Three-way battle for top of the WHL Power Rankings continues in Week 9
The three-way struggle at the top of the WHL Power Rankings is heating up…
1. Prince George Cougars
1st B.C.- 29-12-0-1
The Cougars clawed their way back to the top with a 1-0-0-1 split against the Kelowna Rockets this week. Carlin Dezainde netted his first WHL hat trick to power Prince George past Kelowna 5-2 on January 12 and Ondrej Becher had a goal and assist to force overtime and earn the team a single point in a 3-2 shootout loss the following night.
Koehn Ziemmer, who is currently sidelined with a lower-body injury, shined in his debut as the team’s backup social media manager. Maybe he can take over writing the rankings next week?
Hey @TheWHL Koehn Ziemmer here, can i pick save of the night? pic.twitter.com/VWAAf1sBLY
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) January 14, 2024
Prince George now gears up to host another formidable contender…
2. Portland Winterhawks
1st U.S.- 27-10-2-1
Nate Danielson has arrived.
The Detroit Red Wings Prospect scored a highlight-reel goal in his Winterhawks debut against Kelowna and had the primary assist on Luca Cagnoni’s tally that would eventually stand as the game-winner.
Victories over the Rockets and Kamloops Blazers helped Portland improve to 9-0-1-0 in its past ten games.
The Winterhawks have flown north for a best-of-the-west weekend set against the conference-leading Cougars.
3. Saskatoon Blades
1st East- 29-9-2-2
All good things must come to an end…
After picking up a 5-4 overtime victory against Victoria and powering past Regina 6-1, Saskatoon’s astounding 15-game point streak was snapped by the Red Deer Rebels in a Wednesday-night nailbiter.
Don’t cry for the Bridge City, though.
Saskatoon is still the top-ranked team in the CHL, smooth-skating defenceman Tanner Molendyk has a goal and three assists in his first three games back from injury and Toronto Maple Leafs prospects Fraser Minten and Brandon Lisowsky combined for five goals and four assists on the week.
4. Everett Silvertips
2nd U.S.- 27-14-1-2
Everett has gone on a five-game heater to cruise past Wenatchee for second in the U.S. Division. A pair of wins this week saw the Silvertips sweep their season series against the Kamloops Blazers and Everett followed it up by scoring six unanswered goals in another victory over Wenatchee.
Julius Miettinen was rewarded with back-to-back Kal Tire WHL Rookie of the Week honours with three goals and five assists in three games, and newly-minted Alternate Captain Eric Jamieson snagged his first WHL hat trick.
5. Medicine Hat Tigers
1st Central- 27-13-2-0
Medicine Hat split back-to-back games against Lethbridge but pulled out an impressive 5-2 win over Swift Current with a mighty short bench. With only nine forwards in the lineup, the Tigers scored five straight- including a pair from Hunter St. Martin- to storm back against the Broncos.
The battered Tigers host Red Deer on Friday night before hitting the road for a three-game jaunt out east.
6. Moose Jaw Warriors
2nd East- 25-15-0-2
Matthew Savoie makes it look easy.
In his first WHL game since December 9, 2023, Savoie stunned in his Warriors debut with two goals and three assists in a 7-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants, earning Tempo WHL Player of the Week honours.
It was one of two high-flying wins for the Warriors his week. They also doubled up Lethbridge 6-3 to improve to eight wins in their last 10 games.
This weekend marks a big test as Savoie faces off against his former Wenatchee Wild teammate, Conor Geekie, and his new squad in Swift Current on Friday for the first time in their WHL careers.
7. Red Deer Rebels
2nd Central- 23-13-1-4
Someone has to slay the dragon, right? Red Deer snapped Saskatoon’s astounding point streak in style, with Hunter Mayo erupting for the rare defenceman hat trick in a 5-4 victory.
Rebels Captain Kai Uchacz also netted his fourth WHL hat trick against the Edmonton Oil Kings in a 4-1 win.
Red Deer is on a five-game win streak but boasts points in nine of their last 10 outings- quietly overtaking Swift Current in the Central Division and creeping up on Medicine Hat, who the Rebels visit on Friday night.
8. Swift Current Broncos
3rd Central- 22-16-2-2
Connor Hvidston (two goals) and new addition Conor Geekie (one goal, three assists) led the way as Swift Current scored six unanswered goals to defeat Brandon 7-3 on January 12 to extend their winning streak to four games, but Medicine Hat promptly snapped it the next game out.
Dawson Gerwing and Clarke Caswell got a quick pair of goals past the cats in the first period, but rookie goaltender Zach Zahara sealed the door shut after that as Medicine Hat cruised to a 5-2 win.
9. Victoria Royals
2nd B.C.- 23-14-3-3
Move over, Red Deer. Victoria has snatched the crown for most games requiring extra time this season, with six of their last seven matches going to overtime or a shootout.
Despite going winless (0-1-3-1) on a five-game Eastern swing, the Royals aren’t coming back empty-handed- just a bit disappointed.
Victoria mounted comebacks against Prince Albert (4-3 SO) and Saskatoon (5-4 OT) this week, with six different players finding the back of the net. They just couldn’t get that final point.
10. Wenatchee Wild
3rd U.S.- 24-14-4-0
Wenatchee dropped both matches this week to close out a six-game homestand with a 3-2-1-0 record.
The Wild’s 3-1 lead over the Everett Silvertips quickly disintegrated into a 7-3 loss thanks, in part, to a breakout performance by back-to-back Kal Tire Rookie of the Week winner Julius Miettinen.
Wenatchee did manage to tie things up against Kamloops to force overtime and earn a point, but top NHL Entry Draft prospect Harrison Brunicke fired home the game-winner to snag the extra point for the Blazers.
Graham Sward and Kenta Isogai continue to carry the offensive torch for the Wild with a combined three goals and four assists. In plain terms, the Wild only scored one goal this week that one of these guys wasn’t in on.
11. Brandon Wheat Kings
3rd East- 21-15-4-1
After stumbling against the Swift Current Broncos, Brandon pulled off an emotional 6-4 win over the Prince Albert Raiders at Westoba Place.
It’s the first win for the Wheat Kings since longtime player, coach and scout Mark Jonhston passed away on Sunday.
Thinking of Johnny after this one. pic.twitter.com/skD2bhoT7n
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) January 14, 2024
Rookie Carter Clippenstein made a big impact with a goal and two assists on the week.
12. Kelowna Rockets
3rd B.C.- 20-19-2-0
After falling to Prince George 5-2 on the road, Kelowna managed to escape the northern capital with a shootout win in their second meeting.
Unfortunately, they had to come home to face Portland.
While the Winterhawks would best the Rockets by a 5-4 score, the night wasn’t without its highlights for the home squad.
Andrew Cristall extended his point streak to 22 games (16 goals, 27 assists) with a sensational penalty shot in the final minute of the game and Captain Gabriel Szturc became the highest-scoring European player in franchise history with an assist for his 174th WHL point.
13. Lethbridge Hurricanes
4th Central- 20-18-3-0
Lethbridge continues to seesaw between wins and losses, and this week featured a bit of a dip for the capable Hurricanes.
Logan Wormald struck less than two minutes in against Medicine Hat, but the Tigers steadily clawed back for a 5-2 victory.
The Hurricanes didn’t find any more success out East, where they were doubled up by Moose Jaw, 6-3.
Sean Tschigerl did light the lamp for his first goal as a Hurricane, and Dylan Sydor fired home his team-leading 22nd goal in the loss.
Lethbridge will continue East in search of wins in Regina and Brandon this weekend.
4. Calgary Hitmen
5th Central- 17-17-5-1
New Year, new Hitmen.
Head Coach Steve Hamilton pointed out Calgary could almost pass for a U18 squad after some major roster moves, but the team is buying in and finding ways to win.
Calgary is on a four-game winning streak and has points in eight of its past 10.
Ethan Moore is turning heads with an 11-game point streak and back-to-back two-goal outings against Spokane and Tri-City. Carter Yakemchuk and Carson Wetsch are also trending up ahead of their trip to the Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects game next week.
15. Prince Albert Raiders
4th East- 19-20-0-3
Raiders rookies are chipping in in a big way as Prince Albert hits the road in search of more wins.
Prince Albert eked out a shootout win against Victoria at home before falling to Regina and Brandon.
16-year-old Luke Moroz lead the team with a goal and four assists in four games, while upstart Oli Chenier contributed another goal and two assists.
The Raiders look to get back in the win column on Friday in Edmonton.
16. Vancouver Giants
4th B.C.- 17-23-2-0
Connor Levis scored his first goal as a Giant in a 4-2 road win over Regina, but Vancouver had less luck down the Trans-Canada Highway when they fell victim to the Matthew Savoie show in a 7-2 loss in Moose Jaw to wrap up a five-game trip out East.
Stick taps are also in order for goaltender Brett Mirwald, who was peppered with an average of 42.75 shots in his four starts (2-2-0-0) on that roady and has surpassed Jackson Unger for most shots faced this season with 1209.
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