Over the past two springs, Portland and Spokane have laid an old adage to rest.
We can thank the Portland Winterhawks and Spokane Chiefs for clearing up another misconception in hockey.
Once upon a time, it was largely believed that winning a game on the road was such a difficult task that doing so earned the term: stealing one on the road. Road teams, of course, had to overcome the disadvantage of the first change, fan noise and travel.
Conversely, home teams enjoyed such an obvious advantage that another term was coined: home-ice advantage.
But with all the success we're seeing now in the playoffs from road warriors, it's time to address the elephant in the room -- appropriately with help from those that are disproving the myth.
"I don't think home-ice advantage is what it used to be," Spokane general manager Tim Speltz said. "But I think if you gave anybody the choice, they'd rather play at home than on the road."
Speltz's Chiefs saw just how far the pendulum could swing in last year's playoffs. Spokane finished ahead of Portland in the Western Hockey League standings and held the coveted home ice, but lost all four -- including Game 7 -- you guessed it, at home.
The Winterhawks, for that matter, were just as ineffective in front of their home crowd, dropping all three games in that same series.
The two teams are back at it again to decide the Western Conference championship, this time with the Winterhawks holding home ice. Spokane took Game 1 of the series, giving the road team a perfect 8-0 record through the two series until Portland became the first home team to win in Game 2 on Sunday.
As Portland head coach and general manager Mike Johnston indicates, the pressure of playing in front of the home fans brings a certain level of expectations that can be misconstrued as pressure.
"The expectations and the pressure to do something or to initiate something or to score (is there)," Johnston said. "Certainly, you don't often think your team is playing up to those expectations, but they might be."
Not only are the expectations lowered while playing on the road, but so too are the distractions.
"On the road, you control everything," Johnston said. "I think with young kids it's important that sometimes it is controlled."
It's a sentiment shared by his coaching adversary, Spokane's Don Nachbaur.
"You can control the environment a little easier when you're on the road because everyone's within that hotel confines," Nachbaur said. "I believe that's been a big part of our success having the group together, having meetings and having everyone on the same page."
Both teams are taking advantage of the confines of a visiting rink in the playoffs. The Winterhawks are a perfect 5-0 in games in Everett and Kelowna during their run while the Chiefs went 5-2 in Chilliwack, Tri-City and now Portland.
The Winterhawks are making a habit of disappointing home crowds in other rinks during the playoffs. Portland lost just one of seven road games in last year's post-season, giving the team a combined 12-1 record the last two years.
But all this road success makes one wonder -- if home ice is seemingly more a crutch than it is an advantage in the playoffs, why is it so important during the regular season?
Aside from the obvious advantage in terms of gate revenue, the home team enjoys the comfort of waiting for an opponent rather than going to them.
"You have less travel than the other team because the other team starts on the road," Johnston explained. "You get one less trip and that's an advantage."
Nachbaur notes the players can also feed off the energy from the home crowd and gain an adrenaline rush that spurs them on to succeed.
But another aspect that may help road teams is the familiarity with each other's buildings. Since junior teams play division-heavy schedules, there aren't many surprises when the playoffs come around.
"It's going to be tough to play (in Spokane), but our team is the type of team that hasn't been intimidated ever being on the road," Johnston said. "They've never been in a situation where they've treated a road game any different."
The advantage of home ice in the playoffs has now seemingly gone by the wayside. At the end of the day, Speltz says, it comes down to mathematics.
"(The mentality used to be) you win a game on the road, you're set up well," he said. "Now you've got to find a way to win four games. Doesn't matter where they are (played)."
Home ice may not be a disadvantage.
But it may not be much of an advantage now, either.
