The Seattle Thunderbirds are hot; the Prince George Cougars are not.
However, this trend doesn’t mean an automatic Seattle victory against P.G. in their WHL first round playoff series.
In fact, depending on one’s point of view, the Cougars have one of the best chances to pull off a Conference quarter-final upset, considering the Cats are 8-2 in their last 10 games in Seattle over the last five years.
The Thunderbirds, however, may be peaking at the right time.
Seattle had an 11-game win streak end on the final weekend of the regular season, but that was in overtime, and came after the team had already clinched first place in the U.S. Division.
The Thunderbirds are 13-0-1 in their last 14 and 17-1-1 in their last 19.
On the other hand, the Cougars ended the regular season with four straight losses in regulation and have dropped 10 of their last 11 on the road.
Prince George had an excellent first half of the season but faltered only after it became clear they were stuck in the standings.
The Cougars knew for months they were going to be in the playoffs and I am not convinced it mattered to them if they were 3rd or 4th in the B.C. Division.
By finishing 4th and securing the first wild-card spot, the Cats have arguably a better draw than the 3rd place Kamloops Blazers.
P.G. gets Seattle in round one and if they win, would play Everett or Portland in round two.
Kamloops has to play the defending champion Kelowna Rockets and should the Blazers pull off the upset, they would have to face the regular season champion Victoria Royals in the second round, unless the Royals lose to Spokane, which isn’t likely.
Discipline will be paramount for both teams, particularly the Cougars, who led the league in penalty minutes (17.9 minutes a game), four plus minutes more than Seattle (who were 7th at 13.6 minutes a game).
The Thunderbirds had the league’s best penalty kill and third best power play while the Cougars were third on the penalty kill but just 17th on the power play.
All the fancy stats are nice, but the series will likely be decided by who has the best goalie.
Seattle became a much better team after acquiring 20-year-old Landon Bow in a mid-season trade with Swift Current.
Bow’s .923 save percentage is second best in the WHL, only behind former Cariboo Cougar Griffin Outhouse of Victoria, who played in just half of the games that Bow did.
The Cougars hope Ty Edmonds shines like he did before Christmas when he had the best save percentage in the league.
Despite Edmonds finishing with a .913 save percentage, he seemed to re-gain his early season form down the stretch in late February and March.
This match-up has the makings of a six or seven game series where home ice may not be a significant factor even though the Thunderbirds lost just five games in regulation at ShoWare Center.
One of those losses was against Prince George.
Seattle, on the other hand, seems to enjoy playing at CN Centre where they are 7-3 in the last five years.
I will make a different type of prediction and suggest that the Cougars will go further in the playoffs than the Blazers, even though Kamloops is riding a nine game win streak.
The WHL playoffs began Thursday with the Edmonton Oil Kings raising eyebrows with a 4-2 win in Brandon against the Eastern Conference champion Wheat Kings.
Sure it’s only one game, but many thought the Wheat Kings would sweep.
Just by stealing the opener on the road, the Oil Kings result is a reminder that the playoffs are its own entity, and while often the higher seed advances, the journey to get their is often fascinating.
Tale of the Tape
Seattle Thunderbirds (45-23-4-0, 1st place U.S. Div.)
Prince George Cougars (36-31-3-2, 1st Wild Card)
Head to head 2-2
Power Play SEA 23.7% (3rd), PG 18.5% (17th)
Penalty Kill SEA 85.3% (1st), PG 82.1 % (3rd)
Key Players
Seattle Mathew Barzal, C, (27-61-88), Ryan Gropp, LW (34-36-70), Ethan Bear, D (19-46-65), Landon Bow, G (2.49 GAA .923 save percentage)
Prince George Chase Witala, LW (40-39-79), Jesse Gabrielle, F (40-35-75), Jansen Harkins, F (24-33-57), Ty Edmonds, G (2.75 GAA .913 save percentage)
PG Cougars vs Seattle
Head to Head Record 2015-16 Regular Season PG 2-2-0-0 Seattle 2-2-0-0
Head to Head Record 2014-15 Regular Season PG 2-2-0-0 Seattle 2-1-1-0
Last 5 Years record between teams PG 11-7-1-1 Seattle 9-7-1-3
Prince George vs. Seattle Last 5 Years record at CN Centre PG 3-5-1-1 Seattle 7-3-0-0
Prince George vs. Seattle Last 5 Years record at Seattle PG 8-2-0-0 Seattle 2-4-1-3
Previous Meetings This Season Seattle 4 @ Prince George 0 (Jan 13 2016)
Seattle 2 @ Prince George 6 (Jan 12 2016)
Prince George 6 @ Seattle 2 (Dec 15 2015)
Prince George 1 @ Seattle 4 (Oct 3 2015)
Seattle vs. Prince George First Round Schedule
Game 1 Prince George @ Seattle Friday, March 25, 7:35pm
Game 2 Prince George @ Seattle Saturday, March 26, 7:05pm
Game 3 Seattle @ Prince George Tuesday, March 29, 7pm
Game 4 Seattle @ Prince George Wednesday, March 30, 7pm
Game 5 Prince George @ Seattle Friday, April 1, 7:35pm*
Game 6 Seattle @ Prince George Sunday, April 3, 7pm*
Game 7 Prince George @ Seattle Tuesday, April 5, 7:05pm*
* if necessary
#
One intriguing factor for the Cougars home games will be attendance.
Tuesday and Wednesday home dates are not normally a big draw in P.G. but this is the playoffs and the Cougars and their die-hard supporters have placed high expectations on winning a round or two.
Prince George finished with an average attendance of 3,122 over 36 home games in the 2015-16 regular season, which is an increase of 270 (nearly 9.5 %) from the 2,852 in 2014-15.
The WHL averaged just 10 more fans per game than last season.
From the Quote Rack:
Kobe Bryant had his dislocated middle finger popped back into place. Thank goodness. Without use of his middle finger, Kobe was totally unable to communicate with teammates during practice.
Brad Dickson Omaha World Herald
Kevin Spacey seems to be the unofficial new mascot of the Florida Panthers, who seem to keep winning when he’s involved with them. Let’s just hope their winning ways aren’t a ‘House of Cards’.
Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
Conrad Dobler, 65, a retired NFL offensive guard, said in an interview talking about his memory loss. “I have six kids, I don’t even know their names.” Sad, but in the NFL there are young men without CTE who don’t even know how many kids they HAVE.
Contributor Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
Johnny Manziel has hired “super agent” Drew Rosenhaus. Look for Johnny to claim for the effects of CTE when he asked for “Hit Me” at the blackjack tables.
Comedy writer TC Chong of Vancouver http://alwaysfunny.com/
And in case you missed it:
An 80-year-old fan at a Philadelphia game threw her bra on the ice. Not since 1974 and again in 1975 have the Flyers skated with a pair of cups.
Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
Hartley Miller is the sports director and morning news anchor for 94.3 the Goat. He also is the 94.3
radio color commentator for P.G. Cougars home games. His column appears Fridays on
myprincegeorgenow.com. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]
Follow him on twitter: @Hartley_Miller
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