The River Rivalry

In the history of Pacific Northwest hockey we have reached the mighty flow of three seasoned teams.  Teams that seem to play with an aggression like the river carving it's way out of the land.  For these three teams the the full force of the River Rivalry will happen this season.

To bring you up to speed, in 1982 when the Spokane Flyers flew away and the Kelowna Wings landed (three years later) to stake claim to the Spokane Coliseum with the first drips of the River Rivalry beginning.  Later that same season the Spokane shuffle happened between the Portland Winterhawks and the newly minted Chiefs trading a large deal of the skaters to each others benches.  Three years later another US team farther down stream sprung forth into the WHL.  This team are the descendants of the Westminster Bruins and as soon as the puck dropped that fall of 88, the Tri-City Americans and the Spokane Chiefs, were stepping on each others toes. Eventually the match up would be dubbed  the 395 Rivalry.

Over the Past few seasons the Seattle Thunderbirds and Portland Winterhawks deep seeded hatred has lifted ever so slightly.  With the antagonism lifted the teams who's tributaries flow into the Columbia River seem to step up into the collective ire culminating into the three way race to top of the US division.

In the 2010-2011 Season the top spot in the division was shared between the three teams and now the 2011-2012 season seams to be a repeat with a little bit of disarray this season.  These three teams are the ones to watch come March.