Thursday . . .

The second round begins Friday night in Vancouver (Giants versus Spokane Chiefs), Kennewick, Wash. (Tri-City Americans versus Kelowna Rockets), and Calgary (Hitmen versus Lethbridge Hurricanes). The other series, between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Brandon Wheat Kings, begins Saturday in Medicine Hat. . . . What follows is a brief look at what’s coming and some picks, showing some of the prognosticators’ first-round records in parentheses . . .
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EASTERN CONFERENCE
CALGARY (1) vs. LETHBRIDGE (7)
Let’s be honest here — the Hurricanes are huge underdogs. But, then, they were huge underdogs against the Saskatoon Blades and they took them out in seven games. . . . The Hitmen, however, finished 47 points ahead of the Hurricanes in the regular season. Calgary scored 103 more goals and allowed 69 fewer. . . . Calgary won all six meetings this season. . . . Can Lethbridge F Kyle Beach be enough of a difference to close that gap? . . . It’s interesting to note that Lethbridge F Zach Boychuk had 10 points in the four victories over the Blades and zero points in the three losses. . . . Last season, the Hurricanes swept the Hitmen from the conference final and then had a long wait before facing the Spokane Chiefs in the championship final. Lethbridge lost in four. This season, the Hitmen have been waiting, while the Hurricanes battled the Blades, finally finishing them off Wednesday. . . . This series has a 2-3-2 format, with the first two games in Calgary.
THE PICKS:
John Down, Calgary Herald (7-1) — Calgary in 5.
Jeff Bromley, Kootenay NewsAdvertiser (6-2) — Calgary in 5.
Gregg Drinnan, Kamloops Daily News (6-2) — Calgary in 5.
Cory Wolfe, Saskatoon StarPhoenix (6-2) — Calgary in 6.
Kevin Mitchell, Saskatoon StarPhoenix (5-3) — Calgary in 5.
Rob Vanstone, Regina Leader-Post (7-1) — Calgary in 5.
Scott Fisher, Calgary Sun (6-2) — Calgary in 5.
Nick Patterson, Everett Herald (6-2) — Calgary in 5.
Alan Caldwell, Small Thoughts at Large (7-1) — Calgary in 6.
Steve Ewen, Vancouver Province (7-1) — Calgary in 6.
Dave Sheldon, Vancouver Giants marketing and radio — Calgary in 4.
Dan Russell, CKNW Radio, Vancouver, and Shaw Cable — Calgary in 4.
Regan Bartel, Kelowna Rockets radio voice — Calgary in 4.
Doyle Potenteau, Kelowna Daily Courier — Lethbridge in 6.
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BRANDON (3) vs. MEDICINE HAT (5)
The Wheat Kings have been sitting and waiting after sweeping the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Tigers took out the Swift Current Broncos in seven games. . . . The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is in the Brandon arena, so the higher-seeded Wheat Kings will open with games in Medicine Hat on Saturday and Sunday. . . . The series has a 2-3-1-1 format. . . . Brandon’s depth up front might be matched only by Calgary. . . . The Wheat Kings won three of four regular-season meetings. . . . The matchup between the forwards in this series should be interesting as there are some players with speed to burn. . . . .Medicine Hat D Matt McCue will face the team with which he started the season. He was moved due to the 20-year-old situation in Brandon. . . . Medicine Hat G Ryan Holfeld will have to steal a game or two.
THE PICKS:
John Down — Brandon in 5.
Dave Sheldon — Brandon in 5.
Dan Russell — Brandon in 5.
Regan Bartel — Brandon in 5.
Doyle Potenteau — Brandon in 4.
Gregg Drinnan — Brandon in 5.
Scott Fisher — Brandon in 5.
Cory Wolfe — Brandon in 5.
Kevin Mitchell — Brandon in 6.
Rob Vanstone — Brandon in 7.
Jeff Bromley — Brandon in 7.
Nick Patterson — Brandon in 6.
Alan Caldwell - Brandon in 5.
Steve Ewen - Brandon in 5.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
VANCOUVER (1) vs. SPOKANE (4)
The Giants were absolutely dominating in the first half of the season but cooled somewhat over the last couple of months. Were they bored? Was G Tyson Sexsmith bored? Did they miss F Lance Bouma, who is the biggest of their forwards and whose physical game they badly missed? . . . Now that Bouma is back and D Jon Blum is healthy and playing on defence, the Giants are favourites here. . . . But Sexsmith has to be better than Spokane G Dustin Tokarski in this series for the Giants to win. . . . The Chiefs have played enough without injured D Jared Cowen (knee) that his absence shouldn’t be a factor. But they can ill afford to lose one of their top four defencemen to injury in this series. . . . Vancouver finished 24 points ahead of the Chiefs. The played twice, both times in February, and the Giants won them both. . . . Both teams know how to win. The Chiefs won the 2008 Memorial Cup; the Giants won it all in 2007.
THE PICKS:
John Down — Vancouver in 7.
Dave Sheldon — Vancouver in 5.
Dan Russell — Vancouver in 7.
Regan Bartel — Vancouver in 6.
Doyle Potenteau — Vancouver in 5.
Gregg Drinnan — Vancouver in 6.
Scott Fisher — Vancouver in 6.
Cory Wolfe — Spokane in 6.
Kevin Mitchell — Vancouver in 5.
Rob Vanstone — Spokane in 7.
Jeff Bromley — Vancouver in 7.
Nick Patterson — Vancouver in 7.
Alan Caldwell - Vancouver in 6.
Steve Ewen - Vancouver in 6.
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TRI-CITY (2) vs. KELOWNA (3)
No one is playing better than the Rockets, who are 19-0 against playoff teams since Feb. 1. . . . Kelowna F Mikael Backlund (lower body) isn’t expected to play in Game 1. Backlund is a big-time player and if his absence is prolonged it could be a factor. . . . Tri-City has the edge in the goaltending department, if only because Americans G Chet Pickard has a deeper resume than Kelowna’s Mark Guggenberger. Still, Guggenberger is 4-0 in his WHL playoff career. . . . Tri-City forwards Mitch Fadden, Taylor Procyshen and Jason Reese are going to have to outplay the likes of Colin Long, Cody Almond and Jamie Benn. . . . Kelowna D Tyler Myers will be the best player on the ice in this series. He has been a giant among men for the last two months and it’s worth the price of admission just to watch him. . . . These teams split four regular-season meetings, but haven’t met since Jan. 14. . . . The Rockets get a lot of energy from freshmen forwards Curt Gogol and Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan. Did you know: Tri-City head coach Don Nachbaur and Gogol’s father, Brent, were teammates with the Billings Bighorns in the late-1970s.
THE PICKS:
John Down — Kelowna in 6.
Dave Sheldon — Tri-City in 7.
Dan Russell — Kelowna in 6.
Regina Bartel — Kelowna in 7.
Doyle Potenteau — Kelowna in 5.
Gregg Drinnan — Kelowna in 6.
Scott Fisher — Kelowna in 6.
Cory Wolfe — Kelowna in 6.
Kevin Mitchell — Tri-City in 7.
Rob Vanstone — Kelowna in 6.
Jeff Bromley — Kelowna in 6.
Nick Patterson — Kelowna in 6.
Alan Caldwell - Kelowna in 6.
Steve Ewen - Kelowna in 6.
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Josh Morrow, a former WHL defenceman who played with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Tri-City Americans, Kamloops Blazers and Kootenay Ice, was awarded more than $1.4 million in a decision handed down Tuesday in B.C. Supreme Court. If you’ve got time, the reasons for judgment are right here.
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G Braden Holtby of the Saskatoon Blades has joined the AHL’s Hershey Bears, who are affiliated with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Holtby, 19, was selected by the Capitals in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2008 draft and has signed an NHL contract. He is expected to be on the bench Friday when the Bears visit the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Bears other goaltenders are Daren Machesney and Michal Neuvirth.