Welcome to Everett.
Game 1 is set inside Angel of the Winds Arena, where the Kelowna Rockets meet the Everett Silvertips in a series that, honestly, has already told us a lot.
Just not the ending.
Because when you look back at the season series, the first thing you notice is the score. Everett outscored Kelowna 17-10.
But if you watched the games, you remember something else.
Leads.
October 18th. Rockets up 2-0. Ends 3-2 Everett. November 16th. Rockets up 2-0 after 40 minutes, right here in this building. Forty-three seconds from a win. Tie game. Overtime. Everett takes it. January 21st. Rockets up 3-0 late in the second. Still up 3-1 going to the third. That one felt like it should hold.
It didn’t.
So now, 79 days later, they meet again, and that is kind of the question hanging over this series.
What happens next?
Everett comes in playing well. Fifteen straight wins on home ice, including a sweep in the first round. At the same time, playoff series have a way of resetting things. Different pace, different pressure, different moments.
Kelowna knows it has been right there in this matchup. That part is not in doubt.
Now it is about what they do with it.
The Rockets bring a lineup with eight NHL-drafted players, and that shows up in different ways. Some nights it is skill. Some nights it is depth. And in a series like this, it usually has to be both.
Tij Iginla is one of the players you naturally watch. A first-round pick of the Utah Mammoth, he can change a game, but like everyone in this series, it becomes about when and how often those moments show up.
On the other side, Landon Dupont draws attention for good reason. Still just 16, already a major part of what Everett does. Eighteen goals, a lot of pucks directed at the net, and the kind of confidence that stands out at this time of year.
And then there is the goaltending, which feels like it could settle more than one game.
Harrison Boettiger has been steady for Kelowna in the playoffs. Four wins, a .934 save percentage, and a presence that does not change much regardless of the situation. Anders Miller has put up strong numbers for Everett as well, allowing just five goals in a four-game first round.
So you have two teams that have already tested each other. You have leads that changed hands, games that turned late, and a long break since they last met.
And now you have Game 1.
The first playoff meeting between these teams since 2010, when Kelowna won in seven games. Brandon McMillan was on that Rockets team. Now he is behind the bench.
Different group, different time, but a familiar feeling.
There is not much separating these teams when they play.
Which is probably why this series feels like it could turn on a moment, or a bounce, or one stretch where a team gets it right.
It starts tonight.
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