Hitmen work overtime, win home opener
A 3-2 shootout victory over Kootenay sends Saddledome fans home happy
It didn’t take long for fans of the Calgary Hitmen to get a glimpse of the future on Friday night.
After all, the Hitmen iced a lineup of 10 rookies — including six who were playing their first career Western Hockey League games — in their home opener in front of 7,524 fans at the Scotiabank Saddledome against the Kootenay Ice.
The fans went home happy, as the Hitmen recorded a 3-2 victory in a shootout. Mark Kastelic, who won the Hitmen rookie of the year award last season, appeared to win the game for the Hitmen with 29.3 seconds remaining in overtime, but the apparent goal was disallowed.
Taylor Sanheim then scored the game-deciding goal in the fifth round of the shootout to give the Hitmen the exciting win in front of an appreciative crowd.
One of those wide-eyed rookies making his WHL debut was Murphy Stratton, who scored 13 goals and added 16 assists in 27 games for his hometown Los Angeles Jr. Kings Under-16 team last season.
Stratton had a great first shift and almost set up a goal by linemate Taylor Sanheim only 15 seconds into the game. The 16-year-old right winger then scored his first WHL goal during a Hitmen power play at 3:58 of the second period to pull the Hitmen into a 1-1 tie.
Zak Zborosky scored on a twoman advantage with 36.5 seconds left in the first period, while Tanner Sidaway slid a puck past Calgary goalie and birthday boy Cody Por- ter with 29 seconds on the clock in the second period to give the Ice a 2-1 lead.
Fourth-year WHL forward Tyler Mrkonjic then tied the game up once again when he converted a feed from his rookie linemate Tristen Nielsen at 1:18 of the third period.
Porter made 28 saves, including one in the extra session, to pick up the win.
Stratton started the game playing on a line with Kastelic and Sanheim. On his first shift, he took a pass from rookie import defenceman Vladislav Yeryomenko before quickly feeding a perfect cross-ice pass to Sanheim, who one-timed a shot on net that Ice goalie Payton Lee was able to turn aside.
Unfortunately for the Hitmen, it was one of only four shots they were able to direct Lee’s way in the first period, while the Ice fired nine at Porter and took a 1-0 lead thanks to Zborosky’s late goal.
Stratton, who hails from Los Angeles, and Yeryomenko, of Vitebsk, Belarus, were just two of six Hitmen players making their WHL debuts at the ’Dome. The others were forwards Matt Dorsey and Andrei Grishakov as well as defencemen Drea Esposito and Jackson van de Leest.
The Hitmen lineup also featured four other rookies in forwards Lucas Cullen and Nielsen along with defenceman Ty Prefontaine and backup goalie Kyle Dumba, who had a combined total of 22 games of WHL experience between them.
The youngsters were all pressed into duty due to the fact that seven Hitmen players are still away attending NHL training camps.
“It’s the time of year where we know that we’re going to have a bit of a reduced roster until some guys are back,” said Hitmen coach Mark French.
Defenceman Jake Bean, a firstround pick (13th overall) of the Carolina Hurricanes at the 2016 NHL Draft last June highlights that list, while the others are Beck Malenstyn ( Washington Capitals), Jakob Stukel ( Vancouver Canucks), Carsen Twarynski (Philadelphia Flyers), Matteo Gennaro ( Winnipeg Jets), Jordy Stallard (Jets) and Aaron Hyman (Calgary Flames).
ICE CHIPS: The same two teams will battle again on Saturday night (7 p.m.) in Cranbrook as the Ice host their home opener at Western Financial Place. … Hitmen fans can buy a piece of franchise history as the club is holding its annual gameworn and game-issued jersey auction. To find out how to bid on all black jerseys from last season in addition to several collector’s edition jerseys featuring the likes of former players Brady Brassart, Chris Driedger and Pavel Padakin among others visit hitmenhockey. com.