Sports stats



WHL Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Friday, November 30 at Red Deer

November 30, 2018 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN (10-13-2-1, 23 pts.) at RED DEER REBELS (16-8-1-0, 33 pts.)

Friday, November 30, 2018 - 7:00 p.m. MT - ENMAX Centrium

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen wrap up a season high seven game road trip tonight in Red Deer against the Rebels. The Hitmen are 4-1-0-1 on the swing following last Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss in Kennewick to the Tri-City Americans. Playing their sixth game in nine nights, Calgary jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Riley Stotts and Carson Focht. The Americans pushed back in the final frame on markers from Blake Stevenson and Sasha Mutala. It was Mutala's tally with 1:24 remaining that forced overtime. In the extra session, the Ams outshot the Hitmen 4-2 but Focht nearly won it for the visitors tipping a puck off the crossbar. Calgary finished with a game total of 40 shots, the Americans recorded 32.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Radio: Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com

________________________________

STREAKS

- Carson Focht (2g, 3a) and Jake Kryski (1g, 2a) are both riding three-game point streaks.

- Josh Prokop (2a) has points in back-to-back games. Riley Stotts (2g), Egor Zamula (2a) and Cael Zimmerman (2a) all have points in two of their last three games.

- Carl Stankowski has won his last three starts in goal stopping 95 of 100 shots.

NOTEWORTHY

VS. RED DEER: Tonight is the fifth of eight regular season meetings between the Hitmen and Rebels. Red Deer has won all four games by a combined score of 14-9. Mark Kastelic (2g, 1a) is Calgary's top performer in the season series with three points while Jake Kryski (2a), Vladislav Yeryomenko (2a) and the departed Zach Huber (2g) all have two. Brandon Hagel (3g, 5a) leads the Rebels with eight points. Jeff de Wit (4g, 2a) and Alexander Alexeyev (3g, 3a) are next with six points each. The two teams won't meet again until Friday, Jan. 4 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 vs. RD: 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 vs. RD: RD 1 CGY 0...Ethan Anders made 34 saves for the shutout.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Shots on Goal: CGY 147 RD 106 Power Plays: CGY 1-14 (7.1%) RD 4-16 (25.0%)

INSIDE THE ROAD TRIP: Calgary is 4-1-0-1 on their current road trip having outscored the opposition by a combined 20-12. Thirteen different players have picked up at least a point with Mark Kastelic (6g, 1a) leading the way with seven. Jake Kryski (2g, 4a), Carson Focht (2g, 4a) and Egor Zamula (6a) are all next with six points while Luke Coleman (2g, 3a) has five. Special teams have been simply outstanding. The power play is 7-18 (38.9%) while the penalty kill is 23-24 (95.8%).

WHL TOP 15: Mark Kastelic is tied for third in the WHL in goals with 21 while his 32 points share 13th place. Josh Prokop is tied for 10th in rookie scoring with 13 points.

ROSTER MOVES: On Thursday, the Hitmen announced goaltender Carl Stankowski will miss the next six to eight weeks with an ankle injury. As a result they have added Brayden Peters to the roster. The 16-year-old product of Taber, AB has played AAA Midget with the Lethbridge Hurricanes this season. In 16 games he is 8-2 with a league-leading 1.76 goals against average, two shutouts and .929 save percentage. Peters was selected by Calgary in the fifth round, 95th overall, in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.

FAST FACTS: The Hitmen are four points behind Medicine Hat for the final Eastern Conference Wildcard spot and 10 points back of the Central Division leading Rebels...Calgary has taken 130 more shots than they have given up this season and have only been outshot in six of their 26 games....A Hitmen player has scored at least twice in a game 18 times this season although Mark Kastelic's three-goal performance Nov. 17 in Spokane was the first Hitmen hat-trick.

DID YOU KNOW?: Following this seven game road trip, Calgary plays 10 of their next 12 at home.

BOUNCING BACK: Since starting the season 0-5-1-0, the Hitmen have gone 10-8-1-1.

HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 7-7-0-1 on the road while Red Deer is 9-3 at home.

HITMEN ALUMNUS: Jake Virtanen, who played parts of four seasons with the Hitmen from 2011-15, is in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks. The 22-year-old forward from New Westminster, BC has 12 points (8g, 4a) in 28 games. Virtanen has played 168 career NHL games registering 46 points.

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. with doors opening early at 12:30.

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.

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. Tickets went on sale Monday starting 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 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.

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 1-0), (SPO 1-0), (SC 0-0), (TC 0-0-0-1), (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

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

Dec. 2 vs. Moose Jaw 4:00 p.m. Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

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

Dec. 9 vs. Kamloops 2:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Dec. 14 vs. Kelowna 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

- Layne Toder and Egor Zamula are both five games away from 100.

- James Malm is six points shy of 150.

- Vladislav Yeryomenko played career game 150 on Nov. 23 against Seattle while Carl Stankowski eclipsed 500 saves and Luke Coleman hit 50 goals that same night.

- Jake Kryski played career game 300 on Nov. 17 in Spokane while Coleman played in game 250 Nov. 16 against Kootenay.

Check out the Calgary Hitmen Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Western Hockey League message board...

Western Hockey League Stories from November 30, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Calgary Hitmen Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central