Chiefs Renew Rivalry With Ams Spokane Opens Series At Home Wednesday With Its Old Nemesis
Twelve games weren’t enough.
After a dozen meetings from September to March, the Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans assemble again for the first round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.
The sixth-seeded Americans and the top-seeded Chiefs are in the Arena Wednesday night for Game One of a best-of-seven first-round series that continues Friday and Saturday nights in Kennewick.
Although the two split 12 games, the Chiefs dominated the last four by a combined score of 28-6.
After winning their second regular-season division championship in 15 years, Spokane has to be considered a one-sided favorite.
Only one No. 6 seed has ever beaten a top seed in the first round in the West. Still, Chiefs coach Mike Babcock is espousing the cautious approach, perhaps remembering the last time a Spokane team was the West’s top seed.
It was the spring of ‘96, when the Chiefs had to win four straight to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the opening round against sixth-seeded Portland.
But apart from a less-than-advantageous playoff format - two of the first three games are at Tri-City - Spokane enjoys every advantage.
The Chiefs have the hot goaltender - two hot goaltenders in fact. Tyler MacKay just posted the lowest goals-against average in Chiefs’ history (2.53), bettering David Lemanowicz’ single-season record of 2.89. He’s fourth in the league in goals-against, and second on the Chiefs’ depth chart.
MacKay backs up Jason LaBarbera.
That’s indicative of the depth GM Tim Speltz has bargained for and Babcock has developed in a year when Spokane soared from last in 1999 to first in 2000.
This is the time when coaches shorten their bench, roll their top lines and rotate their four best defensemen. But apart from his aces who totaled 100 points in the West standings, Babcock can play a couple of X factors.
Mason Wallin, for one, has come on strong. Ryan Thorpe, bothered by a shoulder problem, is the forgotten man. He was the go-to guy a year ago. Jeff Lucky is an emerging star. They’re good enough to be factors in this series or beyond, but ice time will be hard to come by with veterans enjoying career years.
Brent McDonald is on fire, with eight game-winning goals. Derek Schutz comes in rested after a two-game suspension, scoring more than a point a game. Now that Tim Smith isn’t double-shifting and pressing to win the WHL assists title - and Schutz is back to center his line - look for him to make things happen.
It isn’t much of a stretch to see the Chiefs winning in a four-game sweep. It’s not unfair to suggest that Spokane could rest its top line and still win comfortably.
But that would be dismissing the coaching prowess of Tri-City’s Don Hay, who this year was handcuffed by injury. Jarsolav Kristek, Darrell Hay and K.C. Timmons did not play in Saturday night’s loss to Spokane.
The Chiefs will probably see them in Wednesday night’s playoff opener.
Yet the Ams, 1-12 in their last 13 games, are short-staffed, even on their best nights.
That LaBarbera at 19 has yet to win a playoff game is of some concern around the league, but he has been best in big games since his January trade from Portland.
The media consensus around the league is that all three top seeds will advance, that second-seeded Prince George is too much for the clutch-and-grab Kelowna Rockets, and that the punishing Seattle Thunderbirds will handle the over-achieving Kamloops Blazers.
If that holds, Spokane will sit out the second round while Seattle and Prince George knock heads in what promises to be a physical best-of-five semifinal.
Spokane - 34-14-2 in games against the West - awaits the survivor, provided, of course, there is no ambush this week and next.
The fourth game of the Spokane-Tri-City series is a week from Wednesday night, back in the Arena. Game Five, if necessary, is Thursday night, also in Spokane.