By Scott Fisher /
So far, so good.
Two post-season games, two wins for the Calgary Hitmen.
But the top-ranked team in the CHL didn’t exactly cruise through their playoff openers.
The first game was a solid 5-0 win over an exhausted Edmonton Oil Kings squad, which needed to play an extra game in Prince Albert — that went to overtime — just to get into the post-season.
Game 2 was a much different story.
Thanks to some impressive early-game penalty kills, a powerplay goal from forward Shayne Neigum, and a lot of all-world goaltending from Torrie Jung, the Oil Kings held a 1-0 lead with less than five minutes to go ?in regulation.
But trade-deadline acquisition Kris Foucault banged home the equalizer with 4:18 to play and co-captain Carson McMillan redirected a thigh-high point shot into the back of the net in overtime to rescue the Hitmen.
Foucault, who has provided much more than advertised, earned head coach Dave Lowry’s praise.
“Kris went to the areas,” Lowry said of the Calgary-product, who also scored a beauty in the playoff opener.
“Kris is going to the areas to score goals. That’s a tough area to go and he’s got great hands in tight.
“That was a big goal for us.”
The Hitmen outshot the Oil Kings 20-1 in the third period — and 56-25 overall — but learned a valuable lesson.
No opponent can be taken lightly.
And waiting until the last minute — or close to it — isn’t a good idea.
For all the glitz and glamour the Hitmen have — they shattered nearly every franchise record in the book en route to the second-bext record in WHL history (122 points) — it was some of the lesser-known players that stepped to the forefront early in the post-season.
GM Kelly Kisio, who is the Eastern Conference nominee for WHL executive of the year, made the biggest splash at the WHL trade deadline when he snagged league-leading sniper Joel Broda from the Moose Jaw Warriors.
The only other move he made was to bring in Foucault, who appeared to be a depth player at the time.
But the Calgary product earned his way into the lineup over the final month of the season and hasn’t looked back.
The 18-year-old, who had four assists over 40 games with Swift Current and Kootenay before ringing up 16 points in the final 22 games with the Hitmen’s third line, was also the catalyst in the series opener.
Calgary had a 1-0 lead halfway through the game before Foucault made a fantastic move in tight around an Edmonton defender and then tucked the puck between Jung’s pillows.
That set off a three-goal splurge over a five-minute span that carried the Hitmen to victory.
“That was a big goal for our hockey club,” Lowry said
“It was at a critical time. That’s what we expect and that’s what we need.”
Hit Parade
The Hitmen were largely rewarded for their incredible regular-season run as six players were named to the Eastern Conference’s two all-star teams. C Brett Sonne, RW Brandon Kozun and D Paul Postma were selected to the first team while G Martin Jones, LW Joel Broda and D Michael Stone were named to the second team ... Postma, who led the league with a plus/minus of plus-67, set a franchise record for defencemen with 23 goals and tied another club mark with 84 points, is up for WHL defenceman of the year ... Head coach Dave Lowry was somehow overlooked for Eastern Conference coach of the year, which is voted on by GMs and coaches...Player-of-the-year finalists, which is expected to be Sonne and Vancouver Giants LW Casey Pierro-Zabotel, will be announced Apr. 15.
— Scott Fisher covers the WHL for the ?Calgary Sun
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