WHL Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Friday, November 27 vs Regina

Published on November 27, 2015 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN (16-10-0-1, 33 pts.) vs REGINA PATS (11-10-2-0, 24 pts.)

Friday, Nov. 27, 2015 - 7:00 p.m. - Scotiabank Saddledome

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen, winners of a season-high seven in a row, are back in the Scotiabank Saddledome tonight to host the Regina Pats. The Hitmen are coming off a two-game Saskatchewan road trip which ended Wednesday night with a 4-2 victory in Saskatoon. Tyler Mrkonjic and Radel Fazleev both had a goal and an assist to lead the Hitmen with Keegan Kanzig and Jakob Stukel rounding out the scoring for Calgary who has won all three meetings with the Blades this season. Cody Porter picked up the win in goal making 24 saves while Loch Morrison added a pair of assists and was a team leading plus-3. Calgary sits second in the WHL's Central Division at 33 points, just a single point back of the front running Red Deer Rebels. Regina is fourth in the East Division with 24 points, five points behind the third place Moose Jaw Warriors. The Pats own the first wild card spot.

HITMEN BROADCAST INFORMATION

Radio: Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com

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STREAKS

- Jakob Stukel (4g, 1a) is on a career-high three game goal scoring streak.

- Jake Bean (2g, 3a) and Radel Fazleev (1g, 6a) are both on three game point streaks.

- Tyler Mrkonjic (2g, 1a) has points in back-to-back games.

- Micheal Zipp (1g, 3a) has his career high tying three-game point streak end Wednesday in Saskatoon.

- Cody Porter has won his last six starts, posting a 1.83 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.

- Keegan Kanzig is plus-6 with two goals and one assist in eight games since returning from the AHL's Stockton Heat.

NOTEWORTHY

VS. REGINA: Tonight is the third of four regular season meetings between the two teams. Calgary leads the season series 2-0 having outscored Regina by a combined 8-1. Jake Bean (2g, 3a) and Travis Sanheim (1g, 4a) top the Hitmen will five points each against the Pats while Adam Berg (1g), Chase Harrison (1a) and Connor Hobbs (1a) lead Regina with one point each against the Hitmen. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 14-2-0-2 against Regina including a 7-1-0-1 record when playing at the 'Dome. The two clubs will wrap up their season series on Wednesday, Dec. 9 in Regina.

2015-16 REGULAR SEASON SERIES RECAP Oct. 4/15 at REG: CAL 3 REG 0... Lasse Petersen made 19 saves to record a shutout in his WHL debut. Oct. 18/15 vs REG: CAL 5 REG 1...Jake Bean (2g, 1a), Radel Fazleev (1g, 2a) & Travis Sanheim (3a) all had three points.

INSIDE THE SERIES Shots on Goal: CAL 65 REG 39 Power Plays: CAL 6-13 (46.2%) REG 0-10 (0%)

INSIDE THE STREAK: During Calgary's seven-game winning streak they have outscoring their opponents by a combined 30-13 while outshooting them 227-154. This is the longest winning streak by the Hitmen since they rattled off nine consecutive victories last season from Jan. 18 to Feb. 11.

FLYING FAZLEEV: Russian import Radel Fazleev is ninth in the Western Hockey League scoring race with 33 points. The 19-year-old from Kazan has at least a point in 19 of his 27 games this season including nine multi-point games.

GIANT IMPACT: Since arriving in a trade with the Vancouver Giants on Oct. 27, Jackson Houck, Jakob Stukel and Cody Porter have all made significant contributions. Houck has points in seven of his 10 games with Calgary collecting four goals and 10 assists. He was also named the WHL Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 15 after recording six assists in two games. Stukel has 12 points in 13 games (9g, 3a) while Porter has notched a record of 9-2 with a 2.60 goals-against average and .885 save percentage.

SHOT CLOCK: Calgary is 14-1 this season when outshooting their opponents. They have outshot the opposition in each of the last seven games, averaging 32.4 shots.

NHL DRAFT WATCH: Hitmen defenceman Jake Bean, forward Beck Malenstyn and goaltender Cody Porter have all been named to the National Hockey League's Players to Watch list for November in advance of the 2016 NHL Draft. The list, compiled by NHL Central Scouting Service, groups prospects by league and gives each player an individual rating. Bean, one of 49 players from the Western Hockey League on the list, received an "A" ranking which indicates a first-round candidate. Malenstyn and Porter received "C" ratings, indicating a fourth, fifth or sixth-round selection.

TRADE WINDS: On Nov. 10, the Hitmen acquired 19-year-old forward Tyler Mrkonjic (mer-CON-jick) from the Prince George Cougars in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft. Mrkonjic, in his third WHL season, has five points (3g, 2a) in seven games since arriving in Calgary.

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT: As part of the WHL's 50th Season celebrations, the Hitmen presented two distinguished graduates with Alumni Achievement Awards on Nov. 13. Former Hitmen captain and current Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf was recognized in the professional hockey category while two-time WHL Scholastic Player of the Year Chris Nielsen, now a senior orthopaedic surgery resident, was honoured in the scholastic category.

DYNAMIC DUO: The Hitmen have two of the top 10 scoring defencemen in the WHL in Travis Sanheim and Jake Bean. Bean (11g, 12a) has 23 points to sit tied for fourth in scoring while Sanheim's (6g, 16a) 22 points is tied for sixth among defencemen. Bean's career-high 11 goals top all blueliners while his five power play markers is tied for first among all rearguards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Calgary's power play, which is 0 for its last 13, is ninth in the WHL at 20.2%. The Hitmen penalty kill has killed off 20 of their last 22 shorthanded situations. Overall it's fourth in the league at 83.9%. Calgary is also tied for the second-most shorthanded goals in the league at five. Prince George leads the way with eight.

MO BROS: The Calgary Hitmen, together with Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop, are proud to support Movember, a month-long campaign committed to changing the face of men's health. During the month of November for the seventh season in a row, Hitmen players and coaches are growing moustaches to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health issues. To support the Hitmen Movember team, visit moteam.co/calgary-hitmen.

HITMEN ALUMNUS: Former Hitmen goaltender Martin Jones is the NHL's first star for the week ending Nov. 22. The San Jose Sharks goaltender went 3-0-0 with a 1.63 goals-against average, .951 save percentage and one shutout. The 25-year-old helped backstop the Hitmen to their second WHL title in 2010 and was named playoff MVP.

PROMO CALENDAR

Hitmen single game tickets are on sale now. Upcoming home game highlights include: - 21st annual Petro-Canada Teddy Bear Toss on Sunday, Dec. 6 versus Swift Current - Dodge Skate with the Hitmen on Sunday, Jan. 31 against Brandon - Lunar Celebration with post-game fireworks on Friday, Feb. 12 versus Red Deer - Co-op Family Day on Sunday, Feb. 14 against Lethbridge - Fan Appreciation Day on Sunday, Mar. 20 versus Kootenay

MILESTONES - Jackson Houck needs five more goals to reach 100 and hit 200 career points on Oct. 29 against Spokane. - Bryce Platt recorded his first Western Hockey League point on Sunday with an assist against the Saskatoon Blades. - Keegan Kanzig reached the 500 career penalty minutes mark Nov. 21 against Everett.

- Jakob Stukel recorded his first career WHL hat-trick on Nov. 14 against Tri-City.

- Radel Fazleev surpassed 100 career points on Nov. 13 against Kootenay. - Travis Sanheim played his 150 career game on Nov. 1.

- Mark Kastelic recorded his first career WHL goal on Nov. 1.

Check out the Calgary Hitmen Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from November 27, 2015


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