The final weeks of the WHL regular season are coming down to the wire, especially for teams battling for playoff spots. The Portland Winterhawks faced a tough stretch over the weekend, playing three games in three nights. Two of those matchups came against the league’s top team, while the third was against another club chasing a postseason berth.
The Everett Silvertips, who are closing in on the Scotty Munro Trophy for the WHL’s best regular season record, showed no signs of slowing down. Portland has beaten Everett three times this season, but the Silvertips have delivered some tough losses to the Hawks as well.
The weekend began in Everett, where more than 8,000 fans watched the Silvertips do what they have done all season, win hockey games.
Portland struck first when Alex Weiermair, the team’s points leader, scored on the Hawks’ first shot of the night. Everett answered late in the opening period to tie the game. Midway through the second, Nathan Free restored Portland’s lead with a power play goal, his team-leading 14th on the man advantage. Everett responded again about six minutes later to even the score.
The third period belonged entirely to the Silvertips. With Portland goaltender Ondrej Stebetak stretched out during a scramble, Everett took the lead. A power play goal followed, and an empty netter sealed a 5-2 victory. Stebetak was named the game’s second star after facing 50 shots in the loss. Everett dominated the shot count 51-23, and both teams finished 1-for-3 on the power play.
The same two teams met the following night in Portland again.
This time Everett opened the scoring just past the midway point of the first period. The lead held until the second period when Will McLaughlin scored a shorthanded goal after deking past an Everett defenseman. The tie lasted just 27 seconds. Everett quickly regained the lead after pinning Portland in its own zone and moving the puck crisply before beating goaltender Chase Cruz.
The Silvertips pulled away in the third. After an initial save by Cruz, Everett curled a loose puck into the net. Portland pulled within one when Alex Weiermair blasted a shot from near the blue line through traffic with just over three minutes remaining. Everett ended the comeback attempt with an empty net goal after Portland failed to clear the zone. Carter Bear scored from close range to finish the scoring.
Everett again led the shot totals 48-34. Neither team converted on the power play, with Portland going 0-for-1 and Everett finishing 0-for-3.
Despite the loss, the night included a memorable moment for the Winterhawks organization. The team celebrated its top ten players of all time, with Ken Yaremchuk, a member of the 1983 Memorial Cup championship team, ranked number one. His No. 15 jersey was officially retired. Current forward Sam Spehar, who had been wearing No. 15 this season, switched to No. 7 before the game.
The weekend concluded with a matchup against the Tri-City Americans, another team fighting to stay alive in the playoff race. Tri-City has struggled recently, going through a stretch where wins have been hard to come by.
The game itself was tight and defensive early on. Portland broke through just over three minutes into the first period when Max Psenicka capitalized on an opportunity to give the Hawks the lead.
That advantage held until midway through the second period when Tri-City scored on the power play to tie the game. Just 22 seconds later, Nathan Brown restored Portland’s lead. The Hawks protected that advantage until the final moments of regulation. With just two seconds remaining, Ryan Miller broke free from the Portland zone, skated into the Tri-City end, and directed the puck into the empty net to secure a 3-1 victory.
Portland finished with a 33-27 edge in shots. The Hawks were 0-for-2 on the power play, while Tri-City went 1-for-3.
The win moved Portland into seventh place in the Western Conference standings with 62 points, one point ahead of Seattle, which still holds a game in hand.
The playoff race in the Western Conference remains extremely tight.
Portland has six games remaining, including matchups with Spokane and Everett, along with two games each against Tri-City and Seattle.
Seattle sits in eighth place with 61 points and still has games remaining against Vancouver, Victoria, Tri-City, Spokane twice, and Portland twice.
Victoria is ninth with 60 points and will face Seattle, Everett, and Kelowna once each, along with two games against Prince George and two against Vancouver.
Tri-City, currently tenth with 57 points, arguably has the toughest remaining schedule. The Americans still must face Spokane twice, Kamloops once, Portland once more, and the Penticton Vees twice.
Spokane currently holds sixth place with 65 points and still has games against Portland, Seattle three times, and Tri-City twice.
Fifth-place Kamloops could technically still be caught if things go poorly for them and the teams below catch fire, but that scenario remains unlikely.
Across the CHL, playoff races are beginning to settle. In the WHL’s Eastern Conference, Regina appears closest to clinching among the remaining teams battling for position, with Red Deer and Moose Jaw separated by just a point in the race for the final two spots.
In the OHL, most playoff positions are already locked in. The Eastern Conference standings are essentially set, while the Western Conference still has a few teams that could shuffle places over the final five to six games.
The QMJHL has just one playoff spot remaining, and that race is nearly decided. Gatineau appears poised to claim the final berth, leaving Baie-Comeau and Rimouski on the outside looking in.
The Q will also introduce a different playoff format this season. Teams will face divisional opponents in the first round as usual, but after that, matchups will be determined strictly by points. The change could lead to some intriguing postseason matchups.
