Game Preview: Calgary at Moose Jaw – 02.17.24
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (22-23-6-1) are in Saskatchewan tonight as their road trip resumes in Moose Jaw with a date against the Warriors (31-16-0-2). Game time is 6:00 p.m. MST at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. The Hitmen are coming off last night’s 5-3 setback in Brandon where the Wheat Kings broke a 3-3 third period tie on goals from Jackson DeSouza and Jaxon Jacobson. Ethan Moore, Dax Williams and Oliver Tulk supplied the Calgary goals. Moose Jaw has been off since beating visiting Brandon 4-2 on Thursday night. The Warriors had a strong second period with three goals to snap a 1-1 tie. Denton Mateychuk led the way with two points (1g, 1a).
WHERE THEY STAND: The Hitmen (51pts) are one point back of Lethbridge (52pts) for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot and three points behind seventh place Prince Albert (54pts). The Hurricanes host the Raiders tonight. Moose Jaw (70pts) is third in the conference, 15 points behind front running Saskatoon (85pts).
PLAYOFF PUSH: Counting tonight, the Hitmen have 16 games remaining in the regular season with seven at home and nine on the road. Their opponent breakdown is as follows; (EDM 3X’s), (RD 3X’s), (SC 2X’s), (LET 2X’s), MJ, BDN, SAS, WEN, REG, MH.
MOOSE JAW: Today is the fourth and final regular season meeting between the Hitmen and Warriors with Calgary sporting a 1-2 record against Moose Jaw. Chase Valliant (1g, 2a) and Keets Fawcett (3a) lead Calgary in the season series with three points each. Denton Mateychuk (1g, 4a) is the top-performing Warrior with five points. Calgary is 3-5 in their last eight visits to Moose Jaw.
2023-24 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 10/23 in MJ: Warriors 5 Hitmen 3…Tied 2-2 after 40 minutes, Moose Jaw scored three unanswered goals to open the third period.
Nov. 5/23 in CGY: Hitmen 2 Warriors 1…The Hitmen fired 50 shots on goal.
Feb. 10/23 in CGY: Warriors 5 Hitmen 2…The Warriors scored four unanswered after the Hitmen tied it 1-1.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 122 MJ 93 Power Plays: CGY 2-9 (22.2%) MJ 3-11 (27.3%)
STREAKIN’: Ben Kindel (1g, 1a) has points in back-to-back games. Wyatt Pisarczyk (1g, 4a) saw his career high five-game point streak end last night in Brandon while a career best three-game point streak for Brandon Gorzynski (1g, 2a) was also halted against the Wheat Kings.
CHASING HISTORY: Carter Yakemchuk enters tonight tied with Jake Bean for the franchise record for most goals in a single season by a defenceman with 24. Yakemchuk hit the 24-goal mark Friday night against Medicine Hat while Bean, now with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, scored 24 times in the 2015-16 season.
FAST FACTS: The Hitmen are 9-6-3 in their last 18 games…Moose Jaw is riding a six-game winning streak and is 12-1 in their last 13 games…Calgary is 15-3-1 when they score the first goal this season…Centre Tyson Greenway is six faceoff wins shy of 200…The Hitmen have seven players with 12 or more goals this season. That number grows to eight if you include Sean Tschigerl who scored 19 goals before his January trade to Lethbridge.
DIVERSE ATTACK: Calgary’s last 10 goals have been scored by nine different players; Oliver Tulk (2), Dax Williams, Ethan Moore, Ben Kindel, Maxim Muranov, Brandon Gorzynski, David Adaszynski and Carter Yakemchuk and Carson Wetsch.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 6-15-4 on the road while Moose Jaw is 20-8-0-1 on home ice. Their 41 points secured at the Moose Jaw Events Centre are tied for fourth best in the WHL.
DID YOU KNOW? Since the Jan. 10 WHL Trade Deadline, the Hitmen are 7-6-1…Calgary has outshot their opponent in six of their last seven games but are just 2-5 in that span…As a team, Calgary is 53.1 percent on faceoffs this season…The Hitmen have 12 rookies on their 23-man roster…Oliver Tulk’s team leading 29 goals have been scored in 27 games this season.
WHL TOP-10: Carter Yakemchuk leads the league in goals among defencemen with 24 while his 54-points rank tied for fourth among blueliners… Goaltender Ethan Buenaventura is third in the WHL in saves with 1,174 and fourth in minutes played at 2,240…Ben Kindel is fourth in rookie scoring with 47 points while Keets Fawcett is seventh with 38.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Chase Valliant (Upper Body, Week-to-Week), David Adaszynski (Upper Body, Out Indefinitely), Connor Dale (Illness, Day-to-Day).
NHL RADAR: Five Hitmen are on NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings for the 2024 NHL Draft among North American skaters. Carter Yakemchuk is sixth, Carson Wetsch 44th, Keets Fawcett 163rd, Chase Valliant 195th and Dax Williams 211th. Both Yakemchuk and Wetsch played in 2024 CHL/NHL Top Prospects game in Moncton, NB.
WHL CAREER MILESTONES: Tyson Greenway is two points away from 100. Maxim Muranov reached 50 assists last night in Brandon. Connor Dale is two games shy of 100 while Carson Wetsch is three games away from the century mark.
PROSPECT WATCH: Sam Lukenchuk, Calgary’s eighth-round pick (165th overall) in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft is playing with the U18 AAA Saskatoon Contacts. The 15-year-old left-shot defenceman has 12 points (3g, 9a) in 33 games.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Defenceman Dax Williams is in his second season with the Hitmen after appearing in 33 games (1g, 4a) in his rookie campaign. Williams was Calgary’s sixth round pick, 121st overall, in the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft. The 18-year-old played in the AMBHL All-Star Game in 2020 as a member of the Calgary Bisons alongside current teammate Carter Yakemchuk. Willliams has 20 points (4g, 16a) in 51 games this season and a plus/minus rating of +20.
UPCOMING GAMES: The Hitmen will enjoy a one-day break before their road trip resumes on Family Day, Monday, Feb. 19 in Regina against the Pats. Game time is 1:00 p.m. MST. The swing draws to a close in Edmonton on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 11:00 a.m. MST. Calgary’s next 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.