BTN Dynamic Dozen: Tri-City’s lead tightens, Spokane has amazing surge

In the words of AC/DC, it's a long way to the top. At this point in the season, it is tough to dislodge the high-ranked teams from their perches, so that makes the week the Spokane Chiefs had all the more amazing in a Dynamic Dozen context.

The way the rankings work are such that it is relatively easy to go from the ranks of the middling to the kind of good. To go from the good to the top 10 in the week is tough, but coach Don Nachbaur's Chiefs did so by running the table against U.S. Division-leading Tri-City and in a two-game series with the potent Portland Winterhawks. They served notice there's now a four-horse race in the WHL's Western Conference, the most represented conference in this week's ranking.

The Americans, despite losing to two other ranked teams, hold on top spot by the skin of their teeth. Conveniently for all, they're down to a tissue-thin lead heading into a week when they'll meet second-ranked Edmonton.

1. Tri-City Americans, WHL (.565 RPI, —) — What's better heading into a showdown of conference leaders, to be on a win streak or have been tested by top teams? Tri-City no doubt hopes it's the latter, since they had tough outings against two of our ranked clubs, Kamloops and Spokane, last week. One could give the Ams a partial pass on those results. The losses to the Chiefs and Blazers came in their ninth and 10th games in an 18-day stretch. That's almost too much hockey. One bonus for Jim Hiller's team is they do not play back-to-back during a three-game Alberta swing this week.

2. Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL (.563, +1) — The Edmonton hockey team whose rebuild has actually worked banked three more wins last week, with scoring star Michael St. Croix potting a pair of hat tricks. Since this is the first time the Oil Kings franchise has contended, it's only human nature to take longer to be convinced how good they are. One point in their favour is they have been able to continue winning despite the absence of star defenceman Griffin Reinhart, who's been out for the past two weeks. Beating Tri-City on Wednesday night might remove any remaining skepticism.

3. Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL (.555, +3) — There is a sense Saint John is starting to pull the pieces together. Since getting dusted by Shawinigan on Jan. 8, they have won three games by a combined 15-5 and their big guns, namely Charlie "Charles" Coyle (five goals in four games), are accounted for. Star forward Jonathan Huberdeau is now averaging an even two points per game after getting five assists in two games last week. They might extend this win streak all the way to their Feb. 4 rematch with the Cataractes.

4. Portland Winterhawks, WHL (.553, -2) — There probably was a silver lining somewhere in those consecutive losses to Spokane. For starters, a team cannot have too smooth a ride, and having the bus blow a tire on the way to a game is the exact opposite of a smooth ride. Sven Bärtschi also scored his first goal since recovering from the head trauma he suffered while playing for the Swiss world junior squad. Portland does get a return game vs. rival Spokane this week which is, alas, their final regular-season meeting with the Chiefs.

5. Shawinigan Cataractes, QMJHL (.553, -1) — Now that the MasterCard Memorial Cup hosts are playing the way they're supposed to, they probably have an idea of what to expect. Last Saturday's tilt in Gatineau, where the Olympiques were extra-physical and went out of their way to agitate, is probably the template for what coach Éric Veilleux's team will face the rest of the season. The Cataractes didn't handle it well, with a late-game line brawl breaking out. Anyway, it's onward and upward for Shawinigan, which has a four-pointer vs. Victoriaville on Wednesday.

6. Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL (.541, +3) — Had their first 2-1 win all season last Sunday, which was no doubt comforting since they have a big matchup against Shawinigan coming up fast on Wednesday. The Tigres shored up their back end with moves earlier this week for veteran defencemen Matthew Hobbs and Daniel Milan, but neither has been in plus since coming to Victoriaville.

7. Plymouth Whalers, OHL (.540, —) — The Whalers have had the exact same ranking for three consecutive weeks, despite a 1-2-0-0 in their past three games. The way they wiped out Sault Ste. Marie 8-0 last Saturday suggests that was a hiccup. Keep an eye on how they perform this weekend, when they do a northern Barrie-Sudbury-Sault Ste. Marie swing, three games in four nights. Centre Stefan Noesen is having a great month, with four goals and 14 points in nine January matches.

8. Moose Jaw Warriors, WHL (.539, —) — Injuries and defenceman Dylan McIlrath's suspension for a head shot has left the Warriors short-staffed for a three-game week. Winger Andrew Johnson, who's been a good source of secondary scoring, went down last weekend. The upshot for Moose Jaw is they have been the steadiest team in the Dub's Eastern Conference. They rested starting goalie Luke Siemens last week; let's see if the 19-year-old comes back refreshed and relaxed. Meantime, trade-deadline additions Cam Braes and James Henry have each scored at a point-per-game clip in their first fortnight since coming east.

9. Spokane Chiefs, WHL (.538, +11) — The most impressive part of their six-point week was probably gutting out the Sunday night win over Portland despite having little left in the tank. Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick Dominik Uher seems to have kicked it up a notch since returning from the world junior, with six multi-point games already this month. One easy way to sum up how Spokane gets it done without a ton of star power is up front is to point out their leading scorer is actually New York Islanders-drafted D-man Brenden Kichton, but Uher might negate that very soon at the rate he's producing points.

10. Kamloops Blazers, WHL (.538, —) — It is tempting to say the Blazers are this season's Owen Sound, the team which rises to the top one season after finishing ninth in a 10-team conference. One major difference is those Attack did it despite being a heavily penalized team. Kamloops' edge has stemmed from being one of the league's most level-headed teams. Only Brandon, Kootenay and Regina have been penalized less. Kamloops' balance is also impressive: Tim Bozon, J.C. Lipon, Colin Smith and captain Chase Schaber each have at least 40 points while maintaining a plus/minus of at least +20. The Blazers are playing better than anybody in the Dub, but their strength-of-schedule (55th out of 59 Canadian Hockey League teams) has dragged down their ranking.

11. Quebec Remparts, QMJHL (.537, -6) — They're reeling thanks to injuries and a flu virus. Coach-GM Patrick Roy had only 18 players, including the goalies, at practice Monday, which does not augur well for a 3-in-3 weekend. Perhaps this is the way it was supposed to play out for the Remparts, who have faded to six points back of Shawinigan in the Telus East division. They really are not going for it this year like the MasterCard Memorial Cup hosts or division rivals in Victoriaville and even Chicoutimi.

12. London Knights, OHL (.536, —) — The big takeaway from the Knights' week is that they're not rushing Scott Harrington back from the shoulder injury he suffered while playing for Team Canada; the Penguins prospect remains "week-to-week." Harrington's absence has created a larger role for Montreal Canadiens first-rounder Jarred Tinordi, who seems to be seizing the day. The game-tying goal Tinordi scored in a shootout win at Owen Sound last Saturday — pinching down off the point and firing a slapshot through a maze of bodies — was a good proof of his increased confidence. One shouldn't make too much of the Knights struggling at home recently vs. the league's last-place teams, Erie and Kingston, since they have won 9-of-10 games. Erie's Ramis Sadikov and Kingston's Igor Bobkov were just dialled in during those two contests.

The next dozen — 13. Saskatoon Blades, WHL (.531, -2); 14. Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL (.528, +5); 15. Calgary Hitmen, WHL (.527, -2); 16. Niagara IceDogs, OHL (.524, -3); 17. Regina Pats, WHL (.522, -2); 18. Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL (.521, +3); 19. Acadie-Bathurst Titan, QMJHL (.519, -2); 20 (tied). Chicoutimi Saguenéens, QMJHL (.518, -4); 20 (tied). Kootenay Ice, WHL (.518, +2);
22. Brampton Battalion, OHL (.516, +2); 23. Rimouski Océanic, QMJHL (.509, —); 24. Ottawa 67's, OHL (.505, +11)

Hot teams — Spokane Chiefs, WHL (20th to ninth) and Ottawa 67's (35th to 24th), each up 11 spots. The common denominator? Each is led by an Ottawa Senators draft pick. The Chiefs are captained by Sennies sixth-rounder Darren Kramer and second-rounder Shane Prince has 19 points in the Soixante-Septs' past nine games.

Cold team — Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL, down 10 (42nd to 52nd).

Looking (nowhere but) up — Erie Otters, OHL (.408 RPI).

An explanation on rankings — Buzzing The Net uses Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) with a recency factor. RPI combines a team's record with the strength of its opponents to produce an overall rating. Our method also gives more weight to recently played games. Shootout wins and losses are classified as ties for philosophical and practical reasons. All three CHL leagues are considered equivalent in quality.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports . Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet (photo: Spokane Chiefs/WHL).