Hitmen Fall to Rebels 7-2
Published on February 27, 2017 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
No comeback in this one.
The Hitmen couldn't make up the damage the Red Deer Rebels inflicted early on and fell 7-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Hitmen had just come off a victory in Red Deer Saturday night that saw them erase a 3-0 deficit to win the game 6-3.
And for a minute it was looking like déjà vu all over again.
Similar to Saturday's game in Red Deer, the Rebels built a significant lead early on.
Also similar to Saturday, the Hitmen made it look like a comeback was imminent after finding a spark late in the second period.
That's where the similarities between the two games ended, however, as the Rebels took hold in the third period and decisively won in a 7-2 victory.
The loss, combined with the Saskatoon Blades' Sunday loss, keeps the Hitmen in the final wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and four points behind the Red Deer Rebels for third in the Central Division.
Lane Zablocki scored twice on the powerplay while Carson Sass, Evan Polei, Michael Spacek, Austin Glover and Austin Pratt added singles for Red Deer.
Matteo Gennaro and Jake Kryski scored for the Hitmen.
The Rebels took advantage of the Hitmen's flat start in the first period with goals from Zablocki and Sass, just 25 seconds apart.
Red Deer tallied two more in the second period from Polei and Spacek.
Similar to Saturday's game, Gennaro got the Hitmen on the board late in the second period, assisted by Luke Coleman.
Kryski followed suit shortly after to bring the Hitmen to within two heading into the final frame.
The difference between Saturday's epic comeback and Sunday's defeat was the lack of momentum in the Hitmen's favour in the third period.
"Last night we took charge in the third period," said Jakob Stukel. "We came out firing and ended up with five goals and the win and then tonight a lot of guys sat back and were expecting it to happen."
"We came back with two goals at the end of the period and we thought that would bring up some momentum going into the third period but obviously that wasn't enough."
Three penalties early on took the wind out of Calgary's sails and opened the door for Red Deer.
Zablocki netted his second powerplay goal of the game, with Glover and Pratt delivering the final blows.
"I think there's still some learning that needs to be done for sure, but it's got to be learned and then put it away, you can't spend a whole lot of energy on it," said Coach Mark French. "We've got to get on the road and we've got a mid-week game and against some pretty good teams so we'll have to learn from it and then put it on the back side."
The Hitmen now head out on the road for three East Division match-ups in Moose Jaw, Brandon and Regina.
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