Steel shows his mettle in another big performance
Regina Pats standout continues to burn Hitmen with two more goals Wednesday
The Calgary Hitmen have seen enough of Sam Steel and the Regina Pats for quite some time.
Steel scored twice and had two assists to lead the top-ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League to a 4-0 win over the Hitmen on Wednesday. The Pats have won nine straight games and sit atop the WHL Eastern Conference standings with an impressive 386-7 record.
In three games against the Hitmen (19-25-9) this season — all wins — Steel has found the back of the net seven times, while setting up five other goals. He leads all WHL scorers with 39 goals and 57 assists in 45 games played.
The Hitmen still have one more chance to try to shut Steel and the Pats down when the two teams meet for the fourth and final time this season on March 4 in Regina.
Calgary remains one point behind the Saskatoon Blades (21-266) for the final Eastern Conference wild-card playoff berth. The team that earns that berth is most likely destined to face the Pats in the opening round of the WHL playoffs.
Connor Hobbs had a goal and three assists for the visitors, Nick Henry also scored, while Adam Brooks chipped in with two helpers. Goalie Tyler Brown stopped all 28 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season.
Calgary netminder Trevor Martin did his best to keep the Hitmen in the game by making 26 saves.
Forward Beck Malenstyn was the most dangerous player offensively for the Hitmen, but he was unable to extend his scoring streak to six games after scoring three times and adding three assists in his past five contests.
Austin Wagner, who scored in overtime to lead the Pats to a 6-5 win the last time the two teams met in Calgary on Jan. 27, had an early chance to get Regina on the board, but Martin made a nice glove save to stop his breakaway attempt.
Malenstyn thought he scored just past the nine-minute mark of the opening period. He squeaked a shot to the short side past Brown, but the puck hit the post before trickling wide of the net.
Steel then opened the scoring at 9:30 when he made a couple slick moves to fool both Martin and Hitmen defenceman Brady Reagan before depositing a backhand shot into the net.
Henry then scored on a two-man advantage for the Pats at 18:03 before Steel added another powerplay goal with just 5.7 seconds remaining before the first intermission.
The Hitmen outshot the Pats 9-8 in the second period, but weren’t able to get any pucks past Brown. Calgary also squandered a pair of two-man advantages of their own late in the second and early in the third.
Hobbs then blasted a point shot past Martin at 12:04 of the third for Regina’s second goal of the game during a five-on-three advantage.
The Hitmen will continue their three-game homestand when they take on the Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday (7 p.m., Sportsnet The Fan 960, Shaw TV) and the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday (7 p.m., Sportsnet The Fan 960).
ICE CHIPS: The Hitmen will play 11 of their final 19 remaining regular season games at the Saddledome. … Announced attendance was 5,116. … Tyler Mrkonjic is the lone Hitmen player to suit up for all 53 of Calgary’s games this season. Fellow forward Luke Coleman, a trade deadline acquisition, has a chance to play 73 games. He is ahead of the 72-game pace due to his games played with the Prince Albert Raiders prior to his trade to Calgary. … The Hitmen have returned 16-year-old prospect Zach Huber to the Foothills CFR Chemical Midget AAA Bisons. Huber appeared in the final two games of Calgary’s recent road trip to B.C. In 29 games with the Bisons this season, the product of Millarville, Alta., has scored 16 goals to go with 13 assists.