Wednesday, April 15, 2009

WHL Preview

Press Release

CALGARY, AB -- The quest for Western Hockey League glory and a chance to compete in the 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Rimouski, QC, continues as the WHL Conference Championship series’ begin on Friday, April 17th.
The competition for the Husky WHL Eastern Conference Championship has been narrowed down to two teams. The Scotty Munro Trophy winner Calgary Hitmen will take on the talented Brandon Wheat Kings for the right to represent the WHL Eastern Conference in the 2009 WHL Championship series.
Here's a look at the Husky WHL Eastern Conference Championship series (also attached).

HUSKY WHL EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
(1) CALGARY HITMEN vs (3) BRANDON WHEAT KINGS
2008-09 regular-season record: (W-L-OTL-SOL, PTS)
Calgary: 59-9-3-1, 122pts
Brandon: 49-18-3-2, 103pts
2008-09 head-to-head record:
Calgary: 3-0-1-0, 7pts
Brandon: 1-3-0-0, 2pts
2008-09 head-to-head top scorers:
Calgary:
Joel Broda 5gp-5g-3a-8pts
Carson McMillan 4gp-0g-6a-6pts
Brandon:
Brayden Schenn 4gp-4g-0a-4pts
Andrew Clark 4gp-2g-2a-4pts
The Calgary Hitmen and the Brandon Wheat Kings meet up in the post-season for the third time in five seasons, and the first time since 2006-07. Brodie Dupont and the Hitmen defeated Codey Burki and the Wheat Kings four games to two in the second round of the 2007 WHL Playoffs.
The Hitmen booked their place in the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series for a third consecutive season after sweeping the Edmonton Oil Kings and Lethbridge Hurricanes in the first and second rounds, respectively. The Hitmen have been dominant at both ends of the ice through the first two rounds of the 2009 WHL Playoffs, scoring 34 goals while surrendering only seven through eight post-season contests. While top point producers Brandon Kozun, Kyle Bortis and Joel Broda have provided a good chunk of the team’s offense, the Hitmen have gotten secondary scoring from the likes of Kris Foucault, who has a team-leading seven goals, and Tomas Karpov. Having Brett Sonne back in the line-up will add another dangerous offensive weapon to the Hitmen’s arsenal. No team has been tighter defensively in the post-season than Calgary. Their defense, however, will be tested greatly by a powerful Wheat Kings’ attack. Calgary’s highly-ranked penalty killing unit will need to remain strong to shut down Brandon’s lethal power play. Goaltender Martin Jones has posted a miniscule 0.86 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage through eight playoff games. He will surely face a tougher challenge in keeping the Wheat Kings’ impressive collection of scorers at bay.
The Wheat Kings are making their first appearance in the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series since 2005, when they advanced all the way to the WHL Championship series. The Wheat Kings, like the Hitmen, have a perfect 8-0 record through the first two rounds of the playoffs, defeating both the Kootenay Ice and the Medicine Hat Tigers in four straight in the first and second rounds, respectively. Up front, the Wheat Kings have pumped in 45 goals in eight post-season games, for an average of 5.62 goals per game. They will need to keep their offense firing on all cylinders if they are to find a way to beat the Hitmen’s stingy defense. Defensively, the Wheat Kings have given up 21 goals in eight games while surrendering at least three goals in four of their eight post-season contests. A focus on strong defense and improving their penalty killing will be crucial if the Wheat Kings are to stop Calgary’s equally-potent offense and power play. Goaltender Andrew Hayes has shown he is up to the task in backstopping the Wheat Kings to seven of their eight playoff wins. He will be up against a far greater opponent in the Hitmen than he has faced so far in the post-season.
Series Schedule
#1 - Brandon @ Calgary; Friday, April 17 (7:00pm MT)
#2 - Brandon @ Calgary; Sunday, April 19 (2:00pm MT)
#3 - Calgary @ Brandon; Tuesday, April 21 (7:00pm CT)
#4 - Calgary @ Brandon; Wednesday, April 22 (7:00pm CT)
#5 - Brandon @ Calgary; Friday, April 24 (7:00pm MT)**
#6 - Calgary @ Brandon; Sunday, April 26 (6:00pm CT)**
#7 - Brandon @ Calgary; Tuesday, April 28 (7:00pm MT)**
** - if necessary
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Two teams remain in the hunt for the Kal Tire WHL Western Conference Championship. The Western Conference regular-season champion Vancouver Giants will battle B.C. Division rivals the Kelowna Rockets for the right to represent the WHL Western Conference in the 2009 WHL Championship series.
Here's a look at the Kal Tire WHL Western Conference Championship series.

KAL TIRE WHL WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
(1) VANCOUVER GIANTS vs (3) KELOWNA ROCKETS
2008-09 regular-season record: (W-L-OTL-SOL, PTS)
Vancouver: 57-10-2-3, 119pts
Kelowna: 47-21-1-3, 98pts
2008-09 head-to-head record:
Vancouver: 5-1-2-0, 12pts
Kelowna: 3-5-0-0, 6pts
2008-09 head-to-head top scorers:
Vancouver:
Evander Kane 7gp-8g-7a-15pts
Casey Pierro-Zabotel 8gp-2g-12a-14pts
Kelowna:
Cody Almond 8gp-4g-5a-9pts
Colin Long 8gp-2g-6a-8pts
The Vancouver Giants and Kelowna Rockets meet up in the WHL playoffs for the first time since 2004-05. Tyler Mosienko and the Rockets defeated Gilbert Brule and the Giants four games to two in the opening round of the 2005 WHL Playoffs en route to winning the 2005 WHL Championship.
The Giants are making their third appearance in the WHL Western Conference final in the last four seasons after sweeping the Prince George Cougars in the first round then beating the defending WHL and Memorial Cup Champion Spokane Chiefs in seven games in the second round. After cruising to their best regular-season record in franchise history, then easily handling the Cougars in the opening round, the Giants faced their toughest test of the season in a hard-fought seven-game series versus the Chiefs – a series that saw the final three games go to overtime. The Giants will need to quickly recover from that second-round battle with the Chiefs to be prepared for a physically dominant Rockets’ squad. Casey Pierro-Zabotel, the WHL’s regular-season scoring leader, has been relatively quiet through the Giants’ first two playoff series’. He will need to rediscover his dominant offensive form to help the Giants break down Kelowna’s strong defense. The Giants’ defense corps has been strong through the first two rounds of the playoffs, allowing less than two goals per game, on average. Jonathon Blum and the rest of Vancouver’s blue line brigade will face their toughest test in stopping a deep, talented and physically imposing group of Kelowna forwards. Goaltender Tyson Sexsmith stopped 135 of 141 shots he faced over the final four games versus Spokane. If he can maintain that level of play, the Giants will have that much better of a chance to defeat the Rockets.
The Rockets are making their first appearance in the WHL Western Conference final since the 2004-05 season after sweeping the Kamloops Blazers in the opening round then knocking off the U.S. Division Champion Tri-City Americans in six games in the second round. Offensively, the Rockets have been getting scoring from a variety of sources through the first two playoff rounds, and boast five players with five or more goals and six players averaging at least a point per game. Jamie Benn has points in every playoff game he’s played in his WHL career, while Swedish rookie Mikael Backlund was a dominant offensive force in the latter part of the team’s second-round series versus the Americans. The Rockets will need continued balanced scoring to break down the Giants’ strong and deep defense corps. Rockets’ defenseman Tyler Myers has been outstanding through the first two rounds of the post-season, but was a -3 in seven regular-season games versus the Giants. He’ll need to be at his best to contain Vancouver’s relentless forecheck and dangerous group of forwards. The Rockets won the final three regular-season meetings with the Giants, including a decisive 6-2 victory in Vancouver on February 20th. They will need to find a way to win at least one more game in Vancouver over a Giants team that has only lost seven games at home all season.
Series Schedule
#1 - Kelowna @ Vancouver; Saturday, April 18 (7:00pm PT)
#2 - Kelowna @ Vancouver; Sunday, April 19 (5:00pm PT)
#3 - Vancouver @ Kelowna; Tuesday, April 21 (7:00pm PT)
#4 - Vancouver @ Kelowna; Thursday, April 23 (7:00pm PT)
#5 - Kelowna @ Vancouver; Saturday, April 25 (7:00pm PT)**
#6 - Vancouver @ Kelowna; Monday, April 27 (7:00pm PT)**
#7 - Kelowna @ Vancouver; Tuesday, April 28 (7:00pm PT)**
** - if necessary


(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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