SPITS ADVANCE TO FINAL

FINAL: Hitmen 2, Spitfires 6

Spitfires earn berth in 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup Final with 6-2 win over Hitmen

PRESS RELEASE
BRANDON, Man. – Taylor Hall scored two goals and added two assists to lead the Windsor Spitfires to a convincing 6-2 win over the Calgary Hitmen while also helping them clinch a berth in the MasterCard Memorial Cup championship game on Sunday.

Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick Dale Mitchell gave the Spitfires the lead at 2:38 of the first frame. He directed a wrist-shot behind a screened Martin Jones. Just over one minute later, Taylor Hall registered his third goal of the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup with a hard slap-shot from the top of the face-off circle.

In the second period, Justin Shugg put Windsor up by three at 8:15 and the Spitfires seemed to be rolling towards another big win before Jimmy Bubnick recorded a marker at 14:56. Just over three minutes later, it was Bubnick again taking it to goaltender Philipp Grubauer. He made a nifty move, cut inside and flicked a wrist-shot between the goaltender’s pads.

Hall re-gave the Spitfires a two-goal lead twelve seconds into the third period by intercepting a soft pass in Calgary’s zone and beat Jones five-hole on a breakaway.

Kenny Ryan and Adam Wallace added goals late in the third period to seal the win.

Philipp Grubauer made 25 saves in the win.

Taylor Hall earned first star honours while Jimmy Bubnick and Dale Mitchell were also recognized as second and third stars respectively.

Game five of the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup hits the airwaves of Rogers Sportsnet and RDS tomorrow at 7 pm (CDT) as the Moncton Wildcats battle the Windsor Spitfires. The game can also be seen live on Sportsnet.ca and on the NHL Network in the U.S.