The Calgary Hitmen opened a three-game homestand this afternoon as they welcomed the Prince George Cougars to Scotiabank Saddledome for a Thanksgiving Day matinee. Stellar offense and a shutout from rookie goaltender Eric Tu, propelled Calgary to a 5-0 victory.
A scoreless game through the first 20 minutes would be blown open in the second period with the Calgary finding the back of the net three times in the period. Maxim Muranov opened the scoring with help from Ethan Moore, who dished a pass from his knees finding Muranov for his second of the year. Carson Wetsch followed up only 19 seconds later to make it 2-0. Carter Yakemchuk recorded his first of the season on the power play in his second appearance after returning from the Ottawa Senators.
Calgary would not slow down in the final frame closing out the game with to back-to-back markers. Oliver Tulk found the back of the net for his third goal of the season, assisted by Brandon Gorzynski and Connor Hvidston. Gorzysnki extends his point streak (1g, 5a) to three games while Tulk and Hvidston lead the team in points with eight each.
With Calgary on the penalty kill, Ben Kindel would be the last to strike off a stretch breakaway pass from Dax Williams to make the final score 5-0. Eric Tu recorded his first win, and first career shutout with 31 saves earning him first star. This makes him the youngest goaltender in franchise history to record both at the age of 15. Ben Kindel and Oliver Tulk would earn second and third star respectively. Other stand outs include Calgary Flames prospect Axel Hurtig, who was plus two in tonight’s contest and now sits with plus eight on the season with seven games played.
Calgary’s penalty kill finished at 100%, killing off all three of Prince George’s power plays. The team now sits with a record of 3-4-0-0.
Calgary is back on home ice for a pair of games this week. First, they welcome Red Deer to the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday.