The Tri-City Americans get to open the WHL Playoffs vs. the #1-ranked team in the entire Canadian Hockey League, the Kelowna Rockets.

  Thursday, Americans VP of Business Operations Dan Mulhausen announced the Americans will open the first round against the Rockets at Prospera Place Arena in Kelowna  on Saturday, March 22nd.   Game time will be 705pm.  The two teams will play again Sunday afternoon March 23rd at 5:05pm.

Games 3 and 4 will be held Tuesday and Wednesday March 25th-26th at Toyota Center in Kennewick with 7:05 start times.

If necessary,  Game 5 will be in Kelowna on Friday, March 28th at 7:05pm.  Game Six would be back at Toyota Center Saturday the 29th at 7:05, and if a Game 7 is needed it would be slated for Tuesday, April 1st in Kelowna.

The last time these two teams met in the playoffs, the Americans took the series 4 games to 1 in 2010 and moved onto the Western Conference Finals.  They've also met in 1996, with the Ams taking that series 4-2; in 2004, Kelowna winning 4-2; and in 2009, Kelowna 4-2.   All-time, Tri-City has a 12-11 edge over the Rockets.

The Rockets are the #1-ranked team in the entire Canadian Hockey League, and have been for much of the season.   The Portland Winterhawks are #3, the Victoria Royals are #7 and Edmonton Oil Kings #10.  The CHL is made up 60 teams, and is the #1 league in the world for players ages 16-20.   There are three leagues that make up the CHL, the Western Hockey League (WHL), Quebec Major Junior League (QMJL) and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

The CHL is the primary supplier of players to the National Hockey League each year, with about 40-50% of the draft picks coming from the league.

Playoff tickets are now available by calling the Tri-City Americans office at (509)-736-0606.  A variety of playoff packages are available, so call the Ams and get your playoff tickets today!

Newstalk 870 will carry all the action as the flagship station for the Americans,  pregame shows will start at 6:50 for the 7:05 games, and 4:50 for the 5:05 start.  You can also listen live on our website by clicking "Listen Live" on our homepage.

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