WHL Morning Skate: April 26

NEED TO KNOW

– Silvertips forward Rylan Gould scored the double-overtime winner to give Everett a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference Championship

– Jordan Switzer earned a shutout and an assist to help Medicine Hat tie the Eastern Conference Championship in Prince Albert

– All four goaltenders in Saturday’s games have logged at least one shutout in the 2026 WHL Playoffs

– Conference Championships resume on Monday when Everett visits Penticton for Game 3

TOP PERFORMER

Jordan Switzer answered the bell! The 19-year-old denied all 30 shots he faced for his first shutout of the 2025 WHL Playoffs and the second postseason clean sheet of his career. What’s more? He did it inside the formidable Art Hauser Centre. Switzer held Prince Albert scoreless on four powerplay opportunities and survived a 15-shot third period to tie up the series. He also earned a primary assist on Jonas Woo’s empty-net goal. The 6-foot-1, 186-pound puckstopper played backup to eventual 2025 WHL Playoffs MVP Harrison Meneghin in Medicine Hat’s WHL Championship run last season, but two of his four playoff wins came against the Raiders in Round Two. Saturday’s 30-save shutout was Switzer’s busiest night of the 2026 postseason. The Edmonton, Alta. product is 6-1-0-0 with a 2.29 goals-against average, a .905 save percentage and one shutout. In the past 10 years, Prince Albert has only been denied a goal on home ice in the playoffs four times.

RESULTS

Penticton 4, Everett 5 (2OT)

EVT leads 2-0

Two of the greatest expansion teams in WHL history traded blows late into the night until the Silvertips found the dagger in double overtime. Vees alternate captain Brady Birnie gave his quad its first lead of the series with an unusual shot that bounced off the hip of goaltender Anders Miller and towards the net. A Silvertips defender swatted the puck out of midair, but officials ruled the puck had crossed the goal line before it was batted away. Everett found its response less than a minute last as Detroit Red Wings first-rounder Carter Bear parked himself on the back post to hammer a Julius Miettinen (Seattle Kraken) feed home. Matias Vanhanen (NHL CSS: 54) put the Tips on top late in the period as he collected his own rebound to puck a trickler past AJ Reyelts for his eighth goal of the playoffs. From there, it was a tooth-and-nail battle for even ground, as Diego Johnson and Rylan Gould swapped second-period tallies. Everett maintained a narrow 3-2 lead entering the third period, but Birnie found a lane as he breezed past a stumbling defender for his second goal of the night. Florida Panthers pick Shea Busch went post and in to restore a one-goal lead for the home team, but with under a minute left in regulation, Ethan Weber poked the puck past Miller in a mad scramble in front of the Silvertips’ net. Reyelts denied all 17 Silvertips shots he faced in the first overtime period, but a Tips powerplay in the second OT spelled the end of the night for the Vees. After a long shot from Landon DuPont, Everett skaters hacked furiously at rebounds before Rylan Gould swept the puck off the goal line and into the twine.

THREE STARS

1- Rylan Gould, EVT

– 2G

2- Matias Vanhanen, EVT

– 1G-1A

3- Carter Bear, EVT

– 1G-2A

Medicine Hat 5, Prince Albert 0

Series tied 1-1

After getting thumped 8-3 in Game 1, the Tigers roared back with a gritty shutout on the road to level the series. 2027 NHL Draft-eligible Noah Davidson broke through with a bad-angle shot as a Medicine Hat powerplay was expiring with seconds to go in the first period. The second period saw the top 2026 Draft prospect Ruck twins link up for a beauty on the powerplay. Markus (NHL CSS: 23) wove around a Raiders defender to backhand a pass to Liam (NHL CSS: 20) in the slot for a quick one-timer. Markus, who won the Bob Clarke Trophy as the league’s top scorer in 2025-26, lit the lamp himself with a sharp wrister on a partial breakaway in the third period. Defenceman of the Year finalist Jonas Woo, who missed Game 1, added some insurance with an empty-netter- assisted by netminder Switzer- before Dallas Stars prospect Niilopekka Muhonen capped the night off with a point shot that deflected past goaltender Michal Orsulak (NHL CSS: 2).

THREE STARS

1- Jordan Switzer, MH

– 30-save shutout

2- Liam Ruck, MH 

– 1G

3- Jonas Woo

– 1G-1A