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?