Hitmen In Lethbridge Tuesday, Then Host Kootenay Wednesday And Medicine Hat Friday
Published on November 9, 2009 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
CALGARY HITMEN NEWS AND NOTES
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen fresh off a three game home stand hit the road Tuesday for a date with the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. The Hitmen are coming off Sunday's 4-2 win over Swift Current. Kris Foucault and Tyler Fiddler scored 16 seconds apart in the second period to turn a 2-1 Hitmen deficit into a 3-2 lead. Austin Madaisky and Joel Broda also scored for Calgary who outshot the Broncos 36-24. Brandon Kozun, the WHL's leading scorer, had a pair of assists while Broda led all Hitmen with seven shots on goal. Michael Snider made 22 saves to record the win. Overall Calgary is now 16-5 on the season. At 32 points they hold an eight point lead over Medicine Hat for first in the Central Division, but trail the Saskatoon Blades by three points for top spot in the Eastern Conference and number one overall.
VS LETHBRIDGE: Tuesday is the first of six meetings with the Hurricanes. Last season Calgary won the season series 6-0 outscoring Lethbridge by a combined 24-10. The two teams will meet again on Sunday, January 3rd in Calgary.
DID YOU KNOW? The Hitmen are 9-0 against teams from their own division. Tonight's game in Lethbridge kicks off a stretch of three games in a row against Central Division opponents.
NATIONAL ATTENTION: The Calgary Hitmen are ranked #3 in the CHL Top 10.
STREAKIN': Brandon Kozun is on a season high 14 game point streak (8g+19a27 points). That is also the longest point streak in the WHL this season. The Hitmen franchise record for the longest point streak is 20 games set by Pavel Brendl (28g+21a49 points) in the 1998-99 season. Joel Broda is on a three game goal scoring streak with five points (3g 2a) in that span. Austin Madaisky has goals in back-to-back games (2g). Michael Stone is on a three game point streak (2g 3a), while Kris Foucault is on a two game run (1g 1a). Michael Snider has won his last three starts in goal stopping 49 of 73 shots for a.945 save percentage.
MILESTONES: Brandon Kozun passed the 200 regular season point mark in Sunday's win over Swift Current. Kozun now has 201 career points in 173 games. Joel Broda needs four assists for 100.
"MOVEMBER": Calgary Hitmen together with Canada Safeway are challenging Calgarians to participate in "Movember", a month to fight prostate cancer. The Hitmen are growing mustaches to raise awareness and help raise funds. Go to hitmenhockey.com and click on the "Movember" promotional link to donate. During his lifetime, 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with the disease, and this number is expected to rise to 1 in 4 within a decade. Prostate cancer is over 90 per cent curable if detected and treated in its earliest stages.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The Hitmen have the number one powerplay in the WHL (31-100) clicking at 31.0%. Meanwhile the penalty kill is seventh at 82.0%.
NAIL BITERS: Nine of Calgary's 21 games this season or 43 percent have been decided by a single goal.
ROAD WARRIORS: Starting Tuesday in Lethbridge, the Hitmen will play nine of their next 12 games on the road. The Hitmen have already played 12 games away from the Pengrowth Saddledome. That's a third of their entire 36 game road schedule this season.
WORLD JUNIOR HOPEFULS: Team WHL will face Team Russia in games five and six of the upcoming 2009 Subway Super Series. Games will be played Wednesday, November 25 in Victoria, BC, and on Thursday, November 26 in Kelowna, BC. Three Hitmen are among the 33 players named to Team WHL. Goaltender Martin Jones will play in both games while Brandon Kozun and Michael Stone will suit up for the game in Kelowna. Team WHL was selected by a special committee of WHL General Managers along with Al Murray, Hockey Canada's Head Scout for the Canadian National Junior Team, as part of the selection process for the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships.
WHL TOP 10: Brandon Kozun leads the WHL scoring race with 38 points. He also has the most assists with 28. Joel Broda is tied for third in powerplay goals with seven. Michael Snider leads the league in goals against average (2.11) and save percentage (.924) while his two shutouts are tied for second. Michael Stone is tied with Stefan Elliott of Saskatoon and Kevin Connauton of Vancouver for most goals by a defenceman with eight while Stone's 18 points are tied for seventh overall in defencemen scoring. Matt MacKenzie is tied for second in assists by a d-man with 15.
HITMEN RECORD BOOKS: Brandon Kozun has moved into the Top 10 in franchise scoring. His 201 points is ninth on the all time list. Kozun is now five points behind Brandon Segal (206) for eighth. Brad Moran leads the way with 450.
DRAFTED PLAYERS: The Hitmen have six NHL prospects... Joel Broda-(5th round Washington 2008), Kris Foucault-(4th round Minnesota 2009), Martin Jones-(FA signing LA Kings '08), Brandon Kozun-(6th round LA 2009), Ian Schultz-(3rd round St. Louis 2008), Michael Stone-(3rd round Phoenix 2008).
HITMEN TEAM LEADERS:
Goals (11) Tyler Fiddler
Points (38) Brandon Kozun
Plus/Minus (+12) Brandon Kozun
Assists (28) Brandon Kozun
PIM (47) Ian Schultz
Wins (9) Martin Jones
HITMEN VS: (Bran 1-0), (Cwk 0-1), (Edm 4-0), (Evt 1-0), (Kam 0-0), (Kel 0-1), (Ktn 1-0), (Leth 0-0), (MH 1-0), (MJ 0-2), (Port 1-0), (PA 0-0), (PG 0-0), (RD 3-0), (Reg 1-0), (Sask 0-1), (Sea 1-0), (Spok 0-0), (SC 1-0), (TC 0-0), (Van 1-0)
HITMEN ALUMNI: Alex Plante who played four plus seasons with the Hitmen (2004/05 to 2008/09) is in the American Hockey League with the Springfield Falcons. The 20-year-old Edmonton Oilers prospect has 11 shots on goal and one point (1a) in 13 games.
UP NEXT: The Hitmen return home for a pair of games hosting the Kootenay Ice in a Remembrance Day matinee on Wednesday (2:00 p.m.) before welcoming the Medicine Hat Tigers to the Pengrowth Saddledome Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Calgary will then head to Moose Jaw and Brandon the following week.
Western Hockey League Stories from November 9, 2009
- Rockets, BC Dragoons and food bank celebrate Remembrance Day with afternoon game Wednesday - Kelowna Rockets
- Calgary Hitmen And TELUS Remember - Calgary Hitmen
- Hurricanes Weekly - Lethbridge Hurricanes
- Portland Winterhawks This Week - Portland Winterhawks
- Hitmen In Lethbridge Tuesday, Then Host Kootenay Wednesday And Medicine Hat Friday - Calgary Hitmen
- Weekly Ice Report - Kootenay Ice
- Chilliwack Bruins Take On The Vancouver Giants Wednesday Afternoon - Chilliwack Bruins
- Pats Weekly - Regina Pats
- Blazers Week In Review - Kamloops Blazers
- Americans' Brendan Shinnimin Named Boston Pizza WHL Player Of The Week - WHL
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