WHL Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Wednesday, November 21 at Portland

November 21, 2018 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release


CALGARY HITMEN (8-13-2-0, 18 pts.) at PORTLAND WINTERHAWKS (13-7-0-2, 28 pts.) Wednesday - 8:00 p.m. MT - Moda Center

TODAY'S GAME

The Calgary Hitmen play Game 4 of a season high seven game road trip tonight in Portland against the Winterhawks. The Hitmen are 2-1 on the swing following last night's 4-0 loss in Everett. Leading 1-0 after 40 minutes, the Silvertips scored three times in the first 8:02 of the final period to blow the game open. Riley Sutter and Bryce Kindopp powered the Everett attack with a goal and an assist while Dustin Wolf made 26 saves for his second shutout of the season. Dawson Butt and Martin Fasko-Rudas also scored for the Western Conference leaders. The loss snapped Calgary's three game winning streak on a night when the Hitmen were outshot 33-26. The Hitmen went 0-3 on the power play. Everett was 0-2.

BROADCAST INFORMATION Radio: Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream) Webcast: WHL Live at whl.neulion.com ATTACHMENTS Media Kit

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STREAKS

- Four Hitmen players saw their point streaks snapped with last night's loss in Everett. Egor Zamula's (1g, 4a) team leading four-game point streak was halted while Mark Kastelic's (5g, 1a) three game run also came to an end. Additionally two-game point streaks for Jake Kryski (1g, 2a) and Kaden Elder (2a) were snapped.

NOTEWORTHY VS. PORTLAND: Tonight is the first and only regular season meeting between the Hitmen and Winterhawks. Calgary had won four in a row against the "Hawks from 2012-13 to 2015-16 but have dropped their last two meetings. Portland recorded a 7-3 victory in their only battle last season on Nov. 22, 2017 at Scotiabank Saddledome. Kieffer Bellows (2g, 1a) and Cody Glass (1g, 2a) picked up three points each. This is Calgary's first visit to Portland since Nov. 12, 2016, when the Winterhawks rolled to a 9-2 triumph. Cody Glass (3g, 2a) netted a first period hat-trick en route to a five point night. Calgary's last win in Portland came on Feb. 25, 2015 by a score of 5-4 in overtime. That night the Hitmen roared back from a 4-1 second period deficit with Elliott Peterson scoring the game winner. Jake Virtanen and Kenton Helgesen both added a goal and an assist.

HOMECOMING: Tonight marks the return to Portland for Hitmen Assistant Coach and Goaltending Coach Jason LaBarbera. He spent parts of four seasons with the Winterhawks from 1996-97 to 1999-2000. During that time he recorded 49 wins while playing 6,747 minutes in goal. LaBarbera is now in his third season as goaltending coach and second as assistant coach with the Hitmen. He spent 16 seasons as a professional goalie including parts of 12 campaigns in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Phoenix, Edmonton and Anaheim.

WHL TOP 15: Mark Kastelic is third in the WHL in goals with 19 while his 30 points rank 14th. Josh Prokop is 11th in rookie scoring with 11 points.

HIGHWAY TRACKER: Calgary's tilt in Portland tonight is the fourth stop in a stretch of six games in nine nights. Once the journey wraps up and the Hitmen return back to Calgary, they will have covered a grand total of 3,004 kilometers. So far they have gone 1,489 kilometers.

LONG TIME COMING: Calgary's 5-0 win over Kootenay on Friday, Nov. 16 was their first shutout since March 11, 2016. That night Cody Porter made 29 saves in a 5-0 victory over the Oil Kings at Rexall Place in Edmonton.

FAST FACTS: Calgary has taken 124 more shots than they have given up this season although they have been outshot in back-to-back games...The Hitmen have been shutout four times this season but are still averaging 3.5 goals per game...A total of 28 players have played at least a single game for Calgary...A Hitmen player has scored at least twice in a game 16 times this season this although Mark Kastelic's three-goal performance last Saturday in Spokane was the first Hitmen hat-trick.

DID YOU KNOW?: Following this seven game road trip, Calgary heads in the opposite direction playing 10 of their next 12 at home.

BOUNCING BACK: Since starting the season 0-5-1-0, the Hitmen have gone 8-8-1-0.

HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: The Hitmen are 5-7 on the road this season while Portland is 8-3 at home.

TEDDY BEAR TICKETS: Due to overwhelming demand, press-level seating is open for The Brick Teddy Bear Toss. Tickets are available starting at $14.99 for adults and $9.99 for students and kids (plus applicable fees and taxes). Limited second level seating also remains. Fans are encouraged to bring a new small or medium-sized stuffed toy to toss onto the ice when the Calgary Hitmen score their first goal on Sunday, Dec. 9 against the visiting Kamloops Blazers. Game time at the 'Dome is 2:00 p.m.

NHL DRAFT: Mark Kastelic and Jackson van de Leest are both on NHL Central Scouting's November 'Players to Watch' list for the 2019 NHL Draft. They each received a "C rating' which indicates fourth/fifth/sixth round candidate.

HITMEN ALUMNUS: Travis Sanheim, who played three seasons with the Hitmen from 2013-16, is in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers. The 22-year-old defenceman from Elkhorn, MB has five assists in 20 games.

WORLD STAGE: Luke Prokop joined Hockey Canada at the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. The eight-team tournament saw Prokop and Canada White finish sixth. The Hitmen defenceman recorded one assist in five games. Prokop became the 28th player in franchise history to participate in the tournament joining fellow teammates Jackson van de Leest (2017), Carson Focht (2016), Jake Kryski (2014), Carl Stankowski (2016) and Riley Stotts (2016). Focht won gold with Canada White while van de Leest helped Canada Red capture silver.

CORRAL SERIES: The Hitmen will play a trio of regular season games this season at the historic Stampede Corral. "The Corral Series" presented by Adrenalin Source for Sports, will see the Hitmen host the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday, Feb. 1, the Regina Pats on Wednesday, Feb. 6 and the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday, Feb. 8. All will be 7:00 p.m. starts in the vintage building that first opened on Dec. 15, 1950 and was the original home of the Calgary Flames from 1980-83. Each game will be dedicated to a former elite team who once called the Stampede Corral home by wearing commemorative jerseys of the Calgary Centennials, Calgary Wranglers and Calgary Cowboys. The series will feature a number of exciting events including an opening night pre-game celebration and beer gardens, a luncheon, merchandise and other activities that will make this a week to remember. Tickets go on sale Nov. 26.

HITMEN GO GREEN: On Sept. 26, National Tree Day, the Calgary Hitmen announced their participation in an environmental initiative called One Ticket, One Tree. The Hitmen will begin a pilot project where a tree will be planted for reforestation projects in the province for each game day and group ticket sold to the One Ticket, One Tree game when they host the Oil Kings on Mar. 8 at 7:00 p.m. In addition, Hitmen players will be in the community this season doing their part to reduce their ecological footprint and bring awareness to local environmental issues.

TICKET SPECIALS: The 2018-19 Hitmen Hockey Pass includes 34 tickets to be used anytime, in any combination. Pass holders also receive a $50 Scotiabank Saddledome gift card and a FREE ticket to a select Flames, Roughnecks or Stampeders game. Passes start at less than $7 per ticket for kids and under $15 for adults. Also available is the 10-game Hitmen Flex Pack to be used for any game, in any combination. Students and kids tickets are $10 per game, adults and seniors $20. Applicable fees and taxes apply. Visit HitmenHockey.com to score yours today!

UPCOMING GAMES All times in MT. Schedule subject to change. DATE

OPPONENT TIME BROADCAST

Nov. 23 at Seattle 8:35 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Nov. 24 at Tri-City 8:05 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Nov. 30 at Red Deer 7:00 p.m. Sportsnet.ca/960 (Alt Stream)

Dec. 1 vs. Edmonton 7:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

Dec. 2 vs. Moose Jaw 4:00 p.m. Sportsnet 960-The Fan

PROMO CALENDAR

Upcoming home game highlights include: - The Brick Teddy Bear Toss on Dec. 9 vs. KAM

- Carols for Christmas on Dec. 14 vs. KEL

- Novice Jamboree on Dec. 16 vs. LET

- Soccer Day on Dec. 30 vs. VAN

- Airdrie Day on Jan. 1 vs. VIC

- Wizarding Day on Jan. 5 vs. MH

- CBE Night on Jan. 25 vs. PG

- Dodge Skate with the Hitmen on Jan. 27 vs. KTN - The Corral Series - Presented by Adrenalin Source for Sports on Feb.1 vs. BDN, Feb. 6 vs. REG and Feb. 8 vs. PA. Tickets on sale starting Nov. 26 - Family Game on Feb. 10 vs. MJ

- Lunar Celebration/Calgary Catholic on Feb. 15 vs. MH - TELUS BE BRAVE on Feb. 27 vs. SC - Multicultural Night on Mar. 1 vs. BDN - WHL Suits up with Don Cherry to Promote Organ Donation - Presented by RE/MAX on Mar. 3 vs. KTN - One Ticket, One Tree on Mar. 8 vs. EDM - Fan Appreciation on Mar. 17 vs. EDM

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH

- Vladislav Yeryomenko is two games shy of 150.

- Jake Kryski played career game 300 on Saturday in Spokane while Luke Coleman played in game 250 Friday night against Kootenay. Coleman is also two goals away from 50.

- Carl Stankowski is 50 saves shy of 500.

Check out the Calgary Hitmen Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from November 21, 2018


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