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WHL Western Hockey League

WHL Regular Season Enters Final Weekend

March 20, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL) News Release


Calgary, AB - The 2014-15 Western Hockey League regular season has entered the final weekend of play before the 2015 WHL Playoffs begin.

In the Eastern Conference, the Brandon Wheat Kings, Calgary Hitmen, Medicine Hat Tigers, Regina Pats and Red Deer Rebels have all locked up 2015 WHL Playoff berths while the Kootenay ICE and the Edmonton Oil Kings have clinched the two Wild Card spots.

In the Western Conference, the Kelowna Rockets, Everett Silvertips, Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Thunderbirds, Victoria Royals and Spokane Chiefs have all clinched 2015 WHL Playoff positions.

WHL fans can catch the Vancouver Giants fight for the playoffs on Sportsnet as they host the Kelowna Rockets at 7:30pm PST tonight, while the Victoria Royals host the Everett Silvertips on the WHL on Shaw and ROOT Sports at 7:00pm PST. All WHL games can also be streamed though WHL Live by visiting www.whllive.com.

The Western Hockey League's Eastern and Western Conferences will use a Divisional / Conference hybrid playoff format, with the inclusion of Wild Card qualifiers, for the 2015 WHL Playoffs. All playoff series' are best-of-seven affairs.

Modeled after the National Hockey League's playoff format, the format used in the 2015 WHL Playoffs is aimed at enhancing divisional rivalries and reducing overall travel in the WHL's widespread geographical area throughout the course of the post-season.

The new format will see the top-three Clubs in each Division make up the first six playoff qualifiers within each of the two WHL Conferences. The remaining two spots per Conference will be filled via Wild Cards, with the next two highest-placed Clubs in each Conference earning playoff berths based on their regular season record, regardless of Division.

In Round 1, the Division winner with the best record in each Conference will be matched against the Wild Card team with the lesser record; the Wild Card team with the better record will play the other Division winner. The second and third-place teams within each Division will also meet in Round 1.

Round 1 winners within each bracket play one another in Round 2 with the four winning Clubs advancing to the Conference Championships. Home-ice advantage through the first two rounds goes to the Club that placed higher in the regular season standings.

The two Clubs winning their Round 2 series in each Conference will advance to the WHL Conference Championships, where they will be ranked in order of regular season points.

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. If an East Division Club is involved in the WHL Championship Series, the best-of-seven series will utilize a 2-3-2 format.

WHL EASTERN CONFERENCE

x - denotes clinched playoff spot

y - teams who have clinched Division title

East Division

1) xy Brandon Wheat Kings 70gp-52-11-4-3, 111pts (2 games remaining)

2) x Regina Pats 70gp-37-23-5-5, 84pts (2 games remaining)

3) Swift Current Broncos 70gp-32-33-1-4, 69pts (2 games remaining)

Central Division

1) x Calgary Hitmen 70gp-43-22-1-4, 91pts (2 games remaining)

2) x Medicine Hat Tigers 70gp-43-23-2-2, 90pts (2 games remaining)

3) x Red Deer Rebels 70gp-37-22-5-6, 85pts (2 games remaining)

Eastern Conference Wild Card

7) x Kootenay Ice 70gp-37-29-1-3, 78pts (2 games remaining)

8) x Edmonton Oil Kings 70gp-33-30-4-3, 73pts (2 games remaining)

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9) Moose Jaw Warriors 70gp-31-34-4-1, 67pts (2 games remaining)

10) Prince Albert Raiders 70gp-29-37-2-2, 62pts (2 games remaining)

11) Lethbridge Hurricanes 70gp-20-42-5-3, 48pts (2 games remaining)

12) Saskatoon Blades 70gp-19-47-2-2, 42pts (2 games remaining)

The Brandon Wheat Kings clinched first place in the Eastern Conference to secure home-ice advantage for at least the first three rounds of the 2015 WHL Playoffs. Brandon can secure the best record in the WHL and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs if they win one of their final two games or if the Kelowna Rockets lose one of their final two games in regulation. The Wheat Kings will meet the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Round 1 of the WHL Playoffs.

The Regina Pats have secured second place in the East Division. The Swift Current Broncos currently own the third spot in the East Division and can do no worse than a one-game playoff with Moose Jaw for the last available playoff position if they collect a win against the Lethbridge Hurricanes tonight.

The Central Division remains a close race between the Calgary Hitmen and the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Hitmen enter the weekend with 91 points while the Tigers have 90 points with two games remaining for both Clubs. With a win by the Hitmen combined with a regulation loss by the Tigers, Calgary would take the Central Division crown. The Hitmen will travel to Kootenay to take on the ICE while the Tigers battle the Saskatoon Blades tonight. The Red Deer Rebels have clinched third place in the Central Division and will meet either Calgary or Medicine Hat in Round 1 of the 2015 WHL Playoffs.

The Kootenay ICE have clinched the first Wild Card berth in the Eastern Conference and will meet either the Calgary Hitmen or Medicine Hat Tigers in Round 1.

The Moose Jaw Warriors remain alive in the playoff hunt, trailing the Swift Current Broncos by two points for third place in the East Division. With two regular season games left for both Clubs, the Warriors will need to gain two points on the Broncos to at least force a one-game playoff for the final playoff spot.

WHL WESTERN CONFERENCE

x - denotes clinched playoff spot

y - teams who have clinched Division title

B.C. Division

1) xy Kelowna Rockets 70gp-51-13-4-1, 108pts (2 games remaining)

2) x Victoria Royals 70gp-38-28-3-1, 80pts (2 games remaining)

3) Prince George Cougars 70gp-30-35-2-3, 65pts (2 games remaining)

U.S. Division

1) x Portland Winterhawks 69gp-42-21-2-4, 90pts (3 games remaining)

2) x Everett Silvertips 69gp-41-20-3-5, 90pts (3 games remaining)

3) x Seattle Thunderbirds 70gp-36-25-4-5, 81pts (2 games remaining)

Western Conference Wild Card

7) x Spokane Chiefs 69gp-34-31-3-1, 72pts (3 games remaining)

8) Tri-City Americans 69gp-29-37-0-3, 61pts (3 games remaining)

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9) Kamloops Blazers 70gp-27-36-4-3, 61pts (2 games remaining)

10) Vancouver Giants 70gp-27-40-1-2, 57pts (2 games remaining)

The Kelowna Rockets clinched first place in the Western Conference to secure home-ice advantage for at least the first three rounds of the 2015 WHL playoffs. They remain in a battle with the Eastern Conference-leading Brandon Wheat Kings for the Scotty Munro Trophy as regular season champions. The Rockets have 108 points, three behind the Wheat Kings who have 111 points with two games remaining for both Clubs.

The Victoria Royals are locked in as the second seed in the B.C. Division and will have home-ice advantage in the first round of the WHL Playoffs. The Prince George Cougars and Kamloops Blazers will face-off against each other in a home-and-home set Friday and Saturday to close out the regular season. The Prince George Cougars need to earn just one point in their final two games against the Kamloops Blazers to clinch third place in the B.C. Division and a playoff berth. The Kamloops Blazers are in a fight with the Tri-City Americans for the second Wild Card spot, but could also potentially catch Prince George and force a one-game playoff for third place in the B.C. Division in another scenario.

The Portland Winterhawks and Everett Silvertips continue to go neck-and-neck for the U.S. Division crown. The two Clubs both possess 90 points with three games remaining. Although tied in points, the Winterhawks enter the weekend with the tie-breaker advantage over the Silvertips due to the Winterhawks having one more win. The Seattle Thunderbirds are locked in as the third seed in the U.S. Division and will face either Portland or Everett in Round 1 of the 2015 WHL Playoffs.

The Spokane Chiefs have clinched the first Wild Card berth in the Western Conference and will meet either the Portland Winterhawks or Everett Silvertips in Round 1 of the 2015 WHL Playoffs.

The Tri-City Americans and Kamloops Blazers are tied for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference with 61 points apiece. The Americans do have three games remaining to Kamloops' two, and host the Winterhawks on Friday.

The Vancouver Giants recorded a huge win against the Victoria Royals on Sunday, March 15th to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Giants need to win their final two games and have both Tri-City and Kamloops lose all their remaining games in regulation in order to force a one-game playoff to make the post-season.

BOB CLARKE TROPHY RACE

Player Team GP G A P

1 Oliver Bjorkstrand Portland Winterhawks 56 58 54 112

2 Trevor Cox Medicine Hat Tigers 67 27 79 106

3 Tim McGauley Brandon Wheat Kings 70 42 62 104

4 Cole Sanford Medicine Hat Tigers 70 50 44 94

5 Cole Ully Kamloops Blazers 67 33 57 90

6 Nick Merkley Kelowna Rockets 70 20 69 89

7 Nicolas Petan Portland Winterhawks 51 14 73 87

8 Adam Tambellini Calgary Hitmen 69 47 39 86

9 Adam Helewka Spokane Chiefs 66 41 42 83

10 Brayden Point Moose Jaw Warriors 58 36 47 83

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