Hitmen eliminated in Game 7 of WHL Eastern Conference Final

The Calgary Hitmen march toward the Ed Chynoweth Cup as Western Hockey League Champions came to an end Tuesday night at Rexall Place with a 2-0 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.

The defending champs now move on to face Portland in the league final starting Friday night in Oregon.

The Hitmen started well out shooting Edmonton 7-2 in the first part of the opening period but couldn't find the back of the net.

The Oil Kings then responded with a major push to head to the dressing room ahead 1-0 on the scoreboard and 18-8 on the shot clock.  First periods proved to be the achilles heal for Calgary in the series as they were outscored by a combined 13-2.

In the second period Michael St. Croix potted his second goal of the game to give Edmonton a 2-0 lead. 

In the final frame Calgary fired nine shots but Laurent Brossoit stopped them all en route to a 26 save shutout.

St. Croix was named the series M-V-P for Edmonton finishing with 10 points in the seven games (4g 6a).

The total series numbers reflect on why Edmonton prevailed outscoring Calgary by a combined 25-16 while out shooting the Hitmen in every game for a combined 275-187 advantage.

                                                      Photo Credit: Andy Devlin

Calgary Hitmen 0 at Edmonton Oil Kings 2
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - Rexall Place - Edmonton, AB

Calgary 0 0 0 - 0
Edmonton 1 1 0 - 2

1st Period
1, Edmonton, St. Croix 9 (Legault, Corbett), 14:05.
Penalties-Samuelsson Edm (slashing), 3:42; Virtanen Cal (roughing), 15:16.

2nd Period
2, Edmonton, St. Croix 10 (Kulda, Corbett), 4:33.
Penalties-Virtanen Cal (tripping), 0:04; Humphries Cal (hooking), 10:22; Samuelsson Edm (slashing), 14:05; Clayton Cal (roughing), 17:36; Moroz Edm (checking to the head), 17:36; Samuelsson Edm (roughing), 17:36.

3rd Period
No Scoring.
Penalties-Kosterman Cal (closing hand on puck), 12:51; Samuelsson Edm (tripping), 17:54.

Shots on Goal-Calgary 8-9-9-26. Edmonton 18-12-8-38.
Power Play Opportunities-Calgary 0 / 4; Edmonton 0 / 4.
Goalies-Calgary, Driedger 11-4-2-0 (38 shots-36 saves). Edmonton, Brossoit 12-1-3-0 (26 shots-26 saves).
A-10,738
Referees-Reagan Vetter (39), Nathan Wieler (18).
Linesmen-Michael Roberts (87), Scott Sharun (103).