Calgary Sun article (Half-minute lapse does Hitmen in)

Half-minute lapse does Hitmen in

By SCOTT FISHER, Calgary Sun

Last Updated: November 26, 2010 11:24pm

So that’s what they mean when they say ‘you gotta play 60 minutes.’

The Calgary Hitmen played a decent game for about 59 and a half minutes.

It was that other 32 seconds that did them in.

The Red Deer Rebels scored 30 seconds after the opening faceoff and 1.4 seconds before the final buzzer and escaped the Saddledome with a 4-3 win Friday night.

It was the second game in a row the Hitmen were burned in the early going.

“We’ve gotta stop giving up goals on the first shift,” said winger Kris Foucault, who potted a pair for the home side.

“That’s twice in a row, and we’ve lost two games in a row.”

The back-breaker late in regulation was even harder to stomach.

“That’s a tough one,” Foucault said.

“It looked like the game was over.

“We have to back-check and do everything like there’s 10 minutes left.”

Hitmen head coach Mike Williamson said it was disheartening not to come away with at least a point against one of the top clubs in the Eastern Conference.

“We didn’t have our best game, but found a way to have it tied with a couple of seconds left,” Williamson said.

“Obviously, that’s a back-breaker to give one up that late in the game.”

The Rebels outshot the Hitmen 14-3 in the final frame after the home side lost overage winger Tyler Fiddler to a leg injury.

“Red Deer’s a great hockey team,” Williamson said.

“But we had a couple of guys up front go down ... It was a great opportunity for guys to step up, but they seemed to be flat in a lot of cases.”