The first night of a new season is supposed to carry a little extra drama.
The Calgary Hitmen apparently decided to take that as a challenge.
Two first-period goals. Two third-period goals against. Overtime. A shootout. A Russian newcomer with the winner. And a goaltender slamming the door.
That was Calgary’s wild route to a 3-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels on Friday, opening the franchise’s 32nd Western Hockey League season with two points and a few elevated heart rates at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Opening night also launched the Hitmen’s Farewell Season at the building they have called home since joining the WHL in 1995. If this season is going to be one long goodbye to the Saddledome, the Hitmen started it with a reminder that they are not ready to leave quietly.
There were firsts everywhere.
“It was a super-special night,” said Hitmen forward Charlie Kresl, who scored one of the Hitmen’s first-period goals. “It feels good to get the first one, the first goal and the first win. There was a little bit of everything tonight: a good crowd and a physical, intense game. We came out with two points, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Head coach Dustin Friesen was happy to see the training-camp free agent rewarded immediately on Friday night.
“He’s a really good teammate,” Friesen said. “He’s worked hard throughout training camp and the preseason, and he’s going to keep getting better as he learns how we play. It was special for him to get his first goal. He had some solid hits and was strong in the faceoff circle.”
Newly signed 20-year-old Kresl scored the season’s opening goal nearly five minutes into the game — and the first WHL goal of his career. A point shot bounced off the end boards and landed on Kresl’s stick beside the net, leaving him with an open side before Red Deer goaltender Matthew Kondro could recover.
Brennan Brown made it 2-0 later in the first period, knocking home a rebound during a Calgary power play. It was Brown’s first goal as a Hitmen player after his off-season arrival from the Swift Current Broncos.
The second period passed without a goal, leaving Calgary 20 minutes away from beginning the farewell season with a tidy shutout.
Cameron Kuzma scored from a sharp angle just 1:01 into the third period. A little more than three minutes later, Kohen Lodge went top shelf on a Rebels power play after taking a backhand feed from Paxson Madill.
Just like that, Calgary’s comfortable opener had become a 2-2 scramble.
The lost lead also gave Friesen plenty of teaching material for Saturday.
“There are lots of lessons to be learned, especially early in the season, with how we have to play structure-wise and with our battle level,” he said. “There were times we did that really well and times we didn’t. We gave up a lot of chances and made unforced errors, but give Red Deer credit. I thought they played really hard.”
Kresl agreed the Hitmen made life harder than necessary after their fast start.
“We have to stick to our habits: getting pucks deep, finishing hits, communicating and sticking to our system,” Kresl said. “We got a little too individual out there for a bit, me included. Once we fixed that, the ice tilted and we did our job.”
Neither team settled matters in overtime, pushing the season opener into a dramatic shootout.
Artem Katsuro, Calgary’s new Russian import, took the Hitmen’s first shootout attempt and buried it. That was all the offence required.
Eric Tu handled the rest.
The Calgary goaltender stopped Patrick Sopiarz, Kalder Varga and Madill in order, turning away every Red Deer shootout attempt. Tu finished with 35 saves and first-star honours after facing 37 shots through regulation and overtime.
Kondro stopped 24 of Calgary’s 26 shots at the other end, but Katsuro’s shootout goal provided the final difference.
For Calgary, the opener had a bit of everything: new faces scoring, a 20-year-old newcomer making an immediate impact, a third-period warning and a goaltender rescuing the extra point.
Most important, the Hitmen left their first night at 1-0.
There will be 67 more regular-season games to define the season. The next one comes Sunday in Edmonton, where the Hitmen face the Oil Kings at Rogers Place at 4 p.m. The game will stream free on the WHL’s YouTube channel.
The season opener delivered drama, nerves and a shootout celebration.
As first impressions go, Calgary made sure its 32nd season began in memorable fashion.
