Hitmen take command of first round series with Blades

Calgary smokes Saskatoon 5-1 in Game 2

Grayden Siepmann had a goal for the Blades on Sunday.

The Calgary Hitmen were good in Game 1 and even better in Game 2.

On Sunday afternoon playing before 4,430 spectators at the Scotiabank Saddledown, the Hitmen skated to a convincing 5-1 victory over the visiting Saskatoon Blades in Game 2 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. Combined with Calgary’s sound 4-2 victory in Game 1 on Friday, the favoured Hitmen lead the series 2-0.

In the Game 2 clash on Sunday, it was a great afternoon to be a fan of the Hitmen. They led 2-0 after the first period holding a 15-8 edge in shots on goal.

Calgary scored twice more holding a 22-5 edge in shots on goal for the second period to push their advantage out to 4-0. At that point, the Blades elected to pull star netminder Evan Gardner, who has turned away 33-of-37 fired his way over the first 40 minutes.

The third period was a more competitive with the Hitmen holding an 11-10 edge in shots on goal. Blades 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Grayden Siepmann wired home a shot from the left faceoff circle dot at the 10:27 mark of the frame to trim the Hitmen lead to 4-1.

Hitmen star centre Tanner Howe rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty net tally with 1:47 remaining in the third round.

Ethan McCallum stopped all 10 shots he faced in a relief effort in the third period in goal for the Blades.

The Hitmen opened the game’s scoring at the 10:03 mark of first period when left-winger Brandon Gorzynski, who turned 18-years-old earlier this month, popped home a shot close in from the right side of the Saskatoon net.

Just over two minutes later and working on the power play, the Hitmen jetting into the Saskatoon zone on an offensive rush. Hitmen standout right-winger Ethan Moore, who turned 19-years-old in February, wired home a shot from inside the right faceoff circle to give the host side a 2-0 edge.

The Hitmen train continued to roll in the second. They struck again in the power play at the 7:34 mark of the frame to push their lead to 3-0.

Hitmen star 17-year-old centre Ben Kindel had the puck at the left faceoff dot and put a pass to the front of the Saskatoon net to Calgary captain Carson Wetsch. Wetsch redirected the puck past Gardner to give the hosts their three-goal lead.

Evan Gardner stopped 33-of-37 shots over two periods on Sunday.

Just over four minutes later, Hitmen 20-year-old star offensive-defenceman and Saskatoon product Kalem Parker got in on the fun. He netted his first of the post-season to make the Hitmen lead sit at 4-0.

In the first two games of the series, rugged Hitmen 19-year-old centre David Adaszynski made a number of big hits. He made another big collision in the third period leveling Blades sophomore defenceman Jack Kachkowski.

The goals by Siepmann and Howe followed after that hit to close out the notable moments of the contest.

Anders Miller made 22 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Hitmen. For the first two games of the post-season, Calgary has been without the services of star overage netminder Daniel Hauser, who holds the WHL record for career regular season goaltending victories at 123. Hauser is out day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Eric Tu, who is a 16-year-old rookie, is serving as Calgary’s backup netminder.

In Sunday’s win over the Blades, Gorzynski, Moore and Howe each finished with a one goal and one assist for the Hitmen. Kindel had a pair of assists for the Calgary side.

The Hitmen entered the series having finished third overall in the WHL with a 45-17-3-3 record. They were also rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings that were released on Tuesday.

The Blades finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-23-4-4 mark. They enter the WHL Playoffs with the second youngest roster out of the 16 teams that are playing in the circuit’s post-season with an average age of 17.9 years on their roster.

A year ago, the Blades entered the playoffs having topped the WHL standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark and were loaded with a lot of star veterans. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship series where they fell 3-2 in overtime in Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

The 2024-25 campaign ended up being a reload season for the Blades, who traded a number of veteran stars before the WHL’s trade deadline back on January 9 acquiring needed draft capital and younger players. Even with those moves, the Blades still comfortably landed in a position to qualify for the WHL Playoffs.

Now, the series between the Hitmen and Blades switches over to Saskatoon for Games 3 and 4 to be held Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m. both nights at the SaskTel Centre. The Blades, who were 20-8-4-2 at home during the regular season, will be looking to find a boost inside the friendly confines of the SaskTel Centre as they attempt to make some noise in this series.

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