GAME PREVIEW: Calgary vs Lethbridge – 10.05.25
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (2-2-0-0) play the first of three straight games at Scotiabank Saddledome this afternoon as they welcome the Lethbridge Hurricanes (1-4-0-0) in a 4:00 p.m. start. It’s the first Sunday Funday of the season presented by Brookfield Residential. Fans can enjoy $6 food and drink deals all game long plus Face Painting and the Fun Zone on the West Concourse. Back by popular demand is also the Post-Game Family Skate while Hunter Aura and Rylan Ng will be at the post-game autograph table behind Section 212. The Hitmen face a quick turnaround after last night’s 7-1 setback in Medicine Hat. Landon Amrhein, with his second goal on the season, tallied the lone marker for Calgary on a night where the Hitmen were outshot 37-31. Rookie goaltender Aidan Hesse made his WHL debut in a third period relief appearance stopping 10 of 11 shots. Lethbridge has been idle since Friday’s 4-2 home ice loss to these same Tigers. Hudson Kibblewhite and Shane Smith both scored for the ‘Canes.
LETHBRIDGE: Today marks the third of eight regular season meetings between the two clubs with a whopping four of those scheduled in Calgary’s first eight games of the season. They have split their season series so far with the road team a combined 2-0. The Hitmen are led by four players who all have two points each against the ‘Canes in Andrei Molgachev (2g), Kale Dach (1g, 1a), Hunter Aura (2a) and Luc Trevors (2a). Luke Cozens (2g, 2a) and Shane Smith (2g, 2a) are the top performing Hurricanes with four points each. Their next meeting is Friday, Oct. 17 when the Hitmen make the trip to VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
2025-26 SERIES RECAP
Sept. 19/25 in LET: Hitmen 5 Hurricanes 3…The Hitmen raced out to a 2-0 first period lead.
Sept. 20/25 in CGY: Hurricanes 4 Hitmen 0…Koen Cleaver made 28 saves for the shutout while Luc Cozens and Shane Smith tallied two points each.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 53 LET 55 Power Plays: CGY 2-9 (22.2%) LET 1-9 (11.1%)
STREAKIN’: Landon Amrhein (2g), has scored in back-to-back games while Caine Wilke (3a) is on a two-game assist streak.
OCTOBER SCHEDULE: This afternoon is the first of five home games this month for Calgary. Also scheduled to visit the ‘Dome in October are Medicine Hat (Oct. 10), Portland (Oct. 13), Spokane (Oct. 19) and Red Deer (Oct. 29).
DID YOU KNOW? There is a four-way tie for the team lead in scoring as Kale Dach (2g, 2a), Andrei Molgachev (2g, 2a), Ethan Moore (1g, 3a) and Harrison Lodewyk (1g, 3a) all have four points each.
TRANSACTIONS: On Friday the Hitmen announced a trade with Seattle which saw the club acquire the rights to Calgary Flames 2025 second-round pick Theo Stockselius. In return the Hitmen surrender a fourth-round pick in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft plus a trio of conditional selections, a first-round pick in 2027, a fifth-round pick in 2029 and a sixth-round pick in 2026. Yet to sign a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement, the 18-year-old Stockselius is currently playing U20 in Sweden where he has seven assists in five games with Djurgardens IF. Also on Thursday the Hitmen placed Teodor Vapenik on CHL Import Waivers leaving the club with eight defencemen on the roster. On Wednesday the Hitmen filled their final 20-year-old spot by adding forward Harrison Lodewyk from the Prince Albert Raiders in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft and a fifth-round pick in 2028. Lodewyk has played his entire WHL career with the Raiders appearing in 233 games. The product of Red Deer, AB, has four points (1g, 3a) in four games this season. Rounding out the Hitmen 20-year-old class this season are Ethan Moore and Axel Hurtig.
BEHIND THE BENCH: The Hitmen have a new coaching staff this season led by Head Coach Dustin Friesen, taking over from Paul McFarland who is now an Assistant Coach with the Edmonton Oilers. Friesen is joined by Assistants Brad Moran and Dakoka Krebs. Moran, a Hitmen standout player from 1995-2000, spent the previous seven seasons with the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks, the last six as GM and Head Coach where he won two league championships and the 2025 Centennial Cup. Krebs meanwhile gets a promotion after working in the role as Hitmen Video Coach last season. The new Hitmen Video Coach is Lukas Lomicky.
SPECIAL TEAMS TRACKER: The Hitmen are 2-19 on the powerplay (10%) which has them ranked 22nd in the WHL. The penalty kill is tied for third leads the league at 87.5% having killed 14 of their 16 shorthanded situations.
LET’S GO CAMPING: Five Hitmen from the current 27-player roster headed to NHL camps in September: Kale Dach (Pittsburgh), Brandon Gorzynski (Dallas), Axel Hurtig (Calgary), Ben Kindel (Pittsburgh) and Anders Miller (Tampa Bay). So far only Kindel remains with the Penguins where he played in all but one of the ‘Pens preseason games and has made the opening week roster.
WHL REGULAR SEASON MILESTONES: Ethan Moore is two games away from 200, one assist shy of 50 and three points away from 100. Goaltender Anders Miller eclipsed 500 career saves last Saturday against Edmonton.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 1-1 on home ice while Lethbridge is 1-1 on the road.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Axel Hurtig (Lower Body, Game time decision), Keaton Jundt (Lower Body, Game time decision), Paker Schellenberg (Lower Body, Week-to-Week).
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Calder Hamilton was Calgary’s first-round pick, sixth overall, in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft. Last season as a 15-year-old Hamilton was the third highest scoring defenceman in the Saskatchewan AAA Male U18 league, recording 49 points (15g, 34a) in 40 games with the Warman Wildcats.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: The Hitmen homestand continues next weekend with a pair of games in the Stampede City. On Friday, Oct. 10 Medicine Hat is in the ‘Dome for a 7:00 p.m. start while on Thanksgiving Monday, Oct. 13 at 1:00 p.m. it’s the first visit in two seasons from the Portland Winterhawks. Tickets are available at HitmenHockey.com/Tickets.
