Hitmen Report: time for teddy bears

The Calgary Hitmen spent this past week the way they spent the prior one, one a lengthy road trip through the prairies. But they continued to do something they’ve done lately: win hockey games.

The Hitmen finished off a lengthy eastern road trip with a pair of games this past weekend.

On Friday, the Hitmen had a wild ride in a 4-3 overtime win over the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Hitmen got out to a 2-0 lead, gave up three straight goals to go down 3-2, then rallied back to force overtime and win in extra time. Orca Wiesblatt had two goals, while Blake Allan and Carson Focht added goals. 2020 NHL Draft prospect Jack McNaughton made 31 saves for the win.

On Saturday, Calgary had a much smoother victory with a 4-1 triumph over the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Hitmen got coles from Wiesblatt, Jonas Peterek, Mark Kastelic and Jett Woo and never trailed in this game. 2020 NHL Draft prospect Brayden Peters made 17 saves for the win.

The Htmen ended up getting points in all five of the games on their road trip, going 4-0-1.

The Hitmen head into a busy week with a pretty solid record. They’re 13-6-2-1. Points-wise, they’re four out of a divisional playoff spot. But they’ve played fewer games than the teams ahead of them – Lethbridge, Edmonton and Medicine Hat – so their fate is very much in their own hands.

They can help themselves out quite a bit this weekend as they play three games in three nights. On Friday they host the Regina Pats at the Saddledome. On Saturday they trek up the QE2 to face the Edmonton Oil Kings for their fifth meeting of the year. And Sunday is the annual Teddy Bear Toss as the Hitmen host the Red Deer Rebels.

If you’re coming Sunday, bring a bear. Bring multiple bears! They’ll be collected after the Hitmen score their first goal – after the fans toss ’em on the ice – and distributed to tons of local charities to benefit tons of local kids in need.