Series Preview: Portland and Everett Meet in Second Round
WHL Portland Winterhawks

Series Preview: Portland and Everett Meet in Second Round

Published on April 10, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


For the second series in the 2025 WHL Playoffs, the Portland Winterhawks meet an opponent with revenge on its mind. After defeating the Prince George Cougars in seven games in Round One, the No.1 seed and Scotty Munro Memorial Champion Everett Silvertips await.

The two U.S. Division rivals met in the conference semi-finals in the 2024 playoffs and the first round in 2023 - both series wins by Portland.

During the 2024-2025 regular season, the Silvertips won six of eight contests against the Winterhawks. Portland won the seventh meeting in a shootout on March 9 and emerged victorious on December 11 at the Angel of the Winds Arena.

As the only lower seed to complete an upset in the opening round, Portland is the underdog but has embraced the mentality all year. Nine players made their postseason debuts against the Cougars in Round One and won two hostile road games, so traveling to Everett will be more of the same.

Everett advanced to the second round by defeating fellow U.S. Division rival Seattle Thunderbirds in six games, including a double-overtime 1-0 goaltending battle. In Game 6. The amount of time spent on the bus traveling was significantly lower compared to Portland's two trips to Prince George and back.

Given the proximity of the two rinks, the series follows the more traditional 2-2-1-1-1 format, compared to the 2-3-2 format the Winterhawks played in the first round.

Each team boasts plenty of firepower and gets significant offensive production from its blue line.

In the eight regular-season meetings, Western Conference Player of the Year Finalist Kyle Chyzowski led Portland with five goals and five assists, while Tyler MacKenzie's 14 points (6G, 8A) was a series high.

Tyson Jugnauth (2G, 6A), named a Western Conference finalist for Defenseman of the year, and forward Josh Zakreski (4G, 4A) were point-per-game players against the Silvertips. Exceptional Status defenseman Landon DuPont (3G, 5A) and Jesse Heslop (3G, 5) were key contributors for Everett.

MacKenzie's and DuPont's statuses are questionable vs. Portland after both missed several games against the Thunderbirds.

Austin Roest was sent back to Everett by the Nashville Predators after he recovered from an injury that prevented him from playing any games in 2024. His first time in the lineup as an overager was on March 7, and he scored a goal and an assist. Roest missed the 2024 Playoff series against Portland with an injury but had four goals and one assist in the 2023 postseason meeting.

Anaheim Ducks prospect Tarin Smith currently leads the way defensively for Everett with one goal and seven assists in the 2025 playoffs. The 20th overall selection in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, Smith also had seven points (2G, 5A) during the regular season against the Winterhawks.

Jugnauth and Chyzowski enter the second round of the playoffs red-hot. Seattle Kraken draft selection Jugnauth (2G, 14A) is tied in playoff scoring with Gavin KcKenna, a top prospect for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, with 16 points. Meanwhile, Chyzowski sits in a tie for third with Berkly Catton of the Spokane Chiefs; each player has 14 points.

Goaltending is always a key factor in playoff series, and both Portland's Ondřej Štěbeták and Everett's Raiden LeGall are coming off remarkable performances in their series-clinching victories. Štěbeták turned aside 33-of-35 in Game 7 vs Prince George. LeGall was a perfect 57-for-57 in Everett's double overtime Game 6 win at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent against the Thunderbirds.

As lethal as the Winterhawks were on the power play in the opening round, going 8-for-27 (29.6%) on the man advantage, the Silvertips were slightly better at 9-for-28 (32.1%). Needless to say, special teams and discipline will be key to the series.

The WHL Playoffs are available on Victory+ without geo-restrictions, giving fans the opportunity to follow their favorite teams and players on the road to the championship. With Victory+ offering a free, ad-supported streaming service, this ensures that the game is accessible to everyone, no matter where they are or what devices they use, including Samsung and Vizio smart TVs, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS, Android and web browser.

Learn more at victoryplus.com/download

Series Schedule:

Game 1 - Friday, April 11- @EVT - 7:05 p.m. (Watch Party hosted by Cartside at 1825 N Williams Avenue, Portland, OR 97227)

Game 2 - Saturday, April 12 - @EVT - 6:05 p.m. (Watch Party hosted by Grains of Wrath at 230 NE 5th Avenue, Camas, WA 98607)

Game 3 - Tuesday, April 15 - @POR - 7:00 p.m.

Game 4 - Wednesday, April 16 - @POR - 7:00 p.m.

*Game 5 - Friday, April 18 - @EVT - 7:05 p.m. (Watch Party hosted by Cartside at 1825 N Williams Avenue, Portland, OR 97227)

*Game 6 - Saturday, April 19 - @POR - 7:00 p.m.

*Game 7 - Tuesday, April 22 - @EVT - 7:05 p.m. (Watch Party hosted by Grains of Wrath at 230 NE 5th Avenue, Camas, WA 98607)

* If necessary

Regular Season Results (POR went 2-6-0-0):

Portland 3 @ Everett 5 (Mar 14, 2025) Final

Everett 2 @ Portland 3 (Mar 9, 2025) Final SO

Portland 1 @ Everett 4 (Feb 21, 2025) Final

Everett 7 @ Portland 3 (Dec 31, 2024) Final

Portland 4 @ Everett 3 (Dec 11, 2024) Final

Everett 4 @ Portland 2 (Oct 27, 2024) Final

Everett 3 @ Portland 0 (Oct 19, 2024) Final

Portland 2 @ Everett 8 (Sep 28, 2024) Final

POR Leading Scorers in the Regular Season Series:

Kyle Chyzowski - 5G - 5A - 10 PTS

Josh Zakreski - 4G - 4A - 8 PTS

Tyson Jugnauth - 2G - 6A - 8 PTS

Diego Buttazzoni - 2G - 3A - 5 PTS

Ryder Thompson - 1G - 2A - 3 PTS

EVT Leading Scorers in the Regular Season Series:

Tyler MacKenzie - 6G - 8A - 14 PTS

Landon DuPont - 3G - 5A - 8 PTS

Jesse Heslop - 3G - 5A - 8 PTS

Dominik Rymon - 5G - 2A - 7 PTS

Tarin Smith - 2G - 5A - 7 PTS

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from April 10, 2025


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