2024 Road to Memorial Cup: WHL Championship Series preview
Moose Jaw and Portland are set to square off for the 2024 Ed Chynoweth Cup.
The Warriors came out of the East as the no. 3 seed while the Winterhawks reached the WHL Championship Series as the West’s no. 2 seed.
In a history that stretches more than 40 years, the Warriors have yet to claim a WHL title. Portland, on the other hand, are three-time champions with their last victory coming in 2013.
The sides met just once during the regular season with Moose Jaw winning 4-3 on Feb. 28 thanks to Jagger Firkus’ (SEA) game-winner.
(3) Moose Jaw vs. (2) Portland
In an incredible Eastern Conference Championship Series, Moose Jaw prevailed over no. 1 ranked Saskatoon in Game 7 thanks to Lynden Lakovic’s overtime winner.
Six of the seven games in the series went to overtime as a new WHL record was established.
Brayden Yager (PIT) buried the overtime winner in Game 1 on the road in a 4-3 victory before Saskatoon levelled the series through Fraser Minten’s OT decider in a 3-2 Game 2 win.
Game 3 was the lone game not to need overtime as Moose Jaw won 3-1 but again the Blades tied things up thanks to Egor Sidorov’s (ANA) extra frame winner in a 5-4 Game 4 victory.
After Saskatoon took Game 5 thanks to another Minten overtime winner, the Warriors were victorious in Game’s 6 and 7 as Lakovic scored back-to-back overtime winners.
One of the biggest goals in @MJWARRIORS history! 😤
Lynden Lakovic sends Moose Jaw to the #WHLChampionship Series with the Game 7 OT winner! #RoadtoMemorialCup
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 8, 2024
Atley Calvert, Jagger Firkus (SEA), Denton Mateychuk (CBJ), Brayden Schuurman and Yager each had three goals in the series while Firkus’ nine points led the way. In goal, Jackson Unger posted a 2.95 GAA and .901 save percentage.
Moose Jaw swept Brandon in the first round while they took out Swift Current in five games in Round 2.
Firkus and Mateychuk sit tied first in CHL postseason scoring with 27 points while the former’s 12 goals leads all Warriors skaters after he led the CHL in the regular season with 126 points. Of the remaining six teams on the Road to Memorial Cup, Moose Jaw’s 71 goals are the most scored.
Unger, whose 35 wins were tied for the CHL lead in the regular season, has made the most saves in the WHL playoffs with 463.
Moose Jaw have reached the WHL Championship Series just once previously in 2006 when they fell in four games to Vancouver.
Portland returned to the WHL Championship Series for the first time in 11 years after a 4-2 series win over no. 1 ranked Prince George.
After they were shutout 5-0 in Game 1, Portland stormed back to win three straight highlighted by a Marcus Nguyen hat-trick in a 4-1 victory in Game 3.
The Cougars took Game 5 6-1 but Portland got the job done in Game 6 as Jan Spunar made 38 saves and Josh Davies (FLA) had the double overtime winner in a 2-1 decision.
Nate Danielson (DET) had 11 points in the series while Nguyen found the back of the net six times. Spunar recorded a 2.82 GAA and .905 save percentage between the pipes.
2OT WINNER! #TimeToHunt prospect Josh Davies gave the @pdxwinterhawks their first Western Conference title in a decade Monday night! #RoadtoMemorialCup
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 7, 2024
Portland had gone a perfect 8-0 in the first two rounds of the WHL Playoffs after they swept Victoria and Everett respectively.
Danielson sits tied fourth in WHL postseason scoring with 21 points while his 16 assists are tied second. Kyle Chyzowski’s eight goals are a team high while Spunar owns the second best save percentage in the WHL at .923.
A perennial contender, the Winterhawks haven’t lifted the Ed Chynoweth Cup since 2013 while they also hoisted the trophy in 1982 and 1998. On the other hand, no WHL club has suffered more heartbreak than the Winterhawks as their nine WHL Championship Series defeats are the most in league history.
Series schedule:
Game 1 — May 10 — MJ @ POR — 10pm ET / 7pm PT
Game 2 — May 11 — MJ @ POR — 10pm ET / 7pm PT
Game 3 — May 14 — POR @ MJ — 10pm ET / 7pm PT
Game 4 — May 15 — POR @ MJ — 10pm ET / 7pm PT
Game 5* — May 17 — POR @ MJ — 10pm ET / 7pm PT
Game 6* — May 19 — MJ @ POR — TBD
Game 7* — May 20 — MJ @ POR — TBD
*if necessary
Watch live
TSN will provide complete coverage of the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL Championship Series beginning with Game 1 while RDS will showcase the QMJHL Championship Series from Game 1 onward. Full coverage of the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL Championship Series will also be available on CHL TV to fans worldwide while select games will air on NHL Network in the United States.