Northwest Notes March 1, 2011

Shock make moves at camp

The Spokane Shock announced Monday that FB Clay Harrell, OL Vladimir Richard and OL Shannon Tevaga have all been placed on Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) for the duration of training camp. In another transaction, the Shock traded DB Patrick Stoudamire to Iowa for claim order position.

The ArenaBowl XXIII Champion Shock will open the season on March 11 in San Jose against the SaberCats. The Shock will return home to host the Cleveland Gladiators on March 19. Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by contacting the Shock at (509) 242 7462. Tickets for single games, including the Joe Albi Stadium Summer Classic on July 9th, are also on sale and can be purchased by contacting TicketsWest.

WHL teams to test new playoff system

This season, the Western Hockey League's Eastern and Western Conferences will use a conference playoff format.

The first place teams in the two divisions in each conference will receive the top two playoff seeds based on regular season points. The next six clubs in each conference, based on regular season points, will receive the 3 - 8 playoff positions. The clubs will be paired 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, and 4 vs. 5 in a best-of-seven series.

The first place clubs in each division will be guaranteed the top two playoff seeds in the first round. As in previous seasons, the format for the remaining three rounds of the WHL Playoffs will remain the same. The four clubs winning first round series in each conference will advance to the second round, where they will be ranked in order of regular season points. The clubs will be paired 1 vs. 4, and 2 vs. 3 in best of seven series.

The two clubs winning the second round series in each conference will advance to the third round (WHL Conference Championships), where they will be ranked in order of regular season points. The clubs will be paired 1 vs. 2 in a best of seven series.