The CHL 3rd round is far more competitive on at least two fronts, while one may be over sooner than you think. We’ll jump to the middle of the country, where the Kitchener Rangers have taken a stranglehold on the OHL Finals, up 3-0 on the Barrie Colts. The Colts were up against the wall, having to play almost right away after a seven-game see-saw battle with the Brantford Bulldogs, which ended on a Monday, and then having to jump into three games in six days against a more rested Kitchener Rangers team. Though the third game went to two overtimes, that’s a lot of hockey to put any team through. The final was 4-3, with Kitchener firing 50 shots, 15 of those in the two overtime periods. Neither team scored on the power play, which shows a strong defensive effort by both teams. With a 3-0 lead, the series could conclude by Tuesday at the home of the Barrie Colts. That series, if it went the distance, would end May 18, again four days prior to their appearance at the Memorial Cup. Kitchener hopes to gain a bit of rest if they keep going the way they have.
Staying out east, the Moncton Wildcats and Chicoutimi Sagueneens are tied at one apiece. Moncton took the first game 5-2 and lost the second 3-2, which effectively ends home-ice advantage for the Wildcats. This series follows the traditional 2-2-1-1-1 format and could go as late as May 19, which would be just four days prior to their first Memorial Cup game.
The WHL has a similar situation. The Everett Silvertips broke a record for the first time in the WHL Playoffs. For the first time since their playoff run started this year, they lost a home game. It was a 4-2 margin, including an empty-net goal late in the game, after Everett scored late to come within a goal. Prince Albert was perfect on the power play and gave up one to Everett on four tries. The Raiders gave up the first goal, but then scored three straight, leading to Everett’s late third-period goal.
The second game was the opposite, as Everett scored three straight in the first period, one on the power play, with the Raiders getting one on the power play less than five minutes into the second. Everett scored a late goal in the period to restore the three-goal cushion. The Raiders scored near the midway point of the third and then gave up a late empty-net goal and a crushing goal with one second remaining in regulation. Prince Albert went 1-for-3 on the power play, Everett 2-for-4, but it remains to be seen if the Raiders will have Daxon Rudolph, who was assessed a major for cross-checking with an automatic game misconduct. That traditionally triggers a review by the league, and they have handed out one- to two-game suspensions for those types of penalties, especially in the playoffs.
During the Prospects Draft, the Vancouver Giants were heard saying things that left the WHL fine-happy. A $5,000 fine was assessed to the Giants for conduct detrimental to the league. Commissioner Dan Near commented, “In this instance, regardless of intent, the remarks are not reflective of the organization’s standards of respect and inclusion.”
This is the second major fine during the playoffs. The first was $15,000 to the Barrie Colts following a shutout win over the Brantford Bulldogs.
One of the true pioneers of hockey passed away. Ernie “Punch” McLean died at 93 as a result of a single-car crash in Northern BC. McLean is the leader with five WHL titles, while the closest, Don Hay, has three. He also has two Memorial Cup titles and 1,067 games coached in the WHL. McLean stayed with the New Westminster Bruins through the 1986-87 season. He started with the Estevan Bruins before the team moved to New Westminster. The team then moved to Kamloops, first as the Jr. Oilers and later renamed the Kamloops Blazers. The Bruins then took a second life with the transfer of the Nanaimo Islanders in 1983. After four years, McLean left the Bruins, mostly due to low attendance. The following season, the team relocated to Kennewick to become the Tri-City Americans.
The CHL counts down its top 50 of all time with the final countdown. One player appears in the top 10, with that being Joe Sakic, who played four seasons with the Swift Current Broncos from 1983-88. Others announced so far are #10 Dale Hawerchuk, #9 Ray Bourque, #8 Steve Yzerman, #7 Eric Lindros, and #5 Mike Bossy. Still to be placed and acknowledged, in no particular order, are Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux, and Connor McDavid.
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