Without Question, Whl Hard To Figure

With the stakes raised, will two highly skilled players - Daymond Langkow and Terry Ryan - turn up aces for the Tri-City Americans?

Will the Tacoma Rockets falter in March, again?

Under playoff pressure, can Spokane’s Jarrod Daniel continue to block 90 percent of the shots he faces?

The answers start coming this weekend in the opening round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.

Spokane, Tri-City and Tacoma will play each other twice - once home, once away - to eliminate one team. Tri-City is in the Coliseum Friday night at 7 for Game One. Spokane is in Tacoma Saturday night for Game Two.

The club that would appear most vulnerable is fifthplace Spokane. The Chiefs lost their season series to TriCity nine games to five and dropped six of eight regular-season encounters with Tacoma.

So why is nobody overlooking Spokane?

“Spokane is scaring people, the way they’ve played since getting healthy,” said Eric Degerman, who covers the Americans for the Tri-City Herald. “I see Daniel as being a force. He’s played well agaisnt Tri-City since the first game (a 10-4 Tri-City win).

The Chiefs are 13-4-3 since Feb. 2, when they traded all-star defenseman Bryan McCabe to the Brandon Wheat Kings. They’re 2-1 with Tacoma since the McCabe trade and 1-1 with the Americans.

When McCabe exited, the task of getting it done reverted to a committee headed by veterans Sean Gillam and Jason Podollan.”There was a month (February) when Podollan carried us offensively,” Speltz said.

The irony was that Spokane improved defensively without McCabe.

Gillam became a leader. Rookie Joel Boschman came on after recovering from a Dec. 17 knee injury that cost him 17 games. Adam Magarrell, obtained in the McCabe deal, was a stabilizer.

Hugh Hamilton’s game - set back by a broken wrist - came on late. Trent Whitfield came back to give a plodding team a lift with his quickness and speed. Dmitri Leonov, who was out for a long stretch with a broken ankle, created opportunity.

John Shockey got better as he got healthier.

And any club that came from as far out of it as the Chiefs - who started 1995 in last place - has the benefit of strong coaching.

“There was never any undue pressure from the ownership or management,” Spokane coach Mike Babcock said. “They allowed the coaching staff to do its job.”

There is one lingering vacancy that goes back to the trade. The Chiefs have been unable to replace McCabe on the power play.

In his absence the PP has become Predictably Passive.

“The power play is a big key for them,” Tri-City Americans broadcaster Ian Furness said. “If their PP unit gets rolling like it can they’ll have some success. But the bottom line for Spokane is Daniel.”

Babcock explains.

“The goaltenders from all three teams are hot but the thing about Daniel is he’s 20. He’s got four years in the league and he’s hot. We think he’s ready to go.”

With an edge in speed, firepower and defense the Tacoma Rockets are the experts’ choice to move on to the best-of-seven second round. Although they have a history of folding in the playoffs the Rockets won eight of their last 10 to finish second in the WHL West.

“We’ve had close, fairly physical games with Spokane for the most part,” said Tri-City coach Bob Loucks said. “I think the next two will be battles.

Loucks said he would wait to decide who to start in goal, Brian Boucher or David Trofimenkoff.

Trofimenkoff tends to run hot and cold. He shut out the Chiefs 3-0 on Feb. 28, then let in John Cirjak’s game-winner from center ice on March 15 in an overtime loss in Spokane.

Should each team finish 2-2 the highest seed (Tacoma) advances and the other two play it off April 1.

Should Spokane wind up in the tiebreaker it would be the club’s third game in as many nights. The Chiefs play at Tri-City on March 30 and have Tacoma at home on March 31.