Leading into the final weekend of action, all of the teams were pretty much firmed up as to who they would play and teams scrambled to set building dates for the first round of the playoffs. Only a handful of teams would require the weekend games to complete their playoff schedules. Among them, the Portland Winterhawks who had a brief sniff at the top of the US Division, only to slide back into second with a couple of losses to Tri-City Americans and Seattle Thunderbirds. The Americans with the win over Portland on Friday and a split of games between Prince George Cougars and Kamloops Blazers, netted Tri-City the last wildcard spot in the playoffs. Portland’s loss to Seattle and Everett Silvertips win and shootout loss with Victoria gave the Silvertips their first US Division title since the 2006-07 season. The Cougars made the playoffs for the first time since 2011 and under new ownership this season. With the Kamloops Blazers and Vancouver Giants out of the playoffs, all five US Division teams will compete in this year’s playoffs.
The Winterhawks would win its final regular season game against the Tri-City Americans on Sunday, peppering 54 shots at the net and scoring five times for a 5-3 win. Everett increased its overall lead in the US Division in a meaningless 5-4 win over the Spokane Chiefs. The only game that had meaning on the final day of action was the Calgary Hitmen winning the Central Division with a 3-2 win over the Kootenay Ice.
For Portland, Oliver Bjorkstrand powered through the Western Hockey League scoring title with 63 goals and 55 assists for 118 points and just 35 minutes in the penalty box in just 59 games. Dylan Strom of the from the Ontario Hockey League with 45 goals and 84 assists for 129 points in 68 games and Conor Garland from the Moncton Wildcats with 35 goals and 94 assists for 129 points in 67 games led the Canadian Hockey League in scoring. Overall in the Canadian Hockey league, Bjorkstrand would rank fifth overall in the overall CHL scoring race, though with as many as 9 fewer games played.
The WHL playoffs start on Thursday March 26 with the long distance series between the Central and Eastern Division. The 2014 Memorial Cup Champion Edmonton Oil Kings limped into the final Eastern Conference Wildcard spot and face the Scotty Munro Champions for best overall record in the Brandon Wheat Kings. Brandon should take this in no more than five games. The next night while the battle of the Kings continues, Regina Pats, who hold second place in the Eastern Conference will face the Swift Current Broncos. The Pats may take as many as six games to win this battle. The Kootenay Ice will travel to Calgary to face the Hitmen who are tops in the Central Division. The Hitmen should take the Ice in five games. The most exciting battle will come to the Western Conference with the Prince George Cougars facing Victoria Royals. The Cougars originated in Victoria and the Royals moved from Chilliwack, BC five seasons ago. The games have been close and there is a possible upset here with Prince George the potential winner in six games. The Tri-City Americans will limp into Kelowna to battle the Rockets. Unless the Ams can clear up a backlog of injuries, the Rockets should sweep this series. Spokane Chiefs will battle Everett Silvertips. The Chiefs have one great scorer, but suspect goaltending and will most likely be out in five, though they might scare the Silvertips into a sixth game.
The Portland Winterhawks will start their series later than the other teams with Saturday March 28 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Sunday at the Moda Center versus the Seattle Thunderbirds. Portland has a shot at this one in six if they get the rest this week.
The overall favorite for the Memorial Cup sits with the Ontario Hockey League teams. With the Sault Saint Marie Greyhounds tops in the league and Oshawa Generals, Erie Otters and Barrie Colts close behind, one of these teams is looked to be Cup bound. In Quebec, Moncton Wildcats and Rimouski Oceanic are the favorites as the host team Quebec Ramparts look to at least be a reasonably competitive team in the Memorial Cup tournament.
Ice Chips: Prior to the start of the Winterhawks final regular season game, the annual awards were handed out. Oliver Bjorkstrand led the way, winning the Booster Club Most Popular Player, Leading Scorer, and MVP Award as voted by the players on the team. Nic Petan won the Coaches Award and Adin Hill won Rookie of the Year. Anton Cederholm won Best Defensive Player while Dominic Turgeon won the Sportsmanship and Ability award. For the Scholastic Award, Josh Hanson won the College Age Award and Alex Overhardt took the High School Award.
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