Last night's games

Quick rundown of last night's games and their effects on the playoff races:

 - Red Deer upset Medicine Hat 4-2. The Rebels are already out of the playoffs, but the Tigers loss created a game in hand for the Hitmen which, if they won, would move Calgary ahead of the Tigers into 3rd in the Eastern Conference

 - Saskatoon beat Prince Albert; the Raiders are also out of the playoffs but the Blades win vaulted them from 7th place into 5th place in the tightly-packed Eastern standings. They jumped ahead of Kootenay and Regina, although both the Ice and Pats now have a game in hand on the Blades and could re-pass the Blades just by winning that game.

 - Seattle upset Spokane 3-1. This game was big for the T-Birds' playoff hopes. With the win they are now one point behind the Royals for 8th place and a playoff spot, and they still have a game in hand on the Royals. They're also 2 pts back of Everett for 7th place and have a meeting with Everett still to come on Saturday. For the Chiefs, the loss means they no longer control their own destiny in their race with the Giants for the #4/#5 spots. They now need to win their remaining game in hand on the Giants AND gain one other point on the Giants somehow if they want to host that first round series instead of beginning in Vancouver.

 - lastly but not leastly, Prince George stayed alive with a 5-4 OT win over the Americans. A loss would have eliminated the Cougars from the playoffs, but the win means they still have a chance. A slim, slim chance, but a chance. For the Americans, the loser point extends their lead over the Winterhawks atop the division and conference standings to two points, although Portland does have a game in hand which could erase that lead.