Editing Calgary Hitmen (section)

=== First championship ===
[[File:Hitmen v Oil Kings.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Hitmen face the [[Edmonton Oil Kings]] in the WHL's "[[Battle of Alberta]]".|alt=An official wearing black and white stripes conducts a faceoff as several players from two teams anticipate the start of play.]]
[[Dean Clark (ice hockey)|Dean Clark]] took over as head coach shortly after James' resignation, and led the [[1997–98 WHL season|1997–98]] Hitmen to a significant turnaround. The team improved to a 40–28–4 record and first-place finish in the Central Division, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.<ref name="teamrecords" /> They defeated the [[Saskatoon Blades]] and Swift Current Broncos to reach the Eastern Conference final before falling to the [[Brandon Wheat Kings]].<ref>{{Cite book|editor1=Flett, Cory |editor2=Watts, Jessie |title=2007–08 WHL Guide|publisher=Western Hockey League|page=156}}</ref> Clark was awarded the [[Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy]] as the WHL's top coach, and also won the [[Canadian Hockey League]]'s [[Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award]].<ref>{{Cite book|editor=Bell, Aaron|title=2009–10 OHL Media Guide|publisher=Ontario Hockey League|page=139}}</ref> Calgary improved to 51–13–8 in [[1998–99 WHL season|1998–99]], finishing one point ahead of the [[Kamloops Blazers]] for the [[Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy]] for best regular season record.<ref name="98–99">{{Cite book|editor1=Flett, Cory |editor2=Watts, Jessie |title=2007–08 WHL Guide|publisher=Western Hockey League|page=155}}</ref> Led by [[Brad Moran (ice hockey)|Brad Moran]], [[Pavel Brendl]], and goaltender Alexandre Fomitchev, the Hitmen lost just five games in the playoffs en route to their first [[Ed Chynoweth Cup|President's Cup]]. They won the title at home before a WHL playoff record crowd of 17,139.<ref name="98–99" /> They became the first Calgary-based team to qualify for the Memorial Cup since the Calgary Canadians won the 1926 title.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Randy|last=Sportak|title=Memorial Drive|work=Calgary Sun|page=S2|date=1999-05-08}}</ref>

In the [[1999 Memorial Cup]], the Hitmen opened the tournament with a 5–3 victory over the [[Ontario Hockey League]]'s [[Belleville Bulls]], followed by a 4–3 loss to the host [[Ottawa 67's]]. They followed with a 3–1 win over the [[Acadie-Bathurst Titan]] of the [[Quebec Major Junior Hockey League]].<ref>{{Cite news|first=Randy|last=Sportak|title=Pavel show!|work=Calgary Sun|page=H3|date=1999-05-20}}</ref> Finishing atop the round robin standings, the Hitmen earned a bye into the championship game, a rematch against the 67's.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Randy|last=Sportak|title=Chance of a lifetime|work=Calgary Sun|page=H3|date=1999-05-23}}</ref> The final was a back-and-forth affair with Ottawa holding 4–1 and 6–5 leads; Calgary tied the game late to send it to overtime.<ref name="shock">{{Cite news|first=Randy|last=Sportak|title='I'm in shock'|work=Calgary Sun|page=S2|date=1999-05-24}}</ref> Ottawa's [[Matt Zultek]] scored the winning goal 1:58 into overtime to give the 67's the championship.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Jim|last=Taylor|title=Sting won't last|work=Calgary Sun|page=S3|date=1999-05-24}}</ref> Brendl and Matt Kinch were named to the Memorial Cup All-Star team.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Randy|last=Sportak|title=Losing hardest hit of all|work=Calgary Sun|page=S3|date=1999-05-24}}</ref>

The Hitmen entered the [[1999–2000 WHL season|1999–2000 season]] with expectations of making another Memorial Cup run.<ref name="shock" /> The club finished the regular season with a record of 58–12–2–2, once again winning the regular season title.<ref name="99–00">{{Cite book|editor1=Flett, Cory |editor2=Watts, Jessie |title=2007–08 WHL Guide|publisher=Western Hockey League|page=154}}</ref> The team set franchise records for victories (58) and points (120), which stood until the 2008–09 year.<ref name="teamrecords" /> After sweeping the [[Moose Jaw Warriors]] and Saskatoon Blades, the Hitmen were upset by the [[Kootenay Ice]] in the Eastern Conference final, falling four games to one.<ref name="99–00" />