Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Sunday, March 1 vs. Lethbridge
March 1, 2020 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (34-20-4-1, 73 pts.) vs. LETHBRIDGE HURRICANES (36-16-2-5, 79 pts.)
Sunday, March 1, 2020 - 4:00 p.m. MT - Scotiabank Saddledome
TODAY'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen wrap up a three-game homestand this afternoon against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Game time is 4:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome. Prior to puck drop the Hitmen will recognize Kelly Kisio for the outstanding contributions he has made to the organization as an executive and coach when a 'Forever A Hitmen' banner for Kisio will be raised and remain on permanent display at Scotiabank Saddledome. He spent 18 years with the club from 1998 to 2016 and during that time his work took the franchise to new heights; Two WHL titles (1999 & 2010), nine trips to the Conference Finals or beyond & playoff berths in 17 of 18 seasons. The pre-game ceremony will enshrine Kisio as the third inductee in the 'Forever A Hitmen' program joining Ryan Getzlaf, recognized in 2015 and Andrew Ladd, honoured in 2017. 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).
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan joined in progress following the Flames at Florida.
Webcast: WHL Live at whllive.com
STREAKS
- Three Hitmen take point streaks into today's game.
- Mark Kastelic (11g, 6a) is on a nine-game point streak.
- Riley Stotts (2g, 4a) has points in six consecutive games.
- Carson Focht (1g, 1a) is riding a two-game point streak.
- On Friday against Brandon, Jett Woo (1g, 9a) saw his eight-game streak halted while three-game point streaks for Kyle Olson (4g, 2a), Jackson van de Leest (5a), Orca Wiesblatt (2g, 3a) and Cael Zimmerman (1g, 3a) also ended.
NOTEWORTHY
WHERE THEY STAND: Calgary, at 73 points, holds the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference sitting six points up on Saskatoon. The Blades are idle until Wednesday when they host the Hitmen. Lethbridge is second in the Central Division with 79 points, two points ahead of third-place Medicine Hat. The Tigers host Swift Current on Tuesday.
LAST GAME RECAP: The Hitmen are coming off Friday's 3-2 home ice loss to Brandon. The turning point came early in the second period when Cole Reinhardt netted a pair of goals 13 seconds apart to push a 1-0 lead to 3-0 for the visitors. Ridly Greig supplied the other Wheat Kings marker while goaltender Jiri Patera made 35 saves to pick up the victory. The 20-year-old Vegas Golden Knights prospect turned in a sparkling season series against Calgary stopping 102 of 105 shots in three starts for a .971 save percentage. Both Hitmen goals came shorthanded, the first from Mark Kastelic who netted his team-leading 34th and the second from Riley Stotts who picked up his 24th. Calgary outshot Brandon 37-19.
VS. LETHBRIDGE: Today is the seventh and final regular season meeting between the two clubs. Calgary is 2-3-1-0 against the 'Canes. Riley Stotts (3g, 7a) leads the Hitmen with 10 points in the season series. Mark Kastelic (3g, 4a) is next with seven. Logan Barlage (1g, 6a) is the top Hurricanes performers with seven points. Alex Cotton (4g, 1a), Justin Hall (3g, 2a) and Noah Boyko (1g, 4a) are all next with five. Calgary is 6-6 in their last 12 home games against Lethbridge.
2019-20 REGULAR SEASON SERIES RECAP
Dec. 14/19 in LET: LET 3 CGY 0...Carl Tetachuk 31 save shutout. Logan Barlage tallied 1g, 1a.
Dec. 15/19 in CGY: CGY 5 LET 2...Riley Fiddler-Schultz netted a pair of goals.
Dec. 27/19 in LET: LET 5 CGY 4 OT... Dino Kambeitz scored the winner three minutes into the extra session.
Jan. 4/20 in LET: CGY 2 LET 1 OT...Mark Kastelic netted the winner 18 seconds into extra time.
Jan. 10/20: in CGY: LET 4 CGY 2...The 'Canes scored twice in the final eight minutes to break a 2-2 tie.
Feb. 9/20 in CGY: LET CGY 4... Brett Davis snapped a 4-4 tie with 6:57 remaining
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 195 LET 155 Power Plays: CGY 8-18 (44.4%) LET 6-30 (20%)
PLAYOFF BOUND: On. Feb. 22 in Kamloops, the Hitmen clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season and for the eighth time in nine years. Overall this will mark Calgary's 21st post-season appearance in their 25 year club history. As for who they will face in the opening round, it is currently anyone of six teams in; Brandon, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Saskatoon or Winnipeg.
WHAT'S LEFT: Counting today, of Calgary's nine remaining regular season games, four are at home and five on the road.
FAST FACTS: The Hitmen are 12-5 in their last 17 games...Calgary is 14-11-3-0 against the Central Division...Today is Calgary's third game in four days while for the visiting Hurricanes it's three games in three days...Hitmen goaltender Brayden Peters has the eighth best goals against average in the WHL at 2.55 and leads all rookie goalies in minutes played...The Hitmen have outshot their opponents 43 times this season, which equates to 72.9 percent through 59 games... Jett Woo (4g, 18a) tops the Hitmen in power play points with 22...Mark Kastelic leads the WHL in face-off wins with 790 and is tied for sixth in goals with 35.
POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet Hitmen forward Kyle Olson after today's game. Olson will be signing autographs at the Hitmen Booster Club table located behind section 212.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: Calgary is 18-10-1-1 at home, grabbing points in 15 of their last 21 games while posting a 13-6-1-1 record at the 'Dome. Lethbridge is 19-8-0-1 on the road but haven't playing in an enemy building since a 5-3 loss in Edmonton back on Feb. 17.
FEBRUARY REWIND: Captain Mark Kastelic led all Hitmen last month with 17 points (11g, 6a) in 12 games. His point total tied for seventh best in the WHL. Carson Focht (9g, 5a) was next on the Hitmen with 14 points while Kyle Olson (8g, 5a) and Orca Wiesblatt (2g, 11a) both recorded 13. Kastelic was also the team plus/minus leader at +9.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Josh Prokop (lower body, 3 weeks), Andrew Viggars (upper body, indefinite), Egor Zamula (upper body, 3-to-4 months). Total man-games lost: 147.
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 (8-4-0-0).
THE POWER OF THREE: The Hitmen are 31-8-2-0 when holding the opposition to three goals or less. Conversely, Calgary is 3-12-2-1 when giving up four or more goals.
HITMEN VS: (BDN 1-3), (EDM 3-5), (EVT 0-1), (KAM 1-0), (KEL 1-0), (LET 2-3-1-0), (MH 3-2), (MJ 4-0), (POR 1-0), (PA 2-0-1-0), (PG 1-0), (RD 4-1-1-0), (REG 4-0), (SAS 1-2), (SEA 0-1), (SPO 0-0), (SC 2-0-1-0), (TC 0-0-0-1), (VAN 0-1), (VIC 1-0), WPG (3-1).
HITMEN PLEDGE: The countdown is on to the end of 'The Hitmen Pledge powered by ENMAX' where one lucky participant will win $25,000 for a charity of their choice. This community initiative, happening during the 25th anniversary season of Hitmen hockey, aims to raise 25,000 hours of service for Calgary and surrounding area with over 11,000 volunteer hours recorded thus far. For every 25 hours donated, volunteers receive one entry to the March 22nd $25,000 draw to then gift to a registered Southern Alberta charity. All volunteer hours donated between the September 27, 2019 launch and pledge submission deadline of March 15, 2020 are eligible to be entered. Full details can be found at https://hitmenhockey.com/pledge.
AUCTION ALERT: In their 25th season in the WHL, the Calgary Hitmen are excited to offer fans an opportunity to own a piece of franchise history. Authentic game-worn and game-issued 25th anniversary jerseys are now available for bid at elevateauctions.com/25thAnniversary. This set of jerseys, worn in 11 games from September 27, 2019 to January 12, 2020, will be the only anniversary set auctioned as the current roster players will receive their own jersey worn in games from January 25, 2020 to March 22, 2020. Bidding closes on Monday, March 2 at 8:00 p.m. MT.
ALUMNUS REPORT: 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 21 points (8g, 13a) in 64 games. He is also five games shy of 200 in his NHL career. During his time in Calgary, Sanheim notched 162 points (35g, 127a) in 186 games.
UPCOMING GAMES
All times MT. Schedule subject to change.
Date Opponent Time Broadcast
Tues., Mar. 3 at PA 6:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Wed., Mar. 4 at SAS 6:00 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Fri., Mar. 6 at MH 7:30 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
Sat., Mar. 7 vs. SPO 7:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Sat., Mar. 14 at. RD 7:00 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations. Upcoming home game highlights include:
- 'Forever A Hitmen' induction of Kelly Kisio on Mar. 1 vs. LET. It's also Sunday Funday, presented by Ricky's All Day Grill.
- 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
- Jackson van de Leest and Dakota Krebs are both one assist shy of 50.
- Mark Kastelic is six points behind Ryan White for sixth place on the clubs all-time points list. White collected 237 points in four seasons with the club.
- Jack McNaughton is 44 saves behind Mike Snider for eighth place on the clubs all-time saves list. Snider totaled 1,808.
- Thursday against Winnipeg, Cael Zimmerman played career game 150.
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