The WHL Playoffs are finally here. After 72 regular-season games, the real season kicked off last week. Every series played its first two games and this week the venues will change as the lower seeds all get to host playoff contests.
Four of the lower seeds got wins on the road and stole home-ice advantage. Will any of them be able to carry out the upset?
Here are the notables from the week’s playoff games:
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A repeat in Calgary?
Last year the Kootenay Ice upset the Calgary Hitmen in a high-scoring opening round series. The two clubs are matched up again this year. Certainly the Hitmen would come out looking for revenge on the Ice.
While they may have had vengeance on their mind, the Ice struck first in game one Friday night. Kootenay got two goals from Luke Philp and a third period shorthanded tally from Jaedon Descheneau to pull off the 4-3 win at the Saddledome. In game two, the Ice took a 2-1 lead after Descheneau struck again with only 24 seconds left in the first period. Calgary made a goalie change after that, with Mack Shields come in to relieve starter Brendan Burke. Shields shut the door the rest of the way and the Hitmen tied the game on a Pavel Karnaukhov goal and would win it in overtime when Adam Tambellini scored.
As the series shifts to Cranbrook, does Calgary have a goaltending controversy on its hands? Hitmen coach Mark French told the Calgary Sun that “Brendan’s been awfully good, especially against them, he got a win in there last time he was there. Mack is obviously coming off the momentum of (the OT win), so we’ve got another tough decision.”
Game three is set for Tuesday night.
Wheat Kings rebound
Brandon is taking on the defending Memorial Cup Champion Edmonton Oil Kings in round one and they got off to a rough start. Edmonton scored 11 seconds into game one when Tyler Robertson scored off a faceoff. Tristan Jarry went on to make 25 saves to lead the Oil Kings to a 4-1 upset. That seemed to get the Wheat Kings’ attention as the next night Jayce Hawryluk and Tim McGauley each scored twice on the way to an 8-1 Brandon rout.
Game three moved to Edmonton Sunday and the Wheat Kings found themselves down a goal heading into the third period. Hawryluk scored to tie it, which set up the game-winning marker from Macoy Erkamps. The win gives the top-seeded Wheat Kings a 2-1 lead that they’ll try to extend on Tuesday night in Edmonton.
Drama in the U.S. Division
Both series in the U.S. Division find themselves knotted up after two games. Perhaps the two best games of the opening weekend were between long-time rivals Seattle and Portland. The two games played in Portland last weekend were intense and this series just may end up being the best of the opening round.
The Thunderbirds struck first, taking game one by a 4-3 score after getting third period goals from Scott Eansor and Mathew Barzal to erase a one-goal deficit. In Sunday’s game two, Portland goalie Adin Hill made a first period Nic Petan tally stand as he shutout Seattle, 3-0. Portland picked up empty-net goals from Dominic Turgeon and Oliver Bjorkstrand at the end.
It was Bjorkstrand’s first goal of the series as the Seattle defenders were able to hold him somewhat in check. The Winterhawks star torched Seattle to the tune of 13 goals during the regular season series so if Seattle can keep him quiet they just might be able to pull off the upset.
Seattle-Portland is perhaps the best rivalry in the WHL—the teams and fan bases are not overly fond of each other.
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In Everett, the Silvertips took on the Spokane Chiefs in what has turned into the series with the most bad blood. In game one, the Silvertips were down a goal in the third period until Carson Stadnyk exploded for a hat trick and Ivan Nikolishin picked up two power-play goals to give Everett a 5-1 victory. That wasn’t all the drama in the third period however, as a line brawl broke out and the two clubs combined for 142 third period penalty minutes.
Game two was all Spokane as the Chiefs blew the doors open early with four in the first. They would go on to win 6-2 in a game that featured more rough stuff in the third period. The final horn ended with players engaged and resulted in 20 minutes in penalties after the game had ended. The two teams will next play on Wednesday in Spokane.
The Chiefs have held Everett star and Montreal Canadiens prospect Nikita Scherbak in check with just one assist in the two games. Spokane is taking every chance to put a body on Scherbak, who is playing in his first playoff series. So far it’s worked as he hasn’t been a factor. Can the Chiefs keep that up?
Everett may have to go the rest of the way without their top defenceman Ben Betker, who left Sunday’s game with an apparent arm injury. The extent of that injury has not been disclosed.
Teams in trouble
The other four series have the higher seeded team off to 2-0 leads. Red Deer, Prince George and Tri City will all try to get back into the swing of things this week when they will host games.
Red Deer trails Medicine Hat but has been in both games. Tigers goalie Marek Langhammer stopped 57 of 58 shots the first two games, earning an overtime shutout in the second. Game three goes Wednesday in Red Deer. The Rebels will need to find a way to generate offence if they plan on sticking around much longer.
In Victoria, the Royals had a big weekend from Brandon Magee as they took a 2-0 lead over the Prince George Cougars. If you like offensive hockey then this is your series. Victoria took game one behind a Magee hat trick 5-3. He lit the lamp twice more in game two’s 5-4 win. The series moves to Prince George now where the Cougars expect a loud crowd to help them get back into this one.
The Regina Pats handed Swift Current two losses this weekend. Goalie Daniel Wapple made a statement early as he stopped 17 Broncos shots in the first period of game one. The Pats would go on to win the contest 4-2 and followed that up with a 3-2 decision.
The Tri City Americans squeaked into the playoffs during the season’s last weekend. Their reward for doing so was the Kelowna Rockets. Some reward. The Rockets pasted the Americans twice, winning 6-0 and 3-0. The Americans only managed nine shots through the first two periods in game one and Eric Comrie was hung out to dry to the tune of six goals allowed. This will be Comrie’s last go around in the WHL and it looks like it’s going to be an ugly end.
Player of the week
Brandon Magee, RW, Victoria Royals If the Prince George Cougars want to win their series with Victoria they will need to find a way to slow down Magee. He followed up his game one hat trick with two more markers in game two and added an assist for six points.