PREVIEW: HITMEN AT ICE

HITMEN HEADLINES: Tonight the Calgary Hitmen (32-13-3-3) will play their second game in as many nights when they visit the Kootenay Ice (26-21-2-2).  Calgary enters the match-up following a 7-4 home win last night over the Brandon Wheat Kings.  The Hitmen received goals from seven different players including multi-point performances from Greg Chase (1g, 2a), Brady Brassart (1g, 1a), Adam Tambellini (1g, 1a), Ben Thomas (1g, 1a) and Jake Virtanen (1g, 1a).  Chase Lang and Connor Rankin completed Calgary’s scoring tally, while Mike Winther and Pavel Padakin both contributed with two-assist efforts in the win.  Chris Driedger made 27 saves for Calgary to become the franchise’s all-time leader (3,390).

VS. KOOTENAY: Tonight is the sixth of eight regular season meetings between Calgary and Kootenay, with the Ice leading the series 3-1-1-0.  Last year, the Hitmen and Ice split the season series 4-4-0-0.  Jake Virtanen (2g, 3a) tops Calgary with five points in the series against Kootenay, while Jaedon Descheneau (7g, 2a) leads the Ice with nine points over five games played against the Hitmen.

SERIES RECAP

Oct. 4/13 at CAL:                        Hitmen 4 Ice 3 (OT)                       
Jaynen Rissling scored a pair of goals including the overtime game-winning marker.

Oct. 5/13 at KTN:                        Ice 4 Hitmen 2                       
The Ice used a strong power play, scoring three times on the man advantage in the win.

Nov. 5/13 at KTN:                        Ice 3 Hitmen 1                       
Kootenay scored three unanswered third-period goals in the win.

Nov. 11/13 vs KTN:                        Ice 5 Hitmen 1                       
Mack Shields stopped 28 of 33 shots he faced in the setback.

Dec. 30/13 at CAL:                        Hitmen 4 Ice 1                       
Rookie Cal Babych netted his first career WHL goal and added an assist in the win.

 

INSIDE THE SERIES

Shots on Goal: CAL 170   KTN 146     
Power Plays: CAL 5-17 (29.4%)  KTN 8-29 (27.6%)     
Next Meeting: Fri., Mar. 14 at KTN 

RECORD-SETTING NIGHT: With his 12th save on Friday evening, Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger made franchise history, surpassing the club record for most career saves set by Martin Jones at 3,374 (2006-10).  Driedger, who finished the night with 27 saves, now has 3,390 regular season saves over 135 games played for Calgary.  

BACK-TO-BACKS: Tonight is the 13th time the Hitmen will play games on consecutive nights this season.  Calgary has a 7-2-2-1 record on the second night.

DID YOU KNOW?: Ben Thomas and Kenton Helgesen are the only two Hitmen players to have played in all 51 games this season.

MILESTONE WATCH: Brady Brassart is two goals shy of recording his 100th career WHL goal.  Colby Harmsworth is four games away from reaching 100 career WHL games played, while Chase Lang is nine games away from the same milestone.  By setting up six more goals, Connor Rankin will reach 100 career WHL assists.

WHL TOP 10: Chris Driedger sits fifth among WHL goaltenders with a 2.54 goals-against average and 0.919 save percentage.  Jake Virtanen’s team-leading 32 goals ranks him tied for first among Eastern Conference skaters, while Greg Chase is tied for fourth in the conference with 29 goals on the season.  Chase’s four game-winning goals and plus-26 rating places him in a tie for fifth in both categories in the Eastern Conference.  Radel Fazleev is tied for seventh among Eastern Conference rookies with 25 points (5g, 20a) over 38 games played, while Ben Thomas is tied for ninth in the conference with 21 points (5g, 16a) in 51 games.

GETTING NOTICED: Four Hitmen players were recognized by NHL Central Scouting in its midterm rankings for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft: forwards Jake Virtanen (ninth, North American Skater) and Radel Fazleev (129th, North American Skater), and defencemen Ben Thomas (49th, North American Skater) and Travis Sanheim (167th, North American Skater).

GAME-WORN JERSEY AUCTION: In October 2013, the Calgary Hitmen, with the support of Canada Diagnostic Centres, launched the fifth annual Hitmen Fight Cancer campaign in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation – Prairies/NWT Region.  As part of the campaign, the Hitmen have worn pink-themed third jerseys throughout the season.  Fans now have an opportunity to bid on the game-worn jerseys by visiting www.elevateauctions.com/hitmenfightcancer2014.  The online auction closes on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 9 p.m.  Over four years, the Calgary Hitmen, with the support of their partners, players, staff and fans, have raised more than $71,900 through the club’s Hitmen Fight Cancer initiatives.

UPCOMING GAMES: The Hitmen will now continue a five-game road swing, heading to Victoria for a back-to-back set against the Royals starting on Tuesday, Feb. 4.  Calgary will also visit Vancouver (Feb. 7) and Kamloops (Feb. 8), before returning to the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday, Feb. 11 for a tilt against the Prince Albert Raiders.