The Calgary Hitmen closed out a busy weekend playing their third game in as many days. They welcomed the Regina Pats to the Scotiabank Saddledome and secured two points, putting them back in the win column after dropping their last two.
The chemistry between Oliver Tulk and Ben Kindel remained strong with them combining for 5 points in a 4-1 win over Regina. It was also a game of firsts with Sawyer Mynio notching his first goal as a Calgary Hitmen to open the scoring in the first period. With the assist was newcomer Ethan Merner who registered his first WHL point in his second appearance with the club. Regina’s lone goal would come in the first period, with Caden Brown capitalizing on the power play.
Calgary would go on to score three unanswered. Carson Wetsch scored Calgary’s second goal on the powerplay with helpers from Connor Hvidston and Ben Kindel. Wetsch becomes the third Hitmen player to reach the 20 goal mark this season, behind Tulk and Kindel.
Oliver Tulk would gift himself two goals on his 20th birthday, scoring his first off a breakaway feed from Ben Kindel at the 11:17 mark of the second. His second tally would come just over five minutes into the third to make it 4-1. Ben Kindel would notch his third assist on the play, while Axel Hurtig secured the secondary.
Daniel Hauser was solid in net once again making 21 saves. The goaltender has four wins in his first five starts with the Hitmen and sits with a 2.99 GAA and 0.908 save percentage. Oliver Tulk earned first star with his two-goal performance, while linemate Ben Kindel earned second with his three assists.
The two points tonight puts Calgary in third place, just one point behind the Medicine Hat Tigers for first in the Eastern Conference with two games in hand. Calgary’s 0.655 win percentage is the highest in the conference and third highest in the WHL.
Calgary is back on the road this coming week for a pair of games. On Wednesday, Jan. 22 they visit the Warriors in Moose Jaw.