Game 4 News Articles

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http://www.medicinehatnews.com/article_5465.php

So close

By DARREN STEINKE
Apr 26, 2007

CALGARY — The Medicine Hat Tigers are one win away from advancing to the WHL’s championship series.
On Wednesday, the Tigers defeated the Hitmen 3-1 in Game 4 of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship series before 9,054 fans at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary. With the win, the Tigers lead the best-of-seven series 3-1.
The Tigers can wrap up the series Friday as they host Game 5 at 7:30 p.m. at The Arena in Medicine Hat.
“I think right now we are real excited,” said Tigers right-winger Tyler Swystun. “I thought we left a lot in the tank the other night (a 4-2 loss in Game 3 Monday).
“We were going to lay it all on the table tonight. It is real exciting to know we win this big, but at the same time, we have to keep our emotions under control.”
Medicine Hat drew first blood in Wednesday’s game, scoring on their first power play. Using a screen, right-winger Derek Dorsett slid an on-ice shot past Hitmen goaltender Dan Spence.
Calgary tied the game heading into the first intermission on their first power play of the game. Swedish left-winger Robin Figren blew down the right side on a rush and put a backhand shot by Tigers goaltender Matt Keetley.
The Tigers went up 2-1 at the 9:25 mark of the second period thanks to some hard work by the team’s fourth line. After mucking deep in the Calgary zone for about 15 seconds, Swystun deposited his second of the playoffs by Spence.
It stood up as the winner.
“It is a pretty big one,” said Swystun, who has two goals and three assists in 15 playoff games. “It was probably the biggest of the year.
“I kind of had a little bit of insuccess getting on the score sheet. It was real nice to get the chance to get the game-winning goal. I am real proud of that. My line was a big part of that.”
Tigers captain and star defenceman Kris Russell was also pleased to see Swystun’s line tally the winner.
“Those guys on the fourth line they come out, and they play hard,” said Russell. “We don’t have a fourth line on our team. We have lines that go hard.
“It is definitely rewarding for them. They are working as hard as anyone out there. When they got that big goal, it was a huge lift for our team.”
Medicine Hat sealed the game with a goal at the 7:09 mark of the second period. About to glide behind the Calgary net, centre Brennan Bosch fed a nice pass to linemate Tyler Ennis in front of the net, who buried the insurance marker.
Keetley made 18 saves to earn the win in goal for the Tigers. Spence turned away 23 shots to suffer the loss for the Hitmen.
Hitmen defenceman Karl Alzner, who was a part of Canada last gold medal winning world junior team, said his team could believe what happened Wednesday.
“Guys are disappointed just because we know we could have given more than what we showed out there tonight,” said Alzner, who drew an assist on Calgary’s goal. “I thought we underestimated them a little bit after our win last game.
“We thought they would sit back a little bit, which definitely wasn’t the case.”
Cougars hang around
In Wednesday’s late WHLgame, the Prince George Cougars got an overtime goal from Devin Setoguchi and 41 saves from Scott Bowles to beat the Vancouver Giants 3-2 and hold on in the Western Conference finals.
Vancouver still leads the series 3-1.


© Copyright by Medicine Hat News.com

[nivek_wahs]

http://calsun.canoe.ca/Sports/Hockey/2007/04/26/4131152-sun.html

Thu, April 26, 2007

Angry Tigers bite back

UPDATED: 2007-04-26 02:11:50 MST
By SCOTT FISHER

The Tigers had a little sand kicked in their face Monday.

Last night, they flexed their muscle and proved once again they're the bullies of the WHL's Eastern Conference.

Derek Dorsett, Tyler Swystun and Tyler Ennis scored and Calgary Flames prospect Matt Keetley made 18 saves as Medicine Hat beat the Calgary Hitmen 3-1 at the 'Dome.

The Tigers lead the Eastern Conference final 3-1 and head home with a chance to close out the series tomorrow night at The Arena (7:30 p.m., Shaw TV, The Fan 960).

Hitmen d-man Karl Alzner said his club simply didn't match the Bengals' intensity.

"I think we sat back a bit because we thought we had figured them out," Alzner said. "We had won one game and (thought) it was just going to come to us.

"They're not like other teams we've played. They're going to battle whether they're up 3-0 or down, it doesn't matter to them.


"We underestimated them a little bit because of what happened the other night."

Robin Figren scored the lone goal for Calgary, which now faces the daunting task of needing to win three straight games -- two in Medicine Hat -- against the top seed in the East.

Dan Spence made 23 saves, many of the tough variety, to keep his lethargic team in the game.

The Tigers put the game out of reach 7:09 into the third period when Alex Plante and Derek LeBlanc got their wires crossed in the defensive zone.

Brennan Bosch plucked the loose puck and sent a perfect pass to the top of the crease for Ennis, who had his best game of the series.

Hitmen GM/head coach Kelly Kisio said he couldn't understand why his team came out flat.

"We didn't have a lot of jump in our game," he said. "We couldn't generate a lot and they did a real good job of shutting us down.

"It was a long night for us."

The Hitmen, thanks to some big stops by Spence and a fantastic individual effort by Figren, managed to escape a first period in which they were largely outplayed.

Dorsett extended his points streak to seven games on a powerplay 11 minutes in, beating Spence through a Chris Stevens screen.

Flames prospect Gord Baldwin nearly put the visitors up by two but his point shot clanked off the post and Spence kicked out the right pad to make a terrific stop on Tyler Ennis' rebound attempt.

Spence continued to hold the fort with a big glove stop on Swystun after the Hitmen made a series of poor decisions with the puck in their own end of the ice.

Figren put the home side on even footing on the powerplay with his second highlight-reel goal in as many games.

The speedy Swede blew around a Tigers defender, picked up a dump-in and cut for the net before throwing a short-side backhander over Keetley's shoulder.

The Hitmen managed just a dozen shots over the opening 40 minutes while Spence faced 17 by the surging Tigers.

[nivek_wahs]

http://calsun.canoe.ca/Sports/Hockey/2007/04/26/4131155-sun.html

Thu, April 26, 2007

Tigers keep cool facing adversity at the 'Dome

UPDATED: 2007-04-26 02:11:51 MST
By RANDY SPORTAK, SUN MEDIA

On one hand, Willie Desjardins saw a blown chance.

On the other, the Medicine Hat Tigers bench boss saw the kind of composure coaches want from their charges when facing adversity.

Midway through last night's clash with the Calgary Hitmen, the Tigers were up a goal and on a five-on-three powerplay.

A golden chance to put the game away.

Instead, the visitors barely even mustered a shot, let alone an insurance goal. Talk about a potential turning point.

"We blew a real opportunity," Desjardins said. "We can't do that. We were lucky to get out of the game missing that opportunity. We've got to take advantage of those or we won't be successful.

"But the guys did stay with it. There was a real determination to play hard and we're thankful it turned out for us."


The Tigers left the Saddledome with a 3-1 win last night to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference final.

It could have turned the other way but Tigers forward Tyler Ennis, whose third-period goal eventually gave his team the insurance marker, was proud of the way he and his teammates didn't panic.

"We were talking on the bench and the coaches were telling us to stay focused, stay on task and keep doing the things we were doing," Ennis said. "We were playing pretty well up to that point and we just had to keep doing those things."

The Tigers came to the Stampede City looking for a split to give them a huge upper hand. They can close out the series tomorrow night at home.

Visiting teams haven't had much luck in these playoffs at the Saddledome -- until last night the Hitmen had lost only one of their six outings at home in the post-season.

Coming off a poor performance Monday, the Tigers had a concerted focus to pull out a win that gave them the upper hand.

"We came in wanting this game so bad," Ennis said. "We stuck to the little things, got pucks out, blocked shots and I think that's the most important thing."

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/sports/story.html?id=bd6d5e14-dd48-46d3-a69d-e6a244db95eb

Terrific Tigers just too tough
George Johnson, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, April 26, 2007

The moment encapsulated the whole.

The elegant defenceman Kris Russell, object of continuous catcalls from the Pengrowth Saddledome partisans, slipping on the proverbial banana peel and executing a pratfall worthy of Chaplin, allowing Freddie Pettersson an unimpeded path to the goal with just under two minutes left in the second period.

And Pettersson, the tiny Swedish jitterbug, trying to throw more moves at goaltender Matt Keetley than Paris Hilton crashing a Chippendale's pool party, only to lose the puck off the end of his stick attempting a backhand payoff.

Not so much as a shot on goal. Those six stark seconds pretty much summed up the Calgary Hitmen's squandered evening.

"Looking at it after, I shouldn't have deked,'' conceded Pettersson. "I should've used my shot. I didn't have much speed. I tried to deke him, and it didn't work. If I would've scored there, it would've changed the whole game situation.''

The other 59 minutes and 54 seconds? Too much Medicine Hat Tigers. Too quick. Too slick. Too opportunistic.

So a lacklustre 3-1 loss at the 'Dome leaves the Hitmen hanging on the precipice by their fingernails heading back to The Hat for Game 5 on Friday. The guillotine is primed and waiting. All the Tigers need do now is yank the lever and wait for the blade drop.

"They outbattled us, outworked us. We didn't have the energy or the will. And I can't tell you why,'' sighed Hitmen assistant captain Karl Alzner. "We thought we could take the night off. We were dead wrong.''

Not that they needed any assistance, but the Tigers were the beneficiaries of a rather generous, uninspired effort from Kelly Kisio's men. Take the game-clinching third goal, for instance. Derek LeBlanc gets all tied up in a knot searching near his feet for an Alex Plante pass just inside the Calgary zone, in pops Brennan Bosch quick as you please, slides wide and then slips a pass out front to a charging Tyler Ennis. Plante's too late to tie up the man or his stick.

Sloppy.

Or how about Robin Figren's brain-burp elbow that negated a Calgary power play after just 31 seconds and the Hitmen in a frantic search for a late second goal to put some heat on the Tigers?

Silly.

"That team's difficult enough when to beat when you're on the top of your game,'' murmurred Alzner.

"When you give them so much help, it makes things that much tougher,'' sighed Alzner.

Besides being a very gifted group, the Tigers are also a plenty tough bunch. Not in the traditional sense, perhaps. But protecting the puck to make a play, blocking shots, taking a hit to clear the zone. All these things, too, define toughness. And they've been well schooled in the art of smaller players standing tall.

"We're not very big and, if you aren't very big, you have to play hard,'' said Medicine Hat coach Willie Desjardins. "We play hard. We compete. Bigger guys are going to lean on you, especially over a long series, and you've got to battle through that. In the last series, Red Deer pushed us as hard as we could be pushed. Did that help prepare us for this series? Definitely.''

Nothing seems to have prepared the Hitmen for Medicine Hat's ability to leap for the jugular if given the slightest sight of the throat.

Just such a play resulted in the Tigers' go-ahead goal. Matt Lowry's quick stick set it all up. Rapping an attempted clearing bid out of the air, Lowry slipped a pass to Tyler

Swystun to the right of Hitmen goaltender Daniel Spence. His initial shot Skittle-Pooled around in the Hitmen netminder's pads, and banked out to a spot where Swystun could rap the puck into the net, at 9:25.

The Tigers had ample opportunities to put the game out of reach before Ennis struck, leaving a five-on-three advantage on the table midway through the middle period.

Undaunted, unflustered, they stuck to the plan, and it paid off handsomely.

It's been a wonderful run for the Hitmen, and they've risen to meet every challenge so far in reaching this WHL Eastern Conference final. Pulling themselves out of this quagmire, against an opponent this polished, would top everything that has come before. The odds are very slim and, to even push the series back here for Game 6, the collective resolve will have to be far greater than what was shown Wednesday night.

"We just have to find a way to win two in their barn,'' announced Alzner, with more hope than conviction.

He was then asked if he could remember ever clawing back from a 3-1 deficit in a series, any age, any league.

"Never 3-1,'' he finally replied. "Two-nothing . . . ''

Then, brightening momentarily:

"No, wait. In Junior 'B,' I remember we were down 3-0 in a series and wound up winning the thing.''

The gold-medal-winning Canadian junior star then stopped, before getting too carried away by nostalgia.

"But that was a little different situation than this one.''

Yes, it certainly was.

gjohnson@theherald.canwest.com




© The Calgary Herald 2007

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http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/sports/story.html?id=b3c19e1e-146e-447a-af94-490d6b7770a7

Tigers give Hitmen taste of own medicine
Smothering attack pushes Calgary to brink

John Down, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, April 26, 2007

Tigers 3 - Hitmen 1

Tigers lead best-of-seven

WHL Eastern final 3-1

- - -

They were waterbugs, hurrying and scurrying all the night long. Relentless in their work ethic, forecheck, backcheck and bodychecks.

The Medicine Hat Tigers gave the Calgary Hitmen little room to operate, no time to think and scored a 3-1 victory Wednesday to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven Western Hockey League playoff series.

The Tigers have a chance to clinch their second Eastern Conference championship since 2004 Friday night on home ice or face the prospect of returning to the Pengrowth Saddledome for Game 6 on Saturday night.

There could be no arguing the best team won this game in front of 9,054 boisterous witnesses. The Tigers started hard and finished hard, continuously pressing and chasing down loose pucks as they gave the Hitmen a double dose of their own medicine from Game 3, a 4-2 Calgary win.

"I didn't think we had a lot of jump in our game tonight and struggled a lot,'' said Hitmen head coach Kelly Kisio. "They did a good job of shutting us down and using their speed to shut us down. It was a long night for us.''

A night made longer by the fact not every Hitman came with his A game.

"There were some guys who didn't show up to play tonight,'' admitted Kisio. "It's very interesting that at this time of the year you have to beg guys to play. It's very frustrating. There were two or three guys who battled and competed and did what they could, but there were two or three guys who weren't in the game and you can't afford any passengers at this time of year.''

Medicine Hat, on the other hand, sent wave after wave of peppery skaters after the Hitmen in a rebuttal to Monday's loss.

"We wanted it so bad,'' said Tyler Ennis, who scored the clinching third goal at 7:09 of the third period. "We stuck to the little things, blocked shots and I think that's the most important thing. Game 3 wasn't a good game, we knew that . . . we knew we had to work harder.''

Derek Dorsett and Tyler Swystun also scored for the Tigers, who fired 26 shots at Daniel Spence while holding the Hitmen to just 19 shots on Matt Keetley, who nevertheless had to make a handful of key saves.

The Tigers also won the second period (1-0) for the third time in the four games and scored the all-important first goal that has seen that team win every game.

Robin Figren made the lone reply for the Hitmen on a first- period power play.

The Hitmen now face the task of trying to rally from a 3-1 deficit for the first time in their brief club history. They've already upset two applecarts in these playoffs, but this time they're playing tag with a Corvette.

This and That: Hitmen D Karl Alzner has moved up one spot to fifth in the latest Central Scouting Bureau rankings among North American skaters for the NHL draft in June. Fellow rearguard Alex Plante and centre Brett Sonne have slipped slightly, Plante checking in at No. 72 and Sonne at No. 94. Calgary's Keaton Ellerby, a member of the Kamloops Blazers, is No. 4. Topping the list is Tier 2 centre Kyle Turris, a 17-year-old centre with the Burnaby Express. Turris, who was fifth in mid-season rankings in January, replaced centre Angelo Esposito of the Quebec Remparts in top spot . . . Prince Albert Raiders have decided not to renew the contract of coach Peter Anholt, who served the club the past 41/2 seasons.

jdown@theherald.canwest.com




© The Calgary Herald 2007