Round 2 Game 1 Preview: Calgary at Medicine Hat | 10.04.26
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen, riding a four-game winning streak, open the second round of the post season tonight on the road in Medicine Hat against the Tigers. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Co-op Place. Fans can watch for FREE on Victory+ or listen on Sportsnet 960 The Fan. The 2026 WHL Playoffs are presented by Nutrien. Calgary advanced to this best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semi-Final series after a four-game sweep of the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Hitmen closed the series on the road in Virden, MB, eight days ago with a 4-2 triumph. Trailing 2-0 after the opening period, the Hitmen cut the deficit to one in the middle frame before capping the rally with a trio of third period goals. Ethan Moore broke a 2-2 tie with 8:12 left in regulation before Julien Maze sealed the game with an empty net tally. Kale Dale notched a team-leading three points (1g, 2a) while goaltender Eric Tu made 28 saves to pick up the win. Medicine Hat grabbed their first-round series in five games, eliminating the Regina Pats six days ago with a 5-4 home ice overtime triumph. The Tigers stormed back from a 4-1 second period deficit receiving the tying goal from Liam Ruck with 4:24 remaining in regulation and the game winner from Cam Parr just 51 seconds into the extra session. Medicine Hat outshot the Pats 37-21.
SERIES SCHEDULE: The Tigers have home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference Semi-Final with the Best-of-Seven Round 2 series a 2-2-1-1-1 format.
| Game 1 | Friday, April 10 | 7:00 p.m. | Co-op Place, Medicine Hat | |
| Game 2 | Saturday, April 11 | 7:00 p.m. | Co-op Place, Medicine Hat | |
| Game 3 | Monday, April 13 | 7:00 p.m. | Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary | |
| Game 4 | Wednesday, April 15 | 7:00 p.m. | Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary | |
| Game 5* | Friday, April 17 | 6:00 p.m. | Co-op Place, Medicine Hat | |
| Game 6* | Sunday, April 19 | 4:00 p.m. | Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary | |
| Game 7* | Tuesday, April 21 | 7:00 p.m. | Co-op Place, Medicine Hat | |
| *Indicates if necessary. Times listed in Mountain Time. | ||||
STREAKIN’: Dating back to the regular season, Ethan Moore (6g, 2a) is on a five-game goal scoring streak. Calder Hamilton (2a) has points in back-to-back games. Goaltender Eric Tu has won his last four starts. Andrei Molgachev (2g, 1a), Axel Hurtig (1g, 2a), Landon Amrhein (1g, 1a) and Hunter Aura (2a) all saw their two-game point streaks end in Game 4 against Brandon.
REGULAR SEASON REWIND: The Hitmen finished the regular season as the #4 seed in the WHL’s Eastern Conference posting a record of 38-21-8-1, good for 85 points. Medicine Hat was the #2 seed with 108 points after going 50-10-5-3.
- MEDICINE HAT: The Hitmen and Tigers met eight times during the regular season. Calgary posted a record of 1-4-2-1 with four of their last five meetings decided by just a single goal. Harrison Lodewyk (3g, 2a), Andrei Molgachev (4g, 1a) and Kale Dach (1g, 4a) led the Hitmen with five points each while Julien Maze (2g, 2a), Rylan Ng (3g, 1a), Luc Trevors (2g, 2a) Landon Amrheim (1g, 3a), Ben MacBeath (1g, 3a) and Ethan Moore (1g, 3a) all notched four. Markus Ruck (3g, 11a) was the top performing Tiger with 14 points. Yaroslav Bryzgalov (4g, 5a) and Liam Ruck (4g, 5a) were next with nine points each.
2025-26 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 4/25 in MH: Tigers 7 Hitmen 1…Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll (2g, 1a) and Yaroslav Bryzgalov (1g, 2a) notched three points each.
Oct. 10/25 in CGY: Hitmen 4 Tigers 2…Eric Tu made 38 saves for Calgary while the Hitmen scored four even strength goals.
Nov. 19/25 in CGY: Tigers 6 Hitmen 2…The Tigers built leads of 2-0 and 5-1 en route to the win.
Nov. 22/25 in MH: Tigers 7 Hitmen 6 Shootout…Medicine Hat overcame a 6-3 second period deficit.
Nov. 23/25 in CGY: Tigers 3 Hitmen 2 OT…Markus Ruck scored the winner 3:42 into the extra session and Carter Casey made 34 saves.
Jan. 20/26 in MH: Tigers 4 Hitmen 3…The Tigers built a 4-1 lead nearly 49 minutes into the game before a Hitmen rally came up short.
Feb. 27/26 in CGY: Tigers 3 Hitmen 2 OT…Medicine Hat held the Hitmen to 20 shots and overcame deficits of 1-0 and 2-1.
Feb. 28/26 in MH: Tigers 8 Hitmen 3…Andrew Basha led the Tigers with four points (1g, 3a).
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 228 MH 256 Power Plays: CGY 6-32 (18.8%) MH 7-23 (30.4%)
BETWEEN THE PIPES: Hitmen goaltender Eric Tu has is second in the WHL Playoffs in both goals against average (1.63) and save percentage (.945).
FAST FACTS: Ethan Moore’s four consecutive playoff game winning goals in the first round set a modern era WHL record and also established a new franchise record…On April 1st, the Calgary Flames signed Hitmen defenceman Axel Hurtig to a three-year entry level contract. The 20-year-old was selected by the Flames in the seventh-round of the 2023 NHL Draft.
WHL AWARDS: Hitmen teammates Ben MacBeath and Kale Dach are both Eastern Conference nominees for WHL Rookie of the Year. Axel Hurtig is up for WHL Humanitarian of the Year while Dustin Friesen is a nominee for WHL Coach of the Year with GM Garry Davidson up for WHL Executive of the Year.
ALL-STAR SEASON: Hitmen forward Kale Dach has been named to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Second All-Star Team. Dach, who also took home Hitmen Player of the Year honours and the 3-Star Award this season, finished the regular season second in team scoring with 75 points (34g, 41a) in 63 games.
PLAYOFF DATA: This is the fourth time in WHL history but just the first time in 11 seasons there is a Hitmen/Tigers playoff series. Calgary has won twice.
2015: CGY 4 MH 1 Rd2: Travis Sanheim led the Hitmen with seven points (3g, 4a) including the double overtime series winner in Game 5. Adam Tambellini (2g, 4a) was next with six points while goaltender Mack Shields posted a .942 save percentage. Dryden Hunt (4g, 1a) topped the Tigers with five points.
2010: CGY 4 MH 2 Rd2: Kris Foucault (5g, 3a) powered the Hitmen with eight points including the series winner in overtime. Joel Broda (5g, 1a), Tyler Shattock (3g, 3a) and Brandon Kozun (2g, 4a) all had six points each with Martin Jones posting a 2.17 goals against average.
2007: MH 4 CGY 1 Rd3: Darren Helm (2g, 5a) led the Tigers with seven points. Derek Dorsett (4g, 2a) was next with six while Matt Keetley had a 1.78 goals against average. Alex Plante (2g, 2a) led the Hitmen with four points. Robin Figren (2g, 1a), Dan Mercer (2g, 1a) and Dylan Yeo (1g, 2a) all tallied three.
PLAYOFF RECORD: Calgary has a lifetime playoff record of 147-120 including a 26-23 mark all-time in Game 1’s. The Hitmen competed in 49 series prior to this one. They have won 29 and lost 20. Calgary is 35-24 all-time in post-season overtime games.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Rylan Ng (Upper Body, Indefinitely).
UPCOMING GAMES: The series resumes tomorrow with Game 2 once against in Medicine Hat on Saturday, Apr. 11 in a 7:00 p.m. start at Co-op Place. It’s then off to Calgary for Games 3 and 4 on Monday, Apr. 13 and Wednesday, Apr. 15. The puck will drop for both games at 7:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome.
