The Portland Winterhawks have more playoff experience and a potent attack. The Everett Silvertips have the home-ice advantage and one of the top defenses in the Western Hockey League.
Which team advances to the Western Conference finals will likely come down to execution.
The best-of-7 series begins with games on Friday and Saturday at Xfinity Arena in Everett before shifting to Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum for games next Thursday and Friday. Both teams got here by winning in overtime on Tuesday to avoid playing a seventh game on Wednesday.
Perhaps no Winterhawk was happier than Alex Schoenborn when Nic Petan scored with 58 seconds left in the first overtime period on Tuesday in Kent. The 19-year-old forward played his way back into shape during the Seattle series after missing the final seven weeks of the regular season.
“The hardest part was getting focused again, getting my mind wrapped around catching every pass in practice — just the little details of my game,” Schoenborn said.
It helped his confidence, he said, that he scored a goal in Game 5.
“I’m feeling good now and excited for the next round,” Schoenborn said.
Coach Jamie Kompon said Schoenborn, a San Jose Sharks prospect, handled the challenge of jumping into playoff intensity after a long layoff. Kompon said Schoenborn was playing at a high level prior to the surgery that sidelined him at the end of the regular season, so he can add more than just depth up front.
“These six games (against Seattle) are kind of his training camp, so to speak,” Kompon said. “We’ve had great conversations about what he needs to do to be effective as a player.”
A part of the game Schoenborn relishes is hitting. When he doesn’t take unnecessary penalties, his physical play can energize the team.
“It felt good to hit some people again,” he said. “I missed that part of the game, and I think our team needs some of that stuff sometimes to get the momentum back.”
The Winterhawks anticipate the Everett series will feature more tight games.
“Not taking anything away from Seattle, but there’s a reason why (the Silvertips) were the top team” in the U.S. Division, Kompon said. He noted that Everett is good at limiting shots against, and at creating goals off the rush.
“During the season they were more of a trapping team, so we had to dump pucks in and play tough on the blueline,” Petan said. “Whatever our game-plan is, if we execute offensively and defensively, I don’t think there is really anybody that can stop us.”
Portland had the better of the head-to-head matchups late in the regular season, winning four of the last five meetings with the only loss in those games coming in overtime. But Everett rebounded after Portland briefly took over first place and won the U.S. Division title.
