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Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Wednesday, November 18 vs Prince George

November 18, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen put their two-game winning streak on the line tonight as they welcome the Prince Gorge Cougars to the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Hitmen are coming off Saturday's 4-3 comeback win over Tri-City. Trailing 3-2 mid-way through the third period, Jacob Stukel netted a pair of goals 45 seconds apart to complete his hat-trick and put the Hitmen in front. The 18-year-old Surrey, BC, native also added an assist to finish the game with four points. Jackson Houck had a four-assist effort while Radel Fazleev also scored for Calgary. The Hitmen outshot Tri-City 33-26 with Cody Porter making 23 saves to record his fifth win of the season and second in as many nights. Calgary sits third in the WHL's Central Division at 23 points, one point back of the second place Lethbridge Hurricanes. Prince George is third in the BC Division with 21 points, eight points back of second place Kelowna.

HITMEN BROADCAST INFORMATION

Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com

TV: Shaw TV

ATTACHMENTS

WHL Daily Report and Media Kit

STREAKS

- Jackson Houck (1g, 6a) is on a four-game point streak.

- Radel Fazleev (2g, 2a) has points in three straight.

- Taylor Sanheim (3a) and Colby Harmsworth (1g, 1a) have points in back-to-back games.

- Cody Porter has won his last two starts, posting a 1.50 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.

- Keegan Kanzig is plus-4 in three games since returning from the AHL's Stockton Heat.

- Loch Morrison (4a) had his two-game point streak snapped Saturday against the Americans.

NOTEWORTHY

VS PRINCE GEORGE: Tonight is the third and final regular season meeting between the two teams. Prince George leads the season series 2-0 having outscored Calgary by a combined 10-2. Travis Sanheim leads the Hitmen with a pair of goals against the Cougars while Jesse Gabrielle tops the Cougars with four goals against the Hitmen. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 6-5-0-1 against the Cougars including a 4-1 record at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

2015-16 RECAP: REGULAR SEASON SERIES

- Oct. 20/15 at PG: PG 5 CAL 2 ... Kody McDonald (1g, 2a) and Jesse Gabrielle (2g) led PG.

- Oct. 21/15 at PG: PG 5 CAL 0 ... Mack Shields made 23 saves for the shutout.

2015-16 RECAP: INSIDE THE SERIES

- Shots on Goal: CAL 50 PG 77

- Power Plays: CAL 0-6 (0%) PG 1-8 (12.5%)

DIVERSE ATTACK: Calgary's last 13 goals have been scored by 10 different players.

GIANT IMPACT: Since arriving in a trade with the Vancouver Giants on Oct. 27, Jackson Houck, Jakob Stukel and Cody Porter have all made significant contributions. Houck has points in seven of his eight games with Calgary, collecting four goals and 10 assists. Stukel has seven points in eight games (5g, 2a) while Porter has notched a record of 4-2 with a 3.03 goals-against average.

SHOT CLOCK: Calgary is 9-1 this season when outshooting their opponents.

ROSTER MOVE: On Nov. 13, the Hitmen placed 20-year-old goalie Brendan Burke on waivers. The move leaves the team with the WHL maximum of three 1995-born players on its roster in forward Jackson Houck and defencemen Colby Harmsworth and Keegan Kanzig.

TRADE WINDS: On Nov. 10, the Hitmen acquired 19-year-old forward Tyler Mrkonjic (mer-CON-jick) from the Prince George Cougars in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft. Mrkonjic, in his third WHL season, has appeared in 153 career games collecting 35 points (14g, 21a).

WHL NOD: Hitmen forward Jackson Houck is the WHL Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 15. The 20-year-old recorded six points (6a) in two games leading Calgary to a pair of victories on home ice over the weekend. On Nov. 13 against the Kootenay ICE, Houck tallied a pair of assists to help guide the Hitmen to a 6-0 shutout victory. The following night, Houck was named the game's second star as he recorded four assists in the Hitmen's 4-3 comeback win against the Tri-City Americans.

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT: As part of the WHL's 50th Season celebrations, the Hitmen presented two distinguished graduates with Alumni Achievement Awards on Nov. 13. Former Hitmen captain and current Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf was recognized in the professional hockey category while two-time WHL Scholastic Player of the Year Chris Nielsen, now a senior orthopaedic surgery resident, was honoured in the scholastic category.

CANADA RUSSIA SERIES: Two Hitmen took part in last week's 2015 CHL Canada Russia Series. Defenceman Jake Bean had an assist for Team WHL while Radel Fazleev had an assist for Team Russia in a pair of Team WHL wins.

HITMEN VS: (BDN 1-0), (EDM 0-2), (EVT 0-0), (KAM 1-0), (KEL 0-1), (KTN 3-0), (LET 0-0), (MH 0-1), (MJ 0-2), (POR 0-0), (PA 0-1), (PG 0-2), (RD 1-0-0-1), (REG 2-0), (SAS 1-0), (SEA 1-0), (SPO 0-1), (SC 0-0), (TC 1-0), (VAN 0-0), (VIC 0-0).

DYNAMIC DUO: The Hitmen have two of the top 10 scoring defencemen in the WHL in Travis Sanheim and Jake Bean. Sanheim's 22 points (6g, 16a) is tied for the league lead while Bean (8g, 9a) is tied for ninth with 17 points. Bean's career-high eight goals is tied for first among all WHL blueliners while his five power play markers top all WHL rearguards. Sanheim is tied for third among defencemen with 16 assists.

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, families will receive tickets to attend a Hitmen home game, custom Faz's Friends t-shirts and concession vouchers. Following the game, the Faz's Friends guests will meet Fazleev for photos and autographs. The program will see close to 200 Kids Cancer Care guests benefit this season.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Calgary's power play is seventh in the WHL at 22.0%. The Hitmen penalty kill has killed 21 of its last 22 shorthanded situation and overall, is fifth in the league at 82.5%. Calgary is also tied for the third-most shorthanded goals in the league at four. Prince George leads the way with six.

NHL IMPACT: There are currently 12 Hitmen grads on NHL rosters: Karl Alzner (Washington), Johnny Boychuk (NYI), Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim), Martin Jones (San Jose), Andrew Ladd (Winnipeg), Paul Postma (Winnipeg), Victor Rask (Carolina), Jeff Schultz (Los Angeles), Michael Stone (Phoenix), Brad Stuart (Colorado), Jake Virtanen (Vancouver) and Ryan White (Philadelphia).

WHL TOP 125: The Western Hockey League has unveiled its list of the Top 125 players in WHL history as selected by a committee of League historians. Among them are seven Calgary Hitmen grads: Karl Alzner, Pavel Brendl, Ryan Getzlaf, Brandon Kozun, Andrew Ladd, Brad Moran and Brad Stuart. As part of the WHL's 50th Season celebrations, fans can now vote for the selection of the Top 50 Players of All-Time. Fans can visit Top50.WHL.ca to cast their ballots once per week from the 125-player list. Voting closes Sunday, Dec. 20.

MO BROS 2 FOR $25: The Calgary Hitmen, together with Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop, are proud to support Movember, a month-long campaign committed to changing the face of men's health. During the month of November for the seventh season in a row, Hitmen players and coaches are growing moustaches to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health issues. In addition, the Hitmen have unveiled a special ticket package. Fans can purchase tickets to any two Hitmen home games during the month for $25 with $5 from each ticket pack sold going to support Movember. To support the Hitmen Movember team and your favourite Hitmen Mo Bro, visit moteam.co/calgary-hitmen.

HITMEN ALUMNUS: TJ Galiardi, who played the 2007-08 season with the Hitmen, is in the Swedish Hockey League with the Malmo Redhawks. The 27-year-old left winger has 11 points (2g, 9a) in 17 games. In 72 career games with the Hitmen, Galiardi had 70 points.

POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet forward Taylor Sanheim after the game at the Booster Club table located on the concourse by section 212.

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