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Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Sunday, March 13 vs Medicine Hat

March 13, 2016 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN (39-25-2-2, 82 pts.) vs MEDICINE HAT TIGERS (28-36-3-2, 61 pts.) Sunday, March 13, 2016 - 4:00 p.m. MT - Scotiabank Saddledome

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen wrap up a busy three-in-three weekend this afternoon when the Medicine Hat Tigers visit Scotiabank Saddledome for Sunday Funday, presented by Booster Juice and McKnight 24 Hour Veterinary Hospital. The day features face painters and a post-game family skate. All participants under 18 are required to wear a helmet. The Hitmen are coming off a home-and-home sweep of Edmonton capped by a 4-2 win over the Oil Kings last night at the "Dome. Radel Fazleev (3a) and Travis Sanheim (1g, 2a) both had three points each while Micheal Zipp, Jake Bean and Jackson Houck rounded out the scoring for the home side. Calgary outshot Edmonton 40-19 and went 2-4 on the powerplay. The Oil Kings were 1-3. The Hitmen are third in the WHL's Central Division with 82 points, seven points behind second place Red Deer but with a game in hand. Medicine Hat at 61 points, is fifth in the Central Division, two points behind Edmonton for the final Eastern Conference Wildcard spot.

HITMEN BROADCAST INFORMATION Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com

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STREAKS

- Carsen Twarynski (4g, 3a) has tied his personal best with a five-game point streak however his four-game goal scoring streak ended last night against Edmonton.

- Travis Sanheim (3g, 6a) has points in each of his last four games and in 27 of his last 31 contests (7g, 33a).

- Jakob Stukel (1g, 2a) and Taylor Sanheim (3a) are both on three-game point streaks.

- Radel Fazleev (4a), Jackson Houck (1g, 2a) and Micheal Zipp (1g, 1a) all have points in back-to-back games.

- Matteo Gennaro (1g, 6a) saw his career high five-game point streak end last night against Edmonton while Jordy Stallard (3g, 2a) was also held off the scoresheet ending his three-game point streak.

- Cody Porter has won his last three starts, posting a .943 save percentage.

NOTEWORTHY VS. MEDICINE HAT: Today is the sixth and final regular season meeting between the two teams. The Hitmen are 1-3-1-0 against Medicine Hat and have been outscored by a combined 19-11. Jordy Stallard (1g, 3a) tops Calgary with four points against the Tigers while Radel Fazleev (1g, 2a) and Jake Bean (3a) both have three points. Mason Shaw (2g, 6a) leads Medicine Hat in the season series with eight points. Ty Stanton (1g, 5a) is next with six points against the Hitmen in the series. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 11-15-2-1 against the Tigers including a 6-6-1-1 record when playing at the "Dome.

2015-16 REGULAR SEASON SERIES RECAP Oct. 17/15 at MH: MH 6 CGY 0...Austin Lotz made 27 saves for the shutout.

Dec. 18/15 at MH: CGY 2 MH 0...Cody Porter recorded a 32 saves shutout.

Dec. 19/15 at CGY: MH 7 CGY 5...Cole Sanford and Max Gerlach both scored twice.

Feb. 19/16 at MH: MH 3 CGY 2...The Tigers erased a 2-1 third period deficit.

Feb. 21/16 at CGY: MH 3 CGY 2 OT...Chad Butcher scored on a breakaway 1:28 into overtime.

INSIDE THE SERIES Shots on Goal: CAL 178 MH 140 Power Plays: CAL 3-24 (12.5%) MH 5-17 (29.4%)

PLAYOFF BOUND: Calgary, who will face either Red Deer or Lethbridge in the opening round, has clinched a post-season berth for the fifth season in a row. The Hitmen, who captured league titles in 1999 and 2010, have missed the playoffs only once since 1998.

CHASING 40: The Hitmen, with 39 victories, are in pursuit of their fifth consecutive 40-win season. Should they reach the milestone, it would also be the 12th time in their 21-year franchise history they have recorded 40 or more victories.

BALANCED ATTACK: Eleven Hitmen have scored 12 or more goals this season while nine players have 30 or more points.

DID YOU KNOW?: Calgary is 16-10-1-1 this season against teams from the Central Division....The Hitmen are 22-5-0-1 when leading after the first period....Only Prince George (317), Edmonton (306), Saskatoon (302) and Regina (301) have been shorthanded more than Calgary's 299 times this season. Everett has been shorthanded a league-low 197 times.

BEAN THERE, DONE THAT: Jake Bean set a new single-season franchise record for most goals by a defenceman at 24 in yesterday's contest against Edmonton. The previous mark of 23 was set by Paul Postma in the 2008-09 campaign. On Feb. 8 in Kamloops, Bean also became the first defenceman to record 20 or more goals in a WHL season since the 2013-14 campaign. That season Josh Morrissey (28), Ryan Pulock (23), Shea Theodore (22) and Madison Bowey (21) were all members of the 20-goal club.

POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet Hitmen goaltender Cody Porter following today's game at the Hitmen Booster Club table located behind section 212 on the concourse.

WHAT'S LEFT: Including today, Calgary has four regular season games remaining, two at home and two on the road.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Calgary's power play is seventh in the WHL at 22%.4. The Hitmen penalty kill is fifth in the league at 81.3%.

DYNAMIC DUO: Calgary has two of the top 10 scoring defencemen in the WHL in Jake Bean and Travis Sanheim. Sanheim (13g, 49a) has 62 points to sit fourth among all defencemen while Bean's (24g, 37a) 61 points is tied for fifth. Bean's career-high 24 goals lead all defencemen while his 12 power play goals also top all blueliners. Sanheim's 49 assists rank third among defenders.

RECORD BOOKS: Earlier this season, Travis Sanheim set a new franchise record for the longest assist streak by a defenceman at 14 games. The previous mark of eight was established by Matt Kinch from Nov. 21 to Dec. 10, 1999. Sanheim enters today's game with 123 career assists, 11th on the club's all-time regular season assist list. Brady Brassart owns 10th spot with 127 assists. The franchise leader is Brad Moran who had 246 career helpers.

POWER PLAY PRODUCTION: Hitmen forward Jakob Stukel is in a four-way tie for the second-most power play goals in the league at 15 with Noah Gregor of Moose Jaw, Parker Bowles of Tri-City and Matthew Phillips of Victoria.

BREAKOUT SEASONS: Hitmen sophomore forwards Jordy Stallard and Carsen Twarynski have both taken major steps offensively for Calgary in 2015-16. Stallard, who recorded 23 points last season, has 48 points (21g, 27a) this season. Twarynski, who notched 22 points in his rookie campaign, has 41 points (18g, 23a).

WHL COUNTDOWN: To celebrate 50 seasons, the Western Hockey League is counting down its Top 50 Players of All-Time, as voted by fans. So far, two former Hitmen have made the list in Pavel Brendl (No. 45) and Brad Moran (No. 38).

NHL DRAFT WATCH: Six Hitmen are among the top players available for the 2016 NHL Draft. The midterm rankings list is compiled by NHL Central Scouting Service and has five Hitmen among North American skaters, including Jake Bean who is the top-ranked Western Hockey League prospect at number 13. Teammates Jordy Stallard (84th), Carsen Twarynski (95th), Jakob Stukel (113th) and Beck Malenstyn (124th) round out the skaters list. Cody Porter also earned a spot in the rankings among North American goalies at number 18. The 2016 NHL Draft will be held in Buffalo, New York on June 24-25.

HITMEN VS: (BDN 3-1), (EDM 4-2), (EVT 1-0), (KAM 1-1), (KEL 0-1-0-1), (KTN 5-0), (LET 3-3), (MH 1-3-1-0), (MJ 0-4), (POR 1-0), (PA 3-1), (PG 1-2), (RD 3-2-0-1), (REG 3-0-1-0), (SAS 4-0), (SEA 1-0), (SPO 0-1), (SC 3-1), (TC 1-0), (VAN 1-1), (VIC 0-2).

TEETER TOTTER: Calgary has been in a series of several runs this season. They started the 2015-16 schedule 5-1-0-1 before going 4-9-0-0 in their next 13 games. They then went on a major roll, posting a mark of 16-3-1-0, followed by a 2-5-0-0 stretch but are 12-7-1-1 since.

RACE FOR THE TOP: The Hitmen team scoring title is going down to the wire this season as three players are within six points of each other; Radel Fazleev (67), Travis Sanheim (62) and Jake Bean (61).

HITMEN ALUMNUS: Johnny Boychuk is in the NHL with the New York Islanders. The 32-year-old defenceman has 22 points (7g, 15a) in 55 games this season. Boychuk played two and a half seasons with the Hitmen, from 2000-2003 with the Hitmen, collecting 78 points (20g, 58a) in 177 games.

PROMO CALENDAR

Hitmen single game tickets are on sale now. Upcoming home game highlights include: - Fan Appreciation Day, including a pre-game on-ice player awards ceremony, on Sunday, Mar. 20 versus Kootenay

MILESTONES - Radel Fazleev eclipsed 100 career assists last night against Edmonton while Jake Bean reached 100 career points in the Battle of Alberta.

- Tyler Mrkonjic is one game away from 200 while Matteo Gennaro is two games back of 200.

- Micheal Zipp reached the 50-point mark on Saturday in Edmonton.

- Cody Porter passed the 4,000-minute mark on Feb. 26 against Victoria.

- Dawson Martin scored his first career WHL goal on Feb. 20 against Lethbridge.

- Jackson Houck played his 300th career game on Feb. 20 against Lethbridge while Taylor Sanheim hit 100 career games on Feb. 19 in Medicine Hat.

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