Game 1

	2	2	0	4
	1	0	1	2

Bruce at C&B has earned the reputation of being the most inclined to bitch about officiating, and certainly in any given game, there’s plenty of ammo on both sides of the aisle as to who got jobbed in favour of whom, and who’s getting paid by whom to blow the game, etc. But on a night like last night, it’s really hard not to get exceedingly frustrated. Through the first half of the game, the majority of the penalties went Calgary’s way, even though the balance of fouls committed was probably close to even. There were three or four questionable to outright phantom calls against the Hitmen, while two or three rather blatant penalties by Moose Jaw were left uncalled — a couple of which happened right before Hitmen penalties leading to goals. It got to the point where every time there was even the perception of a foul by the Warriors, or indeed any time an arm went in the air, the crowd pre-emptively got up in arms, which actually got irritating in its own right.

But bad officiating is something you’ve got to play through, and if Calgary’s PK had been on its game, it wouldn’t have been so much of an issue. Maybe they’re still down one or two, but it’s close, right? Except the PK utterly failed to generate much in the way of pressure for most of the game, while Martin Jones was caught out of position or failing to react in time on multiple occasions, resulting in three power-play goals against on six opportunities on the night. Worst of all, by the time the Hitmen started getting a preponderance of make-up calls — Moose Jaw got the last six non-coincidental minors in a row, after Calgary got six of the first eight — they were down by three and were frequently unable to get or stay set up. They did generate a few glorious chances on a five-on-three late in the second, but Joel Broda missed twice and a third puck sat tantalizingly in the blue paint, a good foot from the goalie’s skate, before being batted away. Any of those go in, it’s 4-2 going into the intermission and suddenly a comeback looks exceedingly possible. Instead, the only PP marker on the night effectively came in garbage time, off the stick of Brandon Kozun (who led the home side with a goal and an assist) with just seven minutes to play.

Lost in the story of officiating and special teams is the fact that Warriors goalie Jeff Bosch played a hell of a game. There were a few flashy-looking saves, but mostly, he earned his first star based on volume, with the shots ratio 3:1 (50-16) in favour of the Hitmen. And for all the complaints about the Hitmen special teams, the Moose Jaw boys were equal to the task on this night, disrupting Calgary’s cycle game and creating good pressure and screens down low on the power play. Tempting as it is to simply point the finger at Stripes and call it a day (indeed, Farley came out halfway through the third dressed as a ref with a big ol’ white cane), credit is due to the Warriors who came in looking vastly overmatched and took advantage of every opportunity given to them. Now, they have at least a degree of momentum, and it’s on the Hitmen to respond and deliver the game we know they’re capable of.

I’ll be taking a miss on Game 2 tomorrow night due to a family commitment; Games 3 and 4 are in Moose Jaw on Monday and Tuesday, before Game 5, if necessary, goes Thursday back at the ‘Dome. Go Hitmen.

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