Peters shines in win over Tigers
Brayden Peters made the most of his opportunity to shine on Sunday.
The 17-year-old goalie stopped all 26 shots he faced in a relief appearance to backstop the Calgary Hitmen to a 6-3 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers in front of 5,455 fans at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
“I didn’t feel any pressure on me,” said Peters, who entered the game at 8:08 of the first period after starting goalie Jack Mcnaughton gave up three goals on nine shots. “We were down 3-0 early and (our) team didn’t have the greatest start to the game. I just came in there to give our team a boost and our team reacted strong.”
Defenceman Jackson van de Leest started the comeback for the Hitmen (6-2-1) with his first goal of the season with 56.3 seconds remaining in the opening frame before adding two more assists.
“The first period was something that we wanted to forget,” said van de Leest, who praised Peters for his stellar effort. “He stepped in and right away was rock solid for us. It’s something that gives you that backbone almost where you’re thinking, ‘I’ve got a guy behind me that’s playing his heart out and doing really well’ and it’s easy to play in front of a guy like that.”
Hitmen forwards Carson Focht and Mark Kastelic scored the only goals of the second period. Kastelic then tallied the eventual game-winner at 4:54 of the third before Riley Stotts potted a pair of insurance markers past Tigers goalie Mads Sogaard, who made 36 saves before Garin Bjorklund stopped all four shots he faced in a mop-up appearance.
Cole Sillinger opened the scoring for the Tigers (8-3-1) at 1:07 of the first before setting up a pair of power-play goals by Ryan Chyzowski 67 seconds apart.
That prompted Calgary head coach Steve Hamilton to replace Mcnaughton in net with Peters, who had yet to see a minute of action with the Hitmen this season.
“We needed a change,” Hamilton said. “Petey came in and gave us a good boost.
“The guys really rallied around him and I thought they appreciated and recognized how important that was.”
Although he spent the majority of the 2018-19 season with the Lethbridge Midget AAA Hurricanes, Peters appeared in two games last year with the Hitmen and recorded his first WHL win.
He was one of three goalies to crack Calgary’s lineup out of training camp — behind Mcnaughton and Carl Stankowski — and patiently waited for his shot. After Stankowski was reassigned to an as yet to be determined team last Tuesday, Hitmen goalie coach Jason Labarbera told Peters to prepare himself for game action.
“Barbs, before the game, came up to me and just said, ‘Treat this like a game you’re starting. You never know what could happen and just be ready and be focused,’” said Peters, who was happy he was given some advance notice.
After Mcnaughton stopped 13of-16 shots he faced during Calgary’s 7-3 win at home over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday, Peters received some extra work in practice on Saturday.
“He was out there with just a few guys and they absolutely worked him to death,” said Hamilton, who has loved Peters’s attitude under less-than-ideal circumstances. “He’s always up for it. He’s a great competitor. His work ethic has been awesome in practice.”
After facing just two shots in his first 11:52 of action, Peters had to stop 12 in the second period and a dozen more in the final frame.
“Getting that first one out of the way in probably a month and a half now, it’s nice to get that one under my belt and just get back to being used to being in the net,” said Peters, who also picked up his first WHL assist. “The fans helped. It’s awesome hearing them cheer every time for the saves … and it really just gave me some confidence to continue on throughout the game.”
HIT PARADE
James Malm, Jonas Peterek and Orca Wiesblatt chipped in with two helpers each on Sunday. … Focht and Egor Zamula are tied for the team lead in scoring with 13 points each. Focht has seven goals and six assists in eight games, while Zamula has scored five times to go with nine helpers.