GAME PREVIEW: CALGARY AT EDMONTON – 03.25.23
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (30–28–5–3), winners of three in a row and four of their last five, are on the road in Edmonton this afternoon to face the Oil Kings (9–53–4–0). Game time is 2:00 p.m. at Rogers Place. The Hitmen head in following Wednesday’s 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. The ‘Canes raced out to a 2-0 lead just past the midway mark of first period before Oliver Tulk and Sean Tschigerl pulled the Hitmen even 3:27 later. It remained tied until defenceman Keagan Slaney buried the game winner 8:44 into the third period. Tulk, Tschigerl and Slaney all tallied a goal and an assist while Brayden Peters made 27 saves to record the victory. The Oil Kings also last played Wednesday dropping an 8-2 decision to the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. Mason Finely and Cole Miller produced the Edmonton goals.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Hitmen can clinch a playoff spot and seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a win over Edmonton today. Calgary currently holds the seventh seed with 68 points sitting one point up on Medicine Hat and two points ahead of ninth place Swift Current. The Tigers will host the Broncos tonight in the regular season finale for both clubs. Edmonton is 12th in the conference with 22 points.
EDMONTON: Today is the seventh of eight regular season meetings between the two Central Division rivals. Calgary is 4-2 against Edmonton including a 2-1 record at Rogers Place. Oliver Tulk (2g, 7a) leads the Hitmen in the season series with nine points. Riley Fiddler-Schultz (3g, 5a) has eight and Grayden Siepmann (1g, 6a) seven. Luca Hauf (2g, 2a), Gavin Hodnett (2g, 2a) and Rhett Melnyk (1g, 3a) are the top performing Oil Kings with four points each.
2022-23 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 28/22 in EDM: Hitmen 5 Oil Kings 0…Brayden Peters made 18 saves to record the shutout.
Dec. 18/22 in CGY: Hitmen 5 Oil Kings 0…Riley Fiddler-Schultz (1g, 1a) and Grayden Siepmann (2a) both had two-points each.
Dec. 28/22 in CGY: Hitmen 8 Oil Kings 2…David Adaszynski and Sean Tschigerl both scored twice for Calgary.
Jan. 27/23 in EDM: Oil Kings 3 Hitmen 0…Kolby Hay made 44 saves for the shutout.
Feb. 4/23 in CGY: Oil Kings 5 Hitmen 1…German import Luca Hauf scored twice and added an assist.
Feb. 18/23 in EDM: Hitmen 7 Oil Kings 2…Carter Yakemchuk and David Adaszynski both scored twice for Calgary.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 255 EDM 138 Power Plays: CGY 8-30 (26.7%) EDM 4-30 (13.3%)
PLAYER STREAKS: Sean Tschigerl (3g, 3a) is on a three-game goal scoring streak. Oliver Tulk has scored in back-to-back games and is on a three-game point streak (2g, 3a). Keagan Slaney (1g, 2a) and Cason Wetsch (1g, 1a) both have points in back-to-back games. Brayden Peters has won his last three starts in goal stopping 77 of 82 shots for a .939 save percentage. Riley Fiddler-Schultz (2g, 6a) saw his four-game point streak end Wednesday in Lethbridge.
FAST FACTS: The Hitmen are 6-2-1-0 in their last nine games after going 2-14-2-1 in their previous 19…Calgary has outshot their opponent in 62.1% of games this season recording at least 40 shots 18 times…Riley Fiddler-Schultz is posed to lead the Hitmen in scoring for the second season in a row, accomplishing that feat for the first time since Brandon Kozun went back-to-back in 2008-09 and again in 2009-10. Fiddler-Schultz (73 points) is also the highest scoring Hitmen player since Mark Kastelic (47g, 30a) and James Malm (34g, 43a) tied for the team scoring lead in 2018-19 with 77 points each…Sean Tschigerl eclipsed the 200 shot mark on Wednesday in Lethbridge reaching that plateau in back-to-back seasons…The Hitmen have come back to win 16 times this season when giving up the first goal. Conversely Calgary has won 14 times when scoring first…Matteo Danis and London Hoilett are tied for 12th in WHL rookie goal scoring with 12 goals each.
WHL TOP-10: Riley Fiddler-Schultz leads the WHL in faceoff wins with 850, three ahead of Jett Jones of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and four more than Ty Thorpe of Vancouver. Carter Yakemchuk is tied for fourth in goals by a defenceman with 17 while his 14 power play tallies lead all blueliners.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Billal Noori (upper body, season ending), Jacob Wright (lower body, day-to-day).
SPECIAL TEAMS: The Hitmen have killed their last seven shorthanded situations and once again own the WHL’s best penalty kill at 83.7%. On the flip side, the power play is 17th at 19.0%.
REGULAR SEASON CAREER MILESTONE WATCH: Sean Tschigerl is three points shy of 150. Brayden Peters has an outside shot of setting a new franchise record for most saves by a goalie. Peters, who reached 8,000 career minutes Wednesday in Lethbridge, trails franchise leader Chris Driedger by 47 saves. Driedger finished with 3,773. Ethan Buenaventura is 44 minutes away from 3,000.
INKED: On Monday the Hitmen signed listed prospect Alesksey Chichkin to a Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development agreement. The 17-year-old defenceman was added to the club’s protected player list in January and currently plays in the BCHL with Merritt where he has seven points (1g, 6a) in 31 games this season. Chichkin, a 6’5”, 215-pound defenceman, was a teammate of Hitmen forward Carson Wetsch in the 2021-22 season with the U18 Prep Burnaby Winter Club.
UPCOMING GAMES: The Hitmen will close their 68-game regular season schedule at home tomorrow, Sunday, Mar. 26 in a rematch with the Oil Kings. Game time is 1:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome on Fan Appreciation Day where the first 1,000 fans in the building when doors open at Noon will receive a team poster at Section 223. Highlights include the Hitmen Players Awards presented by Elite Promotional Marketing. A total of 10 trophies will be handed out in a special pre-game ceremony. It’s also another Sunday Funday, presented by Brookfield Residential. In addition to $2 sips and snacks specials all game long, look for concourse activities from TELUS Spark and a cast of characters outfitted by the Costume Shoppe. There are also $6 Hitmen Happy Hour food and drink deals throughout the day.
