The Calgary Hitmen earned their first home-ice victory of the season Saturday night, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings 6-3 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The night featured a mix of veteran leadership and milestone moments, with several Hitmen notching their first career WHL goals.
Landon Amrhein opened the scoring with his first in the league, but Edmonton quickly countered with goals from Max Curran and Luke Powell to take a 2-1 lead. Fresh off Calgary Flames Training Camp, Axel Hurtig buried the equalizer late in the frame to send the game tied into the intermission.
After a scoreless second period, the Oil Kings regained the lead just 1:05 into the third on a goal from Joe Iginla. From there the Hitmen erupted with four unanswered goals to take control of the game. Ethan Moore finished a highlight-reel feed from Kale Dach for his first of the season. Ben MacBeath followed with his first career WHL goal, which stood as the game-winner. Keaton Jundt added another first in the WHL, extending the lead to two. Dach capped the night with an empty netter, his second of the season, to seal the win.
Goaltender Anders Miller was steady between the pipes, stopping 31 shots. Ethan Moore’s three-point night (1g, 2a) earned him first-star honours, while Wyatt Pisarczyk (2a) was named second star.
The Hitmen welcomed back Axel Hurtig (Calgary Flames) and Brandon Gorzynski (Dallas Stars) from NHL training camps, while Ben Kindel remains away with Pittsburgh.
The Hitmen will have a week of practice before returning to action next Saturday.