Tips clinch a playoff spot, will face Portland in the first round
Published 10:15 pm Saturday, March 19, 2011
Here’s what happened Saturday night:
– Everett lost 3-0 at Chilliwack, not helping it’s playoff cause.
– But Seattle lost 5-4 to Portland, eliminating the T-birds from the playoffs and handing the last spot to the Tips.
– Portland’s victory, combined with Spokane’s 6-4 loss at Tri-City, clinched the conference championships for the Winterhawks.
– Prince George beat Kamloops 5-1, which along with Everett’s loss clinched seventh place for the Cougars.
That all adds up to a first-round playoff series between No. 1 Portland and No. 8 Everett (it also renders Sunday’s season-ending game at Vancouver meaningless for the Tips). The Tips went 1-9 against the Winterhawks this season, but hung tough with Portland in all of those games.
It was announced that Portland will open the first-round series with games at home next Saturday and Sunday, rather than the usual Friday and Saturday. The dates of Games 3 and 4 at Everett have yet to be determined. Tickets for those two games go on sale Monday morning at 10 a.m.
This makes it eight playoff appearances in eight seasons for Everett. However, the Tips aren’t exactly storming into the postseason this year, having lost nine of their past 10. Everett is hoping it can get some injured players — Kent Simpson, Landon Ferraro, Clayton Cumiskey — back for the playoffs.
