WHL Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Friday, November 23 at Seattle

Published on November 23, 2018 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN (9-13-2-0, 20 pts.) at SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS (8-10-3-0, 19 pts.)

Friday, November 23, 2018 - 8:35 p.m. MT - ShoWare Center

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen play Game 5 of a season high seven game road trip tonight in Kent against the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Hitmen are 3-1 on the swing following Wednesday's 3-2 win in Portland. Goaltender Carl Stankowski made 38 saves in first star performance for Calgary. Among his work was a remarkable second period mid-air stick blade stop while reaching back. Tied 1-1 after 40 minutes, the turning point came early in the third period when the Hitmen struck for a pair of goals in the first eight minutes. The first came off the stick of James Malm, the second on a breakaway from Riley Stotts. Jake Kryski provided the other Calgary goal on a second period power play. Cody Glass and John Ludvig replied for the Winterhawks who outshot the Hitmen 40-28. Calgary went 1-3 on the power play. Portland was 0-5.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com

ATTACHMENTS

Media Kit

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STREAKS

- Egor Zamula (1g, 5a) has points in five of his last six games.

- Jake Kryski (2g, 2a) has points in three of his last four games.

- Riley Stotts (3g) has scored in two of his last three games.

- Carl Stankowski has won his last two starts stopping 71 of 74 shots.

NOTEWORTHY

VS. SEATTLE: Tonight is the first and only regular season meeting between the Hitmen and Thunderbirds. Seattle recorded a 4-3 victory in their only battle last season on Oct. 28, 2017 at Scotiabank Saddledome. With the game appeared headed for overtime, Austin Strand scored the winner with 42 seconds remaining. This is Calgary's first visit to ShowWare Center since Nov. 11, 2016, when the Hitmen posted a 3-1 win. Calgary mustered only 16 shots but received a first star performance from goaltender Cody Porter who made 27 saves. Matteo Gennero paced the scoring attack with a goal and two assists.

HOMECOMING: Tonight marks the return to Seattle for two Hitmen in Carl Stankowski and Kaden Elder. Stankowski helped lead Seattle to the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL Champions in 2017 winning all 16 playoff games while posting a 2.50 goals against average and .911 save percentage. The Hitmen acquired Stankowski and a conditional fourth-round WHL Bantam Pick from Seattle on Aug. 7, 2018 in exchange for the rights to 17-year-old U.S. prospect Mike Koster, an eighth-round pick in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft and a conditional fourth-round selection in either 2019 or 2020. Elder meanwhile also started his WHL career with the Thunderbirds. Taken in the first round, 22nd overall in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, he played 53 games with Seattle over parts of two seasons before being traded to Swift Current on Nov. 10, 2015.

INSIDE THE ROAD TRIP: Calgary is 3-1 on their current road trip having outscored the opposition by a combined 13-10. Thirteen different players have picked up at least a point with Mark Kastelic and Egor Zamula leading the way with five points each. Jake Kryski and James Malm are next with four. Special teams have been simply outstanding. The power play is 5-12 (41.7%) while the penalty kill is 12-13 (92.3%).

WHL TOP 15: Mark Kastelic is tied for third in the WHL in goals with 19 while his 30 points rank 15th. Josh Prokop is tied for 11th in rookie scoring with 11 points.

HIGHWAY TRACKER: Calgary's tilt in Kent against the T-Birds is the fifth stop in a stretch of six games in nine nights. Once the journey wraps up and the Hitmen return back to Calgary, they will have covered a grand total of 3,004 kilometers. So far they have gone 1,741 kilometers.

LONG TIME COMING: Calgary's 5-0 win over Kootenay on Friday, Nov. 16 was their first shutout since March 11, 2016. That night Cody Porter made 29 saves in a 5-0 victory over the Oil Kings at Rexall Place in Edmonton.

FAST FACTS: Calgary has taken 112 more shots than they have given up this season although they have been outshot in three consecutive games...The Hitmen have been shutout four times this season but are still averaging 3.5 goals per game...A total of 28 players have played at least a single game for Calgary...A Hitmen player has scored at least twice in a game 16 times this season this although Mark Kastelic's three-goal performance last Saturday in Spokane was the first Hitmen hat-trick.

DID YOU KNOW?: Following this seven game road trip, Calgary heads in the opposite direction playing 10 of their next 12 at home.

BOUNCING BACK: Since starting the season 0-5-1-0, the Hitmen have gone 9-8-1-0.

HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 6-7 on the road while Seattle is 5-4-2-0 at home.

TEDDY BEAR TICKETS: Due to overwhelming demand, press-level seating is open for The Brick Teddy Bear Toss. Tickets are available starting at $14.99 for adults and $9.99 for students and kids (plus applicable fees and taxes). Limited second level seating also remains. Fans are encouraged to bring a new small or medium-sized stuffed toy to toss onto the ice when the Calgary Hitmen score their first goal on Sunday, Dec. 9 against the visiting Kamloops Blazers. Game time at the 'Dome is 2:00 p.m.

NHL DRAFT: Mark Kastelic and Jackson van de Leest are both on NHL Central Scouting's November 'Players to Watch' list for the 2019 NHL Draft. They each received a 'C rating' which indicates fourth/fifth/sixth round candidate.

HITMEN ALUMNUS: Andrew Ladd, who played two seasons with the Hitmen from 2003-05, is in the NHL with the New York Islanders. The 32-year-old forward from Maple Ridge, BC has seven points (3g, 4a) in 14 games. Ladd has played 934 career NHL games registering 533 points.

WORLD STAGE: Luke Prokop joined Hockey Canada at the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. The eight-team tournament saw Prokop and Canada White finish sixth. The Hitmen defenceman recorded one assist in five games. Prokop became the 28th player in franchise history to participate in the tournament joining fellow teammates Jackson van de Leest (2017), Carson Focht (2016), Jake Kryski (2014), Carl Stankowski (2016) and Riley Stotts (2016). Focht won gold with Canada White while van de Leest helped Canada Red capture silver.

CORRAL SERIES: The Hitmen will play a trio of regular season games this season at the historic Stampede Corral. "The Corral Series" presented by Adrenalin Source for Sports, will see the Hitmen 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 will be 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 Stampede Corral home by wearing commemorative jerseys of the Calgary Centennials, Calgary Wranglers and Calgary Cowboys. The series will feature 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. Tickets go on sale Nov. 26.

HITMEN GO GREEN: On Sept. 26, National Tree Day, the Calgary Hitmen announced their participation in an environmental initiative called One Ticket, One Tree. The Hitmen will begin a pilot project where a tree will be planted for reforestation projects in the province for each game day and group ticket sold to the One Ticket, One Tree game when they host the Oil Kings on Mar. 8 at 7:00 p.m. In addition, Hitmen players will be in the community this season doing their part to reduce their ecological footprint and bring awareness to local environmental issues.

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

TICKET SPECIALS: The 2018-19 Hitmen Hockey Pass includes 34 tickets to be used anytime, in any combination. Pass holders also receive a $50 Scotiabank Saddledome gift card and a FREE ticket to a select Flames, Roughnecks or Stampeders game. Passes start at less than $7 per ticket for kids and under $15 for adults. Also available is the 10-game Hitmen Flex Pack to be used for any game, in any combination. Students and kids tickets are $10 per game, adults and seniors $20. Applicable fees and taxes apply. Visit HitmenHockey.com to score yours today!

UPCOMING GAMES

All times in MT. Schedule subject to change.

DATE OPPONENT TIME BROADCAST

Nov. 24 at Tri-City 8:05 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Nov. 30 at Red Deer 7:00 p.m. Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

Dec. 1 vs. Edmonton 7:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Dec. 2 vs. Moose Jaw 4:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Dec. 7 vs. Swift Current 7:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

PROMO CALENDAR

Upcoming home game highlights include:

- The Brick Teddy Bear Toss on Dec. 9 vs. KAM

- Carols for Christmas on Dec. 14 vs. KEL

- Novice Jamboree on Dec. 16 vs. LET

- Soccer Day on Dec. 30 vs. VAN

- Airdrie Day on Jan. 1 vs. VIC

- Wizarding Day on Jan. 5 vs. MH

- 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. Tickets on sale starting Nov. 26

- Family Game 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 on Mar. 3 vs. KTN

- One Ticket, One Tree on Mar. 8 vs. EDM

- Fan Appreciation on Mar. 17 vs. EDM

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH

- Vladislav Yeryomenko is one game shy of 150.

- Carl Stankowski is 15 saves away from 500.

- Jake Kryski played career game 300 on Saturday in Spokane while Luke Coleman played in game 250 Friday night against Kootenay. Coleman is also two goals away from 50.

Check out the Calgary Hitmen Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from November 23, 2018


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