Vancouver Giants eliminated in opening round of WHL playoffs

It wasn’t supposed to end like this. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of convincing home ice wins on the first weekend of the Western Hockey League playoffs, the Vancouver Giants appeared to be in good shape in their first round match-up with the Spokane Chiefs. But momentum in playoff hockey can be fleeting and the Giants found that out the hard way, as the Chiefs rattled off four straight victories including a 3-1 win in the series clincher on home ice Sunday (April 1) night putting an end to the Giants' season.

Vancouver went into the series with a slight edge on Spokane in terms of overall points and with wins in both head to head meetings in the regular season, but none of that mattered.

The Giants scored seven goals in each of their victories to start the series, but for some reason managed just six goals over the final four games of the series. This marks the second year in a row the Giants have been outsted in the opening round of the WHL playoffs. Spokane advances to face Tri-City in the next round while Kamloops, the only B.C. team remaining in the WHL post-season, will face Portland.