Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Thursday, December 3 vs Prince Albert
December 3, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (16-11-1-1, 34 pts.) vs PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS (16-7-2-1, 35 pts.)
Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015 - 7:00 p.m. - Scotiabank Saddledome
TONIGHT'S GAME
Tonight the Calgary Hitmen (16-11-1-1) host the East Division-leading Prince Albert Raiders (16-7-2-1). The Hitmen will look to rebound following last night's 6-4 road loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Tyler Wong scored a pair of goals, including the game winner that snapped a 4-4 third period tie, as the Hurricanes improved their league-leading home ice record to 12-2. Keegan Kanzig, Pavel Karnaukhov, Tyler Mrkonjic and Mark Kastelic replied for the Hitmen who suffered their first regulation loss in nine games. Calgary now sits third in the WHL's Central Division, two points back of Lethbridge and four points behind the front-running Red Deer Rebels.
HITMEN BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com
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STREAKS
- Jakob Stukel (6g, 2a) is on a career-high five-game point streak.
- Radel Fazleev (1g, 9a) is on a five-game point streak.
- Pavel Karnaukhov (1g, 3a) is riding a three-game point streak.
- Travis Sanheim (2g, 6a) has points in five of his last six games while Jake Bean (2g, 3a) has points in three of his last five contests.
- Keegan Kanzig (2g) has scored a goal in two of his last three games.
- Loch Morrison (3a) had his two-game point streak snapped last night against Lethbridge.
NOTEWORTHY
VS PRINCE ALBERT: Tonight is the third of four regular season meetings between the two teams with the season series tied 1-1. Jakob Stukel (3g, 1a) tops the Hitmen with four points against the Raiders while Radel Fazleev (1g, 2a) is next with three. Reid Gardiner (2g), Jordan Tkatch (2a) and Simon Stransky (2a) all have two points each against the Hitmen. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 13-4-0-1 against the Raiders including a 6-1-0-1 record at the 'Dome. Their next meeting is Friday, Jan. 29 in Calgary.
2015-16 RECAP: REGULAR SEASON SERIES - Nov. 4/15 at PA: PA 3 CAL 2 ... Reid Gardiner scored the tying and winning goal 25 seconds apart in the final two minutes. - Nov. 24/15 at PA: CAL 4 PA 2 ... Jakob Stukel scored twice and added an assist.
2015-16 RECAP: INSIDE THE SERIES - Shots on Goal: CAL 59 PA 61 - Power Plays: CAL 0-7 (0%) PA 0-11 (0%)
INSIDE THE STREAK: Calgary has picked up 15 of a possible 18 points during their current 7-1-1-0 run. They have outscored their opponents by a combined 37-23 while outshooting them 296-222. This is the longest point streak by the Hitmen since they rattled off nine consecutive victories last season from Jan. 18 to Feb. 11.
FLYING FAZLEEV: Russian import Radel Fazleev leads the Hitmen in scoring and is 10th in the Western Hockey League scoring race with 36 points (13g, 23a). The 19-year-old from Kazan has at least a point in 21 of his 29 games this season, including 10 multi-point games.
STREAKIN': Jakob Stukel (6g, 2a) is on a career-high five-game points streak. Radel Fazleev (1g, 9a) is on a five-game point streak. Pavel Karnaukhov (1g, 3a) is riding a three-game point streak. Travis Sanheim (2g, 6a) has points in five of his last six games while Jake Bean (2g, 3a) has points in three of his last five contests. Keegan Kanzig (2g) has scored a goal in two of his last three games. Loch Morrison (3a) had his two-game point streak snapped last night against Lethbridge.
NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER: The Hitmen had a terrific month posting a record of 9-3-1-0. Goaltender Cody Porter went 8-1-1-0 with a 2.38 GAA and .898 SV%. Radel Fazleev led all players with 18 points with Jakob Stukel (14), Jackson Houck (12), Micheal Zipp (11) and Carsen Twarynski (9) rounding out the top five scorers.
TEAM CANADA CALLS: Travis Sanheim is one of 30 players invited to participate in Canada's National Junior Team Selection Camp December 10-14 at the MasterCard Centre in Etobicoke, ON. Sanheim is also one of 10 players from the Western Hockey League to receive an invitation and one of 11 defenceman.
NHL DRAFT WATCH: Hitmen defenceman Jake Bean, forward Beck Malenstyn and goaltender Cody Porter have all been named to the National Hockey League's Players to Watch list for November in advance of the 2016 NHL Draft. The list, compiled by NHL Central Scouting Service, groups prospects by league and gives each player an individual rating. Bean, one of 49 players from the Western Hockey League on the list, received an "A" ranking which indicates a first-round candidate. Malenstyn and Porter received "C" ratings, indicating a fourth, fifth or sixth-round selection.
TRADE WINDS: On Monday, the Hitmen acquired 18-year-old goalie Nik Amundrud (am-un-DROOD) from the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft. Amundrud is in his second WHL season and has appeared in 43 career games.
ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT: As part of the WHL's 50th Season celebrations, the Hitmen presented two distinguished graduates with Alumni Achievement Awards on Nov. 13. Former Hitmen captain and current Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf was recognized in the professional hockey category while two-time WHL Scholastic Player of the Year Chris Nielsen, now a senior orthopaedic surgery resident, was honoured in the scholastic category.
HITMEN VS: (BDN 1-0), (EDM 0-2), (EVT 1-0), (KAM 1-0), (KEL 0-1), (KTN 3-0), (LET 0-1), (MH 0-1), (MJ 0-2), (POR 0-0), (PA 1-1), (PG 1-2), (RD 1-0-0-1), (REG 2-0-1-0), (SAS 3-0), (SEA 1-0), (SPO 0-1), (SC 0-0), (TC 1-0), (VAN 0-0), (VIC 0-0).
DYNAMIC DUO: The Hitmen have two of the top 10 scoring defencemen in the WHL in Travis Sanheim and Jake Bean. Sanheim (7g, 18a) has 25 points to sit tied for fifth in scoring while Bean's 23 points (11g, 12a) is tied for 10th among defencemen. Bean's career-high 11 goals top all blueliners while his five power play markers is tied for first among all rearguards.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Calgary's power play, which is 1 for its last 20, is 10th in the WHL at 19.9%. The Hitmen penalty kill has killed off 27 of their last 32 shorthanded situations (fifth overall at 82.8%). Calgary is also tied for the second-most shorthanded goals scored in the league at five. Prince George leads the way with eight.
HITMEN ALUMNUS: Former Hitmen Adam Tambellini is in the American Hockey League with the Hartford Wolf Pack. The 21-year-old centre has seven points (5g, 2a) in 21 games. Over parts of the last two seasons with the Hitmen, Tambellini appeared in 102 games recording 125 points (64g, 61a).
POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet forward Mark Kastelic after the game at the Booster Club table located on the concourse by section 212.
Western Hockey League Stories from December 3, 2015
- Hitmen Spread Scoring around in 6-1 Victory - Calgary Hitmen
- Kolten Olynek scores his first goal with Prince Albert in loss - Prince Albert Raiders
- MasterCard Memorial Cup Tickets To Go On Sale - Red Deer Rebels
- Giants Release Ugly Christmas Sweater Jerseys - Vancouver Giants
- Kickoff to 2016 Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada - Kamloops Blazers
- Zwerger to Compete with Team Austria - Spokane Chiefs
- Kickoff to 2016 Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada - WHL
- Mid-Week Canes Chatter - Lethbridge Hurricanes
- Sheldon Kennedy to Receive Broncos WHL 50th Season Achievement Award - Swift Current Broncos
- Hockey Hounds Game Worn Jersey Draw December 9 - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Raiders to Retire Dave Manson's Number "4" - Prince Albert Raiders
- Blades Fans Make a Difference on Star Wars Night - Saskatoon Blades
- Brandon Blanks Broncos - Brandon Wheat Kings
- 2016 Dinner Lineup Finalized - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Thursday, December 3 vs Prince Albert - Calgary Hitmen
- Tigers Handed 5th Straight Loss in Vancouver - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Silvertips Stumble to Tri-City 4-1 - Everett Silvertips
- Americans Thrash Silvertips 4-1 - Tri-City Americans
- Giants Shutout Tigers - Vancouver Giants
- Chartier Electric: Rockets Dominate Kootenay - Kelowna Rockets
- Winterhawks Fall 5-3 in Prince George Wednesday - Portland Winterhawks
- Hitmen Fall Short of Lethbridge 6-4 - Calgary Hitmen
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