Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Saturday, February 6 at Kelowna
February 6, 2016 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (31-19-1-1, 64 pts.) at KELOWNA ROCKETS (35-14-3-0, 73 pts.)
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016 - 8:05 p.m. MT - Prospera Place
TODAY'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen play game three of a four-game BC road trip tonight against the Kelowna Rockets. The Hitmen are 1-1 on the trip and coming off last night's 3-2 overtime win over the Vancouver Giants. Radel Fazleev netted the winner on a breakaway and added two assists. Jackson Houck scored twice against his former team to round out the scoring attack. Jordy Stallard paced the Hitmen with five shots on goal while Houck, Pavel Karnaukhov and Tyler Mrkonjic all had four. Calgary outshot the Giants 34-30 with Cody Porter making 28 saves in the victory. The Hitmen, at 64 points, are third in the WHL's Central Division, five points behind the Red Deer Rebels. Kelowna leads the Western Conference with 73 points, just two points ahead of the Victoria Royals however the Rockets have a game in hand.
HITMEN BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com
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STREAKS
- Travis Sanheim (2g, 18a) has points in a career-high 14 straight contests. His 14-game assist streak is the longest in the league this season.
- Jackson Houck (5g, 1a) has scored in three straight games and has eight goals in his last five games.
- Cody Porter has won his last two starts, posting a 2.46 goals against average and a .914 save percentage.
NOTEWORTHY
VS. KELOWNA: Tonight is the second and final regular season meeting between the two teams this season. Kelowna blanked the Hitmen back in October in their first meeting. Over the last five seasons, the Hitmen are 7-3 against the Rockets including a 4-1 record in Kelowna.
2015-16 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 24/15 at KEL: KEL 3 CAL 0...Tyson Baillie had two assists to lead the Rockets.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CAL 26 KEL 26 Power Plays: CAL 0-6 (0%) KEL 1-2 (50%)
SHOT CLOCK: The Hitmen have outshot their opponents in 15 of their last 16 games and have fired at least 29 shots on goal in all 16 contests.
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.
BATTLE OF THE ELITE: Tonight's contest features two of the top 10 teams in the WHL. The Rockets are number two in the overall standings while Calgary is tied for eighth with Prince Albert.
WHAT'S LEFT: Including tonight, of Calgary's 20 remaining regular season games 11 are at home and nine are on the road.
TEAM ATTACK: Nine Hitmen have scored 10 or more goals this season while 10 Hitmen have picked up 20 or more points.
BIG STAGE: Hitmen defenceman Jake Bean played for Team Orr at the 2016 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Thursday in Vancouver. He also served as alternate captain. During Wednesday's 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.
SET UP MAN: Travis Sanheim enters tonight's game with 108 career assists, tied for 13th spot on the clubs all-time regular season assist list with Boris Protsenko. The franchise leader is Brad Moran who had 246 helpers.
PUTTING TEAMS AWAY: The Hitmen are 19-1 this season when leading after 40 minutes.
OLYMPIC OPPORTUNITY: Hitmen prospect Tristen Nielsen, a 2015 first-round WHL Bantam Draft pick, will represent Canada in ice hockey at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games, set for February 12-21 in Lillehammer, Norway. He is one of nine forwards and 17 players named to the team.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Calgary's powerplay is fifth in the WHL at 21.9%. Only the Lethbridge Hurricanes at 60 have scored more powerplay goals than Calgary's 53 this season. The Hitmen penalty kill, which has surrendered 41 goals, is also fifth in the league at 82.5%.
HITMEN VS: (BDN 3-1), (EDM 2-2), (EVT 1-0), (KAM 1-0), (KEL 0-1), (KTN 5-0), (LET 1-2), (MH 1-2), (MJ 0-4), (POR 0-0), (PA 3-1), (PG 1-2), (RD 2-0-0-1), (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).
DYNAMIC DUO: Calgary has two of the top 10 scoring defencemen in the WHL in Jake Bean and Travis Sanheim. Bean (18g, 27a) has 45 points to sit tied for fifth among defenceman while Sanheim's (8g, 34a) 42 points place him eighth. Bean's career-high 18 goals lead the league while his eight power play goals share the lead among all blueliners.
TEETER TOTTER: Calgary has been in a series off 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 4-1-0-0 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 seven points of each other; Radel Fazleev 49pts, Jake Bean 45pts, Jakob Stukel 43pts and Travis Sanheim 42pts.
BUSY FEBRUARY: The Hitmen play 13 games this month. Those 13 contests are spread out over 25 days
FRANCHISE HISTORY: The Hitmen are in their 21st season in the WHL. During that time 329 players have worn the Hitmen jersey.
ALUMNI WATCH: Pavel Brendl, who played three seasons with the Hitmen (1998-99 to 2000-01), is in Slovak Extraliga, the highest level of hockey in Slovakia. The 34-year-old left winger has 29 points (19g, 10a) in 46 games with Skalica HK 36. Brendl played 178 career regular season games in Calgary recording 320 points (172, 148a).
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale now. Upcoming home game highlights include:
- Lunar Celebration with post-game fireworks on Friday, Feb. 12 versus Red Deer
- Co-op Family Day on Sunday, Feb. 14 against Lethbridge
- Hometown Heroes on Saturday, Feb. 20 against Lethbridge
- Multicultural Night on Sunday, Mar. 6 against Red Deer
- Fan Appreciation Day, including a pre-game on-ice player awards ceremony, on Sunday, Mar. 20 versus Kootenay
MILESTONES
- Keegan Kanzig is one game shy of 300.
- Micheal Zipp and Carsen Twarynski are both one point away from 50.
- Jake Bean hit the century mark in games played Wednesday in Victoria.
- Jackson Houck passed the 100 goal plateau on Jan. 31 against Brandon.
Western Hockey League Stories from February 6, 2016
- Hitmen lose to Rockets - Calgary Hitmen
- Tips Take Down T-Birds - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Kelowna wins in Shootout - Kelowna Rockets
- Blazers Lose 4-0 At Home - Kamloops Blazers
- Wheat Kings Slam Tigers - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Rockets Come Back and Beat Calgary 3-2 in a Shootout - Kelowna Rockets
- Winterhawks Fall 3-1 to Victoria Saturday - Portland Winterhawks
- Goals Still A Struggle Against Broncos - Saskatoon Blades
- Spacek with the Winner; Rebels Edge Moose Jaw 4-3 in OT - Red Deer Rebels
- Regina wins over Cougars - Regina Pats
- Oil Kings Blank Blazers 4-0 - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Fans Elect Barnes, Whitney, Tucker, Keith, Ronning as Five of Top 50 WHL Players of All-Time - WHL
- Game Day: Saturday Night Hockey as Rockets Host Hitmen - Kelowna Rockets
- Game Notes: Broncos Battle Blades - Swift Current Broncos
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Saturday, February 6 at Kelowna - Calgary Hitmen
- Late Push Falls Short in 4-3 Loss - Kamloops Blazers
- Wheat Kings Bounce Cougars - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Game 54: February 6 vs. Brandon - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Everett wins over Blazers - Everett Silvertips
- Royals Clip Americans in Shootout - Victoria Royals
- Hitmen Edge Giants in OT - Vancouver Giants
- Americans Fall to Royals in Shootout - Tri-City Americans
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