PREVIEW: HITMEN VS CHIEFS
HITMEN HEADLINES: Today the Calgary Hitmen (5-3-0-0) conclude the Thanksgiving weekend with a meeting against the Spokane Chiefs (7-2-0-0) at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Last night, Calgary scored three first-period goals en route to a 4-3 home ice win over the Prince Albert Raiders. Jake Virtanen, Pavel Padakin, Brady Brassart and Chase Clayton each recorded a goal for Calgary, while seven different Hitmen added an assist including rookie Ben Thomas who now has five points in his last three games. Calgary goaltender Mack Shields stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced to record his third win of the season as the Raiders outshot the Hitmen 31-26. Calgary, now looking to extend their two-game winning streak, sits tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference with 10 points. At 14 points, Spokane is tied for third in the Western Conference.
VS. SPOKANE: Tonight is the first and only regular season meeting between the two clubs. Last season, versus Spokane, Calgary fell 4-3 at the Veterans Memorial Arena. Todd Fiddler led the Chiefs with a goal and an assist, while Dylan Walchuk, Brenden Kichton and Carter Proft also scored in the win. Brady Brassart, Cody Sylvester and Victor Rask scored for the Hitmen who pulled to within one goal with 2:11 remaining but could not produce the equalizer. Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 1-3-0-0 against the Chiefs, including a 1-1-0-0 record when playing at the ‘Dome. In August 2011, the Hitmen acquired Brassart from the Chiefs for a conditional fourth round pick in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft. Since joining Calgary, the 20-year-old forward was appeared in 141 games, recording 64 goals and 81 assists for 145 points.
2012-13 SERIES RECAP
Feb. 13/2013 at SPO: Hitmen 3 Chiefs 4
Greg Chase picked up two assists in the only meeting between the two teams.
INSIDE THE 2012-13 SERIES
Shots on Goal: CAL 34 SPO 36
Power Plays: CAL 1-4 (25.0%) SPO 1-4 (25.0%)
HITMEN TEAM LEADERS:
Goals (8) Greg Chase
Assists (7) Kenton Helgesen
Points (13) Greg Chase
Plus-Minus (+5) Ben Thomas
PPG (3) Jake Virtanen
PIM (28) Jaynen Rissling
Wins (3) Mack Shields
GAA (3.17) Mack Shields
SV% (0.869) Mack Shields
DID YOU KNOW?: Last night, Ukrainian import Pavel Padakin recorded Calgary’s first shorthanded goal of the season. During the 2012-13 campaign, the Hitmen scored a total of 14 shorthanded goals with former captain Cody Sylvester contributing six of the shorthanded tallies. The franchise record for most shorthanded goals is 10, set by Pavel Brendl in 1998-99.
U16 CHALLENGE: Three Hitmen prospects will play in the 2013 Western Canada Under-16 Challenge Cup that takes place Oct. 31-Nov. 3 at the Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary; Brandon Lesko (Team Saskatchewan), Dawson Martin (Team Manitoba) and Nathan Halvorsen (Team Manitoba). Last year, five of Calgary’s 10 prospects from the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft competed in the tournament including rookie forward Terrell Draude. Team BC and Team Alberta rosters will be announced on Tues., Oct. 15.
STREAKIN’: Brady Brassart (3g, 3a) and Ben Thomas (5a) both have points in their last three games. Chase Clayton (1g, 2a), Calder Brooks (1g, 2a) and Jesse Zgraggen (2a) each have points in back-to-back contests, while Greg Chase (8g, 5a) has 13 points in seven of Calgary’s first eight games.
STRONG DRAFT: Six of Calgary’s 10 picks from the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft are on the current roster; Jake Virtanen (Rnd 1), Josh Thrower (Rnd 2), Ben Thomas (Rnd 3), Braden Oleksyn (Rnd 3), Chase Lang (Rnd 5) and Travis Sanheim (Rnd 9).
MILESTONE WATCH: Chris Driedger is 90 saves shy of 3,000 career WHL saves. Jesse Zgraggen is four games away from 200 career WHL games played, while Brady Brassart needs eight points to reach 200 career WHL points.
POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet defenceman Jesse Zgraggen at the Booster Club table located by section 212 after the game.
UPCOMING GAMES: Calgary wraps up a three-game homestand on Thursday, Oct. 17 when the Saskatoon Blades visit the ’Dome, with a 7 p.m. puck drop. The Hitmen will then travel to Red Deer on Saturday, Oct. 19, before returning to the Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday, Oct. 20 when Calgary hosts the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Thurs., Oct. 17 vs. Saskatoon, 7 p.m., SN960 Radio Broadcast
Sat., Oct. 19 at Red Deer, 7 p.m., SN960 Online Broadcast
