nivek_wahs
09-22-2007, 08:54 AM
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/sports/story.html?id=742a7b89-656b-4c65-ad70-5d52d6934f46
Hitmen steam to opening victory
Calgary's depth shines through against Rebels at Saddledome
John Down, Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, September 22, 2007
The Calgary Hitmen unleashed a new goal horn for their Western Hockey League season opener Friday night and, like the locomotive it came from, the Hitmen gradually built momentum en route to a 3-1 win over the Red Deer Rebels.
Slovakian rookie Martin Stepan, 20-year-old newcomer Adam Ross and veteran Carson McMillan scored for the home side, while Cass Mappin scored late in the second period for the visitors.
Not only did Stepan and Ross collect their first WHL points for the Hitmen, but so did T.J. Galiardi and 16-year-old Chase Schaber in front of a somewhat disappointing gathering of 8,363.
James Reimer faced 28 shots in the Red Deer nets, while Calgary opposite Dan Spence looked at 15 shots, just three of those in the third period.
The victory gives the Hitmen a 9-1-1-2 record in home openers at the Pengrowth Saddledome and a 7-2-3-1 mark in season openers. The Rebels are now 6-8-2-0 in season openers and will try to give rookie WHL coach Brian Sutter his first win and improve on a 6-6-3-0 record in home openers when the two clubs collide again tonight at Red Deer.
Stepan, who winged it with Galiardi and Ross, was a thorn to the Rebels most of the night as he got off six point-blank shots on Reimer. It was his fifth shot, at 4:36 of the second, that triggered a three-goal explosion in less than three minutes and loosened up an often tight-looking team.
"I'm very happy. It was a great game and the team played pretty good,'' said Stepan in broken English. "I must work on my shooting, though.''
Calgary, using 12 of 17 returning veterans, appeared to have a slight edge in depth as head coach Kelly Kisio rolled four lines and three pairs of defencemen and generally received an honest night's work from each and every player.
"We'll take it,'' said Kisio. "I thought they out-worked us at times, out-battled us. We got some goals at opportune times. The second period we started to get it going a little bit but I think that game could have gone either way. We had some good efforts by a lot of guys, some very average efforts from other guys.''
After a so-so first period featuring an alternating penalty parade and some opening night jitters, the Hitmen totally owned Red Deer in the first 10 minutes of the second period. The domination was so complete that the Rebels didn't get off their first shot until 9:34, a harmless long slapper. But they did capitalize on a defensive miscue when Mappin was allowed to walk out from beside the net and beat Spence short side at 15:27.
The Rebels came out hard in the third period and had a couple of great chances, but the Hitmen withstood the onslaught and turned the tide, manufacturing a few good chances with the Galiardi, Stepan, Ross and Brett Sonne, McMillan and Ian Duval trios front and centre on most of them.
"We can be better than that,'' said Sutter. "Everyone has to battle and compete. We missed too many chances, too, especially in the first five or six minutes of the third period. We took it to them and if we could have sustained that . . . I know we can be better than that.''
THIS AND THAT: The Hitmen made one healthy scratch in rookie 17-year-old F Ryan Fox. Also sitting were injured D Keith Seabrook (shoulder), D Dan Mercer (broken hand) and F Ryan Letts (knee) and C Ryan White and D Alex Plante, the latter two still with their NHL clubs . . . A significant scratch for Red Deer was C Brandon Sutter, who is still with the Carolina Hurricanes.
jdown@theherald.canwest.com
© The Calgary Herald 2007
Hitmen steam to opening victory
Calgary's depth shines through against Rebels at Saddledome
John Down, Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, September 22, 2007
The Calgary Hitmen unleashed a new goal horn for their Western Hockey League season opener Friday night and, like the locomotive it came from, the Hitmen gradually built momentum en route to a 3-1 win over the Red Deer Rebels.
Slovakian rookie Martin Stepan, 20-year-old newcomer Adam Ross and veteran Carson McMillan scored for the home side, while Cass Mappin scored late in the second period for the visitors.
Not only did Stepan and Ross collect their first WHL points for the Hitmen, but so did T.J. Galiardi and 16-year-old Chase Schaber in front of a somewhat disappointing gathering of 8,363.
James Reimer faced 28 shots in the Red Deer nets, while Calgary opposite Dan Spence looked at 15 shots, just three of those in the third period.
The victory gives the Hitmen a 9-1-1-2 record in home openers at the Pengrowth Saddledome and a 7-2-3-1 mark in season openers. The Rebels are now 6-8-2-0 in season openers and will try to give rookie WHL coach Brian Sutter his first win and improve on a 6-6-3-0 record in home openers when the two clubs collide again tonight at Red Deer.
Stepan, who winged it with Galiardi and Ross, was a thorn to the Rebels most of the night as he got off six point-blank shots on Reimer. It was his fifth shot, at 4:36 of the second, that triggered a three-goal explosion in less than three minutes and loosened up an often tight-looking team.
"I'm very happy. It was a great game and the team played pretty good,'' said Stepan in broken English. "I must work on my shooting, though.''
Calgary, using 12 of 17 returning veterans, appeared to have a slight edge in depth as head coach Kelly Kisio rolled four lines and three pairs of defencemen and generally received an honest night's work from each and every player.
"We'll take it,'' said Kisio. "I thought they out-worked us at times, out-battled us. We got some goals at opportune times. The second period we started to get it going a little bit but I think that game could have gone either way. We had some good efforts by a lot of guys, some very average efforts from other guys.''
After a so-so first period featuring an alternating penalty parade and some opening night jitters, the Hitmen totally owned Red Deer in the first 10 minutes of the second period. The domination was so complete that the Rebels didn't get off their first shot until 9:34, a harmless long slapper. But they did capitalize on a defensive miscue when Mappin was allowed to walk out from beside the net and beat Spence short side at 15:27.
The Rebels came out hard in the third period and had a couple of great chances, but the Hitmen withstood the onslaught and turned the tide, manufacturing a few good chances with the Galiardi, Stepan, Ross and Brett Sonne, McMillan and Ian Duval trios front and centre on most of them.
"We can be better than that,'' said Sutter. "Everyone has to battle and compete. We missed too many chances, too, especially in the first five or six minutes of the third period. We took it to them and if we could have sustained that . . . I know we can be better than that.''
THIS AND THAT: The Hitmen made one healthy scratch in rookie 17-year-old F Ryan Fox. Also sitting were injured D Keith Seabrook (shoulder), D Dan Mercer (broken hand) and F Ryan Letts (knee) and C Ryan White and D Alex Plante, the latter two still with their NHL clubs . . . A significant scratch for Red Deer was C Brandon Sutter, who is still with the Carolina Hurricanes.
jdown@theherald.canwest.com
© The Calgary Herald 2007