Kootenay at Calgary

In a game originally scheduled for Sunday, the Calgary Hitmen (13-4-1-2) host the Kootenay Ice (4-12-1-0) tonight at Scotiabank Saddledome.  Game time is 7pm.  Radio Broadcast on Sportsnet 960 The Fan starts at 6pm with a one hour pre-game show.  Tonight the Hitmen will honour Hometown Heroes.  Past and present members of the military as well as all police, fire and EMS service members will receive complimentary admission to the game by presenting their identification card at the Scotiabank Saddledome box office.

HEADING IN:  The Hitmen are riding a season high five game winning streak and are coming off Friday's 5-2 home ice win over Victoria.  The Ice are winless in eight (0-7-1-0) having last played Saturday night dropping a 4-1 decision to Moose Jaw in Cranbrook.

THE STANDINGS:  Calgary shares top spot in the WHL's Eastern Conference with the Edmonton Oil Kings.  Both teams have 29 points, but the Hitmen have one game in hand.  Kootenay is last in the conference with nine points, sitting 13 back of the Red Deer Rebels for the final playoff spot.

HEAD-TO-HEAD:  Tonight is the second of eight regular season meetings between the two clubs.  Calgary won the opener 5-1 at home on September 22nd.  Zane Jones scored twice while Darian Henry, Cody Sylvester and Brooks Macek all had a goal and an assist.  The Hitmen outshot the Ice 31-28.  Over the last five seasons Calgary is 15-17-1-0 against Kootenay, including a 10-7 record on home ice.

STREAKIN':  Brady Brassart (1g 3a), Brendan Hurley (1g 1a) and Kenton Helgesen (2a) all have points in back-to-back games.  In his last four starts Chris Driedger is 4-0 with a 1.50 goals against average and a .949 save percentage.

FORMER CLUB:  19-year-old forward Brendan Hurley, who has four points (3g 1a) in eight games since joining the Hitmen this season, faces a team he spent parts of four seasons with.  Hurley played a total of 150 regular season games with the Kootenay Ice (2008-09 to 2011-12) collecting 21 points (10g 11a).  He also won the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2011 with the WHL Champion Ice.

TOP SCORERS:
Calgary
Brooks Macek 11g 15a 26pts
Cody Sylvester 13g 7a 20pts
Brady Brassart 7g 11a 18pts

Kootenay
Sam Reinhart 5g 9a 14pts
Brock Montgomery 8g 4a 12pts
Jaedon Descheneau 3g 8a 11pts