nivek_wahs
04-16-2007, 03:35 AM
Medicine Hat News (http://www.medicinehatnews.com/article_5331.php)
Hitmen up next for Tigers
By COLLIN GALLANT
Apr 16, 2007, 16:41
The Calgary Hitmen and Medicine Hat Tigers will take their fantastic regular season rivalry to next level on Friday, when the two teams meet for the first time ever in the Western Hockey League post-season.
The Tigers will host the Hitmen in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final series. Calgary eliminated the Brandon Wheat Kings on Sunday evening, locking down a 4-1 victory in Game 6.
“It was a good game; Calgary played really well and deserved the game, for sure,” said Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins who scouted the game in Calgary on Sunday.
His Tigers have sat since Friday when they completed a four-game sweep of the Regina Pats. The
Tigers will host the Hitmen in Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-seven series on Friday and Saturday nights (7:30 p.m. starts both nights) at The Arena. The rest of the schedule is to be announced.
The Vancouver Giants will face either the Prince George Cougars or the Everett Silvertips in Western Conference Final series.
“(Calgary) has a strong team. They’re a strong franchise,” said Desjardins. “They have some guys who’ve played a lot of playoff hockey, so it’ll be tough.”
The Hitmen franchise has contested 37 playoff games in the last three years — as have the Tigers — but oddly the two Central Division rivals have never met in the post-season.
The Hitmen, established before the 1995-96 season, enjoyed playoff success in the late 1990s, when the Tigers languished out of the post-season.
In fact, the Tigers have not faced a Calgary-based team in a series since 1983, when Medicine Hat lost out in opening round to the Calgary Wranglers (now Lethbridge Hurricanes).
More recently, Medicine Hat won the recent regular season series versus the Hitmen 5-3, including a shootout win, over a highly entertaining set of games.
© Copyright by Medicine Hat News.com
Hitmen up next for Tigers
By COLLIN GALLANT
Apr 16, 2007, 16:41
The Calgary Hitmen and Medicine Hat Tigers will take their fantastic regular season rivalry to next level on Friday, when the two teams meet for the first time ever in the Western Hockey League post-season.
The Tigers will host the Hitmen in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final series. Calgary eliminated the Brandon Wheat Kings on Sunday evening, locking down a 4-1 victory in Game 6.
“It was a good game; Calgary played really well and deserved the game, for sure,” said Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins who scouted the game in Calgary on Sunday.
His Tigers have sat since Friday when they completed a four-game sweep of the Regina Pats. The
Tigers will host the Hitmen in Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-seven series on Friday and Saturday nights (7:30 p.m. starts both nights) at The Arena. The rest of the schedule is to be announced.
The Vancouver Giants will face either the Prince George Cougars or the Everett Silvertips in Western Conference Final series.
“(Calgary) has a strong team. They’re a strong franchise,” said Desjardins. “They have some guys who’ve played a lot of playoff hockey, so it’ll be tough.”
The Hitmen franchise has contested 37 playoff games in the last three years — as have the Tigers — but oddly the two Central Division rivals have never met in the post-season.
The Hitmen, established before the 1995-96 season, enjoyed playoff success in the late 1990s, when the Tigers languished out of the post-season.
In fact, the Tigers have not faced a Calgary-based team in a series since 1983, when Medicine Hat lost out in opening round to the Calgary Wranglers (now Lethbridge Hurricanes).
More recently, Medicine Hat won the recent regular season series versus the Hitmen 5-3, including a shootout win, over a highly entertaining set of games.
© Copyright by Medicine Hat News.com