WHL Morning Skate: March 28, 2026

NEED TO KNOW

– Eric Tu made 49 saves, including a penalty shot stop, to seal a 1-0 shutout in triple overtime for the Calgary Hitmen in his first WHL Playoffs start

– Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Jonas Woo has become the first blueliner to score a hat trick in a playoff game since Brandon’s Colby Robak put up three goals and two assists to eliminate Medicine Hat in the Eastern Conference semifinal on April 10, 2009

– Montreal Canadiens prospect and Tigers captain Bryce Pickford extended his postseason goal-scoring streak to nine games with a tally against the Regina Pats in Game 1. Pickford has 11 goals in nine games, dating back to Game 2 of the 2025 Eastern Conference Championship.

– Calgary Flames prospect Hunter Laing scored the first penalty shot goal in Saskatoon Blades playoff history to take a 1-0 series lead over the Edmonton Oil Kings

– Vees defenceman Charlie Michaud struck in overtime to give the Penticton Vees their first-ever WHL playoff victory

– Prince George’s Aiden Foster logged a Gordie Howe hat trick in the Cougars’ comeback win against Spokane

– World Juniors MVP and Los Angeles Kings pick Vojtech Cihar lifted the Memorial Cup host Rockets to a win over the rival Blazers with a pair of goals

TOP PERFORMER- MAY 13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Always, always remember to thank your goalie. Eric Tu and 2026 NHL Draft-eligible Filip Ruzicka (NHL CSS: 13) traded highlight reel saves as they battled through the longest 1-0 overtime playoff game in modern WHL history (1996-present). With 105:11 of goaltending perfection, the duo surpassed Everett’s Raiden LeGall and Seattle’s Scott Ratzlaff’s 93:43 long duel in Game 7 of their 2025 first-round series. Tu and Ruzicka combined for 113 saves, highlighted by Tu’s penalty shot stop on Jimmy Egan and Ruzicka’s skate blade save on Keaton Jundt. If Game 1 is any indication, fans are in a series of razor-thin margins. Both netminders will get a well-earned day off before the Hitmen and Wheat Kings return to the Saddledome for Game 2.

RESULTS

 

 

 

Portland 1, Everett 8

Everett leads 1-0

The regular season champion Silvertips scored early and often, with draft-eligible Brek Liske (NHL CSS: 34) scoring 48 seconds in and rookie defenceman Mattias Udeya netting the game-winner less than a minute later. Seven different Everett skaters found the back of the net, with Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen leading the pack with two goals and an assist. Miettinen also linked up with assist machine Matias Vanhanen (NHL CSS:76) and exceptional-status defender Landon DuPont on the powerplay. 2025 Detroit Red Wings first-rounder Carter Bear and Philadelphia Flyers pick Luke Vlooswyk also added three assists each. Nineteen-year-old Nathan Free denied Anders Millers’ shutout bid with a powerplay tally in the second period for Portland.

THREE STARS

1- Julius Miettinen, EVT

– 2G-1A

2- Anders Miller, EVT

– 24 saves, .960 save percentage

3- Luke Vlooswyk, EVT

– 3A

Red Deer 1, Prince Albert 4

PA leads 1-0

Forget the goals, the play of the night in Hockeytown North might have been Prince Albert captain Justice Christensen dumping Rebels forward Aleksey Chichkin into the Raiders bench with a major hit. Raiders trade deadline add Braeden Cootes, who made his NHL debut with Vancouver in the fall, opened the scoring with a sharp powerplay snapper from above the faceoff dot. Top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Daxon Rudolph (NHL CSS: 6) doubled the lead by banking the puck off a Red Deer defender on a wraparound. Red Deer got a fortuitous bounce of its own with a redirected goal credited to Poul Anderson. Cootes buried his second of the night off the rush and rookie Brock Cripps capped off the night with his first WHL playoff goal.

THREE STARS

1- Braeden Cootes, PA

– 2G-1A

2- Daxon Rudolph, PA

– 1G-1A

3- Michal Orsulak, PA

– 22 saves, .956 save percentage

Seattle 2, Penticton 3 (OT)

PEN leads 1-0

An incredible season of firsts has rolled into the postseason for the Penticton Vees. Brady Birnie, who celebrated 334 regular-season WHL games last week, bagged Penticton’s first-ever WHL playoff goal on another wraparound. Noah Kosick (NHL CSS: 55) showed off his handles as he deked a defender and tucked the puck far blocker to level the game. New York Islanders pick Jacob Kvasnicka put the home side on top again before Radim Mrtka (Buffalo Sabres) and Matthew Gard (Philadelphia Flyers) teed up Antonia Martorana to force overtime. Vees defender Charlie Michaud brought the crowd to its feet by hammering the winner home in (thankfully) the first overtime period.

THREE STARS

1- Charlie Michaud, PEN

– 1G

2- Marek Sklenicka, SEA

– 42 saves, .933 save percentage

3- Jacob Kvasnicka, PEN

– 1G

 

Regina 2, Medicine Hat 6

MH leads 1-0

The reigning champs have picked up right where they left off. Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll scored the very first goal of the 2026 WHL Playoffs with a powerplay one-timer. Regina kept it close with a tying goal from Mathis Paul, and even took a brief lead thanks to a notch from Jace Egland in the second period, but the floodgates opened from there with five straight goals from the Tabbies. Defender Jonas Woo, the WHL’s active playoff games played leader, completed an even-strength hat trick, and his D-partner Bryce Pickford added to the pile-on. Pickford has scored in nine consecutive playoff games dating back to the 2025 Eastern Conference Championship. In the regular season, Woo set a franchise record for single-season points by a defenceman, while Pickford set a new team marker in goals by a defenceman. Yaroslav Bryzgalov (NHL CSS: 99) put an exclamation point on the night, while WHL leading scorer Markus Ruck (NHL CSS: 31) and twin brother Liam (NHL CSS: 26) tacked on two assists each.

THREE STARS

1- Jonas Woo, MH

– 3G-1A

2- Yaroslav Bryzgalov, MH

– 1G-2A

3- Liam Ruck, MH

– 2A

Spokane 3, Prince George 6

PG leads 1-0

Aiden Foster slapped a rebound past Carter Esler less than a minute into a rough-and-tumble outing at the CN Centre on Friday. Spokane, which reached the 2025 WHL Championship Series, took a commanding 3-1 lead in the first period thanks to goals from Assanali Sarkenov, Winnipeg Jets prospect Owen Martin and Sam Oremba, but the Cats stormed back with five unanswered goals. Foster dropped the gloves in the opening frame and completed the Gordie Howe hat trick with a helper on one of Brock Souch’s two third-period goals. Arsenii Anisimov kickstarted the comeback, while Washington Capitals first-rounder Terik Parascak tied the game by batting home an Anisimov rebound on the powerplay. Captain Bauer Dumanski rounded out the scoring, but the Cougars could be in tough with alternate captain Carsel Carels leaving the game early with an injury.

THREE STARS

1- Arensii Anisimov, PG

– 1G-2A

2- Brock Souch, PG

– 2G

3- Aiden Foster, PG

– 1G-1A

Saskatoon 3, Edmonton 2

SAS leads 1-0

Six-foot-6 Calgary Flames prospect Hunter Laing drew first blood on a deft penalty shot and the Blades would never trail in Game One. Sophomore Kayden Stroeder levelled the game with a point shot through traffic, but Blades captain Tyler Parr and Hayden Harsanyi put the game out of reach. Landon Hanson made it a one-goal game with a late shorthanded marker.

THREE STARS

1- Tyler Pass, SAS

– 1G-1A

2- Kayden Stroeder, EDM

– 1G

3- Hayden Harsanyi, SAS

– 1G

Kamloops 1, Kelowna 3

KEL leads 1-0

Rivalry reignited. The 2026 Memorial Cup hosts came out on top in Game One, thanks to a two-goal performance from 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship MVP and Los Angeles Kings prospect Vojtech Cihar. Cihar opened the scoring in the second period with a bad-angle one-timer on the powerplay and ended the night with an empty-netter. Utah Mammoth top-10 pick Tij Iginla potted the eventual game-winner with a laser of a shot in his first playoff game since April 19, 2024. Jacob Dumansky bagged the lone goal for the underdog Blazers.

THREE STARS

1- Harrison Boettiger, KEL

– 16 saves, .941 save percentage

2- Tij Iginla, KEL

– 1G-1A

3- Logan Edmonstone, KAM

– 26 saves, .929 save percentage

Brandon 0, Calgary 1 (3OT)

CGY leads 1-0

With the goaltenders stealing the show at the Saddledome, the scoring summary stayed short and sweet. Hitmen alternate captain Ethan Moore, fresh off a career-best 25-goal regular season, went down on one knee for a highlight-reel wrister from the slot. Ready to do it all over again on Sunday?

THREE STARS

1- Eric Tu, CGY

– 48-save shutout

2- Filip Ruzicka, BDN

– 64 saves, .985 save percentage

3- Ethan Moore, CGY

– 1G

 

 

ON TAP