Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Wednesday, February 19 at Victoria
February 19, 2020 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN (31-18-4-1, 67 pts.) at VICTORIA ROYALS (29-20-5-1, 64 pts.)
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 - 8:00 p.m. MT - Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
TODAY'S GAME
The Calgary Hitmen five-game B.C. Division road trip continues tonight on Vancouver Island against the Victoria Royals. Calgary is 2-0 on the swing following Monday afternoon's thrilling 6-5 come-from-behind overtime win in Kelowna. Josh Prokop buried the game winner 2:31 into extra time while Jett Woo notched a team leading three assists. Trailing 5-1 heading to the third period, the Hitmen stormed all the way back to force the extra session when Carson Focht netted the equalizer with 1:35 remaining. It was Focht's second goal of the game and 30th of the season. Kyle Olson also supplied a pair of markers in the frame while sophomore forward Riley Fiddler-Schultz tallied other Calgary goal back in the second period. Goaltender Jack McNaughton came off the bench to make four saves in the third period and three more in overtime to pick up the win as Calgary outshot Kelowna 38-29. The Hitmen, at 67 points, hold the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference sitting six points up on Saskatoon. The Blades are idle until Friday when they visit Regina. Victoria, at 63 points, is second in the B.C. Division, 10 points behind the front-running Kamloops Blazers.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: Sportsnet 960-The Fan beginning with the opening face-off at 8:00 p.m.
Webcast: WHL Live at whllive.com
STREAKS
- Five Hitmen take four-game point streaks into tonight's game in Mark Kastelic (6g, 3a), Carson Focht (6g, 2a), Josh Prokop (2g, 3a), Orca Wiesblatt (6a) and Jett Woo (1g, 5a).
- Kyle Olson (4g, 3a), Riley Fiddler-Schultz (2g) and Evan Toth (2a) all have points in back-to-back games.
NOTEWORTHY
VS. VICTORIA: Tonight is the first and only regular season game of 2019-20 between the Hitmen and Royals. Calgary took their lone meeting last season by a score of 6-3 in Alberta to snap an eight game losing streak against Victoria. Tonight marks the first visit to Vancouver Island for the Hitmen since Jan. 27 & 28 in 2018 when they dropped a doubleheader to the Royals by a combined score of 11-4.
LAST SEASON RECAP
Jan. 1/19 at CGY: CGY 6 VIC 3...Carson Focht led the Hitmen with two goals and an assist.
INSIDE THE GAME
Shots on Goal: CGY 33 VIC 26 Power Plays: CGY 3-5 (60%) VIC 0-3 (36.4%)
ROAD TRIP REWIND: Calgary is 2-0 on their current BC road trip, having outscored the opposition by a combined 10-7. Carson Focht (3g, 1a) and Jett Woo (4a) lead the way with four points each while Kyle Olson (2g, 1a) and Orca Wiesblatt (3a) both have three points. On the plus/minus front, Wiesblatt, Riley Fiddler-Schultz and Evan Toth share the team lead at +3.
INSIDE THE ROAD TRIP
Shots on Goal: CGY 69 OPPONENTS 57 Power Plays: CGY 1-5 (20%) OPPONENTS 2-10 (20%)
FAST FACTS: The Hitmen have won three in and row and are 9-3 in their last 12 games...So far on this BC road trip Calgary has traveled 1,948 kilometres...The Hitmen are ninth in the WHL in goals for per game, averaging 3.44 and also ninth in goals against at 2.94... Calgary has three of the WHL's top 29 goal scorers in Mark Kastelic (30g, Tied #10), Carson Focht (30g, Tied #10) and Riley Stotts (22g, Tied #29)...The Hitmen are +356 in the Shots For/Shots Against differential...Calgary has outshot their opponents 39 times this season, which equates to 72.2 percent through 54 games... Jett Woo (4g, 16a) leads the Hitmen in power play points with 20. Mark Kastelic is fourth in the WHL in face-off wins with 692.
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 14-9-3-0 on the road, posting a 4-1 record in their last five games away from the 'Dome. Victoria is 17-8-1-0 at home having won three straight at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Andrew Viggars (upper body, indefinite), Egor Zamula (upper body, 3-to-4 months). Total man-games lost: 134.
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.
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 (5-2-0-0).
THE POWER OF THREE: The Hitmen are 29-7-2-0 when holding the opposition to three goals or less. Conversely, Calgary is 2-11-2-1 when giving up four or more goals.
ONE YEAR AGO: Calgary is six points ahead of their start through 54 games last season when they owned a record of 28-21-4-1.
HITMEN VS: (BDN 1-2), (EDM 3-5), (EVT 0-1), (KAM 0-0), (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 0-0), (VIC 0-0), WPG (2-1).
WHAT'S LEFT: Counting tonight, of Calgary's 14 remaining regular season games, six are at home and eight 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.
PROSPECT PROFILE: Tristan Zandee, Calgary's second-round pick, 36th overall, in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft is in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with the Canmore Eagles. In 44 games, the 16-year-old forward has 24 points (12g, 12a) to sit fifth in goals and eighth in team scoring.
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: Adam Tambellini, who played two seasons with the Hitmen from 2013-15, is playing pro hockey in Sweden. The 25-year-old forward has 47 points (22g, 25a) in 31 games with MODO Hockey. In 102 career games with the Hitmen, Tambellini notched 125 points.
UPCOMING GAMES
All times MT. Schedule subject to change.
Date Opponent Time Broadcast
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
Thurs., Feb. 27 vs. WPG 11:00 AM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Fri., Feb. 28 vs. BDN 7:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
Sun., Mar. 1 vs. LET 4:00 PM Sportsnet 960-The Fan
PROMO CALENDAR
Hitmen single game tickets are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations. Upcoming home game highlights include:
- 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
- Connor Gabruch is one game shy of 100.
- Dakota Krebs is two games away from 300.
- On Monday in Kelowna, Mark Kastelic moved past Brady Brassart and into ninth place on the clubs all-time points list with 223. Cody Sylvester and Borys Protsenko share seventh spot with 229 points.
- Jett Woo and Carson Focht both reached 150 career points Saturday in Prince George while Focht played career game 250 last Wednesday against Regina.
- Jack McNaughton is 18 saves behind Cody Porter for ninth place on the clubs all-time saves list. Porter has 1,734.
- Jackson van de Leest and Cael Zimmerman both need one point each to reach 50.
Western Hockey League Stories from February 19, 2020
- Winterhawks Hold Steady in Third for Kia CHL Top 10 Rankings - WHL
- Wheat Kings, IBAM Host First Annual Fan Camp - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Rebels Scouts to Attend US Challenge Cup; Red Deer Has First Pick in Inaugural Draft That Follows in Late March - Red Deer Rebels
- 16 WHL Alumni Named to Canada West All-Star & All-Rookie Teams - WHL
- Rockets Make Coaching Change - Kelowna Rockets
- Memorial Cup and WHL Anniversary Weekend Kicks off Friday with Gord Bamford #REDNEK Music Fest - Kamloops Blazers
- Winterhawks' Jarvis Named to Vaughn CHL Team of the Week - WHL
- Pats to Host Inaugural Autism Awareness Night Friday - Regina Pats
- Canes Chatter - Lethbridge Hurricanes
- ICE Take on Oil Kings in Eastern Conference Action. - Winnipeg Ice
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Wednesday, February 19 at Victoria - Calgary Hitmen
- Gould with 49 Saves in Tuesday Loss to Thunderbirds - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Kukuca Hat Trick Shatters Moose Jaw - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Protas' Big Night Leads Raiders Over Pats - Prince Albert Raiders
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.
