The Calgary Hitmen were back on home ice tonight after three on the road to welcome the Medicine Hat Tigers to the Scotiabank Saddledome for the first time this season. Calgary fell to the visitors 4-3 in their first shootout of the season.
Carter Cunnigham of the Medicine Hat Tigers opened the game scoring just over ten minutes into the first. With two Medicine Hat players in the box, Calgary converted twice on a two-man advantage to tie it, and then take the lead. Connor Hvidston found the net first from the high slot for his third of the season. The second power play unit would then find success with Ethan Moore beating Harrison Meneghin to make it 2-1.
Starting on the power play once again in the second period, Moore would clinch his second of the game, tipping in a shot from the point by Reese Hamilton. In the tail end of the second, Gavin Mckenna found the net off a pass redirected by the skate of Carter Yakemchuk to make it 3-2 heading into the final frame.
Medicine Hat would be the next strike again, tying the game courtesy of Hunter St. Martin just under three minutes into the final frame. This would be the last goal of regulation, with three periods solving nothing. Overtime would prove to have the same outcome with the game needing to be decided in a shootout. Gavin McKenna would pick up the lone goal of the shootout to win it for Medicine Hat.
It was a successful game of special teams for Calgary, going three for five on the power play and finishing with a perfect penalty kill, killing off all four of Medicine Hat’s power plays. Eric Tu was stellar in net making 39 saves, the most in his five starts with Calgary. The 16-year-old goaltender sits with a 2.54 GAA and 0.917 save percentage. Ben Kindel (1a) extended his point streak to seven games, while Ethan Moore earned second star with his two-goal performance. Calgary’s record remains at .500 with a record of 5-5-2-1.
Calgary will make a day trip to Lethbridge to face the Hurricanes on Friday, Nov. 1 before returning to the Scotiabank Saddledome to host Red Deer on Monday.