For years hockey fans have been accustomed to a playoff series in a traditional 2-2-1-1-1 format.
That gives the higher seed home ice advantage in the first two games plus if needed home in games 5 and 7.
It is logical and rightfully rewards the team that finished higher in the standings.
Sometimes a 2-3-2 makes sense where the higher seed is home in the first two games plus if needed the last two games.
The flaw, if one wants to call it that, in the 2-3-2 is if a series ends in five and is won by a team that was lower in the standings.
In that situation, which rarely occurs, the higher seed is only home to 40 per cent of the games (2 of 5).
The 2-3-2 is not perfect but is the best choice where lengthy travel comes into play by bus.
The WHL, to help reduce time on the road and costs, has implemented 2-3-2 format in series where bus travel is longer than 10 hours, or in a rare situation where arenas are booked for other events.
The Portland Winterhawks were scheduled to a 2-3-2 in all four of their series this year.
First against Victoria, because of lengthy travel, second against Everett because of rink availability, then against Prince George, because of lengthy travel, and finally against Moose Jaw, again because of the huge distance of 1,732 km between the two cities.
The 2-3-2 did not come into play for the Winterhawks against either the Royals or the Silvertips because Portland swept those teams four straight in the first and second rounds.
It also did not matter in the WHL Championship series as the Moose Jaw Warriors swept Portland in four.
It did come into play against Prince George in the Western Conference Final and some may feel it worked out in the Winterhawks favour because they were the lower seed yet got three straight games on home ice.
The Cougars did not lose because of the format; they lost because the Winterhawks were a goal better in Game 6 by a 2-1 score in double overtime at CN Centre in arguably the best WHL game ever played in Prince George.
In fact, the 2-3-2 may have helped Prince George get it to a Game 6.
When the Winterhawks led 3-1, many fans started to write the Cougars off, but P.G. came up with perhaps its best road game of the season, especially considering the circumstances, in winning 6-1.
When two teams are relatively equal in talent it is difficult to win three consecutive home games.
The 2-3-2 is better for the players and for the owners and in the long run I am not sure it makes much of a difference to the fans.
That is hard to argue.
The Cougars got their three home games out of six, yet only had to make one trip to Portland.
In a 2-2-1-1-1, should that series also have gone six, the Prince George expenses would have been significantly higher with the extra trip.
The Cougars had the 2-3-2 scheduled in the first round against Spokane but it was not necessary since it was a P.G. sweep.
In Round two, with less than a 10-hour trip to Kelowna, the 2-2-1-1-1 was used and it worked out for Prince George as the Cougars won the series in five and got three home games.
Last year you may recall, Prince George and Tri-Cities played a 2-3-2 in the first round, which was great for the Cougars.
The Cougars had to make just one trip to Kennewick, Washington and they got three home games in a 6-game series with Game 6 at CN Centre won by Prince George 5-4 in overtime.
While home ice can be beneficial, championship teams can win anywhere.
Look at the first-time champion Warriors.
In February, when the rosters were well settled following the January 10th trade deadline, Moose Jaw went a perfect 6-0 on the road against U.S. Division teams, including Portland and Everett.
In the playoffs they finished both 8-2 at home and away (16-4) overall.
The Warriors had crucial wins on the road, including Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final in overtime at Saskatoon, and after that winning the first two in Portland to set the stage for that impressive sweep over the Winterhawks.
The more one thinks about it, especially for a team like Prince George where long road trips are common place, going with a 2-3-2 in the playoffs is the right decision.
FROM THE QUOTE RACK:
So who did a better Toronto Maple Leafs impersonation?
The Edmonton Oilers with just over 30 seconds until overtime against Vancouver or the Carolina Hurricanes with a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes to play against the New York Rangers?
*Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
Highly touted Pittsburgh Pirates rookie phenom pitcher Paul Skenes made his MLB debut, striking out seven in four innings against the Chicago Cubs. He’d have gone further but Pittsburgh didn’t want to risk him getting a strained Strasburg.
*Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
The CFL suspended disgraced Toronto QB Chad Kelly for nine games. In short he went from an outstanding player to an out standing player.
Hartley Miller is the news and sports director/supervisor plus morning news anchor for 94.3 the GOAT and Country 97fm. He has just finished his 11th year as the radio colour commentator for the Prince George Cougars home games. Hartley has been on the airwaves in PG since 1979 and is the author of You Don’t Say (sports quotes).
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