Chiefs Have Edge For 3rd, As Long As They Can Win Spokane Stands 4th, But Has Two Games In Hand On Kelowna
Although the Kelowna Rockets have for the moment overhauled Spokane in the battle for third - and home-ice advantage in their first-round Western Hockey League playoff series - the Chiefs have a slight advantage heading into the final week of the regular season.
Spokane, 32-32-4 with 68 points, has four games left, three in the Arena. Kelowna, 34-34-2 and 70 points, is down to its final two games. One is on the road at WHL West Division champ Portland.
By winning out, the Chiefs can wrap up third no matter what the hot Rocks do (Kelowna is 16-5 since Feb. 22, when it acquired Ray Schultz and goaltender Aaron MacDonald from Calgary).
Should they wind up tied in points in the standings, the first tie-breaker is total number of wins.
The second tie-breaker is head-to-head competition. The two are tied there, since they split their eight-game series.
The Chiefs have the edge in the third tie-breaker - goals for compared to goals against.
The series starts with two games in Kelowna during the March 21-23 weekend, since the Arena is tied up with the Shrine Circus.
The carrot that keeps both clubs on the go is that the third-place finisher gets the decisive seventh game at home, should the series go a full seven games.
“Honestly, for us to be at .500 means more to me than finishing third,” Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton said, “because at one time in January we were 11 games under .500. The bait (the No. 3 seed in the playoffs) is still on the table, but we’re happy so far with what we’ve accomplished.”
Banner year for Ference
Applause keeps building for Brad Ference, the Spokane Chiefs’ 17-year-old rookie.
Chosen WHL West Division rookie of the year last week, Ference is a finalist for the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s top rookie.
The rookie of the year and other winners will be announced at the league’s March 18 awards banquet - the night after Ference and his teammates are honored at the Chiefs’ annual awards dinner at the Ag Trade Center.
Tickets at $25 for the Chiefs’ March 17 dinner and program are on sale at the club’s Arena office (call 535-PUCK).
Expected to go early in the June 21 NHL Entry Draft, Ference - at 6-foot-3 - is the complete package, general manager Tim Speltz said.
“Brad is a little bit of a throwback in that he brings a lot more intensity to the game than is the standard any more. You don’t see players with his kind of grit as often as you used to,” Speltz said.
A physical player, Ference “skates well, is good with the puck and understands the game,” Speltz said.
Although Ference wound up ninth among rookies in the Best in the West poll (see below), that vote includes players of all ages who are in their first WHL season, including 19-year-old Scott King of Kelowna.
Rookies of the year designated by their teams are usually younger players.
Survey says …
Ajay Baines of the Kamloops Blazers and 17-year-old superstar Patrick Marleau of Seattle were big winners in the ninth annual Best in the West poll, determined by a vote of players, coaches and general managers in the Western Hockey League West Divison.
Conducted by beat writer Eric Degerman of the Tri-City Herald, the Best in the West is the most accurate gauge of who’s who in the division.
Baines was named top defensive forward, best faceoff man and most underrated player.
Marleau is the best pro prospect, top offensive player and most accurate shooter.
Scott Parker, the Deer Park High School grad, who grew up in Eagle River, Alaska, and played with the Junior B Spokane Braves, is the West’s toughest player.
Other Best in the West winners - Prince George defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski, hardest shot; Tri-City’s Brian Boucher, top goaltender and most valuable to his team; Seattle’s Randy Perry, top defensive defenseman; Seattle’s Tyler Willis, most irritating; Kelowna’s Scott King, rookie of the year; and Kamloops’ Donnie Kinney, most improved.
Portland swept front-office accolades. Top coach is the Winter Hawks’ Brent Peterson. Executive of the year is Portland GM Ken Hodge. Highest-rated referee is Tom Kowal.
Although the Chiefs had no No. 1 picks, center Trent Whitfield was second to Marleau as best skater and received votes in four other categories, including most valuable to his team. Whitfield was fourth in the most valuable vote.
Three of the top 10 pro prospects are Spokane players - Brad Ference (7th), Ty Jones (9th) and Whitfield (10th).
Three of the West’s most accurate shooters are Chiefs. They are Joe Cardarelli (6th), Whitfield (7th) and John Cirjak (8th). Cardarelli (4th) and Cirjak (7th) were also prominent in voting for hardest shot.
Three Chiefs are among the top 10 offensive players in the West - Whitfield (3rd), Cirjak (7th) and Greg Leeb (8th).
Leeb finished third to Marleau and Whitfield as the best skater in the West. Voted most irritating last year, Leeb was a distant second to Willis as this season’s No. 1 irritant.
Ference was also voted the eighth-toughest player and was ninth both in the top rookie and most irritating player votes.
Other Chiefs, and their ranking in the top 10 - Mike Babcock, third, best coach; Hugh Hamilton, fourth, top defensive defensemen; Adam Magarrell, ninth, best 20-year-olds; Tim Speltz, fourth, top executive; Marian Cisar, fifth, best rookie; and Cirjak, 10th, most underrated.
The No. 1 fans live in Portland, with Spokane’s fans voted a close second.
Chiefs notes …
Roman and Jaroslava Cisar from Bratislava, Slovakia, picked a good time to visit the U.S. The couple will see the next three games in the Arena, hoping their son, Marian, continues his nine-game scoring streak. Cisar has nine goals and eight assists in his last nine outings.
The backup goaltender the Chiefs signed at the Feb. 24 trade deadline, Nolan McDonald, showed up with a tender knee, Speltz said. He has since been cleared to play, but it’s not likely, with 18-year-old Aren Miller designated as netminder of the future. “I wouldn’t say we won’t play him (McDonald), but our priority at this point is to play Aren Miller,” Speltz said.
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