Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Sunday, February 9 vs. Lethbridge
February 9, 2020 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (28-17-4-1, 61 pts.) vs. LETHBRIDGE HURRICANES (32-12-2-5, 71 pts.)
Sunday, February 9, 2020 - 4:00 p.m. MT - Scotiabank Saddledome
TODAY'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen open a two-game homestand this afternoon as they welcome the Lethbridge Hurricanes to Scotiabank Saddledome in a 4:00 p.m. start. It's the Family Game presented by Calgary Co-op. It's also another Sunday Funday for Ricky's All Day Grill featuring face painters, concourse activities, giveaways and a post-game family skate that is FREE with a game ticket. Sunday Funday pricing sees a $9.99 ticket for kids 12 and under and a $15.99 ticket for adults (plus applicable fees and taxes). The Hitmen are coming off last night's 3-0 loss in Red Deer where Ethan Anders made 41 saves for his first shutout of the season. On Friday, Calgary skated to a 2-1 home-ice victory over Prince Albert. The Hitmen, at 61 points, hold the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference sitting four points up on the Saskatoon Blades. Lethbridge, at 71 points, is second in the Central Division.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Webcast: WHL Live at whllive.com
STREAKS
- Riley Stotts (3g, 6a) and Josh Prokop (3g, 3a) both have points in five of their last seven games.
- Riley Fiddler-Schultz (2g, 2a) has points in four of his last six games.
- Goaltender Brayden Peters has won five of his last six starts.
NOTEWORTHY
VS. LETHBRIDGE: Today is the sixth of seven regular season meetings between the two clubs. Calgary is 2-2-1-0 against the 'Canes. Riley Stotts (3g, 5a) leads the Hitmen against Lethbridge with eight points. Mark Kastelic (1g, 4a) is next with five. Logan Barlage (1g, 4a) and Noah Boyko (1g, 4a) are the top Hurricanes performers with five points each. Dino Kambeitz (4g), Justin Hall (3g, 1a) and Alex Thacker (4a) are all next with four. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 10-11-2-0 against Lethbridge. The Central Division rivals will close their season series on Sunday, Mar. 1 again at the 'Dome.
2019-20 REGULAR SEASON SERIES RECAP
Dec. 14/19 at LET: LET 3 CGY 0...Carl Tetachuk 31 save shutout. Logan Barlage tallied 1g, 1a.
Dec. 15/19 at CGY: CGY 5 LET 2...Riley Fiddler-Schultz netted a pair of goals.
Dec. 27/19 at LET: LET 5 CGY 4 OT... Dino Kambeitz scored the winner three minutes into the extra session.
Jan. 4/20 at LET: CGY 2 LET 1 OT...Mark Kastelic netted the winner 18 seconds into extra time.
Jan. 10/20: at CGY: LET 4 CGY 2...The 'Canes scored twice in the final eight minutes to break a 2-2 tie.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 158 LET 130 Power Plays: CGY 6-15 (40%) LET 5-26 (19.2%)
FAST FACTS: Calgary is 14-10-3-0 against the Central Division...The Hitmen are in the midst of three games in three days for the sixth and final time this season...Calgary has outshot their opponents 35 times this season, that equates to 70 percent of the time through 50 games...Riley Stotts (6g, 11a) and Jett Woo (3g, 14a) are tied for the Hitmen lead in power play points with 17 each.
ALUMNUS OF THE GAME: This 25th anniversary season, the Hitmen in partnership with Adrenalin Source for Sports, are honouring an alumnus at each home game. Today's alumnus, Brett O'Malley, spent parts of two seasons with the Hitmen from 2003-05 appearing in 97 games. During that time he notched 38 points (13g, 25a). O'Malley was named the Hitmen Humanitarian of the Year in 2005 and was co-winner of the Coaches Award that same season with Steve Covington.
POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet Hitmen defenceman and Vancouver Canucks prospect Carson Focht after today's game. Focht will be signing autographs at the Hitmen Booster Club table located behind section 212.
JANUARY RECAP: Riley Stotts led all Hitmen last month with 15 points (6g, 9a) in 14 games. Mark Kastelic (6g, 8a) was next with 14 points while Jett Woo (12a) tallied 12. Kastelic was also the plus/minus leader at +11.
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 16-8-1-1 at home, grabbing points in 13 of their last 17 games while posting an 11-4-1-1 record at the 'Dome. Lethbridge is 18-7-0-1 on the road having won two straight and five of their last six games away from ENMAX Centre.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Andrew Viggars (upper body, indefinite), Egor Zamula (upper body, 3-to-4 months). Total man-games lost: 128
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 (2-1-0-0).
THE POWER OF THREE: The Hitmen are 27-7-2-0 when holding the opposition to three goals or less. Conversely, Calgary is 1-10-2-1 when giving up four or more goals.
IN THE COMMUNITY: On Monday, the entire team attended Subway Hang with the Hitmen. Hitmen players led four teams through a series of on and off-ice sessions including warm-ups, cool-downs, skill development, scrimmages and video sessions. The evening closed with a meal from Subway and an autograph session. Participating teams included the Springbank Pee Wee 1 Rockies, Bow River Pee Wee Bruins, Crowfoot Pee Wee Coyotes and Girls Hockey Calgary Jr. Inferno.
PROSPECT PROFILE: The Hitmen selected Brandon Whynott in the second round, 35th overall in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft. Whynott is a 6'1", 161-pound forward from Langley, BC who played Bantam Prep with the Yale Lions last season recording 32 points (17g, 15a) in 30 games. The Lions went on to win the CSSBHL Championship where Whynott added another two points (1g, 1a) in five games. This season the 15-year-old has advanced to Midget Prep with Yale. In 27 games he has 30 points (14g, 16a).
ONE YEAR AGO: Calgary is four points ahead of their start through 50 games last season when they owned a record of 26-19-4-1.
HITMEN VS: (BDN 1-2), (EDM 3-5), (EVT 0-1), (KAM 0-0), (KEL 0-0), (LET 2-2-1-0), (MH 3-2), (MJ 4-0), (POR 1-0), (PA 2-0-1-0), (PG 0-0), (RD 4-1-1-0), (REG 3-0), (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 Hitmen Pledge powered by ENMAX' is here. As part of the 25th anniversary season fans and members of the community are asked to take the pledge and donate 25 volunteer hours to a charitable cause. During the regular season finale, one lucky winner will receive $25,000 to gift to a registered Southern Alberta charity of their choice. Full details can be found at https://hitmenhockey.com/pledge.
UPCOMING GAMES
All times MT. Schedule subject to change.
Date Opponent Time Broadcast
Wed., Feb. 12 vs. REG 7:00 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Sat., Feb. 15 at PG 8:00 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
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)
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations. Upcoming home game highlights include:
- Family Game presented by Calgary Co-op. It's also Sunday Funday, presented by Ricky's All Day Grill on Feb. 9 vs. LET.
- Canadian Mental Health Association Awareness Game and on Feb. 12 vs. REG. It's also RE/MAX Chuck-A-Puck where four lucky participants will win a hot air balloon ride courtesy of RE/MAX.
- 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 is three points shy of 150 while Carson Focht needs five points to hit 150.
- Mark Kastelic is one point behind Ryan Getzlaf for 10th spot on the clubs all-time points list. Getzlaf tallied 215.
- Jack McNaughton is 25 saves behind Cody Porter for ninth place on the clubs all-time saves list. Porter has 1,734.
- Riley Stotts notched career assist 100 in last Sunday's win over Red Deer.
Western Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2020
- Ross Stands Tall to Lead T-Birds to Win over Cougars - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Win Streak Reaches Five as Chiefs Top Tips, 5-3 - Spokane Chiefs
- Giants Continue Winning Ways with a 7-3 Victory over Kamloops - Vancouver Giants
- Hurricanes Hold off Hitmen - Calgary Hitmen
- Robins Notches OT Winner to Complete Weekend Sweep of Warriors - Saskatoon Blades
- Warriors Battle Hard But Come up Short in Overtime in Saskatoon - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Sunday, February 9 vs. Lethbridge - Calgary Hitmen
- Gameday Hub: February 9th - Saskatoon Blades
- Silvertips Outdistance Seattle in the Second - Everett Silvertips
- Portland drops Rockets - Kelowna Rockets
- Americans Shut out in Loss to Chiefs - Tri-City Americans
- Royals Top Blazers to Sweep Weekend Series - Victoria Royals
- Hot Giants Stop Cougars, 5-2 - Prince George Cougars
- Anders Razor Sharp in Shutout Performance Versus Hitmen - Red Deer Rebels
- Hughes Stands Tall as ICE Beat Tigers 4-1 - Winnipeg Ice
- Porter Records Second-Straight Shutout as Chiefs Blank Ams - Spokane Chiefs
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.
