CHL playoffs start tonight

[dash]

Quite a comeback by the Tigers tonight...Down 4-1 to Brandon, they rally back and score the winner at 19:35 of the 3rd period to defeat the Wheat Kings 5-4.

Series tied 2-2 heading back to the Hat for game 5. woot!

 

[pixburgher66]

You don't think Edmonton would take RNH to play with Hall & Eberle? I know they need defense but RNH will be tough to pass up.

Not that I know ANYTHING about most prospects out there (there's just soooo many names, and half the time you don't hear from these guys for another 2-5 years as they develop), but it always seems to me that it's better to take the offensive talent up top, unless you see some stud defensemen that can't be passed up. Defensemen always seem to be bred in the minors, no matter where they were drafted. I guess what I mean is, the big offensive producers tend to come from high picks, but the big defensemen always seem to come out of no where. So, if I were EDM I'd take another offensive gem if they were still on the board and then stockpile defensemen. JMO though, my very uneducated gut feeling.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Prince Albert 5-2 over Saskatoon
Red Deer 5-1 over Edmonton RNH 1G 1A
Spokane leads 3-1 over Chilliwack after 2 periods
Portland leads 6-2 over Everett just staring the 3rd period Nino with 2A.

 

[pixburgher66]

Wow. St John (no 's!) outscored their opponent 26-2 in a four game series. Wowza.

 

[dash]

Wow. St John (no 's!) outscored their opponent 26-2 in a four game series. Wowza.

Our Maritimer friend is quite pleased with that series result...

 

[juliansteed]

Wow. St John (no 's!) outscored their opponent 26-2 in a four game series. Wowza.

They sure did. Despres has looked sharp as always but didn't really need to be. He'll be called upon more when we play tougher opponents with more offense.

 

[juliansteed]

Our Maritimer friend is quite pleased with that series result...

Not just a Maritimer but a Sea Dogs season ticket holder. And yes I am rather pleased, although nobody down here is all that shocked. Cape Breton had a horrible year.

 

[juliansteed]

I'm also happy to see that the Moncton Wildcats are trailing former Wildcat Kirill Kabanov and his new team, the Lewiston Maineiacs, 3-1 in their series. Would have been nice if we could have eliminated them though.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Huge come from behind win tonight for Plymouth...

PLYMOUTH - The Plymouth Whalers have shown a flair for the dramatic in the third period all season long, coming from behind several times to gain victories, or at the very least points, after they were behind earlier in the game.

The Whalers saved their most dramatic comeback of the season for tonight against Kitchener in Game 4 of the Western Conference quarterfinals at Compuware Arena.

Trailing, 5-3 with two minutes left, Plymouth tied the game on goals by James Livingston at 18:15 and Jamie Devane at 19:52. Then, Stefan Noesen scored a power play goal at 13:23 of the overtime to give the Whalers a 6-5 win.

Plymouth now has a three-games-to-one lead over Kitchener, with Game 5 set for Friday in Kitchener at 7:30pm (7:15pm, 88.1FM WSDP).

Noesen led the Plymouth attack with two goals (second and third of the playoff) and two assists as the game's first star. RJ Mahalak (first), Austin Levi (first), Devane (second) and Livingston (first) also scored for the Whalers. Kitchener received two goals (4-5) and an assist from Gabriel Landeskog and singles from Michael Catenacci (2), Jamie Doornbosch (1) and Andrew Crescenzi (1).

Kitchener controlled stretches of the game and had leads of 1-0, 4-1 and 5-3, only to see the Whalers come back every time.

Landeskog's second goal of the night at 7:03 of the third period gave Kitchener and 5-3 and the Rangers seemed to have the game in control - until the final 2:10 of regulation, when Plymouth head coach Mike Vellucci pulled goaltender Scott Wedgewood for the extra attacker.

The Whalers kept pressure in the Kitchener zone and Livingston - stationed in traffic at the hashmarks - tipped Levi's shot from the high slot through the legs of Kitchener goaltender Brandon Maxwell to cut the Rangers lead to 5-4.

Wedgewood was inserted back in the Plymouth net and was pulled again when the Whalers retained control of the puck, winning three faceoffs in the Kitchener zone in the final minute of the regulation.

On the tying goal, Mitchell Heard beat Crescenzi on the draw. The puck went to Robbie Czarnik at the left point, who got a shot that Maxwell stopped but allowed a rebound. The puck went to the left wing side of the goal to Noesen who took a shot but it was blocked. The puck pinballed to Devane in front of the net, who snapped the puck home through traffic with eight seconds remaining.

Again, Kitchener controlled parts of the overtime, oushooting Plymouth, 12-4, in the extra session. But Kitchener defenseman Cody Sol took an interference penalty at 12:30 and the Whalers scored on the ensuing power play.

Tyler Brown had the puck at the high slot in the Kitchener zone and found Beau Schmitz, who skated to the right circle and passed the puck across to the left circle to Noesen, who one-timed the shot home.

"We work on that play in practice," Noesen said of his game-winning goal. "I don't think I got all of it (on the shot), but it was enough to get it by him."

Noesen was asked about the resolve of the Whalers, who have come back many times from deficits to win this season.

"We've proven we can beat any team in this league," he said. "The third period is our period. We seem to get off to slow starts, and we have to work on that. But we seem to pick it up."

Kitchener outshot Plymouth, 57-43.

Here's the rest of the Plymouth-Kitchener series:

Game 5 - Friday, April 1 - Plymouth at Kitchener, 7:30pm.

Game 6 - Saturday, April 2 - Kitchener at Plymouth, 7:05pm (*) if necessary.

Game 7 - Monday, April 4 - Plymouth at Kitchener, 7:00pm (*) if necessary.

 

[naslundfan19]

Spokane wins Game 4, 4-2. Can win the series Saturday night.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I'm also happy to see that the Moncton Wildcats are trailing former Wildcat Kirill Kabanov and his new team, the Lewiston Maineiacs, 3-1 in their series. Would have been nice if we could have eliminated them though.

I really hope Kabanov pans out. He's got a lot of skill but his numbers this year haven't been very good. He has added some weight though. I think he's up to 189. He says he plans on spending the summer in L.I..

 

[juliansteed]

I really hope Kabanov pans out. He's got a lot of skill but his numbers this year haven't been very good. He has added some weight though. I think he's up to 189. He says he plans on spending the summer in L.I..

Yeah I haven't seen much of him this season since he was traded out of the division. I still think he will pan out for the Isles and be a steal as a 3rd rounder.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Yeah I haven't seen much of him this season since he was traded out of the division. I still think he will pan out for the Isles and be a steal as a 3rd rounder.

He missed a lot of time due to a family emergency back in Russia early in the season. 11G 16A 27 points in 38 games this year. He did have a 1G 2A in the last playoff game.

 

[juliansteed]

He missed a lot of time due to a family emergency back in Russia early in the season. 11G 16A 27 points in 38 games this year. He did have a 1G 2A in the last playoff game.

Against his former team in their building. I'm sure they must have loved that!

Now that he is no longer a Moncton Wildcat I don't mind cheering for him and I actually hope he becomes a superstar in the NHL. I wouldn't mind if the Maineiacs make it to the 3rd round because then they would most likely play the Sea Dogs. Would be a fun series.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I remember after Kabanov was traded the coach of Lewiston was very excited about the offensive talent on the Maineiacs. How good are they? Could they give Saint John a tough series or do they need a MIRACLE like everyone else in the Q.

 

[juliansteed]

I remember after Kabanov was traded the coach of Lewiston was very excited about the offensive talent on the Maineiacs. How good are they? Could they give Saint John a tough series or do they need a MIRACLE like everyone else in the Q.

They'd likely need a miracle, but they'd probably be able to at least keep the games somewhat close and maybe win 1 or 2. They did actually beat Saint John in Lewiston in December so you never know.

I'm not sure just how good they are. A lot of people picked Moncton to beat them but it doesn't look like that will happen. I only got to see them once this year. They use to be in the same division and we had a nice little rivalry and met 8 times a year.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Any team with six 30 goal scorers is going to be tough to beat. It looks like it's Saint Johns year in the Q.

Portland swept Everett in their 1st round series. I know some people believe a long layoff can hurt teams in the playoffs. I feel the exact opposite. If a team has some nagging injuries the sooner they can end a series the better.

 

[juliansteed]

Any team with six 30 goal scorers is going to be tough to beat. It looks like it's Saint Johns year in the Q.

Portland swept Everett in their 1st round series. I know some people believe a long layoff can hurt teams in the playoffs. I feel the exact opposite. If a team has some nagging injuries the sooner they can end a series the better.

Agreed. Although they actually "only" had 5 30 goal scorers. The next guy was Canucks' pick Steven Anthony who had 23. He missed some time early in the season at Canucks camp or he might have been able to come a bit closer.

Either way, they did score the most goals in the league while allowing the fewest, so the Q title really is Saint John's (the "'s" is only there to indicate possession Pix )to lose as long as they stay reasonably healthy. And for that reason I agree that the more time off, the better. Not only to help heal any nagging injuries but to reduce the risk of new ones.

 

[juliansteed]

If the Isles still have their own 2nd round pick, don't be too surprised if they end up taking a Sea Dog. Besides Huberdeau, there are 3 other players who could go in the 1st round but could also go early 2nd.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Agreed. Although they actually "only" had 5 30 goal scorers. The next guy was Canucks' pick Steven Anthony who had 23. He missed some time early in the season at Canucks camp or he might have been able to come a bit closer.

Either way, they did score the most goals in the league while allowing the fewest, so the Q title really is Saint John's (the "'s" is only there to indicate possession Pix )to lose as long as they stay reasonably healthy. And for that reason I agree that the more time off, the better. Not only to help heal any nagging injuries but to reduce the risk of new ones.

Huberdeau scored 15 goals last year which is good for a rookie. How good is he? Would he be putting up anywhere near the numbers he's put up this year with a less talented team?