Tri-City Americans Face Spokane in First Round of WHL Playoffs – Schedule Released

For the third straight season, the Tri-City Americans will open the WHL playoffs vs. the Spokane Chiefs. It won't matter who finishes 4th or 5th in the Western Conference.Normally, higher seeds get home ice advantage when it comes to the WHL post-season.  The format, like most other sports, pits first vs. eighth, second vs. seventh, and so on.   Currently, Spokane has a two-point lead over Tri-Cities with three games left. They are fourth in the West while Tri-Cities is fifth.

Should the Americans beat the Chiefs Friday and Saturday, and Everett this Sunday, they would clinch the No. 4 seed and would normally get home ice in the first two games.

But due to the Women's NCAA Basketball tournament played in Spokane (the West Region begins soon), Spokane and Tri-Cities have finalized the first-round series REGARDLESS of who finishes where.

According to the American's press release, the two clubs worked together to create a schedule that will work for both:

Due to the city and Spokane Arena hosting the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, our availability for dates was limited,” explained Chiefs’ General Manager, Tim Speltz. “We appreciate the Americans’ cooperation and flexibility in scheduling the dates to give us the opportunity to play in our building when we have it available to us.”

Americans General Manager Bob Tory added:

We were forced to become creative in finding solutions that met the needs of both teams. With limited dates, and the cooperation of Tim Speltz and the Spokane Chiefs, we were able to come up with a solution that works well for both franchises considering the circumstances.”

So the breakdown of games is as follows:

2013 WHL Playoffs – Western Conference Quarter-Finals

Game 1: Friday, March 22, Tri-City Americans at Spokane Chiefs, 7:05 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Arena

Game 2: Saturday, March 23, Tri-City Americans at Spokane Chiefs, 7:05 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Arena

Game 3: Tuesday, March 26, Spokane Chiefs at Tri-City Americans, 7:05 p.m. at Toyota Center

Game 4: Thursday, March 28, Spokane Chiefs at Tri-City Americans, 7:05 p.m. at Toyota Center

Game 5: Saturday, March 30, Spokane Chiefs at Tri-City Americans, 7:05 p.m. at Toyota Center  *If necessary

Game 6: Tuesday, April 2, Tri-City Americans at Spokane Chiefs, 7:05 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Arena *If necessary

Game 7: Wednesday, April 3, TBD  *If necessary

Be sure to listen to all the action in the first round on Newstalk 870 and with our online radio here at our website... just click LISTEN LIVE on the homepage!