Hitmen Report: Back to the win column

Good news, everyone! The Calgary Hitmen won a couple games this past week. They’re not quite back in the thick of the Western Hockey League playoff picture yet, but they’re closer than they have been this season.

In the third game of their road trip, the Hitmen managed their most one-sided victory of the season. They were led by three points from captain Mark Kastelic (two goals, one assist) and goals from Josh Prokop, Cael Zimmerman and Jake Kryski. Alek Sukunda scored for Moose Jaw. Hitmen goaltender Carl Stankowski made 30 saves in the win.

The Hitmen ran their winning streak to three in a row, powered by another two-goal game from Kastelic (including the overtime winner) and two-assist games from Egor Zamula and Carson Focht. Luke Prokop and Luke Coleman had the other Hitmen goals. Baron Thompson led the Wheat Kings with a goal and an assist, while Hitmen backup Jack McNaughton made 28 saves in win.

Alas, the Hitmen had their streak snapped by the Rebels. The theme of the game was goals from defensemen: Alex Alexeyev had two goals for the Rebels and Zamula had a goal for the Hitmen. Stankowski made 28 saves in the loss.

The Hitmen head into the week with a 4-7-2 record. They’re just outside the playoff picture, somehow, so the key will be to keep rolling along and clawing their way towards the .500 mark.

They host the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday and the Saskatoon Blades on Sunday.