Friday . . .

JUST NOTES: Michael Dyck, who learned this week that his contract as head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes won’t be renewed, has told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that he definitely is interested in the Pats’ vacant head-coaching position. Dyck said that the first thing on his agenda is to contact Regina GM Brent Parker. “It would be a phenomenal opportunity — a really good organization, obviously a very good group of players that are coming back,” Dyck said. “Any time you get an opportunity to work with one of the top organizations in the league you definitely have to be interested.” . . . Former WHL player and coach Troy Mick is going back behind the bench. Mick now is part-owner, GM and head coach the Revelstoke, B.C., Grizzlies, who play in the junior B Kootenay International junior league.
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Earlier this week, Calgary trailed the WHL championship series 0-3, with the Kelowna Rockets having outscored the Hitmen 10-3 in moving to within one victory of their third title in seven seasons.
Suddenly, however, the Hitmen are back in this thing, having outscored the Rockets 12-3 in winning Games 4 (in Kelowna) and 5 (in Calgary).
Game 6 will be played Saturday night in Kelowna. A seventh game, if needed, is scheduled for Monday night in Calgary.
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A little WHL history as we eagerly await Game 6 . . .
As has been mentioned more than a time or two of late, only one team in WHL history has erased a 0-3 deficit and won a series. In the spring of 1996, the Spokane Chiefs lost the first three games of a first-round series with the Portland Winter Hawks, before coming back to win the last four games. The seventh game, by the way, was played in Spokane.
One other team, the 1989-90 Saskatoon Blades, erased a 0-3 deficit, but lost Game 7. That was in an Eastern Conference semifinal against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The final game was played in Lethbridge. The score was 3-3 after three periods, and the Hurricanes won it on a Neil Hawryluk goal at 2:31 of the first extra period.
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Just for the heck of it, here’s a look at some teams that came back from 1-3 deficits to win series:
2004-05 -- Brandon vs. Calgary (Eastern Conference semifinal): Calgary was up 3-1; Brandon won the next three, winning Game 7 at home.
2003-04 -- Everett vs. Kelowna (Western Conference final): Kelowna was up 3-1. Everett, an expansion team, won the next three, including Game 7 on the road. The last three games all went to OT.
2002-03 -- Spokane vs. Portland (first round): Portland was up 3-1 and Spokane won the next three, including Game 7 at home.
2001-02 -- Red Deer vs. Brandon (Eastern Conference final): Brandon was up 3-1. Red Deer won the next three, including Game 7 at home.
1997-98 -- Calgary vs. Swift Current (Eastern Conference semifinal): Swift Current was up 3-1 and Calgary won the next three. Calgary (84 regular-season points) beat Swift Current (97 points) at home in Game 7. Calgary was the Central Division champion (Swift Current was second in the East Division) and thus had home-ice advantage.
Prince George vs. Kamloops (first round): Kamloops was up 3-1. Prince George won the next three, including Game 7 at home.
1995-96 -- Prince Albert vs. Regina (Eastern Conference semifinal): Regina was up 3-1. Prince Albert won the next three, including Game 7 at home.
(This info is the result of a project started by Dean (Scooter) Vrooman, before he left the Portland Winterhawks. Records at the Kamloops Daily News are incomplete, so if anyone knows of other teams that came from behind 1-3 deficits to win series, please email me at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca.)
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And then there was the 1980-81 WHL final between the Victoria Cougars and Calgary Wranglers. Calgary went up 3-1. Victoria won the next three, including Game 7 at home. Victoria had a 28-game winning streak halted when Calgary won the opener 3-2 in Victoria.
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CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES: The Kelowna Rockets, who have lost the last two games of the WHL’s championship final, haven’t experienced a three-game losing streak since mid-January when they lost four straight. That came just after the WHL trading deadline as the players were working to sort out roles within the dressing room after GM Bruce Hamilton swung some deals. . . . “The guys are excited about the opportunity we have," Rockets centre Colin Long told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. "If someone told us we're gonna be up 3-2 with a chance to close out the WHL final at home, before this started, the guys would have quickly taken it. So we're really excited about what's in front of us." . . . Game 6 will be the last appearance in Kelowna’s Prospera Place for Rockets D Tysen Dowzak, C Ian Duval and LW Ryley Grantham, the teams three 20-year-olds. . . . Kelowna forwards Cody Almond, Mikael Backlund and Long are in their 19-year-old seasons but have signed NHL contracts and aren’t expected to return next season. . . . Kelowna D Tyler Myers, a first-round selection of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2008 NHL draft, also is expected to sign a pro deal and could stick in the NHL next season. . . . Kelowna LW Jamie Benn, who leads the WHL playoffs in goals and points, remains doubtful for Game 6. He hasn’t played since early in the first period of Game 2 on Saturday and is believed to have a concussion, the result of a hard check by Calgary D Keith Seabrook. Benn is back skating and will be a game-time decision prior to Game 6. . . . The Hitmen have played 17 playoff games; the Rockets have played 21. . . . If you were wondering, the Rockets were in the front of the plane and the Hitmen in the back as the teams flew back to Kelowna following Thursday’s Game 5 in Calgary.
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The Windsor Spitfires won the OHL championship Friday night, dumping the visiting Brampton Battalion, 2-1, on F Taylor Hall’s goal at 2:09 of overtime. The Spitfires won the series, 4-1. This is Windsor’s second OHL championship; the other was in 1987-88. . . . Brampton C Matt Duchene, who is certain to be an early pick in the NHL’s 2009 draft, was serving a checking-from-behind penalty when Hall scored the winner. . . . In the QMJHL, the Shawinigan Cataractes avoided elimination by beating the host Drummondville Voltigeurs, 4-1. The Cataractes, who now trail the series 3-2, will play host to Game 6 on Sunday.
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WHL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL (all times local):
(Kelowna leads series 3-2)
Friday: Kelowna 3 at Calgary 1
Saturday: Kelowna 5 at Calgary 2
Monday: Calgary 0 at Kelowna 2
Wednesday: Calgary 6 at Kelowna 2
Thursday: Kelowna 1 at Calgary 6
Saturday: Calgary at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
x-Monday: 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.