Having dusted off the Powell River Kings in four straight games could come back to haunt the Nanaimo Clippers, who will have sat for nine days before getting into their first matchup of the sa国际传媒 Hockey League鈥檚 strange Round 3 round-robin format on Thursday.
But it could just as easily be a godsend for the Clippers, who will venture into West Kelowna to face former Victoria Salsa coach Ryan Ferster and his Warriors鈥� club at 7 p.m.
The third round began Tuesday night with West Kelowna (the Interior Division champ) beating the Chilliwack Chiefs, winners of the Mainland Division, 5-1.
Nanaimo, the Island Division victor the last two years, should be raring to go.
鈥淚 think it was good to get some rest and heal up some injuries so we should be really healthy when it starts. It鈥檚 not great, though,鈥� Clippers general manager and head coach Mike Vandekamp said of the layoff. 鈥淲hen you have a lot of momentum on your side, it鈥檚 never great to be sitting.
鈥淚 think at first it won鈥檛 be an advantage, but once we get going 鈥� because we do have to play Thursday, Saturday and Monday with some pretty decent travel in between all that 鈥� through that first five minutes, it will be an advantage.鈥�
And in this unique format, in which the three remaining teams play each other once away and once at home to determine the two finalists, it makes for a different preparation than studying one team for a possible seven-game series.
Vandekamp did recently see Chilliwack play live, but was more than content watching the opening game of Round 3 via the Internet on Tuesday night.
鈥淲ith video you have access to everything now, it鈥檚 changed,鈥� said Vandekamp. 鈥淵ou can get your team pretty prepared. It鈥檚 interesting when you鈥檙e playing this series, because it鈥檚 not really a series. Right now, it鈥檚 a one-off game you鈥檙e preparing for. It鈥檚 sort of like a Game 1 or a Game 7 鈥� I鈥檓 not sure which one it is.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not so much preparing for the other club as it is playing your own game, I think,鈥� he added.
He just would have preferred playing right away.
鈥淚鈥檇 rather have been playing the first one because we have been off since last Tuesday. We want to know some things, obviously, about the other club, but we don鈥檛 want to over-coach it either. We want to be focused on our own game as much as we can be,鈥� said Vandekamp.
As for how the teams did head-to-head in the regular season, Vandekamp isn鈥檛 taking much stock into that as the Clippers twice lost 7-4 to West Kelowna, but defeated Chilliwack 2-1 in overtime on the road and 4-2 at home.The Clippers haven鈥檛 faced either team since the second week of December.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think any of that means a whole heck of a lot,鈥� said Vandekamp. 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 had changes, be it personnel or teams have just become better. I know we鈥檙e better than we were nine games ago. You grow and you get better as the playoffs go along, too.
鈥淓verybody is 0-0 (prior to Tuesday night) and that鈥檚 the truth. Both teams are very good, though, and both are going to provide a major challenge.鈥�
The Clippers and Chiefs do have the benefit of having played in Round 3 last year against Penticton. This is the first time in West Kelowna鈥檚 10-year history that the Warriors have won the division.
鈥淭his is a new format to me, a new format to our team,鈥� Ferster told The Province. 鈥淣anaimo and Chilliwack were both part of it last year with Penticton, so advantage them, for right now.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to approach it like a bunch of mini Game 7s.鈥�
SCHEDULE
鈥� TUESDAY
West Kelowna 5 Chilliwack 1
鈥� THURSDAY
Nanaimo at West Kelowna, 7 p.m.
鈥� SATURDAY
Chilliwack at Nanaimo, 7 p.m.
鈥� MONDAY
Nanaimo at Chilliwack, 7 p.m.
鈥� APRIL 6
Chilliwack at West Kelowna, 7 p.m.
鈥� APRIL 8
West Kelowna at Nanaimo, 7 p.m.
(The first team to three wins advances to the best-of-seven final. The remaining teams will go back and forth in a home-and-home format until one team also achieves three wins.)
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