Three series are yet to conclude in what has been a wild first round of the 2015 WHL playoffs. The Eastern Division second round has been set after Brandon Wheat Kings eliminated Edmonton Oil Kings in five games and Regina Pats took out Swift Current Broncos in four. Those two teams will meet starting this coming Friday and Saturday in Brandon, Manitoba in what should be a long series. The Central Division saw Medicine Hat Tigers defeat the Red Deer Rebels in five games and now await the winner of the Calgary Hitmen / Kootenay Ice series which is knotted at three games apiece. The Hitmen led 3-1 in the series only to have Kootenay come back in one overtime matchup 5-4 in Calgary and then a 4-2 win in Cranbrook, BC this weekend. The two teams will decide the seventh and final game in Calgary on Monday night. This high scoring match has seen 51 goals over 6 games, by far the most out of any series. The big issue in Calgary is the health status of goaltender, former Portland Winterhawk, Brendan Burke. Burke was apparently injured midway through the second period of the Saturday game while making a save and did not return during the game. If Kootenay wins, they will start on the road again in Medicine Hat, if Calgary wins, the series with the Tigers starts in Calgary.
The BC Division saw Kelowna oust the Tri-City Americans in four straight and just this past weekend, the dreams of a comeback for the Prince George Cougars were snuffed in a heartbreaking overtime loss in Victoria versus the Royals who took that series in five games. Kelowna and Victoria will start this Friday in Kelowna.
The US Division saw the Spokane Chiefs make a comeback as well, now down just a game to the Everett Silvertips after dropping the 3-1 decision in Spokane and fighting back with a 4-3 overtime win in the fifth game. Everett still leads the series 3 to 2. Games six and the seventh if necessary go Tuesday and Wednesday. The Portland Winterhawks battled hard on Saturday in another strong game as they won 5-3 to take a 3 games to 2 lead in that series. The Hawks can finish the series with a win in Seattle on Tuesday. Neither the Silvertips nor the Winterhawks really want a game seven in their respective series as it would be played on Wednesday night, just two days before the start of the second round.
Buildings and match-ups for the US Division will be firmed up in the next day or so to allow for ticket sales and other logistics as there are four possible scenarios. If Portland wins, the series would be, Portland versus Spokane starting in Portland while Portland versus Everett would start in Everett. If Seattle wins, the series would be Seattle versus Spokane which would start in Seattle and Seattle versus Everett which would start in Everett. Momentum though, is definitely on both Everett and Portland sides as the Winterhawks have won the last two games very strongly and despite Spokane’s overtime win, the Silvertips have 2 straight wins.
The winner of the next series would face the winner of the Kelowna and Victoria series which sees the first two games going Friday and Saturday in Kelowna. That series looks to be a long one as the teams were tight with each other during the regular season.
Ice Chips: Following the home game for the Portland Winterhawks, all the Winterhawks players and coaching staff were given a copy of the yearbook compiled by the Booster Club. This 300 page binder carried photos, stats and other memories of the regular season with a DVD set to follow of the playoff run. The Winterhawks Booster Club is the only group to offer an annual as a yearbook with features on the entire team. Other US Division teams and one or two Canadian teams assign scrapbooks to fans to compile.
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