Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Saturday, January 2 at Lethbridge
January 2, 2016 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (25-13-1-1, 52 pts.) at LETHBRIDGE HURRICANES (26-12-0-0, 52 pts.)
Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016 - 7:00 p.m. MT - ENMAX Centre
TONIGHT'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen, winners of three in a row, ring in 2016 on the road tonight in the back half of a home-and-home set against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The Hitmen struck for four unanswered goals en-route to a 6-4 victory over the "Canes at the Scotiabank Saddledome Wednesday night. Jakob Stukel led the way with three points (2g, 1a) while Keegan Kanzig recorded his first career two-goal game. Layne Bensmiller and Jake Bean rounded out the scoring with Jordy Stallard and Pavel Karnaukhov both chipping in a pair of assists. Calgary was 3-9 on the powerplay. Lethbridge went 1-4. The Hitmen are tied for the WHL's Central Division and Eastern Conference lead with the Hurricanes at 52 points.
HITMEN BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com
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STREAKS
- Travis Sanheim (2g, 7a) and Jake Bean (3g, 5a) are both riding six-game point streaks.
- Jordy Stallard (1g, 8a) is on a career high five-game point streak and has points (5g, 10a) in nine of his last 10 games.
- Jakob Stukel (4g, 1a) has scored in three consecutive games and in 11 (16g) of his last 16 games.
- Jackson Houck (2a) and Radel Fazleev (1g, 3a) have points in back-to-back games.
- Taylor Sanheim (2g, 1a) had his three-game point streak halted Wednesday against Lethbridge while Tyler Mrkonjic's (1g, 1a) two-game streak also ended.
NOTEWORTHY
VS LETHBRIDGE: Tonight is the third of six regular season meetings between Calgary and Lethbridge with home team winning both games so far. Jakob Stukel (2g, 2a) tops the Hitmen with four points against the Hurricanes while Keegan Kanzig (3g) and Pavel Karnaukhov (1g, 2a) have two points each. Five "Canes in Giorgio Estephan (2g, 1a), Egor Babenko (1g, 2a), Kord Pankewicz (3a), Justin Gutierrez (1g, 2a) and Andrew Nielsen (3a) all have three points each against the Hitmen. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 19-5-1-1 against the Hurricanes including an 8-3-1-1 record in Lethbridge. The two teams won't meet again until Valentine's Day when the Hitmen host the "Canes on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 4:00 p.m. It will be the start of another home-and-home series with the rematch on Wednesday, Feb. 17 in Lethbridge.
2015-16 REGULAR SEASON SERIES RECAP Dec. 2/15 at LET: LET 6 CAL 4 ... Tied 4-4 after 40 minutes, "Canes scored twice in the third period. Dec. 30/15 at CAL: CAL 6 LET 4 ... Hitmen erased deficits of 1-0, 3-1 and 4-2.
INSIDE THE SERIES Shots on Goal: CAL 74 LET 48 Power Plays: CAL 3-14 (21.4%) LET 3-9 (33.3%)
DECEMBER DATA: Calgary went 9-3 in December (Road 5-2, Home 4-1). Jordy Stallard led all Hitmen with 15 points (5g, 10a) while Jakob Stukel (10g, 4a) and Jake Bean (4g, 10a) tallied 14. Layne Bensmiller and Keegan Kanzig tied for the plus/minus lead at plus-8. Nik Amundrud posted a team-leading 2.28 goals against average and .905 save percentage while Cody Porter led the way with seven wins. Both goalies also posted a shutout.
DIVISIONAL DIET: Today's game against the Hurricanes is last of seven straight contests for Calgary against teams from the Central Division. The Hitmen have a record of 9-5-0-1 against teams from their own division this season. Starting Sunday at home against Brandon, Calgary will play 11 of their next 13 games against teams from outside the Central.
INSIDE THE STREAK: Calgary has picked up 33 of a possible 40 points, going 16-3-1-0 in their last 20 games. They have outscored their opponents by a combined 83-51 while outshooting them 666-503.
ROAD RINKS: The Hitmen have won their last three games away from the Scotiabank Saddledome, outscoring the opposition by a combined 11-2. Jakob Stukel leads the Hitmen with 11 road goals this season followed by Radel Fazleev with nine and Jordy Stallard, Tyler Mrkonjic and Travis Sanheim who all have five. Calgary has played 22 road games this season, second only to Kelowna's 23 for the league lead.
TEETER TOTTER: Calgary has been through a series off three different runs this season. They started the 2015-16 schedule 5-1-0-1 before going 4-9-0-0 in their next 13 games. Since then, they've posted a record of 16-3-1-0.
DOWN BUT NOT OUT: The Hitmen trailed heading to the third period in each of the last two games but came back to win. Kootenay had a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes on Monday before Calgary scored a pair of third period goals in a 3-2 victory. Then on Wednesday, Lethbridge led 4-3 after two periods only to see the Hitmen rally with three goals in the final frame in a 6-4 triumph.
WORLD JUNIORS: Two members of the Hitmen are playing at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. Travis Sanheim is a member of Team Canada while Radel Fazleev is on Team Russia. Through four games Fazleev has two points with a goal and an assist. Sanheim and Fazleev are the 18th and 19th Hitmen to play in the prestigious tournament. The Vancouver Canucks have also loaned former Hitmen forward Jake Virtanen to Team Canada.
HOUCK'S HANDIWORK: Jackson Houck returned to the Hitmen lineup last Sunday against the Kootenay ICE after missing 13 games with an injury. The 20-year-old from North Vancouver, BC has 214 career WHL points including 16 points (4g, 12a) in 12 games since arriving in a late October trade from Vancouver.
STUKEL'S STATS: Since joining the Hitmen as part of a trade with the Vancouver Giants on October 27th, Jakob Stukel has been better than a point-a-game player. In 26 games in Calgary, Stukel has 28 points (21g, 7a). The 18-year-old from Surrey, BC had recorded 24 career points in his first 67 WHL games before arriving in the Stampede City.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Three former Hitmen took part in the 89th Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. Kris Foucault (Hitmen 2009-2011: 107 points) and Team Canada beat Fredrik Pettersson (Hitmen 2005-2007: 93 points) and HC Lugano in the final. Brandon Kozun (Hitmen 2006-2010: 270 points) also suited up for Jokerit Helsinki.
MACS TOURNAMENT: Six Hitmen prospects participated in the 38th annual Mac's AAA Midget World Invitational Hockey Tournament which wrapped up January 1 in Calgary; Markus Boguslavsky, RW - Calgary Flames, Acquired: Fourth round, 68th overall, 2014 WHL Bantam Draft, Jake Davidson, Goaltender - Prince Albert Mintos, Acquired: Fourth round, 77th overall, 2015 WHL Bantam Draft, Parker Smyth, Forward - Red Deer Optimist Chiefs, Acquired: Protected list addition in November 2015, Ben Solomon, Defenceman - Regina Pat Canadians, Acquired: Protected list addition in September 2015, Philip Couture, Goaltender - SSAC Boston Pizza Athletics, Acquired: 10th round, 217th overall, 2014 WHL Bantam, Justyn Gurney, LW - West Valley Hawks, Acquired: Sixth round, 117th overall, 2015 WHL Bantam Draft.
TOP 100 JERSEYS: The Hockey News has released its list of the Top 100 jerseys of all time in the world of hockey. The Calgary Hitmen jersey from the 1995-96 season ranks #22.
HITMEN VS: (BDN 2-0), (EDM 0-2), (EVT 1-0), (KAM 1-0), (KEL 0-1), (KTN 5-0), (LET 1-1), (MH 1-2), (MJ 0-3), (POR 0-0), (PA 2-1), (PG 1-2), (RD 2-0-0-1), (REG 3-0-1-0), (SAS 3-0), (SEA 1-0), (SPO 0-1), (SC 1-0), (TC 1-0), (VAN 0-0), (VIC 0-0).
NHL DRAFT WATCH: Hitmen defenceman Jake Bean, forward Beck Malenstyn and goaltender Cody Porter have all been named to the National Hockey League's Players to Watch list for November in advance of the 2016 NHL Draft. The list, compiled by NHL Central Scouting Service, groups prospects by league and gives each player an individual rating. Bean, one of 49 players from the Western Hockey League on the list, received an "A" ranking which indicates a first-round candidate. Malenstyn and Porter received "C" ratings, indicating a fourth, fifth or sixth-round selection.
POWERING UP: Calgary's power play has scored at least once in each of the last six games going a combined 9-31 (29%).
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale now. Upcoming home game highlights include: - Dodge Skate with the Hitmen on Sunday, Jan. 31 against Brandon - Lunar Celebration with post-game fireworks on Friday, Feb. 12 versus Red Deer - Co-op Family Day on Sunday, Feb. 14 against Lethbridge - Fan Appreciation Day on Sunday, Mar. 20 versus Kootenay
MILESTONES - Travis Sanheim needs three assists to reach 100. - Jackson Houck needs five goals to reach 100. - Micheal Zipp and Keegan Kanzig are both three points shy of 50. Zipp is also three games away from 200. - Jakob Stukel passed the 50 point mark Wednesday against Lethbridge. - Jordy Stallard eclipsed the 50 point mark on Dec. 19 against Medicine Hat. Stallard, along with Beck Malenstyn and Carsen Twarynski, are both six games away from 100. - Bryce Platt scored his first-two career WHL goals Dec. 19 vs. Medicine Hat.
Western Hockey League Stories from January 2, 2016
- Lethbridge Edges Hitmen in First-Place Showdown - Calgary Hitmen
- New Year....New BEEF - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Silvertips Recall Defenseman Montana Onyebuchi from Eastman Selects - Everett Silvertips
- Blazers and 'Tips at the Sandman Centre - Kamloops Blazers
- Game 38: January 2 vs. Edmonton - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Rockets Host Victoria at Prospera Place - Kelowna Rockets
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Saturday, January 2 at Lethbridge - Calgary Hitmen
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