In a winner take all Game 7 it was the Calgary Hitmen who struck early and held on for a 4-2 victory and a 4-3 series win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The Hitmen used three goals in the opening frame to pace themselves to the upset in the two vs three Central Division matchup. The Game 7 win sends Calgary into round number two. Hitmen goalie Jack McNaughton backstopped the win with 25 saves while the Hurricanes received 23 stops from Carl Tetachuk.
The Hitmen opened the scoring 3:30 into the game on a Carson Focht power play goal. He made no mistake in finishing the Yegor Zamula pass. It was Focht’s third of the playoffs. The bad blood and high intensity found its way into this game as the two teams traded chances in an action filled, heavy hitting period.
The visitors increased their lead in the later part of the period. Finishing it off a rush for his first off the series was Riley Fiddler-Schultz. He fired it over the shoulder of Tetatchuk. Assists on the play awarded to Devan Klassen and Luke Prokop. Just under a minute later, the Hitmen made it 3-0. Again it was Focht putting it in, his second of the night and fourth of the playoffs. That goal deflated the home crowd and Calgary too- the three goal lead into the break.
The middle frame was all Lethbridge. After killing off an early penalty they went to work to try and chipped away at the deficit. It didn’t take long for them to get rewarded when Zachary Cox flew down the wing and roofed a shot past McNaughton to get the home crowd back into the game and get his team on the board. That was Cox’s second of the series and was assisted by rookies Zach Stringer and Nolan Jones – making the game 3-1.
Hurricanes continued to press but it took until the 12:52 mark before they were able to cut the lead to one. Alex Cotton recorded his first ever playoff goal. Captain Jordy Bellerive and Jake Leschyshyn set it up, making the score 3-2 Calgary. That was as close as the Hurricanes got on this night.
It wasn’t for lack of effort or trying though. The best chance in the third period for the home side was a backdoor pass from Dylan Cozens that Taylor Ross chipped over the open net. Lethbridge only managed nine shots in the final frame. McNaughton was equal to the task on this night. The Hitmen played a simple, get-the-puck-out style and it paid off. The last gasp came out of the Hurricanes when Hitmen captain Mark Kestlic found the empty net for the 4-2 win.
Final shots on the net read 27 apiece while the power plays finished 1-for-4 for Calgary while Lethbridge went 0-for-2. The crowd of 1,151 stood and cheered off their team and give one final ovation to overagers Jake Elmer, Taylor Ross and Igor Merezhko who were named the games co-first stars in their final WHL game. While the Hurricanes season is finished the Hitmen move on to play the Edmonton Oil Kings in round 2 starting on Saturday.
