WHL Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Saturday, April 6 at Edmonton

April 6, 2019 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN at EDMONTON OIL KINGS

Game 1 of Best-of-Seven Eastern Conference Semi-Final

Saturday, April 6, 2019 - 7:00 p.m. MT - Rogers Place

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen begin the second round of the 2019 WHL Playoffs tonight on the road in Edmonton against the Oil Kings. Calgary advanced past the opening round on Tuesday with a 4-2 road victory in Game 7 against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Carson Focht paced the Calgary attack with a pair of goals including a power play marker just 3:30 into the opening frame. Riley Fiddler-Schultz and Mark Kastelic, into an empty net, capped the Hitmen scoring. Zach Cox and Alex Cotton replied for the Hurricanes who trailed 3-0 after the first period and 3-2 through 40 minutes. Final shots were 27-27. For just the third time in franchise history the Hitmen erased a 2-0 series deficit to win, which they also accomplished in 2010 in the opening round against Moose Jaw and 2007 in the second round against Brandon.

The Hitmen were the #3 seed in the Central Division after posting a regular season record of 36-26-5-1 to finish with 78 points. The Oil Kings are the top seed in the division after a 42-18-4-4 record resulted in a 92 point season.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Radio: Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com

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STREAKS

- Five Hitmen take point streaks into Game 1 in Edmonton.

- Mark Kastelic (4g, 2a), Kaden Elder (1g, 3a) and Layne Toder (3a) are all riding three-game point streaks.

- Devan Klassen (1g, 1a) and Luke Prokop (2a) both have points in back-to-back games.

- Riley Stotts (1g, 5a) saw his four-game point streak end in Game 7 against Lethbridge while a three-game streak for James Malm (2g, 2a) and two-game point streaks for Dakota Krebs (5a), Cael Zimmerman (2g, 3a) were also halted the same night.

NOTEWORTHY

2019 WHL Playoffs: Round 2 Schedule:

The Hitmen and Oil Kings second round playoff series is a 2-2-1-1-1 format.

Edmonton has home-ice advantage.

Game 1 Saturday, April 6 7:00 p.m. Rogers Place, Edmonton

Game 2 Sunday, April 7 5:00 p.m. Rogers Place, Edmonton

Game 3 Tuesday, April 9 7:00 p.m. Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary

Game 4 Wednesday, April 10 7:00 p.m. Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary

Game 5* Friday, April 12 7:00 p.m. Rogers Place, Edmonton

Game 6* Sunday, April 14 2:00 p.m. Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary

Game 7* Tuesday, April 16 7:00 p.m. Rogers Place, Edmonton

*If necessary

PLAYOFF HISTORY: 2019 marks the third time in league history the Hitmen and Oil Kings square off in a playoff series. Both teams have won once

2009: CGY 4 EDM 0 - Hitmen led by Joel Broda (7pts), Brandon Kozun (5pts) & Martin Jones .73 GAA

2013: EDM 4 CGY 3 - Oil Kings led by Michael St. Croix (10pts), Martin Gernat (7pts) & Laurent Brossoit 2.39 GAA

GAME 1 FACTS: The Hitmen are 24-20 all-time in Game 1's.

TURN ON THE RED LIGHT: Calgary is the highest scoring team in the WHL Playoffs, netting 29 goals in their opening round series for an average of 4.14 per game. Three Hitmen are averaging at least a point a game.

PLAYOFF DATA: This trip to the Eastern Conference Semi-Final marks Calgary's first time past the opening round of the WHL Playoffs since 2015. Calgary has a lifetime playoff record of 135-108. The Hitmen have competed in 44 series prior to this one. They have won 27 and lost 17. Calgary is 30-21 all-time in post-season overtime games.

HOME AND AWAY: Calgary is 2-2 on the road this post season while Edmonton is 2-1 at home.

DID YOU KNOW?: Carson Focht, Mark Kastelic and Dakota Krebs share the Hitmen lead in playoff scoring with seven points each. They are the highest scoring Hitmen post-season performers since Adam Tambellini and Travis Sanheim both tallied 13 points 2015.

HITMEN CAREER PLAYOFF LEADERBOARD:

Games Played: Michael Stone 62

Goals: Pavel Brendl 35

Assists: Brandon Kozun and Brad Moran 48

Points: Brad Moran 82

Wins: Martin Jones 32

VS. EDMONTON: The Hitmen and Oil Kings met eight times in the regular season. Edmonton won seven times with the two teams combining for 53 goals. Mark Kastelic (5g, 2a) and Jake Kryski (5g, 2a) were Calgary's top scorers with seven points against Edmonton while Kaden Elder (2g, 3a) and Egor Zamula (5a) both had five. Vince Loschiavo (4g, 4a) topped the Oil Kings with 10 points. Quinn Benjafield (3g, 6a) was next with nine. Calgary is 4-5-4 in their last 13 visits to Edmonton.

2018-19 SERIES RECAP

Sept. 29/18 in CGY: EDM 6 CGY 3...The Oil Kings took a 4-0 lead to the third period.

Dec. 1/18 in CGY: CGY 4 EDM 3 OT...Kaden Elder scored the winner 2:30 into the extra session.

Dec. 15/18 at EDM: EDM 3 CGY 2 OT...Andrew Fyten scored the winner 40 seconds into extra time.

Dec. 28/18 at EDM: EDM 7 CGY 3...Edmonton jumped out to a 4-0 second period lead.

Jan. 19/19 at EDM: EDM 3 CGY 2...Edmonton built leads of 2-0 and 3-1.

Mar. 8/19 in CGY: EDM 5 CGY 1... Trey Fix-Wolansky and Vince Loschiavo both tallied three points (2g, 1a).

Mar. 16/19 at EDM: EDM 6 CGY 1...The Oil Kings scored six unanswered goals.

Mar. 17/19 in CGY: EDM 3 CGY 1...Vince Loschiavo netted a pair of goals for Edmonton.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Shots on Goal: CGY 241 EDM 267 Power Plays: CGY 6-31 (19.4%) EDM 9-38 (23.7%)

ON THIS DAY: On April 6, 1999 Pavel Brendl scored 3:20 into overtime to lift the Hitmen past Red Deer 4-3. It was Brendl's second goal on the night. Alexandre Fomitchev made 27 saves to pick up the victory. The win gave Calgary a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven second round series with the Rebels.

PUCKS FOR PAWS: The Hitmen in partnership with WEB Consulting Ltd., are donating $12,180 to the Four Feet Companion Foundation through the seventh annual Pucks for Paws. The program saw the Calgary Hitmen Foundation and WEB Consulting Ltd. each contribute $10 for every point collected this past regular season by Riley Stotts. The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect finished the 2018-19 Western Hockey League campaign with 57 points. Funds were also received through an online auction organized by WEB Consulting Ltd., 50-50 proceeds and money raised through calendar sales at the Pucks for Paws game on Dec. 14 between Calgary and Kelowna. Additionally, WEB Consulting Ltd. is donating $10 per Stotts point for a total of $570 to Southwood Veterinary Hospital.

HITMEN ALUMNUS: Matt Mackenzie, who played parts of four seasons with the Hitmen (2007-08 to 2010-11), spent this past season playing pro hockey in Austria with the Bolzano-Bozen Foxes. The 27-year-old defenceman had 17 points (7g, 10a) in 46 games. Mackenzie was a member of the 2010 Ed Chynoweth Cup Champion Hitmen recording 16 points (6g, 10a) in 23 post-season games.

PROMO CALENDAR

& TICKET INFO

- After Games 1 and 2 in Edmonton the series shifts to Calgary for Games 3 and 4. Game 3 is Tuesday, Apr. 9, with Game 4 on Wednesday, Apr. 10. Both are 7:00 p.m. starts at Scotiabank Saddledome.

- Hitmen playoff tickets are on sale and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.ca, HitmenHockey.com or at the Scotiabank Saddledome Box Office.

- Single game tickets start at $22.49 for adults, $12.99 for kids 12 and under and group tickets for $13.99 plus applicable fees and taxes.

- Also available is the Calgary Co-op Family Playoff Pack which includes four tickets, four hot hogs, four soft drinks and one popcorn for $74.99. This deal can be purchased at all Calgary Co-op locations.

PLAYOFF WATCH

- The Hitmen have a combined 272 games of playoff experience.

- Kaden Elder leads all players with 53 post-season games played. He also tops the Hitmen in career playoff points with 14. Luke Coleman is next with 10 points.

Check out the Calgary Hitmen Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from April 6, 2019


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