The finals have been set for the CHL, the fourth and final round of the league playoffs. The winners of these battles will be entrants into the Memorial Cup alongside the host team, Saginaw Spirit, the first US team to host the Cup since 1998 in Spokane. There have been talks of the WHL teams, either Seattle or Portland, hosting the Cup in future years. Seattle would use Climate Pledge Arena, home to the Seattle Kraken and Portland, with the Veterans Memorial Coliseum large enough to accommodate the tournament.
First, the WHL would have to settle the battle with the Western Conference, having the Prince George Cougars and Portland Winterhawks and the Eastern Conference in Moose Jaw Warriors and Saskatoon Blades. Both games would have to face overtime to settle the score.
In Prince George, the Cougars faithful showed up to see the longest game ever in Prince George history. In the first period, Josh Davies was assessed 14 minutes in penalties when he came to the rescue of a teammate who he thought was checked to the boards too hard. Despite the total, Portland fought it off, and it seemed to give Portland a lift. Portland started things off with a goal by Nate Danielson that had to be reviewed late in the second period. After ruling it was good, the Hawks led after 2. Just past the five-minute mark of the third period, Borrya Valis scored to even things up for the Cougars. Jan Spunar was in the Hawks net, facing 49 shots in the game, and there were many difficult highlight reel saves. At the other end, Joshua Ravensbergen faced 38, and again, the highlight reel was on fire with near goals. The teams went to the first overtime, and like the first three periods, the show by the goaltenders was forward, and yet the score didn’t budge. The two teams were scoreless on the powerplay, and playoff hockey was at its finest at 2-1 Portland.
In the second overtime, a shot from the right face-off dot by Josh Davies, who had sat most of the first period in the penalty box, was the winner. Portland won the game 2-1 in the second overtime and awaited the winner of the game with Saskatoon and Moose Jaw, which would be completed the following night.
In Saskatoon, the Warriors took the game to the brink of facing the Scotty Munro champions Saskatoon Blades, with the winner facing the Portland Winterhawks. The Warriors drew first blood just past the midway mark of the first period. Midway through the second frame, Saskatoon tied it up, and both teams pressed for the go-ahead tally. That went to Moose Jaw at the midway mark of the third period and held on, but in the dying minutes, Saskatoon was able to finally bring the score even, delighting the over 13 thousand in attendance.
The hopes were dashed just seconds into overtime as Moose Jaw capitalized and stunned the Blades with a 3-2 win, earning the right to face Portland for the WHL Title. The schedule was announced: Portland would host the first two games on Friday and Saturday, with Moose Jaw getting games 3-5 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Portland, if needed, would host Sunday and Tuesday, leading to the Memorial Cup, which will start just days after.
Out east, the final battle with the come-from-behind North Bay Battalion and Oshawa Generals would have to be settled before the winner would travel to London, Ontario, to face the Knights. The Battalion, which had returned from a 3-0 deficit in the series with an 8-1 win days before, ran out of gas, and the Generals steamrolled over North Bay 6-1.
Now, the finals are set: Baie Comeau will host Drummondville on Thursday, London will host Oshawa on Thursday, and Portland will host Moose Jaw on Friday.
The US Priority Draft is on Wednesday, and the Prospects Draft is on Thursday. These are 15-year-old players where Portland will draft 20th and 42nd. The Prospects Draft will be on Thursday, where the Winterhawks will draft 20th. Players eligible for the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft are 2009-born players who reside in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Players not drafted are eligible to be listed by any team following the draft. Portland has many holes to fill following the season, with 11 players on the roster entering their 20th year.
While Portland didn’t go heavy at the trade deadline, they have slowly built a strong “All In” team with only one trade, Nate Danielson.
In a future column, we’ll discuss the players and the most likely scenarios of them.
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