Vancouver is beating Kamloops 5-1 midway through the 3rd period tonight. If we assume the Giants are going to win this one, then the Giants will be the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot tonight.
The win tonight will give the Giants 81 points on the season. Chilliwack can get at most 78 points and Portland can get at most 81 points, but Vancouver has the tiebreaker on the Hawks so the Hawks can't finish ahead of the Giants either. So, with two teams guaranteed to finish below them in the standings, Vancouver can't finish any worse than 8th in the West and therefore have clinched a playoff spot.
The next team to clinch a postseason berth will be Calgary, who will cement their spot with any combination of 2.5 Hitmen wins or Oil Kings losses.
Anyone watch the Hitmen-Rebels game on Shaw tonight and come away very impressed with the Rebels' 15 year old phenom Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. It's no surprise he was the #1 overall pick in the draft last spring....he played a ton tonight even strength and powerplay and scored his first WHL goal with a big-time shot, a laser beam over Martin Jones' shoulder from the faceoff circle. The kid looks like he's about 12 years old but he is going to be a real good player in the WHL starting next year. Take that to the bank.
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