Autographed Hitmen jersey by Justin Bieber added to cancer fundraiser

From the Hitmen Office:

The Calgary Hitmen Hockey Club, in partnership with Delta West Academy, announced the addition of a Hitmen pink jersey autographed by Justin Bieber to support the Hitmen Fight Cancer initiative.  The Bieber-signed jersey along with game-worn pink jerseys from the Sunday, October 28 Hitmen Fight Cancer game (Scotiabank Saddledome, 4 p.m.) will be featured in an online auction until Tuesday, October 30 at 8 p.m. MT.  Fans can bid on these one-of-a-kind items by visiting www.elevateauctions.com/hitmenhockeycancer.

Proceeds from the jersey auction will be shared by both the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - Prairies/NWT Region and Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta.  In addition, 50/50 funds and on-site donations from the Hitmen Fight Cancer game will support both causes.  Winning bidders will be presented with jerseys following the home game on Friday, November 9.

A special ticket offer is available for the Hitmen Fight Cancer game through Smart Betty, a local fundraising organization, with a portion of the ticket proceeds going to both foundations.  To purchase these tickets, please register at http://calgary.smartbetty.com/.  

In three years, the Calgary Hitmen with the support of their partners, staff, players and fans, have raised over $58,500 through the club’s October cancer awareness initiatives.

Calgary at Prince George

The Calgary Hitmen (6-1-1-1) leaders of the WHL's Central Division open a three game BC Division road trip tonight in Prince George against the Cougars (5-3-1-0). 

Game time is 8:05 pm (MST) at CN Centre.  Husky Hitmen Hockey on Sportsnet 960 The Fan begins at 7:00 pm with a one hour pre-game show.  Guests include Hitmen Assistant Coach Brent Kisio and Hitmen defenceman Alex Roach.

Calgary enters the contest coming off their first regulation time loss of the season, falling 5-2 at home Sunday to Kamloops while Prince George last played Saturday losing 7-2 in Medicine Hat.

Top Scorers:

Calgary
Brooks Macek 6g 9a 15pts
Brady Brassart 5g 6a 11pts
Cody Sylvester 8g 2a 10pts

Prince George
Colin Jacobs 7g 7a 14pts
Daulton Siwak 5g 2a 7pts
Brock Hirsche 4g 3a 7pts

Kamloops 5 Calgary 2

In the Western Hockey League's battle of the last two unbeaten teams in regulation the Kamloops Blazers scored five powerplay goals en route to a 5-2 win over the Calgary Hitmen Sunday evening at Scotiabank Saddledome.

The WHL's top scorer JC Lipon scored twice and set up two others in a four point game. 

Brady Brassart and Cody Sylvester scored for Calgary who also scored both of their goals with the man advantage.

Brooks Macek had an assist in the loss to extend his point scoring streak to nine games, one back of his career high 10 set in the 2009-10 season with the Tri-City Americans.

The Hitmen are now 6-1-1-1 and will open a three game BC Division road trip Tuesday in Prince George.

Kamloops Blazers 5 at Calgary Hitmen 2
Sunday, October 14, 2012 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Kamloops 1 3 1 - 5
Calgary 1 1 0 - 2

1st Period
1, Calgary, Brassart 5 (Chase, Macek), 11:27 (PP).
2, Kamloops, Smith 5 (Lipon), 14:59 (PP).
Penalties-Smith Kam (roughing), 10:20; Roach Cal (roughing), 10:20; Lipon Kam (charging), 10:47; Roach Cal (checking from behind), 13:38; Bell Kam (slashing), 18:00; Humphries Cal (cross checking), 19:07.

2nd Period
3, Calgary, Sylvester 8 (Humphries, Rissling), 4:29 (PP).
4, Kamloops, Lipon 8 (Ranford, Hrbas), 6:00 (PP).
5, Kamloops, Sterzer 1 (Ully, Hansen), 15:26 (PP).
6, Kamloops, Lipon 9 (Smith, Thomson), 18:52 (PP).
Penalties-Grist Kam (charging), 3:57; Thrower Cal (roughing), 4:41; Sylvester Cal (interference), 8:20; Willick Kam (tripping), 9:44; Chase Cal (cross checking), 13:32; Bell Kam (major-fighting), 17:46; Sylvester Cal (instigator, major-fighting, 10-minute misconduct), 17:46; Jones Cal (boarding), 19:35.

3rd Period
7, Kamloops, Smith 6 (Lipon, Hrbas), 11:59 (PP).
Penalties-Henry Cal (holding), 8:10; Virtanen Cal (holding), 11:26; Virtanen Cal (checking to the head), 14:20; Bell Kam (checking from behind), 20:00.

Shots on Goal-Kamloops 10-12-9-31. Calgary 5-4-6-15.
Power Play Opportunities-Kamloops 5 / 10; Calgary 2 / 4.
Goalies-Kamloops, Cheveldave 6-0-0-0 (15 shots-13 saves). Calgary, Driedger 5-1-1-0 (31 shots-26 saves).
A-7,066
Referees-Pat Smith (12), Kevin Webinger (6).
Linesmen-Jared Mackey (52), Scott Sharun (103).

Calgary 4 Red Deer 2

Cody Sylvester scored twice, including the game winner just past the midway mark of the third period, in a 4-2 Calgary Hitmen win over the Red Deer Rebels Saturday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Jake Virtanen and Brooks Macek, into an empty net, also scored for the Hitmen who remain unbeaten in regulation this season improving to a Central Division best 6-0-1-1.

Mack Shields made 17 saves and picked up an assist and his first career Western Hockey League win.

The Hitmen will now host the Western Conference leading Kamloops Blazers Sunday at 4 pm.

Red Deer Rebels 2 at Calgary Hitmen 4
Saturday, October 13, 2012 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Red Deer 0 2 0 - 2
Calgary 1 1 2 - 4

1st Period
1, Calgary, Virtanen 2 (Padakin, Shields), 11:30.
Penalties-Roach Cal (delay of game), 0:13; Fafard R.d (hooking), 5:40; Pouliot R.d (tripping), 7:57; Underwood R.d (holding), 14:42; Underwood R.d (major-fighting), 18:09; Jones Cal (major-fighting), 18:09.

2nd Period
2, Red Deer, Ness 5 (Elson), 8:48 (SH).
3, Red Deer, Millette 4 (Stockl, Fleury), 11:12.
4, Calgary, Sylvester 6 (Chase, Macek), 12:39 (PP).
Penalties-Brassart Cal (roughing), 4:39; Inglis R.d (butt-ending, butt-ending), 5:59; Bittner R.d (hooking), 12:00; Sylvester Cal (hooking), 17:37.

3rd Period
5, Calgary, Sylvester 7 (Roach, Clayton), 10:54.
6, Calgary, Macek 6   19:39.
Penalties-Elson R.d (major-fighting), 5:28; Henry Cal (major-fighting), 5:28; Stockl R.d (tripping), 6:13; Millette R.d (roughing), 9:57; Chase Cal (interference), 9:57; Maxwell R.d (high sticking), 17:01.

Shots on Goal-Red Deer 5-7-7-19. Calgary 13-8-16-37.
Power Play Opportunities-Red Deer 0 / 3; Calgary 1 / 8.
Goalies-Red Deer, Pouliot 2-2-0-1 (37 shots-33 saves). Calgary, Shields 1-0-0-1 (19 shots-17 saves).
A-8,195
Referees-Ryan Benbow (62), Steve Papp (17).
Linesmen-Aidan Henderson (78), Ian Shaver (74).

Calgary 5 Edmonton 4 Shootout

The Calgary Hitmen made their fourth straight trip into extra time and left with a 5-4 shootout win Friday night at Rexall Place over the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Greg Chase scored the shootout winner in a game that saw Calgary let leads of 2-0 and 3-2 get away but also saw the Hitmen overcome a 4-3 deficit.

Calgary is now 5-0-1-1 on the season and an impressive 3-0 against the defending WHL Champion Oil Kings.

Photo Credit: Edmonton Oil Kings.

Calgary Hitmen 5 at Edmonton Oil Kings 4 - Shootout
Friday, October 12, 2012 - Rexall Place - Edmonton, AB

Calgary 2 2 0 0 - 5
Edmonton 1 3 0 0 - 4

1st Period
1, Calgary, Macek 4 (Jones, Brassart), 3:02.
2, Calgary, Samoridny 2 (Helgesen, Henry), 8:41.
3, Edmonton, Lazar 5 (St. Croix, Wruck), 15:04 (PP).
Penalties-Samuelsson Edm (hooking), 6:30; Ewanyk Edm (tripping), 8:57; Macek Cal (holding), 14:08; Helgesen Cal (major-fighting), 18:18; Moroz Edm (major-fighting), 18:18.

2nd Period
4, Edmonton, Foster 8 (Samuelsson, St. Croix), 7:46 (PP).
5, Calgary, Macek 5 (Brassart), 8:03.
6, Edmonton, Samuelsson 4 (Lazar, Corbett), 11:18.
7, Edmonton, Samuelsson 5 (Wruck, St. Croix), 12:39 (PP).
8, Calgary, Kosterman 1 (Padakin, Humphries), 14:40.
Penalties-Kornelsen Cal (high sticking), 6:59; Kornelsen Cal (tripping), 11:35.

3rd Period
No Scoring.
Penalties-Padakin Cal (roughing), 14:56; Corbett Edm (holding), 14:56.

OT Period
No Scoring.
Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout - Calgary 2 (Sylvester G, Macek NG, Chase G), Edmonton 1 (Samuelsson G, Lazar NG, Foster NG).
Shots on Goal-Calgary 7-10-8-0-1-26. Edmonton 6-15-12-3-0-36.
Power Play Opportunities-Calgary 0 / 2; Edmonton 3 / 3.
Goalies-Calgary, Driedger 5-0-1-0 (36 shots-32 saves). Edmonton, Brossoit 4-1-1-1 (25 shots-21 saves).
A-8,652
Referees-Fraser Lawrence (10), Colin Watt (72).
Linesmen-Darren Spurgeon (61), Dustin Zelenak (83).

Hitmen captain Cody Sylvester talks charity

Hitmen captain Cody Sylvester has founded the Chance To Play program, a fundraising initiative in support of local minor hockey.  At each Hitmen home game throughout the season, Chance To Play t-shirts will be sold for $20 at the Booster Club table located on the Scotiabank Saddledome concourse.  Net proceeds will provide the opportunity for local youth to participate in sport. 

Click here to listen to an interview with Sylvester

Here is the T-shirt for sale:

Calgary 6 Edmonton 5 OT

Spencer Humphries scored the game winner at 4:11 of sudden death on the powerplay to lift the Calgary Hitmen to a 6-5 OT win over the Edmonton Oil Kings Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Alex Roach (2g 1a) and Brooks Macek (1g 2a) both led the Hitmen with three points each helping Calgary improve to 2-0 this season against the defending Western Hockey League champions.

Photo Credit: Brad Watson

Edmonton Oil Kings 5 at Calgary Hitmen 6 (OT)
Sunday, October 7, 2012 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Edmonton 1 2 2 0 - 5
Calgary 1 1 3 1 - 6

1st Period
1, Calgary, Roach 1 (Samoridny, Kornelsen), 4:14.
2, Edmonton, Foster 4 (Wruck, St. Croix), 7:43 (PP).
Penalties-Reinhart Edm (hooking), 5:08; Virtanen Cal (cross checking), 6:43; served by St. Croix Edm (too many men), 10:05; Moroz Edm (boarding), 10:05; Henry Cal (slashing), 10:05; Kulda Edm (inter. on goaltender), 14:12.

2nd Period
3, Calgary, Brassart 4 (Rissling, Roach), 11:46.
4, Edmonton, Foster 5 (Legault, Baddock), 12:25.
5, Edmonton, Foster 6 (Kulda, Moroz), 18:56.
Penalties-Moroz Edm (slashing), 8:09; Lazar Edm (interference), 15:20.

3rd Period
6, Calgary, Sylvester 5 (Chase, Clayton), 3:42.
7, Edmonton, Foster 7 (Geertsen, Legault), 4:06.
8, Calgary, Roach 2 (Macek, Rissling), 6:29.
9, Calgary, Macek 3 (Humphries, Brassart), 9:37.
10, Edmonton, St. Croix 5 (Samuelsson, Wruck), 19:20 (PP).
Penalties-Kornelsen Cal (tripping), 11:49; Kulda Edm (tripping), 14:39; Henry Cal (tripping), 18:48.

OT Period
11, Calgary, Humphries 1 (Macek, Chase), 4:11 (PP).
Penalties-Reinhart Edm (slashing), 2:48.

Shots on Goal-Edmonton 11-9-11-0-31. Calgary 12-4-11-5-32.
Power Play Opportunities-Edmonton 2 / 3; Calgary 1 / 7.
Goalies-Edmonton, Brossoit 4-1-1-0 (32 shots-26 saves). Calgary, Driedger 4-0-1-0 (31 shots-26 saves).
A-6,867
Referees-Sean Raphael (28), Nathan Wieler (18).
Linesmen-Chris Carlson (92), Michael Roberts (87).

Prince Albert 5 Calgary 4 Shootout

Mark McNeill scored the lone goal of the shootout lifting the Prince Albert Raiders to a 5-4 win over the Calgary Hitmen Friday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Greg Chase forced overtime for Calgary tapping in a loose puck with 60 seconds left in regulation time.

Three Hitmen recorded personal milestones in the game as Elliot Peterson (2a) and Austin Calladine (1a) both picked up their first career Western Hockey League point while Mack Shields made his WHL debut in goal.

Calgary is now 3-0-1-1 while PA is 5-0-0-1. 

The Hitmen return to action Sunday afternoon to host the Edmonton Oil Kings.  Game time is 2:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Photo Credit: Brad Watson

Prince Albert Raiders 5 at Calgary Hitmen 4 Shootout
Friday, October 5, 2012 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Prince Albert 1 2 1 0 - 5
Calgary 0 3 1 0 - 4

1st Period
1, Prince Albert, Bardaro 3 (Conroy, Knutsen), 11:02.
Penalties-Gardiner P.a (hooking), 5:12; Ruopp P.a (high sticking), 11:59; Samoridny Cal (hooking), 13:25; Jones Cal (cross checking), 19:42.

2nd Period
2, Calgary, Macek 2 (Jones, Thrower), 9:10.
3, Prince Albert, Conroy 3 (Morden, Morrissey), 10:25 (PP).
4, Calgary, Virtanen 1 (Calladine, Peterson), 13:27.
5, Calgary, Clayton 1 (Chase, Jones), 16:11.
6, Prince Albert, Bardaro 4 (Knutsen, Morrissey), 18:51 (PP).
Penalties-McVeigh P.a (hooking), 3:42; Roach Cal (cross checking), 10:00; Kornelsen Cal (roughing), 17:42; Henry Cal (interference), 18:00.

3rd Period
7, Prince Albert, Morrissey 2 (McNeill), 6:55 (PP).
8, Calgary, Chase 2 (Brassart, Peterson), 19:00.
Penalties-Ruopp P.a (major-fighting), 5:08; Rissling Cal (instigator, major-fighting, 10-minute misconduct), 5:08; Roach Cal (boarding), 5:36; McVeigh P.a (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 7:35; Henry Cal (roughing, 10-minute misconduct), 7:35.

OT Period
No Scoring.
Penalties-Morden P.a (major-fighting), 3:53; Kornelsen Cal (instigator, major-fighting, game misconduct), 3:53.

Shootout - Prince Albert 1 (McNeill G, Bardaro NG), Calgary 0 (Macek NG, Chase NG, Virtanen NG).
Shots on Goal-Prince Albert 9-10-13-2-1-35. Calgary 7-7-8-2-0-24.
Power Play Opportunities-Prince Albert 3 / 7; Calgary 0 / 3.
Goalies-Prince Albert, Siemens 5-0-0-1 (24 shots-20 saves). Calgary, Shields 0-0-0-1 (34 shots-30 saves).
A-7,478
Referees-Devin Klein (9), Colin Stefanyk (14).
Linesmen-Reid Anderson (53), Mark MacIsaac (22).

Five Hitmen prospects named to 2012 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup

Calgary, AB- The four Western Provincial Hockey Associations – Hockey Alberta, BC Hockey, Hockey Manitoba and the Saskatchewan Hockey Association – in partnership with the Western Hockey League (WHL) are pleased to announce that 2012 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup will take place November 1 – 4, 2012 at the Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary, Alberta.

The Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup will feature the highest rated players in the Under 16 age category representing the four Western Provinces of Alberta, BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The four team round robin tournament format, which will open Thursday, November 1 and conclude on Sunday, November 4, 2012, is the first step in the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence and assists the four Western Provincial Hockey Associations in evaluating these top prospects in this age group for future high performance programs.

So far rosters for Team Saskatchewan and Team Manitoba have been announced. 

Two Hitmen prospects are on Team Manitoba:
James Shearer D 5’8 169 Brandon 23/06/1997 Brandon Wheatkings MMAAAHL CGY 9th Rd
Jordy Stallard F 5’9 144 Brandon 18/09/1997 Brandon Wheatkings MMAAAHL CGY 4th Rd

Three Hitmen prospects are on Team Saskatchewan:        
Lochlan Morrison D 6’ 180 Prince Albert 08/07/1997 Prince Albert Mintos SMAAAHL CGY 7th Rd
Brennan Riddle D 6’1” 175 Balgonie 27/07/1997 Tisdale Trojans SMAAAHL CGY 1st Rd
Terrell Draude F L 6’2” 185 Warman 21/03/1997 Saskatoon Contacts SMAAAHL CGY 2nd Rd

The Team Alberta and Team B.C. rosters will be unveiled at a media conference in Calgary at the Father David Bauer Arena on Tuesday, October 16, more details to follow.

Red Deer 3 Calgary 2 OT

Charles Inglis scored twice including the overtime winner as the Red Deer Rebels erased a 2-0 first period deficit en route to a 3-2 win over the Calgary Hitmen Saturday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Here are some action photos from Brad Watson:

Red Deer Rebels 3 at Calgary Hitmen 2 OT
Saturday, September 29, 2012 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Red Deer 0 1 1 1 - 3
Calgary 2 0 0 0 - 2

1st Period
1, Calgary, Brassart 3 (Rissling, Macek), 5:28 (PP).
2, Calgary, Sylvester 4 (Jones, Humphries), 11:39 (PP).
Penalties-Thiel R.d (interference), 4:49; Underwood R.d (interference), 9:59; Bellerive R.d (roughing), 20:00; Henry Cal (roughing), 20:00.

2nd Period
3, Red Deer, Ness 2 (Underwood), 2:49.
Penalties-Chase Cal (hooking), 0:36; Bittner R.d (checking from behind), 3:33.

3rd Period
4, Red Deer, Inglis 3   3:00.
Penalties-Bittner R.d (major-fighting), 0:26; Rissling Cal (major-fighting), 0:26; Bittner R.d (hooking), 14:58.

OT Period
5, Red Deer, Inglis 4 (Dumba, Bleackley), 2:31 (PP).
Penalties-Jones Cal (inter. on goaltender), 1:59.

Shots on Goal-Red Deer 7-12-6-1-26. Calgary 11-14-15-1-41.
Power Play Opportunities-Red Deer 1 / 2; Calgary 2 / 4.
Goalies-Red Deer, Pouliot 1-0-0-1 (41 shots-39 saves). Calgary, Driedger 3-0-1-0 (26 shots-23 saves).
A-7,765
Referees-Fraser Lawrence (10), Derek Zalaski (8).
Linesmen-Chris Carlson (92), Sean Donnelly (109).