For games three and four, the action shifted to the lesser seeds, with action on Tuesday, Wednesday, and, in one case, Thursday. Another thing is having to cram half the schedule into half a weekend; such is playoff time, and it’s always interesting to see what comes of it.
Out west, the shift to the lesser seeds’ home base, with Seattle taking home ice advantage in Everett with a 3-2 win, followed by a 3-2 overtime loss, brought the series back to Seattle. The Thunderbirds took game three decisively with a 6-3 win, so much for Everett being the powerhouse Scotty Munro champions. Game four will stretch to Friday, but with Seattle leading 2-1 in the series, it’s quite a shock to the Tips.
Spokane took the first two games against Vancouver, with the series starting in Vancouver and switching to Spokane for 3 games due to travel. The Giants have hung on barely to at least extend their stay in Spokane and will have to stay through Saturday in Spokane with the final two games split with Langley and Spokane Game 4 in Spokane saw the Chiefs trounce the Giants 6 to 2 with Andrew Cristal gaining the hattrick versus Vancouver and in doing so, are now up 3-1 in the series with game 5 remaining in Spokane due to the travel distance The final two games will be split in Vancouver and Spokane should the Giants make it past Saturday.
Victoria Royals took the first three games, but couldn’t take it in a sweep, losing to Tri Cities 6-4 and at least giving the Americans some breath, now down 3-1 in the series with Game 5 in Victoria. So far, the Royals, even with that blip in the last game, are in the driver’s seat.
The Prince George Cougars lost Riley Hight during game three due to a cross-check significant penalty and game misconduct against Portland, and had to be without him the following night. The Hawks won game 3 by a score of 6-3 and looked to extend that with a win the following night, but the game would have to go to two overtimes to decide it. Unlike the regular season, where a 5-minute overtime is used, followed by a shootout, in the playoffs, the overtimes are 20 minutes and can go until a team scores. The longest one has gone four overtimes before a goal was finally scored.
This latest one was late in the second overtime. Both teams had glorious chances to win, but both Joshua Ravensbergen and Ondrej Stebatek stood tall to the challenges. It was a mini breakaway by Diego Buttazzoni that finally sealed the win for the Hawks and a 5-4 win in a record-shattering 97:57, the longest ever Winterhawks game. With intermissions, the game clocked in at 4 hours 11 minutes. This period is shy of two full regulation games, leading the series 3-1, and could wrap up on Friday.
Out east, the Calgary Hitmen dispatched the Saskatoon Blades in the only sweep of the round. The Blades were never able to overcome the Hitmen’s power in any of the games and are the first team out of postseason competition.
One might have thought Medicine Hat Tigers would sweep the series versus Swift Current Broncos, but the Broncos had other plans in capturing game 3 winning 6-3 and almost doing the same in game 4, but fell 4-3 in overtime, which has given the Tigers a commanding 3-1 series lead with the series back to the Hat.
The surprising Edmonton Oil Kings are but one win away from shocking the Prince Albert Raiders. To be fair, the last two games have been decided by a goal, but the Raiders are now down 3-1 with the series back in Edmonton for game 5. Granted, this was close in standings in points, at Prince Albert 84 and Edmonton 78, but the difference is that Prince Albert won the Division, placing 2nd in the seedings, and Edmonton was just five points up on Swift Current to slot in at 7th overall.
Lethbridge Hurricanes are also up 3-1 after losing the last game to the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Canes are headed back home in the series after facing the Wheat Kings, who couldn’t even play in Brandon. The Wheaties have an issue with the Keystone Centre in that it is AG Fair time and the whole center is used, so they have to play elsewhere. This year, it was in Virden, Manitoba, a small arena with less than 1500 seats full of excited fans to watch the games.
This weekend should be the deciding matchups in these series. Unless something dramatically changes, there shouldn’t be game 6 or 7 of any series, although that may change if Everett comes to life in their battle with Seattle. To give perspective, Everett led Seattle by 39 points at the close of the regular season.
Out West: Seattle 2-1 vs Everett, Spokane vs Vancouver, Portland 3-1 vs Prince George, Victoria 3-1 vs Tri City
Out East: Calgary 4-0 vs Saskatoon (will play winner of Lethbridge vs Brandon), Lethbridge 3-1 vs Brandon. Medicine Hat 3-1 vs Swift Current, Edmonton 3-1 vs Prince Albert. We will update the reseeding after this weekend’s games.
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