Calgary Hitmen sick of Windsor Spitfires talk
With a TV camera rolling on him in the mixed zone where players mingle with the media, Tyler Shattock did his best to respond to yet another request to extol the virtues of the Windsor Spitfires, an opponent he had already spent plenty of time discussing at the MasterCard Memorial Cup.
He was diplomatic and, as a member of the Calgary Hitmen, obviously displeased.
"Ah, I'm getting pretty sick of it," Shattock said after the camera disappeared. "Everyone likes to talk about them because they're defending champions, but I think we're going to give some people some things to talk about."
The Spitfires have been the dominant point of discussion at the tournament this week, led by the star power of forward Taylor Hall and an impressive run of three consecutive wins that clinched a direct berth into Sunday's championship final. They romped to a win over the Hitmen in the round robin, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of their western rivals.
Calgary will face the Brandon Wheat Kings for a shot at redemption on Friday, when the two teams square off in the semifinal. The Hitmen beat the Wheat Kings 5-1 on Wednesday, and will welcome injured forward Brandon Kozun back to the lineup for the rematch as another shot at Windsor hangs in the balance.
'I think everyone gives [Windsor] a bit more credit than they deserve.' —Calgary's Tyler Shattock
"We know it's going to be a hard game," Kozun said. "We're going to focus on that one and then, hopefully, it goes our way and we can start focusing on the next one."
Calgary has eliminated Brandon from the WHL playoffs three times in the last six years, including a five-game win in the third round last month. The Hitmen scored five times in the first period of their meeting on Wednesday.
It was Brandon's second loss of the tournament, following a 9-3 blowout to the Spitfires on opening night. The team's only win was against the Moncton Wildcats, who returned home with three straight losses.
The Wheat Kings led the WHL with 321 goals over the regular season and is looking for the franchise's first Memorial Cup win.
"There's only two more games left," Brandon goaltender Jacob De Serres said. "We just need to empty our tanks twice, and we could be the Memorial Cup champions. We've just got to look at it that way."
For most observers, though, it has been hard to look away from the Spitfires.
Windsor has outscored its opponents 19-8 at the Memorial Cup. Hall is the tournament's leading goal scorer, with four, and has appeared on highlight reels across Canada with a goal he scored in the opener against Brandon.
The 18-year-old winger could become the first player selected in the NHL Entry Draft next month in Los Angeles, followed shortly thereafter by Spitfires defenceman Cam Fowler.
Calgary allowed Windsor to take a 3-0 lead in its round robin game, only to claw back with two goals in the second period. The Hitmen appeared to have all the momentum, but only until Hall scored on a breakaway 12 seconds into the third period.
"I think everyone gives them a bit more credit than they deserve," Shattock had said after that game. "I think we had them on the ropes there, and I think they'll be scared to play us if we meet them on Sunday."
If the Hitmen can do to the Wheat Kings what they did earlier this week, they will get their wish.
"We feel like we didn't get too out-played there, but we just ended up on the wrong end of the stick," Calgary winger Ian Schultz said. "We kind of want to show Canada what we can really do."