One down...another to go.

The Chiefs closed out their first round playoff series with a 5-3 win over Seattle last Saturday night at the Arena to win the best of seven 4 games to 1.

Drayson Bowman led the way with 2 goals and an assist, while Mitch Wahl chipped in a power play goal and 2 assists on the night. Dustin Tokarski turned away 31 Thunderbird shots as the Chiefs advanced to the next round.

It was a series that went quicker than I anticipated. During the regular season, the Chiefs won the series 5-4 and it was every bit as close as the final result. I expected more of the same in the playoffs. After the teams split the first two games in Spokane by 2-1 scores in both contests, who would have guessed the Chiefs would win 3 in a row to close things out? Game three, as it turns out, really set the tone for the rest of the series for Spokane.

The Chiefs scored for the first time on the power play in the series with two tallies, and the penalty kill, which led the league during the regular season, more than did its' part, turning away all 6 T-Bird opportunities anddd scoring 2 shorthanded goals.

The line of Levko Koper, Tyler Johnson, and Mitch Wahl, the team's highest scoring line during the regular season, broke loose in game 3 with 8 points, including a career high 4 point night from Koper, after failing to score a point in the first two games. Once that line got on track, it seemed to open things up for everyone. The return of defenseman Trevor Glass was huge as well. He racked up 3 power play assists in the two wins in Seattle, and seemed to have a calming effect on the entire team, let alone the defensive corp.

The team will get another boost this weekend when they welcome back veteran defenseman Michael Reddington. Redder has been done with a virus for the last 3 plus weeks, and getting him back on the ice with his partner Trevor Glass will be a hugeee boost for the Chiefs. Defenseman Corey Baldwin also looks to be ahead of schedule in his rehab from a broken hand, and there's hope he could be back in the lineup as soon as next week.

This will allow the team to not only play bigger, which will be hugeee against Vancouver, but also give the Chiefs more flexibility with their lineup. Dustin Donaghy, who filled in admirably defensively while the team was shorthanded, will now return up front, and with Ryan Letts, will give Spokane the ability to physically work on Vancouver's defensive corp. Like Seattle, Vancouver plays 4 defenseman pretty regularly. The more guys like Donaghy, Letts, and Brady Calla can wear on them, the more it will open things for guys like Bowman, Wahl, Ondrej Roman, Johnson and Koper up front. It will be a keyyy part of this series.

The matchup with Vancouver is the first time since 1993, and only the second time in history, that the last two Memorial Cup champions have met in the playoffs. Ironically enough, the '91 champion Chiefs were involved in the '93 matchup when they played the '92 champion Kamloops Blazers. The Blazers, who were coached by now Vancouver coach Don Hay, won that series 3-0 in the best of 5. Let's just history doesn't repeat itself here.

It's also a rematch of last year's Western semi-final, when the Chiefs ousted the defending Memorial Cup champs in 6 games, 4-2. Spokane had home ice advantage in that series, but lost it in a game one loss. After winning game 2, the Chiefs went to Vancouver and won 2 out of 3, including an impressive 4-0 win in game 5 that launched them to a game 6 2-1 victory. Spokane will have to be just as good, if not better on the road this time around, as the Giants, who took the top seed in the West this year with an impressive 119 points, will hold home ice advantage. Vancouver won 32 of 36 games in regulation at home during the regular season and in the playoffs this year, so the Chiefs will be hard pressed to win one, let alone 2 up North.

Special teams, as they usually are, will be key in the playoffs. The Chiefs were tops in the league on the penalty kill, Vancouver was third. Spokane was 4th on the power play, the Giants were 2nd only to league leading Calgary. Who wins this battle will go a longg way as to who will win this series.

I just hope the Chiefs come out with the same confidence and determination they showed in the first round series with Seattle. Vancouver is a team that hasn't been pushed this year. I'll be anxious to see how they respond when they are. Spokane has been pushed and battled all year through a season of illness, injury and player loss. It would be good to see the defending champs make Vancouver earn everything they get in the series. I think we'll have a good playoff series to watch.

Games one and two will be in Vancouver Friday and Saturday. Friday's game is at 7:30, with Saturday's at 7. I'll be on the air a half hour before on 1510 KGA with the pregame show.

Games three and 4 will be back in Spokane Tuesday and Wednesday at 7pm. I know it's not exactly the ideal days for fans, but this team certainly deserves the backing of the community in what will be a very tough series. Home ice fans could certainly make the difference, so come support the boys in their quest to win the toughest trophy in sports.

We'll see you at rink...and Go Chiefs Go!

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