WHL Morning Skate: April 13, 2025

NEED TO KNOW

– Kooper Gizowski’s late-game heroics lifted the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a narrow win and surprising 2-0 series lead against Calgary

– Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen’s fourth-period goal marks Everett’s third straight overtime win in the 2025 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien

– Gavin McKenna’s monster point streak is now at 46 games dating back to the regular season- though his multipoint streak has come to a close at 14 games

– The Spokane Chiefs and Victoria Royals kick off their second-round series on Sunday night

TOP PERFORMER- APRIL 12

What can’t Julius do? The Kraken’s 2024 second-round pick was all over the ice in Game 2 with a crucial assist and overtime goal. The 6-foot-3, 207-pound Finn won an early faceoff back to Jesse Heslop to tee up rookie sensation Landon DuPont for the game-opening goal. Miettinen is also fourth among all WHLers in playoff faceoff wins (96). Parked in his office in front of the blue paint, he just had to get his stick in the right place to redirect a laser-precision Tyler MacKenzie dish to give Everett a formidable 2-0 series lead. Miettinen, 19, has four goals and three assists for seven points in eight games in the 2025 WHL Playoffs. The Silvertips will try to keep their foot on the gas as they continue to battle a Portland team that’s knocked them out of the playoffs for the past two years.

RESULTS

Portland (3), Everett (4)

Everett leads 2-0

Bust out the cowbells, there’s more bonus hockey at Angel of the Winds Arena. For a second game, Portland scored late to force overtime, but the Silvertips found a way to end the match in the extra frame. However, this one may sting more for the Hawks as they held a two-one lead on the road entering the final frame. 15-year-old Landon DuPont opened the scoring before Portland veterans Hudson Darby and Josh Zakreski scored two minutes apart in the second period. Nashville Predators prospect Austin Roest tied things up less than three minutes into the final frame before Dominik Rymon put Everett back on top with a powerplay strike. Clutch Hawks Captain and WHL Player of the Year nominee Kyle Chyzowski found the equalizer with a wrister from the slot with less than seven minutes left on the clock to send the match to overtime, where Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen parked himself at the back post of the Hawks net to tap in a stunning pass from Tyler MacKenzie for the winner. Goaltender Raiden LeGall was sensational again with 35 saves on 38 shots for a .921 save percentage. LeGall has made 30 or more saves in six of his postseason appearances. DuPont is the top scorer in the series so far, with the WHL Rookie of the Year nominee picking up four points (1G-3A) across two games. The series will now move south to the Rose City for Game 3 on Tuesday.

THREE STARS

1- Julius Miettinen, EVT

– 1G-1A

2- Dominik Rymon, EVT

– 1G-1A

3- Landon DuPont, EVT

– 1G-1A

Prince Albert 4, Medicine Hat 6

Medicine Hat leads 1-0

A four-goal second period by the Tigers spelled doom for the Tigers and had the packed crowd at Co-op Place on their feet. Prince Albert’s Evan Smith opened the series with his first-ever playoff goal, but rookie Liam Ruck found the equalizer to tee up the Medicine Hat onslaught in the middle frame. WHL playoff goals leader Oasiz Wiesblatt gave the Tabbies their first lead of the series with his eighth of the postseason and he assisted a Gavin McKenna powerplay goal just over two minutes later. Local boy Josh Van Mulligen kept things rolling with a trickling shot before Minnesota Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie sealed the contest with the game-winning powerplay goal- Medicine Hat’s fourth goal in less than 10 minutes. Daxon Rudolph, Dayce Derkatch and Brayden Dube made things interesting in the third with a trio of goals, but Misha Volotovskii’s lake marker was all the insurance Medicine Hat needed. Like so many teams before them, Prince Albert was unable to hold Gavin McKenna off the scoresheet but did limit the WHL Player of the Year nominee to a single point- something no team has done since February 15, 2025. McKenna’s multipoint scoring streak has ended at 14 games. His overall point streaks reigns at 46 games.

THREE STARS

1- Oasiz Wiesblatt, MH

– 1G-1A

2- Bryce Pickford, MH 

– 2A

3- Evan Smith, PA

– 1G-1A

Lethbridge 2, Calgary 1

Lethbridge leads 2-0

The Hitmen are struggling to find ways to score as the stingy Hurricanes have all but silenced one of the WHL’s top-scoring regular season teams. True to their regular season form, Lethbridge has struck at key moments, with Captain and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Noah Chadwick dishing to alternate captain Brayden Edwards for the game-opening powerplay tally and Kooper Gizowski pouncing on a rebound and roofing the puck to seal the win and avoid overtime with just over two minutes left. 2025 NHL Draft-eligble Ben Kindel took advantage of a Lethbridge turnover to bury Calgary’s lone goal and his sixth of the playoffs in the dying minutes of the third period, but Gizowski’s game-breaker came just 49 seconds later. Netminder Jackson Unger has done some of his best work at the Saddledome this season- save for a Teddy Bear toss shelling with the Moose Jaw Warriors where he still made 42 stops- with a 1-0-1-0 record in Calgary with Lethbridge. The Canes will try to take a stranglehold on the series when they head home for Game 3 on Tuesday.

THREE STARS

1- Jackson Unger, LET

– 33/34 saves

– .970 save percentage

2- Ben Kindel, CGY

– 1G

3- Kooper Gizowski, LET

– 1G

ON TAP