THE ROAD TO THE 2014 WHL PLAYOFFS

Calgary, AB – The 2013-14 Western Hockey League regular season is in its final week of play before the post-season begins, with playoff spots and key playoff positioning still to be determined.

In the Western Conference, just one playoff berth remains unclaimed, with the Tri-City Americans currently holding a slim lead over the Prince George Cougars for eighth place in the conference.

In the Eastern Conference, the Swift Current Broncos and Kootenay Ice joined the Edmonton Oil Kings, Calgary Hitmen, Medicine Hat Tigers and Regina Pats among playoff-bound teams.  Meanwhile, a three-way tie between Prince Albert, Red Deer and Brandon for seventh place ensures a fight to the finish for the remaining two playoff berths.

The WHL's Eastern and Western Conferences will use a Conference playoff format.

The first place teams in the two Divisions in each Conference will receive the top two playoff seeds based on regular season points. The next six Clubs in each Conference, based on regular season points, will receive the 3rd - 8th playoff positions. The Clubs will be paired 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, and 4 vs. 5 in a best-of-seven series.

The first place Clubs in each Division will be guaranteed the top two playoff seeds in the first round. As in previous seasons, the format for the remaining three rounds of the WHL Playoffs will remain the same. The four Clubs winning first round series in each Conference will advance to the second round, where they will be ranked in order of regular season points. The Clubs will be paired 1 vs. 4, and 2 vs. 3 in best of seven series.

The two Clubs winning the 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 Clubs will be paired 1 vs. 2 in a best of seven series.

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

 

WHL EASTERN CONFERENCE
X denotes clinched playoff spot, *denoted Division leader

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	Games Remaining
1	X Edmonton Oil Kings	68	47	18	2	1	97	4
2	X *Regina Pats	69	38	25	3	3	82	3
3	X *Calgary Hitmen	69	45	17	3	4	97	3
4	X Medicine Hat Tigers	69	42	23	3	1	88	3
5	X Kootenay Ice	68	39	25	2	2	82	4
6	X Swift Current Broncos	69	35	25	3	6	79	3
7	Prince Albert Raiders	68	33	30	3	2	71	4
8	Red Deer Rebels	69	33	31	1	4	71	3
9	Brandon Wheat Kings	69	31	29	6	3	71	3
10	Moose Jaw Warriors	69	20	40	3	6	49	3
11	Saskatoon Blades	68	16	47	2	3	37	4
12	Lethbridge Hurricanes	69	12	52	2	3	29	3

 

The Edmonton Oil Kings and Calgary Hitmen find themselves once again tied for first place in the Central Division and Eastern Conference standings, with the Oil Kings holding the edge with more victories.  Plus, Edmonton holds a game in hand on Calgary.

The Oil Kings host Kootenay on Tuesday and visit Medicine Hat on Wednesday before closing out their regular season with a home-and-home set versus Red Deer on the weekend.  The Hitmen host 12^th-placed Lethbridge on Tuesday then battle the Kootenay Ice in a season-ending home-and-home set on the weekend.

The Regina Pats currently hold a three-point lead over the Swift Current Broncos for first place in the East Division, with both teams having three remaining games.  Any combination of points gained or points dropped by the Broncos totaling three will lock up the division title for the Pats.

The Pats play their final three games versus two teams fighting for their playoff lives, hosting Prince Albert on Wednesday before a weekend home-and-home set versus Brandon.  The Broncos host Saskatoon on Wednesday then close out their season with a home-and-home set versus the red-hot Moose Jaw Warriors. 

The Medicine Hat Tigers currently hold a six-point lead over Kootenay for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, and can lock up a top-four spot with two more points from their final three games.  The Tigers host Edmonton on Wednesday then finish up the regular-season schedule with a home-and-home set versus the Lethbridge Hurricanes this weekend.

The Kootenay Ice can finish no lower than sixth in the conference but can lock up fifth place with any combination of points gained or points dropped by Swift Current totaling three.  The Ice have a tough final week of play with trips to Edmonton and Red Deer on Tuesday and Wednesday before a pair of games versus Calgary on the weekend.

The battle for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference is tight, with the Prince Albert Raiders, Red Deer Rebels and Brandon Wheat Kings all tied with 71 points.  The Raiders, who have won their last four games, have a game in hand on the Rebels and Wheat Kings.  The Raiders and Rebels are tied with 33 wins apiece – two better than Brandon’s 31 victories.

The Raiders are in Moose Jaw on Tuesday and Regina on Wednesday before wrapping up their schedule with a home-and-home series versus Saskatoon.  The Rebels host Kootenay on Wednesday then finish the season with two games versus the Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings.  The Wheat Kings host the Blades on Tuesday then take on Regina for a weekend home-and-home set.

The Moose Jaw Warriors, Saskatoon Blades and Lethbridge Hurricanes have already been eliminated from playoff contention.

 

WHL WESTERN CONFERENCE

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	Games Remaining
1	X *Kelowna Rockets	68	54	10	0	4	112	4
2	X *Portland Winterhawks	68	50	13	2	3	105	4
3	X Victoria Royals	68	47	17	1	3	98	4
4	X Seattle Thunderbirds	68	40	22	2	4	86	4
5	X Spokane Chiefs	68	38	24	3	3	82	4
6	X Everett Silvertips	68	36	23	7	2	81	4
7	X Vancouver Giants	69	31	27	7	4	73	3
8	Tri-City Americans	68	28	32	3	5	64	4
9	Prince George Cougars	70	26	36	3	5	60	2
10	Kamloops Blazers	69	13	51	2	3	31	3

 

The Kelowna Rockets and Portland Winterhawks sit No. 1 and 2 in the Western Conference, with each team having already locked up their respective division titles.  The Rockets currently hold a seven-point lead over the Winterhawks, and can clinch first place in the Western Conference and first overall in the WHL standings with just one more point from their final four games or if Portland drops one more point.

The Rockets face tough B.C.  Division rivals Victoria on Tuesday, visit Kamloops on Wednesday, and close out their schedule with a home-and-home series versus the Vancouver Giants on the weekend.  Portland hosts Tri-Cities on Tuesday, plays a home-and-home series versus Seattle on Friday and Saturday, and ends their regular season on Sunday to visiting Everett.

The Victoria Royals are locked into the third seed in the Western Conference, but have a slim chance to pass Portland on points which would give them home-ice advantage in the event of a second-round playoff series between the teams.  However, any combination of points gained by Portland or dropped by Victoria totaling two will guarantee the Royals a third-place finish.  The Royals are in Kelowna on Tuesday and Vancouver on Wednesday before closing out their schedule with a home-and-home set versus Everett on Friday and Saturday.

The Seattle Thunderbirds hold a four-point lead over Spokane and a five-point lead over Everett for fourth place in the conference, with all three teams still having four remaining games.  The Thunderbirds host Spokane on Tuesday night, looking for a series sweep of the Chiefs, then play back-to-back games versus first-placed Portland on Friday and Saturday before ending their season at Tri-Cities on Sunday.  The Chiefs host Everett on Wednesday then end their schedule with a home-and-home versus archrivals the Tri-City Americans on Friday and Saturday.  The Silvertips visit Spokane on Wednesday, play back-to-back games versus Victoria on Friday and Saturday, then wrap up their season versus Portland on Sunday.

The Vancouver Giants are locked into seventh place in the Western Conference, and will face either Portland or Kelowna in the first round of the playoffs.  The Giants finish off their regular season with three games versus the top two teams in the B.C. Division.

The race for eighth place has the Tri-City Americans holding a four-point lead over the Prince George Cougars, with the Ams having four remaining games compared with the Cougars’ two.  The Ams need just one more point from their final four games or for the Cougars to drop a point from their final two outings to clinch the final playoff spot.  The Cougars, meanwhile, need to win both of their remaining games and hope Tri-Cities loses all four of their remaining games in regulation to force a tiebreaker.  The Cougars play a home-and-home with non-playoff Kamloops on the weekend while Tri-Cities visits Portland on Tuesday, plays back-to-back games versus Spokane on Friday and Saturday, then ends their season hosting Seattle on Sunday.

The Kamloops Blazers have already been eliminated from playoff contention.

 

BOB CLARKE TROPHY RACE

Rank	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS
1	Mitch Holmberg	SPO	68	60	53	113
2	Nicolas Petan	POR	59	34	74	108
3	Oliver Bjorkstrand	POR	65	45	57	102
4	Sam Reinhart	KTN	56	34	64	98
5	Leon Draisaitl	PA	60	35	62	97
6	Jaedon Descheneau	KTN	66	42	52	94
7	Todd Fiddler	PG	64	46	47	93
8	Graham Black	SC	66	33	58	91
9	Henrik Samuelsson	EDM	62	32	57	89
10	Brendan Leipsic	POR	56	37	50	87

 

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