GAME PREVIEW: Calgary vs Medicine Hat – 03.23.25
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (45-16-3-3) put the finishing touches on their 68-game WHL regular season schedule this afternoon as they host the Medicine Hat Tigers (46-17-3-1) in a 5:00 p.m. start at Scotiabank Saddledome. It’s Fan Appreciation Day by presented by Robertson College which will see the Hitmen player awards handed out in a pre-game ceremony plus lots of prize giveaways throughout the game. It’s also another Sunday Funday presented by Brookfield Residential. In addition to $3 sips and snacks all game long, look for family fun entertainment on the west concourse plus $6 Hitmen Happy Hour food and drink deals throughout the day but without a post-game family skate due to the later start time.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Hitmen and Tigers are tied for first place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and Central Division at 96 points with today’s winner to grab the top seed and the regular season banner.
LAST GAME RECAP: The Hitmen are coming off last night’s 4-1 victory in Red Deer. Ethan Moore (1g, 1a), Ethan Merner, Carson Wetsch (1g, 1a) and Hunter Aura all scored for Calgary. Medicine Hat also played last night dropping the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 10-1.
MEDICINE HAT: Today marks the eighth and final regular season meeting between the two Central Division rivals. Calgary is 1-4-0-2 against the Tigers, including a 1-1-0-1 record at home.Medicine Hat has outscored the Hitmen by a combined 29-16 with six of their meetings held prior to January’s WHL Trade Deadline. Ben Kindel (3g, 6a) has been the top performer for Calgary with nine points while Oliver Tulk (3g, 3a) is next with six. Gavin McKenna (6g, 7a) leads Medicine Hat with 13 points while Oasiz Wiesblatt (2g, 8a) is next with 10. Calgary is 10-4-1-1 in their last 16 home games against the Tigers.
2024-25 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 23/24 in MH: Tigers 4 Hitmen 2…Tied 2-2, the Tigers scored two-third period goals 46 seconds apart.
Oct. 30/24 in CGY: Tigers 4 Hitmen 3 Shootout…The Tigers clawed back from a 3-1 second period deficit.
Nov. 30/24 in MH: Tigers 7 Hitmen 3…Gavin McKenna led the Tigers with four points (3g, 1a).
Dec. 29/24 in CGY: Hitmen 4 Tigers 3 OT…Ben Kindel (2g, 1a) led Calgary with three points including the game winning goal.
Dec. 30/24 in MH: Tigers 5 Hitmen 2…The Tigers snapped a 2-2 just 44 seconds into the third period.
Jan. 17/25 in CGY: Tigers 3 Hitmen 0…Oasiz Wiesblatt (1g, 1a) and Gavin McKenna (2a) had two points each.
Jan. 18/25 in MH: Tigers 3 Hitmen 2 Shootout…Jonas Woo scored the winner in Round 8.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 189 MH 207 Power Plays: CGY 7-30 (23.3%) MH 9-27 (33.3%)
STREAKS: Sawyer Mynio (3g, 9a) is riding a career high eight-game point streak breaking his previous best of seven games set last season with Seattle…Ethan Moore (6g, 2a) is on a four-game goal scoring streak…Carson Wetsch (2g, 1a) has scored in back-to-back games…Hunter Aura (2g, 1a) is on a two-game goal scoring streak and has points in three straight games…Kalem Parker (3a) is riding a three-game point streak…Tanner Howe (2g, 2a) saw his three-game point streak end last night in Red Deer while a two-game goal scoring streak for Brandon Gorzynski (2g, 1a) was also halted.
MOUNT HAUSER: Daniel Hauser picked up career victory 123 on Wednesday against Red Deer, breaking the WHL’s all-time record for most regular season wins by a goaltender moving ahead of former Saskatoon Blade Nolan Maier (122). Along the way, Hauser recorded his wins with Winnipeg (78), Wenatchee (25) and Calgary (20).
CHASING NUMBERS: With one game remaining in the regular season several Hitmen are chasing season milestones. Ben Kindel (98) is two points away from 100…Connor Hvidston (19) needs one goal to reach 20…Carter Yakemchuk (49) is one point shy of 50…Tanner Howe (46) is four points away from 50…Ethan Moore (98) is one faceoff win away from 100…David Adaszynski (495) is five faceoff wins short of 500.
FAST FACTS: Calgary is 12-1-0-1 in their last 14 games while Medicine Hat is 13-1-0-1 in their last 15…The Hitmen have outshot their opponent in each of the last eight games…Calgary has scored at least one power play goal in each of the last three games and are a combined 6-17 (35.3%) during that span…The Hitmen have surrendered an Eastern Conference low 178 goals…Calgary has slipped a spot this week to ninth in the CHL-Top 10 Rankings presented by Delta Hotels by Marriott…The Hitmen are 17-10-1-3 against the Central Division…Calgary is +86 in goals for and against while Medicine Hat is +104…The Hitmen have three 30-goal scorers this season in Oliver Tulk (38), Ben Kindel (34) and Carson Wetsch (33), marking the first time since the 2013-14 season when Jake Virtanen (45), Brady Brassart (35) and Greg Chase (35) all hit that mark.
45 WIN CLUB: Calgary’s 45 wins are tied for eighth most in franchise history and the highest total since 2014-15 when they posted 45 wins and won the Central Division when the schedule was 72 games.
HAUSER MAKES HISTORY: On Mar. 7 against Swift Current, Daniel Hauser cemented his name in the Hitmen record books when his shutout streak ended at 245 minutes and 25 seconds. He had broken Justin Pogge’s 2006 mark of 228:47 the previous game and in the process also set a new franchise with four straight shutouts, which also tied the WHL record. The previous club record of three straight shutouts was shared by Justin Pogge and Martin Jones
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISION: The Hitmen are 26-5-1-1 at Scotiabank Saddledome. Their 54 home points lead the WHL. Medicine Hat is 21-10-1-1 on the road. Their 44 points sit fourth best but lead the Eastern Conference.
WHL LEADERBOARD: Daniel Hauser is second in the WHL with a 2.55 goals against average while his .913 save percentage is tied for third best and his five shutouts top the league…The Hitmen have two of the WHL’s Top-7 scorers. Ben Kindel is seventh with 98 points while Oliver Tulk is sixth with 100. The last time the Hitmen had a 100-point player was Brandon Kozun in 2009/10 when he tallied 107 points. The last time Calgary had a pair of 100-point producers was 2008/09 when Brandon Kozun (108) and Brett Sonne (100) both hit the century mark. Axel Hurtig leads all Eastern Conference defencemen lead in plus/minus at +38.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH: Ben Kindel needs one goal to each 50…Oliver Tulk is two assists shy of 150…Carter Yakemchuk (180) is one point behind Michael Stone (181) for third place all-time in franchise scoring by a defenceman…David Adaszynski hit the 100-point mark last night in Red Deer while Sawyer Mynio hit the century mark in assists on Wednesday against Red Deer and Daniel Hauser eclipsed 10,000 minutes the same night.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Daniel Hauser (Lower Body, Day-to-Day)
UPCOMING GAMES: The Hitmen are heading to the WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien and have clinched home ice advantage in Round 1. Tickets for the first two games of their best-of-seven opening round series at Scotiabank Saddledome are on sale now at HitmenHockey.com/Tickets. Game 1 is Friday, Mar. 28 at 7:00 p.m. with Game 2 on Sunday, Mar. 30 at 2:00 p.m. Calgary will face either Swift Current or Saskatoon.
