The Tri-City Americans, seeded No. 1 in the Western Conference of the Western Hockey League, face the fifth-seeded Spokane Chiefs in a playoff series for the second straight season. Tyler Johnson and the Chiefs beat Kruise Reddick and the Americans in six games in the second round of the 2011 WHL playoffs.

The Americans advanced to the second round of the WHL playoffs for a fifth straight season after sweeping the Everett Silvertips in the first round. The Ams outscored the Silvertips 18-6 in the four-game series, and never trailed in any of the four games.

As usual, the Ams' offense has been led by Brendan Shinnimin and Adam Hughesman, who combined for six goals and 15 points in the series. Shinnimin, Hughesman and Patrick Holland dominated to the tune of a combined 19 goals and 60 points in 12 games versus the Chiefs in the regular season. Zach Yuen and the Ams' defense corps will face a much tougher test versus a spirited and hard-working Chiefs team that boasts some talented snipers.

Ty Rimmer, the Western Conference nominee for WHL Goaltender of the Year, stopped 96 of 102 shots in four games versus the Silvertips. He was strong vs. Spokane this season, posting an 8-2 record with a .923 save percentage.

The Chiefs booked their place in the second round of the WHL playoffs for a fourth time in five seasons after defeating the fourth-seeded Vancouver Giants in six games in the WHL Western Conference quarterfinals. Having lost the first two games of their series versus the Giants, surrendering 14 goals in the process, the Chiefs turned their fortunes around and won the next four games while giving up just six goals.

While Mitch Holmberg led the way with six goals, the Chiefs did spread their scoring around with seven different players tallying at least two goals. They will need big contributions from the likes of Dominik Uher, Todd Fiddler and Marek Kalus if they are to match Tri-City's offensive punch.

Defensively, the Chiefs will greatly miss the contributions of Brenden Kichton, who suffered a broken jaw in the first round. However, the opportunity is there for players like Reid Gow and Davis Vandane to take on bigger roles. They will have their hands full trying to limit Tri-City's dominant first line.

Eric Williams turned in a string of outstanding efforts to backstop the Chiefs past the Giants in the final four games of the series. If Williams can maintain his current form, the Chiefs will have a much better chance at knocking off their bitter rivals.