Basha Scored in Return, Tigers Claw Out Game 1 Win in 2025 WHL Championship Series

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WHL Spokane Chiefs

Basha Scored in Return, Tigers Claw Out Game 1 Win in 2025 WHL Championship Series

May 9, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


Medicine Hat, Alta.- The Tigers are out of the cage and on the board in the 2025 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien.

The Eastern Conference Champions held off a late barrage from the Spokane Chiefs to earn a 4-1 victory in Game 1 on Friday night.

Tigers standout Andrew Basha got the sellout crowd of more than 6,000 at Co-op Place on their feet with a wild goal and an even more emotional celebration less than a minute into the match.

The Calgary Flames prospect found the icebreaker with :54 off the clock as he drove the Spokane net and snapped a Hunter St. Martin feed over the blocker of Dawson Cowan.

Basha had been out of the Tigers lineup since December 28, 2024, when he was injured and underwent surgery for a lower body injury.

Even sweeter?

Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Caydon Lindstrom, who hadn't seen game action since the 2024 WHL Playoffs, earned the secondary assist.

Regular season goals leader Shea Van Olm nearly found the equalizer for Spokane a minute later, but Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Harrison Meneghin made the first of dozens of key stops before Captain Oasiz Wiesblatt made a critical clear.

2025 NHL Draft-eligible defenceman Bryce Pickford doubled the lead for the Tabbies before the period ended.

WHL Player of the Year Gavin McKenna wove through the offensive zone before sliding the puck to a trailing Pickford for a precision shot from the slot.

The assist sees McKenna extend his modern CHL-record point streak (regular season + playoffs) to a staggering 54 games.

The score held until the early goings of the final frame, when Seattle Kraken prospect Berkly Catton got his side on the board with a powerplay marker.

Van Olm fed the puck through the legs of a Tigers defender to send Catton in tight on Meneghin, where the Chiefs Captain tucked the puck five-hole to slice the deficit in half.

The Tigers- and their fans- got some breathing room just over a minute later as an Ethan Neutens shot tipped off the blocker and the butt end of Dawson Cowan's stick as it fluttered into the net before Nashville Predators prospect Tanner Molendyk sent the puck sailing into the empty net, with McKenna picking up his second assist of the evening.

Menghin was near-perfect as he steered aside 36 of 37 shots for his busiest game of the 2025 WHL Playoffs.

Game 2 is set for Sunday, May 11, at 7:00 p.m. MST at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat.

TSN will carry the game for Canadian viewers, while fans in the United States and across the world can stream the match on Victory+.

Check out the Spokane Chiefs Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from May 9, 2025


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