CHL Playoff Update – 3rd round underway
By Aaron Bell
The road to the Western Hockey League championship series is about to get a lot bumpier for the Kelowna Rockets and Portland Winterhawks.
Both teams cruised their way into the Western Conference Championship Series with just a single loss each along the way but neither expects that trend to continue over the next two weeks.
“It’s two very quick-skating, puck-moving, skilled hockey teams,” Winterhawks’ GM/coach Mike Johnston told the Kelowna Daily Courier. “I wouldn’t say we play exactly the same style, but we play a similar style. It should be good.”
The Rockets (57 wins and 118 points) finished five points ahead of the Winterhawks (54 wins and 113 points) to win the WHL’s regular season title. But, the Winterhawks finished the regular season with seven straight wins and have only lost two games in the past three months.
Kelowna won all four head-to-head match-ups against Portland this season, including a lop-sided sweep of a pair of games in Oregon around New Year’s Day.
That was clearly a wake-up call for the Winterhawks and it’s easy to understand why they’ve been looking forward to getting a chance to play the Rockets again in the post-season.
“I think this is the match-up everybody was hoping for,” Rockets’ President and GM Bruce Hamilton said. “I think you have the two best teams in the West going head-to-head, and I think the fans are going to be the real winners in this in both cities.”
Game 1 between the Rockets and Winterhawks will be broadcast live on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West, and Pacific at 7:30 pm Eastern / 10:30 pm Pacific.
Meanwhile the Edmonton Oil Kings have also cruised through the first two rounds with an 8-1 record and hope to get the jump on the Medicine Hat Tigers, who needed a Game 7 win over the Kootenay Ice on Wednesday to reach the Eastern Conference Championship. The Tigers erased a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Ice but have played four more games than Edmonton since the playoffs opened and will need to catch their breath quickly to be a factor in this series.
“I guess it’s a bit of an advantage that they’re going to seven games,” Oil Kings’ forward Reid Petryk told the Edmonton Sun. “They’re going to be a little bit beaten up but we have to take advantage of that in the first game.”
In the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, there is little surprise about who the final four teams remaining are. The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada claimed a Game 7 overtime win over the Rimouski Oceanic for the only upset in the second round and will meet the first place Baie-Comeau Drakkar, who cruised through the first two rounds without a loss, in the semi-finals.
The Halifax Mooseheads and Val-d’Or Foreurs meet in a battle of the second and third place teams in the other semi-final. The series also features a head-to-head showdown between the last two QMJHL MVP’s including Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Jonathan Drouin, and this year’s winner Detroit Red Wings prospect Anthony Mantha.
In the Ontario Hockey League, the Guelph Storm and Erie Otters finished the regular season tied with 52 wins each to lead all OHL teams and they will get to split that decision in the OHL’s Western Conference Championship Series beginning Thursday night.
In the Eastern Conference, the Oshawa Generals and North Bay Battalion will meet in a battle of regular season division winners.