Medicine Hat opened the scoring six minutes in with a goal from Noah Davidson. Calgary wasted no time evening the score with Blake Vanek scoring his first goal of the playoffs.

The second period saw the Tigers regain the lead with Vasi Vaisanen and Jonas Woo scoring to make it 3-1. Ethan Moore would score five minutes into the third period to put the Hitmen within one. It. Would be the veteran’s eighth consecutive playoff goal. Kaden Stengrim and Ethan Neutens would both score for the Tigers to seal the 5-2 victory and take the series.

Series Results:

Game 1           Friday, April 10            Tigers 3 Hitmen 2 OT Tigers lead the series 1-0

Game 2           Saturday, April 11        Tigers 4 Hitmen 3 Tigers lead series 2-0

Game 3           Monday, April 13         Tigers 5 Hitmen 2 Tigers lead series 3-0

Game 4           Wednesday, April 15   Tigers 5 Hitmen 2 Tigers win series 4-0

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 3 STATS: Julien Maze led the Hitmen with seven shots on goal Monday night.  Ethan Moore was next with six while Andrei Molgachev recorded four.  Liam Ruck paced the Tigers with five shots.  Noah Davidson was next with four.  Calgary went a combined 37-65 on draws, clicking at 56.9%.  Harrison Lodewyk led the charge, going 21-29 (72.4%).

SERIES NOTES: Ethan Moore (3g, 1a) and Caine Wilke (1g, 3a) are tied for the Hitmen team lead in scoring with four points each.  Kale Dach (1g, 1a), Wyatt Pisarczyk (1g, 1a) and Julien Maze (2a) are all next with two points each.  Medicine Hat has been led by Liam Ruck (3g, 1a), Bryce Pickford (2g, 2a) and Andrew Basha (4a) who all have four points each.  On the special team’s front, Calgary is 1-11 on the powerplay (9.1%) with Medicine Hat 1-4 (25%).  Of the 199 total minutes played this series Calgary has held the lead for 43 minutes and 26 seconds with Medicine Hat in front for 43 minutes and 39 seconds.  The shot clock is remarkably close as well with Medicine Hat having recorded 96 shots to Calgary’s 95.  Overall, the Tigers have outscored the Hitmen 12-7.

STREAKIN’: Dating back to the regular season, Ethan Moore (9g, 3a) is on an eight-game goal scoring streak.  Caine Wilke (1g, 5a) is on a four-game point streak.  Wyatt Pisarczyk (1g, 1a) has points in back-to-back games.

PRESSURE COOKER: Hitmen goaltender Eric Tu has faced two penalty shots in the 2026 WHL Playoffs and has stopped them both.  In Game 3 on Monday Tu turned aside Noah Davidson in the first period while also stopping Brandon’s Jimmy Egan in double overtime in Game 1 of the opening round series.

KEEPING IT CLOSE: Of Calgary’s seven playoff games, three have been decided in overtime with the four others all within a goal in the final two minutes before three of those games were sealed with empty net tallies.

DID YOU KNOW? Ethan Moore’s eight playoff goals lead the WHL Playoffs with his four game winners also tops in the league.

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.

BETWEEN THE PIPES: Hitmen goaltender Eric Tu is fourth in the WHL Playoffs in goals against average (2.20) and tied for fourth in save percentage (.925) with Michal Orsulak of the Prince Albert Raiders.

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 147-123.    The Hitmen competed in 49 series prior to this one.  They have won 29 and lost 20.  Calgary is 35-25 all-time in post-season overtime games.

MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Rylan Ng (Upper Body, Indefinitely), Ben MacBeath (Upper Body, Day-to-Day), Julien Maze (Lower Body, Day-to-Day).

UPCOMING GAMES:  The series will shift back to Medicine Hat for Game 5, if necessary, on Friday, Apr. 17.  Note the 6:00 p.m. start time at Co-op Place.

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 2 STATS: Ethan Moore and Kale Dale led the Hitmen with four shots on goal each Saturday night.  Hunter Aura, Blake Vanek, Caine Wilke and Luc Trevors were all next with three shots a piece.  Five Tigers shared the Medicine Hat lead with three shots each.  In the face-off circle, Calgary went a combined 29-54 on draws, clicking at 53.7%.  Harrison Lodewyk led the charge with 10 face-off wins.

SERIES STATS: Ethan Moore (2g, 1a) and Caine Wilke (1g, 2a) are tied for the Hitmen lead in scoring with three points each.  Kale Dach (1g, 1a) is next with two.  Medicine Hat has been led by Bryce Pickford (2g, 1a), Kade Stengrim (1g, 2a) and Jonas Woo (1g, 2a) at three points each.  The Tigers have outshot the Hitmen by a combined 67-59.  On the special teams front, Calgary is 1-5 on the powerplay (20%) with Medicine Hat 1-4 (25%).  Of the 139 total minutes played this series Calgary has held the lead for 19 minutes and 42 seconds with Medicine Hat in front for 15 minutes and 30 seconds.

STREAKIN’: Dating back to the regular season, Ethan Moore (8g, 3a) is on a seven-game goal scoring streak.  Caine Wilke (1g, 4a) is on a three-game point streak.  Kale Dach (2g, 3a) saw his two-game goal scoring streak end in Game 2.

KEEPING IT CLOSE: Of Calgary’s six playoff games, three have been decided in overtime with the three others all within a goal in the final two minutes before two of those games were sealed with empty net tallies.

DID YOU KNOW? Ethan Moore’s seven playoff goals are tied for the WHL lead with Terik Parascak of Prince George and Miroslav Holinka of Edmonton.

REMEMBER WHEN? Last season in the 2025 WHL Playoffs, the Hitmen dropped the first two games of their second round series with Lethbridge.  Calgary then responded to take Game 3 by a score of 5-3.  Carson Wetsch led the way with a hat-trick while David Adaszynski, and Axel Hurtig added singles in the victory.  The Hurricanes outshot the Hitmen 29-23, but goaltender Anders Miller made 26 saves to pick up the win.

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.

228. MEDICINE HAT: The Hitmen and Tigers met eight times during the regular season. Calgary posted a record of 1-4-2-1 including a 1-1-2-0 record at the ‘Dome. Four of their last five meetings were 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.  Overall, Medicine Hat outshot Calgary 256-228.  The Hitmen scored six powerplay goals and the Tigers counted seven.

BETWEEN THE PIPES: Hitmen goaltender Eric Tu is fourth in the WHL Playoffs in goals against average (2.08) and tied for fourth in save percentage (.930)

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 147-122.    The Hitmen competed in 49 series prior to this one.  They have won 29 and lost 20.  Calgary is 35-25 all-time in post-season overtime games.

MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Rylan Ng (Upper Body, Indefinitely).

UPCOMING GAMES:  The series takes Tuesday off before returning to Scotiabank Saddledome for Game 4 on Wednesday, Apr. 15.  It’s another 7:00 p.m. start in Calgary with fans invited to take advantage of the 60 minute $6 Hitmen Happy Hour which begins when doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Medicine Hat opened the scoring late in the second period, with Kade Stengrim finding the back of the net. Calgary responded quickly, less than a minute later, with Kale Dach tipping in a shot from Hunter Aura to tie the game heading into the third.

The home side regained the lead early in the final frame, with Bryce Pickford scoring on the power play just 1:41 in. At the 11:39 mark, Ethan Moore netted his sixth goal of the playoffs to even things up and send the game to overtime.

With just one minute remaining in the first overtime period, Pickford struck again with his second of the night to secure the win for Medicine Hat and give them a 1–0 series lead. Eric Tu was solid in goal, stopping 40 shots and earning third star honours.

Round Two Schedule:

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.

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. Tickets are available at HitmenHockey.com/Tickets

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.

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.

1. 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.

The Wheat Kings jumped out to an early lead, going up 2-0 in the first period on goals from Grayson Burzynski and Chase Surkan. Calgary began their comeback in the second period, with Kale Dach scoring his second of the playoffs to cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into the third.

With just over 10 minutes remaining in the final frame, Harrison Lodewyk netted his first of the playoffs to tie the game. Ethan Moore then scored off the rush at the 11:48 mark to give Calgary the lead. Julien Maze added an empty-net goal in the closing minutes to seal the 4-2 win.

Moore’s goal stood as his fourth consecutive game-winning goal. He scored overtime winners in Games 1 and 2, followed by the game-winner in Game 3. In the internet era, no player has recorded four straight game-winning goals in the WHL playoffs; the most recent close mark was Morgan Geekie, who had three consecutive in 2018.

Eric Tu was stellar in net, winning all four of his playoff starts and finishing the series with a 1.63 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage.

Round One Results: 

Game 1      Friday, Mar. 27             Hitmen 1 Wheat Kings 0 OT3        CGY leads the series 1-0.

Game 2      Sunday, Mar. 29       Hitmen 6 Wheat Kings 5 OT          CGY leads the series 2-0.

Game 3      Tuesday, March 31      Hitmen 3 Wheat Kings 1             CGY leads the series 3-0.

Game 4      Thursday, April 2          Hitmen 4 Wheat Kings 2             CGY wins series 4-0.

The Hitmen now await the completion of the other first round series to determine their round two opponent. Ticket details for round two home games will be announced at a later date.