Round 2 (Updated with schedule)

Ogopogologos it is!

With the 2-1 Rockets win last night over Everett, it seals the 2nd round matchup for the Americans.  Hopefully this year goes better than last year.  I'm fine with this, it was my belief (and still is) that the boys had/have a better chance against the Rockets than the Giants.

An interesting tidbit from everyone's favorite play-by-play guy Regan Bartel:

The Rockets advance to the second round of the playoffs where they face the Tri City Americans. The point differential between the two teams is exactly the same as it was against the Tips. The Rockets and Americans met four times during the regular season with the Am's winning all four games. Funny thing is, the two teams didn't meet one another after the trade deadline. The last game they played against one another was December 5th.

2010 Western Conference Semi-Finals Playoff Schedule
Game 1: Fri., April 2, Kelowna Rockets at Tri-City Americans, 7:05 p.m. at Toyota Center
Game 2: Sat., April 3, Kelowna Rockets at Tri-City Americans, 7:05 p.m. at Toyota Center
Game 3: Tues., April 6, Tri-City Americans at Kelowna Rockets, 7:00 p.m. at Prospera Place
Game 4: Wed., April 7, Tri-City Americans at Kelowna Rockets, 7:00 p.m. at Prospera Place
Game 5: Fri., April 9, Kelowna Rockets at Tri-City Americans *If necessary
Game 6: Sun., April 11, Tri-City Americans at Kelowna Rockets *If necessary
Game 7: Tues., April 13, Kelowna Rockets at Tri-City Americans *If necessary 

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Touching piece on Neal Prokop in today's Herald:

"It's a great place to play," Prokop said of Tri-City. "I feel comfortable there. I think that's why I had such a good year."

Prokop, who still is at Chilliwack General Hospital, faces months of rehabilitation and the possibility of never playing hockey again.

"I appreciate the time I had in Tri," Prokop said from his fourth-floor hospital room Monday morning. "I appreciate Bob (Tory, general manager) and (coach) Jim (Hiller) giving me a chance. It sucks it ends this way. I hope the team does well the rest of the way."

"I haven't seen the video, but I think I lost an edge," Prokop said. "I was taking away an option for a defender. When I had him turned, I was too close to the boards and I couldn't get my skates turned around and I went down.

"I heard it pop. I knew right away it was serious. I was on my back and my leg was numb."

"The surgery was supposed to be 21/2 hours, but it ended up being 4," Prokop said. "The doctor said he had a hard time getting the (titanium) rod into my bone. He said I had a really hard bone. He showed me the scratches on his hand."

Prokop said he isn't sure how long the rod in his leg is, but by the incision, he estimates about 10 inches.
Americans athletic therapist Brian Cheeseman got a look at the X-rays and said the break was a transverse fracture in the upper third of the femur toward the hip.

A transverse fracture is a break across the bone, at a right angle to the long axis of the bone.
"It's a pretty significant break," Cheeseman said. "Fortunately, he didn't go into shock."

Prokop has had the company of teammate Jarrett Toll's parents, Greg and Cherilynn, and grandparents Dorne and Lorraine Cornish, who are from nearby Maple Ridge. His teammates stopped by Sunday before their game with Chilliwack, and his mom Nancy has been by his side.

I hope the boys continue to use the loss of Prokop as motivation and inspiration to play their very best so that the hard work he showed night in and night out all season wasn't in vain.  They need to remember his work ethic and play with the same passion and intensity that he did every shift of every game.

Also, it may or may not have brought a little tear to my eye to see that Captain Toll's family went and visited him.    It confirms my belief that the Jarrett Toll family tree is full of awesomeness, it's no surprise that he turned out such a nice, respectful, and kind young man.  Oh hell, this team is full of kind young men.  We really are privileged as fans to be a part, as insignificant as that part might be, of these young men's lives.  Man, I love this team.