ICE Will Play Seattle Thunderbirds in WHL Championship Series
May 9, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Winnipeg Ice News Release
The Winnipeg ICE will face the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2023 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien starting Friday night at Canada Life Centre.
The Thunderbirds won the Western Conference Championship Series presented by Nutrien Monday night in Kamloops by a 4-2 score to win the best of seven series 4-2.
Seattle's roster features 10 NHL drafted players including Winnipeg Jets first round draft pick Brad Lambert, who was selected 30th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
Other NHL draft picks include Arizona Coyotes 2021 first round pick Dylan Guenther, who played 33 games with the Coyotes this past NHL season, along with Nolan Allan (Chicago), Luke Prokop (Nashville), Jordan Gustafson (Vegas), Kevin Korchinski (Chicago), Reid Schaefer (Nashville), Jared Davidson (Montreal), Colton Dach (Chicago) and Lucas Ciona (Calgary).
The Thunderbirds have seven players who took part in the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship (Nolan Allan, Brad Lambert, Kevin Korchinski, Thomas Milic, Reid Schaefer, Colton Dach and Dylan Guenther).
Goaltender Scott Ratzlaff along with forwards Nico Myatovic and Gracyn Sawchyn were selected to play in the Kubota CHL / NHL Top Prospects Game.
Winnipeg finished the 68 game WHL regular season schedule four points ahead of Seattle. The Thunderbirds finished first in the WHL U.S. Division with a 54-11-1-2 record.
The winner of the 2023 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien will advance to the 2023 Memorial Cup presented by Kia, set to be hosted in Kamloops, B.C., from May 25 - June 4, 2023.
The 2023 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien will follow a 2-3-2 series format, with Game 1 scheduled for Friday, May 12 in Winnipeg.
The 2023 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien serves as the first time in WHL history in which the ICE and Thunderbirds will face off for the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
2023 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien
Game 1 - Friday, May 12 at Winnipeg (Canada Life Centre - 7:00 p.m. CT)
Game 2 - Saturday, May 13 at Winnipeg (Canada Life Centre - 6:00 p.m. CT)
Game 3^ - Tuesday, May 16 at Seattle (accesso ShoWare Center - 9:05 p.m. CT)
Game 4^ - Wednesday, May 17 at Seattle (accesso ShoWare Center - 9:05 p.m. CT)
Game 5*^ - Friday, May 19 at Seattle (accesso ShoWare Center - 9:05 p.m. CT)
Game 6*^ - Sunday, May 21 at Winnipeg (Canada Life Centre - time TBD)
Game 7*^ - Monday, May 22 at Winnipeg (Canada Life Centre - time TBD)
* = if necessary
^ = TSN National Broadcast
All games in the WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien can be heard live on CFRW 1290 AM Radio with Brian Munz and Kevin Olszewski starting with the Fort Garry Brewing Company Pregame Show 30 minutes prior to face off.
Games 1 and 2 of the 2023 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien will be available on WHL Live via CHL TV.
TSN will broadcast the 2023 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien, beginning with Game 3 on Tuesday, May 16.
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