HITMEN DROP GAME 6
The Calgary Hitmen know their backs are against the wall.
After a 5-1 loss in Game 5 versus the Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday night, the Hitmen now face a do-or-die situation as the Husky WHL Eastern Conference Finals shifts to Calgary for Game 6.
“We are playing for our lives,” said the 20-year-old Brooks Macek. “The overagers don’t want that to be our last game. At the same time, we have to focus on that one game and make sure that every thought until then is positive.”
Fellow overager Spencer Humphries added, “It’s staying positive. We are only down one game and fortunately for us, it’s a home game and we know we are good at home. All we can focus on is going back home and working. We have nothing to lose here so we have to make sure we come to play.”
Game 6 goes Sunday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The matinee affair starts at 4 p.m.
After Edmonton picked up the win in Game 4 to even out the series, Calgary had the best scoring chance early on to get on the scoreboard.
Launching a slap shot from the top of the circle, Brooks Macek nailed the inside of the post behind Oil Kings goalie Laurent Brossoit, but the puck came back out and into the corners.
Shortly after, Oil Kings defender Martin Gernat opened the scoring after finishing off a tic-tac-toe passing play almost 8 minutes into the game.
Calgary had a few great chances to even up the game, including Brossoit making a point blank save on Victor Rask, but nothing got behind the Calgary Flames’ prospect.
Phoenix Coyotes prospect Henrik Samuelsson doubled the Oil Kings lead with less than two minutes remaining in the first period. He was followed 44 seconds later by a goal from Travis Ewanyk to give the home team the 3-0 lead after 20 minutes.
“We had a couple of lapses in the first period, I thought,” opined head coach Mike Williamson. “Edmonton did a good job getting off the walls to get to the middle of the ice in our zone. We got caught sleeping a couple of times. You can’t do that against this hockey team.”
Neither team could score in the second period as Driedger made 14 saves in the Hitmen net.
Edmonton added to their lead near the 13 minute mark of the third period, with Michael St. Croix scoring his eighth of the playoffs.
Late in the third, Hitmen head coach Mike Williamson pulled Driedger for the extra attacker in hopes that it might spark a comeback for his team.
It worked as Brooks Macek sniped his fourth of the playoffs to get the Hitmen on the board, but that was as close as the Hitmen would come.
Curtis Lazar added an empty-netter shortly after.
Driedger made 35 saves in the Hitmen net, while Brossoit saw 29 pucks fired his way in the other net.
Game 6 goes Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Scotiabank Saddledome, with tickets still available.
