Calgary Hitmen @ Red Deer Rebels
Western Hockey League, Regular Season Game
March 6, 2021
Saturday, March 6, the second game of the home-and-home between Calgary Hitmen and Red Deer Rebels. The Hitmen looked to continue their stifling defence and Red Deer needed to get their offence going. Not suprising, after the heavy workload the night before the Hitmen decided to give Brayden Peters the night off and went with Jack McNaughton in net. McNaughton looked very solid early on and Jackson Van De Leest played like an absolute stud in this game. The first period was a fast-paced back and forth battle, but ended with no scoring with McNaughton and Ethan Anders being the stars of the period. Near the mid-point of the second period Tristan Zandee showed some quick feet and good behavior beating his defender to the net to pick up a rebound and bury it for a 1-0 Red Deer lead. Not long after Red Deer increased their lead as Sean Tschigerl put in his second in 2 games. Tschigerl showed patience and quick hands in front of the net. Instead of blasting a rebound he made a quick play to stick handle around a sprawled-out Anders and slid it into an empty net. Red Deer would have to wait until 2 seconds left in the 2 nd period to get on the board and break up the 100 minute shutout streak of the Hitmen. Chris Douglas scored on the powerplay with a nice one-timer from the top of the circles. Mason Ward made a great play on the point getting the defenders to move their sticks out of his passing lane to Douglas, then Douglas made no mistake. 2-1 Calgary after 2. The third was a lot more of McNaughton as he stood strong and it looked like Calgary was going to hold on and pick up the weekend sweep, then with just 3 minutes remaining in regulation Ben King scored the game-tying goal on a great hustle play. Kyle Masters fired the puck, from his own end, on goal and McNaughton tried to steer the rebound into the corner. King, going full-out down the wing beat Grayden Siepmann to the rebound and finished on net with a nice short-side tuck. The 3 rd period ended knotted at 2. Overtime was similar to the rest of the game, a very even back and forth battle. With just under a minute left in OT, gifted offensive player, Arshdeep Baines broke in on a 2-on-1 with Ben King. King received the pass and then tried to slide it back to Baines passed a diving McNaughton. Baines had to reposition himself and pick up the pass on his backhand and made no mistake burying it passed a sliding goalie and defenceman. 3-2 Red Deer final.
Key Players for the Hitmen, by birth year, were:
2003
Sean Tschigerl #19 (LW, L, 6’0″, 189, Calgary Hitmen, 04/11/2003) Tschigerl wasn’t as dynamic in this game as the night before, but he again showed that given the chance in front of the net the puck will find the twine. In this game he was stronger on the puck than the night before, showing his skills in puck protection while waiting for teammates to reach opportune spots on the ice. His overall game is quite impressive. He can work in all situations and is one of the best players on the ice each and every shift. A-
Tristan Zandee #14 (LW, L, 6’3″, 201, Lethbridge Hurricanes, 11/28/2003) Zandee made a much better impression in this game. The evening before he showed he had all the skills needed to be a high-end player, however just kind of disappeared into the mix during his shifts. Tonight, was quite the contrary – he looked significantly better. He showed some great net-drive on his goal, seeing an opportunity to beat his defender to the net for a loose puck he put the pedal down, leaning on his opponent and then burying the loose puck with the defenceman all over him and his stick. Zandee had quite a few shifts this game where he was a standout, moving his feet, making smart plays (with and without the puck) and contributing to his team’s overall success. It was a great bounce-back for him. B+
Tyson Galloway #22 (D, L, 6’4″, 214, Yale Hockey Academy, 01/20/2003) Galloway, who was very impressive in Game 1 of the home-and-home, didn’t quite have the follow-up we were hoping for. He still played a solid game and showed that he is really come into his own. He uses his size very well, and combined with good foot- speed for a big defenceman it makes for a long night for anyone who chooses to come down his side. B+
Rory Neill #7 (D, L, 5’11”, 161, Winnipeg Hawks Bantam, 07/18/2003) There is no denying this kid has skills. His skating is on point, quick transitions, good gap control, proper body positioning – he is doing all the right things. With the puck he has his head up and you can tell he is in control of what is going to happen and it looks like he is itching to let his offensive side burst out of the gates. We’d like to see Neill skate with the puck a bit more, looking to create offensively while being responsible to his own end. Right now he has defence on his mind. B+
Zack Funk #24 (RW, R, 6’0″, 194, Calgary Hitmen, 07/20/2003) We watched Zack Funk quite closely during this game as he wasn’t all that noticeable the night before (which isn’t a bad thing). Tonight, he executed a very similar style as the night before – a lot of barely noticeable good, smart plays. His passing is crisp and quick, and not flashy. His skating is direct, efficient and fairly fast, but not blazing. He did have a couple shots on net, but nothing that really challenged Red Deer’s goalie Ethan Anders. B-
Owen Palfreyman #4 (D, L, 6’4″, 185, Cariboo Cougars, 11/10/2003) Palfreyman showed a lot of similarities from the evening before. Several times throughout the game he found himself in tough situations and out of position. His speed and strength need to improve, as does his overall confidence in what his strengths are, which is his size and reach. He did show that he wouldn’t be pushed around and dropped the gloves in the first period with the equally-as-large Jayden Grubbe. C
2002
Luke Prokop #6 (D, R, 6’4″, 203, Northern Alberta X-Treme Prep, 05/06/2002) Luke Prokop, for the second night in a row, was one of the best and most noticeable players on the ice each and every shift. He skates quite well for a big defenceman, which allows him to close the distance on attackers very quickly, furthermore it allows him to separate from forecheckers and move up ice leading attacks. His poise on the blueline during the powerplay is impressive, he delivers pucks in the right direction more times than not. He processes the play at a higher speed than other defenders on the ice, which allows him to create in all areas. A-
2001
Jackson van de Leest #5 (D, L, 6’7″, 229, Yale Hockey Academy, 06/15/2001) Van De Leest may have been the best player in the game for either team. He was an absolute force. The giant of the defenceman moves his feet very well and understands his strengths and how to use them to his advantage. His physical play was on full display with a 1 st period fight and some good body checks. However, his best physical play was in front of his own net. His ability to control forwards, block out and outright manhandle them was very impressive. His offensive side was a bit of a surprise making a few rushes up the ice and also firing a handful of shots on target. He quarterbacked the second powerplay unit and was the first to hit the ice in most shorthanded situations. A
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
Scout: Brant Kersey, Saskatchewan