Saskatoon at Calgary

The Calgary Hitmen play game three of a four game home stand tonight against the Saskatoon Blades.  Game time is 7pm at Scotiabank Saddledome.  Husky Hitmen Hockey on Sportsnet 960 The Fan starts at 6pm with a one hour pre-game show.

COMING IN:  Calgary is riding a four game winning streak and have won eight of their last nine overall.  The Hitmen haven't played since last Friday's 4-1 home ice win over Medicine Hat.  After a 2-7 start to the regular season Saskatoon is 10-5-0-1 in their last 16 games.  The Blades last played on Tuesday posting a 5-3 home ice win over Lethbridge.

THE STANDINGS:  The Hitmen are tied with Edmonton for top spot in the Central Division with 37 points, but both clubs are only one point behind the Eastern Conference leading Prince Albert Raiders.  Calgary has one game in hand on the Oil Kings and three games in hand on the Raiders.  Saskatoon meanwhile is tied for the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference with Regina at 25 points.

OPPOSITE SCHEDULES:  Including tonight, the Hitmen will have played seven of their last eight games at home while the Blades will have played nine of their last 12 games on the road.

STREAKIN':  Spencer Humphries (2a) and Zane Jones (2a) both have points in back-to-back games.  Chris Driedger is 8-0 in his last eight starts with a 1.61 goals against average and .942 save percentage.

BLADES WORKHORSE:  Saskatoon goalie Andrey Makarov has played in all 25 Blades games this season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD:  Tonight is the first of four regular season meetings between the Hitmen and Blades.  Over the last five season Calgary is 6-10-0-0 against Saskatoon including a 3-5 mark at the Saddledome.

DRAFTED BLADES:
- Duncan Siemens - Colorado Avalanche - Drafted 11th overall (1st RD) in 2011
- Lukas Sutter - Winnipeg Jets - Drafted 39th overall (2nd RD) in 2012
- Dalton Thrower - Montreal Canadiens - Drafted 51st overall (2nd RD) in 2012
- Shane McColgan - New York Rangers - Drafted 134th overall (5th RD) in 2011
- Darren Dietz - Montreal Canadiens - Drafted 138th overall (5th RD) in 2011
- Matej Stransky - Dallas Stars - Drafted 165th overall (6th RD) in 2011

TOP SCORERS:
Calgary
Brooks Macek 11g 17a 28pts
Cody Sylvester 16g 8a 24pts
Brady Brassart 7g 14a 21pts

Saskatoon
Josh Nicholls 18g 11a 29pts
Matej Stransky 11g 13a 24pts
Shane McColgan 6g 17a 23pts