Hitmen down Canes 5-2

By Dori Modney

Hitmen down the Canes in Calgary

Dec 15, 2019 | 4:58 PM

CALGARY — Sunday afternoon in Calgary was the second of three consecutive matches between the Hitmen and the Hurricanes. The first game, Saturday night in Lethbridge, was scoreless through the first two periods, but the Canes charted a 3-0 shutout in the third.

With that in mind, the Hitmen were looking to redeem themselves when the two teams hit the ice in Calgary.

The opening five minutes produced a scuffle that sent Ty Prefontaine and Koletrane Wilson of the Canes and the Hitmen’s Tye Carriere to their respective penalty boxes for roughing. Just as the three players returned to the ice two minutes later, Calgary’s Riley Fiddler-Schultz planted his first goal of the season, putting his team on the scoreboard.

Midway in the period, Carson Focht found the Canes’ net on a power play opportunity and ten seconds before the buzzer, Riley Stotts added a second power play goal.

The period ended with the Hitmen up 3 and ahead 14-1 in shots-on-goal.

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The second frame began with a change in the Canes net minding, as Bryan Thomson took over for Carl Tetachuk. At 4:52, D-Jay Jerome was on a breakaway and took a pass from Koletrane Wilson, slamming the puck through the pipes and cutting the Hitmen’s lead to 3-1. It was the lone goal for the period.

The 3-1 score was short-lived.

Five minutes into the final frame, Calgary’s Riley Fiddler-Schultz logged his second of the game and at 8:11, Josh Prokop was at the Canes’ net tipping in another. The score was 5-1.

At 11:25, the Canes’ Justin Hall scores a short-handed goal assisted by Zac Stringer and Danila Palivko. Unfortunately, the Hurricanes were a long way from catching the Hitmen, who took the game 5-2.

Both teams logged 12 minutes in penalties, while the Hitmen out-shot the Canes 38-17. The Hurricanes are 20-10-0-5 in the standings and sit third in the Central division. The Hitmen are 16-10-3-1 and hold top spot in the Eastern Conference Wild Card.

The two teams meat again on Friday, Dec. 27 in Lethbridge.