Wednesday thoughts

The Hitmen can clinch the WHL title tonight in the Tri-Cities. Looking at the situation they are in right now, it's really hard to believe that six weeks ago today they were down 3-1 to Moose Jaw in the first round and facing elimination unless they could win three straight against the Warriors.

One other bit of WHL news from yesterday - the Spokane Chiefs announced that they will not bring Hardy Sauter back as their coach next year. Sauter's dismissal means there are now two coaching vacancies in the WHL at the moment - Spokane and Edmonton.

And in the OHL, the defending Memorial Cup champion Windsor Spitfires booked their return ticket to the big tournament by finishing the 4-0 sweep of the Barrie Colts in the OHL finals. So two of the four teams in this year's Memorial Cup are set now.

In the QMJHL, the Saint John Sea Dogs got back into the QMJHL final with a win over the Moncton Wildcats. The Wildcats still lead that series 2-1 with game four in Moncton on Friday. That series is also using the unusual 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 format; but, the two cities are only about 200 km apart so the travel is pretty easy as far as league finals go.