Game Preview: CGY vs RD – 11.17.23
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (9-8-2-0), winners of three in a row, host the Rebels (6-9-0-3) tonight in the start of a weekend home-and-home with Red Deer. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome. 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 all for $6 each. It’s also a Nutrien Chuck-A-Puck night in support of I Can for Kids, working to end childhood hunger in Calgary. Purchase your pucks on the concourse at Section 213 and toss them in the second intermission for a chance to win some awesome prizes. The Hitmen have been idle since last Saturday’s 10-2 victory in Edmonton on a night where Sean Tschigerl, Carson Wetsch and Maxim Muranov all scored two goals each. Red Deer hasn’t played since last Friday’s 4-3 shootout loss in Prince George. Hunter Mayo tied it late for the Rebels with 1:43 remaining in regulation.
RED DEER: Tonight is the second of nine regular season meetings between the two Central Division rivals with five of those games to be played in Red Deer. Calgary took the opener last month at the ‘Dome. Oliver Tulk (1g, 2a) leads the Hitmen with three points while Carter Yakemchuk (1g, 1a), Ben Kindel (1g, 1a), Sean Tschigerl (2a), Carson Wetsch (2a) and Keets Fawcett (2a) all have two points each. Jhett Larson (3a) is the top performing Rebel with three points. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 11-10-7-0 against Red Deer.
2023-24 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 28/23 in CGY: Hitmen 7 Rebels 4….The Hitmen received goals from seven different players.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 49 RD 36 Power Plays: CGY 1-7 (14.2%) RD 2-6 (33.3%)
STREAKS: Sean Tschigerl (6g, 13a) is riding a season high 10-game point streak which is the fifth longest active streak in the WHL…Ben Kindel (2g, 6a) has points in four straight games…Carson Wetsch (4g) is on a three-game goal scoring streak while Dax Williams (2g, 2a) is on a three-game point streak…Oliver Tulk (3g, 5a) and Carter Yakemchuk (2g, 2a) both have goals in back-to-back games…David Adaszynski (1g, 2a) and Aleksey Chichkin (2a) are riding two-game point streaks…Dating back to Oct. 14, Ethan Buenaventura has started nine of the last 11 games in goal while posting a 2.66 goals-against average and .928 save percentage…Goaltender Alex Garrett has won his last two starts.
DID YOU KNOW? Calgary is 7-1-2-0 in their last 10 games…The Hitmen have scored at least one power play goal in five of their last six games including a perfect 4-4 performance in Edmonton in their last outing…Calgary has as many as four games in hand on every team above them in the Eastern Conference Standings except for Saskatoon as the Blades have also played 19 games…The Hitmen are 5-1-2-0 in one-goal games this season.
WHL TOP-10: Carter Yakemchuk leads the league in goals among defencemen with nine while his 23 points are tied for fourth among blueliners…Oliver Tulk is tied for sixth in power play goals with six…Ben Kindel is fourth in rookie scoring with 20 points.
FAST FACTS: The Hitmen have outshot their opponents in three straight games and have recorded 30 or more shots in 17 consecutive games.…Calgary is one of the youngest teams in the WHL with an average age of 17.86…David Adaszynski (48) is the only Hitmen skater with at least one shot on goal in all 19 games this season…Calgary’s .526 winning percentage is sixth best in the Eastern Conference and ranks 13th overall in the WHL.
WHL HONOURS: Hitmen forward Ben Kindel is the Kal Tire WHL Rookie of the Week, for the week ending Nov. 12. The 16-year-old winger recorded six points (2g, 4a) in two games and a +/- rating of +4.
CENTRAL DIVISION DIET: Tonight marks the third contest in a stretch that sees the Hitmen play eight games in a row against teams from their own division (EDM-3X), (RD-3X), (LET-1X), (MH-1X).
FRONT OFFICE NEWS: On Nov. 2 the Hitmen announced Garry Davidson as the sixth General Manager in franchise history. Davidson, now in his third year with the club, has held previous roles as Director of Player Personnel and Director of Hockey Operations.
SCOUTS EYE: NHL Central Scouting has released its ‘Preliminary Players to Watch’ list for the 2024 NHL Draft. Hitmen defenceman Carter Yakemchuk gained recognition as an ‘A’ ranked skater, projecting as a first-round candidate while forward Carson Wetsch is a ‘B’ ranked skater forecasting as a second or third-round candidate. A total of 63 WHLers are on the list including six potential first-round picks.
MAPLE LEAF MEMORIES: Hitmen defenceman Reese Hamilton and Team Canada Red finished fifth at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge earlier this month in Prince Edward Island. Hamilton tallied two assists in six games.
POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet forward Sean Tschigerl and defenceman Wyatt Pisarczyk after tonight’s game against Red Deer. Both players will be signing autographs at the Hitmen Booster Club table located behind Section 212.
TEDDY BEAR TALLY: More than 14,500 seats have been sold for the Sunday, Dec. 3 ENMAX Teddy Bear Toss against the Prince Albert Raiders. Fans can secure their seat to one of the most anticipated games of the season at HitmenHockey.com. Game time is 4:00 p.m.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Reese Hamilton (Lower Body, Day-to-Day).
WHL MILESTONES: Tyson Galloway is one game shy of 200 in his WHL career, all with the Hitmen…Sean Tschigerl needs one assist to reach 100 while Maxim Muranov is three points away from 50…Oliver Tulk is two games away from 150 and eclipsed the 100-point mark last Saturday in Edmonton while on the same night David Adaszynski hit 50 career points.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISION: The Hitmen are 6-2-1 on home ice this season while Red Deer is 4-4-0-3 on the road.
UPCOMING GAMES: The Hitmen are in Red Deer tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 18 for a rematch with the Rebels. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Peavey Mart Centrium. Calgary will then return home to host the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday, Nov. 25 in a 7:00 p.m. start at the ‘Dome.
