Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Saturday, February 1 vs. Red Deer
Published on February 1, 2020 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (26-16-4-1, 57 pts.) vs. RED DEER REBELS (17-25-2-3, 39 pts.)
Saturday, February 1, 2020 - 1:30 p.m. MT - Scotiabank Saddledome
TODAY'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen, winners of four of their last five, host the Red Deer Rebels this afternoon at Scotiabank Saddledome. It's a 1:30 p.m. start at the 'Dome for 'Every Child Matters' presented by Siksika Health Services in partnership with Siksika Child & Family Services and First Nations Health Consortium. The game is dedicated to Indigenous youth empowerment through sport and celebrates the Blackfoot culture. Both the Hitmen and Rebels will wear an 'Every Child Matters' decal on their helmets while intermissions will highlight the Blackfoot culture with traditional men's and women's dancers to perform on-ice during the first intermission and all fans encouraged to take part in the second intermission concourse Round Dance. The Round Dance, to be held for the first time ever at a Hitmen game, is of a special meaning to bring cultures together. Fans will also be able to enjoy a taste of Blackfoot food at the concession test kitchen behind Section 227 with the following items prepared by special guest chef Chris Eagle Rib;
Indian Popcorn $6
- Crispy Seasoned & Fried Beef Fat, Oven Bannock
Berry Soup $7
- Mint, Cinnamon & Honey
Blackfoot Style Tacos $5 per piece
- Bison Chili, Lettuce, Tomato, Sour Cream & Salsa
Bison Rib Ends $9
- Mashed Potato, Bison Gravy, Fried Bread
A teepee will be erected on the concourse behind Section 226 with tours and stories on its cultural significance while display booths will be set up offering information on Siksika Health Services, Siksika Child & Family Services and First Nations Health Consortium. Following the game, 3,000 'Every Child Matters' toques will be given away to kids upon exit as a show of solidarity while the game will be broadcast in Blackfoot across the province on Windspeaker Radio. That includes CJWE 88.1FM in Calgary and CFWE 98.5FM in Edmonton with the purpose of preserving and promoting the endangered language to a larger audience.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio:
-Sportsnet 960-The Fan beginning with a 60 minute pre-game show at 12:30 p.m.
-Windspeaker Radio: CJWE 88.1FM in Calgary and CFWE 98.5FM in Edmonton
TV:
Sportsnet
Webcast:
WHL Live at whllive.com
STREAKS
- Five Hitmen saw their point scoring streaks come to an end with last night's loss to Brandon. A four game run for Mark Kastelic (3g, 5a) was halted while three-game streaks for Riley Stotts (3g, 4a) and Josh Prokop (2g, 2a) along with two-game streaks for Dakota Krebs (2g) and Riley Fiddler-Schultz (1g, 1a) were also snapped.
NOTEWORTHY
VS. RED DEER: Today is the fifth of eight regular season meetings between the two clubs. Calgary is 3-0-1 against their Alberta rivals. Riley Stotts (7g, 3a) leads the Hitmen attack against the Rebels with 10 points. Mark Kastelic (2g, 4a) is next with six while Jett Woo (5a) has five. Cameron Hausinger (1g, 1a), Joel Sexsmith (1g, 1a), Josh Tarzwell (1g, 1a) and the departed Dawson Barteaux (1g, 1a) and Brett Davis (2a) are the top-performers for Red Deer with two points each. Calgary is 7-4-2-0 in their last 13 home games against the Rebels. Their next meeting is one week from today, on Saturday, Feb. 8 in Red Deer.
2019-20 SERIES RECAP
Sept. 28/19 in RD: CGY 5 RD 1...Calgary snapped a 1-1 tie 11 minutes into the first period.
Dec. 1/19 in CGY: RD 3 CGY 2 OT... Josh Tarzwell netted the game winner 2:13 into the extra session.
Jan. 25/20 in RD: CGY 5 RD 2...The Hitmen built a 4-0 third period lead.
Jan. 26/20 in CGY: CGY 5 RD 2...Riley Stotts recorded four points (2g, 2a).
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 124 RD 86 Power Plays: CGY 4-12 (33.3%) RD 1-20 (5%)
LAST GAME RECAP: Calgary is coming off last night's 4-0 shutout loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Colorado Avalanche prospect Luka Burzan scored a pair of goals and added an assist to lead the visitors. Jiri Patera was solid in the Wheat Kings net making 37 saves, including a breakaway stop on Orca Wiesblatt, to record his fifth shutout of the season. The 20-year-old Vegas Golden Knights prospect now has a .985 save percentage in two starts against Calgary this season. Marcus Sekundiak and Lynden McCallum rounded out the scoring while defenceman Chad Nychuk added a pair of assists. Brandon outshot Calgary 42-37
ALUMNUS OF THE GAME: This 25h anniversary season, the Hitmen in partnership with Adrenalin Source for Sports, are honouring an alumnus at each home game. Today's alumnus, Brent Dodginghorse spent two seasons with the Hitmen from 1997-1999 appearing in 103 games. During that time he notched 81 points (27g, 54a) and recorded 231 penalty minutes. He also tallied 33 playoff points (12g, 21a) in 33 games helping the Hitmen win their first Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL Champions in 1999.
FAST FACTS: Calgary is 13-9-3-0 against the Central Division...January was the busiest month of the season for the Hitmen with 14 games. They will play 12 in February and nine games in March.
JANUARY RECAP: Riley Stotts led all Hitmen last month with 15 points (6g, 9a) in 14 games. Mark Kastelic (6g, 8a) was next with 14 points while Jett Woo (12a) tallied 12. Kastelic was also the plus/minus leader at +11.
POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet Hitmen mascot Farley the Fox after today's game. He will be signing autographs at the Hitmen Booster Club table located behind section 212.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: Calgary is 14-8-1-1 at home, grabbing points in 11 of their last 15 games while posting a 9-4-1-1 record at the 'Dome. Red Deer is 8-14-1-0 on the road.
DRAFT WATCH: NHL Central Scouting named two Hitmen players to its midterm rankings list ahead of the 2020 NHL Draft. Defenceman Luke Prokop makes the list at number 86 among North American skaters while goaltender Jack McNaughton is ranked 14th among North American goalies.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Kyle Olson (lower body, week-to-week), Egor Zamula (upper body, 3-to-4 months). Total man-games lost: 123
HITMEN MONTH-BY-MONTH: September (3-0-1-0), October (5-3-0-0), November (6-4-1-1), December (3-4-2-0), January (9-5-0-0).
HITMEN ALUMNUS: Kris Foucault is playing pro hockey in Germany with Ingolstadt ERC. The 29-year-old forward has 33 points (12g, 21a) in 42 games. Foucault spent two and a half seasons with the Hitmen from 2009-11 recording 107 points (56g, 51a) in 155 games. He was also named the Eastern Conference Playoff MVP in 2009 after racking up 10 goals in 10 games. A year later, Foucault recorded 16 points in 23 post season games helping the Hitmen win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as Western Hockey League Champions in 2010.
PROSPECT PROFILE: Billal Noori, Calgary's fourth-round pick, 79th overall, in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft is having a great season. The 15-year-old, playing for the Northern Alberta Elite 15s in the CSSHL, has tallied 45 points (22g, 23a) in 26 games. Noori has also played six games of Midget Prep with the Northern Alberta X-Treme notching five points (4g, 1a).
UPCOMING GAMES
All times MT. Schedule subject to change.
Date Opponent Time Broadcast
Fri., Feb. 7 vs. PA 7:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Sat., Feb. 8 at RD 7:00 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Sun., Feb. 9 vs. LET 4:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Wed., Feb. 12 vs. REG 7:00 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Sat., Feb. 15 at PG 8:00 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations. Upcoming home game highlights include:
- 'Every Child Matters' on Feb. 1 vs. RD presented by Siksika Health Services in partnership with Siksika Child & Family Services and First Nations Health Consortium.
- Feb. 7 vs. PA presented by Canada Life.
- Sunday Funday, presented by Ricky's All Day Grill on Feb. 9 vs. LET.
- TELUS BE BRAVE #EndBullying Game on Feb. 27 vs. WPG.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
- Riley Stotts is one assist away from 100.
- Mark Kastelic is one point behind Ryan Getzlaf for 10th spot on the clubs all-time points list. Getzlaf tallied 215. Kastelic eclipsed 100 career assists on Sunday against Red Deer.
- Jack McNaughton is 54 saves behind Cody Porter for ninth place on the clubs all-time saves list. Porter has 1,734.
Western Hockey League Stories from February 1, 2020
- Special Teams Struggles Cost Broncos against Raiders - Swift Current Broncos
- Royals Storm Past Warriors - Victoria Royals
- Three-Goal Second Period Paces Raiders to Win in Swift Current - Prince Albert Raiders
- Weekend Ends with Loss to the Royals - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Rebels Fail on Both Sides of the Puck in Shutout Loss to Hitmen - Red Deer Rebels
- Hitmen Throw Shutout at Rebels, 5-0 - Calgary Hitmen
- Gameday Hub: February 1st - Saskatoon Blades
- ICE Look for a Big Road Win in Edmonton - Winnipeg Ice
- Game 49 vs Brandon - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Saturday, February 1 vs. Red Deer - Calgary Hitmen
- Wheat Kings Blank Hitmen - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Game Day Hub: February 1 - Portland Winterhawks
- Silvertips Edge Red-Hot Winterhawks, 4-3 - Everett Silvertips
- Cougars Pounce on Tri-City, 5-1 - Prince George Cougars
- Rockets fall to Chiefs - Kelowna Rockets
- Florchuk's OT Heroics Help the Giants Defeat the Blazers 5-4 - Vancouver Giants
- Americans Unable to Hold off Cougars in 5-1 Loss - Tri-City Americans
- Rebels Slip Past Ice in Another Nail-Biter - Red Deer Rebels
- Portland Battles Hard in Everett, But Falls 4-3 - Portland Winterhawks
- Chiefs Start Hot and Finish Strong in 7-3 Win at Kelowna - Spokane Chiefs
- Scoring Silent in Setback to Brandon - Calgary Hitmen
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