Saturday . . .

The Portland Winter Hawks, who have been playing in Memorial Coliseum since 1976, could be without a home as early as January. And yet it seems that no one is talking to them about the situation. Yes, that’s Aretha Franklin singing in the background. Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune has the story right here.
---
Some injury notes. . . . The Swift Current Broncos lost RW Keegan Dansereau in Friday’s 5-3 home-ice victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. He left in the second period, had one shift in the third and packed it in. He has a suspected lower body injury and his status for Sunday’s game isn’t known. . . . It also isn’t known whether Swift Current D Eric Doyle will play. He missed Game 5 after taking a hit from Medicine Hat D Matt McCue early in Game 4. McCue will sit out the second-game of a two-game suspension for the hit on Sunday. . . . The Broncos take a 3-2 lead into Sunday’s game in The Hat. . . . F Mikael Backlund of the Kelowna Rockets missed some time after being injured March 13 during a game in Kamloops. It was speculated that he had a concussion. He returned during the Rockets’ four-game sweep of the Blazers but was hurt again in Game 4. He now has the dreaded lower body injury. The Rockets, however, are enjoying some time off as they await their next opponent so Backlund has time to heal.
---
SATURDAY’S GAMES: Two more teams had their seasons come to an end. The Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds bowed out, beaten in five games by the Tri-City Americans and Spokane Chiefs, respectively. The former wasn’t a surprise; the fact the latter series lasted only five games could be construed as something of a surprise. . . . The second-round matchups in the Western Conference will have the Vancouver Giants meeting Spokane and Tri-City facing the Kelowna Rockets. Those series will open Friday in Vancouver and in Kennewick, Wash. . . . This leaves just two first-round series still alive – Saskatoon-Lethbridge and Swift Current-Medicine Hat. The Hurricanes are at home Monday and hold a 3-2 edge on the Blades. The Broncos take a 3-2 series lead into Medicine Hat on Sunday.
---
In Saskatoon, the Hurricanes got a goal and an assist from F Zach Boychuk as they beat the Blades 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. . . . They’ll play Game 6 in Lethbridge on Monday. . . . Boychuk broke a 1-1 tie with a shorthanded goal at 19:55 of the second period. It was his sixth goal of the series. . . . Lethbridge G Juha Metsola stopped 31 shots, three more than Saskatoon’s Braden Holtby. . . . Lethbridge was 0-for-7 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-for-5. . . . Attendance was 7,480.
---
In Spokane, LW Drayson Bowman had two goals as the Chiefs dumped Seattle 5-3 and won the series, 4-1. . . . Bowman’s second goal, into an empty net, was his fifth of the series. . . . C Mitch Wahl had a goal and two helpers for the Chiefs, who are the defending WHL and Memorial Cup champions. . . . The Chiefs got the game’s first two goals, in the second period, and never trailed after that. . . . F Greg Scott had three assists for the Thunderbirds. . . . Attendance was 5,810. . . . Both goaltenders, Dustin Tokarski of Spokane and Calvin Pickard of Seattle, stopped 31 shots. . . . Seattle head coach Rob Sumner was ejected at 14:31 of the third period, right after Wahl scored a PP goal to give Spokane a 4-2 lead. The Chiefs were on the PP because Seattle had been hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct minor. . . . Spokane was 1-for-5 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 2-for-7.
---
In Kennewick, Wash., F Mitch Fadden drew three assists to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 6-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Americans won the series, 4-1. . . . Fadden had nine points in the five games. . . . F Jordan Messier scored his first two WHL playoff goals for the Americans, who scored twice in each period and led 6-0 before F Kellan Tochkin scored on the PP for Everett. . . . F Jason Reese had his series-high fourth goal for the Americans. . . . The Silvertips were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Americans were 2-for-2. . . . Tri-City G Chet Pickard stopped 26 shots; Everett’s Thomas Heemskerk stopped 33. . . . Attendance was 4,646.