10 WHL Playoff Things From Glen Erickson, Volume XXXI

The first round of the Western Hockey League Playoffs typically provides a few “didn’t see that coming” moments. The field has officially been reduced from 16 teams to eight. It will be a quiet week, but come the weekend, round two gets started and WHL fans are in for some terrific matchups.

1 – Tipping the Scales – The Everett Silvertips lost a total of 11 games this season, three in overtime. The Portland Winterhawks handed the ‘Tips three of those losses. The Silvertips apparently got serious during the second half of the regular season and won the final three matchups between the division rivals. Then, four in a row in the post season. The ‘Tips outscored the ‘Hawks 25-4 in the playoff games and 42-13 over that stretch of seven consecutive victories. Domination! The series ended April 1, no foolin’. It appears Everett has survived the first round free of major injuries, which will probably ensure the wagon continues to wheel. Last season, it was the injury bug that in large part doomed the Silvertips. I can very easily be convinced the addition of defenceman Luke Vlooswyk at the trade deadline, amid just about zero fanfare among DUB fans, has paid big dividends on and off the ice. The Silvertips will have sat idly by waiting in anticipation of round two for a total of 10 days. When the Kelowna Rockets come calling, the Angel of the Winds Arena should be rocking this weekend! Everett won all four regular season meetings between the two clubs.

2 – Rockets Roll – North of the 49^th parallel, Kelowna eliminated Kamloops in four games, outscoring the Blazers 21-8 and 13-6 at the Sandman Centre. That I didn’t see coming! I expected more push and more bite from Kamloops in a series where I’m confident animosity was not in short supply. The Rockets actually won eight straight over the Blazers – the last four regular season contests, then the first-round sweep. The Blazers goal song probably rang hollow this post-season, as the team was clearly unable to take care of business. I still wonder why Kamloops didn’t address its goaltending at the trade deadline, though perhaps the organization did try? Kelowna is getting offensive contributions from its entire lineup. If it’s true that your best players have to be your best players, Tij Iginla, Vojtech Cihar and goaltender Harrison Boettiger are proving the point. The Rockets will face the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy winners, the Everett Silvertips in the second round. Elimination in short order could mean as much as a five-week break before the Memorial Cup starts on May 21 in Kelowna. What would an upset series victory mean to the fanbase?

3 – Penticton. Seriously. – The Penticton Vees eliminated the Seattle Thunderbirds in five games. We’re well beyond the point in time to take the expansion Vees seriously. Perhaps a bit short on WHL playoff experience, Penticton sports perhaps the oldest roster in the league, based on average age. There is just no glaring weakness! Like Kelowna, the Vees best players are doing what they are supposed to do, but there is no shortage of depth. Seattle did some shopping and roster construction at the trade deadline. It was enough for the group to gel in time to roll through March and qualify for the post-season, but the Vees were just too much. The average population at the South Okanagan Events Centre was 3,967 for the Vees three first round games, all victories. Look for that number to climb in round two. Everyone loves a winner. It’s an all-B.C. Division matchup in round two as the Vees will take on the Prince George Cougars. The Vees won five of six games over Prince George during the regular season, outscoring the Cougars, 25-15.

4 – Cougars Win – In my view, this series was the most physical among first round matchups. Four of the first five games were of the one-goal variety. Prince George won all four regular season meetings, but Spokane was a very tough out during the post-season. The Cougars primary antagonist was Chiefs forward Chase Harrington. The Prince George-native was the Chiefs first round pick, eighth overall, at the 2022 WHL Draft. His chirp from the bench in Game 1 while Cougars’ rearguard Carson Carels lay injured on the ice drew much ire. Then in Game 5 at Spokane, Harrington sent the home crowd into a frenzy. He scored in the last minute to send the contest to overtime, then tallied the game winner to keep the Chiefs season alive. Cougars’ goaltender Josh Ravensbergen faced 40 or more shots in three of six games. I didn’t see this series being the pick ‘em it became. The Cougars won all three games at the CN Centre, each one in front of over 5,000 fans. In fact, Game 2 attendance was just shy of 6,000! The Cougars move on to face Penticton, a matchup that will enable the ownership group to pay the travel expenses in Canadian currency.

5 – Raiders Eliminate Rebels – It was perhaps the most obvious mismatch in the first round and Prince Albert did the expected. Red Deer pushed the Raiders to overtime in Game 5, but that was as far as it was going. The Raiders are just too deep, to determined and too talented, perhaps destined for a long playoff run. The last time the Raiders went deep into the post season, Marc Habscheid was the bench boss guiding the team to the 2019 WHL championship. This time around, Habscheid was behind the Rebels bench. Prince Albert, which has home ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, will take on Saskatoon in the second round.

6 – Wheaties Combined – Nope, I didn’t see it coming at all, the Calgary Hitmen sweep of the Brandon Wheat Kings. Snuffed ‘em out in four straight games! In fact, I chose the Wheat Kings as the only upset in the Eastern Conference first round. Hopefully Brandon can keep goaltender Filip Ruzicka in the fold for another year or two. The 6’7 keeper posted a 2.47 goals against average and a .936 save percentage, but Brandon lost all four games. Surprisingly, the Wheaties couldn’t score when they had to, nor could they keep the puck out of their own net while leading. Calgary looked much more tenacious than I’d given them credit for. Eric Tu, 17, has certainly established himself as one of the top goaltenders in the league. And overage forward Ethan Moore scored the game winner for Calgary in each of the four contests. The Hitmen are the only WHL team to sweep a first round series in each of the last two seasons, taking out Saskatoon in four straight a year ago. Calgary has been idle since April 2 and now takes on Medicine Hat.

7 – Tigers Advance – Speaking of the Tigers, the defending league champs did what was expected, eliminating the Regina Pats in five games. The Tigers are just a better team than Regina right now. It’s their time. The Pats played with grit and intensity but are a work in progress with potentially some very good times ahead. Medicine Hat played Game 5 without veteran Jonas Woo, who was suspended for one game for something he said during Game 4 in Regina. Indeed, we live in an era where an ignorant comment is treated as harshly by the powers-that-be as a cross-check to the head. Colour me befuddled. Among active players, Woo leads the way with 62 playoff games played…and counting. Good teams find a way to win. The Tigers needed an absolute fluke goal late in the third period to send Game 5 to overtime. Even the game winner, tallied less than a minute into extra time, was pretty weak. But they all count. The 5-4 win sent the Tigers to the second round and the Pats to the off-season. Perhaps an upside in all of this is the incessant chatter about ticket prices for Pats games is over? For now. On the ice, look for Medicine Hat to up its game in round two against division rival Calgary Hitmen. The Tigers won seven of eight against Calgary during the regular season.

8 – To The Limit – If I would have had to predict which Alberta market would host a Game 7 in the first round, I would not have chosen Edmonton. The Oil Kings and Saskatoon Blades certainly gave us more than I expected. What a barnburner! The Oil Kings finished 20 points ahead of the Blades and took three of four from Saskatoon during the regular season. Edmonton is the only WHL team that went seven games in round one both this season and last, losing to Prince Albert a year ago. The Edmonton/Saskatoon series was a slugfest and neither team was a great defender of home turf. The Oil Kings lost three of four games at Rogers Place. In the end, it was a “winner, winner, chicken dinner” finish for the Blades, a 3-2 win in extra time. It’s the first time in franchise history the Blades have won a game seven on the road. And for those keeping score, goaltender Evan Gardner’s career record in playoff overtime games is now 6-5…and counting. Saskatoon takes on division rival Prince Albert in round two.

9 – Go Pats Go – Many people are mad as hornets over the price of tickets to attend WHL games at the Brandt Centre. But I have to ask, are we all supposed to concede Pats faithful are really hard done by? The city of Regina benefited from being the sentimental choice to host the 2018 Memorial Cup. Then, even though it wasn’t a boon for the fans, the Queen City was selected to host the WHL Hub in early 2021. Prior to that unique junior hockey experience, which would have been somewhat beneficial for the city’s economy amid the then global craziness, the Pats drafted the WHL’s first ever exceptional status player, Connor Bedard. Seemed like those were a couple of fun seasons! And next up for junior hockey fans in Regina is the Maddox Schultz/Liam Pue era. The two young stars will be tending to matters in Ontario with the Regina Pat Canadians at the 2026 Telus Cup later this month. The over-simplification among many is the notion reduced ticket prices will guarantee a full house at the Brandt Centre. Sure, it makes for a great atmosphere when a building is full. But then the chirp often surfaces from malcontents about long lineups for the bathrooms, not enough concessions are open, an usher was rude, the parking lot is too full, people walk to the is eats during play, and on and on and on. It brings to mind commentary from Goldmember, the character created by ‘elbows up’ goof, Mike Myers. “Ah well, then there is no pleasing you.” I don’t profess to know much about the current ownership group. Maybe it favours “yield” over “volume”? It’s pretty apparent the decision-makers have not been motivated to reduce prices in an attempt to fill the Brandt Centre. There are two sides to everything, at least. But right now, only one side is talking.

10 – DUB Randoms – Goalie fights. Who cares?…Former WHLers I didn’t hear too much about this season? Ben Riche, Roger McQueen, Ryder Ritchie, Tomas Mrsic. I hope that changes…Which teams had the largest goal differentials during the regular season? Prince Albert (GF: 310; GA 165) at +145 and Swift Current (GF: 179; GA 319) -147. The closest to “0”, not that any team would ever strive for this, was Saskatoon at -4 (GF: 220; GA 224)…There were 85 hat tricks scored this season. …There were 67 shutouts…According to the WHL, Kamloops went to overtime on 19 occasions, more than any other team this season. Medicine Hat and Prince George played in 18 overtime games each. Both won eight times, tops in the DUB…At the other end, Spokane went to the fourth period only seven times…My old buddy Kevin Parnell is 4-0 as the Kelowna Rockets temporary play-by-play voice through round one of the playoffs…Another good old media wag is giving it his all during these playoffs. Darren Stienke. He might be a little peeked after round one, but I’m pretty sure Stanks will ride the adrenaline rush covering the Raiders and Blades in round two.

DUB Randoms, Part Deux – Assuming the Prince George Cougars spent five nights in Spokane to play three games against the Chiefs, what do you suppose that road trip cost? Use $1.40 exchange rate, which is probably low. Of course, when the Chiefs traveled up to Prince George during the first round, the organization was buying services at a 40% discount…There were 44 games played during the first round of the WHL playoffs last season, and only one sweep. Two series went the full seven games. This season? A total of 40 games, three sweeps and one Game 7…My round two picks are Everett, Penticton, Prince Albert and Medicine Hat. I would love to see an all-B.C. Division battle for the Western Conference title, but I just don’t see any upsets.

Masters Week – The harbinger of spring is here for golfers and I’ll enjoy as much of it as I can. Golfers everywhere get excited during Masters week and I’m one of them. Let’s hope for a close finish Sunday afternoon. Is it time for a relative unknown to win a green jacket? Or is it likely we’ll see a repeat winner? I wouldn’t mind a Bryson Deschambeau win, though the polar-opposite demeanour of Hideki Matsuyama has always impressed me, too. A dark horse? How about Patrick Reed. It was 40 years ago the GOAT, Jack Nicklaus, won the historic 1986 Masters that captivated the sports world. And with respect to Vern Lundquist, “Yes Sir!” will always be Ben Wright’s call! The tournament resides annually in a unique sporting calendar cocoon of sorts. It doesn’t have to compete with the NFL, while both the NHL and NBA are typically not fully into round one of their respective post-seasons. For 2026, there was interest in how Tiger Woods might perform, but he managed to bugger that up, along with his Land Rover. The world lost the great Arnold Palmer a few years ago and Nicklaus, now 86, does not look well. Replacing these icons in any way, shape or form with Tiger doesn’t seem like a fair trade. Phil Mushnick’s op-ed in the April 2 edition of the New York Post absolutely says it best. Dig it up. It’s a good read. One of the juiciest tales to emerge from this mess suggests Tiger was talking on the phone with the President during or after the crash. That won’t sit well with many folks. Regardless, like almost everything these days, let’s just blame Trump. In fact, maybe a deep dive by the Leader Post might connect the dots to prove that 45-47 is really at fault for the price of Regina Pats tickets?

(Glen Erickson is a freelance hockey writer based in Medicine Hat, AB)