WHL regular season concludes

The final day of the 2018-19 regular season saw a number of big storylines, but the most important one was the end of an era in Cranbrook, B.C.

The Kootenay Ice wrapped up their 21-year run on a winning note as they picked up a 5-4 victory in their last game before a move to Winnipeg next season.

Former Prince Albert Raiders netminder Curtis Meger got the start in goal for the Ice as the overager made 25 saves in his final junior hockey contest.

“To end off on a win like that in an electric barn was a feeling like I’ve never felt before,” Meger told Jessica Dempsey of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman. “It was truly amazing.”

Fellow 20-year-old Jaeger White had a goal and an assist for the Ice, while Cameron Hausinger scored twice for a Rebels side that will face the Raiders on Friday when the playoffs get underway.

In Portland, Joachim Blichfeld got an assist with 1.1 seconds left in regulation as the Winterhawks forward picked up his 114th point of the season and captured the scoring title by one point over Moose Jaw’s Tristin Langan.

However, the Winterhawks’ 6-5 loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds meant that they won’t have home ice advantage for their opening round matchup with the Spokane Chiefs.

Andrej Kukuca had three assists for the Thunderbirds, while Jared Freadrich had a goal and two assists for Portland.

The Edmonton Oil Kings will enter the post-season as the hottest team in the league as the Central Division champions won their 11th straight game Sunday by a score of 3-1 over the Calgary Hitmen.

Vince Loschiavo had a pair of goals for the visitors, who fired 35 shots at Carl Stankowski.

Final Standings

East Division

1. Prince Albert Raiders – 112 points (54-10-2-2)
2. Saskatoon Blades – 98 points (45-15-8-0)
3. Moose Jaw Warriors – 88 points (40-20-6-2)
4. Brandon Wheat Kings – 70 points (31-29-4-4)
5. Regina Pats – 42 points (19-45-1-3)
6. Swift Current Broncos – 28 points (11-51-4-2)

Central Division

1. Edmonton Oil Kings – 92 points (42-18-4-4)
2. Lethbridge Hurricanes – 90 points (40-18-5-5)
3. Calgary Hitmen – 78 points (36-26-5-1)
4. Medicine Hat Tigers – 76 points (35-27-4-2 – First Wild Card)
5. Red Deer Rebels – 72 points (33-29-4-2 – Second Wild Card)
6. Kootenay Ice – 36 points (13-45-7-3)

BC Division (Third Seed to be Decided in a Tiebreaker Game Tuesday)

1. Vancouver Giants – 101 points (48-15-3-2)
2. Victoria Royals – 72 points (34-30-2-2)
3. Kamloops Blazers – 64 points (28-32-6-2)
4. Kelowna Rockets – 64 points (28-32-6-2)
5. Prince George Cougars – 46 points (19-41-5-3)

US Division

1. Everett Silvertips – 99 points (47-16-2-3)
2. Spokane Chiefs – 87 points (40-21-2-5)
3. Portland Winterhawks – 86 points (40-22-3-3)
4. Tri-City Americans – 74 points (34-28-5-1 – First Wild Card)
5. Seattle Thunderbirds – 70 points (31-29-6-2 – Second Wild Card)

Stat Leaders (CHL Leaders if Not from the WHL)

Players

• Games Played: Carson Miller (Prince Albert/Victoria) – 70 (CJ Clarke and Kevin Hancock – Flint/Mississauga and Owen Sound/London – 70)
• Goals: Joachim Blichfeld (Portland) and Tristin Langan (Moose Jaw) – 53 (Justin Brazeau – North Bay – 61)
• Assists: Justin Almeida (Moose Jaw) – 78 (Peter Abbandonato – Rouyn-Noranda – 82)
• Points: Joachim Blichfeld (Portland) – 114 (Jason Robertson – Kingston/Niagara – 117)
• Defensive Scoring: Josh Brook (Moose Jaw) and Dawson Davidson (Saskatoon) – 75 (Mac Hollowell – Sault Ste. Marie – 77)
• Rookie Scoring: Brayden Tracey (Moose Jaw) – 81
• Plus/Minus: Brayden Pachal (Prince Albert) – 76
• Penalty Minutes: Riley McKay (Saskatoon) – 149
• Power Play Goals: Mark Kastelic (Calgary) – 24 (Jonathan Yantsis – Kitchener – 24)
• Power Play Assists: Jett Woo (Moose Jaw) – 33 (Jason Robertson – Kingston/Niagara – 36)
• Game Winning Goals: Tristin Langan (Moose Jaw), Vince Loschiavo (Edmonton) and Brayden Tracey (Moose Jaw) – 11 (Philip Tomasino – Niagara – 12)
• Short Handed Goals: Jake Elmer (Lethbridge) – 7 (Nicolas Guay, Anthony Salinitri and Joseph Veleno – Drummondville, Sarnia/Oshawa and Drummondville – 7)
• Short Handed Assists: Brandon Hagel (Red Deer) – 5 (Morgan Frost – Sault Ste. Marie – 7)
• Overtime Goals: Bowen Byram (Vancouver) – 6
• Points Per Game: Cody Glass (Portland) – 1.82 (Maxime Comtois – Drummondville – 1.92)

Goalies

• Games Played: Beck Warm (Tri-City) and Dustin Wolf (Everett) – 61
• Shutouts: Ian Scott (Prince Albert) – 8
• Goals Against Average: Dustin Wolf (Everett) – 1.69 (Max Palaga of Everett had a 1.65 GAA in 13 appearances)
• Rookie Goals Against Average: Mads Sogaard (Medicine Hat) – 2.64 (Cole McLaren – Halifax – 1.81)
• Save Percentage: Dustin Wolf (Everett) – .936 (Max Palaga of Everett had a .942 save percentage in 13 appearances)
• Wins: Dustin Wolf (Everett) – 41

Teams

• Goals For: Prince Albert Raiders – 307 (Drummondville Voltigeurs – 338)
• Goals Against: Everett Silvertips – 130
• Penalty Minutes: Seattle Thunderbirds – 1046
• Power Play Percentage: Spokane Chiefs – 29.1 (Baie-Comeau Drakkar – 30.7)
• Power Play Goals: Spokane Chiefs – 81 (Niagara IceDogs – 85)
• Penalty Kill Percentage: Prince Albert Raiders – 86.9
• Short Handed Goals: Prince Albert Raiders – 23 (Drummondville Voltigeurs – 25)

Streaks

• Goals: Jake Elmer (Lethbridge) – 13 games (17 goals)
• Assists: Dawson Davidson (Saskatoon) – 15 games (24 assists)
• Points: Brett Leason (Prince Albert) – 30 games (64 points)
• Wins: Prince Albert Raiders – 19 games (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies – 25 games)
• Losses: Swift Current Broncos – 18 games (Acadie-Bathurst Titan – 23 games)

Tiebreaker Game Prediction – Kelowna Rockets vs. Kamloops Blazers

Head-to-Head Record: Kamloops 6-4 (Kamloops outscored Kelowna 21-19)

Scoring Leaders

Kamloops: Connor Zary – 9 points (Orrin Centazzo had 7 points)

Kelowna: Kyle Topping – 10 points (Nolan Foote and Lassi Thomson each had 8 points)

Goaltending Leaders

Kamloops: Dylan Ferguson – 4-4 record with a 1.99 GAA and a .934 save percentage (Dylan Garand had a 2-0 record with a 0.96 GAA and a .964 save percentage)

Kelowna: Roman Basran – 4-4 record with a 1.61 GAA and a .943 save percentage (James Porter had a 0-2 record with a 3.38 GAA and a .896 save percentage)

Prediction: Kelowna 2-1 in Overtime

This one can honestly go either way. Kamloops has had a never say die attitude over the last week and Kelowna came through when the chips were down Saturday with an overtime win over Vancouver.

A goaltending duel seems on the cards (though Dylan Ferguson’s status is up in the air due to a lower body injury he sustained on March 6 against the Giants), but I’m leaning towards the Rockets in this one. With the hosting duties for the Memorial Cup on the horizon and the fact they’ve only missed the playoffs once since moving to Kelowna, it’s hard to see them not being a part of the post-season dance.