HITMEN HAMMER WARRIORS TO CAP OFF RUGGED STRETCH
Calgary finishes weekend on high note despite playing three games in two days
The Calgary Hitmen played their seventh game in 10 days on Sunday.
When they took the ice against the Moose Jaw Warriors, they were also playing their third game in less than 48 hours.
They had every excuse to look sluggish and just go through the motions.
That’s not what happened. Instead, the Hitmen (20-125) were dominant. They outshot, out-hit and outplayed the Warriors (11-22-2) en route to a lopsided 7-2 victory.
Believe it or not, that score line might have flattered the Warriors.
“They’re a little bit of a younger team right now and we’ve all walked a mile in those shoes,” said Hitmen head coach Steve Hamilton.
“We put a lot of pucks behind them and we cycled and it’s tough to contain some of our forwards when we get moving and we did an excellent job going low to high.
“We had 102 shot attempts today so that might be our alltime record. Lots of volume and good things happen when you shoot the puck.”
To be sure, the Hitmen created lots of pressure and had the vast majority of possession. They finished with 39 shots on goal. That’s a nice total on any day.
But just as impressive was the way the rising Calgary crew contained the Warriors’ weapons until the game was out of reach. The visitors at the Saddledome on Sunday recorded only two shots in the first period, and 36 minutes into the game the Hitmen had scored five goals while the Warriors only had four shots.
Considering the Hitmen had played on both Friday and Saturday, it was an immensely convincing performance and ensured that they took four points out of a possible six over the weekend.
“Three-in-three, by the third game you’re not always maybe feeling your best, but I think the main goal coming into this game was set the tone early and don’t let your foot off the gas,” said defenceman Luke Prokop, who collected three assists on Sunday.
“To go along with that, we just tried to keep it in their zone as much as we could. We knew we could get to their D-men and move the puck down low and dominate them that way. We’re big and strong and that’s the way we’re built.”
After the injury bug hit the team hard earlier in the season, they’re getting healthier and should have Russian defenceman Yegor Zamula back from the World Junior Hockey Championship soon after he played in Sunday’s gold-medal game.
Sunday’s scoresheet was a reminder of the depth they’ve got at their disposal. Seven players — Carson Focht, Riley Fiddler-schults, Cael Zimmerman, Mark Kastelic, Adam Kydd, Josh Prokop and Evan Toth — scored for the Hitmen.
They collected points in five of the seven games they played in this recent 10-day stretch and now get a nice break before they take the ice Friday at the Saddledome against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who they’re chasing in the standings.
After Sunday’s game, it would be impossible to argue that things aren’t looking up for the Hitmen.