NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
The Medicine Hat Tigers take morning skate Friday at Co-op Place ahead of Game 1 of the WHL Championship series against the Spokane Chiefs.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com
The Western Hcokey League Championship series gets underway tonight at Co-op Place between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Spokane Chiefs.
Both teams made it to the league final after four-game sweeps in the Conference Championship series, the first time in WHL history both third-round series have ended in a sweep. The Tigers swept the Lethbridge Hurricanes and enter the WHL Finals with a 10-game win streak, they’ve lost just five games since Jan. 4 and look to win their first Ed Chynoweth Cup since 2007.
Head coach Willie Desjardins was behind the bench for that championship, also winning in 2004. He’s happy to be back in the WHL finals for the his players and Medicine to get the experience.
“(Just two) of the guys have been there before so everybody’s kind of wondering and it’s new which is great too,” Desjardins said. “You get lots of energy off that. It’s the same with the city, the fans haven’t seen it for a while. We grew together with the city and it’s kind of fun for us to take a chance and walk together and see what we can do in the final.”
Spokane swept the Portland Winterhawks to put themselves in the WHL Finals for the first time in 2008, when they won their last championship. Head coach Brad Lauer won a championship with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2022, he’s happy to see his team get their first look at the WHL Finals experience.
“It’s exciting for the kids to be in a situation like this, being a young guy growing up,” Lauer said. “This is something at the start of the year we talk about, trying to get to this position and to build heavier like we had and now to be where we are, it’s a good accomplish for our guys.”
A game with a lot of build up already found a new storyline following morning skate as Desjardins confirmed Andrew Basha and Cayden Lindstrom will make their playoff debuts in Game 1. Basha has been out of the lineup since Dec. 29 while recovering from an ankle injury and surgery. Lindstrom hasn’t played since April 5, 2024.
Desjardins says he doesn’t know what he will get from both skaters, missing as much time as they have, but is more than welcoming the two NHL prospects into the mix.
“That’s the one thing that’s hard for me right now as a coach, you want to know exactly what you have and I don’t know what I have right now going in,” Desjardins said. “They might be able to play one period, they might be able to play the full game, I don’t know. So we’ll have to give a lot of reads as the game goes on. But saying that, I’m still really excited to see them.”
See Saturday’s News for more on the pair’s return.
While the Tigers add firepower of their own, alongside Gavin McKenna and his CHL-record setting 53-game point streak, the Chiefs are no slouch offensively.
Spokane forward Andrew Cristall’s 20 goals are within four of the WHL Playoffs record for goals in a playoff season, set by Blair Chapman of the Saskatoon Blades, who registered 24 goals in 20 games during the 1976 WHL Playoffs.
The two teams have scored a combined 150 goals in the WHL Playoffs with Spokane leading the way with 85. Chiefs’ captain Berkly Catton says the matchup between two high-flying offences doesn’t change their approach.
“The defensive details are going to be important, but the best defence is offence,” Catton said. “So the more you have the puck, the less you have to defend. So that’s kind of the way we’re looking at it. But when we do have to defend, we have to be very dialled in, because guys like Gav, (Oasiz) WIesblatt and lots of guys there that can make plays. So I think as long as we’re in our structure and dialled in, we’ll be just fine.”
Puck drop for Game 1 is slated for 7 p.m, Co-op Place is sold-out with the game available on TSN or WILD 94.5
