With the regular season ending as OSN went on Spring Break within Oregon, the action didn’t stop from continuing during that time and carrying on.
The final seedings were completed on the last day of the regular season.
Out west, Everett and Seattle clash, Victoria gets Tri-City, Spokane takes on Vancouver, and Prince George battles the Portland Winterhawks. Out east, Medicine Hat wins the conference and, as the top in the east, faces number 8 Swift Current. Prince Albert gets Edmonton (this pairing will seed differently next round due to points), Calgary takes on Saskatoon (reseeding next round due to points), and Lethbridge gets Brandon.
The playoffs are best of seven, the host teams are listed first in the pairings here, and expect there not to be many fireworks in the round.
Predictions: Everett should sweep Seattle, Victoria will easily take out Tri-City, and Spokane should sweep Vancouver. Portland has done well against Prince George and has a chance to win the series. Out east, Medicine Hat should do easily on Swift Current. Prince Albert will take Edmonton, but it may take six games. Calgary should have no issue with Saskatoon, and Lethbridge should bury Brandon.
The first two games of each series took place this past weekend with Seattle shocking Everett in one game to split the series and take away home ice advantage, so much for the Everett sweep, In fact, it was a defensive pair of games as well, which could make things very interesting as the series now heads to Seattle for a pair. Both games were 3-2, with the second game won in overtime. In overtime, Portland lost a wild one 7-6 the first night, but roared back with a 5-2 statement win. This series is contested in a 2-3-2 format with the next three games set in Portland, which theoretically could win it all on home ice. If not, they’ll have to do it in Prince George. Victoria and Spokane won their two games at home, and if they sweep, they will do it on the road. Spokane will be the oddball this year with game four of their series being the only one on a Thursday. All others are on Friday.
Out east, Medicine Hat, Calgary, and Lethbridge all took 2-0 series leads, and Prince Albert split with Edmonton, so that series is guaranteed to go five games.
As expected, the announcement that everyone saw coming was welcoming Penticton Vees to the WHL for the start of next year. And Chilliwack for the year after. The Chilliwack Coliseum, where the WHL Chilliwack Bruins played before relocating to Victoria to become the Royals, will need minor upgrading to make it more WHL-ready. Both teams will be part of the BC Division, making it a bigger division. In a couple of years, it could have seven teams in it, making it more challenging with six teams in the US Division; five teams will not make the playoffs.
People are ready for playoff hockey, and the Winterhawks announced via their website an opportunity to watch the Hawks and the other playoff series.
An app called VICTORY is available on the Play Store and, once downloaded, can be like a free TV on your phone, giving you your choice of home or away audio as well. Other sports can also be watched, and you can stream from your phone through WIFI to your TV. Just the phone itself offers people a chance to see their team’s home and away. There has been no announcement on futures with this app, but it’ll help those starved for WHL Hockey in seeing teams in the playoffs. Also, because you can see the other teams play, they have included highlights from previous games, which is exciting to enhance one’s experience! I had a chance to watch Prince George’s last game and was pleased with the quality. This could bring new fans to the base!
