Like any Western Hockey League training camp, there are plenty of questions surrounding different parts of a new roster. Last year the Calgary Hitmen had to work through a logjam with the overage category, but the team was fairly certain on the starting netminder job and whom the two imported […]
Tag: Tristen Nielsen
Very little goes the Blades way Friday
By Les Lazaruk It was another Friday of watching a badly-wanted WHL playoff spot become even less likely for the Saskatoon Blades. Tristen Nielsen scored the winning goal on a breakaway in overtime – the third of the game for the 18-year-old product of Fort St. John, B.C., […]
WHL recap: Everett and Regina get OT wins; Victoria and Prince Albert solidifying their playoff positions
Prince Albert 4 Lethbridge 1 The Prince Albert Raiders (29-25-9-2) have picked the right time to be playing their best hockey of the season. They beat the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes (32-26-6-0) 4-1 on Saturday night, earning their sixth straight win. They did so by beating a team sporting their own three-game winning streak […]
WHL recap: Colina and Bethune lead Cougars over Wheat Kings; Everett, Victoria and Vancouver also victorious
Prince George 3 @Brandon 2 Even with the Regina Pats loading up at the trade deadline, the huge lead the Brandon Wheat Kings (28-18-3-2) had for third in the East Division seemed insurmountable. That lead is getting more surmountable everyday. The Prince George Cougars (19-26-4-4) came in Westman Place Friday night nursing […]
Hitmen slowly gaining ground on the injury front
Life from the press box has provided a new perspective for a pair of Calgary Hitmen. Andrew Viggars and Tristen Nielsen have been sidelined for nearly one third of the season with identical injuries: both players broke bones in the same hand/wrist joint one game apart. Nielsen got pinned up […]
Nielsen’s presence presented problems for Blades
On a lost defensive faceoff, everyone has their assignments on who to cover in an attempt to turn the puck back over. Flying out to the point to block an attempted slap shot isn’t necessarily in the playbook for Calgary Hitmen’s leading scorer Jakob Stukel, but a little improvisation never […]
Winterhawks wallop Hitmen at home
The Portland Winterhawks came as advertised and blasted the Calgary Hitmen, adding them to the piles of teams they have left in their wake during their current eight-game winning streak. Two teams headed in very opposite directions continued on similar paths, as the Winterhawks disposed of the Hitmen 7-3 Wednesday […]
Gauthier’s greatness can’t carry Cougars past Hitmen
Taylor Gauthier couldn’t have dreamt a of better performance for his debut at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Calgary native stepped onto the ice at the Dome for the first time since he was six and did everything in his power to backstop his Prince George Cougars against the team he […]
Restructured Hitmen look to build off last year’s playoff drive
Calgary Hitmen 2016-17 season: 30-32-8-2, 70 points, swept by the Regina Pats in the opening round of the playoffs 4-0. It was an offseason of great turnover for the Calgary Hitmen this summer, on and off the ice. In July, the Hitmen introduced a pair of personnel changes, with a […]
Nielsen neutralizes Oil Kings comeback attempt
Four days off. That’s all Calgary Hitmen centre Tristen Nielsen allowed himself to have following the end to his first full season with the club. Coming back with a retooled body and an improved snap shot, Nielsen looks ready for an impact year with the Hitmen. He guided them to the 3-2 […]