Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Friday, March 4 at Red Deer
March 4, 2016 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (36-23-2-2, 76 pts.) at RED DEER REBELS (39-22-1-1, 81 pts.)
Friday, March 4, 2016 - 7:00 p.m. MT - ENMAX Centrium
TODAY'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen open a home-and-home series with the Rebels tonight in Red Deer. Calgary hasn't played since last Saturday's 4-3 win in Swift Current. Jake Bean had three assists to lead the offense while Pavel Karnaukhov added a goal and an assist. Mark Kastelic, Tyler Mrkonjic and Jackson Houck also found the back of the net for Calgary in a game that saw the Hitmen outshoot the Broncos 45-24. The Hitmen went 3-5 on the powerplay. Swift Current 1-3. Calgary is third in the WHL's Central Division with 76 points, five points behind second place Red Deer but with a game in hand. The Rebels at 81 points have eyes on moving up the standings as they trail the first place Lethbridge Hurricanes by five points.
HITMEN BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com
TV: Shaw TV
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STREAKS
- Radel Fazleev (2g, 9a) has points in six consecutive games.
- Jackson Houck (1g, 3a) is on a three-game point streak.
- Mark Kastelic (1g, 1a) has points in back-to-back games.
- Jake Bean (6a) has points in three of his last four games.
- Travis Sanheim has points (4g, 27a) in 23 of his last 26 games.
- Jordy Stallard (3g) had his three-game goal scoring streak and four-game point streak (3g, 1a) snapped last Saturday in Swift Current.
NOTEWORTHY
VS RED DEER: Tonight is the fifth of seven regular season meetings between the two teams. Calgary has picked up seven of a possible eight points with three wins and a shootout loss. Jake Bean (6g, 2a) tops the Hitmen with eight points against the Rebels while Travis Sanheim (1g, 6a) is next with seven. Adam Helewka (3g) and Ivan Nikolishin (1g, 2a) are the leading Rebels with three points against Calgary while six others all have two points each. Over the last five seasons, the Hitmen are 20-5-1-3 against the Rebels including a 9-3-0-2 record in Red Deer. They will meet again Sunday, Mar. 6 in Calgary before wrapping up their season series on Tuesday, Mar 15 in Red Deer.
2015-16 REGULAR SEASON SERIES RECAP
Oct. 9/15 at CAL: CAL 4 RD 1...Hitmen built period leads of 2-1 and 4-1.
Oct. 10/15 at RD: RD 5 CAL 4 SO...The Rebels forced OT, scoring with 37 seconds left.
Dec 13/15 at RD: CAL 5 RD 2...Jakob Stukel led the Hitmen with a hat-trick.
Feb 12/16 at CAL: CAL 4 RD 1...Carsen Twarynski scored his first career hat-trick.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CAL 136 RD 130 Power Plays: CAL 7-19 (36.8%) RD 2-12 (16.7%)
PLAYOFF BOUND: Calgary, who will likely 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.
HERE WE GO AGAIN: After wrapping up a stretch of seven games in 11 nights last Saturday in Swift Current the Hitmen kick off another busy stretch tonight. It's the start of seven games in 12 nights.
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 43 points (18g, 25a) this season. Twarynski, who notched 22 points in his rookie campaign, has 34 points (14g, 20a).
ELITE COMPANY: Jake Bean netted his 20th goal of the season on Feb. 8 in Kamloops, becoming 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. Bean now has 22 goals. The Hitmen franchise record for most goals by a defenceman in a single season is 23, set by Paul Postma in 2008-09.
WHAT'S LEFT: Including tonight, Calgary has nine regular season games remaining, five at home and four on the road. Eight of those games are also against teams from their own division.
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 tonight's game with 117 career assists, tied for 12th on the club's all-time regular season assist list with Greg Chase. Ryan Getzlaf owns 12th spot with 120 assists. The franchise leader is Brad Moran who had 246 career helpers.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Calgary's power play is tied for eighth in the WHL at 21.6%. Only Lethbridge (75), Victoria (64) and Seattle (63) have scored more power play goals than Calgary's 62 this season. The Hitmen penalty kill is fifth in the league at 81.7%.
POWERPLAY PRODUCTION: Hitmen forward Jakob Stukel is in a three-way tie for the league-lead in powerplay goals at 15 with Noah Gregor of Moose Jaw and Parker Bowles of Tri-City.
DYNAMIC DUO: Calgary has two of the top 10 scoring defencemen in the WHL in Jake Bean and Travis Sanheim. Bean (22g, 37a) has 59 points to sit third among defencemen while Sanheim's (10g, 43a) 53 points place him seventh. Bean's career-high 22 goals lead the league while his 10 power play goals are tied for top spot. Sanheim is tied for fourth in assists among blueliners.
DID YOU KNOW?: Calgary is 14-8-1-1 this season against teams from the Central Division....Mark Kastelic's dad Ed, played 220 career regular season games in the NHL. He suited up for the Washington Capitals and Hartford Whalers from 1985 to 1992....The Hitmen have not been awarded a penalty shot this season. Of the 32 called around the WHL, shooters have scored eight times....Calgary is the second-most penalized team in the league, averaging 19.1 minutes per game...The 10 shorthanded goals scored by the Hitmen this season is tied for sixth overall. Prince George and Lethbridge share the WHL lead with 13.
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).
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 9-5-1-1 since.
RACE FOR THE TOP: It would appear the Hitmen team scoring title will go down to the wire this season as three players are within 10 points of each other; Radel Fazleev (63), Jake Bean (59) and Travis Sanheim (53).
HITMEN ALUMNUS: Adam Tambellini is in the American Hockey League with the Hartford Wolf Pack. The 21-year-old centre has 21 points (13g, 8a) in 55 games along with 102 shots on goal for the New York Rangers number one affiliate. Tambellini played parts of two seasons with the Hitmen from 2013 to 2015, collecting 125 points (64g, 61a) in 102 games.
BIG STAGE: Former Calgary Hitmen forward Ryan Getzlaf has been named to Team Canada's preliminary roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. The international tournament starts September, 17, 2016 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale now. Upcoming home game highlights include:
- Multicultural Night on Sunday, Mar. 6 against Red Deer
- The North-South Shrine Hockey Challenge on Saturday, Mar. 12 against Edmonton
- Fan Appreciation Day, including a pre-game on-ice player awards ceremony, on Sunday, Mar. 20 versus Kootenay
MILESTONES
- Radel Fazleev needs two assists to reach 100.
- Jake Bean is two points away from 100.
- Micheal Zipp is one point shy of 50.
- Tyler Mrkonjic is six games away from 200 while Matteo Gennero is seven games back of 200.
- Cody Porter passed the 4,000 minutes played mark last night 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.
- Nik Amundrud eclipsed 1,500 career saves Feb. 20 against Lethbridge.
Western Hockey League Stories from March 4, 2016
- Royals Best Giants - Victoria Royals
- Rebels Edge Calgary 3-2 - Red Deer Rebels
- Kamloops trips up Kelowna - Kelowna Rockets
- Winterhawks Earn 5-3 Win over Tri-Cities Friday - Portland Winterhawks
- Heartbreaker - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Hurricanes Blow Over Blades - Saskatoon Blades
- Rebels get past Hitmen - Calgary Hitmen
- Pats Fall in Shootout - Regina Pats
- Jordan Tkatch records first career hat trick as part of five-goal second period - Prince Albert Raiders
- Ryan Murray, Radko Gudas Among Silvertips Alumni Named to World Cup of Hockey Rosters - Everett Silvertips
- McRae's Mad Mondays Continue March 7th - Victoria Royals
- Game Day Report: Blazers Face Rockets on CCM Propac Night - Kamloops Blazers
- Game Day: Rockets and Blazers Begin Home and Home in Kamloops - Kelowna Rockets
- Game 65: March 4. vs. Edmonton - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Game Notes: Roadie to Regina - Swift Current Broncos
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Friday, March 4 at Red Deer - Calgary Hitmen
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