Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Monday, October 14 vs. Saskatoon
October 14, 2019 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (4-1-1-0, 9 pts.) vs. SASKATOON BLADES (6-3-0-1, 13 pts.)
Monday, October 14, 2019 - 2:00 p.m. MT - Scotiabank Saddledome
TODAY'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen return to Scotiabank Saddledome on this Thanksgiving Monday to open a three-game homestand against the Saskatoon Blades. Game time is 2:00 p.m. for the holiday matinee presented by Rangeland Engineering. The day features AirBand Together for a Wish, presented by euroPRODUCTIONS, which will see several teams compete in an air band competition in The Club before the game. All proceeds will be directed to the Children's Wish Foundation and the Hitmen will facilitate a wish grant during the first intermission. Calgary is coming off Saturday's 6-4 loss in Edmonton on a night where the Oil Kings struck for four power play goals. Carter Souch led the home side with three goals, completing the hat-trick with an empty net marker. Egor Zamula, Carson Focht, Mark Kastelic and Sean Tschigerl replied for the Hitmen who built a 2-0 first period lead but trailed 4-3 through 40 minutes. The two teams combined for six power play goals with the Oil Kings going 4-6 with the man advantage and Calgary 2-4. Final shots were 32-23 Edmonton. The Hitmen, at nine points, are tied for third in the Central Division with Lethbridge, six points back of second place Medicine Hat and eight behind the front-running Oil Kings. Calgary has four games in hand on Medicine Hat and five on Edmonton.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan beginning with a 60 minute pre-game show at 1:00 p.m.
Webcast: WHL Live at whllive.com
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STREAKS
- Six Hitmen take point scoring streaks into today's game;
- Egor Zamula (4g, 5a) is riding a six-game point streak while Carson Focht (4g, 5a) has points in five consecutive games.
- Orca Wiesblatt (1g, 2a), Mark Kastelic (1g, 1a) Riley Fiddler-Schultz (2a) and Jackson van de Leest (2a) all have points in back-to-back games.
- Adam Kydd (2g, 1a) saw his two-game point streak end Saturday in Edmonton.
NOTEWORTHY VS. SASKATOON: Today marks the first of fourth regular season meetings between the Hitmen and Blades. Calgary went 2-2 against Saskatoon last season with both victories in overtime. Ironically the road team was a perfect 4-0. Egor Zamula (1g, 4a) led the Hitmen in the season series with five points while Josh Prokop (2g, 2a), Carson Focht (3g, 1a), Mark Kastelic (2g, 2a) and Jake Kryski (1g, 3a) were all next with four. Kirby Dach (3g, 4a) was the top performer for Saskatoon with seven points. Kristian Roykas Marthinsen (3g, 2a) and Dawson Davidson (1g, 4a) were next with five. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 10-5-1-0 against Saskatoon including a 4-4-0-0 record at the 'Dome.
2018-19 SERIES RECAP Oct. 5/18 at CGY: SAS 3 CGY 0... Dorrin Luding made 42 saves to record the shutout. Oct. 17/18 at SAS: CGY 5 SAS 4 OT... Josh Prokop scored his second goal of the night 2:31 into overtime. Oct. 28/18 at CGY: SAS 5 CGY 3... Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen scored with 7:17 remaining to break a 3-3 tie. Jan. 11/19 at SAS: CGY 4 SAS 3 OT...Mark Kastelic scored the winner 1:28 into the extra session
INSIDE THE SERIES Shots on Goal: CGY 163 SAS 135 Power Plays: CGY 1-14 (7.1%) SAS 3-16 (18.8%)
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Last season Calgary was 0-5-1-0 through their first six games. This season the Hitmen are off to a 4-1-1-0 start.
GETTING THE CALL: On Sunday, Oct. 13, the Hitmen recalled 16-year-old forward Zac Funk from the Okanagan Rockets of the BCMML. Funk, who started the season in Calgary, has two goals in four games since he was reassigned to the Rockets on Oct. 1. He was taken by the Hitmen in the second round of the WHL Bantam Draft in 2018. Last season Funk was named a BC Major Midget League All-Star recording 58 points (34g, 24a) in 38 games with the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds.
ALUMNUS OF THE GAME: This season the Hitmen, in partnership with Adrenalin Source for Sports (9309 Macleod Trail South), are honouring an alumnus at each home game. Today's alumnus, Connor Rankin, spent one and a half seasons with the Hitmen after he was acquired from the Tri-City Americans at the 2014 WHL Trade Deadline. In 95 career regular season games in Calgary the product of North Vancouver, BC tallied 94 points. He also recorded 14 career playoff points in 12 games including a Game 7 first period hat trick against Kootenay in the 2015 WHL Playoffs.
LEADERSHIP GROUP: Mark Kastelic will once again serve as team captain this season while Dakota Krebs, Jett Woo, Riley Stotts and Carson Focht form the remainder of the team's leadership core. Kastelic, who is in his fifth campaign with Calgary, becomes the fourth player in franchise history to wear the 'C' in back-to-back seasons and the first since Cody Sylvester (2011-13). Krebs and Stotts will each wear an 'A' for the second consecutive year. Krebs and Woo will serve as full-time alternate captains while Stotts and Focht will share the third 'A'.
CANADIAN HOCKEY LEAGUE ATTENTION: The Hitmen are ranked fifth in this week's Kia CHL Top-10 Rankings and are the top representative from the WHL. Teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts. The OHL's Oshawa Generals own the number one spot.
DRAFT CLASS: Two Hitmen players have been named to NHL Central Scouting's 'Players to Watch' list for the 2020 NHL Draft. Goaltender Jack McNaughton and defenceman Luke Prokop have both received a 'B' rating which indicates a second- or third-round candidate.
WHL FIRSTS: Five members of the Hitmen have already recorded significant personal milestones this season. Rookie Adam Kydd scored his first career goal on Sept. 29 while goaltender Carl Stankowski recorded his first career shutout that same night. Riley Stotts recorded his first career hat-trick in the 5-1 victory over the Rebels on Sept. 28. Evan Toth made his WHL debut on Oct. 6 against Portland and goaltender Jack McNaughton picked up his first career assist on Oct. 12 in Edmonton.
HITMEN IN THE NHL: 127 WHL alumni, including nine graduates of the Calgary Hitmen, are on National Hockey League rosters to start the 2019-20 season. Hitmen Alumni include: Johnny Boychuk (NYI), Ryan Getzlaf (ANA), Martin Jones (SJS), Andrew Ladd (NYI), Victor Rask (MIN), Travis Sanheim (PHI), Michael Stone (CGY), Carsen Twarynski (PHI) and Jake Virtanen (VAN). Twarynski scored his first career NHL goal on Saturday night in Vancouver. Ironically, Sanheim drew one of the assists.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Cael Zimmerman (indefinite, lower body), James Malm (lower body, day-to-day).
POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet forward Devan Klassen after today's Thanksgiving Day game against Saskatoon. Klassen will be signing autographs at the Hitmen Booster Club table located behind section 212.
BRET 'THE HITMAN' HART NIGHT: On Saturday, Nov. 2, the Hitmen will host Bret 'The Hitman" Hart Night presented by Kal Tire. The game against Saskatoon highlights how fans can help Bret pin prostate cancer by purchasing a special $15 ticket with $5 directed to Calgary Prostate Cancer Centre. This offer is only available by visiting the event page at http://www.prostatecancercentre.ca/bret-the-hitman-hart-night/. The game includes a photo opportunity with Bret at the pre-game photo booth. Proceeds will once again benefit Calgary Prostate Cancer Centre. As a tribute to the legendary professional wrestler, the Hitmen and the Prairie Wrestling Alliance will host a post-game wrestling card that is FREE with a game ticket. A wrestling ring will be set up on the ice for a four-match 'Battle in the Dome' with a special career retrospective live on the Energy Board.
AUCTION ALERT: The Calgary Hitmen Hockey Club is excited to offer fans an opportunity to own a piece of franchise history. More than 80 game-worn, game-issued and authentic jerseys from seasons passed are now available for bid in a historical jersey auction. Bidding concludes Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. MST. Be part of celebrating the team's heritage while supporting the Calgary Hitmen Foundation as a portion of the auction proceeds will be directed to education, grassroots sports and youth wellness programs in our community. Full details are available at elevateauctions.com/HitmenHistoricalAuction.
HITMEN PLEDGE: 'The Hitmen Pledge powered by ENMAX' is now up and running. As part of the 25th anniversary season of Hitmen Hockey, this charitable initiative hopes to raise 25,000 hours of community service towards Calgary and surrounding area. Fans and members of the community are asked to take the pledge by contributing 25 volunteer hours to a charitable cause in the hopes of receiving $25,000 to gift to a registered Southern Alberta charity of their choice. Full details can be found at https://hitmenhockey.com/pledge.
HITMEN MONTH-BY-MONTH: September (3-0-1-0), October (1-1-0-0). HITMEN VS: (BDN 0-0-0-0), (EDM 1-1-0-0), (EVT 0-0), (KAM 0-0), (KEL 0-0), (LET 0-0), (MH 1-0), (MJ 0-0), (POR 1-0), (PA 0-0), (PG 0-0), (RD 1-0), (REG 0-0), (SAS 0-0), (SEA 0-0), (SPO 0-0), (SC 0-0-1-0), (TC 0-0), (VAN 0-0), (VIC 0-0), WPG (0-0)
TICKET SPECIALS: The 2019-20 Hitmen Hockey Pass is on sale now and includes 33 game tickets plus one ticket voucher to be used anytime, in any combination. Pass holders also receive a FREE special 25th anniversary jersey, $50 Scotiabank Saddledome gift card and a complimentary ticket to a select Flames, Roughnecks or Stampeders game. Passes start at less than $7 per ticket for kids and under $15 for adults.
UPCOMING GAMES
All times in MT. Schedule subject to change. Date
Opponent Time Broadcast
Fri., Oct. 18 vs. MJ 7:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Sun., Oct. 20 vs. MH 2:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Fri., Oct. 25 @ MJ 7:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Sun., Oct. 27 @ REG 4:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Mon., Oct. 28 vs. SEA 6:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale now at all Ticketmaster locations, with seats for The Teddy Bear Toss available starting Tues. Oct. 15 at 10:00 a.m. to allow Hitmen Hockey Pass Holders and Flex Pack Holders the first opportunity to exchange their tickets. Upcoming home game highlights include:
- AirBand Together for a Wish presented by euroPRODUCTIONS on Oct. 14 vs. SAS presented by Rangeland Engineering
- Diwali Celebration presented by Red FM & Sunday Funday, presented by Ricky's All Day Grill on Oct. 20 vs. MH
- Wizarding Day on Oct. 28 vs. SEA
- Bret 'The Hitman' Hart Night on Nov. 2 vs. SAS
- Tim Hortons Minor Hockey Day & Sunday Funday, presented by Ricky's All Day Grill on Nov. 3 vs. EDM
- ENMAX Teddy Bear Toss on Dec. 1 vs. RD
- Carols for Christmas presented by Peak Medical on Dec. 6 vs. EDM - Sunday Funday, presented by Ricky's All Day Grill on Dec. 8 vs. EVT - Sunday Funday, presented by Ricky's All Day Grill on Dec. 15 vs. LET - Soccer Day on Dec. 30 vs. EDM - Airdrie Day presented by Southland Transportation on Jan. 1 vs. MH
MILESTONE WATCH - James Malm needs one point to reach 200.
- Mark Kastelic is tied with Brett Sonne for 13th on the clubs all-time goal scoring list with 90. Kastelic is also one point away from tying Sonne for 18th place on the all-time points list with 170.
- Dakota Krebs played career game 250 on Saturday in Edmonton.
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Western Hockey League Stories from October 14, 2019
- Blades Blitz Hitmen 9-3 on Thanksgiving Matinee - Saskatoon Blades
- Blades Swamp Hitmen 9-3 - Calgary Hitmen
- Calgary Hitmen Unveil Adrenalin Source for Sports 25th Anniversary Hockey Cards - Calgary Hitmen
- Plans for Annual Tip a Wheat King Night Announced - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Monday, October 14 vs. Saskatoon - Calgary Hitmen
- Game Preview: Blades & Hitmen Meet for Monday Matinee - Saskatoon Blades
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