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Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Saturday, December 15 at Edmonton

December 15, 2018 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN (15-14-2-1, 33 pts.) at EDMONTON OIL KINGS (16-12-4-2, 38 pts.)

Saturday - 4:00 p.m. MT - Rogers Place

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen play their second game in as many days this afternoon as they visit the Edmonton Oil Kings. The Hitmen are coming off last night's 5-1 win over Kelowna to run their home ice winning streak to six games. Egor Zamula led the way with a goal and two assists while Jake Kryski scored twice helping Calgary build period leads of 2-1 and 3-1. Riley Stotts and Ryder Korczak also found the back of the net for the Hitmen. Kyle Crosbie was the only Rocket to beat goalie Jack McNaughton who made 25 saves in recording his ninth win of the season. Special teams were also a strong point for the home side with the Hitmen 2-5 on the power play and a perfect 5-5 on the penalty kill.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com

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STREAKS

- James Malm (3g, 4a) and Egor Zamula (5g, 5a) are both riding five-game point streaks.

- Riley Stotts (2g, 8a) is on a four-game streak

- Carson Focht (3a) is on a three-game run.

- Jake Kryski (3g, 1a) and Kaden Elder (1g, 2a) have points in back-to-back games.

- Goaltender Jack McNaughton has won his last five starts stopping 118 of 128 shots for a .922 save percentage.

- Dakota Krebs (3a) saw his two-game point streak end last night against Kelowna.

NOTEWORTHY VS. EDMONTON: Today is the third of eight regular season meetings between the Hitmen and Oil Kings. The season series is tied 1-1 with both previous games at Scotiabank Saddledome. Jake Kryski (4g, 1a) is Calgary's top performer in the season series with five points while Kaden Elder (1g, 1a), Mark Kastelic (1g, 1a) and Vladislav Yeryomenko (2a) all have two. Quinn Benjafield (2g, 2a) leads the Oil Kings with four points. Carter Souch (2g, 1a) and Brett Kemp (1g, 2a) are next with three. Over the last five years Calgary is 4-2-3-0 in 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. Dec. 1/18 at CGY: CGY 4 EDM 3 OT...Kaden Elder scored the winner 2:30 into the extra session.

INSIDE THE SERIES Shots on Goal: CGY 75 EDM 61 Power Plays: CGY 1-9 (11.1%) EDM 2-9 (22.2%)

BOUNCING BACK: Since starting the season 0-5-1-0, the Hitmen have gone 15-9-1-1.

RECENT RUN: Calgary has picked up 19 of a possible 24 points in their last 12 games posting a record of 9-2-0-1. Special teams have been a major driver with the power play a combined 11-33 (37.1%) while the penalty kill is 35-40 (88.8%).

WHL TOP 15: Mark Kastelic is sixth in the WHL in goals with 22 while his 123 shots on goal are in a three-way tie for 14th. Josh Prokop is 12th in rookie scoring with 16 points. Egor Zamula is in a two-way tie for eighth in defencemen scoring with 27 points.

ROSTER MOVES: On Thursday, Dec. 13, the Hitmen recalled goaltender Matthew Armitage from the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. The 19-year-old has a 2.62 goals against average and .924 save percentage in the BCHL this season.

TEDDY BEAR RECAP: Hitmen forward Kaden Elder scored a breakaway goal 4:18 into the first period of The Brick Teddy Bear Toss 2018 on Dec. 9 triggering a waterfall of 29,635 stuffed toys on Sunday at the Scotiabank Saddledome. That tally set a new franchise record for most bears collected in a single toss breaking the previous mark of 28,815 established in 2015. Nearly 70 local agencies, including the Salvation Army, Calgary Food Bank, Siksika Nation and Hospice Calgary will share the bears this holiday season. The Brick also donated 25 cents for every bear tossed to the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation for a total of $7,408.75. Each bear was counted one by one by over 100 volunteers which included students, teachers, grandparents and hockey fans. Since the inaugural 1995 toss, the Hitmen, with generous support from their partners and fans, have provided the community with 377,583 teddy bears.

GAME-WORN AND GAME-ISSUED JERSEY AUCTION: During The Brick Teddy Bear Toss 2018, Hitmen players wore special red-themed teddy bear jerseys with snow-capped numbers and a Santa hat on the primary logo. They are now being sold in an online auction which closes Sunday, Dec. 16 at 8 p.m. MT. Fans can bid on the jerseys along with five team-signed helmets at https://elevateauctions.com/TeddyBearJerseys2018 with proceeds benefiting the Children's Miracle Network.

HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 7-8-0-1 on the road while Edmonton is 8-5 at home.

DID YOU KNOW?: Hitmen defenceman Vladislav Yeryomenko is with Team Belarus at the 2019 IIHF World U20 Championship in Germany. Belarus is 3-1 at the Division I Group A tournament with their final round-robin game today against Latvia. This is the third trip to the World Juniors for Yeryomenko. He won gold in 2017.

HOLIDAY STOCKING STUFFER: The Hitmen are offering fans a special gift idea this holiday season. For $19.99 plus GST you receive a Hitmen single game voucher redeemable for any remaining regular season game in Scotiabank Saddledome, a signed Hitmen puck and a $5 Scotiabank Saddledome Card. Some exclusions do apply. Go to hitmenhockey.com to purchase yours today.

CANADA WINTER GAMES: Two Hitmen prospects have been named to play in the 2019 Canada Winter Games. Forward Sean Tschigerl will suit up for Team Alberta with defenceman Tyson Galloway on Team British Columbia. Manitoba has yet to name its roster for the tournament which will be held in Red Deer from Feb. 16-22.

CORRAL SERIES: The Hitmen will play a trio of 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 Calgary 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 are 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 Corral home by wearing commemorative jerseys of the Calgary Centennials, Wranglers and Cowboys. The series features 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: The Calgary Hitmen are participating in an environmental initiative called One Ticket, One Tree. The pilot project will see a tree planted for reforestation projects in the province for each game day and group ticket sold to the One Ticket, One Tree Hitmen game against Edmonton on Mar. 8. Hitmen players are also in the community this season doing their part to reduce their ecological footprint and raising awareness to local environmental issues.

MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS HITMEN INJURY REPORT: Carl Stankowski (6-8 weeks, lower body), Tye Carriere (Indefinitely, upper body).

HITMEN VS: (BDN 1-0), (EDM 1-1), (EVT 0-1), (KAM 1-0), (KEL 1-0), (KTN 2-1), (LET 1-2), (MH 1-1), (MJ 2-0), (POR 1-0), (PA 0-2), (PG 0-0), (RD 0-4-1-0), (REG 0-0-1-0), (SAS 1-2), (SEA 1-0), (SPO 1-0), (SC 1-0), (TC 0-0-0-1), (VAN 0-0), (VIC 0-0).

ALUMNI WATCH: Travis Sanheim, who played three seasons with the Hitmen from 2013-16, is in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers. In 30 games the sophomore defenceman from Elkhorn, MB has 10 points (3g, 7a) and +3 plus/minus rating. Sanheim played 186 career games and is fifth on the club's all-time defenceman scoring list with 162 points.

IN THE COMMUNITY: This holiday season the Hitmen are once again partnering with the Calgary Zoo for Zoolights. Hitmen players will visit the Zoo's outdoor arena on four occasions for public skating. The first appearance was Dec. 8 when Carson Focht, Josh Prokop and mascot Farley the Fox all dropped by. Weather permitting Hitmen players will also visit the rink on Dec. 27, Dec. 29 and Jan. 3.

UPCOMING GAMES

All times in MT. Schedule subject to change.

DATE OPPONENT TIME BROADCAST

Dec. 16 vs. Lethbridge 4:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Dec. 28 at Edmonton 7:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Dec. 30 vs. Vancouver 2:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Jan. 1 vs. Victoria 1:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Jan. 4 vs. Red Deer 4:00 p.m. Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

PROMO CALENDAR

Upcoming home game highlights include: - 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

- James Malm is four games shy of 200 and three assists away from 100. He reached the 150 point mark on Dec. 9 against Kamloops.

- Riley Stotts is three games shy of 150 while Kaden Elder needs six points for 100.

- Jack McNaughton passed 1,000 minutes played last night against Kelowna.

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