Hitmen Report: earning a split in a busy week
By Ryan Pike
4 years agoThe Calgary Hitmen had one of their busiest stretches of the season over the past week. They played four games in a span of six days. The results varied, but they continued to chug along towards a fairly assured Western Hockey League playoff position.
The week that was
The Hitmen began the weekend at home and played a very solid game against a potential playoff opponent. They beat the Prince Albert Raiders by a 2-1 score, with netminder Brayden Peters leading the way with 39 saves. Josh Prokop and Riley Fiddler-Schultz scored for the Hitmen in a game they never trailed.
Things went distinctly the other way 24 hours later in Red Deer. The Hitmen allowed a Rebels goal 46 seconds into the game and couldn’t get one of their own despite putting 41 shots on Rebels goaltender Ethan Anders. They lost 3-0. Jack McNaughton made 15 saves in the loss.
The Hitmen dropped a track meet on Sunday at home against Lethbridge, losing 6-4 to the Hurricanes. They got two goals from Mark Kastelic and one each from Jett Woo and Carson Focht, but it wasn’t enough in a game they never led. Peters made 19 saves in the loss.
On Wednesday, the Hitmen bounced back with an 8-1 home trouncing of the Regina Pats. They scored 10 seconds in and never looked back. They got four goals from Kastelic, two from Kyle Olson, and two from Focht. Peters made 13 saves for the win.
The week ahead
The Hitmen are off on a lengthy British Columbia road trip. They’re in Prince George on Saturday, Kelowna on Monday, and Victoria on Wednesday.
When they finish their road trip at the end of the month, they’ll have just six regular season home games remaining. The playoffs begin in about a month.
Playoff picture
The Hitmen remain firmly in a playoff spot.
- They’re eight points behind Medicine Hat for divisional spot (with a game in hand).
- They’re four points up on Saskatoon for the top wildcard spot (with a game in hand).
- They’re 22 points up on Regina, the best non-playoff team in the Eastern Conference, though the Pats have a game in hand.
If playoffs began today, the Hitmen would play the Winnipeg ICE. But Prince Albert is just behind Winnipeg and could win that division.
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