Kelowna could possibly be without their captain for that game. James McEwen made a point of running Seattle goalie Riku Helenius at the final buzzer last night, for which he got a double-minor for roughing. We'll see if the league office reviews that or not...I think that given the circumstances (game was over, Rockets had just suffered a big loss) that the league needs to have a chat with McEwen about what he was trying to do. Not sure if a suspension is warranted (I haven't seen the tape) but we'll see if the league does.
Speaking of wrapping things up, there's five games tonight, with four teams facing elimination. Brandon, Medicine Hat, and Everett all have home ice on their side tonight in trying to stave off a first-round exit, while the Hitmen will get to try to finish their series with Moose Jaw on home ice. The fifth game, Swift Current at Regina, features a series tied 2-2.
Finally, as promised, a look at the attendance decline in the playoffs. Here's a chart with the average regular season attendance for each playoff team, contrasted with their average playoff attendance so far (two home games for every team, except one for Everett and three for Seattle), and the amount of increase or decrease over the regular season average. Ordered by highest percentage of decline:
| Reg. | Playoff | Diff. | %Diff | |
| Kamloops | 4571 | 2733 | -1838 | -40.21% |
| Everett | 6434 | 4217 | -2217 | -34.46% |
| Seattle | 4091 | 2904 | -1187 | -29.01% |
| Brandon | 4132 | 2977 | -1155 | -27.95% |
| Kelowna | 6127 | 5147 | -980 | -15.99% |
| Spokane | 6566 | 5631 | -935 | -14.24% |
| Calgary | 9081 | 8147 | -934 | -10.29% |
| Tri-Cities | 4254 | 3827 | -427 | -10.04% |
| Vancouver | 8726 | 7903 | -823 | -9.43% |
| Moose Jaw | 2371 | 2237 | -134 | -5.65% |
| Chilliwack | 4543 | 4382 | -161 | -3.54% |
| Medicine Hat | 4015 | 3955 | -60 | -1.49% |
| Lethbridge | 3982 | 3931 | -51 | -1.28% |
| Kootenay | 2972 | 2961 | -11 | -0.37% |
| Regina | 5104 | 5609 | 505 | 9.89% |
| Swift Current | 2101 | 2601 | 500 | 23.80% |
Only Swift Current and Regina have increased their attendance in the playoffs. Every other team has seen some degree of decline, although a few of them are so small as to be insignificant since I'm not taking into consideration all factors like whether these were weekend or midweek games, etc - things that affect most teams' attendance to some degree.
Away from the WHL now, to the theatre of the absurd we call the QMJHL: the Quebec provincial government is talking about forming a committee to investigate how fighting and other violence can be reduced or eliminated in hockey. Sounds crazy, but you know, the French have always preferred surrendering to fighting.
3 comments:
Thanks! Had to wipe my computer screen off after reading the last sentence.
Any coincidence the only increases in playoff attendances are the two teams in the one series that's been the most violent? Hmmmm....
CC/MJ
Sssshhhh! The Quebecers will hear you!
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