With just about 10 games left in the WHL regular season over the next three weeks, most teams remain in a mad scramble to try to lock down a playoff spot. Only two teams in the entire WHL have guaranteed their division titles: the Kelowna Rockets in the BC Division and the Brandon Wheat Kings in the East Division. Only four others have guaranteed themselves a playoff spot: Calgary Hitmen, Medicine Hat Tigers, Everett Silvertips and Portland Winterhawks.
With the new wildcard format, three teams from each division will get a playoff spot along with 2 other teams with the most points below them. It has turned into a huge battle and this week’s games proved just how volatile the final weeks are going to be. Portland had a great chance to catch Everett, but lost a 5-4 overtime game to Calgary on Wednesday, but followed it up with an impressive 5-2 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday which put Portland up 9 points on Seattle and 2 points behind Everett for top spot and Portland holds a game in hand.
Everett pulled away with a 7-2 beating of Calgary on Friday, but then dropped a 5-1 decision to the suddenly resurging Prince George Cougars on Saturday, which allowed Portland to hang tight with the Silvertips. Seattle had beaten Prince George in overtime 5-4 on Friday and with the loss to Portland on Saturday, have made their work tough for them to go any higher than third place in the US Division.
The Spokane Chiefs, meanwhile, thumped Tri-City Americans in two games by a combined 12-1 score. Tri-City sits just three points from being in the basement. The Americans have suffered major setbacks with injuries to both their regular goaltenders and several players and none appear to be close enough to healthy before the bulk of the remaining regular season games. With two more games against the Chiefs, the Americans will find it the most difficult road to stay in the playoff hunt.
Portland has just ten games left in the regular season with two against Seattle and three versus Tri-City and Spokane, with singles against Everett and Prince George. While Portland struggled against its US Division counterparts earlier in the season, the past couple of months have given the Winterhawks strong momentum and strong showings in every game, especially against opponents in their own division.
Oliver Bjorkstrand continues to make headlines as he vaults up the scoring lead ladder. His recent record of scoring a goal in eleven straight games ties him with Tony Currie from the inaugural Winterhawks season in 1976-77 as the only players to do so. He has scored 48 goals thus far, the most in the WHL this season, and his 91 points put him just 6 behind league leader Trevor Cox from the Medicine Hat Tigers (he has played in eleven more games). Nic Petand and Chase DeLeo of the Winterhawks are also featured in the top 20 scoring leaders at 70 points each.
On another note, last year’s Memorial Cup Champion Edmonton Oil Kings have been hurt badly by loss of players following their cup win. Sitting in the last wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, they are just seven points up on Moose Jaw Warriors and with 18 available points in their remaining games, this could go down to the last week of the regular season.
Ice Chips: Portland Winterhawks Alex Overhardt, Layne Viveiros, Brendan DeJong, and one other player (TBA) will be signing autographs at the Les Schwab on 320 SE 10th Avenue in Hillsboro on Wednesday, March 4 from 4:30 until 6pm. The annual Dash for Cash will take place Saturday, March 7 at the Moda Center. Select H&R Block locations will offer opportunities to be entered to win a spot on the ice to try and collect a share of $10,000 spread out on the ice through March 4.
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