Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Tuesday, March 15 at Red Deer
March 15, 2016 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
[CALGARY HITMEN (39-26-2-2, 82 pts.) at RED DEER REBELS (43-23-1-2, 89 pts.)
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 - 7:00 p.m. MT - ENMAX Centrium
TODAY'S GAME
Today the Calgary Hitmen head north up the QEII for a match against the Red Deer Rebels, marking the third last game of the 2015-16 regular season for both clubs. The Hitmen are coming off a busy three games in three days weekend that saw the club pick up four of a possible six points. It ended with Sunday's 4-3 home ice loss to the Tigers which saw Medicine Hat erase a 3-1 third period deficit. Travis Sanheim, Radel Fazleev and Bryce Platt scored for Calgary who was outshot 33-32. The Hitmen went 1-1 on the powerplay. The Tigers 1-4. Calgary, who has won three of their last four games, is third in the WHL's Central Division with 82 points, seven points back of the second-place Rebels. Red Deer trails first-place Lethbridge by three points but own a game in hand on the Hurricanes.
HITMEN BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com
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STREAKS
- Travis Sanheim (4g, 7a) has points in each of his last five games and in 28 of his last 32 games (8g, 34a).
- Jakob Stukel (1g, 3a) is on a four-game point streak.
- Radel Fazleev (1g, 5a) and Jackson Houck (1g, 3a) both have points in each of their last three games.
- Jake Bean (1g, 1a) has points in back-to-back games.
- Carsen Twarynski (4g, 3a) saw his five-game point streak end Sunday against Medicine Hat while Taylor Sanheim's (3a) three-game run also came to an end.
- Cody Porter has won his last three starts, posting a .943 save percentage.
NOTEWORTHY
VS RED DEER: Tonight is the seventh and final regular season meeting between the two teams. Calgary has picked up seven of a possible 12 points, going 3-2-0-1 in the season series. Travis Sanheim (2g, 7a) tops the Hitmen with nine points against the Rebels while Jake Bean (6g, 2a) is next with eight. Adam Helewka (5g), Jake DeBrusk (2g, 3a) and Colton Bobyk (1g, 4a) all have five points each to lead Red Deer. Over the last five seasons, the Hitmen are 20-7-1-3 against the Rebels including a 9-4-0-2 record when playing on the road.
2015-16 REGULAR SEASON SERIES RECAP
Oct. 9/15 at CGY: CGY 4 RD 1...Hitmen built period leads of 2-1 and 4-1.
Oct. 10/15 at RD: RD 5 CGY 4 SO...Rebels forced OT, scoring with 37 seconds left.
Dec. 13/15 at RD: CGY 5 RD 2...Jakob Stukel led the Hitmen with a hat-trick.
Feb. 12/16 at CGY: CGY 4 RD 1...Carsen Twarynski scored his first career hat-trick.
Mar. 4/16 at RD: RD 3 CGY 2...Jake DeBrusk broke a 2-2 tie scoring with 4:15 remaining.
Mar. 6/16 at CGY: RD 4 CGY 3...Jake DeBrusk led the Rebels attack with a goal and an assist.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 195 RD 185 Power Plays: CGY 8-26 (30.8%) RD 5-22 (22.7%)
CHASING 40: The Hitmen, with 39 victories, are in pursuit of their fifth consecutive 40-win season. Should they reach the milestone, it would also be the 12th time in their 21-year franchise history they have recorded 40 or more victories.
PLAYOFF BOUND: Calgary, who will face either Red Deer or Lethbridge in the opening round, has clinched a post-season berth for the fifth season in a row. The Hitmen, who captured league titles in 1999 and 2010, have missed the playoffs only once since 1998.
BALANCED ATTACK: Eleven Hitmen have scored 12 or more goals this season while nine players have 30 or more points.
DID YOU KNOW?: Calgary is 16-11-1-1 this season against teams from the Central Division....Only Prince George (320) and Edmonton (312) have been shorthanded more than Calgary's 303 times this season. Everett has been shorthanded a league-low 198 times.
BEAN THERE, DONE THAT: Jake Bean set a new single-season franchise record for most goals by a defenceman on Mar. 12 against Edmonton. The previous mark of 23 was set by Paul Postma in the 2008-09 campaign. On Feb. 8 in Kamloops, Bean also became the first defenceman to record 20 or more goals in a WHL season since the 2013-14 campaign. That season Josh Morrissey (28), Ryan Pulock (23), Shea Theodore (22) and Madison Bowey (21) were all members of the 20-goal club.
WHAT'S LEFT: Including tonight, Calgary has three regular season games remaining; two on the road and one at home.
DYNAMIC DUO: Calgary has two of the top 10 scoring defencemen in the WHL in Travis Sanheim and Jake Bean. Sanheim (14g, 50a) has 64 points to sit fourth among all defencemen while Bean's (24g, 38a) 62 points are fifth. Bean's career-high 24 goals lead all defencemen while his 12 power play goals also top all blueliners. Sanheim's 50 assists rank third among defenders.
RECORD BOOKS: Earlier this season, Travis Sanheim set a new franchise record for the longest assist streak by a defenceman at 14 games. The previous mark of eight was established by Matt Kinch from Nov. 21 to Dec. 10, 1999. Sanheim enters tonight's game with 124 career assists, 11th on the club's all-time regular season assist list. Brady Brassart owns 10th spot with 127 assists. The franchise leader is Brad Moran who had 246 career helpers.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Calgary's power play, which has scored in each of the last four games, is sixth in the WHL at 22.7%. The Hitmen penalty kill is fifth in the league at 81.2%.
POWER PLAY PRODUCTION: Hitmen forward Jakob Stukel is in a four-way tie for the second-most power play goals in the league at 15 with Noah Gregor of Moose Jaw, Parker Bowles of Tri-City and Matthew Phillips of Victoria.
BREAKOUT SEASONS: Hitmen sophomore forwards Jordy Stallard and Carsen Twarynski have both taken major steps offensively for Calgary in 2015-16. Stallard, who recorded 23 points last season, has 48 points (21g, 27a) this season. Twarynski, who notched 22 points in his rookie campaign, has 41 points (18g, 23a).
WHL COUNTDOWN: To celebrate 50 seasons, the Western Hockey League is counting down its Top 50 Players of All-Time, as voted by fans. So far, two former Hitmen have made the list in Pavel Brendl (No. 45) and Brad Moran (No. 38).
TEETER TOTTER: Calgary has been in a series of several runs this season. They started the 2015-16 schedule 5-1-0-1 before going 4-9-0-0 in their next 13 games. They then went on a major roll, posting a mark of 16-3-1-0, followed by a 2-5-0-0 stretch but are 12-8-1-1 since.
RACE FOR THE TOP: The Hitmen team scoring title is going down to the wire this season as three players are within seven points of each other; Radel Fazleev (69), Travis Sanheim (64) and Jake Bean (62).
HITMEN ALUMNUS: Victor Rask is in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes. The 23-year-old centre has a team-leading 25 assists along with 16 goals in 41 games this season. Rask played with the Hitmen from 2011-13 where he recorded 104 career WHL points (47g, 57a) in 101 games.
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale now. Upcoming home game highlights include:
- Fan Appreciation Day, including a pre-game on-ice player awards ceremony, on Sunday, Mar. 20 versus Kootenay
MILESTONES
- Matteo Gennaro is one game back of 200.
- Tyler Mrkonjic played his 200th career game on Mar. 13 against Medicine Hat.
- Colby Harmsworth is one point away from 50.
- Radel Fazleev eclipsed 100 career assists on Mar. 12 against Edmonton while Jake Bean reached 100 career points that same night in the Battle of Alberta.
- Micheal Zipp reached the 50-point mark on Saturday in Edmonton.
- Cody Porter passed the 4,000-minute mark on Feb. 26 against Victoria.
- Dawson Martin scored his first career WHL goal on Feb. 20 against Lethbridge.
- Jackson Houck played his 300th career game on Feb. 20 against Lethbridge while Taylor Sanheim hit 100 career games on Feb. 19 in Medicine Hat.
Western Hockey League Stories from March 15, 2016
- Procyshen Honored with Americans' Scholastic Alumni Achievement Award - Tri-City Americans
- Tigers to Reward Fans with Prize Giveaways - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Tailgate BBQ to Highlight Saturday's Game - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Thunderbirds' Landon Bow Named Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week - WHL
- Royals Host Silvertips on Fan Appreciation Night - Victoria Royals
- Shepard and Zazula Join Blazers - Kamloops Blazers
- Fan Appreciation Night Is Friday - Vancouver Giants
- Wheat Kings in Search of Eastern Title - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Game Notes: Broncos Battle Brandon - Swift Current Broncos
- Cougars Single Game Playoff Tickets Go on Sale Today - Prince George Cougars
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Tuesday, March 15 at Red Deer - Calgary Hitmen
- Rockets Awards Ceremony this Sunday - Kelowna Rockets
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