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Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Wednesday, November 4 at Prince Albert

November 4, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN (9-7-0-1, 19 pts.) at PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS (11-3-1-1, 24 pts.)

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 - 6:00 p.m. MT - Art Hauser Centre

TONIGHT'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen wrap up a two-game Saskatchewan road trip tonight in Prince Albert against the Raiders. The Hitmen are coming off last night's 6-3 win in Saskatoon where Micheal Zipp (2g,1a) and Radel Fazleev (1g, 2a) both had three point games. Jakob Stukel with his first goal as a Hitmen, Jackson Houck and Mark Kastelic rounded out the scoring, extending Calgary's winning streak to two games. Travis Sanheim and Jordy Stallard both added a pair of assists for the Hitmen who built period leads of 1-0 and 3-1. Cody Porter turned aside of 22 of 25 shots to pick up the victory in goal while Calgary's powerplay played a large role going 3-4 with the man advantage. The Hitmen sit third in the WHL's Central Division at 19 points, one point back of the second place Lethbridge Hurricanes. Prince Albert is tied for first place in the East Division with the Brandon Wheat Kings at 24 points.

HITMEN BROADCAST INFORMATION

Radio: Sportsnet 960-TheFan Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com

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STREAKS

- Jackson Houck (3g, 3a), Travis Sanheim (1g, 4a), Radel Fazleev (3g, 2a) and Jordy Stallard (1g, 2a) are all riding three-game point streaks

- Micheal Zipp (2g,1a), Carsen Twarynski (3a), Mark Kastelic (2g) and Dawson Martin (2a) all have points in back-to-back games.

NOTEWORTHY

VS. PRINCE ALBERT: Tonight is the first of four regular season meetings between the Hitmen and Raiders. Calgary won three of the four games against Prince Albert last season. Over the past five seasons, the Hitmen are 12-3-0-1 against the Raiders including a 6-2-0-0 mark in Prince Albert. The two teams won't face each other again until Tues., Nov. 24, once again at the Art Hauser Centre.

2014-15 SERIES RECAP Nov. 5/14 at PA: CAL 4 PA 2...Connor Rankin had a goal and two assists. Nov. 26/14 at CAL: PA 2 CAL 1...Gage Quinney had a goal and an assist while Rylan Parenteau made 17 saves. Jan. 30/15 at CAL: CAL 10 PA 1...Adam Tambellini, Kenton Helgesen and Radel Fazleev all scored twice. Feb. 7/15 at PA: CAL 3 PA 2...Pavel Karnaukhov scored twice helping the Hitmen erase a 1-0 second period deficit.

INSIDE THE SERIES Shots on Goal: CAL 121 PA 111 Power Plays: CAL 6-16 (37.5%) PA 3-15 (20%)

TRENDS: The Hitmen have won at least two in a row for the third time this season....Calgary has outshot their opponents in back-to-back games...The Hitmen have surrendered at least one powerplay goal against in each of their last five games....Calgary has scored three or more goals in each of their last three games since being shutout in two of the previous three.

CAPTAIN COLBY: The Hitmen have named Colby Harmsworth the 23rd captain in franchise history. Travis Sanheim and Micheal Zipp have been appointed alternate captains for the 2015-16 season. Harmsworth, a shutdown defenceman, is the longest-serving Hitmen having appeared in 181 career regular season games, recording 37 points (seven goals, 30 assists) and 74 penalty minutes. He is also a career plus-49. The 20-year-old took home the TELUS Coaches Award last season and was co-recipient of the team's NSD Sports & Fitness Club Players' Choice Award. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan product was originally selected by the Hitmen in the third round, 54th overall, in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft.

LIFE IS A HIGHWAY: Calgary has already played 11 road games or 30.5 percent of their entire road schedule for the season. They share the league-lead in road games played with Spokane. Following this road trip the Hitmen will play six of their next seven games at home.

TRADE WINDS: On Oct. 27 the Hitmen announced a five-player deal with the Vancouver Giants. Calgary acquired 20-year-old right winger Jackson Houck, 18-year-old goaltender Cody Porter, 18-year-old left winger Jakob Stukel and a conditional third-round selection in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft in exchange for 19-year-old forward Chase Lang and 19-year-old defenceman Ben Thomas. Later that day, Calgary dealt 18-year-old forward Terrell Draude to the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for a 2016 fifth-round bantam draft pick.

ROSTER MOVES: With the addition of Jackson Houck, the Hitmen released over-age forward Elliott Peterson. Peterson, a 2010 bantam draft pick, played 166 career games in Calgary, recording 76 points (27g, 49a) and 98 penalty minutes. Rookie goaltender Lasse Petersen has been released while fellow rookie goaltender Kyle Dumba has reassigned the AJHL's Calgary Mustangs.

JAKE STAKE: On Sunday, the Vancouver Canucks announced they are keeping former Hitmen forward Jake Virtanen for the rest of the NHL season. The 19-year-old, who appeared in his first NHL game on Oct. 13, recorded his first NHL goal Monday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. Through nine games, he has averaged 10:08 of ice time per game and also has two assists.

CANADA RUSSIA SERIES: Two Hitmen have been named to the 2015 CHL Canada Russia Series. Defenceman Travis Sanheim will suit up for Team WHL while centre Radel Fazleev will be on the opposing bench with Team Russia for the Western Hockey League portion of the tournament that begins with Game 1 in Kelowna, B.C. on Monday, Nov. 9 and will conclude on Tuesday, Nov. 10 with Game 2 in Kamloops, B.C. The OHL will host Games 3 and 4 while the QMJHL will wrap up the series as hosts for Games 5 and 6.

FAZ'S FRIENDS: The Calgary Hitmen Hockey Club has announced details on a new community program, Faz's Friends presented by MEG Energy. The initiative will see Hitmen centre Radel Fazleev and MEG Energy partner with Kids Cancer Care, a charitable organization that helps families fighting childhood cancer in Alberta. Throughout the season, several families will receive tickets to attend a Hitmen home game, custom Faz's Friends t-shirts and Scotiabank Saddledome concession vouchers. Following the game, the Faz's Friends guests will meet the Hitmen forward for photos and autographs. The program will see close to 200 Kids Cancer Care guests benefit this season.

VARIETY: Tonight is Game 18 of Calgary's 72-game regular season schedule. It comes against their 13th different opponent.

BURKE'S BLOCKADE: Hitmen goaltender Brendan Burke leads the WHL with a 1.22 goals-against average and .952 save percentage. The 20-year-old had his season-high shutout streak snapped at 171:40 on Oct. 23 in Kamloops against the Blazers. It was the second longest of his career. He was acquired at the 2015 WHL Trade Deadline from the Portland Winterhawks.

DYNAMIC DUO: The Hitmen have two of the top five scoring defencemen in the WHL in Travis Sanheim and Jake Bean. Sanheim's team-leading 22 points (6g, 16a) leads the league while Bean (7g, 8a) is tied for fifth with 15 points. Bean's seven goals, a career high, leads all WHL blueliners while his five power play markers top all WHL rearguards.

HITMEN VS: (BDN 1-0), (EDM 0-0), (EVT 0-0), (KAM 1-0), (KEL 0-1), (KTN 2-0), (LET 0-0), (MH 0-1), (MJ 0-2), (POR 0-0), (PA 0-0), (PG 0-2), (RD 1-0-0-1), (REG 2-0), (SAS 1-0), (SEA 1-0), (SPO 0-1), (SC 0-0), (TC 0-0), (VAN 0-0), (VIC 0-0).

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