Wheat Kings and Hitmen hook up in semi-final game
By Aaron Bell
r
Don’t expect there to be much of a feeling out process in the semi-final game at the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup.
r
The WHL champion Calgary Hitmen face the host Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday (8:00 p.m. Eastern on Rogers Sportsnet) with a berth in the championship game on the line.
r
The two teams met in the WHL’s Eastern Conference final and again on Wednesday in the final round robin game of the tournament so it’s safe to say that they know each other well and don’t really like each other very much.
r
“I think we know what we’re getting into and they know what they’re getting into,” said Hitmen co-captain Michael Stone. “We’re two teams that don’t like each other and I wouldn’t see it going any differently than it has before.”
r
The Wheat Kings obviously hope that’s not true. They won the opening game of their playoff series against the Hitmen before Calgary won four straight to win the series and then went on to win the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as WHL champions. They beat Brandon again on Wednesday and seem to have the Wheat Kings’ number.
r
“Obviously you never want to lose to a team like we have the last couple of times,” said Wheat Kings’ defenceman Travis Hamonic. “It’s kind of frustrating at times but we just have to put everything behind us right now. It’s a Game 7 mentality for both teams. The winner moves on and the loser goes home and starts their summer training. We don’t want that right now.”
r
Calgary won Wednesday’s final round robin game 5-1 but it’s likely that the semi-final game will be much more dramatic with both teams playing with their seasons on the line.
r
“With our rivalry with Brandon, it’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Hitmen goaltender Martin Jones. “There’s going to be a great atmosphere in the building. We just have to make sure we are at our best because we know they are going to come out hard and have a big push at the beginning. We’re going to need to be at our best if we want to continue winning here.”
r
The Hitmen scored all five of their goals in the first period on Wednesday while the Wheat Kings also allowed five goals in the first period of their tournament-opening game against the Windsor Spitfires one week ago.
r
Brandon knows that they will need a better start on Friday if they want to advance to the championship game against the Spitfires on Sunday.
r
“Obviously (Wednesday) didn’t work out as well as we wanted to,” said Wheat Kings’ co-captain Brayden Schenn. “We get another crack at them. We know what they’re all about and we just have to come out with a good start. In two of our games, our starts have hurt us and going forward I think that’s going to be key for us.”
r
Photo: Aaron Bell/CHL Images