WHL Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Friday, March 25 at Red Deer

Published on March 25, 2016 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


Round 1 - Game 1 of Best-of-Seven Series

Friday, March 25, 2016 - 7:00 p.m. - ENMAX Centrium

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen (42-26-2-2) open the 2016 Western Hockey League Playoffs tonight on the road in Red Deer in the start of their Round 1 best-of-seven series against the Rebels (45-24-1-2). It's Calgary's fifth straight post-season appearance and their 18th in the 21-year history of the franchise. The Hitmen wrapped up the regular season last Sunday with a 6-5 shootout win over the Kootenay ICE. Jakob Stukel scored the lone goal for Calgary while Nik Amundrud stopped all three ICE shooters. The Hitmen finished third in the WHL's Central Division with 88 points, while Red Deer was second with 93 points.

HITMEN BROADCAST INFORMATION

Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com

SN960 pre-game show begins at 6:00 p.m.

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STREAKS

Dating back to the regular season, seven Hitmen take point-scoring streaks into tonight's game:

- Travis Sanheim (5g, 10a) has points in each of his last eight games and in 31 of his last 35 games (9g, 37a).

- Jakob Stukel (5g, 5a) is on a seven-game point streak.

- Radel Fazleev (1g, 7a) and Jackson Houck (2g, 6a) both have points in each of their last five games.

- Jake Bean (1g, 3a) and Carsen Twarynski (2g, 2a) have points in three consecutive games while Matteo Gennaro (1g, 3a) has points in back-to-back games.

NOTEWORTHY

SERIES SCHEDULE: The Hitmen and Rebels WHL Round 1 playoff series is a 2-2-1-1-1 format. Red Deer has home-ice advantage. This will mark the sixth time in franchise history the Hitmen will face the Rebels in the post-season. Red Deer has won three of the previous five series but the Hitmen took the last meeting, eliminating Red Deer in five games in Round 2 of the 2013 Playoffs.

VS RED DEER: The Hitmen and Rebels met seven times during the regular season with Calgary posting a record of 4-2-0-1, going 2-1 at the "Dome and 2-1-0-1 in Red Deer. Jake Bean (6g, 4a) and Travis Sanheim (2g, 8a) led the Hitmen with 10 points each against the Rebels while Carsen Twarynski (5g, 2a) and Radel Fazleev (1g, 6a) had seven. Adam Helewka (6g) topped Red Deer with six points. Jake DeBrusk (2g, 3a) and Colton Bobyk (1g, 4a) both had five.

2015-16 REGULAR SEASON SERIES RECAP

Oct. 9/15 at CGY: CGY 4 RD 1...Hitmen built period leads of 2-1 and 4-1.

Oct. 10/15 at RD: RD 5 CGY 4 SO...Rebels forced OT, scoring with 37 seconds left.

Dec. 13/15 at RD: CGY 5 RD 2...Jakob Stukel led the Hitmen with a hat-trick.

Feb. 12/16 at CGY: CGY 4 RD 1...Carsen Twarynski scored his first career hat-trick.

Mar. 4/16 at RD: RD 3 CGY 2...Jake DeBrusk broke a 2-2 tie scoring with 4:15 remaining.

Mar. 6/16 at CGY: RD 4 CGY 3...Jake DeBrusk led the Rebels attack with a goal and an assist.

Mar. 15/16 at RD: CGY 4 RD 2...Jackson Houck led Calgary with a goal and an assist.

INSIDE THE REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Shots on Goal: CGY 227 RD 214 Power Plays: CGY 9-28 (32.1%) RD 5-25 (20%)

POST-SEASON EXPERIENCE: The Hitmen have a combined 250 games of playoff experience. Colby Harmsworth leads all players with 37 post-season games played. Radel Fazleev tops all Hitmen in playoff points with 21 (7g, 14a).

GAME 1 FACTS: The Hitmen are 24-17 all-time in Game 1s.

PLAYOFF RECORD: Calgary has a lifetime playoff record of 130-97. The Hitmen have competed in 41 series prior to this one and have won 26 and lost 15. Calgary is 30-19 all-time in post-season overtime games.

ALL-STAR SEASONS: Hitmen defencemen Jake Bean and Travis Sanheim have both been named WHL Eastern Conference Second Team All-Stars.

THE GOOD BOOKS: Jake Bean is the WHL Eastern Conference Most Sportsmanlike Player. He is now up for the Brad Hornung Trophy, presented to the league's Most Sportsmanlike Player at the WHL Awards Luncheon on May 4 in Calgary. Twice in franchise history a Hitmen player has been named the WHL's Most Sportsmanlike Player. On both occasions Matt Kinch captured the award, first in the 1998-99 season and again in 2000-01.

ROLLING: The Hitmen finished the regular season winning six of their last seven games, outscoring their opponents by a combined 32-17.

TRENDING: Calgary has outshot their opponents in seven of the last 10 games.

BEAN THERE, DONE THAT: Jake Bean set a new single-season franchise record for most goals by a defenceman with 24. The previous mark of 23 was set by Paul Postma in the 2008-09 campaign.

SANHEIM'S STREAK: Travis Sanheim set a new franchise record this season 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.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Calgary's power play, which has scored in each of the last seven games, was fifth in the WHL during the regular season at 23.1%. The Hitmen penalty kill was sixth at 81%.

POWER PLAY PRODUCTION: Hitmen forward Jakob Stukel led the WHL in power play goals during the regular season with 18.

DYNAMIC DUO: Calgary had two of the top 10 scoring defencemen in the WHL this season in Travis Sanheim and Jake Bean. Sanheim (15g, 53a) had 68 points to sit fourth among all defencemen while Bean's (24g, 40a) 64 points were sixth. Bean's career-high 24 goals led all defencemen while his 12 power play goals were tied for top spot among blueliners. Sanheim's 53 assists tied for second among defenders.

BANTAM DRAFT: The Kootenay ICE won the WHL Bantam Draft lottery and will pick first overall in 2016. The Hitmen own the 16th overall selection. The draft will be held on May 5 in Calgary.

BREAKOUT SEASONS: Hitmen sophomore forwards Jordy Stallard and Carsen Twarynski both took major steps offensively for Calgary in 2015-16. Stallard, who recorded 23 points last season, had 49 points (21g, 28a) this season. Twarynski, who notched 22 points in his rookie campaign, finished with 45 points (20g, 25a).

40-WIN SEASONS: The Hitmen recorded their fifth consecutive 40-win season, finishing with 42. It's also the 12th time in their 21-year franchise history they have recorded 40 or more victories.

HITMEN ALUMNUS: Calder Brooks captured a bronze medal this month at the CIS University Cup. The 21-year-old centre netted a pair of goals for his Saint Mary's Huskies in the third place game. Brooks skated with the Hitmen for parts of three seasons (2011-14) where he tallied 52 points (18g, 34a) in 107 WHL games.

PLAYOFF TICKETS

- Tickets for Game 3, to be played at the Scotiabank Saddledome, along with tickets for Game 4 and Game 6, if necessary, to be held at the Stampede Corral, are all on sale now through Ticketmaster and the Scotiabank Saddledome box office. Single game playoff tickets can also be ordered online at Ticketmaster.ca or by phone at 1-855-985-5000.

PROMO CALENDAR

- Game 3: TELUS Fan Banners will be given to the first 5,000 people upon entry. Fans are also encouraged to post a picture on social media using #AllHeartHitmen for the chance to win TELUS prizes. A buffet, starting at 2:30 p.m., will be served in the Chrysler Club before Game 3. For reservations, call 403-571-9733.

MILESTONES

- Radel Fazleev and Travis Sanheim are both two assists shy of moving into a tie with Ryan Getzlaf and Keith Seabrook for a share of 19th place on the club's all-time playoff assists list with 16. Brandon Kozun and Brad Moran share the franchise lead with 48 helpers each.

Check out the Calgary Hitmen Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2016


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