Semifinal Friday

Both semifinals played their game 5's tonight....

Tri-City beat Vancouver 4-1 to take a 3-2 lead in a series they trailed 2-1 just 27 hours earlier. What a difference a day makes, eh? The Americans will get a chance to wrap up the series (and earn their first-ever appearance in the WHL Final) Sunday in Vancouver.

Meanwhile, in Calgary, that series ended with tonight's game, a very convincing 6-1 victory for the Hitmen. I think even the people who thought Calgary would win the series are probably surprised that this one only took five games - on paper it certainly had the makings of a longer series. But Brandon completely did not show up tonight and after the Hitmen got a couple goals' lead, there was no doubt of the outcome. In fact Brandon's best players spent the better part of the 2nd half of the game in the penalty box instead of trying to mount a comeback, as the Wheat Kings lost their composure as the frustration boiled over a bit.

Brandon now gets three weeks off to rest & recuperate before they get to use their "back door" entry into the Memorial Cup as the tournament hosts. Brandon's loss also means, obviously, that the winner of the Vancouver/Tri-City series will not automatically make the Memorial Cup lineup.

For the Hitmen, this will be their 2nd straight WHL Final appearance, after losing in six games to Kelowna last year. Calgary will have home ice regardless of opponent....I'm guessing the series probably starts next Friday & Saturday nights.