Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Friday, February 21 at Vancouver
February 21, 2020 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (32-18-4-1, 69 pts.) at VANCOUVER GIANTS (29-20-3-2, 63 pts.)
Friday, February 21, 2020 - 8:30 p.m. MT - Langley Events Centre
TODAY'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen five-game B.C. Division road trip continues tonight in Langley against the Vancouver Giants. Calgary is 3-0 on the swing following Wednesday's 3-2 shootout victory in Victoria. Orca Wiesblatt scored the game winner in round six. Trailing 2-1 heading to the third period, the Hitmen pulled even on an early power play when Mark Kastelic netted his second goal of the night and team-leading 32nd of the season. Goaltender Jack McNaughton was instrumental in the victory making three straight shootout saves when the Royals had a chance to win it. He then added a fourth consecutive stop to seal the victory after the Wiesblatt marker. Kaid Oliver, on a shorthanded penalty shot, and Gary Haden did the scoring for Victoria, which suffered their first home ice loss in four games, while Calgary product Connor Martin made 38 saves for the Royals in his WHL debut. The Hitmen, at 69 points, hold the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference sitting eight points up on Saskatoon. Calgary also trails Medicine Hat by two points for third place in the Central Division. The Blades visit Regina tonight while the Tigers are home to Tri-City. Vancouver, at 63 points, is third in the B.C. Division, two points behind second place Victoria.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Webcast: WHL Live at whllive.com
STREAKS
- Three Hitmen take five-game point streaks into tonight's game in Mark Kastelic (8g, 3a), Carson Focht (6g, 3a) and Jett Woo (1g, 6a).
- Riley Stotts (2a) has points in back-to-back games.
- Four-game point streaks for Josh Prokop (2g, 3a) and Orca Wiesblatt (6a) ended Wednesday in Victoria while two-game streaks for Kyle Olson (4g, 3a), Riley Fiddler-Schultz (2g) and Evan Toth (2a) were also halted that night.
NOTEWORTHY
VS. VANCOUVER: Tonight is the first and only regular season game of 2019-20 between the Hitmen and Giants. Calgary took their lone meeting last season by a score of 4-0 in Alberta. Tonight marks the first visit to Langley for the Hitmen since Jan. 31 & Feb. 2 in 2018 when they dropped a doubleheader to Vancouver by a combined score of 8-3.
LAST SEASON RECAP
Dec. 30/18 at CGY: CGY 4 VAN 0...James Malm tallied four assists while Jack McNaughton posted a 25 save shutout.
INSIDE THE GAME
Shots on Goal: CGY 43 VAN 25 Power Plays: CGY 2-6 (33.3%) VAN 0-4 (0%)
ROAD TRIP REWIND: Calgary is 3-0 on their current BC road trip, having outscored the opposition by a combined 13-9. Carson Focht (3g, 2a) and Jett Woo (5a) lead the way with five points each while Mark Kastelic (2g, 2a) has four. On the plus/minus front, Orca Wiesblatt, Riley Fiddler-Schultz, Josh Prokop and Evan Toth share the team lead at +3.
INSIDE THE ROAD TRIP
Shots on Goal: CGY 109 OPPONENTS 81 Power Plays: CGY 2-8 (25%) OPPONENTS 3-13 (23.1%)
FAST FACTS: The Hitmen have won four in and row and are 10-3 in their last 13 games...So far on this BC road trip Calgary has traveled 2,072 kilometres...Tonight is the fourth game in seven days for the Hitmen...Of the 41 penalty shots awarded in the WHL this season, Calgary has been involved in six. They are 0-2 on attempts while opponents are a combined 2-4...The Hitmen have gone to overtime in back-to-back games marking the second time that has happened this season. The first occurred during the initial two games of the year...Calgary has outshot their opponents 40 times this season, which equates to 72.7 percent through 55 games... Jett Woo (4g, 17a) leads the Hitmen in power play points with 21 Mark Kastelic is second in the WHL in face-off wins with 712.
DRAFT WATCH: NHL Central Scouting named two Hitmen players to its midterm rankings list ahead of the 2020 NHL Draft. Defenceman Luke Prokop makes the list at number 86 among North American skaters while goaltender Jack McNaughton is ranked 14th among North American goalies.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: Calgary is 15-9-3-0 on the road, posting a 5-1 record in their last six games away from the 'Dome. Vancouver is 16-10-2-0 at home having won seven straight at the Langley Events Centre.
HITMEN MONTH-BY-MONTH: September (3-0-1-0), October (5-3-0-0), November (6-4-1-1), December (3-4-2-0), January (9-5-0-0), February (6-2-0-0).
THE POWER OF THREE: The Hitmen are 30-7-2-0 when holding the opposition to three goals or less. Conversely, Calgary is 2-11-2-1 when giving up four or more goals.
ONE YEAR AGO: Calgary is six points ahead of their start through 55 games last season when they owned a record of 29-21-4-1.
HITMEN VS: (BDN 1-2), (EDM 3-5), (EVT 0-1), (KAM 0-0), (KEL 1-0), (LET 2-3-1-0), (MH 3-2), (MJ 4-0), (POR 1-0), (PA 2-0-1-0), (PG 1-0), (RD 4-1-1-0), (REG 4-0), (SAS 1-2), (SEA 0-1), (SPO 0-0), (SC 2-0-1-0), (TC 0-0-0-1), (VAN 0-0), (VIC 1-0), WPG (2-1).
HITMEN PLEDGE: The countdown is on to the end of 'The Hitmen Pledge powered by ENMAX' where one lucky participant will win $25,000 for a charity of their choice. This community initiative, happening during the 25th anniversary season of Hitmen hockey, aims to raise 25,000 hours of service for Calgary and surrounding area with over 11,000 volunteer hours recorded thus far. For every 25 hours donated, volunteers receive one entry to the March 22nd $25,000 draw to then gift to a registered Southern Alberta charity. All volunteer hours donated between the September 27, 2019 launch and pledge submission deadline of March 15, 2020 are eligible to be entered. Full details can be found at https://hitmenhockey.com/pledge.
WHAT'S LEFT: Counting tonight, of Calgary's 13 remaining regular season games, six are at home and seven on the road.
FOREVER A HITMEN: The Hitmen will honour Kelly Kisio for the outstanding contributions he has made to the organization as an executive and coach on Sunday, March 1, when a 'Forever A Hitmen' banner for Kisio will be raised and remain on permanent display at Scotiabank Saddledome. The pre-game ceremony ahead of the Hitmen and Hurricanes game at 4:00 p.m. will enshrine Kisio as the third inductee in the 'Forever A Hitmen' program. He'll join Ryan Getzlaf who was recognized on January 18, 2015 and Andrew Ladd who was honoured on March 8, 2017.
PROSPECT PROFILE: Joah Morberg, Calgary's 10th round pick, 211th overall, in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft is in the CSSHL with Edge School Elite 15's. In 16 games the 15-year-old defenceman has four points (2g, 2a). He played Bantam Prep with Edge School last season recording 16 points (6g, 10a) in 28 games.
AUCTION ALERT: In their 25th season in the WHL, the Calgary Hitmen are excited to offer fans an opportunity to own a piece of franchise history. Authentic game-worn and game-issued 25th anniversary jerseys are now available for bid at elevateauctions.com/25thAnniversary. This set of jerseys, worn in 11 games from September 27, 2019 to January 12, 2020, will be the only anniversary set auctioned as the current roster players will receive their own jersey worn in games from January 25, 2020 to March 22, 2020. Bidding closes on Monday, March 2 at 8:00 p.m. MT.
ALUMNUS REPORT: Jake Virtanen, who played parts of four seasons with the Hitmen from 2011-15, is in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks. The 23-year-old forward from Abbotsford, BC has 32 points (16g, 16a) in 60 games. While with the Hitmen, Virtanen notched 161 points (85g, 76a) in 192 games.
UPCOMING GAMES
All times MT. Schedule subject to change.
Date Opponent Time Broadcast
Sat., Feb. 22 at KAM 8:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Thurs., Feb. 27 vs. WPG 11:00 AM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Fri., Feb. 28 vs. BDN 7:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Sun., Mar. 1 vs. LET 4:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Tues., Mar. 3 at. PA 6:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations. Upcoming home game highlights include:
- TELUS BE BRAVE #EndBullying Game on Feb. 27 vs. WPG.
- One Ticket, One Tree on Feb. 28 vs. BDN.
- 'Forever A Hitmen' induction of Kelly Kisio on Mar. 1 vs. LET.
- Multicultural Night on Mar. 7 vs. SPO
- WHL Suits Up to Promote Organ Donation presented by RE/MAX on Mar. 15 vs. RD.
- Fan Appreciation presented by Vision Travel on Mar. 22 vs. SC.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
- Dakota Krebs is one game away from 300.
- Mark Kastelic needs one goal to tie Borys Protsenko for third place on the clubs all-time goal scoring list with 121.
- Wednesday in Victoria, Jack McNaughton moved past Cody Porter and into ninth place on the clubs all-time saves list with 1,738.
- Jett Woo and Carson Focht both reached 150 career points last Saturday in Prince George while Focht played career game 250 on Feb. 12 against Regina.
- Jackson van de Leest and Cael Zimmerman both need one point each to reach 50.
- Connor Gabruch skated in career game 100 on Wednesday in Victoria.
Western Hockey League Stories from February 21, 2020
- Broncos Show Promise in Loss to Chiefs - Swift Current Broncos
- Wheat Kings Special Teams Make the Difference in Win over Oil Kings - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Road Trip Ends with a Loss in Lethbridge - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Blades Get Huge Win in Regina - Saskatoon Blades
- Hometown Kid Ices 5-1 Win at Swift Current - Spokane Chiefs
- Winterhawks and adidas Announce New Alternate Crest and Third Jersey - Portland Winterhawks
- Blades Pull away from Pats - Regina Pats
- CFB Shilo Family Wins Home Depot Backyard Rink Contest - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Zoom+Care Mental Health Night to Raise Funds for Lines for Life and Canadian Mental Health Association - Portland Winterhawks
- Giants Sign 2002-Born Forward Kadyn Chabot - Vancouver Giants
- Rebels Rookie Masters Soaked up Knowledge While out with Injury for a Lengthy Stretch - Red Deer Rebels
- Tigers Talk with Garin Bjorklund - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Game Preview: Blades Visit Pats in Big City Showdown - Saskatoon Blades
- Game Day Hub: February 21 - Portland Winterhawks
- Game 56 vs Tri-City - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Oil Kings and Raiders Visit for Double Header Weekend at Westoba Place - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Friday, February 21 at Vancouver - Calgary Hitmen
- Game Day Preview: Pats Start Three in Three Weekend at Home to Saskatoon Friday - Regina Pats
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