Game Preview: Calgary vs Swift Current – 03.23.24
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (27-31-8-1) close out their 68-game regular season schedule tonight as they welcome the Swift Current Broncos (40-21-4-2) to Scotiabank Saddledome. Game time is 6:00 p.m. for Fan Appreciation Night presented by the Egg Farmers of Alberta. Among the highlights will be the on-ice Hitmen player awards prior to puck drop. Be sure to take advantage of the $6 Hitmen Happy Hour from when doors open at 5:00 p.m. up until the opening faceoff. Items include pizza, burgers, hot dogs, 14-ounce beer, highballs and 6-ounce house wine all for $6 each. Tonight is also the back half of a weekend home and home set between the two teams. Last night in Swift Current the Broncos eliminated the Hitmen from playoff contention with a 7-6 victory. Carter Yakemchuk led Calgary with four points (1g, 3a) while Carson Wetsch netted a pair of goals to reach the 25-goal mark. Ethan Moore, Brandon Gorzynski and Reese Hamilton completed the scoring for the Hitmen who outshot the Broncos 47-31.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Hitmen (63pts) are ninth in the Eastern Conference and will be a part of the WHL’s six-team lottery for the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft. The Broncos (86pts) have claimed the Central Division title and second place in the conference. They will face the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the opening round of the post season beginning Friday night in Swift Current. The Broncos won the season series going 4-3 against the ‘Canes.
SWIFT CURRENT: Tonight is the fifth and final regular season meeting between the two Central Division rivals. Calgary is 1-3 against the Broncos including a 1-1 record at home. Carter Yakemchuk (2g, 5a) leads the Hitmen with seven points in the season series. Carson Wetsch (3g, 2a) is next with five. Clarke Caswell (2g, 5a) and Rylan Gould (2g, 5a) are the top performing Broncos with seven points each. Calgary is 6-3-1 in their last nine home games against Swift Current.
2023-24 SERIES RECAP
Sept. 29/23 in SC: Broncos 3 Hitmen 0…Joey Rocha made 33 saves for the shutout.
Dec. 6/23 in CGY: Broncos 6 Hitmen 5…Brady Birnie snapped a 5-5 tie with 69 seconds remaining.
Dec. 17/23 in CGY: Hitmen 7 Broncos 4…Maxim Muranov led the Hitmen with three points (1g, 2a).
Mar. 22/24 in SC: Broncos 7 Hitmen 6…Brady Birnie led the Broncos with three assists.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 159 SC 138 Power Plays: CGY 3-15 (20%) SC 4-17 (23.5%)
STREAKS: Reese Hamilton (2g, 3a) is on a three-game point streak. Carter Yakemchuk (2g, 3a) has points in back-to-back games. Maxim Muranov (4g, 3a) saw his six-game point streak end last night in Swift Current while a two-game streak for Connor Dale (1g, 2a) was also snapped against the Broncos.
CAREER YEARS: Six Hitmen have set new career highs in goals this season with their previous best listed in brackets; Oliver Tulk 38 (24), Carter Yakemchuk 29 (19), Carson Wetsch 25 (10), Maxim Muranov 22 (6), Ethan Moore 18 (6) and Dax Williams 4 (1).
FAMILIAR FACE: Tyson Galloway returns to the ‘Dome tonight for the first time as a visitor since his trade to Swift Current on Jan. 10, 2024, in exchange for second and third-round picks in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft. Galloway played 216 career games with the Hitmen from 2018-2024 recording 77 points (15g, 62a) and was team captain before his departure.
FAST FACTS: David Adaszynski returned to the Hitmen lineup last night in Swift Current after missing 15 games with an upper body injury. Adaszynski was unavailable for over five weeks after suffering the injury on Feb. 13 in Red Deer…Ethan Buenaventura has made 13 straight starts in goal and has recorded 30 or more saves in a game 30 times this season…The Hitmen are tied for the second most overtime games this season with 14 appearances. Victoria leads the league with 15…Maxim Muranov and Carson Wetsch are both one point shy of 50 while Wetsch needs one shot on goal for 250 this season.
HOME AND AWAY: The Hitmen are 19-10-3-1 on home ice. Their 42 ‘Dome points rank tied for the 11th most on home ice in the WHL this season. Swift Current is 15-16-1-1 on the road. Only six teams in the league own a record of .500 or better in enemy rinks.
RECORD BOOKS: Carter Yakemchuk has established a new franchise record for most goals in a single season by a Hitmen defenceman with 29. He snapped the previous mark of 24 set by Jake Bean in the 2015-16 season.
DID YOU KNOW? The Hitmen have 12 rookies on their 23-man roster with an average overall age of 17.5-years-old.…Calgary has played in 30 one-goal games this season (44.8%) with a combined record of 10-11-8-1…Oliver Tulk’s team leading 38 goals are tied for 14th in the WHL’s goal scoring race and are also the most by a Hitmen player since the 2019-20 season when Mark Kastelic also tallied 38 goals. Tulk’s team-leading 76 points place him tied for 30th in the WHL points race with Swift Current’s Clarke Caswell…If the Hitmen were in the Western Conference they would be one point behind Spokane for a playoff spot with both clubs having one game left.
WHL TOP-10: Carter Yakemchuk leads the league in goals among defencemen with 29 while his 69-points rank fifth among blueliners…Goaltender Ethan Buenaventura is second in the WHL in saves with 1,598 and third in minutes played at 3,047…Ben Kindel is tied for fourth in rookie scoring with 59 points. Oliver Tulk is seventh in the WHL in faceoff wins with 711.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: None.
NHL RADAR: Five Hitmen are on NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings for the 2024 NHL Draft among North American skaters. Carter Yakemchuk is ranked sixth, Carson Wetsch 44th, Keets Fawcett 163rd, Chase Valliant 195th and Dax Williams 211th.
WHL CAREER MILESTONES: Tyson Greenway is one point away from 100. Alex Garrett is eight minutes shy of 1,000. Ethan Buenaventura eclipsed 3,000 saves and 6,000 minutes on Wednesday in Saskatoon.
PROSPECT WATCH: Noah Kosick, Calgary first-round pick (11th overall) in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft played U-18 Prep this season in the CSSHL. The 15-year-old forward notched 62 points (12g, 50a) in 29 games to lead the Pacific Coast Hockey Academy in scoring. Kosick also added three points (1g, 2a) in three playoff games.