Malc
05-04-2009, 01:51 PM
By Doyle Potenteau
No one saw this coming.
Not Ryan Huska, not Mark Guggenberger. Especially not the Calgary Hitmen.
Mikael Backlund scored twice for Kelowna, while Guggenberger made 27 saves, as the Rockets rode a strong defensive performance in defeating the Hitmen 5-2 in Game 2 of the WHL championship series on Saturday night.
The Rockets now lead the best-of-seven set 2-0, with Games 3 and 4 set for Monday and Wednesday at Kelowna.
“I thought we had a slow start to the game,” said Huska, Kelowna‘s head coach, whose team scored four times in the third period to break a 1-1 deadlock. “Calgary came out hard and we got good goaltending when we needed it and that was the big-time difference. As the game wore on, because we were able to hang around in the first portion, we found a way to get our legs.
“We played much better towards the end of the second and into the third because our goaltender kept us in the game early on when we shouldn‘t have been.”
In almost a repeat of Game 1, the Rockets blocked a score of shots, relied on Guggenberger, then poured it on in the third. Kelowna outshot Calgary 10-8 in the third period of Game 1, then 15-7 in Game 2.
“We came out and liked our first period,” said Hitmen coach Dave Lowry, whose team hadn‘t lost back-to-back games in 86 contests. “Going into the third period, I thought we were in a pretty good position. The unfortunate thing is, they took the play to us, they elevated it and they got a little bit of momentum and they capitalized on their chances.
“We didn‘t have enough to push back, but it takes four to win.”
Entering the WHL final, not many were giving Kelowna a chance, with most pundits predicting a Calgary victory in four or five games. But having taken two at the Saddledome – where the Hitmen were 32-4 in regular-season play – the Rockets are clearly in the driver‘s seat now. But whether they‘ll be riding into Game 3 with top scorer Jamie Benn isn‘t yet known.
Midway through the first period, Kelowna lost Benn to injury when Calgary defenceman Keith Seabrook drilled the Victoria product just above the Hitmen‘s goal-line. Benn went flying, crashed hard into Calgary‘s endboards and was motionless, and helmet-less, on the ice for several seconds. Minutes later, Benn skated to Kelowna‘s dressing room, with Rockets trainer Jeff Thorburn assisting him, and he didn‘t return to action. In Game 1, Seabrook also drilled Benn with a hard hit.
“We brought our (team) doctor with us, and it was his call not to let Jamie play,” Huska said of Benn, who, from a distance, appeared clear-eyed and fine after the game. “Jamie wanted to play; he‘s going to be fine and we‘re looking forward to having him back in our lineup in Kelowna.”
Ian Duval, Evan Bloodoff, with one goal and two assists, and Colin Long also scored for Kelowna, which is now 14-4 in the playoffs, including 7-3 on the road. Tomas Karpov and Seabrook replied for Calgary, which has now lost three times to Kelowna this season (1-3).
Martin Jones made 22 saves for the Hitmen, while Guggenberger stopped 15 of 16 shots in the second period.
Asked if he could see Saturday‘s big win coming, Guggenberger said no.
“I can‘t say I did,” said Guggenberger, who played Game 2 with a plug inside his left nostril and two stitches to prevent a nose bleed suffered in Game 1. “But I‘m more than happy with the results.”
After a scoreless first period, Calgary opened the scoring early in the second, Karpov with his fourth of the playoffs at 2:45. Parked along Kelowna‘s endboards, Ian Schultz fed a centring pass to the low left faceoff circle, where Karpov snapped home a low shot. The goal was a result of good pressure by Calgary and missed defensive coverage by Kelowna.
Twelve minutes later, though, the Rockets replied, Bloodoff with his third of the playoffs. Charging down the right side while also fending off Hitmen defenceman Paul Postma, Ian Duval chipped the puck past Calgary‘s top blue-liner to the slot, where Bloodoff backhanded the puck past Jones. Notably, Bloodoff beat Calgary‘s second-best defenceman, Seabrook, in the race to the Hitmen crease.
In the third, the Rockets busted out with two quick goals in the first five minutes for a 3-1 lead.
Bloodoff, with speed, raced down right wing, crossed Calgary‘s blue-line, then cut to the goal, beating Seabrook in the process and putting a shot on net. Jones made the save, but didn‘t cover the puck and Duval swooped in to knock home the glove-side rebound. The goal, Duval‘s 10th, came at 3:40.
Less than two minutes later, Bloodoff pulled off a repeat, only he turned the corner on Hitmen blue-liner Matt MacKenzie this time. And knocking in the rebound was Backlund.
“I can say to Evan that it was probably his best game he‘s played for our hockey club in three years,” said Huska. “He‘s got great speed and our challenge to Evan is to use it all the time because there aren‘t a lot of defencemen in this league who can handle his wide speed.
“He was a big difference for us tonight, and a lot of times when you‘re not playing well, if you can dumb your game down a little and throw pucks at the net and get guys crashing hard, that‘s how you turn things around.
“And Evan was a big reason why our game turned around.”
Backlund also wound up scoring five minutes later to make it 4-1. Backlund‘s second of the night came at 10:21, a rebound on a Lucas Bloodoff shot after Hitmen defenceman Paul Postma turned over the puck.
Seabrook made it 4-2 at 12:52, and Long closed out the scoring at 19:58 with an empty-net goal.
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna‘s scratches were RW Spencer Main, RW Kyle St. Denis, and D Kyle Verdino. Kelowna was 0-for-2 on the power play; Calgary was 0-for-5. Tyler Myers finished with a +/- of +4. Paul Postma (WHL Player of the Year) and Brandon Kozun both finished with a +/- of -4.
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=183352
No one saw this coming.
Not Ryan Huska, not Mark Guggenberger. Especially not the Calgary Hitmen.
Mikael Backlund scored twice for Kelowna, while Guggenberger made 27 saves, as the Rockets rode a strong defensive performance in defeating the Hitmen 5-2 in Game 2 of the WHL championship series on Saturday night.
The Rockets now lead the best-of-seven set 2-0, with Games 3 and 4 set for Monday and Wednesday at Kelowna.
“I thought we had a slow start to the game,” said Huska, Kelowna‘s head coach, whose team scored four times in the third period to break a 1-1 deadlock. “Calgary came out hard and we got good goaltending when we needed it and that was the big-time difference. As the game wore on, because we were able to hang around in the first portion, we found a way to get our legs.
“We played much better towards the end of the second and into the third because our goaltender kept us in the game early on when we shouldn‘t have been.”
In almost a repeat of Game 1, the Rockets blocked a score of shots, relied on Guggenberger, then poured it on in the third. Kelowna outshot Calgary 10-8 in the third period of Game 1, then 15-7 in Game 2.
“We came out and liked our first period,” said Hitmen coach Dave Lowry, whose team hadn‘t lost back-to-back games in 86 contests. “Going into the third period, I thought we were in a pretty good position. The unfortunate thing is, they took the play to us, they elevated it and they got a little bit of momentum and they capitalized on their chances.
“We didn‘t have enough to push back, but it takes four to win.”
Entering the WHL final, not many were giving Kelowna a chance, with most pundits predicting a Calgary victory in four or five games. But having taken two at the Saddledome – where the Hitmen were 32-4 in regular-season play – the Rockets are clearly in the driver‘s seat now. But whether they‘ll be riding into Game 3 with top scorer Jamie Benn isn‘t yet known.
Midway through the first period, Kelowna lost Benn to injury when Calgary defenceman Keith Seabrook drilled the Victoria product just above the Hitmen‘s goal-line. Benn went flying, crashed hard into Calgary‘s endboards and was motionless, and helmet-less, on the ice for several seconds. Minutes later, Benn skated to Kelowna‘s dressing room, with Rockets trainer Jeff Thorburn assisting him, and he didn‘t return to action. In Game 1, Seabrook also drilled Benn with a hard hit.
“We brought our (team) doctor with us, and it was his call not to let Jamie play,” Huska said of Benn, who, from a distance, appeared clear-eyed and fine after the game. “Jamie wanted to play; he‘s going to be fine and we‘re looking forward to having him back in our lineup in Kelowna.”
Ian Duval, Evan Bloodoff, with one goal and two assists, and Colin Long also scored for Kelowna, which is now 14-4 in the playoffs, including 7-3 on the road. Tomas Karpov and Seabrook replied for Calgary, which has now lost three times to Kelowna this season (1-3).
Martin Jones made 22 saves for the Hitmen, while Guggenberger stopped 15 of 16 shots in the second period.
Asked if he could see Saturday‘s big win coming, Guggenberger said no.
“I can‘t say I did,” said Guggenberger, who played Game 2 with a plug inside his left nostril and two stitches to prevent a nose bleed suffered in Game 1. “But I‘m more than happy with the results.”
After a scoreless first period, Calgary opened the scoring early in the second, Karpov with his fourth of the playoffs at 2:45. Parked along Kelowna‘s endboards, Ian Schultz fed a centring pass to the low left faceoff circle, where Karpov snapped home a low shot. The goal was a result of good pressure by Calgary and missed defensive coverage by Kelowna.
Twelve minutes later, though, the Rockets replied, Bloodoff with his third of the playoffs. Charging down the right side while also fending off Hitmen defenceman Paul Postma, Ian Duval chipped the puck past Calgary‘s top blue-liner to the slot, where Bloodoff backhanded the puck past Jones. Notably, Bloodoff beat Calgary‘s second-best defenceman, Seabrook, in the race to the Hitmen crease.
In the third, the Rockets busted out with two quick goals in the first five minutes for a 3-1 lead.
Bloodoff, with speed, raced down right wing, crossed Calgary‘s blue-line, then cut to the goal, beating Seabrook in the process and putting a shot on net. Jones made the save, but didn‘t cover the puck and Duval swooped in to knock home the glove-side rebound. The goal, Duval‘s 10th, came at 3:40.
Less than two minutes later, Bloodoff pulled off a repeat, only he turned the corner on Hitmen blue-liner Matt MacKenzie this time. And knocking in the rebound was Backlund.
“I can say to Evan that it was probably his best game he‘s played for our hockey club in three years,” said Huska. “He‘s got great speed and our challenge to Evan is to use it all the time because there aren‘t a lot of defencemen in this league who can handle his wide speed.
“He was a big difference for us tonight, and a lot of times when you‘re not playing well, if you can dumb your game down a little and throw pucks at the net and get guys crashing hard, that‘s how you turn things around.
“And Evan was a big reason why our game turned around.”
Backlund also wound up scoring five minutes later to make it 4-1. Backlund‘s second of the night came at 10:21, a rebound on a Lucas Bloodoff shot after Hitmen defenceman Paul Postma turned over the puck.
Seabrook made it 4-2 at 12:52, and Long closed out the scoring at 19:58 with an empty-net goal.
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna‘s scratches were RW Spencer Main, RW Kyle St. Denis, and D Kyle Verdino. Kelowna was 0-for-2 on the power play; Calgary was 0-for-5. Tyler Myers finished with a +/- of +4. Paul Postma (WHL Player of the Year) and Brandon Kozun both finished with a +/- of -4.
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=183352