PREVIEW: Pats battle Hitmen on Sunday afternoon
Regina, Sask. – The Regina Pats end their mini Alberta road trip with an afternoon matchup against the Calgary Hitmen.
WHL REGULAR SEASON GAME #37 | Regina Pats (10-20-4-2, 10th East) at Calgary Hitmen (20-11-3-1, 3rd East)
| Date | Time | Sunday, January 5 | 2:00pm CST |
| Place | Scotiabank Saddledome |
| Watch / Listen Live | WHL Live | 620 CKRM |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Click Here |
| Roster | Click Here |
| What’s Next | Next Game: Friday, January 10 at Moose Jaw (7pm CST) |
| Social Media | Follow on “X” | Facebook | Instagram |
PREVIEW
The Calgary Hitmen welcome the Regina Pats to town following a handful of trades on Saturday, acquiring Vancouver Canucks prospect Sawyer Mynio from the Seattle Thunderbirds, as well as veteran forward Carson Birnie from the Red Deer Rebels. In addition, the Hitmen made a move in net earlier in the week, trading for 20-year-old goaltender Daniel Hauser.
The Pats broke a three game skid with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday. Braxton Whitehead scored the overtime winner and Kelton Pyne made 29 saves. Caden Brown scored for a third straight game, and finished with two points (1G-1A) and Cohen Klassen scored his first WHL goal, as well as a multi-point game (1G-1A). Ephram McNutt scored his first with the Pats, too. The final shots were 36-32 for Regina. The Pats went 1-2 on their power play and 3-3 on their penalty kill.
The Hitmen have back-to-back victories following a 6-2 win over the Red Deer Rebels on Friday at the Peavey Mart Centrium. Ben Kindel led the way with three assists, while Ethan Moore (1G-1A), Dax Williams, Carter Yakemchuk, Sawyer Mayes, and Oliver Tulk scored. Anders Miller made 32 saves in the victory. The shots were 42-34 for Calgary. The Hitmen were 2-3 on their power play and 1-1 on their penalty kill.
WHO TO WATCH
Four Pats players will be playing against their former team in Calgary for the first time in their WHL career, as Connor Bear, Aleksey Chichkin, Reese Hamilton and Keets Fawcett all come back to the Saddledome.
There are many players to watch out for on the Hitmen roster, but Oliver Tulk and Ben Kindel share the team lead with 56 points this season. Kindel is a top ranked NHL draft prospect and has 22 goals in 34 games at just 17-years-old after scoring 15 goals in 68 games last season. Meanwhile, Ottawa Senators prospect Carter Yakemchuk has 34 points (14G-20A) in 30 games this season.
COMING UP
The Regina Pats will rematch the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday, January 10 at 7pm at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. This comes just one day after the 2025 WHL Trade Deadline which is scheduled for January 9. The Pats return home to battle the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday, January 11 at 6pm.
