Hitmen Drop 5-3 Battle With Brandon
The Calgary Hitmen climbed out of a 3-1 deficit, but their comeback attempt fell short in a 5-3 loss to the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Friday night at Westoba Place.
Tied 3-3 heading to the third period, the hometown Wheat Kings received a shorthanded goal from Jackson DeSouza and an even strength marker from Jaxon Jacobson to secure the victory.
Ethan Moore, Dax Williams and Oliver Tulk found the back of the net for the Hitmen with all three goals coming in the middle frame.
It was Brandon’s first win in the season series after Calgary grabbed their first two games by a combined score of 12-3.
Caleb Hadland, Brett Hyland and Carter Klippenstein also scored for the Wheat Kings who improve to 20-7-2 on home ice this season.
Calgary outshot Brandon 32-26 with Ethan Buenaventura making 21 saves in the Hitmen net while Carson Bjarnason recorded 29 stops for the Wheat Kings.
On the special teams front the Hitmen went 1-8 on the power play and killed all three Brandon chances.
Calgary is back on the ice tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 17 in Moose Jaw to face the Warriors at 6:00 p.m. MST. It’s then off to Regina to meet the Pats on Family Day, Monday, Feb. 19 at 1:00 p.m. MST before their final stop in Edmonton on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 11:00 a.m. MST. The next Hitmen home game isn’t until Friday, Feb. 23 when the Wenatchee Wild make their first-ever visit to Scotiabank Saddledome for a 7:00 p.m. start.
