Yahoo Sports 
Kelowna and Portland closing in on anticipated showdown: WHL Western Conference playoff roundup
After failing to make life difficult for the Portland Winterhawks and falling behind 2-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, the Victoria Royals got the defending champs out of their comfort zone in two tight games on Vancouver Island.
The defending champs found a way to earn a split, though, and take a commanding 3-1 lead back to the mainland for Thursday's Game 5 at the Moda Center in Portland.
The Hawks imposed their will on the Royals in taking the first two games by 8-2 and 6-3 margins at home, but couldn't get their speed and skill game together as the series shifted to Victoria.
The Royals finally looked like a 48-win team at home, and they held the Winterhawks off the scoreboard for the first 59:46 in Game 3. A pair of power-play goals in the first period held up as Victoria won 2-1.
Finding the neutral zone increasingly clogged, and struggling to generate chances off the rush, Portland embraced a grittier style in Game 4. It still looked like it might be the Royals' night again, though, when Steven Hodges scored seven seconds into the third period to put Victoria ahead 3-2. But the Hawks responded with a Brendan Leipsic goal less than 90 seconds later, and Chase De Leo notched the game-winner midway through the period as Portland won 4-3.
For the Winterhawks, the ability to adapt pushed them over the top. All four of Portland's goals came from driving the net hard and going after loose pucks and rebounds. It's not the usual blueprint for success, but it worked well enough to earn a split and reclaim control of the series.
It's also the kind of win that's typical of a team littered with players who have dozens of games of WHL postseason experience:
“I thought that was a big game after (Monday) night,” said Winterhawks head coach and general manager Mike Johnston. “The loss was disappointing in that we couldn’t generate as much as we had hoped.”
There were a lot of momentum swings in Game 4 as Portland was forced to come back from a 3-2 deficit early in the third period.
“I think it’s important that you’re able to handle that,” Johnston said. “I thought our guys held their even keel tonight. Even when they scored at the beginning of the third, that was a big swing for them, but we came right back, tied it and got the winner.” (The Oregonian)
Victoria, meanwhile, gave its home crowds a lot to be proud of. Ultimately, though, the Royals couldn't solve Portland's Brendan Burke down the stretch of Game 4, despite Burke's shakiness earlier in the game.
Success in the series for the Royals has come on special teams, as six of Victoria's 10 goals have come on the power play, with Taylor Crunk adding a game-tying short-handed goal in the second period of Game 4.
The Royals have had fleeting moments of five-on-five pressure during the series, but will need to generate more at even strength to even win Game 5, let alone get into a position to win the series. Hodges has been fantastic, and guys like Austin Carroll, Brandon Magee and Logan Nelson need to ratchet it up just a bit more to boost the Royals offence.
Portland returns home with a lot of confidence built up from the first two games of the series, when the Hawks dictated the pace and put their skill advantage on display. After two goals on Tuesday, Leipsic now leads the WHL scoring race with 18 points in eight games. He and Oliver Bjorkstrand have been the biggest offensive threats in the series thus far.
Can Victoria bring its home-ice effort south for Game 5? If so, there's at least a glimmer of hope for the Royals.
Kelowna 3, Seattle 0
A year after being pushed to a Game 7 overtime by the upstart Thunderbirds, the Rockets appear to be heading toward a much quicker — if not appreciably easier — resolution to the rematch.
Kelowna won the first two games at home by convincing margins (6-2 and 6-3), with Rockets goaltender Jordon Cooke outplaying Seattle counterpart Taran Kozun. The T-Birds figured to struggle in the series — especially on the road — if Kozun couldn't at least be Cooke's equal.
Seattle fell behind by three goals again in Tuesday's Game 3 in Kent, and a furious late rally came up just short as the Rockets prevailed 5-4 to take complete command of the series.
Like last year's series, in which the Thunderbirds went 0-for-27 on the power play, missed chances on special teams are once again haunting Seattle. The T-Birds are now just 1-for-15 in this series after scoring once on 10 opportunities in Game 3. Two of those chances were empty two-man advantages in the first period, and the Rockets responded with two goals in the final 1:21 of the period to lead 2-0.
Kelowna connected on two of five power-play chances Tuesday, and is 6-for-14 in the series. Such a disparity in special teams success is nearly impossible for a big underdog to overcome.
The Rockets have dealt with Seattle's brawn well thus far, and a win in tonight's Game 4 would leave them plenty of time to recover for the Western Conference final. Leading regular-season scorer Myles Bell hasn't played in the series due to injury, but the balanced Rockets have coped quite nicely. Including Bell, eight different Kelowna players have at least three goals in the postseason.
The Thunderbirds have avoided the disciplinary breakdowns that tripped them up at times this season, but they're kicking themselves after failing to build early momentum in Game 3 from their power-play opportunities. They're now in desperation mode as they try to keep their season alive in Game 4.
