It doesn’t get any bigger than this, so where are the fans?

Here’s three observations from the Everett Silvertips 1-0 loss to the Swift Current Broncos in Game 4 of the WHL championships series Wednesday night at Angel of the Winds Arena. Swift Current now leads the best-of-seven series 3-1:

1) Swift Current’s defense was stifling.

Everett outshot Swift Current 32-19, but that’s hardly indicative of how the game went, as the Tips were able to create little in the way of quality scoring chances.

The Broncos kept almost everything to the perimeter as most of Everett’s shots came from the outside 45 feet. Swift Current blocked a ton of those shots, with defenders in the slot preventing the puck from getting to goal. When the Tips’ shots did manage to get through, Broncos goaltender Stuart Skinner had a good look at them as there was little or no screen.

This was particularly evident when Everett was on the power play. The first half of Wednesday’s game was the most power play-filled stretch of the series, with Everett getting five advantages and Swift Current four in the game’s first 31 minutes. But Everett’s power play was a complete non-factor as the Tips passed ineffectually around the outside. Everett tried going with five forwards at times, but that didn’t help at all, and it may have created problems as Swift Current’s Beck Malenstyn twice had short-handed breakaways, only to be denied by Everett goaltender Carter Hart. Everett scored on its first power play of the series, the Tips are 0-for-13 since.

.@NHLFlyers prospect @C_Hart70 stones Malenstyn on the short-handed breakaway! #WHLChampionship pic.twitter.com/FdhMzK7665

— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 10, 2018

This was all in contrast to the first two games of the series, when Everett was able to generate offense with its skating. The Broncos’ defenders have done a much better job getting their gap distance and positioning right to limit the threat of the Tips’ skaters, and Everett hasn’t yet found a solution.

2) Patrick Bajkov played, but he wasn’t his usual self.

The big question for Everett before the game concerned the status of Bajkov. The star winger, who led the Tips in scoring during the regular season, spent time going between the bench and locker room during the second and third periods of Game 3 after getting wiped out into the boards in front of the Everett bench, and though he was on the bench in overtime he didn’t see the ice in the extra period of the 4-3 defeat. Everett coach Dennis Williams had no comment on Bajkov’s situation after the game.

The fire was fueled before Game 4 when Bajkov was listed as a game-time decision, and he came out late to warm-ups. But once he hit the ice for the pregame Bajkov didn’t seem hindered in any significant way, and he ended up playing. He carried his usual load during the game, taking regular shifts at even strength, on the power play and on the penalty kill.

However, there seemed to be something missing. There was nothing obvious Bajkov was favoring, but he was not his usual dynamic self. One could make the point that Bajkov hasn’t been his usual self the entire championship series, as his lone point in four games was a goal scored in Game 1’s 2-1 victory. But he definitely wasn’t able to make his presence felt in a significant way Wednesday.

Give Bajkov credit for being a warrior, as he’s missed just two games over the past four seasons. But I’d be surprised if he wasn’t playing through some kind of injury Wednesday.

3) Where are the fans?

Games 3, 4 and 5 were/are scheduled for Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett. The series was tied 1-1 coming into Game 3, so we knew all three of these games were going to take place. But apparently the fans didn’t get the notice.

The announced attendance at Wednesday’s game was 5,081. That was slightly more than the 4,872 that made it out to Tuesday’s Game 3. The seating capacity at AOTW is 8,149. That means the building was about 60-percent full for Games 3 and 4. That was apparent when Swift Current scored the game’s only goal late in the second period, as the arena went silent for the remainder of the period.

.@NJDevils prospect @colby_sissons opens the scoring with a powerplay goal! @SCBroncos lead 1-0! #WHLChampionship pic.twitter.com/t0C6QWgF6x

— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 10, 2018

Now, these were midweek games, and they were Everett’s first midweek games of the playoffs — because the Tips were the higher seed each of the previous three rounds Everett had its first nine home playoff games on Fridays and Saturdays. Attendance goes down considerably on weekdays during the regular season, so in one sense this was just following that trend.

But this is the WHL championship series. It doesn’t get any bigger than this. When Everett played Medicine Hat in the WHL finals in 2004 Games 3 and 4 were also on Tuesday and Wednesday in Everett, and those games were sellouts with more than 8,500 in attendance each game. Yes, this is a different time and a different situation, as that 2004 playoff run had a magical quality that couldn’t help but attract a crowd. But on Wednesday the Tips probably could have used that extra lift that comes from playing before a boisterous packed house.

Game 5, which is now do or die for Everett, is on a Friday night, so hopefully we’ll see a bigger crowd then.