GAME PREVIEW: Calgary vs Red Deer – 03.19.25
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (43-16-3-3) open the last week of the Western Hockey League’s regular season tonight as they welcome the Red Deer Rebels (26-31-6-2) 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. Fans can also find the 30th Anniversary Hitmen Booster Club hockey cards on sale for $12 a pack at the Booster Club table behind Section 210. Proceeds benefit the Calgary Veterans Association Food Bank. There are 25 cards in total featuring all 24 players plus Hitmen mascot Farley the Fox. The Hitmen saw their season-high 11 game point streak (10-0-0-1) come to an end on Sunday with an 8-4 home ice loss to Edmonton. Ethan Moore scored twice for Calgary while Carter Yakemchuk and Brandon Gorzynski added singles. Tied 1-1 late in the first period, the Oil Kings scored six unanswered goals to build a 7-1 lead. Red Deer meanwhile has been idle since Saturday’s 7-3 home ice loss to Medicine Hat. Gavin McKenna of the Tigers was in on all seven goals (3g, 4a) while Matthew Gard scored twice for the Rebels.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Hitmen are third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with 92 points, two points behind front-running Medicine Hat. Calgary has one game in hand on the Tigers who are idle today. Red Deer, at 60 points, is ninth in the conference and has been eliminated from playoff contention.
RED DEER: Tonight is seventh of eight regular season meetings between the two Central Division rivals. Calgary is 2-2-1-1 against the Rebels. Since going winless in 11 games against the Rebels dating back to last season, the Hitmen have gone (2-0-0-1) in their last three. Oliver Tulk (2g, 8a) and Ben Kindel (2g, 8a) lead the Hitmen in the season series with 10 points each while Carter Yakemchuk (4g, 4a) has eight. Jaxon Fuder (3g, 2a) has been the top performing Rebel with five points. Matthew Gard (4a) is next with four. Their final meeting is Saturday, Mar. 22 in Red Deer.
2024-25 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 5/24 in RD: Rebels 5 Hitmen 2…The Rebels scored three unanswered goals after Reese Hamilton tied the game for Calgary.
Oct. 16/24 in CGY: Rebels 5 Hitmen 4 OT…The Hitmen overcame a 3-0 deficit to earn a point before Hunter Mayo scored the OT winner.
Nov. 4/24 in CGY: Rebels 3 Hitmen 2…Red Deer overcame a 2-1 third period deficit scoring the winner with 3:56 remaining.
Jan. 3/25 in RD: Hitmen 6 Rebels 2…Anders Miller made 32 saves while Ben Kindel set up three goals.
Jan. 26/25 in CGY: Hitmen 6 Rebels 1…Sawyer Mynio scored twice for Calgary.
Feb. 28/25 in RD: Rebels 2 Hitmen 1 Shootout…Ty Coupland scored the shootout winner in Round 3.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 207 RD 187 Power Plays: CGY 9-25 (36%) RD 2-14 (14.3%)
STREAKS: Sawyer Mynio (2g, 7a) is riding a six-game point streak…Ethan Moore (4g) has scored in back-to-back games…Tanner Howe (2g, 1a) and Ben Kindel (2a) are on two-game point streaks.
HAUSER’S HISTORIC CLIMB: Daniel Hauser picked up career victory 122 last Saturday in Lethbridge moving him into a with former Saskatoon Blade Nolan Maier atop the WHL’s all-time regular season wins list. Hauser reached the mark in 173 games while Maier did it in 216 appearances.
FAST FACTS: Calgary has slipped a spot this week to ninth in the CHL-Top 10 Rankings presented by Delta Hotels by Marriott…The Hitmen are 15-10-1-3 against the Central Division…Calgary is +79 in goals for and against while Red Deer is -60…The Hitmen have three 30-goal scorers this season in Oliver Tulk (38), Ben Kindel (34) and Carson Wetsch (31), marking the first time since the 2013-14 season when Jake Virtanen (45), Brady Brassart (35) and Greg Chase (35) all hit that mark.
COUNTDOWN CLOCK: Counting today the Hitmen have three games remaining on their regular season schedule against the following opponents: RD (2), MH (1). Those three games will be played over a span of five days.
40 WIN CLUB: Calgary’s 43 wins is the 10th most in franchise history and most since 2014-15 when they posted 45 wins and won the Central Division back 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 25-5-1-1 on home ice but saw their seven-game winning streak at Scotiabank Saddledome come to an end on Sunday against Edmonton. Their 52 home points leads the WHL. Red Deer is 9-20-1-2 on the road.
WHL LEADERBOARD: Daniel Hauser is second in the WHL with a 2.61 goals against average while his .911 save percentage is tied for fourth best and his five shutouts top the league…The Hitmen have two of the WHL’s Top-6 scorers. Ben Kindel and Oliver Tulk are tied with 98 points each. 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.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH: Daniel Hauser is 2 minutes away from 10,000…Ben Kindel needs one goal to each 50…Sawyer Mynio needs two assists to reach the century mark…Carter Yakemchuk (180) is one point behind Michael Stone (181) for third place all-time in franchise scoring by a defenceman…David Adaszynski is two points away from 100.
PLAYOFF TICKETS: 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’s opponent is yet to be determined.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Lukas Hansen (Upper Body, Day-to-Day).
PROSPECT WATCH: Koy Funk, Calgary’s fourth-round pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft is playing in the MJHL with the Portage Terriers. The 16-year-old forward notched 34 points (14g, 20a) in 37 games and was named the Terriers Most Valuable Player.
UPCOMING GAMES: Calgary heads to Red Deer on Saturday, Mar. 22 in the back half of this home-and-home set with the Rebels. Game time is 7:00 p.m. start at Peavey Mart Centrium. The Hitmen will then put the finishing touches on their 68-game regular season schedule on Sunday, Mar. 23 when they host Medicine Hat at Scotiabank Saddledome on Fan Appreciation Day. Game time is 5:00 p.m.
