Third round predictions

A little strapped for time this morning, but with the WHL semi-finals getting underway tonight in Edmonton and Tri-Cities, I guess I need to get my predictions down.

I was 3-for-4 in the second round, missing out on the Moose Jaw win over Medicine Hat. That brings me up to  10-for-12 overall in picking the series winners this year. Let's try to make it 12-for-14 here:

Eastern Conference:
#1 Edmonton vs #2 Moose Jaw:
My pick: Edmonton in seven. I really underestimated Moose Jaw in the second round by picking them to lose to Medicine Hat. I won't underestimate them again - especially since they will get star defenceman/top NHL draft prospect Morgan Rielly back for this series after he missed almost all season with a reconstructed knee. But even so, I think they will fall just short against a very deep and talented Edmonton team. I can see Moose Jaw winning this one so I'm going with a seven game pick, but I like Edmonton just a little better and I'm not sure we have even seen the best of Edmonton so far these playoffs.


Western Conference:
#1 Tri-City vs #2 Portland:
My pick: Portland in six. I like Tri-City a lot, but I think Portland has a lot more depth and that's going to make the difference for them. Portland has to get consistent goaltending from Mac Carruth, as that is the one area where I think the Americans have a clear advantage over the Winterhawks. As long as Carruth can hold up his end of the bargain though, I like Portland more than Tri-City at both forward and defence positions.

I think both of these series should be excellent hockey to watch - in these four teams we have four of the top five overall teams in the regular season. Only #4 overall Kamloops is missing from the top five - and even then, Moose Jaw was only 1 point back of Kamloops for #4. Isn't this what you want to see in the semifinals?