Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Saturday, February 15 at Prince George
Published on February 15, 2020 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (29-18-4-1, 63 pts.) at PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS (16-28-3-4, 39 pts.)
Saturday, February 15, 2020 - 8:00 p.m. MT - CN Centre
TODAY'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen open a five-game B.C. Division road trip tonight in Prince George against the Cougars. The Hitmen are coming off Wednesday's 8-1 win over Regina. Ottawa Senators prospect Mark Kastelic netted a career-high four goals and added an assist as Calgary scored early and often. Kastelic's first of the night came just 10 seconds into the opening frame helping the Hitmen jump out to a 4-0 lead before the period was 10 minutes old. Kyle Olson also turned in a memorable performance for the home side scoring a pair of goals and adding two assists for his first points with the Hitmen. Carson Focht (2g, 1a) and Luke Prokop (3a) recorded three points each for Calgary while Riley Stotts and Orca Wiesblatt both chipped in a pair of assists. Cole Dubinsky provided the lone goal for the Pats who were outshot 38-14. Goaltender Brayden Peters picked up the win making 13 saves while Danton Belluk and Donovan Buskey combined to make 30 stops for Regina. Calgary, at 63 points, holds the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference sitting four points up on the Saskatoon Blades. The Blades are in Swift Current tonight.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Webcast: WHL Live at whllive.com
STREAKS
- Eight Hitmen have points in back-to-back games heading into tonight;
- Mark Kastelic (6g, 1a), Riley Stotts (4a), Luke Prokop (4a), Carson Focht (3g, 1a), Josh Prokop (3a), Orca Wiesblatt (3a), Jett Woo (1g, 1a) and Jackson van de Leest (2a).
NOTEWORTHY
VS. PRINCE GEORGE: Tonight is the first and only regular season meeting between the Hitmen and Cougars. They met only once last season as well with Calgary posting a 4-1 win in Alberta. This is only Calgary's second trip to Prince George since a doubleheader at CN Centre in October of 2015. Their previous visit was on October 10, 2017 in a 7-1 loss. Over the last five seasons, the Hitmen are 3-2 against the Cougars.
2018-19 SERIES RECAP
Jan. 25/19 in CGY: CGY 4 PG 1...Luke Coleman (1g, 1a) and Dakota Krebs (2a) notched two points each.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 49 PG 36 Power Plays: CGY 1-6 (16.7%) PG 0-4 (8.3%)
FAST FACTS: Tonight's game in Prince George is Calgary's first against a B.C. Division opponent this season... The Hitmen are +344 in Shots For/Shots Against differential...Calgary has outshot their opponents 37 times this season, that equates to 71.1 percent through 52 games... Jett Woo (4g, 15a) leads the Hitmen in power play points with 19.
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.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: Calgary is 12-9-3-0 on the road, posting a 2-1 record in their last three games away from the 'Dome. Prince George is 10-13-1-2 at home, winners of four of their last five games at CN Centre.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Andrew Viggars (upper body, indefinite), Egor Zamula (upper body, 3-to-4 months). Total man-games lost: 132
HOMECOMING: Hitmen Assistant Coach and Goaltending Coach Jason LaBarbera is a member of the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame. He grew up playing goal in the Prince George Minor Hockey Association and was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2014.
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), February (3-2-0-0).
THE POWER OF THREE: The Hitmen are 28-7-2-0 when holding the opposition to three goals or less. Conversely, Calgary is 1-11-2-1 when giving up four or more goals.
HITMEN ALUMNUS: Justin Pogge, who played parts of two seasons with the Hitmen from 2004-05 to 2005-06, is playing pro hockey in Germany. The 33-year-old goaltender is 6-3 with a 2.00 goals against average and .910 save percentage with the Berlin Polar Bears. Pogge owns two Hitmen franchise records. One for best career goals against average at 1.92 and the second for top save percentage at .922.
ONE YEAR AGO: Calgary is four points ahead of their start through 52 games last season when they owned a record of 27-20-4-1.
HITMEN VS: (BDN 1-2), (EDM 3-5), (EVT 0-1), (KAM 0-0), (KEL 0-0), (LET 2-3-1-0), (MH 3-2), (MJ 4-0), (POR 1-0), (PA 2-0-1-0), (PG 0-0), (RD 4-1-1-0), (REG 4-0), (SAS 1-2), (SEA 0-1), (SPO 0-0), (SC 2-0-1-0), (TC 0-0-0-1), (VAN 0-0), (VIC 0-0), WPG (2-1).
HITMEN PLEDGE: The countdown is on to the end of 'The Hitmen Pledge powered by ENMAX' where one lucky participant will win $25,000 for a charity of their choice. This community initiative, happening during the 25th anniversary season of Hitmen hockey, aims to raise 25,000 hours of service for Calgary and surrounding area with over 11,000 volunteer hours recorded thus far. For every 25 hours donated, volunteers receive one entry to the $25,000 draw to then gift to a registered Southern Alberta charity. The winner's name will be selected on Sunday, March 22, 2020 during the Hitmen regular season finale against Swift Current. All volunteer hours donated between the September 27, 2019 launch and pledge submission deadline of March 15, 2020 are eligible to be entered. Full details can be found at https://hitmenhockey.com/pledge.
WHAT'S LEFT: Counting tonight, of Calgary's 16 remaining regular season games, six are at home and 10 on the road.
FOREVER A HITMEN: The Hitmen will honour Kelly Kisio for the outstanding contributions he has made to the organization as an executive and coach on Sunday, March 1, when a 'Forever A Hitmen' banner for Kisio will be raised and remain on permanent display at Scotiabank Saddledome. The pre-game ceremony ahead of the Hitmen and Hurricanes game at 4:00 p.m. will enshrine Kisio as the third inductee in the 'Forever A Hitmen' program. He'll join Ryan Getzlaf who was recognized on January 18, 2015 and Andrew Ladd who was honoured on March 8, 2017.
AUCTION ALERT: In their 25th season in the Western Hockey League, the Calgary Hitmen are excited to offer fans an opportunity to own a piece of franchise history. Authentic game-worn and game-issued 25th anniversary jerseys are now available for bid at elevateauctions.com/25thAnniversary. This set of jerseys, worn in 11 games from September 27, 2019 to January 12, 2020, will be the only anniversary set auctioned as the current roster players will receive their own jersey worn in games from January 25, 2020 to March 22, 2020. Bidding closes on Monday, March 2 at 8:00 p.m. MT. Be part of celebrating the team's milestone and own one of these unique commemorative uniforms.
UPCOMING GAMES
All times MT. Schedule subject to change.
Date Opponent Time Broadcast
Mon., Feb. 17 at KEL 3:05 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Wed., Feb. 19 at VIC 8:05 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Fri., Feb. 21 at VAN 8:30 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Sat., Feb. 22 at KAM 8:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Thurs., Feb. 27 vs. WPG 11:00 AM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations. Upcoming home game highlights include:
- TELUS BE BRAVE #EndBullying Game on Feb. 27 vs. WPG.
- One Ticket, One Tree on Feb. 28 vs. BDN.
- 'Forever A Hitmen' induction of Kelly Kisio on Mar. 1 vs. LET.
- Multicultural Night on Mar. 7 vs. SPO
- WHL Suits Up to Promote Organ Donation presented by RE/MAX on Mar. 15 vs. RD.
- Fan Appreciation presented by Vision Travel on Mar. 22 vs. SC.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
- Jett Woo and Carson Focht are both one point away from 150 while Focht played career game 250 on Wednesday against Regina.
- Connor Gabruch is two games shy of 100.
- Dakota Krebs is four games away from 300.
- Mark Kastelic is one point behind Brady Brassart for ninth place on the clubs all-time points list. Kastelic has 221 and Brassart 222.
- Jack McNaughton is 25 saves behind Cody Porter for ninth place on the clubs all-time saves list. Porter has 1,734.
- Jackson van de Leest needs one point for 50.
Western Hockey League Stories from February 15, 2020
- Saskatoon Scores Six to Seal Victory in Swift - Saskatoon Blades
- Game Day Hub: February 15 - Portland Winterhawks
- ICE Battle Hurricanes on Back-To-Back Nights - Winnipeg Ice
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Saturday, February 15 at Prince George - Calgary Hitmen
- Game 54 at Edmonton - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Silvertips Outlast Seattle, 2-1 - Everett Silvertips
- Sasha Mutala Hat Trick Leads Ams to Dramatic 5-4 Victory over Warriors - Tri-City Americans
- Oil Kings See Home Point-Streak Snapped at 16 with Loss to Pats - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Giants Earn Their Eighth Straight Victory, a 5-2 Win over Victoria - Vancouver Giants
- Royals Toppled by Giants - Victoria Royals
- Another Third Period Lapse Proves Costly for Rebels - Red Deer Rebels
- Portland Cruises to Victory against Spokane - Portland Winterhawks
- T-Birds Drop Close Game to Tips - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Warriors Dealt Narrow Loss to Tri-City - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Wheat Kings Double up Blades - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Streak Snapped as Winterhawks Defeat Chiefs, 4-1 - Spokane Chiefs
- Blades Comeback Falls Short in Brandon - Saskatoon Blades
- Hurricanes Edge ICE, 5-4 - Winnipeg Ice
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
