Hitmen take commanding series lead

KENNEWICK – The Calgary Hitmen are one win away from punching their ticket to the Memorial Cup.

Martin Jones finished with 29 saves and four Calgary players scored as the Hitmen defeated the Tri-City Americans 4-1 to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Hockey League finals Tuesday night at Toyota Center.

Game 4 of the best-of-7 series is tonight at Toyota Center.

Only one team in the history of the WHL has won a series after trailing 3-0 – the Spokane Chiefs against the Portland Winterhawks in 1996.

Jones, who has allowed just two goal in three games, picked up his 15th win in the playoffs.

The Americans held their own the first 12 minutes of the game.

Even after Hitmen scored their first goal at 12:16 by Kris Foucault, Tri-City kept the pressure on.

But goals by Calgary’s Michael Stone and Cody Sylvester with less than 1:30 to play in the first put the Hitmen in control.

Holding onto a 3-0 lead through the second, the Hitmen looked to pad their lead late in the period, but Brandon Kozun’s goal with 47 seconds remaining was disallowed as Tri-City goalie Alex Pechurskiy was pushed into the net and it came off its moorings.

Kruise Reddick scored the Americans’ lone goal on the power play at 17:25 of the third. Calgary’s Ian Schultz finished the scoring with a short-handed empty-netter with 46 seconds left in the game.

Pechurskiy, getting his first start in the playoffs, finished with 31 saves.