The Hitmen opened their farewell season at the Saddledome the hard way. Up 2-0 after a first period that belonged to Charlie Kresl and Brennan Brown, Calgary spent the rest of the night trying not to give it back. Eric Tu made 35 saves through regulation and overtime, then turned aside all three shootout attempts while Artem Katsuro scored the only one that counted. Final: Hitmen 3, Rebels 2 in a shootout, in front of 2,776.Red Deer still stole the middle of the story. A scoreless second turned into a two-goal burst in the first four minutes of the third, Kuzma and Lodge tying it before anyone in the building had settled. It was also Kaden Meyer’s first night in a Rebels sweater against the team that traded him earlier in the week. One point for Red Deer, two for Calgary, and a season that started exactly like a Central Division game should: loud, a little messy, and unfinished until the skills competition.
Former Vernon Viper and Denver, Colorado native Charlie Kresl opens up the scoring for the Hitmen at 4:44 of the first period. The assist on the goal went to Wyatt Pisarcyzk.
Milestone, Saskatchewan native Brennan Brown makes it a 2-0 game for the Hitmen while on the Power Play at 15:59 of the first period. The assists on the goal went to Julien Maze and Andrei Molgachev,
Shots on goal in the first period were 12-8 for the Hitmen
Shots on goal in the second period were 17-7 for the Rebels
Cameron Kuzma got the Rebels on the board at 1:01 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Poul Andersen and Umea, Sweden native Zeb Lindgren.–Cameron Kuzma opened Red Deer’s account one minute into the third period, cutting Calgary’s lead to 2-1 and lighting the fuse on the Rebels’ comeback. It was the first Rebels goal of the 2026-27 season.
Kohen Lodge ties the game up for the Rebels at 4:15 of the third period while on the Power Play. The assists on the goal went to Paxson Madill and Graeme Pickering–Kohen Lodge evened it at 2-2 about three minutes after Kuzma’s marker, completing Red Deer’s quick third-period rally. That goal sent the season opener to overtime.
Shots on goal in the third period were 11-5 for the Rebels. The Hitmen outshot the Rebels 2-1 in the overtime frame and The Rebels outshot the Hitmen in the game 37-27.
| REBELS | Sopiarz | ❌ | HITMEN | Katsuro | ✔️ |
| REBELS | Varga | ❌ | HITMEN | Kresl | ❌ |
| REBELS | Madill | ❌ | HITMEN | Maze | ❌ |
Eric Tu stopped 35 of the 37 shots that he faced for the win for the Hitmen. For the Rebels Matthew Kondro stopped 24 of the 26 shots that he faced.
Three Stars of the game 1) Eric Tu 2) Charlie Kresl 3) Cameron Kuzma
Attendance in Calgary was 2776
Rebels next game is Saturday September 19th at home against the Edmonton Oil Kings
