THE ROAD TO THE 2011 WHL PLAYOFFS

Calgary, AB – The 2010-11 Western Hockey League regular season enters the stretch run, with four weeks left to play before the post-season begins, and plenty left to be decided as far as playoff berths and positioning are concerned.

So far, six teams have clinched playoff berths, with four Eastern Conference clubs and two Western Conference outfits having guaranteed themselves post-season hockey.

This season, the WHL’s Eastern and Western Conferences will use a Conference playoff format.

The first place teams in the two Divisions in each Conference will receive the top two playoff seeds based on regular season points. The next six Clubs in each Conference, based on regular season points, will receive the 3rd – 8th playoff positions. The Clubs will be paired 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, and 4 vs. 5 in a best-of-seven series.

The first place Clubs in each Division will be guaranteed the top two playoff seeds in the first round. As in previous seasons, the format for the remaining three rounds of the WHL Playoffs will remain the same. The four Clubs winning first round series in each Conference will advance to the second round, where they will be ranked in order of regular season points. The Clubs will be paired 1 vs. 4, and 2 vs. 3 in best of seven series.

The two Clubs winning the second round series in each Conference will advance to the third round (WHL Conference Championships), where they will be ranked in order of regular season points. The Clubs will be paired 1 vs. 2 in a best of seven series.

The Eastern and Western Conference Champions will advance to the best of seven WHL Championship Series, with the Club having the most regular season points receiving home ice advantage

 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

X denotes clinched playoff spot, *denoted Division leader

1) Saskatoon Blades* X             48-13-0-2,    98pts,  9 games remaining

2) Red Deer Rebels* X               42-15-3-4,    91pts,  8 games remaining

3) Medicine Hat Tigers X            39-17-4-3,    85pts,  9 games remaining

4) Kootenay Ice X                      40-19-1-3,    84pts,  9 games remaining

5) Moose Jaw Warriors             34-23-2-3,    73pts,  10 games remaining

6) Edmonton Oil Kings             29-28-2-5,    65pts,  8 games remaining

7) Brandon Wheat Kings            27-29-1-7,    62pts,  8 games remaining

8) Prince Albert Raiders             25-33-2-3,    55pts,  9 games remaining

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9) Lethbridge Hurricanes            21-29-5-8,    55pts,  9 games remaining

10) Regina Pats                         22-33-6-2,    52pts,  9 games remaining

11) Swift Current Broncos          24-39-0-1,    49pts,  8 games remaining

12) Calgary Hitmen                    19-39-3-2,    43pts,  9 games remaining

 

The Saskatoon Blades, Red Deer Rebels, Medicine Hat Tigers and Kootenay Ice have all locked up playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, meaning playoff hockey is a guarantee for those Clubs, while the Moose Jaw Warriors have guaranteed themselves at least a tiebreaker for a playoff spot.

The Blades have already been crowned East Division champions, and can finish no lower than fourth in the Eastern Conference.  With a seven-point edge on Red Deer for first place in the Eastern Conference and the overall WHL standings, the Blades have their sights set on claiming the Scotty Munro Memorial trophy as the WHL’s top regular-season team and earning home-ice advantage throughout the WHL playoffs.

The Red Deer Rebels currently sit six points up on Medicine Hat and seven up on Kootenay in the race for the Central Division title.  Both the Ice and Tigers hold a game in hand on the Rebels.  The Rebels play the Tigers twice more this season while also facing Central Division rivals Calgary and Edmonton two more times each.

The Tigers sit one point ahead of Kootenay for third place in the Conference, with both teams having played 63 games.  The Tigers and Ice face off one more time this season, on March 15^th in Medicine Hat.  The Tigers play each of their remaining nine games versus Central Division competition, while the Ice face tough trips to Brandon, Saskatoon and Spokane over their final nine games.

The Warriors currently sit comfortably in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, and need just one more point to clinch a playoff berth outright in the conference.  With an 11-point gap between them and the fourth-placed Kootenay Ice and a 10-point gap with sixth-placed Edmonton, it appears the Warriors will remain locked into fifth place in the Conference down the stretch.

The Edmonton Oil Kings sit in sixth place in the Conference – three point ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings – and now hold a 10-point cushion for a playoff position, meaning their chances of earning a second playoff berth in modern franchise history are looking better.  The Oil Kings have a very tough stretch to close out their season, with two games each versus Saskatoon, Medicine Hat and Red Deer – the top three teams in the conference.

The Wheat Kings continued their run up the standings this week, posting wins over Saskatoon and Regina on the weekend, and now hold a seven-point cushion for a playoff spot.  The Wheat Kings play six of their final eight games on home ice, where they boast a 17-9-0-4 record.

The Prince Albert Raiders and Lethbridge Hurricanes sit tied for the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference, with both teams still having nine games to play.  The ‘Canes play six of their final nine games on the road, including a difficult B.C. Division road trip.  The Raiders play five of their remaining nine games versus teams that are lower in the standings.

The Regina Pats find themselves three points back of the Raiders and ‘Canes for a share of eighth place in the conference, and have also played 63 games.  The Pats play the Raiders once more this season, but also face Saskatoon twice more and Moose Jaw three more times, making for a difficult stretch run.

The Broncos are mired in a seven-game losing skid, and have fallen six points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference.  The Broncos have also played one more game than all the teams they are chasing.  With three games left versus Prince Albert and one more versus Regina, the Broncos have a chance to make up ground versus their immediate competition.

The Calgary Hitmen find themselves in 12^th place in the Eastern Conference after three straight years as the East’s top team, and currently sit 12 points back in the race for a playoff berth.

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1) Portland Winterhawks X         42-17-0-3,    87pts,  10 games remaining

2) Kelowna Rockets*                  36-25-0-1,    73pts,  10 games remaining

3) Spokane Chiefs* X                40-17-4-2,    86pts,  9 games remaining

4) Tri-City Americans                  37-20-2-2,    78pts,  11 games remaining

5) Vancouver Giants                  33-24-1-4,    71pts,  10 games remaining

6) Everett Silvertips                   27-27-5-4,    63pts,  9 games remaining

7) Prince George Cougars          29-31-2-2,    62pts,  8 games remaining

8) Kamloops Blazers                 29-31-3-1,    62pts,  8 games remaining

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9) Chilliwack Bruins                    26-30-2-3,    57pts,  11 games remaining

10) Seattle Thunderbirds            23-31-4-5,    55pts,  9 games remaining

 

The Spokane Chiefs and Portland Winterhawks have both locked up playoff spots in the Western Conference, meaning they are assured post-season hockey.

The Winterhawks kept themselves one point ahead of Spokane for first place in the U.S. Division and Western Conference, thanks to three wins in four games this week.  The Hawks also hold a game in hand on the Chiefs.  Six of their final 10 games are on the road.   The Hawks will host the Chiefs in what could be an important showdown on the final day of the regular season.

The Chiefs picked up weekend wins versus Prince George and Tri-Cities to keep pace with the Winterhawks in the race for first place in the Western Conference.  The Chiefs head to Prince George for a pair of games versus the Cougars next weekend. 

The Tri-City Americans dropped five of their last six games to fall nine points behind the Winterhawks for the U.S. Division and Western Conference lead.  The Ams still have one game in hand on Portland and two in hand on Spokane.  The Ams need just once more point or for Kamloops or Prince George to drop one more point to clinch a playoff spot.

The Rockets picked up three wins over as four-game Central Division road trip this week to remain in first place in the B.C. Division – two points up on Vancouver.  The Rockets play six of their final 10 games at home, and will face the Giants in what could be a crucial home-and-home series to close out the regular season.

The Giants won two of three weekend games to remain two points behind the Rockets for the B.C. Division lead.  The Giants also play six of their last 10 games at home, but will face tough tests with two games versus Portland and one more versus Tri-City down the stretch.

The Everett Silvertips, Prince George Cougars and Kamloops Blazers are separated by just one point from sixth to eighth place in the Conference.  Everett, who sits in sixth place, holds a game in hand on both Prince George and Kamloops.  The ‘Tips play seven of their last nine games on the road, and will face the Conference-leading Winterhawks three more times.

The Cougars and Blazers are tied for seventh place in the Western Conference – five points up on ninth-placed Chilliwack and seven up on Seattle.  The Cougars host the Chiefs twice and the Rebels once over their next three games.  The Blazers play seven of their final nine games versus B.C. Division opponents, including a big home-and-home series versus Prince George on the final weekend of the regular season.

The Bruins currently sit three points behind the Blazers and Cougars for a share of seventh place in the conference, but hold three games in hand on both teams.  The Bruins only have one game remaining versus the two teams directly ahead of them – versus Kamloops next Saturday – and play each of the five U.S. Division teams one more time before season’s end.

The Thunderbirds find themselves seven points adrift in the race for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.  Six of the T-Birds’ remaining nine games are at home, where they have managed only 10 wins this season.  The T-Birds’ final four games of the regular season are versus the current top four teams in the Western Conference.

 

BOB CLARKE TROPHY RACE

1. Linden Vey, M.H.                   61gp-40g-65a-105pts

2. Tyler Johnson, SPO               62gp-46g-58a-104pts

3. Mark Stone, BRN                   63gp-34g-59a-93pts

5. Brendan Gallagher, VAN        61gp-43g-44a-87pts

5. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, R.D.    61gp-20g-67a-87pts

 

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