Kyle Turris has left Wisconsin after just one year and signed a contract with the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes.
OK, so.....just what exactly was the point in turning down the WHL repeatedly to stay in Jr A and get the scholarship? Boy, he sure put that scholarship to good use, didn't he? One whole year! So he wasted two years in the BCHL that he could have been in the WHL - and would have won a Memorial Cup with the Giants last year had he joined them. (Yes, I know he won the Royal Bank Cup in Jr A....but that's nowhere near as prestigious as the Memorial Cup)
I'm not knocking the BCHL or the NCAA, but the WHL is a much better league than the BCHL is. BCHL is a good option if you're serious about getting an NCAA education out of your career. Turris obviously isn't serious about his education or he wouldn't be dropping out of school so early....if you want to be in the NHL at 19, the WHL will better prepare you for the NHL style of play and rigorous travel schedule. I don't get some of these kids who claim education is so important to them and they hold out for a scholarship, only to flee school at the first sign of money. You coulda had the money AND a couple years of higher-calibre hockey if you had come to the WHL earlier.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Shaw 2nd round
Broncos p-b-p voice Jon Keen is reporting on his blog (link on the left) that Shaw will be carrying the Hitmen-Broncos series in the second round.
No official word from the WHL or from Shaw about this but it makes sense since Shaw has historically switched back and forth between West and East conferences. They were in the West in the first round this year so the second round should be in the East.....which means it's either Calgary-Swift or Lethbridge-Kootenay. Calgary is the bigger customer base for Shaw so that probably tips the scales towards that series, even though both series should be terrific hockey.
In other news, I see the CHL finally has a new website. Check it out. It's not terrible nor terrific but at least they finally have something that doesn't look like they're piggybacking on Canoe's site.
And, it's official: the Calgary/Swift Current series will use a 2-3-1-1 format, with Swift Current hosting the first two games this coming weekend due to Calgary's building having a scheduling conflict. Games 3 & 4 will be in Calgary and the series proceeds as normal after that, with the higher-seeded Hitmen also hosting game 5, then game 6 in Swift, etc. I would say this is an advantage to the Broncos in the series; Calgary still has home ice advantage but if the Broncos do well on their ice on the opening weekend, the Hitmen could be down 2-0 in the series before even playing a game at home despite having home ice advantage.
Second-round previews coming later this week...I might do the three known series by tomorrow; the Tri-City series will have to wait until at least Wednesday since we won't know their opponent until Tuesday night.
No official word from the WHL or from Shaw about this but it makes sense since Shaw has historically switched back and forth between West and East conferences. They were in the West in the first round this year so the second round should be in the East.....which means it's either Calgary-Swift or Lethbridge-Kootenay. Calgary is the bigger customer base for Shaw so that probably tips the scales towards that series, even though both series should be terrific hockey.
In other news, I see the CHL finally has a new website. Check it out. It's not terrible nor terrific but at least they finally have something that doesn't look like they're piggybacking on Canoe's site.
And, it's official: the Calgary/Swift Current series will use a 2-3-1-1 format, with Swift Current hosting the first two games this coming weekend due to Calgary's building having a scheduling conflict. Games 3 & 4 will be in Calgary and the series proceeds as normal after that, with the higher-seeded Hitmen also hosting game 5, then game 6 in Swift, etc. I would say this is an advantage to the Broncos in the series; Calgary still has home ice advantage but if the Broncos do well on their ice on the opening weekend, the Hitmen could be down 2-0 in the series before even playing a game at home despite having home ice advantage.
Second-round previews coming later this week...I might do the three known series by tomorrow; the Tri-City series will have to wait until at least Wednesday since we won't know their opponent until Tuesday night.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Friday notes
Last night Seattle continued their impressive rebound from falling down 2-0 in their series with Kelowna....the Thunderbirds reeled off their third straight win (and the first home-ice win by either team in this series) and now lead the series 3-2. They could wrap it up Saturday in Kelowna.
Kelowna could possibly be without their captain for that game. James McEwen made a point of running Seattle goalie Riku Helenius at the final buzzer last night, for which he got a double-minor for roughing. We'll see if the league office reviews that or not...I think that given the circumstances (game was over, Rockets had just suffered a big loss) that the league needs to have a chat with McEwen about what he was trying to do. Not sure if a suspension is warranted (I haven't seen the tape) but we'll see if the league does.
Speaking of wrapping things up, there's five games tonight, with four teams facing elimination. Brandon, Medicine Hat, and Everett all have home ice on their side tonight in trying to stave off a first-round exit, while the Hitmen will get to try to finish their series with Moose Jaw on home ice. The fifth game, Swift Current at Regina, features a series tied 2-2.
Finally, as promised, a look at the attendance decline in the playoffs. Here's a chart with the average regular season attendance for each playoff team, contrasted with their average playoff attendance so far (two home games for every team, except one for Everett and three for Seattle), and the amount of increase or decrease over the regular season average. Ordered by highest percentage of decline:
Only Swift Current and Regina have increased their attendance in the playoffs. Every other team has seen some degree of decline, although a few of them are so small as to be insignificant since I'm not taking into consideration all factors like whether these were weekend or midweek games, etc - things that affect most teams' attendance to some degree.
Away from the WHL now, to the theatre of the absurd we call the QMJHL: the Quebec provincial government is talking about forming a committee to investigate how fighting and other violence can be reduced or eliminated in hockey. Sounds crazy, but you know, the French have always preferred surrendering to fighting.
Kelowna could possibly be without their captain for that game. James McEwen made a point of running Seattle goalie Riku Helenius at the final buzzer last night, for which he got a double-minor for roughing. We'll see if the league office reviews that or not...I think that given the circumstances (game was over, Rockets had just suffered a big loss) that the league needs to have a chat with McEwen about what he was trying to do. Not sure if a suspension is warranted (I haven't seen the tape) but we'll see if the league does.
Speaking of wrapping things up, there's five games tonight, with four teams facing elimination. Brandon, Medicine Hat, and Everett all have home ice on their side tonight in trying to stave off a first-round exit, while the Hitmen will get to try to finish their series with Moose Jaw on home ice. The fifth game, Swift Current at Regina, features a series tied 2-2.
Finally, as promised, a look at the attendance decline in the playoffs. Here's a chart with the average regular season attendance for each playoff team, contrasted with their average playoff attendance so far (two home games for every team, except one for Everett and three for Seattle), and the amount of increase or decrease over the regular season average. Ordered by highest percentage of decline:
| Reg. | Playoff | Diff. | %Diff | |
| Kamloops | 4571 | 2733 | -1838 | -40.21% |
| Everett | 6434 | 4217 | -2217 | -34.46% |
| Seattle | 4091 | 2904 | -1187 | -29.01% |
| Brandon | 4132 | 2977 | -1155 | -27.95% |
| Kelowna | 6127 | 5147 | -980 | -15.99% |
| Spokane | 6566 | 5631 | -935 | -14.24% |
| Calgary | 9081 | 8147 | -934 | -10.29% |
| Tri-Cities | 4254 | 3827 | -427 | -10.04% |
| Vancouver | 8726 | 7903 | -823 | -9.43% |
| Moose Jaw | 2371 | 2237 | -134 | -5.65% |
| Chilliwack | 4543 | 4382 | -161 | -3.54% |
| Medicine Hat | 4015 | 3955 | -60 | -1.49% |
| Lethbridge | 3982 | 3931 | -51 | -1.28% |
| Kootenay | 2972 | 2961 | -11 | -0.37% |
| Regina | 5104 | 5609 | 505 | 9.89% |
| Swift Current | 2101 | 2601 | 500 | 23.80% |
Only Swift Current and Regina have increased their attendance in the playoffs. Every other team has seen some degree of decline, although a few of them are so small as to be insignificant since I'm not taking into consideration all factors like whether these were weekend or midweek games, etc - things that affect most teams' attendance to some degree.
Away from the WHL now, to the theatre of the absurd we call the QMJHL: the Quebec provincial government is talking about forming a committee to investigate how fighting and other violence can be reduced or eliminated in hockey. Sounds crazy, but you know, the French have always preferred surrendering to fighting.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Thursday morning notes
Well, everyone is four games into their respective first round series now; two series came to an end last night, while two other teams staved off elimination and two more teams were pushed to the brink of elimination. It has been a rather quick first round, hasn't it....at this point only two out of eight series are sure to go longer than five games. A few thoughts on each outcome last night:
First, the eliminations. Neither of the eventual outcomes surprises anyone, I'm sure, although perhaps some folks thought Chilliwack might win a game against Vancouver. In the end they played four close games but Vancouver won all four. In the Tri-City/Kamloops series, I'm sure a sweep doesn't surprise anyone there. In an overall ranking of the 16 playoff teams based on regular season performance, Tri-City is #1 and Kamloops is #16.
In two other games where teams were facing elimination, the Tigers and Wheat Kings fought back to win last night, bringing those two series against the Ice and Hurricanes, respectively, up to 3-1 counts. The really, really good news for both the Tigers and Wheaties is that they both get to play game 5 at home....which means that if they can just win game 5 in their own barns, they can go back on the road for game six only down 3-2. That's halfway to the comeback. I'm not saying I think either one of them will pull off the comeback, but it's a hell of a lot better situation for them than having to play game 5 on the road.
In Everett, the Chiefs won again to push the Silvertips to the brink at 3-0. Given the chances of coming back from that situation, like I mentioned yesterday, you could say the Tips were really eliminated last night. Everett does have the next two games in their home rink as well though.....but so far they have been beaten by three goals three times now and have yet to hold a lead in the series.
Calgary pushed Moose Jaw to the brink with a 3-1 win in the Crushed Can; the Hitmen now get a chance to wrap up that series on Friday at home. The Warriors played a much more disciplined game last night than they have in the first three games, and so Calgary's powerplay didn't hurt them.....still lost though. The Tribe gets suspended d-man Keaton Ellerby back for game five, but what they really need is to get back the 05-06 Joey Perricone in net. He has a 4.53 GAA and a league-worst .873 save% so far in the playoffs - 5.33 and .856 in the three losses.
In Speedy Creek, the Broncos won a double-OT nailbiter last night to pull even at 2-2 in their series with the Pats. That series now goes to Regina for game five, in which the Pats will get back the suspended Brett Leffler. A lot of folks thought the Broncos could give the Pats a run for their money in this series, and we're seeing that now.
Looking ahead for the Americans and Giants now.....Tri-City will get to play the lowest-ranked team that comes out of the first round. Assuming Spokane does beat Everett, that means the Ams will play the winner of the Seattle-Kelowna series. For the Giants, they now lose their #2 seed for the 2nd round.....teams are re-ranked by regular season points for the 2nd round, with the division winners no longer guaranteed at least #2. Since Spokane had more points than the Giants, that means Spokane becomes #2 for the 2nd round, assuming they beat Everett. That gives Spokane home-ice advantage in a matchup with the Giants. The only way the Giants get home ice in the 2nd round is if Everett comes back to eliminate Spokane.
And another note - I wonder if Shaw will now switch to show a different series for the rest of the first round, now that Vancouver/Chilliwack ended quickly. Personally, I can't wait to watch Dan Russell and Bill Wilms have to once again paste on their fake smiles that they use whenever they're forced to talk about any team but their beloved Giants. And I will miss the way Russell's voice soars a couple octaves every time Vancouver gets a shot on net....
First, the eliminations. Neither of the eventual outcomes surprises anyone, I'm sure, although perhaps some folks thought Chilliwack might win a game against Vancouver. In the end they played four close games but Vancouver won all four. In the Tri-City/Kamloops series, I'm sure a sweep doesn't surprise anyone there. In an overall ranking of the 16 playoff teams based on regular season performance, Tri-City is #1 and Kamloops is #16.
In two other games where teams were facing elimination, the Tigers and Wheat Kings fought back to win last night, bringing those two series against the Ice and Hurricanes, respectively, up to 3-1 counts. The really, really good news for both the Tigers and Wheaties is that they both get to play game 5 at home....which means that if they can just win game 5 in their own barns, they can go back on the road for game six only down 3-2. That's halfway to the comeback. I'm not saying I think either one of them will pull off the comeback, but it's a hell of a lot better situation for them than having to play game 5 on the road.
In Everett, the Chiefs won again to push the Silvertips to the brink at 3-0. Given the chances of coming back from that situation, like I mentioned yesterday, you could say the Tips were really eliminated last night. Everett does have the next two games in their home rink as well though.....but so far they have been beaten by three goals three times now and have yet to hold a lead in the series.
Calgary pushed Moose Jaw to the brink with a 3-1 win in the Crushed Can; the Hitmen now get a chance to wrap up that series on Friday at home. The Warriors played a much more disciplined game last night than they have in the first three games, and so Calgary's powerplay didn't hurt them.....still lost though. The Tribe gets suspended d-man Keaton Ellerby back for game five, but what they really need is to get back the 05-06 Joey Perricone in net. He has a 4.53 GAA and a league-worst .873 save% so far in the playoffs - 5.33 and .856 in the three losses.
In Speedy Creek, the Broncos won a double-OT nailbiter last night to pull even at 2-2 in their series with the Pats. That series now goes to Regina for game five, in which the Pats will get back the suspended Brett Leffler. A lot of folks thought the Broncos could give the Pats a run for their money in this series, and we're seeing that now.
Looking ahead for the Americans and Giants now.....Tri-City will get to play the lowest-ranked team that comes out of the first round. Assuming Spokane does beat Everett, that means the Ams will play the winner of the Seattle-Kelowna series. For the Giants, they now lose their #2 seed for the 2nd round.....teams are re-ranked by regular season points for the 2nd round, with the division winners no longer guaranteed at least #2. Since Spokane had more points than the Giants, that means Spokane becomes #2 for the 2nd round, assuming they beat Everett. That gives Spokane home-ice advantage in a matchup with the Giants. The only way the Giants get home ice in the 2nd round is if Everett comes back to eliminate Spokane.
And another note - I wonder if Shaw will now switch to show a different series for the rest of the first round, now that Vancouver/Chilliwack ended quickly. Personally, I can't wait to watch Dan Russell and Bill Wilms have to once again paste on their fake smiles that they use whenever they're forced to talk about any team but their beloved Giants. And I will miss the way Russell's voice soars a couple octaves every time Vancouver gets a shot on net....
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Suspensions & signing
Two suspensions announced today with effect on tonight's games. Moose Jaw defenceman Keaton Ellerby has been suspended for tonight's game four against Calgary for a major and game misconduct he received for slashing the Hitmen's Brock Nixon late in game three. Ellerby is one of Moose Jaw's top two or three defencemen so this is obviously a hit to the Warriors as they try to avoid falling into a 3-1 hole in the series.
Slightly less significant is Tri-City defenceman Mitch McColm getting a one game suspension for his actions at the end of game three - he took a spearing double-minor at the buzzer. With the Americans holding a 3-0 lead in the series, missing McColm for one game is unlikely to have a severely detrimental effect on the Ams.
And in another bit of news today, Red Deer forward Brandon Sutter has signed an NHL contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, who picked him in the first round last summer. Sutter must still return to the Rebels next year if he doesn't stick in Carolina, but nobody should rule out him making the jump as a 19 year old either.
Slightly less significant is Tri-City defenceman Mitch McColm getting a one game suspension for his actions at the end of game three - he took a spearing double-minor at the buzzer. With the Americans holding a 3-0 lead in the series, missing McColm for one game is unlikely to have a severely detrimental effect on the Ams.
And in another bit of news today, Red Deer forward Brandon Sutter has signed an NHL contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, who picked him in the first round last summer. Sutter must still return to the Rebels next year if he doesn't stick in Carolina, but nobody should rule out him making the jump as a 19 year old either.
Tuesday games
Wow....four of the eight first-round series ended last night. Well, they didn't really end, but we have four series where one team has a 3-0 chokehold on the opposition. Only once in WHL history (40+ years of it) has a team come back from being down 3-0. For the history buffs, that was 1996 when Spokane came back to beat Portland in the first round.
For that matter, in 90+ years of NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, it has only happened twice - the Maple Leafs did it in 1942 and the Islanders did it in 1975. Bottom line: history shows that if you're not good or lucky enough to win one of the first three, you're not going to be good or lucky enough to win the next four straight. So, Brandon, Medicine Hat, Kamloops, and Chilliwack are heading for the golf course right after the fat lady finishes her encore.
Tough, tough break for the Bruins, who lost with 48 seconds left in triple-OT last night after playing their hearts out. The fourth-longest game in WHL history saw Bruins goalie Mark Friesen make 60 saves and still lose. The Bruins were saying all the right things after the game but I don't know how you come back from that kind of low for tonight's game....I mean, everyone on the team knows the odds of coming back from 3-0 in a series and the fact that they played so well and came so close to being 2-1 instead of 3-0.....has to be tough.
Same with the Blazers, really....they lead 3-1 going into the third period last night before gassing it with three goals against in the third to lose 4-3 to the Americans. How do you recover from that? Guess we'll see tonight. Actually, most Blazers fans probably WON'T see, since Blazers fans decided to show their support for their team by staying home last night. Only 2895 were in attendance last night, and that is the lowest playoff crowd ever for the Blazers. (Attendance is down all over the league this postseason, actually....I'll look at the numbers for attendance compared to the regular season later today or tomorrow).
Seattle has completed a rally from down 2-0 after losing the first two games of their series with Kelowna at home. The Birds won game four last night in Kelowna to knot the series 2-2. The home team has lost every game of that series, so look for Kelowna to win it in seven if that keeps up.
Back East, Calgary thrashed Moose Jaw 8-3 and Regina edged Swift Current 4-3 in OT to take 2-1 leads in their respective series. The Hitmen were 5-for-10 on the powerplay as the Warriors continued their discipline problems in the series.....through three games, they have given the Hitmen 27 powerplays - 10 each in the two Hitmen wins and Calgary's powerplay is working at 40% in those two wins. Clearly the Tribe has to start staying out of the box if they want to win the series.
As for the Pats/Broncos, the Pats pulled out the win despite missing their best forward (Jordan Eberle) and another forward (Brett Leffler) to suspension. Of course, the Broncos were without two of their best defencemen too - the ones that Eberle and Leffler got suspended for hurting. Eberle will be back for tonight's game four, which is kind of a must-win for the Broncos unless they want to go to Regina for game five being down 3-1. The Broncos have now lost six straight home playoff games after last night....they definitely do not want to make it seven straight tonight.
For that matter, in 90+ years of NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, it has only happened twice - the Maple Leafs did it in 1942 and the Islanders did it in 1975. Bottom line: history shows that if you're not good or lucky enough to win one of the first three, you're not going to be good or lucky enough to win the next four straight. So, Brandon, Medicine Hat, Kamloops, and Chilliwack are heading for the golf course right after the fat lady finishes her encore.
Tough, tough break for the Bruins, who lost with 48 seconds left in triple-OT last night after playing their hearts out. The fourth-longest game in WHL history saw Bruins goalie Mark Friesen make 60 saves and still lose. The Bruins were saying all the right things after the game but I don't know how you come back from that kind of low for tonight's game....I mean, everyone on the team knows the odds of coming back from 3-0 in a series and the fact that they played so well and came so close to being 2-1 instead of 3-0.....has to be tough.
Same with the Blazers, really....they lead 3-1 going into the third period last night before gassing it with three goals against in the third to lose 4-3 to the Americans. How do you recover from that? Guess we'll see tonight. Actually, most Blazers fans probably WON'T see, since Blazers fans decided to show their support for their team by staying home last night. Only 2895 were in attendance last night, and that is the lowest playoff crowd ever for the Blazers. (Attendance is down all over the league this postseason, actually....I'll look at the numbers for attendance compared to the regular season later today or tomorrow).
Seattle has completed a rally from down 2-0 after losing the first two games of their series with Kelowna at home. The Birds won game four last night in Kelowna to knot the series 2-2. The home team has lost every game of that series, so look for Kelowna to win it in seven if that keeps up.
Back East, Calgary thrashed Moose Jaw 8-3 and Regina edged Swift Current 4-3 in OT to take 2-1 leads in their respective series. The Hitmen were 5-for-10 on the powerplay as the Warriors continued their discipline problems in the series.....through three games, they have given the Hitmen 27 powerplays - 10 each in the two Hitmen wins and Calgary's powerplay is working at 40% in those two wins. Clearly the Tribe has to start staying out of the box if they want to win the series.
As for the Pats/Broncos, the Pats pulled out the win despite missing their best forward (Jordan Eberle) and another forward (Brett Leffler) to suspension. Of course, the Broncos were without two of their best defencemen too - the ones that Eberle and Leffler got suspended for hurting. Eberle will be back for tonight's game four, which is kind of a must-win for the Broncos unless they want to go to Regina for game five being down 3-1. The Broncos have now lost six straight home playoff games after last night....they definitely do not want to make it seven straight tonight.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday
Three bits of news from the WHL yesterday.....
First, Seattle beat Kelowna in overtime last night to avoid falling into the 3-0 hole from which nobody ever recovers. With the win, the Birds ensure there will be another home game in Seattle for game #5, but they really do need to win game #4 in Kelowna as well and reclaim their home ice advantage. Being down 3-1 is better than 3-0 but not by a lot.
Secondly, and a bit of a surprise move, but Red Deer owner Brent Sutter has "fired" his older brother Brian as head coach. The two brothers talked this past week after the Rebels season ended, and came to the agreement that because of the time required by Brian's other job as a farmer, Brian's level of commitment to the team was not what it needed to be. So, Brian quit.....if you can call it quitting when you leave after the boss tells you he doesn't think you're committed enough to the job.
I do not think we will ever see Brian Sutter coaching at any meaningful level of hockey again. I think he has made his decision about what he wants to do with the rest of his life, and it does not involve devoting significant amounts of time to hockey. Farming is in that family's blood and it's not going away. Just the way I see it anyway.
The new coach of the Rebels is former Rebels defenceman Jesse Wallin, who has been the assistant coach there for the last couple years. At only 30 years old, Wallin becomes (I think) the youngest coach in the WHL by a fair bit. Wallin played for the Rebels from 94-95 through 97-98 and was a 1996 first-round NHL pick of the Detroit Red Wings. His pro career was derailed by injuries though and he retired after 02-03.
And thirdly, the WHL has finalized the suspensions for the two Regina Pats who were under review. Brett Leffler has been given three games for his hit on the Broncos' Michael Wilson, while Jordan Eberle has been given one game for his hit on the Broncos' Jesse Dudas. Leffler has already served one game of his suspension, so he'll miss games 3 & 4 of the series tonight and tomorrow night. Eberle will miss tonight's game 3 only.
Predictably, Pats G.M. Brent Parker was unhappy about the suspensions and voiced his displeasure about them in a manner which will probably see him contributing some funds to the WHL office's Friday bar tab. Nice spin job by Parker though....it might cost him $500 or $1000 but if he succeeds in setting up the us-vs-the-world mentality amongst his players, it could give them a boost and help them get through these next couple games.
UPDATE: The QMJHL has ruled on the Patrick/Jonathan Roy brawl situation, and they have come down very hard on the duo: Jonathan gets seven games and Patrick gets five. Two other Quebec players were suspended for three and two games, while three Chicoutimi players were also suspended, for six, two, and one game(s). Chicoutimi's coach also got a two game suspension but it was an automatic one since one of his players (Sebastien Rioux, who got the six-game suspension) left the penalty box to fight Jonathan Roy.
The suspensions will keep both Roys plus Rioux out of the rest of this series for sure (since it's 1-1 in a best-of-seven), and unless the series goes seven games, Patrick Roy will also miss some of the next series if Quebec wins this one, or else have the suspensions carry over to next season if Chicoutimi wins the series. Jonathan Roy is definitely looking at next series or next season already....or maybe preparing for life after hockey by getting a job he is more suited for, like pumping gas.
First, Seattle beat Kelowna in overtime last night to avoid falling into the 3-0 hole from which nobody ever recovers. With the win, the Birds ensure there will be another home game in Seattle for game #5, but they really do need to win game #4 in Kelowna as well and reclaim their home ice advantage. Being down 3-1 is better than 3-0 but not by a lot.
Secondly, and a bit of a surprise move, but Red Deer owner Brent Sutter has "fired" his older brother Brian as head coach. The two brothers talked this past week after the Rebels season ended, and came to the agreement that because of the time required by Brian's other job as a farmer, Brian's level of commitment to the team was not what it needed to be. So, Brian quit.....if you can call it quitting when you leave after the boss tells you he doesn't think you're committed enough to the job.
I do not think we will ever see Brian Sutter coaching at any meaningful level of hockey again. I think he has made his decision about what he wants to do with the rest of his life, and it does not involve devoting significant amounts of time to hockey. Farming is in that family's blood and it's not going away. Just the way I see it anyway.
The new coach of the Rebels is former Rebels defenceman Jesse Wallin, who has been the assistant coach there for the last couple years. At only 30 years old, Wallin becomes (I think) the youngest coach in the WHL by a fair bit. Wallin played for the Rebels from 94-95 through 97-98 and was a 1996 first-round NHL pick of the Detroit Red Wings. His pro career was derailed by injuries though and he retired after 02-03.
And thirdly, the WHL has finalized the suspensions for the two Regina Pats who were under review. Brett Leffler has been given three games for his hit on the Broncos' Michael Wilson, while Jordan Eberle has been given one game for his hit on the Broncos' Jesse Dudas. Leffler has already served one game of his suspension, so he'll miss games 3 & 4 of the series tonight and tomorrow night. Eberle will miss tonight's game 3 only.
Predictably, Pats G.M. Brent Parker was unhappy about the suspensions and voiced his displeasure about them in a manner which will probably see him contributing some funds to the WHL office's Friday bar tab. Nice spin job by Parker though....it might cost him $500 or $1000 but if he succeeds in setting up the us-vs-the-world mentality amongst his players, it could give them a boost and help them get through these next couple games.
UPDATE: The QMJHL has ruled on the Patrick/Jonathan Roy brawl situation, and they have come down very hard on the duo: Jonathan gets seven games and Patrick gets five. Two other Quebec players were suspended for three and two games, while three Chicoutimi players were also suspended, for six, two, and one game(s). Chicoutimi's coach also got a two game suspension but it was an automatic one since one of his players (Sebastien Rioux, who got the six-game suspension) left the penalty box to fight Jonathan Roy.
The suspensions will keep both Roys plus Rioux out of the rest of this series for sure (since it's 1-1 in a best-of-seven), and unless the series goes seven games, Patrick Roy will also miss some of the next series if Quebec wins this one, or else have the suspensions carry over to next season if Chicoutimi wins the series. Jonathan Roy is definitely looking at next series or next season already....or maybe preparing for life after hockey by getting a job he is more suited for, like pumping gas.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Monday notes
So, all eight playoff series have played two games now, and we have six 2-0 counts and two that are tied 1-1. No real surprises in six of the series, I don't think, but I'm not sure how many folks expected Kelowna and Kootenay to be up 2-0 after opening on the road. Both those teams went into opposing barns and took two games from their higher-ranked opposition and now I'd say both the Tigers and Thunderbirds are in a spot of trouble. They're both more or less now faced with having to win the next two games on the road or else they'll either be eliminated or, at a minimum, down 3-1.
The Tigers in particular must be really down in the dumps about game two of their series....they were winning 3-2 until the Ice tied the game with 0.2 seconds left in regulation, then won it just 33 seconds into overtime. Think, the Tigers were TWO TENTHS of a second away from being tied 1-1 in the series. But I guess that's why games are 60 minutes long and not 59:59.
And another note from Tiger-land....they failed to sell out their building for either Friday or Saturday's games. Not a big deal in most cities in the league, but the Tigers had sold out 228 straight games before Friday. The last time they failed to sell out a game was February 25, 2003. The end of the streak is being blamed on a number of season ticket holders failing to buy their playoff ticket packages, and walkup crowds in the Hat are poor because casual fans have become accustomed to usually not being able to get tickets, so many don't bother. But the news should be out in the Hat now: there are tickets available for Tigers playoff games this year. Should the Tigers win at least one game in Kootenay, then the Tigers host a game 5 on Friday. That one should be sold out if the fans want to avoid the fairweather label.
Apparently Kelowna has now won six straight playoff games in Seattle. If that keeps up then the Birds better take both those games in the Little Apple or they could be eliminated by game five.
The Pats/Broncos series is getting nasty; the Broncos have lost two of their top four defencemen in the first two games due to what they believe are dirty hits from the Pats. Michael Wilson was knocked out in the first game by a hit from Brett Leffler, and in game two it was Jesse Dudas going down (with a suspected broken wrist that could end his season) after a hit by Jordan Eberle. Leffler was suspended pending review by the league after game one and missed game two; his suspension length will be finalized probably today. No word on whether Eberle will also be suspended but if so, it would go a long ways towards softening the blow to the Broncos of losing a couple top d-men, since Eberle is a key player for the Pats.
The Silvertips and Wheat Kings are both down 2-0 after the opening weekend games in Spokane and Lethbridge, respectively, but they are in better situations than other teams like Kamloops and Chilliwack, who are also down 2-0 after opening on the road. Why? Well, the SPO-EVT and LTH-BRN series are using the 2-3-2 format instead of the usual 2-2-1-1-1, which means the Silvertips and Wheaties now get to play three straight games at home instead of just two. Of course they still have to win at least one of the first two or else the third home game doesn't matter, but it's a good chance for them to get to at least 3-2 down (or even 3-2 up!) in the series before having to go back on the road.
On the topic of Chilliwack, I see that disallowed goal in game one is generating a lot of controversy. It's easy to see why; had it been allowed, the game would have been 2-2 and maybe the Bruins might have eventually pulled it out. I know nobody from Chilliwack will care what I think, but I saw the game on Shaw and my unbiased opinion as a fan of neither team is that the right call was made. Santorelli clearly interfered with Sexsmith in the crease and prevented him from making the save. Santorelli didn't do it on purpose, and Sexsmith didn't take a dive or embellish the contact. It's just something that happens....a player gets bumped and falls down, and in this case he fell into the crease and took out Sexsmith. That's not cause for a penalty (because the contact was incidental), but it is definitely cause for disallowing the goal.
Things apparently got a little out of hand late in game two in Tri-Cities on Saturday. Kamloops coach Greg Hawgood ended up having a "friendly" chat with some Americans fans behind the Blazer bench, and Americans coach Don Nachbaur desperately wanted to have a chat with Hawgood after the game but was unsuccessful. The scoresheet doesn't show a bunch of penalties so I'm not sure exactly what transpired to get folks all worked up, but we'll see if things carry over into game three.
Of the eight series, four teams have already given up the home ice advantage they played all season to get. I mentioned Seattle and Medicine Hat already, but Calgary and Regina have also lost their home edge after splitting the first two games of their respective series at home. The Hitmen and Pats are now forced to win at least one game in Moose Jaw and Swift Current, respectively, in order to win their series. Still not as bad as the Tigers and Thunderbirds though, who will have to win two games in Kootenay and Kelowna in order to advance.
I think I managed to mention every single series in these notes so far, and all of these notes add up to one thing: there are no dull series going on in this first round. Seattle/Kelowna play their game three tonight and everyone else plays their game three tomorrow and things are only going to get more interesting.....
Away from the WHL for a commentary here.....this video is from the QMJHL, but it's well worth checking out. It's video of a brawl between the Quebec Remparts and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens during Chicoutimi's 10-1 win over the heated rival Remparts on Saturday night. With the score 7-1, a line brawl breaks out; Remparts goalie Jonathan Roy - the son of Remparts coach and NHL Hall-of-Famer Patrick Roy - can be seen challenging Chicoutimi's goalie, Bobby Nadeau, from center ice. Nadeau isn't interested and Roy is restrained by the refs. But then, allegedly after some verbal encouragement from daddy on the bench, Roy Jr breaks free, skates all the way to the other end of the ice, and proceeds to pummel Nadeau, who doesn't want to fight and does nothing but try to cover up. He then salutes the Chicoutimi crowd with a double-bird salute before engaging another Chicoutimi player in a nothing fight.
Besides the fact that Roy Jr is a brutal goaltender who probably wouldn't even be in the league if his dad wasn't his coach (how about that sterling .866 save % this season), his actions are pretty deplorable. I like a good fight, including a good goalie fight, but skating 200 feet to rain punches on a guy who doesn't want to fight and didn't do anything to deserve it is about as classless as they come. And he did it to make dad proud....what's even sadder is that he probably succeeded on that front.
If this brat suits up again this season, then the QMJHL didn't suspend him long enough. Wouldn't hurt to have dad miss a few games too.
Incidentally, this game was also an extremely rare example of a team using three goaltenders in a game. Quebec's #1 goaltender, Kevin Desfosses, was injured earlier in the game, which is why Roy was in net to begin with. He got thrown out for the brawl, which forced the Remparts to dress a 16 year old midget callup, Mikael Audette, for the third period. Which really is further example of how stupid the Roys are....Audette did OK, but what if he were a kid who was grossly unprepared for the QMJHL? What if he got hurt because he shouldn't have been out there? For Roy Jr to get himself tossed when there was no backup goalie on the bench....dumber and dumber.
This kind of thing (dressing a player in mid-game who wasn't on the original 20-player game lineup) is only allowed for goaltenders, which is why you don't see it very often. If it were up to me though, I'd only allow it when both goalies are hurt....not when one or both of them get thrown out for being idiots. In my world Quebec would have had to play the whole third period with no goalie....not that the outcome of the game would have been altered.
The Tigers in particular must be really down in the dumps about game two of their series....they were winning 3-2 until the Ice tied the game with 0.2 seconds left in regulation, then won it just 33 seconds into overtime. Think, the Tigers were TWO TENTHS of a second away from being tied 1-1 in the series. But I guess that's why games are 60 minutes long and not 59:59.
And another note from Tiger-land....they failed to sell out their building for either Friday or Saturday's games. Not a big deal in most cities in the league, but the Tigers had sold out 228 straight games before Friday. The last time they failed to sell out a game was February 25, 2003. The end of the streak is being blamed on a number of season ticket holders failing to buy their playoff ticket packages, and walkup crowds in the Hat are poor because casual fans have become accustomed to usually not being able to get tickets, so many don't bother. But the news should be out in the Hat now: there are tickets available for Tigers playoff games this year. Should the Tigers win at least one game in Kootenay, then the Tigers host a game 5 on Friday. That one should be sold out if the fans want to avoid the fairweather label.
Apparently Kelowna has now won six straight playoff games in Seattle. If that keeps up then the Birds better take both those games in the Little Apple or they could be eliminated by game five.
The Pats/Broncos series is getting nasty; the Broncos have lost two of their top four defencemen in the first two games due to what they believe are dirty hits from the Pats. Michael Wilson was knocked out in the first game by a hit from Brett Leffler, and in game two it was Jesse Dudas going down (with a suspected broken wrist that could end his season) after a hit by Jordan Eberle. Leffler was suspended pending review by the league after game one and missed game two; his suspension length will be finalized probably today. No word on whether Eberle will also be suspended but if so, it would go a long ways towards softening the blow to the Broncos of losing a couple top d-men, since Eberle is a key player for the Pats.
The Silvertips and Wheat Kings are both down 2-0 after the opening weekend games in Spokane and Lethbridge, respectively, but they are in better situations than other teams like Kamloops and Chilliwack, who are also down 2-0 after opening on the road. Why? Well, the SPO-EVT and LTH-BRN series are using the 2-3-2 format instead of the usual 2-2-1-1-1, which means the Silvertips and Wheaties now get to play three straight games at home instead of just two. Of course they still have to win at least one of the first two or else the third home game doesn't matter, but it's a good chance for them to get to at least 3-2 down (or even 3-2 up!) in the series before having to go back on the road.
On the topic of Chilliwack, I see that disallowed goal in game one is generating a lot of controversy. It's easy to see why; had it been allowed, the game would have been 2-2 and maybe the Bruins might have eventually pulled it out. I know nobody from Chilliwack will care what I think, but I saw the game on Shaw and my unbiased opinion as a fan of neither team is that the right call was made. Santorelli clearly interfered with Sexsmith in the crease and prevented him from making the save. Santorelli didn't do it on purpose, and Sexsmith didn't take a dive or embellish the contact. It's just something that happens....a player gets bumped and falls down, and in this case he fell into the crease and took out Sexsmith. That's not cause for a penalty (because the contact was incidental), but it is definitely cause for disallowing the goal.
Things apparently got a little out of hand late in game two in Tri-Cities on Saturday. Kamloops coach Greg Hawgood ended up having a "friendly" chat with some Americans fans behind the Blazer bench, and Americans coach Don Nachbaur desperately wanted to have a chat with Hawgood after the game but was unsuccessful. The scoresheet doesn't show a bunch of penalties so I'm not sure exactly what transpired to get folks all worked up, but we'll see if things carry over into game three.
Of the eight series, four teams have already given up the home ice advantage they played all season to get. I mentioned Seattle and Medicine Hat already, but Calgary and Regina have also lost their home edge after splitting the first two games of their respective series at home. The Hitmen and Pats are now forced to win at least one game in Moose Jaw and Swift Current, respectively, in order to win their series. Still not as bad as the Tigers and Thunderbirds though, who will have to win two games in Kootenay and Kelowna in order to advance.
I think I managed to mention every single series in these notes so far, and all of these notes add up to one thing: there are no dull series going on in this first round. Seattle/Kelowna play their game three tonight and everyone else plays their game three tomorrow and things are only going to get more interesting.....
Away from the WHL for a commentary here.....this video is from the QMJHL, but it's well worth checking out. It's video of a brawl between the Quebec Remparts and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens during Chicoutimi's 10-1 win over the heated rival Remparts on Saturday night. With the score 7-1, a line brawl breaks out; Remparts goalie Jonathan Roy - the son of Remparts coach and NHL Hall-of-Famer Patrick Roy - can be seen challenging Chicoutimi's goalie, Bobby Nadeau, from center ice. Nadeau isn't interested and Roy is restrained by the refs. But then, allegedly after some verbal encouragement from daddy on the bench, Roy Jr breaks free, skates all the way to the other end of the ice, and proceeds to pummel Nadeau, who doesn't want to fight and does nothing but try to cover up. He then salutes the Chicoutimi crowd with a double-bird salute before engaging another Chicoutimi player in a nothing fight.
Besides the fact that Roy Jr is a brutal goaltender who probably wouldn't even be in the league if his dad wasn't his coach (how about that sterling .866 save % this season), his actions are pretty deplorable. I like a good fight, including a good goalie fight, but skating 200 feet to rain punches on a guy who doesn't want to fight and didn't do anything to deserve it is about as classless as they come. And he did it to make dad proud....what's even sadder is that he probably succeeded on that front.
If this brat suits up again this season, then the QMJHL didn't suspend him long enough. Wouldn't hurt to have dad miss a few games too.
Incidentally, this game was also an extremely rare example of a team using three goaltenders in a game. Quebec's #1 goaltender, Kevin Desfosses, was injured earlier in the game, which is why Roy was in net to begin with. He got thrown out for the brawl, which forced the Remparts to dress a 16 year old midget callup, Mikael Audette, for the third period. Which really is further example of how stupid the Roys are....Audette did OK, but what if he were a kid who was grossly unprepared for the QMJHL? What if he got hurt because he shouldn't have been out there? For Roy Jr to get himself tossed when there was no backup goalie on the bench....dumber and dumber.
This kind of thing (dressing a player in mid-game who wasn't on the original 20-player game lineup) is only allowed for goaltenders, which is why you don't see it very often. If it were up to me though, I'd only allow it when both goalies are hurt....not when one or both of them get thrown out for being idiots. In my world Quebec would have had to play the whole third period with no goalie....not that the outcome of the game would have been altered.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Lottery day
Today is draft lottery day at WHL head office. I'm not sure exactly what time the lottery takes place, but they'll award the #1 overall bantam pick to either Portland, Red Deer, or Saskatoon. The six non-playoff teams take part in a weighted lottery. Portland gets six balls in the draw, Red Deer gets five, Saskatoon (with Prince George's pick) gets four, Edmonton gets three, Prince Albert gets two, and Saskatoon (with their own pick) gets one.
One ball will be drawn and that team moves up two spots in the draft order - so only the top three teams can possibly pick #1. If Edmonton, Prince Albert, or Saskatoon (with their own pick) win the lottery, they just move up to #2, #3, or #4 overall respectively, and Portland keeps the #1 pick.
So, the chances of picking #1 are:
Portland: 57.1%
Red Deer: 23.8%
Saskatoon: 19.1%
Portland will pick no worse than 2nd, Red Deer no worse than 3rd, etc.
From what I have heard, there's little consensus among the scouts this year about who the #1 prospect is. There's probably 3, 4, 5 players who could take that spot depending on which team has the pick and what they need, etc. So, it's probably not a huge deal if your team is picking #2 or #3 instead of #1 this year.....they could very well still get the player they like best of all.
How about the Blades though.....they are going to have two of the top six picks in the draft for sure, and that Setoguchi trade could end up netting them the #1 overall pick in this draft to go along with Stefan Elliott. I know the Cougars got a nice playoff run last year with Setoguchi, but that is still looking more and more like a really steep price to pay. This deal will be paying handsome rewards for the Blades for the next five years.
UPDATE: Red Deer has won the lottery. So, they will pick #1 and Portland will pick #2. The rest of the top-six order is unchanged at #3 Saskatoon, #4 Edmonton, #5 Prince Albert, and #6 Saskatoon.
In other news today, to nobody's surprise, the first-round series televised on Shaw will be the Vancouver-Chilliwack series.
One ball will be drawn and that team moves up two spots in the draft order - so only the top three teams can possibly pick #1. If Edmonton, Prince Albert, or Saskatoon (with their own pick) win the lottery, they just move up to #2, #3, or #4 overall respectively, and Portland keeps the #1 pick.
So, the chances of picking #1 are:
Portland: 57.1%
Red Deer: 23.8%
Saskatoon: 19.1%
Portland will pick no worse than 2nd, Red Deer no worse than 3rd, etc.
From what I have heard, there's little consensus among the scouts this year about who the #1 prospect is. There's probably 3, 4, 5 players who could take that spot depending on which team has the pick and what they need, etc. So, it's probably not a huge deal if your team is picking #2 or #3 instead of #1 this year.....they could very well still get the player they like best of all.
How about the Blades though.....they are going to have two of the top six picks in the draft for sure, and that Setoguchi trade could end up netting them the #1 overall pick in this draft to go along with Stefan Elliott. I know the Cougars got a nice playoff run last year with Setoguchi, but that is still looking more and more like a really steep price to pay. This deal will be paying handsome rewards for the Blades for the next five years.
UPDATE: Red Deer has won the lottery. So, they will pick #1 and Portland will pick #2. The rest of the top-six order is unchanged at #3 Saskatoon, #4 Edmonton, #5 Prince Albert, and #6 Saskatoon.
In other news today, to nobody's surprise, the first-round series televised on Shaw will be the Vancouver-Chilliwack series.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Previews
In the next little while, I'm going to start throwing up some stats here for the first-round matchups. I'll flesh them out a little more over the next day or so, so you'll have to scroll down and see if anything has been added since the last time you read them, etc.
In the stats, players in red are no longer with that team.
In the stats, players in red are no longer with that team.
Round 1 Previews: Calgary vs Moose Jaw
Hitmen head-to-head statistics vs. Moose Jaw:
Warriors head-to-head statistics vs. Calgary:
Powerplays in the season series:
Calgary: 8/27 = 29.63%
Moose Jaw: 4/27 = 14.81%
| GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | F | |
| Ian Duval | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| Paul Postma | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Carson McMillan | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Kyle Bortis | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Michael Stone | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| T.J. Galiardi | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| Ryan White | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| Brandon Kozun | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Karl Alzner | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Brett Sonne | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Devon Kalinski | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bostjan Golicic | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Brendan Rowinski | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Ian Schultz | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 2 |
| Tyler Fiddler | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Mackenzie | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Fox | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Seabrook | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Brock Nixon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Martin Stepan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Spence | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Chase Schaber | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Plante | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Dan Mercer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Martin Jones | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Frere | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Gillen | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| GP | Min | GA | Shot | W | L | OTL | GAA | SV% | |
| Martin Jones | 3 | 183.75 | 5 | 81 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.63 | 0.938 |
| Dan Spence | 2 | 123.68 | 8 | 57 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.88 | 0.860 |
Warriors head-to-head statistics vs. Calgary:
| GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | F | |
| Jason Bast | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Knackstedt | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Riley Holzapfel | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 0 |
| Giffen Nyren | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Joel Broda | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Brett Ward | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Travis Ehrhardt | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Ty Wishart | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Neal Prokop | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Terrance Delaronde | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Brady Calla | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Smith | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryley Grantham | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Frazer McLaren | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 1 |
| Ryan Stanton | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Martin Filo | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Tomas Karpov | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Chad Suer | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Travis Hamonic | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 1 |
| Brian Sommers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Evan Fuller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Keith Voytechek | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ty Ariss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Todd Mathews | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Riege | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Justin Maylan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Keaton Ellerby | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Joey Perricone | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| GP | Min | GA | Shot | W | L | OTL | GAA | SV% | |
| Todd Mathews | 2 | 82.85 | 4 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.90 | 0.879 |
| Joey Perricone | 5 | 223.83 | 14 | 131 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.75 | 0.893 |
Powerplays in the season series:
Calgary: 8/27 = 29.63%
Moose Jaw: 4/27 = 14.81%
Round 1 Previews: Regina vs Swift Current
Pats head-to-head statistics vs. Swift Current:
Broncos head-to-head statistics vs. Regina:
Powerplays in the season series:
Regina: 4/31 = 12.9%
Swift Current: 5/41 = 12.2%
| GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | F | |
| Jordan Eberle | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Michael MacAngus | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Tim Kraus | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Garrett Mitchell | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| J.D. Watt | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 0 |
| Matt Strueby | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Delahey | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 0 |
| Josh Elder | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 1 |
| Logan Pyett | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Colten Teubert | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 0 |
| Kirt Hill | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Jared Jagow | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Bosch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Graham Hood | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Slobozian | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Spencer Fraipont | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Victor Bartley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cody Gross | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Levi Lind | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ryan DePape | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Todd Kennedy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| Troy Ofukany | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| Alex Pym | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brett Leffler | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Cody Hanson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Scott Doucet | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Dallas Jackson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Juraj Valach | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Nick Ross | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Ryan Bender | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Rudolf Cerveny | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Linden Rowat | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curtis Kulchar | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GP | Min | GA | Shot | W | L | OTL | GAA | SV% | |
| Jeff Bosch | 1 | 60 | 2 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 | 0.933 |
| Linden Rowat | 5 | 314.08 | 14 | 149 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2.67 | 0.906 |
Broncos head-to-head statistics vs. Regina:
| GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | F | |
| Zack Smith | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 0 |
| David Stieler | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Levi Nelson | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
| Keegan Dansereau | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Erik Felde | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 0 |
| Michael Wilson | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Dale Weise | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 0 |
| Geordie Wudrick | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Eric Doyle | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 1 |
| Matt Tassone | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 0 |
| Ryan Molle | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cody Eakin | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 1 |
| Jesse Dudas | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| Jan Dalecky | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Christian Magnus | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Greyeyes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Martin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bretton Stamler | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| R. J. LaRochelle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Mike Brown | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Brad Hoban | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Derek Claffey | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joel Rogers | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Travis Yonkman | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Dowling | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Spencer McAvoy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| GP | Min | GA | Shot | W | L | OTL | GAA | SV% | |
| Travis Yonkman | 6 | 373.5 | 14 | 155 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2.25 | 0.910 |
Powerplays in the season series:
Regina: 4/31 = 12.9%
Swift Current: 5/41 = 12.2%
Round 1 Previews: Lethbridge vs Brandon
Hurricanes head-to-head statistics vs. Brandon:
Wheat Kings head-to-head statistics vs. Lethbridge:
Powerplays in the season series:
Lethbridge: 4/31 = 12.9%
Brandon: 4/23 = 17.39%
| GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | F | |
| Dwight King | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Colton Sceviour | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Carter Bancks | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| Mitch Fadden | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| Adam Chorneyko | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Wright | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| Nicholas Hotson | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Iwanski | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Boychuk | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Mike Wuchterl | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Jeff May | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Cam Stevens | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Luca Sbisa | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mitch Versteeg | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| Jesse Craige | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0 |
| Cam Braes | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Gionfriddo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Dietrich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yashar Farmanara | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brock Sutherland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Carter Ashton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Dietrich | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Ryan Kerr | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Travis Bobbee | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Wiens | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 |
| Brennan Yadlowski | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Lucas Alexiuk | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Maniago | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Craig Orfino | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GP | Min | GA | Shot | W | L | OTL | GAA | SV% | |
| Michael Maniago | 5 | 296.7 | 15 | 144 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3.03 | 0.896 |
Wheat Kings head-to-head statistics vs. Lethbridge:
| GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | F | |
| Andrew Clark | 3 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 1 |
| Tyler Dittmer | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Matt Lowry | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Brayden Schenn | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Jay Fehr | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Scott Glennie | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Matt Calvert | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 1 |
| Daniel Bartek | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Colby Robak | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Daryl Boyle | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Del Cowan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Keith Aulie | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Mark Louis | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Hale | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Chad Erb | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Cale Jefferies | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Nathan Green | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sanfred King | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| Andrew Hayes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Ciarelli | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Brandis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Matt McCue | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Brodie Melnychuk | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Joe Caligiuri | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Grill Donovan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Theran Yeo | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 |
| GP | Min | GA | Shot | W | L | OTL | GAA | SV% | |
| Joe Caligiuri | 4 | 239.68 | 10 | 107 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.50 | 0.907 |
| Andrew Hayes | 1 | 57.5 | 4 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.17 | 0.882 |
Powerplays in the season series:
Lethbridge: 4/31 = 12.9%
Brandon: 4/23 = 17.39%
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