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.
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