The Calgary Hitmen clinched a spot in the 2025 Western Hockey League playoffs with a 5-0 victory in Regina over the Pats on Wednesday night.
The win was the second in a row for the Hitmen on their East Division road trip and was a complete team effort from the start.
Ethan Merner and Brandon Gorzynski staked the visitors to a 2-0 first-period lead as both players scored for a second straight game.
Oliver Tulk, with a breakaway tally late in the second period, sent the Hitmen to the final frame leading 3-0.
Tulk then struck again to hit the 35-goal mark before Ethan Moore completed the scoring with his 14th of the season. Tulk finished the game with a team-leading three points (2g, 1a) while Dax Williams (2a) also registered a multi-point outing.
Calgary outshot the Pats 43-14 with goaltender Daniel Hauser earning his second shutout of the season and 14th of his WHL career. The victory moved him into a tie for seventh place on the WHL’s all-time wins list with Tyler Bunz and Troy Gamble at 115.
Hitmen forward Tanner Howe also grabbed headlines on this night, picking up an assist in his first game back in Regina after his Nov. 21, 2024 trade to Southern Alberta.
The Hitmen (35-15-5) sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers for top spot but with two games in hand.
Calgary’s six-game road trip across the East Division has two remaining stops. The first is Friday in Brandon before ending the swing on Saturday in Moose Jaw.
The Hitmen are then back on home ice on Wednesday, Feb. 26 to host Swift Current in the TELUS BE BRAVE #EndBullying Game in an 11 a.m. start at Scotiabank Saddledome.