Hitmen Report: success on the coast

The Calgary Hitmen are way out west embarking on one of their longest road trips of the season. But for the club it’s been so far, so good, as they’re riding a winning streak out in British Columbia.

The Hitmen began their week coasting to a 4-2 win on Saturday in Prince George. They scored 81 seconds into the game and never trailed. The Hitmen got goals from Carson Focht, Josh Prokop, Riley Fiddler-Schultz and Adam Kydd. Brayden Peters made 26 saves for the win.

Monday’s game in Kelowna was more insane. The Hitmen trailed 5-1 after two periods. They changed goalies, putting Jack McNaughton in for the third period. The Hitmen roared back to force overtime and win 6-5. They got two goals from Kyle Olson, two from Focht, and single markers from Fiddler-Schultz and Prokop. Peters made 17 saves over two periods and McNaughton stopped all seven shots he saw for the victory. (Kelowna fired their head coach after this game.)

On Wednesday, the Hitmen had another wild comeback win, this time beating Victoria 3-2 in a shootout. Captain Mark Kastelic accounted for both Calgary goals.

The western road swing ends this weekend. The Hitmen play in Vancouver on Friday and then in Kamloops on Saturday. Then it’s back home for the annual anti-bullying morning game on Thursday against the Winnipeg ICE.

The Hitmen have 69 points and are currently fourth in the Central Division:

By my accounting, a Hitmen win or Red Deer loss should clinch a Calgary playoff spot. If the post-season began today, they’d cross over into the East Division bracket and play Prince Albert (or Winnipeg, if they can retake the division lead).