-3-1-0), Dec. (6-3-0-0), Jan. (12-1-0-1), Feb. (2-1-0-0).
SPECIAL TEAMS TRACKER: The Hitmen power play is 17th in the WHL at 19.6% while the penalty kill is 10th at 76.5%.
INKED: Last Thursday the Hitmen announced the signing of 2009-born prospect Parker Schellenberg to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.
Calgary drafted Schellenberg with their first pick, 3rd overall, in the 2024 WHL U.S. Priority Draft. The defenceman from Irvine, California, currently plays with the Chicago U15 AAA Mission and has 28 points (9g, 19a) in 47 games.
UPCOMING GAMES: Calgary will depart Thursday for a compact road trip that will see the club play six games in nine nights as part of an East Division tour. It all begins on Valentine’s Day, Friday, Feb. 14 in Saskatoon. The swing will also take the Hitmen to Prince Albert (Feb. 15), Swift Current (Feb. 17), Regina (Feb. 19), Brandon (Feb. 21) and Moose Jaw (Feb. 22).
