Friday 10 October 2014

Preview: Victoria at Calgary, Friday October 10th, 2014

The Victoria Royals (2-4-1-0, 5pts) kick  off a 6 game in 9 night Central Division road trip in Calgary against the Hitmen (3-2-0-1, 7pts) Friday night.

Pregame show at 5:40, with puck drop at 6 PST on The Zone @ 91.3fm or online at www.thezone.fm/whl

Last season Victoria picked up 3 of a possible 4 points against Calgary, in a pair of back to back home games, winning 7-2 then dropping a 7-6 overtime decision.

The Hitmen sit second in the Central with 7 points, and have points in 4 straight riding a two game win streak.

Saturday Calgary overcame a 4-1 second period deficit, rattling off five unanswered goals to beat Kootenay 6-4 at the Saddledome.

The Hitmen now have Mark French behind the bench, as they enter their 20th anniversary season in the Western Hockey League.  The club boasts 8 NHL drafted players on their roster.

Victoria beat the visiting Portland Winterhawks 6-2 Monday, in their first meeting since a 5 game second round defeat in last years post season.

The Royals got goals from six different players, led by Jack Walker’s three point night with a goal and two assists.

Victoria was still without the injured Axel Blomqvist (upper) and Brandon Fushimi (lower).  Brandon Magee was still under suspension, and is eligible to return in the final game of the trek, Saturday October 18th at Kootenay.

The Hitmen are still without Canucks first rounder forward Jake Virtanen due to shoulder rehab.

The Royals have points in their last two outings, picking up a single in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Broncos last Saturday.

Leading Scorers:

CALGARY VICTORIA
Lang (3-4-7) Carroll (4-3-7)
  Karnaukhov (5-1-6) Hicketts (3-3-6)
  Tambellini (4-2-6) Walker (2-4-6)
  Sanheim (3-3-6) Brown (2-4-6)
  Draude (1-5-6) Soy (1-4-5)

After Calgary, Victoria plays in Medicine Hat Saturday, Tuesday in Red Deer, Wednesday in Edmonton, Friday in Lethbridge and Saturday at Kootenay.

The Royals will then kick off a 5 game homestand and unveil their first ever 3rd Jersey when they entertain the Giants on Friday October 24th, followed by Pink In The Rink on the 25th.

MORE FROM HITMEN.COM:

Last season, Calgary (48-17-3-4) finished third in the Eastern Conference with 103 points.

CHL IMPORT DRAFT: Calgary selected 17-year-old Pavel Karnaukhov with the 56th overall pick in the 2014 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft. Last season, Karnaukhov, a native of Minsk, Belarus, scored 13 goals and added 16 assists for 29 points along with 56 penalty minutes over 48 games played with Krasnaya Armiya Moskva of the MHL.  Karnaukhov also played for Team Russia at the 2014 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament where he had one assist in four games.

8 NHL PROSPECTS: Greg Chase (Rd. 7, EDM ‘13 - Signed); Radel Fazleev (Rd. 6, PHI ’14); Kenton Helgesen (Rd. 7, ANA ’12 - Signed); Chase Lang (Rd. 6, MIN ’14); Travis Sanheim (Rd. 1, PHI ’14 - Signed), Adam Tambellini (Rd. 3, NYR ’13); Ben Thomas (Rd. 4, TB ’14); Jake Virtanen (Rd. 1, VAN ‘14 - Signed).

PROSPECT:  Pavel Karnaukhov (5-1-6) is a ‘C’ rated skater according to NHL CSS.

OFF SEASON CHANGES: Mark French was hired on June 12 to replace Mike Williamson becoming the eighth head coach in franchise history.  French, a native of Milton, Ontario, has an extensive coaching resume having been both a head coach and an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals’ AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears for six seasons.  Last season he was the bench boss of Medvescak Zagreb of the KHL, where he guided the expansion team to the playoffs after a 92-point regular season that included setting a league record for most consecutive wins by a debut team at eight.  Also on June 12 the Hitmen promoted Associate Coach Brent Kisio who adds the title Assistant General Manager.

DID YOU KNOW?: Taylor and Travis Sanheim are fraternal twins, Lochlan Morrison won the 2014 TELUS Cup, the national midget championship with the Prince Albert Mintos.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN (24):
’94-born (3): Helgesen, Rankin, Tambellini,
’95-born (5): Chase, Donald*, Harmsworth, , Peterson, Shields
’96-born (8): Fazleev, Lang, Taylor Sanheim*, Evan Johnson, Travis Sanheim, Thomas,
         Virtanen, Zipp,
’97-born (6): Bensmiller*, Draude, Karnaukhov*, Morrison*, Stallard*, Twarynski*,
’98-born (2): Bean*, Malenstyn*
*Denotes rookie

Victoria Royals vs Calgary Hitmen: Head To Head Stats
Summary

  
Description
Result
Head to Head Record 2014-15 Regular SeasonVictoria 0-0-0-0Calgary 0-0-0-0
Head to Head Record 2013-14 Regular SeasonVictoria 1-0-1-0Calgary 1-1-0-0
Last 5 Years record between teamsVictoria 3-5-1-0Calgary 6-3-0-0
Victoria vs. Calgary Last 5 Years record at VictoriaVictoria 2-2-1-0Calgary 3-2-0-0
Victoria vs. Calgary Last 5 Years record at CalgaryVictoria 1-3-0-0Calgary 3-1-0-0
  

How the 2 teams match up
   
 
Calgary
Victoria
Team Record3-2-0-1 -- 7 points2-4-1-0 -- 5 points
Division Ranking2nd Central5th B.C.
Conference Ranking6th Eastern8th Western
League Ranking12th17th
Past 10 Games3-2-0-12-4-1-0
Streak3-0-0-11-0-1-0
Last Game6-4 W vs Kootenay (Oct 4 2014) Final6-2 W vs Portland (Oct 6 2014) Final
Home Record2-2-0-02-1-1-0
Away Record1-0-0-10-3-0-0
GF23 20 
GA19 29 
PP (Overall)(5/22) 22.7(8/40) 20.0
PP (Home)(4/14) 28.6(4/20) 20.0
PP (Away)(1/8) 12.5(4/20) 20.0
PK (Overall)(4/28) 85.7(6/30) 80.0
PK (Home)(3/22) 86.4(4/16) 75.0
PK (Away)(1/6) 83.3(2/14) 85.7
Leading RookieKarnaukhov (5-1-6)Hannoun (1-2-3)
Most PIMDonald - 17Crunk - 20
Team PIM/GM16.3/Game18.0/Game
Leading ScorersLang (3-4-7)Carroll (4-3-7)
 Karnaukhov (5-1-6)Hicketts (3-3-6)
 Tambellini (4-2-6)Walker (2-4-6)
 Sanheim (3-3-6)Brown (2-4-6)
 Draude (1-5-6)Soy (1-4-5)
Last 5 Games6-4 W vs Kootenay (Oct 4 2014) Final6-2 W vs Portland (Oct 6 2014) Final
 2-1 W @ Edmonton (Oct 3 2014) Final2-1 L vs Swift Current (Oct 4 2014) Final OT
 4-3 L @ Lethbridge (Oct 1 2014) Final SO5-3 L @ Vancouver (Sep 28 2014) Final
 9-2 W vs Lethbridge (Sep 28 2014) Final4-3 W vs Kamloops (Sep 27 2014) Final OT
 4-2 L vs Medicine Hat (Sep 26 2014) Final8-2 L vs Kamloops (Sep 26 2014) Final
Leading After 1st1-2-0-11-1-0-0
Leading After 2nd1-0-0-11-1-0-0
Tied After 1st1-0-0-01-0-0-0
Tied After 2nd1-0-0-01-0-0-0
Trailing After 1st1-0-0-00-3-1-0
Trailing After 2nd1-2-0-00-3-1-0
Out Shooting Opponents2-0-0-11-1-1-0
Out Shot by Opponents1-2-0-01-3-0-0
1-Goal Games1-0-0-11-0-1-0
2-Goal Games1-1-0-00-2-0-0
3-Goal Games0-1-0-00-1-0-0