SERIES PREVIEW: Spokane Chiefs (2) vs. Victoria Royals (3)
Spokane, Wash. – For the third time in team history, the Spokane Chiefs and Victoria Royals will reignite hostilities in the postseason, starting tonight at 6:00 p.m. at the Spokane Arena.
The formidable Western Conference Teams have marched on to Round Two of the 2025 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien after winning their first-round matchups in five games.
Despite starting playoffs as the third seed, Spokane (45-20-1-2, 93PTS) will have home ice with the teams re-seeding by regular-season points after the first round. Victoria (40-17-4-7, 91PTS) picked up home-ice advantage in Round One by nature of clinching the B.C. Division title.
The Chiefs are the third-highest scoring team so far after putting a whopping 28 goals, or an average of 5.6 per game, past the Vancouver Giants.
WHL Player of the Year nominees Andrew Cristall and Berkly Catton and WHL Western Conference Second All-Star Team member Shea Van Olm have combined for a back-breaking 37 points (15G-22A).
The trio formed the most potent line in the WHL’s regular season but now face the second-stingest team in the playoffs.
Victoria’s defensive corps will need to bring its A-game to shut down the Chiefs, but they feel up to the taste with a blueline loaded with NHL prospects like Captain Justin Kipkie (Utah Hockey Club) and San Jose Sharks prospect Nate Misskey, as well as WHL Rookie of the Year nominee Keaton Verhoeff, who had a goal and three assists in Round One.
Up front, 2025 NHL Draft-eligible centreman Cole Reschny has carried the torch for the Royals with 12 points (4G-8A) in five games and has yet to be held off the scoresheet in the postseason.
Spokane led the regular season series with a 3-0-1-0 record, but two of the matches were extremely close and required overtime or a shootout.
Between the pipes,
Expect a high-flying matchup between two meticulously constructed teams. Head Coaches Brad Lauer (Spokane) and James Patrick (Victoria) are each nominated for the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy for WHL Coach of the Year while General Managers Matt Bardsley and Jake Heisinger are finalists for the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy for WHL Executive of the Year.
Both sides are idle until they hit the ice for Game 1 in Spokane on Sunday, April 13 at 6:05 p.m. PST.
The 2-3-2 series will head to Vancouver Island for Game 3 on Wednesday, April 16.
All games will be streamed for free on Victory+.
STAT PACK
| Spokane Chiefs | Victoria Royals | |
| Record | 45-20-1-2 (2nd U.S.) | 40-17-4-7 (1st B.C.) |
| Playoff Leaders | Berkly Catton (4G-10A, 14PTS)
Andrew Cristall (7G-5A, 12PTS) Shea Van Olm (4G-7A, 11PTS) |
Cole Reschny (4G-8A, 12PTS)
Teydon Trembecky (2G-6A, 8PTS) Kenta Isogai (3G-4A, 7PTS) |
| Season Leaders | Andrew Cristall (48G-84A, 132PTS)
Berkly Catton (38G-71A, 109PTS) Shea Van Olm (49G-43A, 92PTS) |
Cole Reschny (26G-66A, 92PTS)
Teydon Trembecky (46G-42A, 88PTS) Kenta Isogai (32G-46A, 78PTS) |
| Leading Goaltender (Playoffs) | Dawson Cowan (4-1-0-0, 3.01 GAA, .890 save percentage) | Johnny Hicks (4-0-0-0, 1.58 GAA, .949 save percentage, two shutouts) |
| Power Play (Playoffs) | 27.8% (6th) | 31.6% (3rd) |
| Penalty Kill (Playoffs) | 81.2% (4th) | 89.5% (2nd) |
| First Round | Def. Vancouver (4-1) | Def. Tri-City (4-1) |
| Last WHL Championship | 2008 | – |
2023-24 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Spokane leads 3-0-1-0
January 31, 2024- Victoria 1, Spokane 5
February 8, 2025- Victoria 5, Spokane 4 (OT)
March 7, 2025- Spokane 9, Victoria 2
March 8, 2025- Spokane 2, Victoria 1 (SO)
GAME BREAKERS
Spokane Chiefs: Captain Berkly Catton has garnered a WHL Player of the Year nomination for a second-straight season after hitting the century mark in scoring in back-to-back campaigns. The Seattle Kraken prospect has been just as formidable in his second trip to the WHL postseason, where he sits third among all skaters with 14 points (4G-10A) in five games, including a monster seven-point (2G-5A) night to come one point away from tying the WHL single-game playoff points record. The reigning Tempo WHL Player of the Week had six goals and three assists in four outings against Victoria in the regular season, headlined by a two-goal, two-assist showing on March 7.
Victoria Royals: Only four players recorded five-plus point games in Round One, and Victoria’s breakout sniper Teydon Trembecky was one of them. The 19-year-old popped off for a goal and four assists in Game 2 against Tri-City, including a primary assist on Cole Reschny’s game-winner. Trembecky added a goal and three assists in four games against the Chiefs in the regular season.
GOALTENDING
Spokane Chiefs: After leading all WHL goaltenders in wins during the 2024-25 regular season and winning his first playoff series, Warren, Man.’s Dawson Cowan has rightfully earned a nomination for the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy for WHL Goaltender of the Year. The 6-foot-2, 188-pound goalie was also undefeated against Victoria in the regular season with a 3-0-0-0 record, a 1.30 goals-against average and .952 save percentage, highlighted by 33 regulation saves and three shootout stops in a 2-1 shootout win on March 8.
Victoria Royals: First-year netminder Johnny Hicks leads all WHLers in playoff save percentage (.949) and shutouts (2) while sitting second in goals-against average (1.58) after a prominent showing against Tri-City in Round On that saw him pick up Pharmasave WHL Goaltender of the Week honours on March 31. Hicks went 0-2-0-1 against the high-powered Chiefs in the regular season with a 4.55 goals-against average and an .859 save percentage.
X-FACTOR
Spokane Chiefs: Welcome to the postseason, Mathis Preston. The 16-year-old has stepped up to provide necessary bursts of depth scoring to sit third in playoff points (6) among all rookies. Preston buried his first WHL hat trick in Game 2 against the Giants and had another goal and two assists in Game 4 to force the G-men to the brink of elimination. The Royals haven’t seen much of the 5-fot-11, 168-pound forward, as Preston only suited up for one game against Victoria on March 8.
Victoria Royals: Don’t mistake his politeness for weakness. WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player nominee Kenta Isogai is as threatening around the net as ever. The 20-year-old veteran is into the second round for the first time after bagging back-to-back 30-goal regular season runs. Isogai has three goals and four assists for seven points in five games in the 2025 WHL Playoffs and had plenty of scoring success against Spokane earlier on in the season. Isogai had four goals and five assists versus the Chiefs in nine games split between Wenatchee and Victoria post trade deadline.
SERIES SCHEDULE
| Game | Visitor | Home | Day | Date | Time | |
| 1 | Victoria | @ | Spokane | Sunday | April 13 | 6:05 p.m. PST |
| 2 | Victoria | @ | Spokane | Monday | April 14 | 7:05 p.m. PST |
| 3 | Spokane | @ | Victoria | Wednesday | April 16 | 7:05 p.m. PST |
| 4 | Spokane | @ | Victoria | Friday | April 18 | 7:05 p.m. PST |
| 5* | Spokane | @ | Victoria | Saturday | April 19 | 6:05 p.m. PST |
| 6* | Victoria | @ | Spokane | Tuesday | April 22 | 7:05 p.m. PST |
| 7* | Victoria | @ | Spokane | Wednesday | April 23 | 7:05 p.m. PST |
*- If necessary
