Maniago update

Just something that occured while I was away last week which I'm just hearing about now....

The other driver in the accident which killed former WHL goalie Michael Maniago last November has been charged with making an unsafe left turn. 

I guess in the big picture it doesn't matter that much since Maniago is still dead. But at least we do know he wasn't at fault in the collision.

7th heaven times two

The WHL's first round will have two seventh games this year, as Saskatoon dominated the Hurricanes tonight en route to a 5-1 win. That was much more like the Saskatoon Blades we all expect to see, not the imposters we saw in the game five loss.

As much as Lethbridge's best players were dominant in game five, they were equally ineffective tonight as the Blades gave the Canes very little tonight - and what little opportunity the Canes did get, Braden Holtby was on his game.

So, Medicine Hat and Swift Current play game seven tomorrow night, and the Blades & Hurricanes play theirs on Wednesday. Second round matchups starting Friday with Calgary and Brandon are waiting for the winners of the two games.

Tigers/Broncos going seven

Medicine Hat staved off elimination with a 3-0 game six win over Swift Current tonight, so the first round will have at least one seventh game this year. That one will take place Tuesday night in Speedy Creek.

The Broncos will apparently be without Eric Doyle and Keegan Dansereau for the game - they both missed tonight's game (Doyle missed game five too) and the Broncos are saying they are both out for the rest of the series, which would presumably include game seven on Tuesday. The Tigers will get Matt McCue back from his suspension for the game, and since Broncos defenceman Ryan Molle picked up a double minor tonight for headbutting after the final buzzer, perhaps the Broncos might have to play without him too if he ends up getting suspended.

So....big game six win, McCue back, two of the Broncos' best players out.....things are looking better all the time for the Tigers, although the Broncos still have the home ice advantage. I think I said before the series began that the Tigers would win in OT in game seven....we'll see.

Meanwhile, Saskatoon will try to do tomorrow what Medicine Hat did tonight, which is stave off elimination in game six, although they'll have to do it on the road in Lethbridge whereas the Tigers had the home crown tonight. This year's Blades are the best road team in WHL history though so being on the road might actually be better for them?

And someone e-mailed me asking if I knew who Shaw would be showing in the 2nd round. I don't, and I suspect Shaw may not 100% know either since the East matchups are not set yet. But since they covered the East in the first round, I would put my money on them going with a West series in the 2nd round, especially since both West 2nd round series have the potential to be doozies. There's no Vancouver-Kelowna matchup that Shaw would probably prefer but I think they'd be happy with Vancouver-Spokane - the #2 overall team in the league (and Shaw's biggest WHL TV market) against the defending Memorial Cup champs. So that's who I would pick for them to cover.

If they do stay in the East for the 2nd round then I'd expect to see them show Calgary against whoever the Hitmen end up playing - which will be either Lethbridge (if they win over the Blades) or the Tigers-Broncos winner (if the Blades come back and take out the Hurricanes). But I wouldn't lay any money at all on the East getting the 2nd round series.

Saturday notes

Two series ended tonight, with Tri-City and Spokane both advancing to the 2nd round in five games over Everett and Seattle, respectively. No surprises there, and the top four seeds in the West have all advanced. I think most people saw that coming.

So, it's Vancouver vs Spokane and Tri-Cities vs Kelowna in the 2nd round. That's going to be two great series there.....it won't be nearly as easy to predict winners of those two matchups as it was to pick some of the first round winners.

In the East though, #7 Lethbridge pushed #2 Saskatoon to the brink of elimination tonight with a big 3-1 win in Saskatoon to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Lethbridge can wrap up what would be the only upset of the first round with a win at home in game six on Monday.

I didn't see the first four games of the series but I watched the game tonight and if I were a hockey fan with no prior knowledge of the WHL watching the game, you would have a hard time convincing me it wasn't Lethbridge that's the #2 seed. Lethbridge's better players simply dominated Saskatoon's better players tonight. Metsola, Boychuk, Sbisa, King - these guys were the story of the game. The Blades' best players were definitely not their best players tonight and I didn't see any leaders stepping up on that team when the chips were down. What I saw was with 10 seconds left in the 2nd period, the Blades' veteran overage defenceman overskates the puck in the neutral zone and creates a shorthanded 1-on-1 scoring chance for Boychuk which turned into the winning goal. In the third period with 12 minutes left, their veteran goalie-of-the-year candidate shoots the puck over the glass instead of the smart play of dishing it to his open defenceman. Then a couple minutes later a veteran defenceman, who wears an "A", decides to run Lethbridge's goaltender. Then another 18 year old decides to take a divot out of Kyle Beach with his stick. Stupid and/or undisciplined penalties that help kill any chances of a comeback. Not the kind of discipline and leadership you need from the vets on a team that wants to make a playoff run. Why is Charles Inglis, a 16 year old, the only one on that team showing any kind of fire?

Playoff thoughts

I'm back and all caught up on what happened while I was out of town....

Four series ended in sweeps already - no surprise there really, the number of big mismatches in the first round this year was quite high compared to usual. The Calgary-Edmonton, Vancouver-Prince George, and Kelowna-Kamloops sweeps do not surprise me in the slightest; I suspect many other fans would agree. The Brandon-Kootenay sweep though, that one caught me off guard. I thought for sure the Ice would give the Wheat Kings a bit more of a test than that, seeing, as how I picked Brandon in six.

The Calgary and Vancouver series were ugly one-sided from the looks of the stats. Edmonton only scored three goals in four games against the Hitmen and were outshot 45-22 every night on average. You know your goalie played well when you get swept but he had a .917 save percentage.

Ditto for Vancouver, who averaged 50 shots a game against the Cougars, who might have made the last two games of the Vancouver series interesting on the scoreboard but they were badly embarrassed in the first two.

The Saskatoon-Lethbridge and Medicine Hat-Swift Current series are looking like a couple close ones that could go the distance. Seattle's down to their last chance on Saturday, while Everett needs to win tomorrow night to avoid falling into the same 3-1 hole as the T-Birds.

For the four teams that have advanced, no 2nd round matchups known yet but we can narrow it down to a few possibilities....

Calgary will play Lethbridge if the Hurricanes beat Saskatoon. If not, then the Hitmen play the Tigers-Broncos winner.

Brandon will play Saskatoon if the Blades beat the Hurricanes. If not, then the Wheat Kings get the Tigers-Broncos winner.

Vancouver will play Everett if the Silvertips come back on the Americans. If not, then the Giants get the Spokane-Seattle winner.

Kelowna will play Tri-City if the Americans beat the Silvertips. If not, then the Rockets get the Chiefs-T-Birds winner.

Lottery results

Portland has won the draft lottery and so the Winter Hawks will select 1st overall in the bantam draft.

They were the 2nd-worst team, so Moose Jaw (the actual worst team) gets the shaft by not getting the top pick. On the other hand, this win for Portland makes up for last year, where they were the worst team but saw the #2 team (Red Deer) vault past them into the top spot after the lottery.

First round picks

First, some more really good stats on the playoffs over on Jeff Hollick's blog, if you're interested in stuff like which WHL team roster has the most playoff experience, etc.

My picks for each of the first round series....

West:

#1 Vancouver vs #8 Prince George:

Prince George's chances pretty much come down to whether their goaltending can steal them four games from the Giants, because they are ridiculously far behind in every category. And Kevin Armstrong is good but he's not that good that he can beat the Giants four times. He probably won't even beat them once. Giants in four.

#2 Tri-City vs #7 Everett:

Kind of the same story as the Vancouver series. The talent and experience mismatch is such that Everett needs their goaltender to steal games in order to have a chance. If Americans goalie Chet Pickard is not ready to play yet then that's another boost for Everett's chances. But I'm going to assume Pickard is ready to play.....I'll give Everett one game on their home ice in front of their noisy crowd, so Americans in five games.

#3 Kelowna vs #6 Kamloops:

And another mismatch....Kamloops isn't that bad of a team but hey, they were beaten NINE straight times (and outscored 48-18 in the process) by Kelowna this year. What more needs to be said. Again with the goalie theme, Kamloops could steal a game if Justin Leclerc turns in a performance like he did in beating the Giants a few weeks back. But otherwise, I don't think the Blazers have a chance. Rockets in five.

#4 Spokane vs #5 Seattle:

Well, it's a closer matchup than some people think. Spokane has been healthier....they're missing three of their top seven defencemen right now, and Seattle was a pretty decent team after that horrible start - they're .593 since the 2-10 start; Spokane was .660 this year. But Spokane plays a made-for-playoffs style all year and they are full of guys with oodles of playoff experience. Seattle might make it a bit interesting but not enough to win. Spokane in six.


East:

#1 Calgary vs #8 Edmonton:

The Battle of Alberta, WHL playoff style....when was the last time that happened? I'd think you probably have to go back to the mid-70's. Unfortunately, this one won't be much of a Battle. Edmonton has four whole games of playoff experience on their entire roster (Calgary has 339), Calgary was 55 points better in the regular season and Calgary torched both of Edmonton's goaltenders this year (Jung 5.08 GAA, .858 SV%; Lanigan 6.87 GAA, .766 SV%) so stealing a game might be a bit much to ask too. Calgary in four.

#2 Saskatoon vs #7 Lethbridge:

On paper the #3 overall versus the #12 overall isn't that much of a matchup but Lethbridge is a team that a lot of people have been expecting more from all year. There's no reason to believe they're going to start getting more now, but it's an intriguing matchup if only for that 'what-if' factor that comes when you talk about Lethbridge and the underperforming talent they have. Lethbridge is also a very playoff-seasoned team after last year's run to the WHL finals, boasting almost 300 games of postseason experience on their roster to less than 60 games on Saskatoon's. If there's going to be a big upset in the first round, I think this would be it....but like I said, there's no reason to believe Lethbridge is suddenly going to flip a switch and play up to their potential now. And Saskatoon plays a very good playoff style. I think the Canes might make this one a little bit interesting but in the end, Saskatoon in six.

#3 Brandon vs #6 Kootenay:

Two decently evenly matched teams IMO. It seems like most people are heavily favoring Brandon, but why? Kootenay played the Wheat Kings even at 2-2 this year (even the goals for-against were tied at 16-16) and I think they can give the Wheat Kings a run. Brandon has a bit more high-end talent though which I think will win out in the long run but it won't be a quick and easy series. Brandon in six.....but seven wouldn't surprise me either.

#4 Swift Current vs #5 Medicine Hat:

No favourite here really, this is probably the most evenly matched of all the first round series this year....the two old rivals were only 7 points apart in the standings and their head-to-head matches were split 2-2. I really think you could flip a coin and have a better chance of determining the winner than any other method. I'm going to say it goes seven games, and the Tigers pull it out with a game seven OT win in Swift Current's barn.

Wednesday notes

Edmonton beat Prince Albert 2-1 on Rhett Rachinski's goal about 8 minutes into overtime last night in the WHL's first "play-in" tiebreaker in 19 years, so the Oil Kings claim the last playoff spot in the East.

Edmonton's reward? Playing the Hitmen in the first round.

With that settled, the playoff schedule is now set. All series will be the traditional 2-2-1-1-1 format except that Calgary-Edmonton series, which will use a 2-3-2 format due to the Saddledome in Calgary being mostly unavailable to the Hitmen next week. This is good news for the Oil Kings because it means that if they are able to avoid the sweep which many people are predicting, then game 5 will also be in Edmonton's rink, so that's another home gate for them right there.

Seven of the series open with games 1 & 2 on Friday/Saturday this week, except (again) that Calgary-Edmonton series which opens with games 1 & 2 on Thursday & Sunday due to (again) scheduling problems at the Saddledome.

In other news, the WHL will hold its bantam draft lottery sometime this morning to determine which team gets the first pick in the April 30 bantam draft. For those who don't know how this will work, the WHL is going to put 21 bingo balls in a machine and pick one out. Moose Jaw will have six balls in the machine, Portland five, Chilliwack four, Red Deer three, Regina two, and Prince Albert one. The team with the winning ball gets to move up two spots in the draft order, and that's it. So only the bottom three teams (Moose Jaw, Portland, and Chilliwack) have a shot at the #1 overall pick. At #4, Red Deer can move up to #2 at best.

The odds of winning the #1 pick are:

Moose Jaw: 57%
Portland: 24%
Chilliwack: 19%

Having the #1 overall pick this year, compared to #2 or #3, is probably not as important this year as in some other years, because there is no clear-cut favourite for #1 this year. Regina might pick #5 and be able to get the kid they would have taken #1, for example. It looks like the top end of the draft will be heavy on defencemen this year though, and the three names I hear the most (all defencemen) are two Vancouver-area products, Morgan Reilly (playing bantam at Notre Dame in Saskatchewan) and Griffin Reinhart (Hollyburn midget), plus Derrick Poulliot of Weyburn, SK. Reinhart (who's 6'4" already at just 14 years old!) is the brother of current Ice rookie Max Reinhart and both are the sons of former NHL defenceman Paul Reinhart.

If you haven't seen Gregg Drinnan's list of the most influential people in the WHL already, you should check it out now. Good stuff, and it never hurts to know just who is probably really making the decisions behind the scenes....

One other note for today - the AHL's vote on whether the Calgary Flames can relocate their AHL club into WHL territory in Abbotsford is expected to happen within the next week or two. That's a lot sooner than I expected....but it turns out the team wants to be playing out of Abbotsford next season already, so I guess they kind of have to get things moving here.

I note that Flames/Hitmen president & governor Ken King ranked #13 on Gregg's list....there's probably nothing the WHL can do about the AHL moving into Abbotsford but it will be really interesting to see whether anyone in the WHL BoG ever listens to a word Ken King says again if King pushes his AHL club into Abbotsford and hurts the Chilliwack Bruins in the process. There are nine other WHL governors plus Ron Robison on that list who are listed as more influential than King....

That's it for now....I'll make my first round playoff predictions a bit later today, and that will be my last post for a while, as I will be away for a week. I'll be following the first round as best as I can but probably won't be posting to the blog until I get back. Just so everyone knows.

First round preview: Calgary vs Edmonton

The head-to-head results this year between Calgary and Edmonmton....

September 20	Calgary 3 at Edmonton 4
September 24	Edmonton 1 at Calgary 4
October 19	Calgary 7 at Edmonton 2
December 31	Calgary 4 at Edmonton 1
January 20	Edmonton 1 at Calgary 7
February 3	Edmonton 2 at Calgary 6

Calgary won the season series 5-1 and outscored the Oil Kings 31-11.

Calgary team statistics vs Edmonton:

	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Brett Sonne	5	6	4	10	2
Paul Postma	5	3	7	10	0
Kyle Bortis	6	2	8	10	2
Brandon Kozun	6	5	3	8	0
Bostjan Golicic	6	3	4	7	0
Michael Stone	4	2	5	7	8
Keith Seabrook	6	0	7	7	10
Carson McMillan	4	1	3	4	4
Ian Schultz	4	2	1	3	8
Chase Schaber	6	1	2	3	4
Alex Plante	4	0	3	3	12
Cody Sylvester	5	2	0	2	4
Kris Foucault	2	1	1	2	0
Tomas Karpov	2	1	1	2	0
Matt Mackenzie	5	0	2	2	4
Tyler Fiddler	5	0	2	2	4
Brendan Rowinski	2	1	0	1	5
Joel Broda	2	1	0	1	0
Scott Maetche	2	0	1	1	0
Austin Madaisky	4	0	1	1	2
Martin Jones	4	0	1	1	0
Edgars Ulescenko	1	0	0	0	2
Jesse Hilton	1	0	0	0	0
Cody Beach	2	0	0	0	2
Dan Spence	2	0	0	0	0
Rigby Burgart	2	0	0	0	2
Ryan Fox	2	0	0	0	0
MacKenzie Royer	3	0	0	0	4
Erik Bonsor	5	0	0	0	2
Jason MacDonald	6	0	0	0	0

	GP	MIN	GA	W	L	OTL	Shot	GAA	SV%
Martin Jones	4	240:00	6	4	0	0	78	1.50	0.923
Dan Spence	2	119:10	5	1	1	0	60	2.52	0.917

Edmonton team statistics vs Calgary:

	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Brett Breitkreuz	6	3	2	5	8
Brenden Dowd	6	2	3	5	0
Adrian Van de Mosselaer	5	0	5	5	2
Brent Raedeke	5	3	1	4	12
Tomas Vincour	3	1	1	2	2
Jeff Lee	6	1	1	2	16
Mark Pysyk	5	0	2	2	2
Craig McCallum	6	0	2	2	2
Logan Proulx	6	1	0	1	0
T.J. Foster	4	0	1	1	5
Braeden Laroque	1	0	0	0	2
Jesse Pearson	1	0	0	0	0
Dalyn Flette	2	0	0	0	0
Kieran Friesen	2	0	0	0	0
Cam Lanigan	3	0	0	0	0
Colton Stephenson	3	0	0	0	0
Torrie Jung	3	0	0	0	0
Clayton Cumiskey	5	0	0	0	2
Drew Nichol	5	0	0	0	8
Michael Burns	5	0	0	0	6
Shayne Neigum	5	0	0	0	10
Tyler Hlookoff	5	0	0	0	2
Brandon Lockerby	6	0	0	0	0
Henrik Tervonen	6	0	0	0	2
Rhett Rachinski	6	0	0	0	0
Robin Soudek	6	0	0	0	6

	GP	MIN	GA	W	L	OTL	Shot	GAA	SV%
Dalyn Flette	2	119:39	6	1	1	0	53	3.01	0.887
Torrie Jung	3	143:22	12	0	3	0	73	5.02	0.836
Cam Lanigan	3	96:01	11	0	1	0	47	6.87	0.766

First round preview: Tri-City vs Everett

The head-to-head results this year between Tri-City and Everett....

October 28	Tri-City 6 at Everett 7 (SO)
October 24	Everett 0 at Tri-City 1
November 22	Tri-City 7 at Everett 2
November 26	Everett 1 at Tri-City 2
January 7	Tri-City 1 at Everett 3
January 23	Everett 1 at Tri-City 4
January 25	Everett 3 at Tri-City 4 (OT)
February 14	Tri-City 4 at Everett 1
February 20	Everett 2 at Tri-City 5
February 27	Tri-City 5 at Everett 4

Tri-City won the season series 8-1-0-1, and outscored the Silvertips 39-23.


Tri-City team statistics vs Everett:

	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Taylor Procyshen	10	8	3	11	13
Mitch Fadden	8	7	4	11	8
Johnny Lazo	10	4	7	11	4
Jason Reese	9	3	6	9	14
Adam Hughesman	10	1	8	9	11
Tyler Schmidt	10	2	5	7	23
Brendan Shinnimin	10	4	2	6	4
Kruise Reddick	7	3	3	6	0
Brett Plouffe	10	2	4	6	7
Brooks Macek	10	3	2	5	2
Jarrett Toll	7	1	4	5	2
Jordan Messier	10	1	4	5	0
Petr Stoklasa	8	0	4	4	10
Justin Feser	10	0	4	4	2
Mason Wilgosh	10	0	3	3	2
Chet Pickard	8	0	2	2	0
Mitch McColm	8	0	2	2	15
Riley McIntosh	5	0	1	1	4
Brock Sutherland	6	0	1	1	0
Brett Martyniuk	1	0	0	0	0
Brock Zimak	1	0	0	0	0
Drew Owsley	1	0	0	0	0
Eric Mestery	1	0	0	0	0
Patrick Holland	1	0	0	0	0
Zach Yuen	1	0	0	0	0
Cam Stevens	2	0	0	0	2
Drew Hoff	2	0	0	0	0
Spencer Asuchak	4	0	0	0	2
Lane Werbowski	10	0	0	0	0

	GP	MIN	GA	W	L	OTL	Shot	GAA	SV%
Drew Owsley	1	60:00	1	1	0	0	13	1.00	0.923
Chet Pickard	8	486:10	19	7	0	1	215	2.34	0.912
Brett Martyniuk	1	57:15	3	0	1	0	25	3.14	0.880

Everett team statistics vs Tri-City:

	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Shane Harper	10	7	5	12	0
Zack Dailey	10	1	8	9	2
Kellan Tochkin	10	3	3	6	17
Byron Froese	10	1	4	5	4
Taylor Ellington	10	1	4	5	12
Mike Alexander	9	0	5	5	19
Graham Potuer	10	1	3	4	19
Dale Hunt	7	2	1	3	2
Jesse Burt	10	2	1	3	8
Tyler Maxwell	6	1	2	3	0
Ryan White	7	2	0	2	6
Daniel Bartek	6	1	1	2	6
Dan Iwanski	5	0	2	2	2
Alex Theriau	4	1	0	1	0
Kyle Beach	2	0	1	1	8
Paul Van de Velde	5	0	1	1	0
Drew McDermott	7	0	1	1	4
Cameron Abney	8	0	1	1	9
Campbell Elynuik	1	0	0	0	0
D. Jay McGrath	1	0	0	0	0
Jeff Regier	2	0	0	0	2
Matthew Ius	2	0	0	0	0
Thomas Heemskerk	2	0	0	0	0
Shayne Barrie	3	0	0	0	0
Jordan Mistelbacher	4	0	0	0	4
Tyler Parker	4	0	0	0	0
Kent Simpson	6	0	0	0	0
Trevor Bauer	6	0	0	0	2
Chris de la Lande	8	0	0	0	0
Markus McCrea	8	0	0	0	6
Paul Sohor	8	0	0	0	9

	GP	MIN	GA	W	L	OTL	Shot	GAA	SV%
Thomas Heemskerk	2	118:39	4	1	1	0	63	2.02	0.937
Shayne Barrie	3	138:12	6	0	2	0	90	2.60	0.933
Kent Simpson	6	337:45	25	1	4	1	198	4.44	0.874

First round preview: Spokane vs Seattle

The head-to-head results this year between Spokane and Seattle....

October 4	Spokane 2 at Seattle 3 (SO)
October 24	Seattle 3 at Spokane 2
December 12	Seattle 0 at Spokane 1
December 13	Seattle 3 at Spokane 1
December 28	Spokane 4 at Seattle 0
January 23	Spokane 3 at Seattle 1
February 18	Seattle 3 at Spokane 7
February 20	Spokane 0 at Seattle 3
March 3	Spokane 4 at Seattle 2

Spokane won the season series 5-3-0-1 and outscored the Thunderbirds 24-17.


Spokane team statistics vs Seattle:

	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Drayson Bowman	8	9	1	10	8
Levko Koper	9	1	7	8	2
Tyler Johnson	7	4	2	6	2
Trevor Glass	8	2	3	5	0
Mitch Wahl	7	1	4	5	8
Jared Spurgeon	5	1	3	4	2
Jared Cowen	6	1	2	3	2
Stefan Ulmer	6	1	2	3	2
Ondrej Roman	4	1	1	2	0
Ryan Letts	8	1	1	2	2
Justin McCrae	6	0	2	2	9
Kenton Miller	7	1	0	1	2
Steve Kuhn	9	1	0	1	6
Brady Calla	4	0	1	1	9
Dustin Tokarski	6	0	1	1	0
Mike Reddington	6	0	1	1	2
Brenden Kichton	8	0	1	1	0
Brett Bartman	9	0	1	1	8
Dustin Donaghy	9	0	1	1	12
Anthony Bardaro	1	0	0	0	0
James Reid	3	0	0	0	0
Mike Betz	3	0	0	0	2
Cory Baldwin	5	0	0	0	0
Seth Compton	5	0	0	0	4
T.C. Cratsenberg	6	0	0	0	5
Blake Gal	7	0	0	0	2
David Conrad	7	0	0	0	2

	GP	MIN	GA	W	L	OTL	Shot	GAA	SV%
James Reid	3	179:34	3	2	1	0	64	1.00	0.953
Dustin Tokarski	6	364:37	13	3	2	1	165	2.14	0.921

Seattle team statistics vs Spokane:

	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Jim O'Brien	8	3	4	7	6
Jeremy Boyer	9	3	4	7	4
Greg Scott	7	1	4	5	6
Lindsay Nielsen	5	2	0	2	0
Thomas Hickey	5	2	0	2	0
Prab Rai	7	1	1	2	4
Brenden Silvester	8	1	1	2	2
David Richard	8	1	1	2	14
Jeremy Schappert	8	1	1	2	4
Jonathan Parker	9	1	1	2	2
Brenden Dillon	9	0	2	2	5
Chris Cloud	9	0	2	2	6
Stefan Warg	9	0	2	2	12
Sena Acolatse	9	1	0	1	7
Chance Lund	4	0	1	1	5
Brad Haber	8	0	1	1	4
Luke Lockhart	8	0	1	1	6
Devon LeBlanc	9	0	1	1	2
Jared Jagow	1	0	0	0	0
Colin Haas	3	0	0	0	0
Calvin Pickard	4	0	0	0	0
Jacob De Serres	5	0	0	0	0
Steve Chaffin	5	0	0	0	2
Erik Fleming	7	0	0	0	0
Charles Wells	8	0	0	0	15

	GP	MIN	GA	W	L	OTL	Shot	GAA	SV%
Jacob De Serres	5	302:38	11	2	3	0	147	2.18	0.925
Calvin Pickard	4	239:29	11	2	2	0	121	2.76	0.909

First round preview: Swift Current vs Medicine Hat

The head-to-head results this year between Swift Current and Medicine Hat....

October 12	Medicine Hat 0 at Swift Current 2
December 27	Swift Current 5 at Medicine Hat 3
January 2	Medicine Hat 5 at Swift Current 3
January 10	Swift Current 1 at Medicine Hat 5

Season series was tied 2-2. Medicine Hat outscored Swift Current 13-11.


Swift Current team statistics vs Medicine Hat:

	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Keegan Dansereau	4	3	1	4	0
Matt Tassone	4	3	1	4	21
Geordie Wudrick	4	1	3	4	2
Justin Dowling	4	1	3	4	2
Cody Eakin	4	2	0	2	2
Eric Doyle	4	0	2	2	2
Dillon Wagner	4	1	0	1	0
Grant Toulmin	2	0	1	1	2
Andrew Hewett	3	0	1	1	0
Brad Hoban	3	0	1	1	0
Joel Rogers	3	0	1	1	4
Derek Claffey	4	0	1	1	8
Jan Dalecky	4	0	1	1	0
Jordan Peddle	4	0	1	1	4
Mike Brown	4	0	1	1	7
Taylor Vause	4	0	1	1	2
Christian Magnus	1	0	0	0	0
James Martin	1	0	0	0	0
Joel Danyluk	1	0	0	0	0
Liam Darragh	1	0	0	0	0
Jordan Evans	3	0	0	0	6
Mark Guggenberger	3	0	0	0	2
Ryan Molle	3	0	0	0	2
Travis Yonkman	3	0	0	0	0
Spencer McAvoy	4	0	0	0	4

	GP	MIN	GA	W	L	OTL	Shot	GAA	SV%
Mark Guggenberger	3	145:52	7	2	1	0	72	2.88	0.903
Travis Yonkman	3	93:16	5	0	1	0	38	3.22	0.868

Medicine Hat team statistics vs Swift Current:

	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Brennan Bosch	4	0	5	5	0
Bretton Cameron	3	3	0	3	4
Sean Ringrose	4	2	1	3	0
Colton Grant	4	0	3	3	0
Linden Vey	4	0	3	3	0
Wacey Hamilton	4	0	3	3	4
Tyler Ennis	2	2	0	2	2
Tristan King	3	2	0	2	2
Jace Coyle	4	1	1	2	0
Josh Koper	3	1	0	1	0
Taylor Gal	3	1	0	1	2
Joey Frazer	4	1	0	1	2
Travis Dunstall	2	0	1	1	4
Matthew Konan	3	0	1	1	5
John Stampohar	4	0	1	1	0
Mark Isherwood	4	0	1	1	6
Dylan Busenius	1	0	0	0	0
Matt McCue	1	0	0	0	7
Patrick Kozyra	1	0	0	0	0
Scott Brkich	1	0	0	0	0
Tomas Kundratek	1	0	0	0	0
Tyler Bunz	1	0	0	0	2
Sam Dezman	2	0	0	0	0
Zdenek Okal	2	0	0	0	8
Ryan Holfeld	3	0	0	0	0
Thomas Carr	3	0	0	0	4
Cody Carlson	4	0	0	0	4

	GP	MIN	GA	W	L	OTL	Shot	GAA	SV%
Tyler Bunz	1	60:00	2	0	1	0	34	2.00	0.941
Ryan Holfeld	3	178:02	9	2	1	0	73	3.03	0.877