WHL Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Saturday, December 1 vs. Edmonton

December 1, 2018 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN (10-14-2-1, 23 pts.) vs. EDMONTON OIL KINGS (14-11-2-2, 32 pts.) Saturday - 7:00 p.m. MT - Scotiabank Saddledome

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen play their first home game in 20 days when they host the Edmonton Oil Kings tonight. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome for Tim Hortons Timbits Hockey Day featuring a first intermission Timbits hockey game. The Hitmen finished a season high seven game road trip 4-2-0-1 with last night's 6-2 loss in Red Deer. The Rebels jumped out to a 3-0 lead less than eight minutes into the first period. Brandon Hagel led the way with two goals and two assists. Jeff de Wit and Chris Douglas also scored twice for the Central Division leaders who built period leads of 4-0 and 5-1. Calgary outshot Red Deer 45-23 but goaltender Ethan Anders made 43 saves to record the victory. Luke Coleman, with his eighth of the season, and Mark Kastelic with his team leading 22nd provided the Hitmen goals. Red Deer won the special-teams battle going 2-5 on the power play and killing both Calgary chances.

BROADCAST INFORMATION Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com ATTACHMENTS Media Kit

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STREAKS

- Jake Kryski (1g, 3a) is on a four-game point streak.

- Mark Kastelic (3g) has scored in two of his last three games while Kaden Elder (3a) has assists in two of his last three contests.

- Carson Focht (2g, 3a) saw his three-game point streak end last night in Red Deer. Josh Prokop's (2a) two-game point streak was also snapped.

NOTEWORTHY VS. EDMONTON: Tonight is the second of eight regular season meetings between the Hitmen and Oil Kings. Edmonton grabbed the opener at the "Dome in late Sept. with a 6-3 victory. Jake Kryski (2g) is Calgary's top performer in the season series with two points while five other Hitmen skaters have a single point. Carter Souch (2g, 1a) and Quinn Benjafield (1g, 2a) lead the Oil Kings with three points. Jake Neighbours (1g, 1a), Jacson Alexander (1g,1a) and Brett Kemp (2a) all have two points each. Over the last five years Calgary is 7-3 at home against Edmonton.

2018-19 SERIES RECAP Sept. 29/18 at CGY: EDM 6 CGY 3...The Oil Kings took a 4-0 lead to the third period.

INSIDE THE SERIES Shots on Goal: CGY 44 EDM 32 Power Plays: CGY 0-6 (0%) EDM 2-6 (33.3%)

INSIDE THE ROAD TRIP: Calgary picked up nine of a possible 14 points on their recent road trip while posting a 4-2-0-1 record. They outscored the opposition by a combined 22-18. Fourteen different players picked up at least a point with Mark Kastelic (7g, 1a) notching a team-leading eight. Jake Kryski (2g, 5a) was next with seven while Carson Focht (2g, 4a), Egor Zamula (6a) and Luke Coleman (3g, 3a) all tallied six points. Special teams were a major driver with the power play going is 7-20 (35%) while the penalty kill was 26-29 (89.7%).

WHL TOP 15: Mark Kastelic is third in the WHL in goals with 22 while his 33 points share 13th place. Josh Prokop is tied for 11th 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 as an affiliate player. 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. Calgary has taken 152 more shots than they have given up this season and have only been outshot in six of their 27 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?: Tonight kicks off a stretch of 10 of the next 12 games at home for the Hitmen. Between now and Jan. 8 Calgary will only hit the road for a pair of games in Edmonton on Dec. 15 and again Dec. 28.

BOUNCING BACK: Since starting the season 0-5-1-0, the Hitmen have gone 10-9-1-1.

HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 3-6-2-0 at home while Edmonton is 8-6-2-2 on the road.

POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet forward Tye Carriere after today's game. Carriere will be signing autographs at the Hitmen Booster Club table located behind section 212.

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS: All four teams under the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation umbrella are providing special gift ideas from Dec. 1-12. There will be a dozen days of deals for the Hitmen, Flames, Roughnecks and Stampeders. Today's Hitmen offer is a press level general admission ticket to The Brick Teddy Bear Toss for $10+GST. Visit www.calgaryflames.com/12days for all the details.

HITMEN ALUMNUS: Jake Bean, who played parts of four seasons with the Hitmen from 2014-18, made his National Hockey League debut on Tuesday with the Carolina Hurricanes and also played again last night. The 20-year-old defenceman is the 44th player in franchise history to play at least a single game in the NHL. He appeared in 187 regular season games with the Hitmen and sits 16th on the all-time points list with 175, fourth among defenceman.

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.

CORRAL SERIES: The Hitmen will play a trio of regular season games this season at the historic Stampede Corral. Tickets start 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.

UPCOMING GAMES All times in MT. Schedule subject to change.

DATE OPPONENT TIME BROADCAST

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

Dec. 15 at Edmonton 4:00 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 and Sunday Funday on Dec. 16 vs. LET

- Soccer Day and Sunday Funday on Dec. 30 vs. VAN

- Airdrie Day on Jan. 1 vs. VIC

- Wizarding Day on Jan. 5 vs. MH - Sunday Funday on Jan. 20 vs. RD - 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 and Sunday Funday 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 and Sunday Funday 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 four games away from 100.

- James Malm is six points shy of 150.

Check out the Calgary Hitmen Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from December 1, 2018


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