Calgary Hitmen face off against the Red Deer Rebels in opening round of the playoffs
With seven games left in the regular season, the Calgary Hitmen were on the outside looking in for a playoff spot.
That's when head coach Steve Hamilton issued a challenge to his team.
He figured they would have to go 5-2 down the stretch to get in the playoffs.
The Hitmen did just that and ended up finishing in seventh place.
"I give a lot of credit to our leadership group," Hamilton said.
"They went to the guys and presented a plan with what they thought we'd need to make the playoffs.
We felt like we needed to be five and two in our last seven games to get in and get seventh and that's the way it played out.
"There's no question we had to battle and that's good for us."
PLAYING PLAYOFF HOCKEY
Captain Riley Fiddler-Schultz was part of that leadership group that helped come up with the plan.
He believes playing playoff hockey for as long as they have should help in their first round battle against the Red Deer Rebels.
"Yeah definitely, we've had a lot of meaningful games down the stretch here so we've been in a kind of different stretch of playoffs for the last month or so. We're just going to try and keep that momentum going here."
HITMEN MATCH UP WELL AGAINST THE REBELS
The Rebels had a great regular season, ending up with a 49-19-3-3 record.
They were 4-2 against the Hitmen but all of those games were close except for their last meeting when the Rebels trounced the Hitmen 9-0. Defenceman Carter Yakemchuk believes the Hitmen match up well against the Rebels.
"I think pretty good," said the 17-year-old. "I mean, we're both pretty heavy teams so I think we're right there with them. We've been with them all year and yeah I think we'll be good against them."
CUT DOWN ON TRAVEL
Finishing seventh was important to the Hitmen. First, they don't have to face the number one team in the East, the Winnipeg Ice.
A matchup with the Rebels also cuts down the travel time.
A bus trip to Winnipeg is 15 hours while it's only and hour and a half up the highway to face the Rebels.
But Hamilton knows it's not going to be easy.
"Red Deer is a good team, they've been a good team all year long from start to finish," the bench boss said.
"It's not like you're getting a soft spot to land with Red Deer as a hockey team but certainly the travel is different and you know we're going to have our hands full in the first round.
"I think that's the challenge, that's the beauty. It's a complete reset."
LAST PLAYOFF RIDE
Fiddler-Schultz is 20 years old and this is his final season in the Western Hockey League.
He says he'd like to make this a long run.
"Obviously last year we didn't get the result we wanted in the regular season but this year we earned our way to some extra playoff hockey here," he said.
"Definitely exciting for me being my last year to have another shot at it and I'm really excited for what we can do as a group here."
FIRST PLAYOFFS
For Yakemchuk, this will be his first playoffs. He says he can hardly wait to get things going.
"I'm really excited," he said.
"I know Red Deer has some crazy fans so it's going to be awesome to play there.
"It's also going to be awesome to play in front of our fans here. They're going to be loud and excited for us."
On Tuesday, Fiddler-Schultz was named a central division first team all star.
Yakemchuk got the nod as a second team all star.
The first two games of the series will be played in Red Deer on Friday and Saturday.
The series then shifts to Calgary for games three and four on Monday and Wednesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL has suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
New charges for Ont. woman who previously admitted to defrauding doulas
The Brantford, Ont. woman who was previously sentenced to house arrest after admitting to deceiving doulas has been charged again in connection to a new victim.