Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Friday, February 8 vs. Prince Albert
February 8, 2019 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY WRANGLERS (27-19-4-1, 59 pts.) vs. PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS (43-7-0-2, 88 pts.)
Friday - 7:00 p.m. MT - Stampede Corral
TODAY'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen host the CHL's number two-ranked Prince Albert Raiders tonight in the Corral Series finale, presented by Adrenalin Source for Sports. It's a 7:00 p.m. start at the Stampede Corral for Wranglers night as a salute to the former Western Hockey League franchise. The Wranglers played 10 seasons in the WHL from 1977-87 after moving to Calgary from Winnipeg. During that decade they made the playoffs seven times with their deepest post-season run to the 1981 league final. That playoff year the Wranglers beat the Billings Bighorns, Lethbridge Broncos and Regina Pats en route to the championship series before falling in the seventh and deciding game to the Victoria Cougars. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the evening begins with a special pre-game ceremony featuring three Wranglers alumni in Doug Sauter, Ray Cote and Jack MacDonald along with Raiders alumnus Kenton Rein. MacDonald will host the on-ice ceremony and introduce the starting line-ups for both teams while Sauter, Cote and Rein will drop the puck in a ceremonial face-off. Sauter was the Wranglers head coach from 1978-83 recording 202 wins, Cote tallied 158 points in parts of three seasons as a forward and MacDonald was a broadcaster with the team. Rein was a goaltender with the Raiders, who along with Cote, also played for the Canadian National team. Both the Hitmen and Prince Albert are getting into the spirit with their look to fit the timeline. Calgary will wear limited edition Wranglers jerseys and socks that will be sold in an online auction at https://elevateauctions.com/CorralSeriesWranglersJerseys2019 while the Raiders wear throwback sweaters dating back to the 1988-89 season. Great seats are still available including a family four pack for $80 plus GST which includes tickets for two adults and two kids 12 and under.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan beginning with a 60 minute pre-game show at 6:00 p.m.
Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com
________________________________
STREAKS
- Six Wranglers take point streaks into tonight.
- Kaden Elder (5g, 8a) is riding a six-game point streak.
- Mark Kastelic (7g, 5a) and Riley Stotts (1g, 5a) have points in five straight games.
- James Malm (1g, 2a), Luke Prokop (2a) and Riley Fiddler-Schultz (2a) all have points in back-to-back games.
- Jack McNaughton is 5-0-1-0 in his last six starts with a 2.33 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.
- Carson Focht (3g, 2a) saw his four-game point streak end Wednesday against Regina while a three-game run for Layne Toder (1g, 2a) ended the same night.
NOTEWORTHY DID YOU KNOW?: A total of 26 Calgary Wranglers alumni went on to play in the NHL with two former players collecting Western Hockey League trophies. Goaltender Mike Vernon was named both Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year in 1982 and again in '83 while forward Kelly Kisio took home Rookie of the Year honours in 1979. Doug Sauter was named Coach of the Year in 1980. According to hockeydb.com 269 players played at least one game with the Wranglers with Ken Quinney the clubs all-time leading scorer at 311 points. Doug Moffatt was next with 283 followed by Kisio at 259.
JERSEY AUCTION: Bidding continues in the other two Corral Series auctions. The Calgary Cowboys auction is happening at https://elevateauctions.com/CorralSeriesCowboysJerseys2019. It closes on Sunday Feb. 17 at 8:00 p.m. The Calgary Centennials auction will be the first to wrap up with final bids on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 8:00 p.m. It can be found at https://elevateauctions.com/CorralSeriesCentennialsJerseys2019 Net proceeds from both auctions support the Hitmen Education Fund.
GET YOUR PROGRAM: Fans will be able to purchase a special collectable program for tonight's game in the Corral at a cost of $2. A three-game collectable series program pack is also available for $5. Each program contains a lineup and feature stories along with a number for prize draws including Pete the Plumber Shoot to Win and a shorthanded goal contest for Century Calgary Casino.
VS. PRINCE ALBERT: Tonight is the fourth and final regular season meeting between the Wranglers and Raiders. Prince Albert is 3-0 having outscored Calgary by a combined 19-7. Dakota Krebs (1g, 2a) leads the Wranglers with three points against the Raiders while Luke Coleman (2g), Riley Stotts (2g) and Mark Kastelic (1g, 1a) have two points each. Brett Leason (5g, 3a) is the top performer for Prince Albert with eight points. Parker Kelly (3g, 1a) and Sergei Sapego (1g, 3a) are next with four. Calgary is 3-3-1-0 in their last seven home games against Prince Albert.
2018-19 SERIES RECAP Oct. 8/18 at CGY: PA 4 CGY 0...The Raiders struck for a trio of second period goals in the first 12 minutes. Oct. 16/18 at PA: PA 8 CGY 4...Brett Leason scored twice and added two assists for the Raiders. Jan. 12/19 at PA: PA 7 CGY 3...Parker Kelly paced the Raiders attack scoring twice and adding an assist.
INSIDE THE SERIES Shots on Goal: CGY 71 PA 110 Power Plays: CGY 1-11 (9.1%) PA 3-14 (21.4%)
PLAYOFF CHASE: With 17 games to go in the regular season, the Calgary Wranglers are eight points ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings for the final Eastern Conference Wildcard spot and tied with Red Deer for the first Wildcard berth. Looking up, Calgary is three points behind Medicine Hat for third in the Central Division and trails Lethbridge by just four points for second place.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: Calgary is 15-8-3-0 at home this season while Prince Albert is 22-3-0-2 on the road.
FIT FOR A KING: The Western Hockey League has named longtime Calgary Hitmen Governor and current Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation Vice Chairman and CEO Ken King as this year's recipient of the WHL Governors Award. The award is the highest honour the WHL bestows on an individual who has been associated with the league. It is presented annually to an individual who, through their outstanding hockey and overall contributions to the game, has impacted on the growth and development of the WHL. King joined the WHL Board of Governors in 2003 where he served through the 2017-18 season.
ROSTER MOVES: On Monday, the Wranglers recalled Tyson Galloway and reassigned Brayden Peters. The 15-year-old Galloway has been playing in the BCMML with the Thompson Blazers. In 32 games, he has 12 assists. He made his WHL debut in Wednesday's 4-3 win over Regina. Galloway was Calgary's second round pick, 25th overall, in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft. With goaltender Carl Stankowski activated from injured reserve, Peters returns to the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the AMHL. Josh Prokop was also activated from the injured list on Wednesday.
WHL TOP 15: Mark Kastelic is third in the WHL in goals with 37 while his 19 power play markers lead the league. Egor Zamula is seventh in defencemen scoring with 41 points. Dakota Krebs is seventh in plus/minus among defenceman at +25.
WRANGLERS MONTH-BY-MONTH: September (0-3-1-0), October (4-6-1-0), November (6-5-0-1), December (6-2-1-0), January (9-3-0-0), February (2-0-1-0).
IN THE COMMUNITY: Jake Kryski and mascot Farley the Fox will be signing autographs downtown at Centennial Smiles Dental (520 3 Ave SW Unit #245) on Saturday, Feb. 9. Farley will be in attendance from 10 to 11 a.m. and forward Jake Kryski from 12:30-1:30 p.m.
WRANGLERS VS: (BDN 1-0-1-0), (EDM 1-3-1-0), (EVT 0-1), (KAM 1-0), (KEL 1-0), (KTN 3-1), (LET 1-3), (MH 2-1), (MJ 3-0), (POR 1-0), (PA 0-3), (PG 1-0), (RD 2-5-1-0), (REG 2-0-1-0), (SAS 2-2), (SEA 1-0), (SPO 1-0), (SC 2-0), (TC 0-0-0-1), (VAN 1-0), (VIC 1-0). NHL ATTENTION: NHL Central Scouting has named two Wranglers players and one prospect among the top skaters available for the 2019 NHL Draft. Defenceman Jackson van de Leest along with forwards Mark Kastelic and Quinn Olson are all ranked among North American skaters. The 17-year-old van de Leest is among the ice time leaders on the Wranglers blueline. He makes the list at 145. Olson is ranked 154 with his rights acquired by the Wranglers in a Jan. 10, 2019 trade from the Prince Albert Raiders. Kastelic, the 19-year-old Wranglers captain, is ranked at 196.
CANADA WINTER GAMES: Three Wranglers prospects have been named to play in the 2019 Canada Winter Games. Forward Sean Tschigerl will suit up for Team Alberta with defenceman Tyson Galloway on Team British Columbia and defenceman Rory Neill on Manitoba. The tournament will be held in Red Deer from Feb. 16-22.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Jake Kryski (indefinite, upper body). Hunter Campbell (indefinite, lower body), Egor Zamula (day-to-day, upper body), Dakota Krebs (day-to-day, upper body).
UPCOMING GAMES All times in MT. Schedule subject to change. DATE
OPPONENT TIME BROADCAST
Feb. 10 vs. Moose Jaw 4:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Feb. 13 at Lethbridge 7:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Feb. 15 vs. Medicine Hat 7:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Feb. 16 at Medicine Hat 7:30 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Feb. 20 at Brandon 6:00 p.m. Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
PROMO CALENDAR
Upcoming home game highlights include:
- The Corral Series - Presented by Adrenalin Source for Sports on Feb. 8 vs. PA.
- Family Game and Sunday Funday presented by Ricky's All Day Grill on Feb. 10 vs. MJ
- Lunar Celebration including post-game fireworks on Feb. 15 vs. MH
- TELUS BE BRAVE Anti-Bullying Game on Feb. 27 vs. SC
- Multicultural Night on Mar. 1 vs. BDN - WHL Suits up with Don Cherry to Promote Organ Donation
- Presented by RE/MAX and Sunday Funday presented by Ricky's All Day Grill on Mar. 3 vs. KTN
- One Ticket, One Tree on Mar. 8 vs. EDM
- Fan Appreciation and Sunday Funday presented by Ricky's All Day Grill on Mar. 17 vs. EDM
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
- Mark Kastelic is two games away from 250.
- Three Wranglers reached significant milestones Wednesday against Regina with Kaden Elder playing game 300, Riley Stotts hitting 100 points and Kastelic reaching 150 points.
- Carson Focht is three assists away from 50.
Western Hockey League Stories from February 8, 2019
- Evans Lifts Pats in OT - Regina Pats
- RMHC of OR & WA Hosts Ice Hockey Challenge with the Portland Winterhawks - Portland Winterhawks
- Winterhawks Game Day Preview - Portland at Seattle - Game #53 - Portland Winterhawks
- Game Day Weather Update: Friday and Saturday Games Will be Played on Schedule - Tri-City Americans
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Friday, February 8 vs. Prince Albert - Calgary Hitmen
- ICE Visit Tri-City Americans for First Time Since January 2017 - Kootenay Ice
- RE/MAX Presents: WHL Suits up with Don Cherry to Promote Organ Donation Night on February 15th - Vancouver Giants
- Game 52 at Everett - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Corral Series Concludes Tonight in Calgary - Calgary Hitmen
- Wheat Kings Scholarship Fund Benefits from Dinner - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Game Day Preview: Pats Back in Action Friday Night in Red Deer - Regina Pats
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
