Calgary at Kootenay

The Calgary Hitmen (31-17-2-1) open a three game road trip tonight in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice (27-15-4-4).  The Hitmen have won six in a row and 14 of their last 15 games.  However tonight is their first game since last Sunday's 4-1 home ice win over the Tri-City Americans.  Kootenay meanwhile is winless in their last four going 0-2-1-1 including a 5-4 overtime loss in Spokane in their last outing Saturday night. 

At 65 points the Hitmen enter play third in the WHL's Eastern Conference, three points back of Moose Jaw for second and a point ahead of Medicine Hat.  Kootenay has 62 points to sit sixth in the conference, one point back of Saskatoon and four up on Regina.

                       Justin Kirsch was still a Hitmen the last time these two teams met

VS. KOOTENAY: Tonight is the fourth of eight meetings with the Ice.  Kootenay leads the season series 2-1.  Brooks Macek (2g), Danny Gayle (1g, 1a), Victor Rask (1g, 1a) and Jaynen Rissling (2a) have two points each to lead the Hitmen in the season series.  Brock Montgomery leads all Ice with six points (6a) against Calgary while goaltender Nathan Lieuwen sports a .924 save percentage.
    - Sept. 24 in KTN: Ice 5 Hitmen 1.  Calgary outshot Kootenay 30-18 in the loss.
    - Oct. 2 in CAL: Hitmen 4 Ice 2. Calgary erased a 2-1 third period deficit to beat Kootenay 4-2.  Victor Rask and Danny  Gayle led the Hitmen scoring attack with two points (1g, 1a) each.
    - Oct. 23 in CAL: Ice 4 Hitmen 2.  Kootenay jumped out to a 3-0 second period lead.
                                                  INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CAL 80  KTN 65   Power Plays: CAL 2-13 (15.3%)  KTN 2-11 (18.1%)   Next Meeting: Sun., Feb. 12 in Calgary

BC BATTLES:  Calgary has fared well this season when taking on teams based out of British Columbia. In 10 contests, the Hitmen have a record of 7-3-0-0 against BC squads, which includes a 4-1-0-0 mark during their road trip out west in December.  Calgary will play eight more games against BC teams this season following today’s matchup.

TOP PROSPECT: Winnipeg, MB, native Chris Driedger returns to the Hitmen lineup after attending the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on February 1.  Driedger was ranked 12th among North American Goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting in their midterm rankings.  Driedger suited up for Team Orr, coached by former NHL head coach Pat Quinn and pitched a 14 save shutout in his 30 minutes of work.  The last Hitmen player to suit up in the Top Prospects Game was Matt MacKenzie in 2010.

SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS:  Special teams have played a large role in Calgary’s success this season. In games which Calgary scores a power play goal, they hold a record of 23-8-0-1.  In contests which the Hitmen allow a goal on the man advantage, they are 15-14-0-1.

STREAKIN’:  Collin Bowman (1g, 5a) is currently riding a three-game point streak and is +3 in as many outings.  Alex Gogolev has three points (2g, 1a) in back-to-back contests.  Jimmy Bubnick has 17 points (7g, 10a) in his last 14 games while Cody Sylvester has 16 (3g, 13a), Brady Brassart has 14 (5g, 9a) and Chase Clayton has 12 (9g, 3a) over the same span.  Chris Driedger has won his last six starts while Brandon Glover has won his last two.

CAREER WATCH:  Jimmy Bubnick needs six more goals to reach 100 in his WHL career. 

WHL LEADERS:  Victor Rask is tied for fifth in WHL rookie scoring with 40 points (21g, 19a) while Alex Gogolev is eighth with 38 points (21g, 17a).  Rask and Gogolev’s 21 goals place them in a tie for second among WHL rookie snipers in that category.  Collin Bowman is 15th among WHL defencemen with 35 points (12g, 23a).  His 12 goals are tied for the fourth most among WHL rearguards.  Netminder Chris Driedger is tenth among WHL goaltenders with a 2.68 goals against average and 0.900 save percentage.  Calgary has the fourth ranked penalty kill in the WHL at 82.6%.  The penalty killing unit’s 11 shorthanded goals also places them fourth in the WHL.

UP NEXT:  The Hitmen are in Red Deer tomorrow.  Radio Broadcast on Sportsnet 960 The Fan starts at 7:00 p.m. with a 30 minute pre-game show.  Calgary then heads to Medicine Hat on Tuesday before returning to Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday, February 8th for a 7:00 p.m. home ice contest against the Eastern Conference leading Edmonton Oil Kings.

Driedger perfect at CHL Top Prospects Game

Calgary Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger was named a last week injury replacement to the CHL Top Prospects Game, but the 17-year-old proved Wednesday night maybe he should have been invited from the get go. 

Driedger got the start for Team Orr and pitched a shutout in his 30 minutes of work making 14 saves.  Team Orr went on to win the game played in Kelowna, BC by a score of 2-1.

As an FYI the last Hitmen player to suit up in the CHL Top Prospects Game was Matt Mackenzie in 2010.

Hitmen Alumnus Matt Mackenzie

Matt Mackenzie was recently back in Calgary for the AHL All-Star Break.  Now with the Rochester Americans, Mackenzie spent three and a half seasons on the Hitmen defence highlighted by a Western Hockey League Championship in 2010.

Ken Thrower and I had a chance to catch up with Matt.

Click here to listen

Rask suspended

The Western Hockey League has suspended Hitmen forward Victor Rask two games for his five minute major checking from behind penalty in Sunday's game against Tri-City.  Here is the official wording from the WHL

Victor Rask, Calgary: Two games for cfb major and g.m. versus Tri-Cities on January 29.

Rask has been a impact rookie for the Hitmen this season, currently tied for fifth in WHL Rookie Scoring with 40 points (21g 19a) in 45 games.  He will sit both Friday's game in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice and Saturday's game in Red Deer against the Rebels.

Calgary 4 Tri-City 1

The Calgary Hitmen extended their winning streak to six games with a 4-1 home ice win over the Tri-City Americans Sunday afternoon. 

The Hitmen scored four unanswered goals, including two second period markers 29 seconds apart.

Brady Brassart, Danny Gayle, Alex Gogolev and Chase Clayton each scored for Calgary while Collin Bowman led the Hitmen with three assists.  Brian Williams had the lone goal for Tri-City who opened the scoring early in the second period. 

Chris Driedger made 16 saves against his former team to record his sixth win in as many starts for a season total of 15.  Ty Rimmer made 31 saves in the loss.

The Hitmen are now 31-17-2-1 on the season.  At 65 points, Calgary moves into third in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of fourth place Medicine Hat and three points behind second place Moose Jaw.

Tri-City drops to 35-12-1-1.

                                                   Photo Credit:  Brad Watson

Tri-City Americans 1 at Calgary Hitmen 4
Sunday, January 29, 2012 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Tri-City 0 1 0 - 1
Calgary 0 2 2 - 4

1st Period
No Scoring.
Penalties-Dallman T.c (high sticking, high sticking), 7:21; Yuen T.c (interference), 11:42; Humphries Cal (holding), 13:35; Roach Cal (interference), 18:42.

2nd Period
1, Tri-City, Williams 7 (Dallman, Topping), 4:21.
2, Calgary, Brassart 16   16:21 (PP).
3, Calgary, Gayle 10 (Bowman, Chase), 16:50.
Penalties-Rask Cal (inter. on goaltender), 1:47; Dallman T.c (interference), 8:04; Cheek Cal (holding), 8:45; Hughesman T.c (delay of game), 14:54.

3rd Period
4, Calgary, Gogolev 21 (Sylvester), 10:47.
5, Calgary, Clayton 11 (Gogolev, Bowman), 14:33.
Penalties-Yuen T.c (hooking), 1:48; Rask Cal (major-check/behind, game misconduct), 2:35; Strömwall T.c (hooking), 7:50; Mychan T.c (slashing), 19:41; Shinnimin T.c (slashing), 20:00.

Shots on Goal-Tri-City 6-7-4-17. Calgary 12-8-15-35.
Power Play Opportunities-Tri-City 0 / 5; Calgary 1 / 8.
Goalies-Tri-City, Rimmer 20-8-0-1 (35 shots-31 saves). Calgary, Driedger 15-7-2-1 (17 shots-16 saves).
A-11,236
Referees-Matt Kirk (4), Nathan Wieler (18).
Linesmen-Michael Roberts (87), Ian Shaver (74).

Tri-City at Calgary

The Calgary Hitmen (30-17-2-1) winners of five in a row and 13 of their last 14 host the Tri-City Americans (35-11-1-1) today in a 4:00 p.m. start at Scotiabank Saddledome.  Calgary is coming off last night's 5-2 win in Medicine Hat while the Americans dropped a 3-2 overtime decision Friday night in Red Deer.

Calgary enters the contest fourth in the WHL's Eastern Conference with 63 points, trailing Medicine Hat by a single point for third.  Tri-City is second in the Western Conference with 72 points, two points back of front running Kamloops.  The Americans are also ranked #3 in the Canadian Hockey League Top 10 Rankings this week. 

Today is the first and only meeting between the two clubs but there is a lot of familiarity between several players.  Four current Hitmen once played for Tri-City: Chris Driedger, Spencer Humphries, Brooks Macek and Brock Sutherland while the Americans line-up has former Hitmen forward Nathan MacMaster.

Over the last five seasons Calgary is 1-2-0-1 against the Americans including a 1-0-0-1 record at the 'Dome.

DID YOU KNOW?  Calgary is 16-3-0-0 when leading after the first period while Tri-City is 18-3-1-0 when leading after 20 minutes.

WHL LEADERS:  Tri-City's Adam Hughesman, Brendan Shinnimin and Patrick Holland are three of the Top 10 scorers in the WHL.  Americans goalie Ty Rimmer leads the WHL with a 2.19 GAA while teammate Eric Comrie is eighth at 2.62.  Hitmen puckstopper Chris Driedger is tied for 10th at 2.74.  Hitmen imports Victor Rask and Alex Gogolev are both Top 10 in rookie scoring.  Rask is tied for fifth while Gogolev is ninth. 

Top Scorers:

Calgary
Cody Sylvester 17g 36a 53pts
Jimmy Bubnick 21g 26a 47pts
Victor Rask 21g 19a 40pts

Tri-City
Adam Hughesman 29g 47a 76pts
Brendan Shinnimin 29g 45a 74pts
Patrick Holland 20g 47a 67pts

Calgary 5 Medicine Hat 2

Medicine Hat, AB – Alex Gogolev and Trevor Cheek both scored in the first four minutes of the third period to break a 2-2 tie lifting the Calgary Hitmen to a 5-2 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers Saturday night at The Arena.

Joey Kornelsen into an empty net, Alex Roach and Danny Gayle also scored for the red hot Hitmen who have now won five in a row and 13 of their last 14 games.

Calgary built a 2-0 first period lead before the Tigers drew even on second period goals from James Bettauer and Hunter Shinkaruk.

Brandon Glover won the battle between the pipes making 28 saves in the Hitmen net to pick up the win.  Tigers goalie Tyler Bunz made 33 saves in the loss.

Special teams also played a large role with Calgary going 3-3 on the powerplay, while Medicine Hat went 2-5.

The win was Calgary’s first over the Tigers in four tries this season and improves their overall record to 30-17-2-1.  At 63 points the Hitmen pull within a point of Medicine Hat for third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

Calgary returns to action tomorrow afternoon against the U-S Division leading Tri-City Americans.  Game time is 4:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome for the Wendy’s Novice Development Day game.

For information on ticket packages including Flex Packs, Group Tickets or Season Tickets, call Customer Service at 403-777-4646.

Click here to listen to a post game interview with Trevor Cheek

                                       Photo Credit:  Double E Photography and whl.ca

Calgary Hitmen 5 at Medicine Hat Tigers 2
Saturday, January 28, 2012 - Medicine Hat Arena

Calgary 2 0 3 - 5
Medicine Hat 0 2 0 - 2

1st Period
1, Calgary, Roach 3 (Bowman, Brassart), 15:59 (PP).
2, Calgary, Gayle 9 (Bowman, Bubnick), 17:47 (PP).
Penalties-Konan M.h (high sticking, high sticking), 15:30.

2nd Period
3, Medicine Hat, Bettauer 18 (Etem, Konan), 7:41 (PP).
4, Medicine Hat, Shinkaruk 36 (Etem, Valk), 12:03 (PP).
Penalties-Rissling Cal (hooking), 7:15; Brooks Cal (inter. on goaltender), 10:38; Gayle Cal (slashing), 16:23; Lewington M.h (tripping), 19:37.

3rd Period
5, Calgary, Gogolev 20 (Rask, Humphries), 1:28 (PP).
6, Calgary, Cheek 16 (Bubnick, Kosterman), 3:02.
7, Calgary, Kornelsen 8 (Humphries)  19:18 (EN).
Penalties-Brassart Cal (slashing), 7:28; Bubnick Cal (inter. on goaltender), 14:00; Roach Cal (roughing), 18:04; Konan M.h (roughing), 18:04.

Shots on Goal-Calgary 14-14-11-39. Medicine Hat 8-10-12-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Calgary 3 / 3; Medicine Hat 2 / 5.
Goalies-Calgary, Glover 16-9-0-0 (30 shots-28 saves). Medicine Hat, Bunz 29-13-2-2 (38 shots-34 saves).
A-4,006
Referees-Pat Smith (12), Colin Stefanyk (14).
Linesmen-Darren Holeha (47), Matthew Sanders (70).

Calgary at Medicine Hat

The Calgary Hitmen (29-17-2-1) are in Medicine Hat tonight to face the Tigers (30-16-2-2).  Radio Broadcast on Sportsnet 960 The Fan starts at 7:00 p.m. with a 30 minute pre-game show.  The Hitmen enter the contest having won 12 of their last 13 including last night's 2-0 home ice win over Vancouver.  Medicine Hat is riding a six game winning streak and coming off last night's 8-2 victory in Lethbridge

Calgary enters play with 61 points, tied with Saskatoon for fourth in the WHL's Eastern Conference.  The Tigers sit third with 64 points, just two back of second place Moose Jaw.

Tonight is the fourth of six meetings between the two teams.  Medicine Hat leads the season series 3-0 having outscored Calgary by a combined 12-2.  Tigers goalie and Edmonton Oilers prospect Tyler Bunz has been sensational against the Hitmen stopping 102 of 104 shots for a 3-0 record with a .67 goals against average and a .981 save percentage.  Anaheim Ducks first round pick Emerson Etem has also been a star with eight points (2g 6a) in three games. 
-Oct. 15 in MH: Tigers 5 Hitmen 0.  Tyler Bunz 36 save shutout.  Emerson Etem four assists.
-Dec. 4 in CAL: Tigers 2 Hitmen 1.  Tyler Bunz 37 saves.  Curtis Valk two goals, Emerson Etem two assists.
-Jan. 18 in CAL: Tigers 5 Hitmen 1.  Emerson Etem led the Tigers with a pair of goals.

Calgary is 14-9-2-0 on the road this season while Medicine Hat is 14-8-1-1 at home.

Top Scorers:

Cody Sylvester 17g 36a 53pts
Jimmy Bubnick 21g 24a 45pts
Victor Rask 21g 18a 39pts

Medicine Hat
Emerson Etem 44g 32a 76pts
Hunter Shinkaruk 35g 28a 63pts
James Bettauer 17g 26a 43pts

Calgary 2 Vancouver 0

Chris Driedger made 32 saves for his second career Western Hockey League shutout as the Calgary Hitmen blanked the Vancouver Giants 2-0 Friday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Collin Bowman opened the scoring for Calgary at the 11:27 mark of the first period firing a puck into the top corner for his 12th goal of the season while on a 2 on 1 rush.

Trevor Cheek then added an insurance marker scoring into an empty net with 44 seconds left in regulation.

The win for Calgary is their 12th in their last 13 outings.

                                                 Photo Credit:  Brad Watson

Vancouver Giants 0 at Calgary Hitmen 2
Friday, January 27, 2012 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Vancouver 0 0 0 - 0
Calgary 1 0 1 - 2

1st Period
1, Calgary, Bowman 12   11:27.
Penalties-Makin Van (major-fighting), 1:51; Helgesen Cal (major-fighting), 1:51; Kulak Van (hooking), 4:06; Vannieuwenhuizen Van (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 11:11; Brassart Cal (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 11:11; Trzonkowski Cal (cross checking), 14:59; Clayton Cal (hooking), 15:40.

2nd Period
No Scoring.
Penalties-Bowman Cal (high sticking), 0:52; Humphries Cal (roughing), 3:04; Orban Van (roughing, roughing), 6:20; Gallagher Van (roughing), 6:47; Vannieuwenhuizen Van (roughing, roughing, 10-minute misconduct), 6:47; Bubnick Cal (roughing, roughing, 10-minute misconduct, 10-minute misconduct), 6:47; Sylvester Cal (roughing), 6:47; Musil Van (boarding), 8:16; Cheek Cal (checking from behind), 18:23.

3rd Period
2, Calgary, Cheek 15 (Bubnick, Sylvester), 19:16 (EN).
Penalties-Rask Cal (tripping), 1:23; Orban Van (roughing, roughing), 6:36; Cheek Cal (roughing), 6:36; Kuvaev Van (cross checking), 11:05; Kuvaev Van (roughing), 14:56; Humphries Cal (roughing), 14:56.

Shots on Goal-Vancouver 12-16-4-32. Calgary 5-6-8-19.
Power Play Opportunities-Vancouver 0 / 6; Calgary 0 / 7.
Goalies-Vancouver, Morrison 24-10-1-1 (18 shots-17 saves). Calgary, Driedger 14-7-2-1 (32 shots-32 saves).
A-9,866
Referees-Ryan Bonnett (39), Sean Raphael (28).
Linesmen-Reid Anderson (53), Jeff Jobson (52).

Vancouver at Calgary

The Calgary Hitmen (28-17-2-1) wrap up a five game homestand tonight against the Vancouver Giants (28-18-1-2).  The Hitmen have won 11 of their last 12 games and are coming off Wednesday's 7-2 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings.  The Giants meanwhile have just two wins in their last seven games falling 4-2 in Red Deer on Wednesday in their last outing.

Calgary enters the contest with 59 points, tied with Saskatoon for fifth in the Eastern Conference, just a point back of Kootenay for fourth.  Vancouver is fourth in the Western Conference with 59 points trailing Portland by six points for third.

Tonight is their second and final regular season meeting.  The Hitmen posted a 6-4 victory on the West Coast on January 4th.  Six different Hitmen scored in the win while defenceman Collin Bowman had a monster game with a goal and two assists to go along with a +4 rating.  Calgary overcame a 2-0 first period deficit and out shot Vancouver 39-24.  The Hitmen went 1-3 on the powerplay while the Giants were 1-5.

Calgary is 5-0-0-1 in their last six home games against Vancouver.

Overall the Hitmen are 14-8-0-1 on home ice this season while the Giants are 10-11-1-1 on the road.

STREAKIN':  Brooks Macek (3g 4a), Victor Rask (4g 3a) and Chase Clayton (2g 2a) are all on a three game point streaks.  Trevor Cheek (1g 1a) has points in back-to-back games.  Brandon Glover is 7-1 in his last eight starts, while Chris Driedger is 5-0-1-0 in his last six starts.

DID YOU KNOW?  In Calgary's last 12 games that has seen the club post an 11-1 record, they have outscored their opponents by a combined 60-30...Vancouver Giants forward Brendan Gallagher, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, had six points (3g 3a) in six games helping Team Canada win Bronze at the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship.  Giants Head Coach Don Hay was also the bench boss for Team Canada.  Adam Morrison will get the start in the Giants net tonight after missing the last six games with an injury.

ALL-STARS:  This weekend the NHL All-Star game will take place in Ottawa with the AHL All-Star Classic also being held this weekend in Atlantic City, N.J.  Taking part in the AHL festivities will be two former members of both the Hitmen and the Giants. Paul Postma will dress for the Eastern All-Stars, while Alex Plante will patrol the Western All-Star’s blue line.  Both are alumni defencemen of Calgary.  Former Giants Kevin Connauton and Tyson Sexsmith will play for the East and West, respectively.  The last Hitmen player to take part in the NHL All-Star game was Ryan Getzlaf in 2008-09.

Top Scorers:

Calgary
Cody Sylvester 17g 36a 53pts
Jimmy Bubnick 21g 23a 44pts
Victor Rask 21g 18a 39pts

Vancouver
Brendan Gallagher 28g 27a 55pts
Marek Tvrdon 18g 32a 50pts
Cain Franson 19g 25a 44pts