By Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders ‘out-willed’ by shorthanded Hitmen

Nov 24, 2015 | 9:26 PM

The Calgary Hitmen entered Tuesday’s game against the Prince Albert Raiders with five regulars out of the lineup due to injury, but also on a five-game winning streak.

They may have been weary and wounded, but the Hitmen were able to extend their winning streak to six and come on top with a 4-2 win over the Raiders at the Art Hauser Centre.

“They outworked us. They deserved to win,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid, whose team saw their three-game win streak snapped. “They played harder than us—will beats skill every time. They out-willed us tonight. That’s disappointing because that’s not the team we want to be.

“That’s one game but really our starts I thought haven’t been great for quite some time now.”

The Hitmen were without second leading scorer Jackson Houck, point-per-game defenceman Travis Sanheim, Prince Albert product Loch Morrison, as well as Matt Dorsey and Pavel Karnaukhov all due to injury.

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But that hasn’t stopped the Hitmen from winning games. Their six-game win streak dates back to Nov. 13.

“The injuries have hurt us, but we’re sticking to the game plan. That’s really important,” said Jakub Stukel, who scored twice against the Raiders and added an assist. “Today was a big win.”

The Hitmen outshot the Raiders 14-6 after the first period, but the Raiders had a 1-0 goal lead thanks to a low-glove snipe from Cal Babych.

The Hitmen drafted Babych in the fourth round of the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft and played him for 41 games in the 2013-2014 season before shipping him to the Prince George Cougars one game into last season.

The Hitmen’s dominance showed up on the scoreboard in the second period as the curtains unveiled the Jakub Stukel show.

Stukel scored twice to put the Hitmen on top heading into the third period. Stukel scored 58 seconds into the second stanza and potted home a cross-crease pass from Hitmen defenceman Michael Zipp. Stukel then scored after creating a turnover deep in the Raiders zone, beating Parenteau with a quick shot.

“I had a bit of puck luck today which was nice to see,” said Stukel, who played on Calgary’s top line with Radel Fazleev and Tyler Mrkonjic. “Just playing with the players I’m playing with really helps a lot.”

Tyler Mrkonjic scored the game winner for the Hitmen at the 17-minute mark of the third period, which ended up being the game winning goal. Sean Montgomery answered quickly for the Raiders to make it a 3-2 game, before Carsen Twarynski iced the game with an empty net goal.

Cody Porter made 22 saves for the Hitmen in the win.

Rylan Parenteau made 29 saves for the Raiders in the loss.

Raiders goaltender Ian Scott injured himself in warmups ahead of Saturday’s 4-3 overtime win over the Regina Pats. The Raiders dressed Scott as Parenteau’s backup for both Saturday and Tuesday’s games.

Habscheid said that Scott remains sidelined with a “medium body” injury and couldn’t say if Scott will be available for the weekend.

Low attendance on a snowy Tuesday

The announced attendance on Tuesday’s game was 1,930, the lowest turnout the Raiders have received for a home game all season. It was also the first time the Raiders failed to break 2,000.

On the watch list

Five Raiders were included on the NHL Central Scouting on their Players to Watch For list for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Simon Stransky is being predicted to go in the first round as he was giving an A rating. Fellow Czech Import Vojtech Budik garnered a B-rating rating, which projects him to be picked in the second or third round. Also ranked on the list are Reid Gardiner and rookies Luke Coleman and Cody Paivarinta, who are could go anywhere from rounds four to six.

The Hitmen have three players as well on the list, Jake Bean (potential first round), as well as Beck Malenstyn and Cody Porter (rounds 4-6).

Former Raider Nick McBride, who is on the Prince George Cougars after requesting a trade, is also recognized on the list as a C-prospect (rounds 4-6).

Changes in Calgary

The Hitmen have made some big moves this season so far that have shaken some feathers in the WHL.

Two of them came on Oct. 27, when they shipped away veterans Chase Lang and Ben Thomas to the Vancouver Giants for Jackson Houck, Jakub Stukel, Cody Porter and a third round choice in 2017. Later that day, they sent Terrell Draude to the Saskatoon Blades for a fifth round pick.

With four overagers, the Hitmen waived goaltender Brendan Burke on Nov. 13. He was picked up by the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, then traded quickly to the perennial favourite London Knights on Nov. 21.

The Raiders will wrap up their four-game home stand on Friday against the Edmonton Oil Kings, before hitting the highway to face the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday.

On Friday’s game against the Oil Kings, the Raiders will accept Movember donations. The Raiders have raised $2,436, the second most of any hockey team in the CHL behind only the Oil Kings. Raiders forward Luke Coleman has raised $1,389 himself, the most of any player in the CHL.

jdandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea