Calgary Daily Digest — Jan. 25, 2026

Big rookie night: Beckett Sennecke completed his first NHL hat trick — the third came as an overtime winner — to lift the Anaheim Ducks to a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Jan. 25, 2026. The Ducks (28-21-3) extended their winning streak to seven games; Sennecke’s 16th–18th goals put him among rookie scoring leaders with 41 points (behind Ivan Demidov’s 43), while Calgary (21-25-6) is winless in four.

Winter blast across Canada: A major cold snap and heavy snow hit large parts of the country, with orange cold warnings and wind chills near −40 °C (some spots possibly as low as −50 °C) in eastern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Quebec and the Maritimes face heavy snow (15–35 cm in many areas) and strong gusts up to 80 km/h; officials urge dressing in layers, carrying emergency supplies and avoiding travel if possible.

A mom stuck hunting for accessible housing: Calgary mom Jocelyn Dennis — who lost the ability to walk in 2007 to a rare autoimmune disorder — says fewer than five Calgary listings meet her needs (two bedrooms, cat-friendly, zero-barrier shower). She’s one practicum away from finishing social-work studies but fears homelessness; advocates say Alberta’s low supply of accessible homes and limited funding (RAMP) leave many stuck.

Poll finds wavering separatist support in Alberta: An Ipsos survey of 2,000 Canadians (Jan. 9–14) found about 29% of Albertans would initially vote to start separation talks, but only about 15–16% remain committed after hearing real-world costs. Ipsos says there are three kinds of separatists — committed, conditional and symbolic — and estimates roughly 800,000 Albertans are truly ready to consider independence; competing petitions and new rules put signature deadlines (e.g., 177,732 by May 2) into play.

Historic night for Evan Bouchard: In Edmonton on Saturday, defenceman Evan Bouchard recorded a six-point game (his first hat trick plus three assists) as the Oilers beat Washington 6-5, making him the fourth NHL defenceman ever with three goals and three assists in one game. It was his 400th regular-season game; Bouchard now has 14 goals and 41 assists this season, and Connor McDavid (32 goals, 90 points) retook the NHL points lead.

Wild finish — Oilers 6, Capitals 5 (OT): Connor McDavid scored 46 seconds into overtime to seal a 6-5 win on Saturday as Evan Bouchard had a hat trick and three assists; Edmonton improved to 26-19-8. Tristan Jarry replaced Connor Ingram mid-game and made 13 saves; Leon Draisaitl notched his 600th career assist, and the teams head to new matchups (Oilers host Anaheim Monday).