Jess Brown

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – It was a Giant win for Vancouver – pun intended. Defenseman Jonathon Blum netted the game-winning goal and Giants captain Spencer Machacek scored into an empty net with 19 seconds remaining in the game on Friday night as Vancouver handed the Spokane Chiefs their first road loss of the 2008 Western Hockey League playoffs with a 3-1 victory in front of a Pacific Coliseum crowd of 8,899.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Good forechecking is not only an art, it's a fundamental part of hockey. It's about wanting the puck and aggressively pursuing it in the offensive zone. It's about wearing down opposing defensemen and setting up scoring opportunities.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Tyler Johnson figures it was either going to be him or Mitch Wahl. One way or another, someone was putting the puck in the net.

There was no denial from Bill Peters or any of the Spokane Chiefs. The Chiefs didn't bring a disciplined game and the result wasn't pretty.

When David Rutherford left his Ladner, British Columbia, home after the holidays in December, he left a simple message for Vancouver Giants goalie Tyson Sexsmith on the whiteboard attached to the door of his old bedroom. It said, "See you in the playoffs." Tracy Rutherford, the mother of Spokane Chiefs overage forward David, houses Sexsmith in Vancouver and wishes both players could advance to the Western Hockey League's Western Conference final. But when the playoffs resume tonight with the Chiefs and Giants kicking off their best-of-7 conference semifinal series at the Arena, Tracy – who will be watching from the stands – knows that isn't possible.

Permanently inked in his skin on the back of his neck are the words: "Never give up," a motto Sergio Gilliam lives by. The tattoo is not only his mantra, it's a tribute to his late cousin Donald Gilliam, who died in 2006 from meningitis.

EVERETT – Break out the brooms and bring on the Vancouver Giants. In by far the most intense and exciting game of their opening-round Western Hockey League playoff series, the Spokane Chiefs completed a four-game sweep of the Everett Silvertips with a 3-2 overtime victory on Friday night at Comcast Arena to win the Western Conference quarterfinal series 4-0.

In the week leading into Spokane's Western Hockey League playoff-opening series with the Everett Silvertips, Chiefs coach Bill Peters kept mentioning the phrase "battle level" – all but assuring that whoever had the most would come out on top. So far, so good.

In eight regular-season games against the Everett Silvertips, the Spokane Chiefs scored four power-play goals in 45 attempts. After 60 minutes and eight power-play opportunities on Friday night, the Chiefs had equaled that number.

At 6-foot-4, 314 pounds, you'd think a guy like Harrison Nikolao would be easy to remember. But when former Northern Arizona quarterback Jason Murietta was told Nikolao was a former Eastern Washington University lineman – meaning the two played against each other in the Big Sky Conference – it didn't ring a bell.