Hitmen advance to Eastern Conference Final

The Calgary Hitmen booked their ticket to the Western Hockey League's final four Thursday night with a 5-1 win over Red Deer at Scotiabank Saddledome to capture their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semi-Final with the Rebels in five games.

The Hitmen opened the scoring for the fifth time in the series when Greg Chase tallied his second of the post season just under three minutes into the first period.  But the lead didn't last long as Calgary Flames prospect Turner Elson pulled the Rebels even just 61 seconds later.

Zanes Jones restored the Calgary advantage tipping a Brooks Macek shot into the top corner to send the Hitmen to the intermission break ahead 2-1.

In the second period, Calder Brooks added an insurance marker striking on the powerplay when he banged home a centering pass while fending off a Rebels defender.

It stayed that way until late in the third period when Red Deer, on a powerplay, elected to pull goaltender Patrik Bartosak for an extra skater but Spencer Humphries and Elliot Peterson scored back-to-back empty net shorthanded goals to seal the game and clinch the series.

Calgary will now face the defending WHL Champion Edmonton Oil Kings in the Eastern Conference Final which begins Thursday, April 18th at Rexall Place.

Red Deer Rebels 1 at Calgary Hitmen 5
Thursday, April 11, 2013 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Red Deer 1 0 0 - 1
Calgary 2 1 2 - 5

1st Period
1, Calgary, Chase 2 (Clayton, Kosterman), 2:32.
2, Red Deer, Elson 5 (Maxwell, Gaudet), 3:33.
3, Calgary, Jones 1 (Macek, Rask), 10:37.
Penalties-Zgraggen Cal (interference), 8:02; Dumba R.d (hooking), 14:20; Fafard R.d (slashing), 15:41; Chase Cal (high sticking), 19:53.

2nd Period
4, Calgary, Brooks 1 (Chase, Jones), 4:32 (PP).
Penalties-Musil R.d (high sticking), 2:51; Bellerive R.d (tripping), 7:04; Dumba R.d (roughing), 17:54; Jones Cal (hooking), 18:27; Elson R.d (high sticking), 18:39.

3rd Period
5, Calgary, Humphries 1 (Rask), 17:58 (SH EN).
6, Calgary, Peterson 3 (Clayton), 18:40 (SH EN).
Penalties-Fafard R.d (interference), 4:32; Gaudet R.d (high sticking), 6:32; Virtanen Cal (tripping), 17:30.

Shots on Goal-Red Deer 7-2-8-17. Calgary 11-8-15-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Red Deer 0 / 3; Calgary 1 / 8.
Goalies-Red Deer, Bartosak 5-3-1-0 (32 shots-29 saves). Calgary, Driedger 8-0-2-0 (17 shots-16 saves).
A-6,416
Referees-Nathan Wieler (18), Steve Papp (17).
Linesmen-Sean Donnelly (109), Cory Lundquist (128).

Hitmen take a 3-1 series lead over Red Deer with OT win

Captain Cody Sylvester scored at 5:10 of overtime lifting the Calgary Hitmen to a 3-2 win over the Red Deer Rebels Tuesday night at the Enmax Centrium.

The win gives the Hitmen a commanding 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semi-Final series.

Sylvester pounced on a rebound off a Spencer Humphries shot and beat Rebels goalie Patrik Batosak on the stick side lifting the visitors to victory.

Calgary owned the first period out shooting Red Deer 16-9 getting goals from Jake Virtanen and Brooks Macek to take a 2-0 lead.

The Rebels controlled the second period out shooting Calgary 18-4 pulling even on goals from Dominik Volek and Connor Bleackley.

Both Bartosak and Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger played a perfect this period setting the stage for Sylvester's heroics in sudden death.

On the night, Red Deer out shot the Hitmen 39-31 with Driedger making 37 saves to record the win.

The series now shifts back to Calgary for Game 5 on Thursday night.  Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Calgary Hitmen 3 at Red Deer Rebels 2 OT
Tuesday, April 9, 2013 - Enmax Centrium - Red Deer, AB

Calgary 2 0 0 1 - 3
Red Deer 0 2 0 0 - 2

1st Period
1, Calgary, Virtanen 2 (Chase, Rissling), 7:17 (PP).
2, Calgary, Macek 2 (Peterson, Rask), 13:00.
Penalties-Dumba R.d (delay of game), 5:58; Gaudet R.d (slashing), 9:36; Elson R.d (holding), 13:31.

2nd Period
3, Red Deer, Volek 2 (Fleury, Maxwell), 2:32 (PP).
4, Red Deer, Bleackley 2 (Maxwell, Volek), 5:19 (PP).
Penalties-Sylvester Cal (boarding), 1:55; Maxwell R.d (delay of game), 2:59; Macek Cal (hooking), 4:49; Rask Cal (slashing), 5:55; Thiel R.d (slashing), 8:46; Virtanen Cal (hooking), 10:19; R.d (too many men), 19:14.

3rd Period
No Scoring.
Penalties-Dumba R.d (hooking), 3:45; Brassart Cal (cross checking), 9:22.

OT Period
5, Calgary, Sylvester 4 (Humphries, Virtanen), 5:10.
Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Calgary 16-4-7-4-31. Red Deer 9-18-10-2-39.
Power Play Opportunities-Calgary 1 / 7; Red Deer 2 / 5.
Goalies-Calgary, Driedger 7-0-2-0 (39 shots-37 saves). Red Deer, Bartosak 5-2-1-0 (31 shots-28 saves).
A-5,633
Referees-Adam Byblow (23), Chris Crich (20).
Linesmen-Michael Roberts (87), Cody Huseby (88).

Game 4 Preview: Hitmen at Rebels

The Calgary Hitmen are in Red Deer tonight to face the Rebels in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Semi Final. The Hitmen lead in the best-of-seven series has been reduced to 2-1 after Red Deer produced an overtime win last night. Game time tonight is 7:00 p.m. at the Enmax Centrium.  Radio Broadcast on Sportsnet 960 The Fan starts at six o'clock with a 60 minute pre-game show.  Guests include Hitmen head coach Mike Williamson, defenceman Peter Kosterman and forward Chase Lang.  We'll also be joined by Rebels associate coach Jeff Truitt.

                                         Photo Credit: Brad Watson - Calgary Hitmen

SERIES TRENDS: The home team has won all three games....Calgary has opened the scoring in all three games.

DID YOU KNOW?  All three Hitmen road games in the 2013 playoffs have been decided in overtime.

SHOTS AND GOALS BY PERIOD IN THE SERIES:
Calgary
1st Period:40-3
2nd Period:37-4
3rd Period:33-0
Overtime:4-0
Total:114 shots 7 goals

Red Deer
1st Period:30-2
2nd Period:30-1
3rd Period:38-1
Overtime:6-1
Total: 104 shots 5 goals

SPECIAL TEAMS:  The special teams battle is even through three games.  Although Calgary is 2-12 on the powerplay (16.7%) they have also surrendered a shorthanded goal while Red Deer is 1-12 with the man advantage (8.3%)

SERIES BATTLE OF THE CREASE: Calgary's Chris Driedger is 2-1 with a 1.61GAA and a .952 save percentage.  Red Deer's Patrik Bartosak is 1-2 with a 2.28GAA and a .939 save percentage.

STREAKIN': Dating back to the regular season Victor Rask is riding a 14 game point streak (6g 14a 20pts).  Brooks Macek (2a) has points in back-to-back games.

TIGHT DEFENCE:  Thanks to the stellar goaltending of Chris Driedger and strong play in front of him the Hitmen have held their opponents to two goals or less in the last five games.  Driedger leads all goalies in the 2013 playoffs with 262 saves.

POST SEASON RECORDS:  Calgary is 1-2 on the road with both losses in overtime while Red Deer is 3-0 at home.

SERIES TOP SCORERS:
Calgary
Brad Brassart 3g 0a 3pts
Victor Rask 1g 2a 3pts
Cody Sylvester 0g 3a 3pts

Red Deer
Rhyse Dieno 0g 2a 2pts
10 other Rebels have one point each

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:  Cody Sylvester's 45 career playoff games has him tied for 19th in the Hitmen record books with Matt Mackenzie and Riley Merkley.  Michael Stone tops the list with 72.  Sylvester's 13 goals is 13th all time.

GAME 5 IN CALGARY:  The Rebels win last night means there will be a Game 5 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.  Game time is 7:00 p.m. with tickets on sale now!  http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/11004A5CBF4A8DA6?artistid=833512&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=9&tm_link=artist_msg-0_11004A5CBF4A8DA6

Red Deer 2 Calgary 1 OT

Minnesota Wild propect Matt Dumba scored a powerplay goal 6:33 into overtime lifting the Red Deer Rebels to a 2-1 win over the Calgary Hitmen Monday night at the Enmax Centrium.

A Rhyse Dieno pass deflected off the skate of Hitmen forward Elliott Peterson to a wide open Dumba who fired a slapshot from just inside the blueline for the game winner.

The victory was Red Deer's first in the series with Calgary still leading the Eastern Conference Semi-Final 2-1.

Peter Kosterman opened the scoring for Calgary who had a strong start to the game, but the momentum swung around when Brooks Maxwell pulled the Rebels even scoring on a shorthanded breakaway.

Both goalies were brilliant as Chris Driedger made 42 saves in the Hitmen net while Patrik Bartosak had 37 saves in the Rebels goal.

Game 4 goes Tuesday night in Red Deer.

                                      Photo Credit: Brad Watson - Calgary Hitmen

Calgary Hitmen 1 at Red Deer Rebels 2 (OT)
Monday, April 8, 2013 - Enmax Centrium - Red Deer, AB

Calgary 1 0 0 0 - 1
Red Deer 1 0 0 1 - 2

1st Period
1, Calgary, Kosterman 1 (Macek, Rask), 7:05.
2, Red Deer, Maxwell 4 14:29 (SH).
Penalties-Sylvester Cal (high sticking), 0:38; Gaudet R.d (checking from behind), 0:38; Dumba R.d (high sticking), 9:41; Fafard R.d (tripping), 14:11.

2nd Period
No Scoring.
Penalties-Humphries Cal (checking from behind), 4:29.

3rd Period
No Scoring.
Penalties-Chase Cal (high sticking), 4:29.

OT Period
3, Red Deer, Dumba 2 (Dieno, Gaudet), 6:33 (PP).
Penalties-Humphries Cal (high sticking), 6:06; Humphries Cal (10-minute misconduct), 6:33.

Shots on Goal-Calgary 19-7-9-4-39. Red Deer 13-12-13-6-44.
Power Play Opportunities-Calgary 0 / 2; Red Deer 1 / 3.
Goalies-Calgary, Driedger 6-0-2-0 (44 shots-42 saves). Red Deer, Bartosak 5-2-0-0 (39 shots-38 saves).
A-4,819
Referees-Brett Montsion (54), Derek Zalaski (8).
Linesmen-Chad Huseby (59), Cory Lundquist (128).

Game 3 Preview: Hitmen at Rebels

After a two day break the scene has shifted from Calgary to Red Deer as the Hitmen visit the Rebels tonight in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Semi-Final. The Hitmen lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 following back-to-back wins at Scotiabank Saddledome by scores of 4-2 and 2-1.  Game time tonight is 7:00 p.m. at the Enmax Centrium.  Internet broadcast on sportsnet.ca/960 also begins at seven o'clock and can be heard by clicking here: http://player.rogersradio.ca/cfac-alt/on_air

                                        Photo Credit: Brad Watson - Calgary Hitmen

SERIES TRENDS: Not only has Calgary opened the scoring in both games but they have yet to trail at any point in the series....Four of Calgary six goals have been scored in the second period....The Hitmen have taken a lead to the third period in both games.

SHOT CLOCK:  Calgary has only been out shot in two of the six periods.  Overall the Hitmen have out shot the Rebels by a combined 75-60.

SPREADING THE SCORING AROUND:  Nine different Hitmen have at least a single point in the series.  Brady Brassart and Cody Sylvester lead the way with three points each.  Eight different Rebels have a point, but no one has more than one.

STREAKIN':  Dating back to the regular season Victor Rask is riding a 13 game point streak (6g 13a 19pts).  Alex Roach (1g 1a) has points in back-to-back games.  Cody Sylvester (4a) and Jake Virtanen (1g 1a) both had their two game point streaks snapped in Game 2.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Calgary leads the special teams battle going a combined 2-10 on the powerplay (20.%) while Red Deer is 0-9 with the man advantage.

HOME AND AWAY:  Including the post season, Calgary is 25-11-1-1 on the road while Red Deer is 24-11-2-1 at home.

TOP PLAYOFF SCORERS
Calgary
Victor Rask 4g 5a 9pts
Cody Sylvester 3g 5a 8pts
Brady Brassart 6g 0a 6pts

Red Deer
Turner Elson 4g 4a 8pts
Rhyse Dieno 2g 5a 7pts
Brooks Maxwell 3g 1a 4pts

Knee injury costs Hitmen forward 4-6 weeks

The Calgary Hitmen have lost forward Pavlo Padakin for the next 4-6 weeks with a knee injury suffered in Game 2 Friday night against Red Deer.

Padakin was hit by Rebels forward Matt Bellerive and immediately crumpled to the ice with no penalty asssessed at the time.  In fact as with most apparent injuries played continued until the Hitmen gained possession of the puck. 

However immediately following the whistle the officials huddled for a lengthy conversation with Bellerive handed a five minute major for kneeing and an automatic game misconduct.

Bellerive has been suspended by the Western Hockey League for the hit although the length of his suspension has yet to be determined.

Padakin has had an outstanding rookie season for the Hitmen scoring 22 regular season goals while playing a key role on the penalty killing brigade. 

Either Chase Lang or Austin Calladine will now draw into the Hitmen lineup for Game 3 Monday night in Red Deer.  Both have yet to appear in a post season game.

Calgary 2 Red Deer 1

Victor Rask snapped a 1-1 tie on a partial breakaway with less than four minutes remaining in the second period lifting the Calgary Hitmen to a 2-1 win over the Red Deer Rebels Friday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.

The win gives the Hitmen a 2-0 lead in  the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semi-Final series.

Elliott Peterson opened the scoring for Calgary pouncing on a dump in off the back boards just 47 seconds into the contest.

Jordan DePape pulled the Rebels even slamming home a loose puck late in the first period.

For the second game in a row Calgary outshot Red Deer, this time 42-30 as both goaltenders were named stars in the contest.  Rebels Patrik Bartosak was the second star for his 40 save performance while Hitmen Chris Driedger earned the third star nod for making 28 saves.

Hitmen forward Pavlo Padakin left the game in the second period with an apparent injury after Rebels forward Matt Bellerive was assessed a five minute major for kneeing and a game misconduct.

The series now shifts to Red Deer for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Tuesday night.

                                      Photo Credit: Brad Watson-Calgary Hitmen

Red Deer Rebels 1 at Calgary Hitmen 2
Friday, April 5, 2013 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Red Deer 1 0 0 - 1
Calgary 1 1 0 - 2

1st Period
1, Calgary, Peterson 2 (Macek), 0:47.
2, Red Deer, DePape 1 (Bellerive, Hamilton), 17:30.
Penalties-Rissling Cal (roughing), 3:37; DePape R.d (interference), 7:37; Mayor Cal (roughing), 9:21; Gaudet R.d (roughing), 12:06; Maxwell R.d (slashing), 12:37; Jones Cal (cross checking), 15:26; Maxwell R.d (roughing), 19:46; Virtanen Cal (roughing), 19:46.

2nd Period
3, Calgary, Rask 4 (Zgraggen, Roach), 16:43.
Penalties-Bellerive R.d (major-kneeing, game misconduct), 7:59; Brassart Cal (interference), 8:35; Thiel R.d (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 13:09; Chase Cal (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 13:09; Gaudet R.d (holding), 13:59; Rissling Cal (roughing), 17:02.

3rd Period
No Scoring.
Penalties-Rissling Cal (cross checking), 5:29; Rask Cal (elbowing), 10:35.

Shots on Goal-Red Deer 9-9-12-30. Calgary 14-17-11-42.
Power Play Opportunities-Red Deer 0 / 6; Calgary 0 / 5.
Goalies-Red Deer, Bartosak 4-2-0-0 (42 shots-40 saves). Calgary, Driedger 6-0-1-0 (30 shots-29 saves).
A-7,481
Referees-Tyler Adair (58), Matt Kirk (4).
Linesmen-Reid Anderson (53), Scott Sharun (103).

Calgary 4 Red Deer 2

Brady Brassart scored his second career playoff hat trick while Cody Sylvester set up three goals to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 4-2 win over the Red Deer Rebels in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semi-Final.

Alex Roach also scored for the Hitmen who built period leads of 1-0 and 4-1.

Dominik Volek and Calgary Flames prospect Turner Elson replied for the Rebels who suffered their first loss of the post season.

Ottawa Senators prospect Chris Driedger turned in a strong performance in the Hitmen net making 28 stops to raise his playoff save percentage to .941.

Calgary out shot Red Deer 33-30 and won the special teams battle which played a large role in the outcome.  The Hitmen went 2-5 on the powerplay while killing all three Rebels chances.

The best-of-seven series resumes with Game 2 Friday at Scotiabank Saddledome.  The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.

Red Deer Rebels 2 at Calgary Hitmen 4
Thursday, April 4, 2013 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Red Deer 0 1 1 - 2
Calgary 1 3 0 - 4

1st Period
1, Calgary, Brassart 4 (Humphries, Sylvester), 11:55.
Penalties-Brassart Cal (interference), 0:23; Gaudet R.d (holding), 17:19; Fafard R.d (tripping), 19:44.

2nd Period
2, Calgary, Roach 2 (Sylvester), 1:21 (PP).
3, Red Deer, Volek 1 (Bleackley), 1:57.
4, Calgary, Brassart 5 (Sylvester, Virtanen), 6:24.
5, Calgary, Brassart 6 (Humphries, Rask), 9:19 (PP).
Penalties-Underwood R.d (boarding), 8:43; Zgraggen Cal (boarding), 15:32; Bellerive R.d (high sticking), 18:07.

3rd Period
6, Red Deer, Elson 4 (Dieno), 7:02.
Penalties-Peterson Cal (tripping), 14:36; Dieno R.d (hooking), 15:07.

Shots on Goal-Red Deer 8-9-13-30. Calgary 7-13-13-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Red Deer 0 / 3; Calgary 2 / 5.
Goalies-Red Deer, Bartosak 4-1-0-0 (33 shots-29 saves). Calgary, Driedger 5-0-1-0 (30 shots-28 saves).
A-5,354
Referees-Reagan Vetter (39), Colin Watt (72).
Linesmen-Sean Donnelly (109), Michael Roberts (87).

Game 1 Preview: Rebels at Hitmen

The Western Hockey League march to the Ed Chynoweth Cup continues tonight as the Calgary Hitmen host the Red Deer Rebels in Game 1 of a best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semi-Final Series.

Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome. Radio Broadcast on Sportsnet 960 The Fan begins at six o'clock with a 60 minute pre-game show.

REGULAR SEASON REFLECTION:  The Hitmen entered the post season as the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference having compiled a regular season record of 46-21-1-4, good for 97 points. The Rebels were the #4 seed posting a record of 39-26-5-2 en-route to an 85 point campaign.

HOW THEY GOT HERE:  Calgary beat the Swift Current Broncos in five games to win their opening round series with three of the games decided in overtime.  Red Deer swept the Prince Albert Raiders in four straight to capture their first round match.

ROLLING INTO ROUND 2:  Dating back to the regular season both clubs are playing well.  Calgary has won 10 of their last 12 games scoring a combined 56 goals for a per game average of 4.6. Red Deer is 9-2-0-1 in their last 12 games holding their opponent to two goals or less in eight of those wins.

REGULAR SEASON TOP SCORERS:
Calgary
Cody Sylvester 41g 49a 90pts
Brooks Macek 32g 48a 80pts
Brady Brassart 35g 43a 78pts
*Ten Hitmen finished with 14 goals or more

Red Deer
Rhyse Dieno 27g 32a 59pts
Turner Elson 26g 31a 57pts
Mathew Dumba 16g 26a 42pts
*Eight Rebels finished with 10 goals or more

There are a combined seven players in the series that have either been drafted or signed by NHL teams.  The Hitmen have five:
Calgary
Chris Driedger -3rd round (76th overall) - Ottawa Senators - 2012 NHL Entry Draft
Kenton Helgesen -7th round (187th overall) - Anaheim Ducks - 2012 NHL Entry Draft
Jaynen Rissling - 7th round (197th overall) - Washington Capitals - 2012 NHL Entry Draft
Alex Roach (Signed a three-year, Entry-level Contract, Los Angeles Kings 2011);
Victor Rask (Drafted in the 3rd round and signed three-year entry-level contract, Carolina Hurriacnes 2011).

Red Deer
Mathew Dumba - 1st round (7th overall) - Minnesota Wild - 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
Turner Elson - (Signed a three-year entry level contract, Calgary Flames 2011)

NHL DRAFT RADAR: Both teams had players ranked by NHL Central Scouting in the Mid-Term rankings as potential picks for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

NORTH AMERICAN SKATERS:
#50 Kayle Doetzel - Red Deer Rebels
#94 Greg Chase - Calgary Hitmen
#129 Matt Bellerive - Red Deer Rebels

NORTH AMERICAN GOALIES
#10 Patrik Bartosak - Red Deer Rebels
#28 Mack Shields - Calgary Hitmen

PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE: Calgary has a combined 270 games of playoff experience. Cody Sylvester and Brooks Macek lead the way with 42 games each.  Red Deer has a combined 155 man games of playoff experience. 

HOME AND AWAY:  Dating back to the regular season, Calgary is 25-10-1-3 on home ice this season including an 14-2-0-1 mark since January 1st. The Broncos are 19-15-3-1 on the road having won four of their last six games in enemy rinks.

PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: Calgary's Cody Sylvester and Alex Roach are Eastern Conference second team all-stars with Sylvester also the Eastern Conference nominee for WHL Humanitarian of the Year.  Red Deer's Patrik Bartosak is the Eastern Conference Nominee for Goaltender of the Year and is also an Eastern Conference First Team All-Star.

Game 2 start time moved to 7:30pm

To accomodate Rogers Sportsnet, Friday's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Final between the Calgary Hitmen and Red Deer Rebels at Scotiabank Saddledome has been pushed back 30 minutes from its orginally scheduled time.

The contest will now begin at 7:30 p.m. and air live on Sportsnet ONE starting at 7:30 p.m.  It will also be taped delayed on regional Sportsnet networks.