HITMEN TROUNCE WHEATIES

FINAL: Wheat Kings 1, Hitmen 5

Wheat Kings fall to Hitmen in game six of MasterCard Memorial Cup

PRESS RELEASE
BRANDON, Man. – The Calgary Hitmen offence exploded for five first period goals on way to a 5-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings at Westman Place to finish the round-robin schedule of the MasterCard Memorial Cup.

The Hitmen were the first to get on the board. Kris Foucault directed an innocent looking shot on net that slid between the pads of Jacob De Serres. Less than thirty seconds later, the Wheat Kings tied it up at one as Jay Fehr, who was left alone in the slot, one-timed a beautiful Aaron Lewadniuk pass behind goaltender Martin Jones.

Foucault seemed to have De Serres’ number in the first period. He scored his second goal of the game, and third of the tournament, on the Hitmen’s third shot. Then, Cody Beach doubled the Hitmen’s lead by registering his first goal of the MasterCard Memorial Cup at 13:47.

A relentless Calgary squad just kept the pressure coming. Jimmy Bubnick and Tyler Shattock added markers to give the Hitmen a comfortable 5-1 lead after the first twenty minutes of play.

The Wheat Kings raised their level of play in the second period. Although they failed to score, the shot total was a respectable 10-9 for the Hitmen.

Same story in the final frame, but the intensity level went sky high and the officials sent a number of players on both sides to the penalty box for roughing.

Martin Jones made 39 saves in the win, while De Serres took the loss despite 25 stops.

All three stars were Hitmen. Kris Foucault was named the game’s first star while teammates Jimmy Bubnick (2nd) and Tyler Shattock (3rd) were also honoured.

The Brandon Wheat Kings will battle the Calgary Hitmen in the semi-final game of the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS Friday at 7 pm (CDT). The game can also be seen live on Sportsnet.ca and on the NHL Network in the U.S.