ROAD TO THE CUPS: February 26, 2016
Calgary, AB – The 2015-16 Western Hockey League regular season has entered the stretch run, with less than four weeks left to play before the 2016 WHL Playoffs begin. Sixteen Clubs will get the opportunity to compete for the Ed Chynoweth Cup beginning on March 25th, 2016. The WHL Champions will then get to compete for the MasterCard Memorial Cup in Red Deer, AB from May 19th – May 29th, 2016. This marks the 98th edition of the annual tournament.
In the Eastern Conference, the Brandon Wheat Kings, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Red Deer Rebels have all locked up playoff berths.
In the Western Conference, the Kelowna Rockets and Victoria Royals are on the verge of clinching post-season berths as Kelowna only needs one point to clinch while two points would lock up a playoff spot for Victoria.
The Western Hockey League’s Eastern and Western Conferences will use a Divisional / Conference hybrid playoff format, with the inclusion of Wild Card qualifiers, for the 2016 WHL Playoffs. All playoff series’ are best-of-seven affairs.
The new format will see the top three Clubs in each Division make up the first six playoff qualifiers within each of the two WHL Conferences. The remaining two spots per Conference will be filled via Wild Cards, with the next two highest-placed Clubs in each Conference earning playoff berths based on their regular-season record, regardless of Division.
In the First Round, the Division winner with the best record in each Conference will be matched against the wild card team with the lesser record; the wild card team with the better record will play the other Division winner. The second and third-place teams within each Division will also meet in the First Round.
First-round winners within each bracket play one another in the Second Round with the four winning Clubs advancing to the Conference Championships. Home-ice advantage through the first two rounds goes to the Club that placed higher in the regular-season standings.
The two Clubs winning second round series in each Conference will advance to the third round (WHL Conference Championships), where they will be ranked in order of regular season points.
The Eastern and Western Conference Champions will advance to the best of seven WHL Championship Series, with the Club having the most regular season points receiving home ice advantage. If an East Division Club is involved in the WHL Championship Series, the best-of-seven series will utilize a 2 – 3 – 2 format.
WHL EASTERN CONFERENCE
X denotes clinched playoff spot
Y teams who have clinched Division title
East Division
1). X Brandon Wheat Kings 61gp-38-18-3-2, 81pts (11 games remaining)
2). Prince Albert Raiders 61gp-33-20-7-1, 74pts (11 games remaining)
3). Moose Jaw Warriors 61gp-31-22-7-1, 70pts (11 games remaining)
Central Division
1). X Lethbridge Hurricanes 61gp-40-19-1-1, 82pts (11 games remaining)
2). X Red Deer Rebels 60gp-36-21-1-2, 75pts (12 games remaining)
3). Calgary Hitmen 61gp-35-22-2-2, 74pts (11 games remaining)
Eastern Conference Wildcard
7). Regina Pats 60gp-30-23-3-4, 67pts (12 games remaining)
8). Edmonton Oil Kings 61gp-26-28-6-1, 59pts (11 games remaining)
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9). Saskatoon Blades 60gp-23-33-4-0, 50pts (12 games remaining)
10). Swift Current Broncos 60gp-21-31-5-3, 50pts (12 games remaining)
11). Medicine Hat Tigers 61gp-22-34-3-2, 49pts (11 games remaining)
12). Kootenay ICE 60gp-10-45-5-0, 25pts (12 games remaining)
The Brandon Wheat Kings are seven points ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders for first place in the East Division and are the lone Club within the division to have clinched a playoff berth.
The Prince Albert Raiders and Moose Jaw Warriors continue to battle for second spot in the East Division standings as Prince Albert holds a narrow four point lead over Moose Jaw. The two Clubs meet in a pivotal match-up on Saturday, February 27th in Moose Jaw at 7:00pm CT/6:00pm MT.
The Central Division standings see the Lethbridge Hurricanes in first place with 82 points heading into the weekend. Lethbridge has clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2009, ending a six-year playoff drought. The MasterCard Memorial Cup host Red Deer Rebels recently clinched a spot in the 2016 WHL Playoffs while the Calgary Hitmen need only one point to clinch their fifth straight trip to the post-season. With only one point separating Red Deer and Calgary for second place in the Central Division, each game is crucial down the stretch as this could determine who gathers home-ice advantage come playoff time.
The Regina Pats and the Edmonton Oil Kings maintain a solid grasp of the two wildcard berths in the Eastern Conference. The Pats are in the midst of a hot streak as they have won seven in a row to build an eight point cushion over the Edmonton Oil Kings for the first wildcard spot. The Oil Kings have a hold of the second wildcard spot with 59 points and are nine points ahead of both the Saskatoon Blades and Swift Current Broncos.
The Saskatoon Blades are on a four game winning streak as they push for a potential playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Along with Saskatoon, the Swift Current Broncos sit at 50 points and need to makeup nine points on the Edmonton Oil Kings in their final 12 games of the regular season. Medicine Hat remains alive in the playoff picture but with only 11 games remaining and 49 points, they face a tough uphill battle.
The Kootenay ICE are officially eliminated from playoff contention.
WHL WESTERN CONFERENCE
X denotes clinched playoff spot
Y teams who have clinched Division title
B.C. Division
1). Kelowna Rockets 61gp-42-16-3-0, 87pts (11 games remaining)
2). Victoria Royals 62gp-40-16-3-3, 86pts (10 games remaining)
3). Prince George Cougars 61gp-32-25-3-1, 68pts (11 games remaining)
U.S. Division
1). Everett Silvertips 60gp-35-20-3-2, 75pts (12 games remaining)
2). Portland Winterhawks 59gp-33-23-3-0, 69pts (13 games remaining)
3). Seattle Thunderbirds 60gp-29-23-5-3, 66pts (12 games remaining)
Western Conference Wildcard
7). Spokane Chiefs 61gp-31-27-3-0, 65pts (11 games remaining)
8). Kamloops Blazers 60gp-27-24-5-4, 63pts (12 games remaining)
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9). Tri-City Americans 59gp-29-27-2-1, 61pts (13 games remaining)
10). Vancouver Giants 62gp-23-32-5-2, 53pts (10 games remaining)
The defending WHL Champion Kelowna Rockets require only one point to clinch a trip to the 2016 WHL Playoffs and begin their title defence. The Rockets sit in first place in the B.C. Division with 87 points.
The Victoria Royals are knocking on the door in regards to the B.C. Division as they only sit one point behind Kelowna for first place. The Royals have won eight of their past 10 contests with a record of 8-1-1-0 and are seeking the division title. The Prince George Cougars are in a distant third place but only hold a five point cushion over the Kamloops Blazers after dropping three in a row in regulation. The Cougars will be on the road to face the Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans on Friday and Saturday night respectively.
The U.S. Division sees four Clubs within 10 points of each other for top spot. The Everett Silvertips are currently in first place with 75 points and have earned points in their last three contests, going 2-0-1- over that time frame to stay in first place. The Seattle Thunderbirds and Spokane Chiefs are neck-and-neck as only three points separate them with Seattle in second place. Seattle will play three games in three nights this weekend highlighted by a crucial date with the Everett Silvertips on Saturday night. Spokane will square off with the Prince George Cougars on home ice Friday before heading to Kelowna to take on the Rockets on Saturday.
The Portland Winterhawks and Kamloops Blazers enter the weekend as the two Wildcard Clubs in the Western Conference. Portland has dropped two in a row but only trail Spokane by one point for third in the U.S. Division standings with 65 points. Kamloops has lost two straight in regulation as well and now only hold a two point cushion on the Tri-City Americans.
Tri-City is presently on the outside looking in but have posted a record of 7-2-0-1 over their previous 10 contests to climb back into the post-season race, trailing Kamloops by only two points while holding a game in hand. The Vancouver Giants sit last in the Western Conference standings and trail Kamloops by 10 points for the second wildcard spot. The Giants host the Kelowna Rockets on Friday and then take on the Kamloops Blazers in a road match-up on Saturday night.
BOB CLARKE TROPHY RACE
|
Player |
Team |
GP |
G |
A |
P |
1 |
Adam Brooks |
Regina Pats |
60 |
33 |
68 |
101 |
2 |
Dryden Hunt |
Moose Jaw Warriors |
61 |
49 |
50 |
99 |
3 |
Brayden Burke |
Lethbridge Hurricanes |
61 |
21 |
74 |
95 |
4 |
Tyson Baillie |
Kelowna Rockets |
59 |
36 |
48 |
84 |
5 |
Nolan Patrick |
Brandon Wheat Kings |
61 |
36 |
45 |
81 |
6 |
Parker Bowles |
Tri-City Americans |
59 |
35 |
46 |
81 |
7 |
Reid Gardiner |
Prince Albert Raiders |
61 |
36 |
44 |
80 |
8 |
Jayce Hawryluk |
Brandon Wheat Kings |
47 |
30 |
48 |
78 |
9 |
Tyler Wong |
Lethbridge Hurricanes |
61 |
36 |
39 |
75 |
10 |
Ivan Nikolishin |
Red Deer Rebels |
60 |
30 |
44 |
74 |