PREVIEW: HITMEN VS ICE

HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (46-20-1-4) wrap up the 2012-13 regular season tonight, playing the back half of a home-and-home set against the Kootenay Ice (34-35-2-0). Calgary enters this evening’s contest riding a six-game winning streak following a 5-3 road win over the Ice last night.  Cody Sylvester (2g, 1a) scored both the tying and game-winning goals just past the mid-way mark of the third period in the come-from-behind victory.  Brady Brassart (2g, 1a) also posted a three-point performance, while Calder Brooks netted a goal in the win.  While Calgary knows they will enter the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s third seed at 97 points, they still don’t know who they will face. There is a chance for either the Prince Albert Raiders (79 points) or Swift Current Broncos (77 points) to finish in sixth place and draw the Hitmen in the opening round.  The last time Calgary saw Prince Albert in the post-season was in 1999 when the Hitmen defeated the Raiders in the Eastern Conference Final.  The Hitmen and Broncos last met during the 2008 playoffs when Calgary beat Swift Current in the Eastern Conference Semi-Final.

VS. KOOTENAY: Tonight is eighth and final meeting between the Hitmen and Ice, with Calgary holding a 4-3-0-0 advantage in the season series.  Cody Sylvester tops the Hitmen with four goals and five assists against Kootenay, while Brooks Macek (2g, 6a) and Brady Brassart (2g, 6a) each have eight points in the series.  Brock Montgomery (7g, 1a) leads the Ice with eight points against Calgary, followed by Sam Reinhart (1g, 6a) and Joey Leach (7a) with seven points each versus the Hitmen.  Over the last five seasons, Calgary is 18-20-1-0 against Kootenay, including an 11-8-0-0 home record.

SERIES RECAP

Sept. 22/12 at CAL:                                    Hitmen 5 Ice 1                                    
Zane Jones scored twice for Calgary in the win.

Nov. 12/12 at CAL:                                    Ice 4 Hitmen 0                                    
B. Montgomery recorded a hat trick for the Ice, while M. Skapski made 17 saves in the win.

Dec. 2/12 at CAL:                                    Hitmen 4 Ice 1                                   
G. Chase (2g), A. Roach (1g, 1a), B. Macek (2a) and B. Brassart (2a) each posted two points.

Dec. 4/12 at KTN:                                    Hitmen 6 Ice 1                                   
G. Chase scored two goals, while B. Macek (1g, 2a) and V. Rask (1g, 2a) each posted three points.

Dec. 31/12 at KTN:                                    Ice 3 Hitmen 2                                   
Brock Montgomery netted a pair of goals for Kootenay.

Feb. 23/13 at KTN:                                      Ice 5 Hitmen 1                                       
Five different players scored for the Ice, while Calgary’s lone goal came from Pavlo Padakin.

Mar. 15/13 at KTN:                                    Hitmen 5 Ice 3                                   
Cody Sylvester scored both the tying and game-winning goals in the third period.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CAL 213  KTN 213      
Power Plays: CAL 5-28 (17.8%)  KTN 6-53 (11.3%)

HITMEN TEAM LEADERS:               

Goals (41) Cody Sylvester                  
Assists (49) Cody Sylvester             
Points (90) Cody Sylvester                              
Power Play Goals (16) Cody Sylvester 
PIM (122) Jaynen Rissling  
Plus/Minus (+42) Alex Roach      
Wins (36) Chris Driedger

HOME-AND-HOMES: Tonight the Hitmen conclude a home-and-home set against the Ice, marking the seventh and final home-and-home series Calgary will play during the regular season. Last year, the Hitmen played only two home-and-home sets, winning all four contests against the Broncos and Ice.  Calgary has won 11-of-13 games involved in home-and-homes this season, including a previous home-and-home sweep against Kootenay in December (4-1 win at Calgary on Dec. 2, 6-1 win at Kootenay on Dec. 6).

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  Cody Sylvester was named the CHL Player of the Week for the week ending Mar. 10 and, for the second time this season, the Denny’s WHL Player of the Week (Mar. 4-10).  Sylvester collected 12 points, scoring five goals and seven assists to go with a plus-8 rating in four games over the past week.  He was previously named the WHL Player of the Week from Dec. 31 – Jan. 6.

WHL TOP 10: Cody Sylvester is tied for seventh in WHL scoring with 41 goals and 49 assists for 90 points. The Hitmen captain is also tied for second with six shorthanded tallies and tied for fourth with 16 power play markers.  Alex Roach is tied for eighth among WHL defencemen with 15 goals and 34 assists for 49 points.  His plus-42 rating ranks him fourth among the league’s blueliners, while Jake Virtanen is tied for third among WHL rookies at plus-23.  Brady Brassart tops the league with nine game-winning goals.  Ukrainian import Pavlo Padakin sits fourth among rookie snipers with 22 goals.  Chris Driedger sits seventh among WHL netminders with a 2.51 goals-against average and a 0.915 save percentage. Driedger is also tied for third with 36 wins on the season.

STREAKIN’:  Cody Sylvester (8g, 10a) is the WHL’s hottest player with 18 points in his last six games. Victor Rask (2g, 8a) has 10 points in six straight contests, while Alex Roach (1g, 5a) has six points over five games.  Forwards Brooks Macek (4g, 2a), Brady Brassart (3g, 5a) and Calder Brooks (1g, 2a) each have points in their last four contests.  Chris Driedger has six straight wins in as many starts.

CLIMBING THE RANKS: Cody Sylvester, in his fifth and final season in the WHL, is making his mark on the Hitmen record book.  Sylvester has played 315 regular-season games with the club, recording 97 goals and 132 assists for 229 points. The captain is now sixth all-time in games played, fifth in goals, eighth in assists and tied for seventh in points with Boris Protsenko.

NHL PROSPECTS:  Chris Driedger (Ottawa 2012); Kenton Helgesen (Anaheim 2012); Jaynen Rissling (Washington 2012); Alex Roach (Three-year, Entry-level Contract, Los Angeles 2011); Victor Rask (Three-year, Entry-level Contract, Carolina 2011).

POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS: Meet defenceman Spencer Humphries at the Booster Club table located by section 212 after the game.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: The Hitmen will open the first round of the 2013 Western Hockey League Playoffs with Games 1 and 2 on Thursday, March 21 and Friday, March 22.  Playoff tickets are on sale now at all Ticketmaster locations and the Scotiabank Saddledome box office.  Order online at www.ticketmaster.ca or by phone at 1-855-985-5000.