Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Sunday, January 5 vs. Moose Jaw
January 5, 2020 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (19-12-4-1, 43 pts.) vs. MOOSE JAW WARIORS (11-21-2-0, 24 pts.)
Sunday, January 5, 2020 - 4:00 p.m. MT - Scotiabank Saddledome
TODAY'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen open a three-game homestand this afternoon at Scotiabank Saddledome against the Moose Jaw Warriors. Game sponsor is Hilton with a 4:00 p.m. puck drop for Sunday Funday presented by 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). Fans are asked to bring hats, toques, scarves, mitts, gloves, socks and new underwear to the game to support the Calgary Heritage Lions Club Toasty Toes Sock Collection Program. A donation bin will be set up on the concourse behind Section 214 with all items shared by the Calgary Drop-In Centre, Calgary Women's Emergency Shelter, and Inn from the Cold. The Hitmen hold the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 43 points while Moose Jaw at 24 points, trails Brandon by 15 points for the second and final Eastern Conference Wild Card berth.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Webcast: WHL Live at whllive.com
STREAKS
- Jett Woo (1g, 4a) is a on a four-game point streak.
- Riley Stotts (2a) has points in back-to-back games.
- Orca Wiesblatt (3g, 3a) has points in six of his last seven games while Mark Kastelic (2g, 1a) has points in three of his last four contests.
- Carson Focht (2g, 2a) saw his four-game point streak end last night in Lethbridge while a two-game run for Hunter Campbell (1g, 1a) was also halted.
NOTEWORTHY
VS. MOOSE JAW: Today is the fourth and final regular season meeting between the Hitmen and Warriors. Calgary has grabbed all three games so far by a combined score of 14-6. Jett Woo (1g, 4a) leads Calgary in the season series with five points. Six others have four points each including Carson Focht, Jonas Peterek and Orca Wiesblatt who all have three goals and an assist. Ryder Korczak (2g) and Brayden Tracey (2a) are the top performers for the Warriors with two points each. Dating back to last season, the Hitmen are 7-0 against their Eastern Conference rivals after having lost the previous 12 games.
2019-20 SERIES RECAP
Oct. 18/19 at CGY: CGY 6 MJ 3...Orca Wiesblatt led the Hitmen attack with two goals and an assist.
Oct. 25/19 at MJ: CGY 4 MJ 2...Josh Prokop and Riley Stotts paved the way with a goal and an assist each.
Nov. 23/19 at MJ: CGY 4 MJ 1...Jett Woo tallied a goal and an assist against his former team.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 103 MJ 56 Power Plays: CGY 2-12 (16.7%) MJ 1-13 (7.7%)
TRADE WINDS: On Thursday the Hitmen 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. Olson has tallied 169 points (53g, 116a) in 205 career games during five seasons with the Americans while adding 10 points (4g, 6a) in 19 playoff matches. His younger brother Quinn (2001-forward) is on the Hitmen 50-player protected list, playing NCAA Hockey with the University of Minnesota-Duluth after being drafted by the Boston Bruins in 2019.
THREE-IN-THREE: Today wraps up three games in as many days for Calgary. It's the fourth time this season they have faced such a task. In their previous three they posted a combined record of 5-3-0-1 while so far this weekend they are 1-1. The Hitmen will endure this grind on two more occasions, once in mid-January on a Manitoba road trip and again in early February with two games at the 'Dome and trip to Red Deer in the middle.
ALUMNUS OF THE GAME: This 25h anniversary season, the Hitmen in partnership with Adrenalin Source for Sports, are honouring an alumnus at each home game. Today's alumnus, Mike Muzechka, is one of the original members of the team, playing during the inaugural 1995/96 season. The defenceman appeared in 69 games recording nine points (1g, 8a) and 91 penalty minutes.
EAST FEAST: Calgary is a combined 9-2-1-0 against East Division opponents this season.
WORLD JUNIORS: Hitmen defenceman Egor Zamula is a member of Team Russia at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship becoming the 23rd player in franchise history to play in the prestigious event. Zamula has four points (2g, 2a) in six games to sit tied for eighth in team scoring. He has also been named one of Russia's top three 'Players of the Tournament'. Hitmen Assistant and Goaltending Coach Jason LaBarbera is Team Canada's Goaltending Coach. Canada meets Russia in the gold medal game today.
POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet forward Adam Kydd after today's game. Kydd will be signing autographs at the Hitmen Booster Club table located behind section 212.
SPENGLER CUP: Three former Hitmen were members of Team Canada's 2019 Spengler Cup winning performance in Adam Tambellini, Paul Postma and Brendan Burke. Tambellini finished the tournament with three assists while Postma tallied a goal.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: Calgary is 10-6-1-1 at home this season, grabbing points in seven of their last nine games while posting a 5-2-1-1 record at the 'Dome. Moose Jaw is 3-11-1-0 on the road and coming off last night's 3-0 victory in Red Deer.
TIGHT AT THE TOP: Three Hitmen are all within four points of each other atop the team scoring race. Riley Stotts leads the way with 38. Mark Kastelic is next with 35 while Orca Wiesblatt has 34.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Kyle Olson (lower body, week-to-week).
Total man-games lost: 94
DECADE REWIND: As Calgary opens a new decade they finished the last one with an overall record of 361-260-35-22. It included a WHL Championship in 2010 and a pair of trips to the Eastern Conference Final, one in 2013 and another in 2015. Joel Broda scored the first goal of the decade while Jett Woo netted the last. The Hitmen leading scorer was Brady Brassart with 222 points. Cody Sylvester tallied 209 and Mark Kastelic 200. Greg Chase (177) and Jake Bean (175) rounded out the top five.
TOP PROSPECTS INVITE: Hitmen defenceman Luke Prokop will play in the 2020 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. The game, which showcases the top CHL players eligible for the NHL Draft, takes place on Thursday, Jan. 16 and will be hosted by the Hamilton Bulldogs. Prokop will become the 27th Hitmen player to compete in the Top Prospects Game. Jake Bean was the last to appear, suiting up in 2016.
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. 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
Fri., Jan. 10 vs. LET 7:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Sun., Jan. 12 vs. SC 2:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Wed., Jan. 15 at SC 6:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Fri., Jan. 17 at BDN 6:30 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Sat., Jan. 18 at WPG 6:30 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale now at all Ticketmaster locations. Upcoming home game highlights include:
- Jan. 5 vs. MJ Game Sponsor is Hilton. It's also Sunday Funday, presented by Ricky's All Day Grill
- Pucks for Paws on Jan. 10 vs. LET presented by Chasin' Tails and WEB Consulting in support of Four Feet Companion Foundation
- Sunday Funday, presented by Ricky's All Day Grill on Jan. 12 vs. SC
- Dodge Skate with the Hitmen on Sun. Jan. 26 vs. RD. It's also Sunday Funday, presented by Ricky's All Day Grill
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
- Mark Kastelic is 12th on the clubs all-time points list, three back of Brandon Segal's 205. Kastelic is also two goals behind Segal for fourth place on the clubs all-time goal scoring list. Segal has 110.
- Jack McNaughton needs 17 saves to move into a tie with Nick Schneider for 10th place on the clubs all-time saves list at 1,651.
- Blake Allan played career game 100 last night in Lethbridge while Josh Prokop hit the century mark Friday in Medicine Hat.
Western Hockey League Stories from January 5, 2020
- Americans out Shoot Rockets, Fall 7-3 - Tri-City Americans
- Raiders Get Their Revenge with a 5-3 Win over the ICE - Winnipeg Ice
- Raiders Snap Streak With Win In Winnipeg - Prince Albert Raiders
- Novak's four-point night lifts Rockets to 7-3 win - Kelowna Rockets
- Hitmen Spread Scoring around in Win over Moose Jaw - Calgary Hitmen
- Broncos Can't Complete Weekend Sweep with Loss to Seattle - Swift Current Broncos
- Weekend Road Trip Ends with Sunday Loss in Calgary - Moose Jaw Warriors
- T-Birds Race Past Swift Current - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Four-Goal First Period and Impressive Debut by Warm Propels Oil Kings to Victory - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Wheat Kings Win Fourth Straight - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Tired Pats Suffer Shutout Loss - Regina Pats
- Blades Drop 4-3 Game against Oil Kings - Saskatoon Blades
- Americans Acquire John Little in Deal with Vancouver - Tri-City Americans
- Six WHL Players Win Gold with Canada at 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship - WHL
- Joel Hofer Captures Gold with Team Canada - Portland Winterhawks
- Giants Acquire 2002-Born Forward Kaden Kohle from Tri-City - Vancouver Giants
- Byram, Burnstein Capture Gold at the 2020 World Juniors - Vancouver Giants
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Sunday, January 5 vs. Moose Jaw - Calgary Hitmen
- ICE and Raiders Meet Again Atop East Division - Winnipeg Ice
- Game Preview: Blades Meet League Leading Oil Kings in Edmonton - Saskatoon Blades
- Game Day Preview: Pats Finish Busy Week at Home to Brandon Sunday - Regina Pats
- Silvertips Spread Scoring to Upend Cougars - Everett Silvertips
- Giants Grind Their Way to Another Point in Kelowna - Vancouver Giants
- Silvertips Get Revenge on Cougars - Prince George Cougars
- McDonald scores shootout winner, Rockets top Giants - Kelowna Rockets
- Preview: Broncos Host Thunderbirds for Lone Meeting of the Season - Swift Current Broncos
- Royals Stopped by Blazers - Victoria Royals
- Tigers Win Wild One 8-5 - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Warriors Goaltender Evanoff Here, There and Everywhere in Shutout Win over Rebels - Red Deer Rebels
- Evanoff Backstops Warriors to Shutout Win in Red Deer - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Kukuca Has Hat Trick But T-Birds Fall to Tigers - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Americans Score First, Ultimately Fall to Winterhawks - Tri-City Americans
- Broncos Hold on for Shootout Win over Pats - Swift Current Broncos
- ICE Atop of East Division with 6-3 Win over the Raiders - Winnipeg Ice
- Winterhawks Womp the Americans at Home - 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.
