“A really good steady approach to the game.” were the words used by Calgary bench boss coach Steve Hamilton to describe his team’s effort on November 29th against the Regina Pats. It was strong performances from the Calgary top six forward core that fueled the 4-1 win for Calgary. It was also the sixth straight game that the Hitmen had picked up at least one point.
The opening minutes of the first frame in this Central versus East division match up featured a solid showing from the home side. The Hitmen forced many shots on net within these first few minutes, which although were not overly difficult, certainly kept Max Paddock busy. Regina eventually settled into the game which allowed the Pats to generate some shots themselves. The play, however, soon after transitioned to a very low event style filled with loads of neutral zone play and minimal relatively non-threatening shots.
This all changed immediately after the mid period timeout with a Carson Focht boarding minor. Just twelve seconds into the power play, Carson Denomie ripped a quick wrister from the left point that with the help of an Austin Pratt deflection beat Jack McNaughton. With his tenth of the season Pratt moved into the scoring lead for the Pats.
Just moments later Egor Zamula ripped a slot shot past Paddock which fortunately for the 19-year-old goaltender rung off the post and out. This was the closest the Hitmen came to scoring as the Pats escaped the period with a 1-0 lead.
For the second straight period Calgary recorded the first six shots and continued to test Paddock with much better quality than in the first.
After being hemmed inside their defensive zone for several minutes the Pats took a much needed timeout. Immediately after the timeout, Paddock was forced to make an outstanding stick save after Focht was presented with a wide open net opportunity.
Once making their way into the Calgary zone and beginning to pick up momentum, the Pats were given a power play as Orca Wiesblatt was sent off for cross checking.
This power play proved to be less helpful for Regina as Mark Kastelic and Hunter Campbell teamed up to force a turnover where Kastelic then fed Campbell who walked in alone and beat Paddock to break the shutout. This goal also marked the third straight game that the Hitmen have scored while shorthanded against the Pats, while Kastelic has contributed on all three having scored the last two.
It was clear after this goal that the Hitmen had gained the games momentum back in their favour as Riley Stotts followed up minutes later with a wicked wrister that beat Paddock and assured the lead heading to the third.
After an exciting end to the second for the Hitmen fans, the action didn’t stop there.
Just over three minutes into the final frame Jett Woo came down the right side and fired a low hard shot to the pad of Max Paddock which appeared to be intended for a rebound. The puck bounced directly to Jonas Peterek who made no mistake in burying the puck into the yawning cage. This exact play had been used several times prior in this game and generated a number of decent scoring opportunities.
It was at the halfway point of the period when it became evident these two teams were becoming very sick of each other. Frustration set in for both clubs which led to heavy checking, scrums and undisciplined penalties.
With these undisciplined penalties the Hitmen were given a five-on-three power play where they made no mistake as Stotts threw a hard pass to a net front Focht who tapped in the puck to lengthen the Calgary lead to three goals.
This goal sealed the deal for the Hitmen who skated away with a 4-1 win and a third consecutive victory against the Pats. Captain Kastelic was quick to praise his linemates Peterek and Stotts post-game as the centreman said “It’s a good line and I like playing with them, (Riley) has a lot of creativity with good vision as well and Jonas is very crafty… and he plays a very North American game”
The Hitmen will be back in action Saturday in Edmonton and return home for Sunday’s teddy bear toss as they take on the Red Deer Rebels.
The Hitlist:
- Mark Kastelic continues to dominate against Regina as the overage centre now has four goals and seven helpers in just three games against the Pats this season.
- Wil Kushniryk made his debut for the Hitmen on the fourth in alongside Adam Kydd and Devan Klassen. The line combined for five shots on goal three of which were off the stick of Kushirnyk. Through 115 WHL games the forward has five goals and eight points
- Egor Zamula (2a) and Jett Woo (1a) both extended their point streaks to five games.
