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Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Wednesday, February 12 vs. Regina

February 12, 2020 - Western Hockey League (WHL) - Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN (28-18-4-1, 61 pts.) vs. REGINA PATS (18-27-3-2, 41 pts.)

Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - 7:00 p.m. MT - Scotiabank Saddledome

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen close a two-game homestand tonight against the Regina Pats. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome. It's the Canadian Mental Health Association Awareness Game and RE/MAX Chuck-A-Puck where four lucky participants will win a hot air balloon ride courtesy of RE/MAX. The Hitmen are coming off Sunday's 6-4 loss to Lethbridge. Brett Davis scored the game winner, snapping a 4-4 tie with 6:57 remaining. The victory was the fourth in a row for the 'Canes who also received an empty net tally from Zack Stringer to seal the victory. Calen Addison, Oliver Okuliar, Alex Cotton and Ty Nash supplied the other Lethbridge markers in building period leads of 2-1 and 4-1. Mark Kastelic netted a pair of Calgary goals with Carson Focht and Jett Woo rounding out the scoring for the home side. Riley Stotts added a pair of assists. The Hitmen outshot Lethbridge 37-25, including 32-13 over the final 40 minutes, to wrap up a busy weekend which saw the team play three games in three days for the sixth and final time this season. Calgary, at 61 points, holds the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference sitting two points up on the Saskatoon Blades. The Blades are home to Brandon tonight.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Radio: Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

Webcast: WHL Live at whllive.com

STREAKS

- Riley Stotts (4a) and Josh Prokop (1g, 2a) both have points in three of their last four games.

NOTEWORTHY

VS. REGINA: Tonight is the fourth and final regular season meetings between the Hitmen and Pats. Calgary is 3-0 against their Eastern Conference rivals, outscoring the Pats by a combined 13-7. Mark Kastelic (4g, 5a) leads the Hitmen in the season series with nine points. Egor Zamula (6a) is next with six. Austin Pratt (3g, 1a) is the Pats top performer with four points. Calgary is 2-2-3-0 in their last seven home games against Regina.

2019-20 SERIES RECAP

Oct. 22/19 in REG: CGY 5 REG 4 OT...Played outdoors, Carson Focht scored the winner 59 seconds into extra time.

Nov. 20/19 in REG: CGY 4 REG 2...Captain Mark Kastelic scored twice and set up two others.

Nov. 29/19 in CGY: CGY 4 REG 1...The Hitmen scored four unanswered goals.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Shots on Goal: CGY 127 REG 85 Power Plays: CGY 3-9 (33.3%) REG 1-12 (8.3%)

FAST FACTS: Calgary is 13-5-1-0 against the East Division...The Hitmen are +320 in the Shots For/Shots Against differential this season...Calgary has outshot their opponents 36 times this season, that equates to 70.6 percent of the time through 51 games... Jett Woo (4g, 14a) leads the Hitmen in power play points with 18.

ALUMNUS OF THE GAME: This 25th anniversary season, the Hitmen in partnership with Adrenalin Source for Sports, are honouring an alumnus at each home game. Today's alumnus, Joanna French, spent seven seasons with the Hitmen from 2011-18. She began her tenure with the organization as Communications Coordinator before being promoted to Assistant Manager, Communications.

POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet Hitmen forward Sean Tschigerl after today's game. Tschigerl will be signing autographs at the Hitmen Booster Club table located behind section 212.

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.

HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: Calgary is 16-9-1-1 at home, grabbing points in 13 of their last 18 games while posting an 11-5-1-1 record at the 'Dome. Regina is 8-16-1-0 on the road, coming off last night's 7-0 loss in Medicine Hat.

MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Andrew Viggars (upper body, indefinite), Egor Zamula (upper body, 3-to-4 months). Total man-games lost: 130

THE POWER OF THREE: The Hitmen are 27-7-2-0 when holding the opposition to three goals or less. Conversely, Calgary is 1-11-2-1 when giving up four or more goals.

TOP PROSPECTS REWIND: Defenceman Luke Prokop played in the 2020 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Jan. 16 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.

HITMEN ALUMNUS: Matt Mackenzie, who played parts of four seasons with the Hitmen from 2007-11, is playing pro hockey in Germany. The 28-year-old defenceman has 52 points (8g, 44a) in 46 games with EC Bad Toelz. Mackenzie recorded 83 points (13g, 70a) in 192 games while with Calgary. He was also a member of the 2010 WHL Champion Hitmen.

PROSPECT PROFILE: The Hitmen selected Ethan Buenaventura in the fourth-round, 77th overall in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft. Buenaventura is a 6'1", 165-pound goaltender from Winnipeg, MB. This season he has advanced to Midget Prep with Rink Hockey Academy in Winnipeg. In 15 games, the 15-year-old has a 2.81 goals against average and .892 save percentage.

ONE YEAR AGO: Calgary is two points ahead of their start through 51 games last season when they owned a record of 27-19-4-1.

WHAT'S LEFT: Counting tonight, of Calgary's 17 remaining regular season games, seven are at home and 10 on the road.

FOREVER A HITMEN: The Hitmen will honour Kelly Kisio for the outstanding contributions he has made to the organization as an executive and coach on Sunday, March 1, when a 'Forever A Hitmen' banner for Kisio will be raised and remain on permanent display at Scotiabank Saddledome. The pre-game ceremony ahead of the Hitmen and Hurricanes game at 4:00 p.m. will enshrine Kisio as the third inductee in the 'Forever A Hitmen' program. He'll join Ryan Getzlaf who was recognized on January 18, 2015 and Andrew Ladd who was honoured on March 8, 2017.

UPCOMING GAMES

All times MT. Schedule subject to change.

Date Opponent Time Broadcast

Sat., Feb. 15 at PG 8:00 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

Mon., Feb. 17 at KEL 3:05 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

Wed., Feb. 19 at VIC 8:05 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Fri., Feb. 21 at VAN 8:30 PM Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

Sat., Feb. 22 at KAM 8:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan

PROMO CALENDAR

Hitmen single game tickets are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations. Upcoming home game highlights include:

- Canadian Mental Health Association Awareness Game on Feb. 12 vs. REG. It's also RE/MAX Chuck-A-Puck where four lucky participants will win a hot air balloon ride courtesy of RE/MAX.

- TELUS BE BRAVE #EndBullying Game on Feb. 27 vs. WPG.

- One Ticket, One Tree on Feb. 28 vs. BDN.

- 'Forever A Hitmen' induction of Kelly Kisio on Mar. 1 vs. LET.

- 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

- Jett Woo is two points shy of 150 while Carson Focht needs four points to hit 150. Focht is also one game shy of 250.

- Dakota Krebs is five games away from 300.

- Jack McNaughton is 25 saves behind Cody Porter for ninth place on the clubs all-time saves list. Porter has 1,734.

- On Sunday against Lethbridge, Mark Kastelic moved past Ryan Getzlaf and into 10th spot on the clubs all-time points list with 216. Kastelic now trails Brady Brassart by six points for ninth place.


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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.

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