Rockets and Thunderbirds to battle in round one

For the second consecutive spring, the Seattle Thunderbirds and Kelowna Rockets will meet in the first round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.

The best of seven series was confirmed Tuesday after Seattle defeated the Kamloops Blazers 6-3 and the Vancouver Giants won 3-2 in overtime in Portland versus the Winterhawks.

Seattle captured the top seed in the Western Conference with Tuesday’s result, with Kelowna confirmed as the number eight seed.

The Kamloops Blazers, this year’s Memorial Cup hosts, will square off against the Vancouver Giants in the opening round

Single-game tickets for the Rockets first two home games at Prospera Place are on sale now through Select Your Tickets. Tickets can be purchased online through www.selectyourtickets.com, at the Prospera Place box office, or by phone at 250-762-5050.

The Rockets and T-Birds have been frequent WHL playoff rivals recently, with 2023 marking the fourth post-season series between the teams in the past seven years. Seattle has won the previous three series, including a pair of Western Conference Championship series wins in 2016 and 2017.

The Thunderbirds hold a 5-4 edge in series wins in the all-time playoff history between the two franchises.

2023 WHL PLAYOFFS – SERIES E SCHEDULE

1 March 31, 2023 Kelowna at Seattle 7:05 p.m. PT

2 April 1, 2023 Kelowna at Seattle 6:05 p.m. PT

3 April 4, 2023 Seattle at Kelowna 7:05 p.m. PT

4 April 5, 2023 Seattle at Kelowna 7:05 p.m. PT

* 5 April 7, 2023 Kelowna at Seattle 7:05 p.m. PT

* 6 April 9, 2023 Seattle at Kelowna 4:05 p.m. PT

* 7 April 11, 2023 Kelowna at Seattle 7:05 p.m. PT

* – if necessary