SERIES PREVIEW: Portland (2) vs. Moose Jaw (3)
The 2024 WHL Championship Series is here.
Will the Portland Winterhawks move into a tie for the third-most Ed Chynoweth Cup wins in league history with a fourth title?
Or will the Moose Jaw Warriors lift the trophy for the first time in franchise history?
The teams are meeting in the WHL postseason for the very first time and faced off only once in the regular season, with Moose Jaw emerging victorious in a 4-3 decision at Portland’s Glass Palace in February.
The WHL Champion will represent the West in the 104th Memorial Cup in Saginaw, Michigan.
The U.S. Division champion Winterhawks advance to the final round for the first time since 2014 after downing the Western Conference champion Prince George Cougars in six games.
Meanwhile, Moose Jaw snuck past the regular season-leading Saskatoon Blades Game 7 of a historic all-Saskatchewan Eastern Conference Championship.
The thrilling series saw six of the seven matches go to overtime, shattering the previous WHL record of five overtime contests, which was previously set by Kelowna and Seattle in 2013 and Tri-City and Spokane in 2008.
Moose Jaw enters the WHL Championship as the top-scoring team in the postseason, potting 71 goals in 16 contests for an average of 4.4 goals per game.
Seattle Kraken prospect Jagger Firkus, the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy winner and 2023-24 WHL Player of the Year, has seen his monster regular-season performance spill over into the playoffs, sitting second in goals (12) and tied with Moose Jaw Captain Denton Mateychuk for the league lead in points (27).
Meanwhile, Portland has been the second-stingest squad in playoffs, allowing a mere 2.62 goals per game, thanks, in part, to the stellar play of WHL Goaltender of the Year nominee Jan Spunar.
The 2024 WHL Championship features seven current NHL prospects on Portland- James Stefan (Edmonton), Josh Davies (Florida), Nate Danielson (Detroit), Marek Alscher (Florida), Tyson Jugnauth (Seattle), Carter Sotheran (Philadelphia) and Luca Cagnoni (San Jose).
Moose Jaw also has seven NHL prospects: Jagger Firkus (Seattle), Denton Mateychuk (Columbus), Brayden Yager (Pittsburgh), Martin Rysavy (Columbus), Matthew Savoie (Buffalo), Kalem Parker (Minnesota) and Vojtech Port (Anaheim).
Savoie is the lone player with previous WHL Championship experience, leading the then-Winnipeg ICE with 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points in 19 games, though the ICE fell to the Seattle Thunderbirds in five games.
Game 1 is set for Friday, May 10 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum at 7:00 p.m. PST.
The series will shift to Moose Jaw for Games 3-5, starting with the third match on Tuesday, May 14 at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Portland Winterhawks | Moose Jaw Warriors | |
Record | 48-15-4-1 (1st U.S.) | 44-21-0-3 (2nd East) |
Playoff Leaders | Nate Danielson (5G, 16A, 21PTS)
James Stefan (7G, 8A, 15PTS) Marcus Nguyen (6G, 9A, 15PTS) |
Jagger Firkus (12G, 15A, 27PTS)
Denton Mateychuk (8G, 19A, 27PTS) Brayden Yager (10G, 11A, 21PTS) |
Season Leaders | Gabe Klassen (35G, 71A, 106PTS)
James Stefan (50G, 51A, 101PTS) Luca Cagnoni (18G, 72A, 90PTS) |
Jagger Firkus (61G, 65A, 126PTS)
Atley Calvert (47G, 48A, 95PTS) Brayden Yager (35G, 60A, 95PTS) |
Leading Goaltender (Playoffs) | Jan Spunar (12-2-0-0, 2.32, .923) | Jackson Unger (12-1-2-0, 3.14, .903) |
Power Play (Playoffs) | 32.6% (2nd) | 20.4% (9th) |
Penalty Kill (Playoffs) | 78.3% (6th) | 81.8% (4th) |
Third Round | Def. Prince George (4-2) | Def. Saskatoon (4-3) |
Last Championship | 2013 | – |
2023-24 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
February 28, 2024- Moose Jaw 4, Portland 3
GAME BREAKERS
Portland Winterhawks: Forward Nate Danielson proved he was worth the price tag in the blockbuster deal that brought the Detroit Red Wings prospect to Portland from Brandon at the WHL trade deadline. The 6-foot-2, 188-pound centreman led all WHL skaters in points in the Conference Championships with two goals and nine assists for 11 points and a +7 rating in six games. The 19-year-old has racked up four games with three points or more in the postseason, including a one-goal, three-assist performance in Game 4 of the Western Conference Championship to force Prince George to the brink of elimination. Danielson leads all Portland skaters with 21 points (five goals, 16 assists), ranking fifth in points among all skaters and second in assists. The Red Deer, Alta. product registered a goal and an assist in the Winterhawks’ loss to the Warriors in the regular season.
Moose Jaw Warriors: Jagger Firkus is reporting for duty. the 2023-24 WHL Player of the Year led all CHL players with a monster 126 points through the regular season and has tied his Captain Denton Mateychuk to lead all WHL skaters in postseason scoring with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 16 games. Firkus has netted three points on four occasions in the 2024 WHL Playoffs, highlighted by a hat trick against Swift Current to eliminate the Broncos in Round Two, and a one-goal, two-assist performance against the Blades in Game 4 to force overtime. The Seattle Kraken prospect was only held off the scoresheet in four games in the regular season and scored an empty-net goal against Portland in the teams’ lone meeting on February 28.
GOALTENDING
Portland Winterhawks: Get set for a clash between two WHL Goaltender of the Year nominees. Did we mention they’re both eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft, too? Jan Spunar is coming off a goaltending battle for the ages against Joshua Ravensbergen and the Prince George Cougars that saw the Czech netminder stop a career-high 48 shots to preserve a double-overtime victory for the Winterhawks. The pair were named WHL Top Performers for the night with the dynamic showing. Spunar, a 6-foot-3, 199-pound netminder was named WHL Goaltender of the Month for April after going undefeated through the first two rounds of the WHL playoffs and posting a shutout in the series-clinching round two match against Everett. Spunar is 12-2-0-0 in the 2024 WHL Playoffs, posting a 2.32 goals-against average, a .923 save percentage and one shutout. He’s also second in saves made in the postseason (409). The 19-year-old turned aside 22 of 25 shots in Portland’s lone meeting against Moose Jaw in the regular season.
Moose Jaw Warriors: East Division Goaltender of the Year Jackson Unger is a battler. The workhorse was one of only two WHL goaltenders to record 30 or more wins in the regular season with a 35-15-0-2 record, a 3.08 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage and three shutouts in a career-high 54 appearances. Unger is ranked 27th among North American goaltenders in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings ahead of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound netminder was named Giuseppe WHL Goaltender of the Week on April 29 after going 1-0-1-0 against Saskatoon to open up the WHL Eastern Conference Championship. Unger started five of six games for Moose Jaw on a six-game U.S. Division road trip, winning every match he started- including a 27-save performance to down the Winterhawks.
X FACTOR
Portland Winterhawks: Time for a rebrand as Marcus Ngu-win? The 19-year-old winger led all skaters with six goals in the Conference Championships, with another three assists to boot. Nguyen and Danielson proved to be a near-unstoppable combination against the Cougars, highlighted by his first playoff hat trick in Game 3. He’s fresh off his third full WHL regular season, which saw him put up a career-high 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points in 66 games.
Moose Jaw Warriors: Look out for Lynden Lakovic. The 17-year-old’s five postseason goals may not stand out next to the garish numbers of players like Firkus, Danielson and the like, but Lakovic actually leads the league with four game-winning-goals entering the Championship Series. Three of the lamp-lighters also came in overtime- including the extra time marker that eliminated Saskatoon in Game 7. Clutch is clutch, and the West Kelowna, B.C. product hopes to continue to be a difference maker when it matters most.
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game | Date | Visitor | Home | Time |
1 | Friday, May 10 | Moose Jaw | Portland | 7:00 p.m. PST |
2 | Saturday, May 11 | Moose Jaw | Portland | 7:00 p.m. PST |
3 | Tuesday, May 14 | Portland | Moose Jaw | 8:00 p.m. MST |
4 | Wednesday, May 15 | Portland | Moose Jaw | 8:00 p.m. MST |
5* | Friday, May 17 | Portland | Moose Jaw | 8:00 p.m. MST |
6* | Sunday, May 19 | Moose Jaw | Portland | TBD |
7* | Monday, May 20 | Moose Jaw | Portland | TBD |
*If necessary