Drop the puck . . .

The Kelowna Rockets are in Calgary to open the WHL’s championship final against the Hitmen. . . . The Hitmen are 12-0 in these playoffs and a victory in Friday’s opener will give them the WHL record for most consecutive playoff victories in one season. . . . The Rockets, meanwhile, go in with a 12-4 record. . . . The teams split two regular-season games, both of them played in Calgary. . . . The numbers say Calgary has the better goaltender, in Martin Jones, but Mark Guggenberger’s play has upped the Rockets’ confidence level since he came over from the Swift Current Broncos on Jan. 10. . . . Most observers will tell you that Calgary has the better group of defencemen, but the Rockets have the single best defenceman in Tyler Myers. . . . The teams are pretty even up front, too, but the Rockets have the WHL's most-dynamic skater in Mikael Backlund. . . . Don’t discount the boost Kelowna has been getting from so-called fourth-liners Curt Gogol, who is from Calgary, and Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan. . . . This is Calgary’s second appearance in the final; it won it all under head coach Dean Clark in 1999. . . . The Rockets are 2-0 in championship finals, having won in 2003 and 2005. . . . THE PICK: Kelowna, in 6.
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Alan Caldwell, who does numbers better than anyone, points out at Small Thoughts At Large: “The Hitmen are 38-3-1 (.917) at home this season, and the Rockets need to win a game in Calgary to take the series -- and they have not been one of the best road teams this year (.569 in the regular season and .625 in the playoffs). Calgary is also 33-6-2-1 (.821) on the road, so I'm going with the Hitmen to take it in six.”
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A note from Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun: “There's a notion floating around that the Rockets have been the best team in the WHL since January's trade deadline. But while their .783 winning percentage is certainly impressive, the Hitmen have played .897 hockey since the deadline.”
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WHL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL (all times local):
Friday: Kelowna at Calgary, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: Kelowna at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Monday: Calgary at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: Calgary at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
x-Thursday, May 7: Kelowna at Calgary, 7 p.m.
x-Saturday, May 9: Calgary at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
x-Monday, May 11: Kelowna at Calgary, 7 p.m.

x -- if necessary.
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THE PICKS:
John Down (13-1), Calgary Herald: Calgary, in 6.
Jeff Bromley (12-2), Kootenay NewsAdvertiser: Calgary, in 6.
Alan Caldwell (12-2), Small Thoughts At Large: Calgary, in 6.
Scott Fisher (12-2), Calgary Sun: Calgary, in 6.
Dan Russell (11-3), CKNW Radio, Vancouver, and Shaw Cable: Calgary, in 5.
Gregg Drinnan (11-3), Kamloops Daily News: Kelowna, in 6.
Rob Vanstone (11-3), Regina Leader-Post: Calgary, in 4.
Cory Wolfe (11-3), Saskatoon StarPhoenix: Kelowna, in 6.
Kevin Mitchell (10-4), Saskatoon StarPhoenix: Calgary, in 7.