Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Sunday, January 19 at Winnipeg
Published on January 19, 2020 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (22-15-4-1, 49 pts.) at WINNIPEG ICE (27-15-1-0, 55 pts.)
Sunday, January 19, 2020 - 6:30 p.m. MT - Wayne Fleming Arena
TODAY'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen continue their five-game road trip tonight in Winnipeg against the ICE. Calgary is 1-2 on the swing which opened with a 4-3 shootout victory in Swift Current on Wednesday followed by Friday's 3-1 setback in Brandon and last night's 5-2 loss in Winnipeg. Special teams were the main driver for the ICE who scored three power play goals and once shorthanded. Peyton Krebs paced the home side with a pair of goals while Nolan Orzeck, Michal Teply and Jakin Smallwood added singles. Riley Stotts supplied both goals for Calgary and now has 19 on the season to tie a career-high. The Hitmen outshot Winnipeg 39-32 with Liam Hughes making 37 saves for the ICE and Jack McNaughton recording 27 stops for the Hitmen. Calgary holds the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 49 points while the ICE lead the East Division with 55 points.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Webcast: WHL Live at whllive.com
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STREAKS
- Orca Wiesblatt (1g, 2a) has points in three of his last four games while Riley Stotts (2g, 1a) has points in two of his last three games.
- Goaltender Brayden Peters is 3-2 in his last five appearances with a 1.81 goals against average and .934 save percentage.
- Carson Focht (2g, 1a) and Josh Prokop (3a) both saw their two-game point streaks halted last night against the ICE.
NOTEWORTHY VS. WINNIPEG: Tonight is the second of four regular season meetings between the two Eastern Conference rivals. They will meet again in just 10 days on Wednesday, Jan. 29 in Calgary.
2019-20 SERIES RECAP Jan. 18/20 at WPG: WPG 5 CGY 2...The ICE built a 5-0 second period lead.
INSIDE THE SERIES Shots on Goal: CGY 39 WPG 32 Power Plays: CGY 0-3 (38.1%) WPG 3-4 (75%)
SHOT CLOCK: Riley Stotts led all Hitmen with six shots on goal against the ICE last night while Josh Prokop and Carson Focht both had five. Michael Teply topped Winnipeg with six shots. Jakin Smallwood was next with five.
INSIDE THE ROAD TRIP: Calgary is 1-2 on their current road trip, having been outscored by a combined 11-7. It's not from a lack shots as during those games the Hitmen have outshot their opponents to a count of 126-85. Eight different players have picked up at least a point with Riley Stotts (1g, 2a), Carson Focht (1g, 2a) and Josh Prokop (1g, 2a) leading the way with three points each. On the special teams front, the powerplay is 0-11 while the penalty kill has allowed six goals on 16 chances with two those goals coming when the Hitmen were down 5-on-3.
MEMORY LANE: Tonight is the first time since Jan. 27th and 28th of 2018 that Calgary will play the same opponent twice on the road on back-to-back nights. That year it was a back-to-back dates with the Victoria Royals on Vancouver Island which resulted in losses of 4-1 and 7-3.
FAST FACTS: Tonight marks Calgary's fourth game in five nights...The Hitmen are 10-4-1-0 against the East Division while Winnipeg is 7-4-0-0 against teams from the Central Division. Calgary's trip beyond 65 minutes in Swift Current on Wednesday was just their second shootout game of the season. Nine of their 11 overtime games have been decided during three-on-three play...The Hitmen are tied for the third fewest games played in the league this season with 42. Edmonton and Prince Albert lead the way at 45.
TOP PROSPECTS REWIND: Defenceman Luke Prokop played in Thursday's 2020 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Hamilton becoming the 27th Hitmen player to compete in the event. Jake Bean was the last to appear, suiting up in 2016. Prokop played a regular shift for Team White in their 5-3 victory over Team Red. He finished with one shot on goal and was +1. The game was a showcase for the top CHL players eligible for the upcoming NHL Draft.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: Calgary is 10-8-3-0 on the road, having dropped two straight away from the 'Dome. Winnipeg is 16-7-0-0 at home and riding a three-game winning streak at Wayne Fleming Arena.
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.
BROTHER BATTLE: Tonight's game features a head-to-head meeting of Dakota and Peyton Krebs. Dakota, a 20 year-old with Calgary, is in his fifth and final WHL season while Peyton, at 18-years-old, is in his third season with the ICE.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Kyle Olson (lower body, week-to-week), Andrew Viggars (upper body, week-to-week), Egor Zamula (upper body, 3-to-4 months). Total man-games lost: 110
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 (5-4-0-0).
MANITOBA CONNECTIONS: Four Hitmen have ties to the province. Assistant Coach Trent Cassan hails from Medora while Riley Stotts, Evan Toth and Jett Woo are all from Winnipeg.
ROSTER MOVES: The WHL Trade Deadline passed on Jan. 10. Calgary acquired a fifth-round pick in the 2021 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft from the Kelowna Rockets in exchange for 18-year-old forward Jonas Peterek. They also recalled 16-year-old defenceman Tyson Galloway from the BCHL's Merritt Centennials and 19-year-old defenceman Andrew Viggars from the BCHL's West Kelowna Warriors. Both players will remain with the team for the remainder of the season. In a separate transaction, 18-year-old forward Tye Carriere was reassigned to Canmore of the AJHL. The Hitmen made a pair of trades Thursday. In the first move, they added 18-year-old forward Conrad Mitchell and a sixth-round pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft in exchange for 18-year-old forward Hunter Campbell. The second deal of the day had Calgary acquire 18-year-old forward Connor Gabruch from the Spokane Chiefs in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft. On Jan. 2, Calgary acquired 20-year-old forward Kyle Olson from the Tri-City Americans in exchange for 20-year-old forward James Malm, a second-round pick in the 2020 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2022.
WORLD JUNIORS: Two members of the Hitmen claimed medals at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. Assistant and Goaltending Coach Jason LaBarbera won gold with Team Canada as Goaltending Coach while Egor Zamula struck silver with Team Russia becoming the 23rd player in franchise history to play in the prestigious event. Zamula had five points (2g, 3a) in seven games. On Dec. 9, the Hitmen announced Zamula will undergo season ending back surgery, a procedure that includes an expected recovery time of three to four months. The injury is a result of a degenerative condition that intensified at the World Juniors.
ALUMNI UPDATE: Travis Sanheim, who played three seasons with the Hitmen from 2013-16, is in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers. The 23-year-old defenceman from Elkhorn, MB has 16 points (7g, 9a) in 49 games. During his time in Calgary, Sanheim notched 162 points (35g, 127a) in 186 games.
PROSPECT PROFILE: James Gibson, Calgary's fourth round pick, 71st overall, in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft is in the CSSHL with OHA Edmonton. In 26 games of Midget Prep, the 16-year-old forward has 39 points (16g, 23a).
UPCOMING GAMES All times MT. Schedule subject to change.
Date Opponent Time Broadcast
Sat., Jan. 25 at RD 7:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Sun., Jan. 26 vs. RD 2:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Wed., Jan. 29 vs. WPG 7:00 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Fri., Jan. 31 vs. BDN 7:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Sat., Feb. 1 vs. RD 1:30 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale now at all Ticketmaster locations. Upcoming home game highlights include: - Dodge Skate with the Hitmen on Sun. Jan. 26 vs. RD. It's also Sunday Funday, presented by Ricky's All Day Grill. - Obscure Jersey Night & RE/MAX Chuck-A-Puck on Jan. 29 vs. TC. Four lucky participants will win a hot air balloon ride courtesy of RE/MAX. - CBE Night on Jan. 31 vs. BDN. Game Sponsor: Wawanesa Insurance. - 'Every Child Matters' on Feb. 1 vs. RD presented by Siksika Health Services in partnership with Siksika Child & Family Services and First Nations Health Consortium.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH - Mark Kastelic is one game shy of 300 and needs three assists for 100. He is tied with Brandon Segal for 11th place on the clubs all-time points list with 206, nine points behind Ryan Getzlaf who sits 10th. Kastelic is also one goal back of Segal for fourth spot on the clubs all-time goal scoring list. Segal has 110.
- Riley Stotts is five assists away from 100.
- On Wednesday in Swift Current, Jackson van de Leest played career game 150 while Jack McNaughton moved past Nick Schneider and into 10th place on the clubs all-time saves list at 1,653. McNaughton is 54 saves behind Cody Porter for ninth spot.
Western Hockey League Stories from January 19, 2020
- T-Birds Fall to Tips But Remain in Wild Card Playoff Spot - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Giants Wrap up Weekend with a Home Loss to Blazers - Vancouver Giants
- Tigers Bested 4-2 by Oil Kings - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Sawchuk Buries First Career Hat Trick as Oil Kings Tame Tigers, 4-2 - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Game 44 at Edmonton - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Sunday, January 19 at Winnipeg - Calgary Hitmen
- ICE and Hitmen Meet on Consecutive Nights - Winnipeg Ice
- Game Day Hub: January 19 - Portland Winterhawks
- Winterhawks blank Rockets - Kelowna Rockets
- Giants Power Play Strikes Four Times in a 6-2 Triumph on the Island - Vancouver Giants
- Americans Shutout in Kamloops - Tri-City Americans
- Berezowski Leads Charge in 8-0 Leveling of Seattle - Everett Silvertips
- Tips Defeat T-Birds in First Game of Home-And-Home Series - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Jacobson Scores Twice as Chiefs Top Pats - Spokane Chiefs
- Tigers Storm Hurricanes 6-2 - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Royals Downed by Giants - Victoria Royals
- Rebels Battle Back from Two-Goal Deficit, Beat Raiders in a Shootout - Red Deer Rebels
- Blades Tame Broncos for Second Consecutive Night - Saskatoon Blades
- Chiefs Distance Pats in Third - Regina Pats
- 1st WHL Shutout for Giannuzzi - Portland Winterhawks
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.
