The Calgary Hitmen and captain Mark Kastelic made short work of overtime as just 18 seconds into the frame, the Arizona product buried his 20th of the season to lift the visitors to a 2-1 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Brayden Peters was outstanding with 27 saves on the night in the win. Carl Tetachuk collected the loss but stood tall in making 33 stops.
Lethbridge had the game’s first chance on an early power play where it looked like the team had opened the scoring after the puck was poked across the line. The play was immediately waved off for goalie interference. That call was confirmed after a quick call to the video judge. It remained 0-0.
The teams went on to trade a few chances each way, but both goaltenders stood tall — an ongoing theme of this night. The emotion of the night kicked up a notch when Devan Klassen laid a thunderous hit on Hurricanes defencemen Joe Arntsen.
That emotion seemed to feed the Hurricanes attack. Justin Hall collected the loose puck in the slot and outwaited Peters to open the scoring. Hall’s 11th of the season was assisted by Noah Boyko and Jett Jones at the 12:40 mark.
A bit of a scary moment followed that goal. On a Hitmen power play, Zack Stringer took a puck to the mouth. He finished the shift before heading to the room for repairs. Thankfully, he was alright and eventually returned to the game.
On that same Hitmen power play, Orca Wiesblatt found himself in space and made no mistake, firing home his 13th of the season to tie the game at 1-1. The helpers on that power-play goal were handed to Luke Prokop and Peters. That is how things ended after one.
The second period started strong for the visitors as they peppered the Hurricanes netminder. Tetachuk was equal to the task, keeping the game 1-1. It was then that Hitmen goaltender Peters stole the spotlight, robbing Koletrane Wilson with a bomb from the high slot. The theme of the night continued to be the goalies.
The highlight of the second period came late in the period when tempers flared. Wilson and Kastelic dropped the mitts for an old school tilt. Call it a draw — both received a huge ovation from their benches. The rivalry is alive and well between these two clubs.
The third period saw both teams not wanting a mistake, and neither could create many dangerous chances. Once again, both Peters and Tetachuk were solid and did not allow anything on the scoresheet. This stalemate required extra time.
Overtime was quick and swift. Just 18 seconds in, Riley Stotts’ centering pass found Kastelic alone in the slot, and he fired home the game winner, his 20th of the season.
Despite the loss, Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio didn’t mind the effort. “I thought we were a lot better (tonight), battled harder, our structure was better and played hard. It’s been close every time we play each other.”
Kisio went on to talk about the rivalry but also looking forward to getting guys back. “Well it’s been good but I’m sure both teams would like some of our top guys back. So it’s been a little different. We’ve played a lot without them. You know they are missing a couple guys as well. So it’s not quite what both teams probably are. But it’s been some really good battles.”
In a tight game like this one, goaltending is important and that wasn’t lost on Kisio when asked about his netminder. “He was good. He’s been playing some really good hockey for us and I thought he did a really good job — controlled rebounds and made big saves.”
Shooting the breeze:
Both goalies received one of the three-star selections. Tetachuk was named the third star, Peters the second. Hitmen captain Kastelic took home the first star honors. The win for Peters was a little sweeter — this is the Taber product’s first win in his local barn.
Special teams played little into this game. The Hitmen managed one goal on two chances while a man up. The Hurricanes were 0-4 on the night.
The Hurricanes will be looking forward to some reinforcements this coming week. With the World Junior Championship wrapping up ,forwards Oliver Okuliar and Dylan Cozens, along with defencemen Calen Addison, will return to the team. It is uncertain when they will suit up for Lethbridge. The Hurricanes have played eight games without them, recording a 5-1-2-0 record.
Forward Justin Hall had this to say when asked about the rivalry and playing the Hitmen five times over a couple of weeks: “It almost feels like a playoff series.” That feeling will continue — next up for the Hurricanes is a rematch back in Calgary next Friday. The Hitmen will return home Sunday to welcome the Moose Jaw Warriors. They’ll then play the Hurricanes Friday.
