GAME PRVIEW: Calgary at Saskatoon | 11.08.25
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (11-4-2-0) cap a six-game tour of the WHL’s East Division tonight with a stop in Saskatoon against the Blades (10-7-2-0). Game time is 7:00 p.m. Central/6:00 p.m. MT at SaskTel Centre. The Hitmen improved to 3-1-1 on the trip last night with a 6-2 victory in Swift Current. Shaun Hildebrandt (3a) notched a team-leading three points while Brandon Gorzynski scored twice. Ben MacBeath (1g, 1a), Landon Amrhein (1g, 1a), Luc Trevors (1g, 1a), Kale Dach (2a) and Caine Wilke (2a) also had multi-point games in the triumph. Goaltender Eric Tu made 22 saves to pick up the win on a night where the Hitmen special teams played a key role going 2-4 on the power play and killing all four Swift Current chances. The Blades also played last night dropping a 6-5 home ice decision to Moose Jaw. The Warriors raced out to a 4-0 lead just 2:01 into the second period. Cooper Williams (2g) scored twice for the Blades who outshot the Moose Jaw 30-29.
SASKATOON: Tonight marks the first of four regular season meetings between the two clubs. They split their four games last season with the home team a perfect 4-0. Oliver Tulk (4g, 4a) led Calgary with eight points in the season series. Ben Kindel (3g, 4a) was next with six. Rowan Calvert (2g, 4a) was the top performers for the Blades with six points. Tonight also marks their fist meeting since the opening round of the 2025 WHL Playoffs when the Hitmen swept the Blades 4-0. Tanner Howe had a tremendous series for Calgary with nine points (2g, 7a). Their next meeting is in just six days when the Hitmen host Saskatoon in the rematch on Friday, Nov. 14 at Scotiabank Saddledome.
2024-25 REGULAR SEASON SERIES RECAP
Oct. 2/24 in CGY: Blades 5 Hitmen 3…The Blades overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-2.
Dec. 7/24 in SAS: Hitmen 5 Blades 4 OT…Ben Kindel scored the winner 29 seconds into the extra session.
Jan. 10/25 in CGY: Hitmen 4 Blades 1…Oliver Tulk powered Calgary with three points (2g, 1a).
Feb. 14/25 in SAS: Blades 6 Hitmen 3…Ethan McCallum made 39 saves and Grayden Siepmann led Saskatoon with 1g, 2a.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 122 SAS 95 Power Plays: CGY 2-16 (12.5%) SAS 6-16 (37.5%)
STREAKIN’: Harrison Lodewyk (1g, 2a) is on a three-game point streak…Brandon Gorzynski (2g, 1a) and Kale Dach (1g, 2a) both have points in back-to-back games…Ben MacBeath (2g, 4a) has points in five of his last six games.
HOMECOMING: Hitmen forward Caine Wilke hails from Saskatoon, graduating from the U18 AAA Saskatoon Blazers where he tallied 52 points (17g, 35a) in 37 games two seasons ago before his rookie campaign last season in Everett. The Hitmen acquired Wilke from the Silvertips on Sept. 20 in exchange for a second-round pick in 2028 and a fifth-round selection in 2026 both in the WHL Prospects Draft. Wilke is currently tied for third in team scoring with 14 points (5g, 9a) in 16 games.
ROLLING: The Hitmen have picked up 16 of a possible 20 points in their last 10 games, posting a record of 7-1-2-0.
CHL TOP-10: For the first time this season the Calgary Hitmen have climbed into the CHL Top-10 Rankings presented by Delta Hotels by Marriott. The Hitmen own the #9 spot and are one of four WHL teams to earn the nod joining Edmonton (#8), Prince Albert (#7) and Everett (#2).
WHL HONOUR: Hitmen goaltender Eric Tu is the Mary Brown’s Chicken WHL Goaltender of the Week. Tu went 2-0 last week posting a 1.51 goals against average and .942 save percentage in two starts.
TRAVEL LOG: So far on this season long six-game road trip the Hitmen have traveled 2,317 kilometers.
2026 NHL DRAFT: Five Hitmen have been named by NHL Central Scouting as Preliminary Players to Watch ahead of the coming draft. Landon Amrheim and Ben MacBeath are both projected second or third-round picks while Hunter Aura, Aidan Hesse and Andrei Molgachev are all projected to be sixth or seventh-round candidates.
ROSTER MOVE: On Oct. 29, the Hitmen recalled prospect Kale McCann from the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks and added him to the roster as an affiliate player. The 16-year-old has eight points (2g, 6a) in 12 games this season. McCann was a second-round pick of the Hitmen, 29th overall, in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft.
DID YOU KNOW? Just three points separate five Hitmen from the team scoring lead currently held by Kale Dach (7g, 10a) at 17 points…Calgary has 24 players on their roster including 13 forwards, nine defencemen and two goaltenders. There are only seven returning players from last season with 14 rookies on the club…The Hitmen are 6-2-2-0 on the road this season. Saskatoon is 5-2-0-0 at home
LEADERSHIP GROUP: The Hitmen have named Calgary Flames prospect and 20-year-old defenceman Axel Hurtig captain of this year’s team. Also wearing a letter as alternate captains are Ethan Moore, Harrison Lodewyk, Brandon Gorzynski and Hunter Aura.
GOING FOR GOLD: Hitmen 16-year-old defenceman Calder Hamilton will play for a Gold Medal at 2025 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge today. Hamilton and Canada White face Canada Red this evening after advancing with an 8-7 overtime win over the United States yesterday. The tournament is taking place in Truro, Nova Scotia.
WHL REGULAR SEASON MILESTONES: Harrison Lodewyk is two assists shy of 50. Aidan Hess eclipsed 100 saves Tuesday night in Regina.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Andrei Molgachev (Upper Body, Day-to-Day), Parker Schellenberg (Lower Body, Week-to-Week).
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: The Hitmen will enjoy a full five-day break before returning to action on home ice to welcome the Blades in the back-half of this home-and-home set Friday, Nov. 14. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome. Tickets are available at HitmenHockey.com/Tickets. Calgary will then open a stretch of three straight games against Medicine Hat when the Tigers visit the ‘Dome on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
