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).

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

Calgary Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger will play in the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

Driedger, a 17-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba, was ranked 12th among North American Goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting in their midterm rankings for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

At 6’2’’ and 186lbs, Driedger is playing in his second WHL season and first with the Hitmen. 

In 27 career games he carries a record of 13-7-2-1 with one shutout and a goals-against-average of 2.86 and save percentage of .894.

In his last seven appearances #33 has gone 5-0-0-1-0 in the Hitmen net with a 2.41GAA and .920 save percentage. 

Driedger will suit up for Team Orr and replaces Malcolm Subban of the Belleville Bulls who is unable to participate due to injury.

The 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game will be played at Prospera Place in Kelowna, BC, on Wednesday February 1, 2012.
 
                                                    Photo Credit: Brad Watson

Calgary, AB - Detroit Red Wings prospect Brooks Macek scored his first WHL career hat-trick and set up another goal lifting the Calgary Hitmen to a 7-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings Wednesday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Victor Rask, Spencer Humphries, Trevor Cheek and Greg Chase also scored for Calgary who built period leads of 3-0 and 6-0 en route to their third straight win.

Rask, Brady Brassart and Cody Sylvester each picked up a pair of assists in the victory.

Brandon Glover made 23 saves for Calgary as the Hitmen outshot the Wheat Kings 39-25.

The Hitmen, now 28-17-2-1 on the season, have won 11 of their last 12 games. 

At 59 points, Calgary is tied for fifth with Saskatoon in the WHL Eastern Conference.

The Hitmen end the month with three games in three days starting Friday night at home against the Vancouver Giants.  Game time is 7:00 p.m. for the Husky Hitmen 7th Man game. 

The Hitmen will then travel to Medicine Hat on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. match-up followed by a Sunday afternoon home ice contest against the Tri-City Americans.  Puck drop is 4:00 p.m. on Sunday for the Wendy’s Novice Development Day game.

                                                 Photo Credit:  Brad Watson

Brandon Wheat Kings 2 at Calgary Hitmen 7
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Brandon 0 0 2 - 2
Calgary 3 3 1 - 7

1st Period
1, Calgary, Rask 21 (Brassart, Macek), 6:44.
2, Calgary, Humphries 6 (Sylvester), 13:28.
3, Calgary, Cheek 14 (Sylvester, Helgesen), 15:06.
Penalties-Kosterman Cal (hooking), 2:35; Sutherland Cal (hooking), 7:15; Miller Bdn (major-fighting), 15:25; Trzonkowski Cal (major-fighting), 15:25.

2nd Period
4, Calgary, Chase 3 (Rissling, Kornelsen), 2:23.
5, Calgary, Macek 12   12:18.
6, Calgary, Macek 13 (Rask, Clayton), 16:40 (PP).
Penalties-Miller Bdn (charging, major-fighting), 10:54; Kosterman Cal (slashing, major-fighting), 10:54; Dziurzynski Bdn (major-fighting), 12:26; Rissling Cal (major-fighting), 12:26; Meilleur Bdn (high sticking), 15:27; Honey Bdn (delay of game), 17:17.

3rd Period
7, Calgary, Macek 14 (Rask, Brassart), 3:50.
8, Brandon, Bertaggia 19 (Mraz, Swyripa), 8:44.
9, Brandon, Sundher 24 (Stone, Roy), 10:08.
Penalties-Nikkel Bdn (major-fighting), 18:50; Helgesen Cal (major-fighting), 18:50.

Shots on Goal-Brandon 11-8-6-25. Calgary 13-17-9-39.
Power Play Opportunities-Brandon 0 / 2; Calgary 1 / 2.
Goalies-Brandon, Boes 11-6-0-1 (21 shots-16 saves); Honey 1-2-0-1 (18 shots-16 saves). Calgary, Glover 15-9-0-0 (25 shots-23 saves).
A-6,947
Referees-Brett Montsion (54), Colin Watt (72).
Linesmen-Michael Roberts (87), Justin Slimm (105).

The Medicine Hat Tigers scored three second period goals, including two in the opening minute, en route to a 5-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen Wednesday night at Scotiabank Saddledome. 

The loss ended Calgary’s season high eight-game winning streak that started on December 30, 2011 with a 6-3 win over the Kamloops Blazers.

Emerson Etem led the Tigers scoring attack with two goals to give him 39 on the season, while Brendan Hurley, Curtis Valk and Cole Grbavac each scored once for the visitors.

Jimmy Bubnick netted his team-leading 20th goal in the loss while Cody Sylvester and Spencer Humphries each chipped in an assist for Calgary.

After allowing five goals on 34 shots, Brandon Glover was relieved by Chris Driedger midway through the third period.  Driedger made 11 saves in the game.

Oilers prospect Tyler Bunz went the distance for Medicine Hat making 29 saves.  The 19-year-old has now stopped 101 of 103 Hitmen shots this season as the Tigers improve to 3-0 against Calgary.

Calgary, now 25-16-2-1 on the season, sits seventh in the WHL Eastern Conference with 53 points.

The Hitmen return to action Friday night at home to the Prince George Cougars.  Game time is 7:00 p.m.

                                                Photo Credits:  Allana Minchau


Medicine Hat Tigers 5 at Calgary Hitmen 1
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Medicine Hat 1 3 1 - 5
Calgary 0 1 0 - 1

1st Period
1, Medicine Hat, Hurley 4 (Bettauer, Konan), 10:56.
Penalties-Sylvester Cal (holding), 6:32; Kessy M.h (elbowing), 7:11; Konan M.h (checking from behind), 16:37; Shinkaruk M.h (checking from behind), 18:53.

2nd Period
2, Medicine Hat, Etem 38 (Bredo), 0:11 (SH).
3, Medicine Hat, Valk 15   0:54. 4,
Calgary, Bubnick 20 (Humphries, Sylvester), 3:48.
5, Medicine Hat, Etem 39   6:27.
Penalties-Hurley M.h (roughing), 1:43; Brassart Cal (roughing), 1:43; Bettauer M.h (roughing), 9:02; Clayton Cal (slashing), 10:21; served by Helgesen Cal (too many men), 11:24; Lewington M.h (hooking), 15:35; Etem M.h (major-fighting), 16:25; Rissling Cal (slashing, major-fighting), 16:25; Humphries Cal (cross checking), 19:57; Hart M.h (major-fighting, game misconduct), 20:00; Kessy M.h (inter. on goaltender, major-fighting), 20:00; Konan M.h (roughing), 20:00; Bowman Cal (roughing), 20:00; Kornelsen Cal (major-fighting, game misconduct), 20:00; Kosterman Cal (major-fighting), 20:00.

3rd Period
6, Medicine Hat, Grbavac 6 (Leier), 8:44.
Penalties-Sylvester Cal (hooking), 0:38; Lewington M.h (tripping), 9:32; Busenius M.h (major-fighting), 11:12; Trzonkowski Cal (instigator, major-fighting, 10-minute misconduct), 11:12; Leier M.h (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 16:15; Clayton Cal (slashing), 16:15; Chase Cal (interference), 17:46; Cheek Cal (slashing), 18:24.

Shots on Goal-Medicine Hat 9-17-19-45. Calgary 14-14-2-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Medicine Hat 0 / 9; Calgary 0 / 7.
Goalies-Medicine Hat, Bunz 25-12-2-2 (30 shots-29 saves). Calgary, Glover 14-9-0-0 (34 shots-29 saves); Driedger 11-7-2-1 (11 shots-11 saves).
A-7,230
Referees-Steve Papp (17), Kevin Webinger (6).
Linesmen-Sean Donnelly (109), Ian Shaver (74).