Seattle takes 2-0 advantage in first-ever playoff series against rival Everett: WHL Western Conference playoff roundup

The Seattle Thunderbirds were reeling. The Everett Silvertips were surging.

Thus, when it was learned that the rivals from the same metro area would face off in a playoff series for the first time ever, many assumed that Everett would simply ride the momentum of its regular-season-ending 13-game point streak.

The T-Birds aren't having it, though.

Despite being outshot 66-38 over the first two games, Seattle won both. The T-Birds took Game 1 at home in Kent, 2-1, then went 45 miles north to Everett and won 3-1 in Sunday's Game 2.

Goalie Taran Kozun, who has been excellent since coming over in a trade-deadline deal with Kamloops in January, is outplaying Tips counterpart Austin Lotz, making several acrobatic saves in the first two games.

Seattle has home ice in the series, and now gets to host Game 3 on Tuesday. The Thunderbirds chose to travel to Everett for Game 2 so they could have a guaranteed home game on a Tuesday, which is a major promotional day for the team (tickets are two-for-one, and beer and other concessions are sold at a reduced price). Last year, Seattle beat Kelowna in front of a sold-out Tuesday crowd to take a 3-0 lead in their playoff series. The T-Birds are hoping to reclaim the magic of that night, which might be the highlight of the team's six seasons at the ShoWare Center in Kent.

The Silvertips have to find a way to score, or this series could be over soon. They aren't designed to score a lot of goals, but have been getting plenty of solid chances over the first two games, including three hit goalposts in Game 2.

Special teams have also played a huge role in the series so far, as noted by the Everett Herald's Nick Patterson:

It stands to reason that if the Silvertips continue to outshoot Seattle by a wide margin, good things will start to happen. But do they have enough time, needing to win four of five against a hot goalie?

Kelowna 2, Tri-City 0

Tri-City goalie Eric Comrie has been good, stopping 76 of 81 shots so far in the series, but Kelowna overager Jordon Cooke has been even better.

The Americans aren't known for generating a lot offense, but with Comrie holding the Rockets offence down, Tri-City put a respectable 59 shots on Cooke over the weekend. Cooke answered the bell, though, allowing just one shot to beat him each night as Kelowna won two games by identical 3-1 scores.

This series is going to form so far. The Ams are leaning on Comrie and hoping to generate some sort of offense. So far, it's not really working. Tri-City will have to find a way to score three or four goals in its home games to have any chance of stealing one win against the top-ranked team in the CHL poll.

Portland 2, Vancouver 0

The Giants came in with a game plan to be very physical with the defending champs, and executed that game plan fairly well. Unfortunately, the physicality led to a lot of power-play opportunities for the Hawks, who finally cashed in twice in a 3-0 Game 2 victory.

Game 1 was a test for the Hawks, who found themselves in a 3-3 tie when a puck took a goofy bounce off the back wall into Portland goalie Brendan Burke's skates, then into the net behind him. Despite dominating the game, the Hawks were in danger of heading into OT against a Vancouver team with nothing to lose. But Oliver Bjorkstrand saved Portland's bacon with 1:37 left in regulation with a spinning shot into an empty net after a blocked shot caromed right to his stick.

Portland outshot the Giants 88-31 over the two games at the Moda Center, and Vancouver was particularly inept at creating scoring chances in Game 2. They might have to open things up a bit at home, even though that's a dangerous option against the high-scoring Hawks. Staying out of the box will help too. Their penalty kill was good over the weekend (12 of 14), but the Giants can't afford to play four on five that often.

Victoria 2, Spokane 0

Twice, the Chiefs rallied in the third period to force overtime. And twice, the Royals scored in the extra session to win the game.

Spokane could take some good things out of the weekend, namely that 62-goal scorer Mitch Holmberg came up empty on the scoresheet and the Chiefs were able to get to OT anyway. Of course, had Holmberg been able to find the net, Spokane could have returned home with a win or two under its belt.

Logan Nelson sat out Game 1 for Victoria for reasons that coach Dave Lowry wouldn't get into when asked by the Victoria Times-Colonist. But he returned for Sunday's Game 2, and netted the game-winner 2:18 into OT for a 4-3 win. Saturday, deadline acquisition Travis Brown got the winner 8:10 into extra time.

Now, the Chiefs are going to have to hope that their advantage in playoff experience will help get them back in the series.