Thursday notes

Few things today....

First, the WHL has its first 50 goal scorer in three years. The Hitmen's Joel Broda hit the magical mark on Tuesday night in Prince George, becoming the first 50 goal scorer in the WHL since Justin Keller of the Rockets in 2005-06.

I don't think there will be any others. Calgary's Brett Sonne needs 4 goals in his last 3 games to do it, and Vancouver's Evander Kane needs 6 goals in his last 6 games. Tall orders in both cases, probably.

Still with Calgary/Vancouver, the race for first overall took a huge turn in Vancouver's favour last night when the Giants beat the Americans and saw the Hitmen lose in Kamloops. Vancouver now trails Calgary by just two points and hold two games in hand. The two teams meet tomorrow night in Vancouver but even a win in that game will not be enough for the Hitmen; they're going to need the Giants to lose at least one of their other five remaining games (and have the Hitmen win their other remaining two) in order to get #1 overall.

It's safe to say that a win for the Giants tomorrow night will pretty much clinch the title for them. A win for the Hitmen won't be the end of the world for the Giants either; they can lose and still get first overall simply by getting 9 out of 10 points in their last five games. (Less than 9 are required if Calgary does not win their last two games of course)

In other WHL action last night....

- Kelowna took a big step towards catching Spokane for the #3 seed in the West by beating the Chiefs in Kelowna last night. The Rockets are now just one point behind the Chiefs, with equal games played. The winner of the #3 seed gets to avoid Vancouver in the 2nd round, if all four top seeds were to win in the first round. I think it's safe to say Spokane's chances of catching Tri-City for the U.S. division title and #2 seed have gone down the toilet. They trail the Ams by 10 points and only have six games left. All but impossible to make up those 10 points in 6 games.

- Prince Albert moved back ahead of Edmonton for the last playoff spot in the East with a win over Brandon. They are tied in points but the Raiders have two more wins. Edmonton still has a game in hand on the Raiders. I should also point out that the Raiders having more wins actually doesn't mean anything.....in the WHL, if there's a tie for the last playoff spot, it is determined by a one-game playoff.

- Lethbridge moved to within a half-game of clinching a playoff spot with a win over Red Deer. Similarily, Red Deer will be eliminated from the playoffs with one more loss or a win by either Prince Albert or Edmonton.