GAME PREVIEW: CALGARY VS REGINA
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (19-23-5-2) welcome Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats (19-26-1-1) to Scotiabank Saddledome this afternoon for a 4:00 p.m. start. It’s another Sunday Funday in the ‘Dome featuring “Farley’s Family Feast” with special $2 prices for cotton candy, water, pop, hot dogs and popcorn. There are also select $5 menu items all game long including pizza and hamburgers. The Hitmen are coming off Friday’s 8-1 win in Lethbridge which snapped an eight game losing streak. Steel Quiring (2g, 1a) and Blake Stevenson (1g, 2a) led the way with three points each. Grayden Siepmann and Zack Funk both notched a goal and an assist with Carter Yakemchuk, Oliver Tulk and Blake Allan also counting goals. Sean Tschigerl, Riley Fiddler-Schultz and Tyson Galloway all added a pair of assists while goaltender Ethan Buenaventura made 24 saves to pick up the victory. For Regina, this will be their third game of the weekend. Friday they fell 6-3 in Edmonton before last night’s 6-4 setback in Red Deer. The Hitmen are tied with Lethbridge for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth at 45 points with both clubs just a single point back of seventh place Swift Current. The Pats are 11th in the conference with 40 points.
FAST FACTS: Counting today, the Hitmen have 19 games left on their regular season schedule, eight at home and 11 on the road…Calgary has killed 17 of their last 19 penalties…Following today’s game, the Hitmen will play nine of their next 10 games on the road.
VS REGINA: Today is the fifth of six regular season meetings with Regina. Calgary has won three of their four games, outscoring the Pats by a combined 19-15. Riley Fiddler-Schultz (5g, 4a) leads the Hitmen with nine points while Sean Tschigerl (3g, 3a) is next with six. Connor Bedard (6g, 5a) is the top performing Pat with 11 points. Seattle Kraken prospect Ryker Evans (4g, 4a) is next with eight. The Hitmen are 5-0-1-0 in their last six home games against the Pats. The two clubs will wrap up their head-to-head regular season series on Saturday, Mar. 12 in Regina.
2021-22 SERIES RECAP
Nov. 28, 2021 in CGY: Hitmen 10 Pats 3…Calgary scored three times in a span of 96 seconds to open up a 3-0 lead.
Jan. 18, 2022 in REG: Hitmen 4 Pats 3 Shootout…Brayden Peters made 41 saves while Sean Tschigerl scored the shootout winner.
Feb. 6, 2022 in CGY: Hitmen 5 Pats 4 OT…Calgary forced OT with 11.5 seconds remaining on a goal from Grayden Siepmann.
Feb. 11, 2022 in REG: Pats 5 Hitmen 0…Connor Bedard led the Pats with five points (3g, 2a).
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 129 REG 169 Power Plays: CGY 6-16 (37.5%) REG 7-18 (38.9%)
STREAKS: Sean Tschigerl (1g, 5a) has points in five of his last six games. Riley Fiddler-Schultz (1g, 3a) has points in three of his last four outings while Zac Funk (2g, 1a) has points in two of his last three games.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 11-11-4-0 on home ice this season. Regina is 6-15-1-0 on the road.
WHL TOP-10: Riley Fiddler-Schultz is sixth in the league in shots on goal with 209. Sean Tschigerl is tied for the WHL lead in shorthanded markers with five…Brayden Peters is sixth in minutes played at 2,034 and seventh in saves with 960.
DRAFT WATCH: NHL Central Scouting has named two Hitmen players to its midterm rankings ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft. Defenceman Grayden Siepmann checks in at 139 among North American skaters while forward Maxim Muranov is 141.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Billal Noori (season ending, upper body), Keagan Slaney (four weeks, upper body), Blake Heward (three weeks, upper body).
HITMEN VS: (BDN 1-0-1-0), (EDM 1-3), (LET 1-2-2-1), (MH 5-1), (MJ 1-4), (PA 1-2-0-1), (RD 1-4-2-0), (REG 3-1), (SAS 2-2), (SC 3-2), WPG (0-2).
HITMEN MONTH-BY-MONTH: October (4-5), November (5-4), December (3-3-3-2), January (5-3-2-0), February (2-8).
REGULAR SEASON CAREER MILESTONE WATCH: Brayden Peters is 40 minutes played away from 5,000. On Friday in Lethbridge Riley Fiddler-Schultz hit the 100 point plateau while Tyson Galloway hit the century mark in games played. Blake Stevenson also reached 50 assists.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Forward Oliver Tulk is in his first season in the Western Hockey League. The 16-year-old was Calgary’s first-round pick, 12th overall, in the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft. The Gibsons, BC product has 16 points (8g, 8a) in 45 games this season. Tulk also has 52 shots on goals and a faceoff winning percentage of 54.2%.
PROSPECT WATCH: Jaren Ashbee, Calgary’s fifth-round pick, 102nd overall, in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft is playing U17 Prep hockey in the CSSHL with Delta Hockey Academy. The 15-year-old defenceman from Surrey, BC has 16 points (5g, 11a) in 22 games.
ALUMNI WATCH: Josh Prokop, who played three seasons with the Hitmen from 2018 to 2021, is playing U SPORTS Men’s Hockey with the University of Alberta Golden Bears. The 22-year-old forward has 20 points (9g, 11a) in 20 games to sit second in team scoring. Prokop tallied 88 points (34g, 54a) with the Hitmen in 143 games.
UPCOMING GAMES: The Hitmen will enjoy a full four-day break before facing Edmonton in a home-and-home set next weekend beginning Friday, Mar. 4 in the provincial capital before the return match in Calgary on Saturday, Mar. 5 at 2:00 p.m. That day will be the Bret “The Hitman” Hart game presented by Romero Distilling where Calgary will wear a special jersey that pays tribute to their namesake. Fans are encourage to stick around post-game to witness “Battle at the Dome II” featuring five wrestling matches in an on-ice ring put on by the Hitmen and PWA (Prairie Wrestling Alliance).
