HAT TRICKS!?!?

[amsfan05]

where were they when you guys needed them? honestly though i was very surprised spokane only put up one goal against us. pickard definitely helped out, but for those of you not at the game don't let the shot total fool you. most of the 40 plus shots were softies.

great game by both teams though, i can't wait for playoffs. hope we get another epic series.

[LifelongChiefsFan]

Spokane has had trouble scoring in Kennewick this season, it's not anything new. 6 goals in 5 games down there now and with those kinds of numbers it's pretty surprising that Spokane actually managed to win a game at Toyota. Scoring down there is something the Chiefs are going to want to figure out if they want to go anywhere in the playoffs this year. I know there's still 10 games left and Tri has to play in Spokane twice more where they haven't won yet this year, but it's looking more and more like the Ams will take the division. In all likelihood Spokane will finish third (not a guarantee by any means though) and if that's the case Spokane would have to win a game in Tri-City to beat the Americans should they meet in the playoffs. With the way they've played down there so far this year, I have a hard time seeing them win a road playoff game against the Ams. But we'll see how things unfold, hopefully these two teams do meet up again in the playoffs. It would be another fun series to watch.

[amsfan05]

spokane will catch us. we're up by 8 pts but the chiefs have 2 games in hand, along with the 3 remaining head to head games. i see us possibly winning the next home game here and thats it vs spokane. i see no damn way the boys win a game up there, always play like crap up there.

[dondo]

We'll have to try to keep the Chiefs at bay on Tuesday vci34

I would love the team that played them in Spokane to show up and not the squad we have showing up lately. :thumb:

[Pete76]

yeah, no hat tricks ... bummer ... what was even worse was the opening goal less than 20 seconds in to the game

[amsfan05]

were you @ the game pete? honestly it was a beauty, the way tokarski was playing though im amazed he didnt stop that shot too. honestly, if he goes down your team is done. he is the only reason that game wasnt 5-0 in the 2nd. he stopped lke 4 breakaways in that period alone. great performance he had.

[Pete76]

no, watched it on TV ... and unfortunately the team defense (forwards included) did not help him against Vancouver tonight ... our 4th line had the only two goals ...

I think that both of us (spoke and tri) had better teams last year ... I see us winning the first playoff series, and then out in the second round in 5 games ... I think Calgary wins the WHL, beating Vancouver in 6.

[HomerSimpson]

I actually like Vancouver in a series vs. the Hitmen. I think the Hitmen definitely have more talent and depth - but I think the Giants have the right mix of talent and role players. Watching the game last night, I was very impressed by the way their depth players stepped up - even though we did a pretty decent job against the Pierro-Zabotel/Kane line, we couldn't keep the rest of the team off the board.

They remind me alot of the team that won the Memorial Cup last year. Plus, they have Don Hay. That alone gives them a huge advantage.

[dondo]

I hoping that's true. The last time we played them it was pretty even for the first two periods and then we either sat back, or they just notched it up to another level and we got smoked.

Regardless if those two are the last teams standing in the Dub, you can't bet it'll be a good series and some good hockey to watch.

I have to say it was nice to see our boys step it up a bit last night. Neither 'tender was on their best game in the first, but in the second the Giants did what they have seemed to be unable to do lately -- namely keep the pressure up and force the Chiefs to work to get out of their end.

Our PP looked a lot better to my eyes as well, feet moving and taking shots with open looks, instead of looking for that perfect play.

A shame these two teams only face each other twice this season.

[amsfan05]

you know i have only seen calgary 2 times this year, once here in tri before they acquired broda and once on tv after. both times they didn't look like the team everybody is making them out to be. i'm sure they're lots better with broda than they were back in december. however tri did beat them 4-1, and as i recall we had very good control of the game.

as far as vancouver, from what i've seen they are the most impressive team in the league by far. however so far tri does own a 2-1 series advantage, with the one loss being a game before the fadden trade (Where mestery was -2).

my personal opinion on spokane is a very biased opinion, but i don't think the chiefs are geared to repeat this year. if you had asked me before the game in tri last saturday, i would've said the chiefs could do it. after seeing you guys without cowen the d-men just look shaky to me, and tokarski can only take you guys so far. that cowen injury is the only reason i don't see the chiefs repeating.

as far as tri, i feel we're a better team than we were last year. we have a lot more experience in playoffs now. pickard is a year older, and i think much better (though very inconsisten, which scares me). we have more than 1 line that can score. and we don't have a cherry picker as our leading scorer. the only thing i see that will hurt us is the lack of physical presence in our own end.

my prediction is vancouver & tri for the Western final, and the winner knocking out brandon in 5.

[Pete76]

You really think this years Ams team is better than last years?

Last years Ams team would have won the memorial cup had Tokarski not played his butt off in all those OT games. Then again, you have seen the Ams play a lot more than me ... but I have not been impressed them as much this year.

Vancouver's 2 road losses to Seattle in February are the main reason I favor Calgary.

Oh yeah, congrats Bowman on the Hat Trick plus one last night;)

[HomerSimpson]

I personally don't think this year's Ams are anywhere near last year's Ams. The West isn't as good this year as it was last year; and I don't think they are even going to match their point total from last year - which to me is enough to say they aren't nearly as good. The Western Finals last year may very well have been the Memorial Cup (it sure seems like it was the WHL championship the way Lethbridge was knocked around) - if Tri doesn't get outscored 3-0 in the third in game 7, they may very well have done just what the Chiefs did. Like the Chiefs, I don't see the Ams going that deep again this year. They might make it to the conference finals, but getting past Kelowna and Spokane to even face Vancouver is going to be tough - and then comes the formitable task of actually downing the Giants.

I just don't see anyone knocking off that team.

[amsfan05]

honestly i do feel this years ams are better than last years team.

1- Offensively we've only gotten better with more depth. we can honestly roll 4 lines with each line having a real chance to score vs last year where it was the colton yellow horn show. Alot of teams have a hard time matching our overall team speed.

2- Defensively we're only missing 2 d-men from last years team. 1 being TJ Fast who i would throw into the offensive category anyway. 2 being Eric Mestery, and well just ask Lethbridge about him. Our top 4 D-men (Toll, Plouffe, Schmidt & McColm) are much better this year with some playoff experience and our other pair is any combo of McIntosh, Sutherland, and Werbowski who are all semi-experienced.

3- Goaltending is much, much better as long as Pickard doesn't have a bad game, which he hasn't in several games.


as far as knocking of kelowna or spokane to get the giants, i have faith. if it all pans out how i'm hoping and expecting we should have Everett, Kelowna, and Vancouver. barring any upsets of course, which are bound to happen somewhere along the way.

as far as knocking of the giants as i posted earlier, look at our record vs vancouver already, i think we might be the only team with a winning record vs them. granted it's out of 3 games, but it's still a winning record so far.

[dondo]

actually amsfan05 Vancouver has beat Tri twice this season:

Oct 29th Van 4 Tri 3 (in Vancouver)
Nov 29th Van 3 Tri 5 (in Tri-Cities)
we didn't lose at all in December .. our only away game was
Dec 13th Van 3 Tri 1 (in Tri-Cities)

three games Van leads the series 2-1, not Tri-Cities .. not that we won't be in tough next week when they come to town.

and those road losses to Seattle were an anomaly .. yeah an anomaly :thumb: :D the sun was in our eyes and and and .. Seattle has some sort of Kent voodoo juju going on vci11 -- as much as the T-Birds have struggled on the road this year they only have 9 home losses I believe.

[amsfan05]

oh sorry about that dondo, it was after last nights game i read the scores on the website. i guess i learned a lesson, don't post "facts" or "stats" after drinking. that's 2 misposts i made due to my drunken reading lol.

[Chief Jeff]

honestly i do feel this years ams are better than last years team.

1- Offensively we've only gotten better with more depth. we can honestly roll 4 lines with each line having a real chance to score vs last year where it was the colton yellow horn show. Alot of teams have a hard time matching our overall team speed.

2- Defensively we're only missing 2 d-men from last years team. 1 being TJ Fast who i would throw into the offensive category anyway. 2 being Eric Mestery, and well just ask Lethbridge about him. Our top 4 D-men (Toll, Plouffe, Schmidt & McColm) are much better this year with some playoff experience and our other pair is any combo of McIntosh, Sutherland, and Werbowski who are all semi-experienced.

3- Goaltending is much, much better as long as Pickard doesn't have a bad game, which he hasn't in several games.


as far as knocking of kelowna or spokane to get the giants, i have faith. if it all pans out how i'm hoping and expecting we should have Everett, Kelowna, and Vancouver. barring any upsets of course, which are bound to happen somewhere along the way.

as far as knocking of the giants as i posted earlier, look at our record vs vancouver already, i think we might be the only team with a winning record vs them. granted it's out of 3 games, but it's still a winning record so far.


The problem with the analysis comparing last year with this year is the quality of the US division. Last year it was the best division in the Dub, this year it is the worst. Everett and Seattle are way down from last year, especially Everett. Portland is actually the only team in the division that is better, and that isn't saying much. Tri has very similiar numbers this year against MUCH weaker teams. Having said that they probably have the best chance to knock off Vancouver, Especially since the Chiefs may be down to two healthy defensemen by playoff time the way things are going.

[LifelongChiefsFan]

I'd have to agree with most posters in here that the Americans aren't as good of a team this year as they were last year. I'd compare this team more to the 2006-07 Americans who were also very good, but ran into a hot team in Seattle in the first round (Tri will get a much better matchup this year). And yes the US division is much weaker this year. Everett won 39 games last year and finished in 4th place and both Tri and Spokane won at least 50. This year the third place team will win fewer that 39 and it's possible that no one will reach 50 wins.


At the start of the playoffs last year, Tri-City was probably the favorite to win the WHL championship. This year I'd put definitely Vancouver, Calgary ahead of them, and put Tri on par with Kelowna, Brandon and Saskatoon with Spokane a smidgen below. Tri-City could definitely win the WHL championship though, but even if they do I still don't think this year's team is quite as good as last year's. JMO