WHL Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Sunday, February 14 vs Lethbridge

Published on February 14, 2016 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN (32-20-1-2, 67 pts.) vs LETHBRIDGE HURRICANES (39-16-1-0, 79 pts.)

Sunday, February 14, 2016 - 4:00 p.m. - Scotiabank Saddledome

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen wrap up a two-game homestand this afternoon against the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Co-op Family Game, part of Sunday Funday presented by Booster Juice and McKnight 24 Hour Veterinary Hospital. The day features face painters and a post-game family skate. All participants under 18 are required to wear a helmet. A special kids ticket price of $7.50 (plus applicable fees) for children 12 and under is available for Sunday home games. Fans are also encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item for the Calgary Food Bank. The Hitmen are coming off Friday's 4-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. Carsen Twarynski netted his first career Western Hockey League hat-trick while Jake Bean broke a 1-1 third period tie, scoring with less than eight minutes remaining. Goaltender Cody Porter picked up his team-leading 20th win of the season, stopping 29 shots as Calgary outshot Red Deer 41-30. The Hitmen, at 67 points, are third in the WHL's Central Division, six points behind the Rebels. The Hurricanes lead the division and the Eastern Conference with 79 points. Calgary has a game in hand on both the "Canes and Rebels.

HITMEN BROADCAST INFORMATION

Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com

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STREAKS

- Jake Bean (3g) has goals in three consecutive games, the longest goal scoring streak of his career.

- Radel Fazleev (1g, 2a) has points in back to back games.

- Colby Harmsworth (3a) has points in three of his last four games.

- Travis Sanheim (2g, 20a) has points in 16 of his last 17 games and assists (13a) in nine straight home games.

NOTEWORTHY

VS LETHBRIDGE: Today is the fourth of six regular season meetings between Calgary and Lethbridge with the home team winning all three games so far. Pavel Karnaukhov (3g, 2a) and Jakob Stukel (2g, 3a) top the Hitmen with five points each against the Hurricanes while Keegan Kanzig (3g), Jake Bean (1g, 2a) and Jackson Houck (3a) have three points. Andrew Nielsen (6a) leads the "Canes in the season series with six points with Giorgio Estephan (3g, 1a) and Justin Gutierrez (1g, 3a) next with four points. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 19-6-1-1 against the Hurricanes including an 11-2 record at the "Dome. The two teams will meet again Wednesday in Lethbridge.

2015-16 REGULAR SEASON SERIES RECAP

Dec. 2/15 at LET: LET 6 CAL 4...Tied 4-4 after 40 minutes, the "Canes scored twice in the third.

Dec. 30/15 at CAL: CAL 6 LET 4...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

INSIDE THE SERIES

Shots on Goal: CAL 107 LET 75 Power Plays: CAL 3-18 (16.7%) LET 3-14 (21.4%)

SHOT CLOCK: The Hitmen have outshot their opponents in 18 of their last 19 games and have fired at least 29 shots on goal in all 19 contests.

ODD SCHEDULE: Starting today, Calgary's next five games are against only two opponents; vs. Lethbridge, at Lethbridge, at Medicine Hat, vs. Lethbridge and vs. Medicine Hat.

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.

ELITE COMPANY: Jake Bean netted his 20th goal of the season Monday 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 21 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 today, of Calgary's 17 remaining regular season games nine are at home and eight are 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 today's game with 110 career assists, two ahead of Borys Protsenko for 13th spot on the clubs all-time regular season assist list. Greg Chase owns 12th spot with 117. The franchise leader is Brad Moran who had 246 career helpers.

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

SPECIAL TEAMS: Calgary's power play is ninth in the WHL at 21.3%. Only Lethbridge (64) and Victoria (56) have scored more powerplay goals than Calgary's 54 this season. The Hitmen penalty kill, which is 15 for its last 15, is fifth in the league at 83.0%.

PUTTING TEAMS AWAY: The Hitmen are 19-1-0-1 this season when leading after 40 minutes.

OLYMPIC OPPORTUNITY: Hitmen prospect Tristen Nielsen, a 2015 first-round WHL Bantam Draft pick, is representing Canada in ice hockey at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games. Canada dropped their opener 4-3 to Russia on Saturday and Nielsen was held off the scoresheet. The games, which continue until February 21, are taking place in Lillehammer, Norway. Nielsen and Team Canada return to the ice Monday against Finland.

DYNAMIC DUO: Calgary has two of the top 10 scoring defencemen in the WHL in Jake Bean and Travis Sanheim. Bean (21g, 27a) has 48 points to sit tied for fifth among defenceman while Sanheim's (8g, 36a) 44 points place him tied for seventh. Bean's career-high 21 goals and nine power play goals both lead the league.

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 5-2-0-1 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 eight points of each other; Radel Fazleev 52pts, Jake Bean 48pts, Jakob Stukel 44pts and Travis Sanheim 44pts.

PROMO CALENDAR

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

- 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

- Taylor Sanheim is three games shy of 100 while Jackson Houck is four games away from 300.

- Cody Porter is 64 minutes played away from 4,000.

- Nik Amundrud needs to make 43 saves to reach 1,500.

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

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

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

Check out the Calgary Hitmen Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 14, 2016


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