WHL Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Saturday, February 20 vs Lethbridge

Published on February 20, 2016 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN (33-22-1-2, 69 pts.) vs LETHBRIDGE HURRICANES (40-18-1-0, 81 pts.)

Saturday, February 20, 2016 - 7:00 p.m. - Scotiabank Saddledome

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen return to the Scotiabank Saddledome for the first of two back-to-back home games. Tonight the Lethbridge Hurricanes are in town for Hometown Heroes presented by Metro News. The game will honour first responders along with Canadian Armed Forces, Alberta Sheriffs, Alberta Correctional Services, Alberta Health Services and Calgary 911. The Hitmen opened the busy weekend last night on road, falling 3-2 to the Medicine Hat Tigers. Trailing 2-1 heading to the third period, the Tigers tied the game on Mason Shaw's 14th goal of the season then took the lead when Chad Butcher scored on a shorthanded breakaway. Radel Fazleev, with his 17th goal, and Jakob Stukel, with his 27th, scored for Calgary who outshot Medicine Hat 50-30. Calgary Flames prospect Nick Schneider made 48 saves, in a first-star performance, to end the Tigers' eight-game losing streak. The Hitmen, at 69 points, are third in the WHL's Central Division, four points behind Red Deer but with a game in hand on the Rebels. Lethbridge, at 81 points, has secured a playoff berth for the first time in seven seasons.

HITMEN BROADCAST INFORMATION

Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com

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STREAKS

- Travis Sanheim (1g, 6a) is on a five-game point streak and has points (3g, 24a) in 19 of his last 20 games and assists (14a) in 10 straight home games.

- Radel Fazleev (1g, 4a) and Jakob Stukel (1g, 1a) both have points in back-to-back games.

- Jake Bean (4g, 4a) saw his five-game point streak end last night in Medicine Hat while three-game point streaks for Carsen Twarynski (4g, 1a) and Matteo Gennaro (2g, 1a) and a two-game point streak for Jordy Stallard (1g, 1a) also ended.

NOTEWORTHY

VS LETHBRIDGE: Tonight is the sixth and final regular season meeting between the two teams. Lethbridge leads the season series 3-2 but has been outscored by Calgary by a combined 21-20. Jake Bean (2g, 6a) tops the Hitmen with eight points against the Hurricanes while Pavel Karnaukhov (4g, 2a) and Jakob Stukel (2g, 4a) both have six points. Andrew Nielsen (1g, 8a) leads the "Canes in the season series with nine points. Brayden Burke (2g, 4a) is next with six. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 20-7-1-1 against the Hurricanes including an 11-3 record when playing at home.

2015-16 REGULAR SEASON SERIES RECAP

- Dec. 2/15 at LET: LET 6 CAL 4 ... The "Canes break a 4-4 tie, scoring twice in the third period.

- Dec. 30/15 at CAL: CAL 6 LET 4 ... The Hitmen erased deficits of 1-0, 3-1 and 4-2.

- Jan. 2/16 at LET: LET 4 CAL 3 ... Andrew Nielsen had three assists to lead the Hurricanes.

- Feb. 14/16 at CAL: LET 4 CAL 2 ... The Hurricanes erased a 2-1 second period deficit.

- Feb. 17/16 at LET: CAL 6 LET 2 ... Jake Bean and Travis Sanheim both had a goal and two assists.

INSIDE THE SERIES

- Shots on Goal: CAL 166 LET 125

- Power Plays: CAL 5-28 (17.8%) LET 7-28 (25%)

HERE WE GO: Tonight marks the second game of a three-in-three stretch for the Hitmen. It's also Game 3 in a span that sees the Hitmen play seven games in 11 nights.

PLAYOFFS IN SIGHT: Calgary's current magic number to clinch a post-season berth is nine points. Any combination of points either gained by the Hitmen or lost by Swift Current totaling nine would lock up a playoff spot for Calgary.

ELITE COMPANY: Jake Bean netted his 20th goal of the season on Feb. 8 in Kamloops, becoming the first defenceman to record 20 or more goals in a WHL season since the 2013-14 campaign. That season Josh Morrissey (28), Ryan Pulock (23), Shea Theodore (22) and Madison Bowey (21) were all members of the 20-goal club. Bean now has 22 goals. The Hitmen franchise record for most goals by a defenceman in a single season is 23, set by Paul Postma in 2008-09.

WHAT'S LEFT: Including tonight, Calgary has 14 regular season games remaining; nine at home and five on the road.

TEAM ATTACK: Nine Hitmen have scored 11 or more goals this season. Ten Hitmen have picked up 20 or more points.

RECORD BOOKS: Earlier this season, Travis Sanheim set a new franchise record for the longest assist streak by a defenceman at 14 games. The previous mark of eight was established by Matt Kinch from Nov. 21 to Dec. 10, 1999. Sanheim enters tonight's game with 114 career assists, 13th on the club's all-time regular season assist list. Greg Chase owns 12th spot with 117. The franchise leader is Brad Moran who had 246 career helpers.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Calgary's power play is ninth in the WHL at 21.3%. Only Lethbridge (69) and Victoria (58) have scored more power play goals than Calgary's 57 this season. The Hitmen penalty kill is fifth in the league at 82.2%.

PUTTING TEAMS AWAY: The Hitmen are 20-2-0-1 this season when leading after 40 minutes.

POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet Hitmen forward Andrew Fyten following tonight's game at the Hitmen Booster Club table located behind section 212 on the concourse.

NHL DRAFT WATCH: Six Hitmen are among the top players available for the 2016 NHL Draft. The midterm rankings list is compiled by NHL Central Scouting Service and splits prospects into both North American (NA) and International categories. There are five Hitmen among North American skaters, including Jake Bean who is the top-ranked Western Hockey League prospect at number 13. Teammates Jordy Stallard (84th), Carsen Twarynski (95th), Jakob Stukel (113th) and Beck Malenstyn (124th) round out the skaters list. Cody Porter also earned a spot in the rankings among North American goalies at number 18. The 2016 NHL Draft will be held at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York on June 24-25.

HITMEN VS: (BDN 3-1), (EDM 2-2), (EVT 1-0), (KAM 1-1), (KEL 0-1-0-1), (KTN 5-0), (LET 2-3), (MH 1-3), (MJ 0-4), (POR 0-0), (PA 3-1), (PG 1-2), (RD 3-0-0-1), (REG 3-0-1-0), (SAS 3-0), (SEA 1-0), (SPO 0-1), (SC 2-1), (TC 1-0), (VAN 1-1), (VIC 0-1).

TEETER TOTTER: Calgary has been in a series of several runs this season. They started the 2015-16 schedule 5-1-0-1 before going 4-9-0-0 in their next 13 games. They then went on a major roll, posting a mark of 16-3-1-0, followed by a 2-5-0-0 stretch but are 6-4-0-1 since.

RACE FOR THE TOP: It would appear the Hitmen team scoring title will go down to the wire this season as four players are within 11 points of each other; Radel Fazleev (57), Jake Bean (53), Travis Sanheim (49) and Jakob Stukel (46).

FRANCHISE HISTORY: The Hitmen are in their 21st season in the WHL. During that time, 329 players have worn the Hitmen jersey.

BIG STAGE: Hitmen defenceman Jake Bean played for Team Orr at the 2016 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Jan. 28 in Vancouver. He also served as alternate captain. During the Jan. 27 Sport Testing Combine Bean finished third overall in on-ice testing tests which included forward and backwards sprints, reaction, weave agility, and transition agility each performed with and without the puck. With the addition of Bean, a CHL-high 27 Hitmen players have participated at this event since 1996 including 16 who have gone on to play in the NHL.

WHL COUNTDOWN: To celebrate 50 seasons, the Western Hockey League is counting down its Top 50 Players of All-Time, as voted by fans. So far, two former Hitmen have made the list in Pavel Brendl (No. 45) and Brad Moran (No. 38).

BIG SCREEN MOMENT: Calgary Hitmen assistant coach Joel Otto will be recognized this weekend at the 2016 NHL Stadium Series in Minneapolis. He's being honoured among the Top Minnesota-born Scorers, both past and present. Otto comes in at number 10 with 508 career NHL points (195g, 313a).

PROMO CALENDAR

Hitmen single game tickets are on sale now. Upcoming home game highlights include:

- Multicultural Night on Sunday, Mar. 6 against Red Deer

- The North-South Shrine Hockey Challenge on Saturday, Mar. 12 against Edmonton

- Fan Appreciation Day, including a pre-game on-ice player awards ceremony, on Sunday, Mar. 20 versus Kootenay

MILESTONES

- Taylor Sanheim hit 100 career games played last night in Medicine Hat while Jackson Houck is one game away from 300.

- Cody Porter is 12 minutes played away from 4,000.

- Nik Amundrud reached 1,500 career saves yesterday in Medicine Hat.

- Micheal Zipp is one point shy of 50 while Carsen Twarynski passed the 50-point plateau on Feb. 12 against Red Deer.

- Keegan Kanzig played his 300th career game on Feb.6 in Kelowna.

- Jake Bean hit the century mark in games played on Feb. 3 in Victoria.

Check out the Calgary Hitmen Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 20, 2016


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