WHL Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Friday, January 4 vs. Red Deer

January 4, 2019 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN (17-16-3-1, 38 pts.) vs. RED DEER REBELS (22-12-2-0, 46 pts.)

Friday, January 4, 2019 - 7:00 p.m. MT - Scotiabank Saddledome

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen play Game 3 of a four-game homestand tonight as they welcome the Red Deer Rebels to the Scotiabank Saddledome. Game time is 7:00 p.m. for RE/MAX Chuck-A-Puck. Four lucky participants will win a hot air balloon ride courtesy of RE/MAX.

The Hitmen enter the day on a two-game winning streak and holders of the final Eastern Conference Wildcard spot.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com

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STREAKS

- Jake Kryski (5g, 5a) is on a seven-game point streak while Mark Kastelic (5g) has scored in four consecutive games.

- Egor Zamula (5g, 12a) and James Malm (4g, 11a) both have points in nine of their last 10 games.

- Riley Stotts (2g, 2a) and Vladislav Yeryomenko (3a) both have points in back-to-back games.

- Jack McNaughton has won his last two starts posting a 1.50 goals against average and .941 save percentage.

NOTEWORTHY

LAST GAME RECAP: The Hitmen are coming off a 6-3 New Year's Day win over the Victoria Royals. The Calgary powerplay led the way scoring three times, including twice on a 5-on-3, to open up a 5-1 second period lead. Carson Focht netted a pair of goals with James Malm, Mark Kastelic, Luke Coleman and Kaden Elder adding singles. Riley Stotts and Vladislav Yeryomenko both chipped in a pair of assists. Kaid Oliver, Brandon Cutler and Dante Hannoun replied for the Royals. The Hitmen outshot Victoria 33-26 with goaltender Jack McNaughton making 23 saves, including a first period penalty shot, to record the win.

VS. RED DEER: Tonight is the sixth of eight regular season meetings between the Hitmen and Rebels. Red Deer has won all five games by a combined score of 20-11. Mark Kastelic (3g, 1a) is Calgary's top performer in the season series with four points while Jake Kryski (3a) and Vladislav Yeryomenko (3a) both have two. Brandon Hagel (5g, 6a) leads the Rebels with 11 points. Jeff de Wit (6g, 2a) is next with eight. The two teams will meet again on Sunday, Jan. 20 in Calgary.

2018-19 SERIES RECAP

Sept. 28/18 at RD: RD 4 CGY 3...Brandon Hagel (1g, 2a) led the Rebels scoring attack.

Sept. 30/18 at CGY: RD 6 CGY 5 OT...The Rebels erased a 5-3 deficit with two goals in the final 4:18.

Oct. 23/18 at RD: RD 3 CGY 1... Alexander Alexeyev scored a pair of goals to lead the Rebels.

Nov. 3/18 at CGY: RD 1 CGY 0...Ethan Anders made 34 saves for the shutout.

Nov. 30/18 at RD: RD 6 CGY 2...The Rebels jumped out to a 5-0 second period lead.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Shots on Goal: CGY 192 RD 129 Power Plays: CGY 1-16 (6.3%) RD 6-21 (28.6%)

BOUNCING BACK: Since starting the season 0-5-1-0, the Hitmen have gone 17-11-2-1.

RECENT RUN: Calgary has picked up 24 of a possible 34 points in their last 17 games posting a record of 11-4-1-1. Special teams have been a major driver with the power play a combined 20-55 (36.4%) while the penalty kill is 54-60 (90%).

WHL TOP 15: Mark Kastelic is tied for third in the WHL in goals with 27 while his 14 power play markers lead the league. Egor Zamula is in a three-way tie for fourth in defencemen scoring with 34 points. Josh Prokop is tied for 15th in rookie scoring with 17 points.

ROSTER MOVE: On Monday, the Hitmen added 16-year-old goaltender Ethan Hein to the roster. The product of Saskatoon, SK has been playing this season in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League with the Swift Current Legionnaires. In 14 games he has a 2.75 goals against average and .900 save percentage. The Hitmen acquired Hein last season in a multi-player trade with the Swift Current Broncos. The November, 27, 2018 deal saw Calgary obtain Conner Chaulk, Dom Schmiemann, Riley Stotts and the rights to Josh Prokop along with Hein and a second-round pick in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft (Zac Funk) in exchange for graduating forwards Matteo Gennaro, Beck Malenstyn and a 2018 fifth-round bantam pick.

DECEMBER REWIND: The Hitmen went 6-2-1-0 during the month of December. Egor Zamula was the top-scorer with 16 points (5g, 11a). Zamula led the team in assists with 11 while Jake Kryski tallied a team-leading seven goals. James Malm was the plus/minus leader at +7.

FAST FACT: Since recording just two wins in 10 games on home ice to start the season, Calgary has won eight of their last nine at the 'Dome.

POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet forward Hunter Campbell after today's game. He will be signing autographs at the Hitmen Booster Club table located behind section 212. The entire team will be signing tomorrow afternoon after the Saturday matinee against the Tigers.

HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 10-7-2-0 on home ice while Red Deer is 7-6-2-0 on the road.

DID YOU KNOW?: Hitmen defenceman Vladislav Yeryomenko helped Team Belarus win silver at the Division I Group A 2019 IIHF World U20 Championship in Germany. This was the third trip to the World Juniors for Yeryomenko. He also won gold in 2017.

CANADA WINTER GAMES: Three Hitmen 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.

CORRAL SERIES: The Hitmen will play a trio of games this season at the historic Stampede Corral. Tickets start at $29.25 for adults and $21.75 for kids (plus applicable Ticketmaster fees and taxes). Also available is the three-game pack for $69 (plus applicable Ticketmaster fees and taxes). "The Corral Series" presented by Adrenalin Source for Sports, will see Calgary host the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday, Feb. 1, the Regina Pats on Wednesday, Feb. 6 and the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday, Feb. 8. All are 7:00 p.m. starts in the vintage building that first opened on Dec. 15, 1950 and was the original home of the Calgary Flames from 1980-83. Each game will be dedicated to a former elite team who once called the Corral home by wearing commemorative jerseys of the Calgary Centennials, Wranglers and Cowboys. The series features a number of exciting events including an opening night pre-game celebration and beer gardens, a luncheon, merchandise and other activities that will make this a week to remember.

MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Carl Stankowski (2-4 weeks, lower body), Tye Carriere (2 weeks, upper body).

IN THE COMMUNITY: This holiday season the Hitmen are partnering with the Calgary Zoo for ZOOLIGHTS with Hitmen players dropping by the Zoo's outdoor rink. The final of four visits was last night with Mark Kastelic and Dakota Krebs in attendance from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5 is the final night for ZOOLIGHTS.

ALUMNUS REPORT: Carsen Twarynski, who played parts of three seasons with the Hitmen from 2014-17, is in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 21-year-old forward has 9 points (5g, 4a) in 28 games. In 161 career games with the Hitmen, the Philadelphia Flyers prospect notched 88 points.

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

UPCOMING GAMES

All times in MT. Schedule subject to change.

DATE OPPONENT TIME BROADCAST

Jan. 5 vs. Medicine Hat 1:30 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Jan. 9 at Moose Jaw 6:00 p.m. Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

Jan. 11 at Saskatoon 6:00 p.m. Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

Jan. 12 at Prince Albert 6:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Jan. 19 at Edmonton 1:30 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

PROMO CALENDAR

Upcoming home game highlights include:

- Tonight vs. RD is RE/MAX Chuck-A-Puck

- Wizarding Day on Jan. 5 vs. MH

- Sunday Funday presented by Ricky's All Day Grill on Jan. 20 vs. RD

- CBE Night on Jan. 25 vs. PG

- Dodge Skate with the Hitmen on Jan. 27 vs. KTN

- The Corral Series - Presented by Adrenalin Source for Sports on Feb.1 vs. BDN, Feb. 6 vs. REG and Feb. 8 vs. PA.

- Family Game and Sunday Funday presented by Ricky's All Day Grill on Feb. 10 vs. MJ

- Lunar Celebration/Calgary Catholic on Feb. 15 vs. MH

- TELUS BE BRAVE 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

- Kaden Elder needs one point for 100.

- Hunter Campbell is five games away from 100.

- James Malm played career game 200 and surpassed 100 WHL assists on Dec. 30 against Vancouver.

- Riley Stotts played career game 150 on Dec. 28 while Jack McNaughton passed 500 saves that same night.

Check out the Calgary Hitmen Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from January 4, 2019


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