by Cameron Riggers | Dec 23, 2023 | WHL
We’ve reached the unofficial halfway point of the 2023-24 WHL campaign, where five teams across the U.S. and B.C. Divisions remain within six points for the top spot in the Western Conference. Today, we’ll recap the teams in the U.S. Division and take a look ahead to the second half.
Wenatchee Wild: 21-11-3-0 — 45 pts (1st)
Wenatchee has hit the ground running in its first season in the U.S. Division thus far. Leading the way for the Wild have been their two stalwarts, Conor Geekie (ARI) and Matthew Savoie (BUF), as well as Japanese import Kenta Isogai emerging at the top of the Wild’s lineup.
And with some key contributions on the back end from players like defenseman Graham Sward (NSH) and goaltender Daniel Hauser, they have all-around talent that overpowers the rest of the league. Sporting one of the top-ranking home records in the league at 14-2-0-0, the Wild have positioned themselves well to take the division crown in their inaugural WHL season.
Top performer: Conor Geekie with 20 goals and 29 assists
Everett Silvertips: 21-13-1-1 — 44 pts (2nd)
Everett’s story has largely been its home-ice advantage as well, going 14-3-1 in the first half at Angel of the Winds Arena. Having a similar build to Wenatchee, depth scoring from Dominik Rymon, Ben Hemmerling (VGK), Teague Patton, and Austin Roest (NSH) gives the Silvertips a plethora of attacking opportunities. As well as boasting one of the better goalie tandems in the WHL in Ethan Chadwick and Tyler Palmer (CGY), the Silvertips combine that balanced presence and awareness that most teams need to go deep into the playoffs.
Top performers: Hemmerling with 12 goals and 31 assists; Rymon with 18 goals and 25 assists.
Portland Winterhawks: 20-10-1-1 — 42 pts (3rd)
When the Winterhawks score, they score in bunches, as 15 out of their 20 wins on the year have been by a margin of three or more goals. Despite losing two starting netminders in Jan Spunar and Justen Maric to injuries, Portland has gotten goals from all around their lineup, including Josh Davies (FLA) and James Stefan, who each have 23 goals on the year. Once healthy, Portland will boast one of the more complete lineups in the Western Conference.
I spoke with head coach and general manager Mike Johnston following Portland’s game in Spokane last week. “This year’s team is a veteran group with some good playoff experience,” Johnston said. “This team’s depth will probably be what carries us going forward.”
Top performer: Gabe Klassen with 17 goals and 41 assists.
Tri-City Americans: 15-14-1-1 — 32 pts (4th)
Tri-City was a very active team in making roster adjustments in the early parts of this season, most notably when the team traded for goaltender Kyle Kelsey from Red Deer. His partner, Lukas Matecha, has been one of the better goalies in the league this season, with a 9-7 record and a save percentage at .920. While the Americans sport a middling record, numerous glimpses of success against Wenatchee has me thinking of them potentially upsetting one of the higher seeds in the playoffs.
Top performer: Jordan Gavin with 16 goals and 20 assists.
Seattle Thunderbirds: 12-15-2-0 — 26 pts (5th)
A far cry from the year before for the defending champs, the Thunderbirds haven’t had much to write home about in the first few months. Despite starting the season at 7-1-0-0, since Oct. 24, Seattle plummeted with a 5-14-2-0 record. The T-Birds are currently last in the entire league in goals scored with 78, 10 worse than the next closest team. Their leading scorer is a defenseman, Jeremy Hanzel (COL).
One of the only things that has kept the T-birds afloat and still in playoff contention has been timely performances from goaltender Scott Ratzlaff (BUF), who—despite a few blowout starts—has kept Seattle in the playoff conversation.
Top performer: Hanzel with eight goals and 18 assists from the blue line.
Spokane Chiefs: 11-16-3-0 — 25 pts (6th)
Not much has gone right for the Chiefs to start the year, losing seven straight just before the break, dropping Spokane to last in the division. Berkly Catton (draft eligible) and Connor Roulette have carried the majority of the offensive weight for Spokane, each respectively tripling the next closest teammate in goals. While their battles with Portland so far this season have shown they aren’t in complete dire straits, the red flags are waving.
Top performer: Catton with 22 goals and 24 assists.
Player of the Half: Conor Geekie (WEN)
20 goals, 29 assists and a +21 for Geekie leads the first-place Wenatchee Wild.
Top Goalie: Tyler Palmer (EVT)
With a 13-6-1, 2.54 goals-against average, and a .912 save percentage, Palmer leads all U.S. Division goaltenders (min. 20 starts).
Important dates:
Transactions are currently closed for teams during the holiday break, re-opening on Dec. 27. Teams will then have until the trade deadline on Jan. 9 to make any final adjustments. The playoffs are set to begin in mid-March.
Header photo courtesy Brian Liesse, Seattle Thunderbirds.
by Cameron Riggers | Dec 15, 2023 | WHL
Only a few games remain before teams in the WHL begin their winter hiatus, and for the Everett Silvertips, there’s no place like home for the holidays.
Everett Silvertips
Everett began a home-and-home with the Vancouver Giants over the weekend, with both teams hosting their annual teddy-bear tosses. Dominik Rymon released the bears on Friday for the Silvertips, sparking the Silvertips to a 4-1 win over the Giants.
Saturday’s pendulum swung back and forth all night, with the Silvertips tying a franchise record with five power-play goals in a game, that being before Ben Hemmerling’s game-winner in the dying minutes sealed a thrilling 8-7 victory. Despite the win, the Silvertips lost co-captain Austin Roest due to a heavy wall collision. He will miss some time.
Fewer goals were scored the following Sunday night with Portland in town. Despite two early goals from the Silvertips, a natural hat trick from James Stefan lifted the Winterhawks, 6-3.
Attempting to avenge the loss the following Wednesday, Everett welcomed the top-ranked Prince George Cougars to Angel of the Winds Arena. While the Cougars did jump out to an early lead, the Silvertips got contributions from everyone, including co-captain Hemmerling, a Vegas Golden Knights prospect, who has had 10 points in his previous four games. Even while missing Roest to injury, and Rymon to the World Junior Championship camp for Czechia, the Silvertips continued their home dominance, winning 5-2 and improving to 13-3-1 at home this season
“Every time we get to play here it’s always amazing,” Kraken prospect Kaden Hammell said. “We feel we need to give our fans the best show possible, and their support helps us day in and day out.”
Hemmerling wasn’t short on praise for his team’s tenacity, despite missing some key contributors, “There’s no denying we have a depleted lineup right now, so to knock a team off like Prince George is huge for us going forward.”
Seattle Thunderbirds
Seattle took on Tri-City and Portland over the weekend, where the scoring woes continued to follow the Thunderbirds around. They only mustered three goals on the weekend and were taken down twice, 4-1 to Tri-City and 7-2 to Portland.
The T-birds did get back in the win column on Wednesday night in Spokane, as Vancouver Canucks prospect Sawyer Mynio had two goals and one assist and helped lift the Thunderbirds to their first road victory since Oct. 24, 5-3 over the Chiefs.
Kraken prospect highlight
Doubling up with Kaden Hammell this week, I asked the 2023 sixth-round pick for Seattle if being drafted by the Kraken set him up for one of the most ideal development paths possible. “Not many players get to play as close (to their NHL team) as I do here,” Hammell said. “With Seattle being right down the road from Everett, anything that I have needed, they’ve been amazing with.”
Hammell showed off some of his physicality on Wednesday, including a fight early in the contest.
World Junior Championship update
Rosters began to finalize this week for the IIHF World Junior Championship, set to begin on Dec. 26 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Team Canada announced its team on Wednesday, where Kraken prospect Carson Rehkopf was included among the players heading to Sweden.
Jagger Firkus and Ty Nelson received selection camp tryouts as well but didn’t make the cut for the final team. Firkus’ exclusion came as a surprise to many, as he is among the leading point getters in the WHL this season.
Among those selected for Team Canada was Buffalo Sabres prospect and current Seattle Thunderbirds netminder Scott Ratzlaff.
The week ahead
The Silvertips and Thunderbirds will meet one more time before the winter break on Saturday, then they will finish up each of their respective first halves on Sunday, as Everett heads to Wenatchee for the first time and Seattle heads to in Langley, British Columbia, to take on the Vancouver Giants.
by Cameron Riggers | Dec 8, 2023 | WHL
It was not a flashy week in the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League, as numerous teams struggled to find a winning consistency throughout the week. That is unless you’re the Wenatchee Wild, who continue to be one of the best stories in the league.
Wenatchee is not where you would expect to find high-end NHL potential. Many people had no idea where Wenatchee even was when the league announced it would set up shop there back in June. While yes, it is a city of a little under 40,000 residents, making it one of the smallest in the league, it does not lack in passion for its team. Strong attendance was always a hallmark for the previous version of the franchise, which played in the lower British Columbia Hockey League. Now that it is elevated to the WHL, that trend has continued.
The Wild didn’t have to wait long for high-octane prospects either, as two first-round NHL Draft selections in Conor Geekie (Arizona) and Matt Savoie (Buffalo) have found their way in Wenatchee. Geekie leads the Wild with 49 points in 25 games (20-29–49) so far this season, while Savoie since his return to the WHL in November has put up 22 points in 10 games (11-11–22).
Geekie took things to another level during this past weekend. Highlighted by a four-unanswered-goal, overtime-winning performance in Portland on Saturday, a feather in his cap for a weekend with 12 points in three games against Portland and Tri-City. This performance was enough to be named WHL Player of the Week.
Geekie and Savoie, along with Kenta Isogai and assist leader Graham Sward (Nashville), are large reasons why Wenatchee currently sits atop of the U.S. Division standings.
Silvertips and Thunderbirds
It was not a week to write home about for the Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds. The Silvertips finished up their road trip through the province of Alberta by dropping back-to-back games in Edmonton and Red Deer. As for the T-Birds, they did pick up a solid 3-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets on Teddy Bear Toss Night Saturday, and while they did show a solid outing on Tuesday against the Victoria Royals, a comeback effort was foiled, as they fell 5-4.
World Junior Championship
Team Canada’s selection camp roster came out this week for the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. Kraken prospects Ty Nelson, Jagger Firkus, and Carson Rehkopf received invites, as well as Thunderbirds goaltender Scott Ratzlaff and Wild forwards Geekie and Savoie. Players will travel to Oakville, Ontario for selection camp Dec. 10-13. After that, the roster will be finalized for the tournament beginning on Dec. 26 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Around the U.S. division
The Portland Winterhawks acquired the CHL rights to Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth from Kamloops on Wednesday. Jugnauth was playing at the University of Wisconsin to start the year but is planning to make a rare in-season transition from NCAA to CHL. Jugnauth is expected to make his Winterhawks debut against the Thunderbirds on Saturday.
The week ahead
The Everett Silvertips host Vancouver for their Teddy Bear Toss on Friday, beginning a home-and-home series with the Giants before coming home on Sunday to take on Portland. They will then follow with Prince George coming to town on Wednesday. For the Thunderbirds, they take on Tri-City at home on Friday before heading down to Portland on Saturday and then to Spokane for a Wednesday night battle.
Header photo taken by Brian Liesse. Photo courtesy of Seattle Thunderbirds.
by Cameron Riggers | Dec 1, 2023 | WHL
The season keeps moving along for the Western Hockey League, which capped off a November full of standings shuffling and big-time performances all around. For the Everett Silvertips, contributions from up and down the lineup continued to spring them forward, while the Seattle Thunderbirds’ scoring inconsistencies have seemingly set them back.
Everett Silvertips
Everett hosted the rival Portland Winterhawks on Friday at Angel of the Winds Arena, looking to avenge Sunday’s loss in Portland. The Silvertips started slowly by giving up the first three goals of the game and trailing 3-0 after the first period. Goaltender Tyler Palmer was pulled for Ethan Chadwick after the frame.
The Silvertips responded, and the ice tilted drastically in the second, with Everett scoring six unanswered goals and completely shutting the door defensively en route to a 6-3 win. Teague Patton had a natural hat trick in the second, while Nashville Predators prospect Austin Roest scored the game winner in the third.
Everett’s win improved the team to 11-2-1 on home ice this season, trailing only the Wenatchee Wild for the best home winning percentage in the WHL.
The Silvertips followed that up with a night in Kamloops, beginning a five-game road trip across British Columbia and Alberta. Scoring opportunities were plentiful for both sides all night as both the Blazers and Silvertips would tally three goals during regulation. In overtime, it would be Silvertip forward Dominik Rymon going top shelf to seal the game for Everett, 4-3 the final.
Continuing through B.C., Everett headed up to Prince George for a pair with the top team in the Western Conference. The Silvertips didn’t capitalize on a solid performance from Palmer Monday night, a 3-1 loss, but they did pull through in front of Chadwick on Tuesday. Two-point efforts from Julius Miettinen (1-1—2) and Austin Roest (2-0—2) helped in taking down the Cougars 4-3 and keeping Everett near the top of the conference standings.
Seattle Thunderbirds
For everything that went right for the Silvertips this month, it’s been about the opposite for the Thunderbirds. On Friday they took on the Saskatoon Blades, coming off being shut out in their previous two games. The offense continued to be lackluster, only managing to squeak one by Blades goaltender Evan Gardner and leading to a 3-1 loss. Before the third-period goal from Antonio Martorana, the T-birds went their previous 10 periods of hockey without scoring a non-empty-net goal. That’s over three games worth of hockey.
Not much changed on Saturday when Seattle traveled up to Kelowna. Even with the T-birds putting 45 shots on Rockets netminder Jari Kykkanen, only two found their way through. A continued struggle throughout the month of November for the T-birds was the inability to score in bunches, as just twice across 10 games did they net more than two goals in a period. Seattle’s 4-2 loss capped off its month at 3-6-1, and it continued to fall in the Western Conference standings.
U.S. Division performer of the week
If Spokane is going to turn around its season, it’s going to be on the back of its goaltending, specifically 18-year-old Dawson Cowan. Cowan appeared in three games for the Chiefs this week, only allowing four goals on the 106 shots he faced versus Victoria, Portland, and Saskatoon.
Oh, and he was credited with a goal on Sunday in Portland, the first of his career.
Cowan’s performance was enough to be named WHL Goalie of the Week. The Manitoba native will be eligible for selection at the 2024 NHL Draft.
Kraken CHL highlight
With the Seattle Kraken having four second-round selections in the 2023 NHL Draft, there was speculation they would pick a defenseman with at least one of those selections. Where did they turn? Lukas Dragicevic of the Tri-City Americans, who became the first Kraken prospect to play in the U.S. Division. Many Kraken fans were elated to know they would get to see his development on a nightly basis.
Dragicevic’s play in transition and offensive awareness for a defenseman is a large reason why the Kraken selected him No. 57 overall in 2023. Dragicevic currently leads all Tri-City defensemen in points and is continuing to find creative ways to spring the offensive play.
The week ahead
Everett continues its Canadian road trip in Edmonton and Red Deer on Saturday and will then be idle until the following Friday. Seattle remains at home this week, taking on Kelowna once again on Saturday. They then welcome the Victoria Royals to accesso ShoWare Center on Tuesday.
by Cameron Riggers | Nov 24, 2023 | WHL
The Thanksgiving holiday, for the NHL at least, often is used as a benchmark for projections going forward into the rest of the season. This is no different for the WHL, as teams this time of year look to find more consistency in their games going into the more strenuous months of the schedule. And of late for the Seattle Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips, finding this consistency has been either hit or miss.
Weekend skirmishes
The Silvertips and Thunderbirds renewed acquaintances for the first time this season, meeting twice for a home-and-home Friday and Saturday. Luca Hauf gave the T-Birds the early lead on Friday, but four unanswered goals from the Silvertips, including two from Dominik Rymon, pushed Everett to the 4-1 victory.
The scene shifted to Kent on Saturday, with Everett starting Tyler Palmer for the second night in a row. The results would not follow the Tips to accesso ShoWare Center however, as T-birds netminder and Buffalo Sabres prospect Scott Ratzlaff stopped 42 of 43 Silvertips shots on goal. Performances from Eric Alarie (1g-2a—3p) and Sawyer Mynio (1g-1a—2p; GWG) helped lead the T-birds to a 4-1 win of their own.
Everett finished off its action-packed weekend with a Sunday showdown against the Portland Winterhawks. Despite an injury to Winterhawks starter Jan Spunar in the first period, two goals from Carter Sotheran brought them to a 6-4 victory. The Hawks have been simply dominant whenever the Silvertips have come into Veterans Memorial Coliseum, having won 12 consecutive regular-season and playoff games, a streak dating back to November, 2021.
Weekday Melees
The T-Birds began another back-to-back on Tuesday in Tri-City, which turned out to be a night they would rather forget. Despite putting 34 shots on goaltender Lukas Matecha, none found their way through. Tri-City forward Jordan Gavin’s three-point night helped the Americans steam past the T-birds, 5-0. Gavin’s big night extended his point streak to four games, recording 10 points (5g-5a—10p) during that span.
Finishing off the back-to-back, Seattle hosted Kelowna in Kent Wednesday night. The T-birds struggled to find the back of the net once again, with 36 shots on goal on the night and only one squeaking past Rockets netminder Jari Kykkanen. The goal was courtesy of Eric Alarie. Despite the offensive struggles of late for the Birds, one would be all they needed on this night as Ratzlaff stopped all 19 shots he faced. An empty netter sealed the 2-0 win for Seattle, and Ratzlaff collected his seventh career WHL shutout.
Taking I-5 north Wednesday night, Everett looked to bounce back after the weekend mishaps, and early on, they were in the driver’s seat against the Saskatoon Blades. Despite an early goal from the Blades, Silvertips forwards Austin Roest (2) and Dominic Rymon continued their goal-scoring prowess, giving Everett an early 3-1 lead after one period, a lead they would not relinquish. Palmer stopped 26 of 28 shots on net by the Blades, helping Everett ease its way to a 6-2 victory. With their fifth-straight home victory, the Silvertips improved to 10-2-1 at Angel of the Winds Arena this season.
U.S. Division performer of the week
Buffalo Sabres prospect Matt Savoie made a big impact for the Wenatchee Wild this week, who won all three games played. In his first full week back in the WHL, he contributed 8 points (4g-4a—8p) in those three games against Spokane, Prince Albert, and Saskatoon.
Kraken prospect highlight
What more is there to say about Jagger Firkus? The highly touted forward from the Moose Jaw Warriors fell to the Kraken in the second round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, and since the selection, he has been sensational for the Warriors. In just 21 games so far this season, Firkus leads the WHL with 22 goals and 43 points, averaging just over a goal per game. This production is garnering some national attention, as Firkus appeared at No. 48 in TSN’s Top 50 Under-24 rankings this week.
Other notable players with P.N.W. roots that made appearances: Matty Beniers, Dustin Wolf (formerly with Everett), and Kevin Korchinski (formerly with Seattle).
The week ahead
Saskatoon continues its biannual U.S. Division journey, continuing through Seattle, Portland, Tri-City, and Spokane. Seattle will be idle starting after Saturday’s game in Kelowna. Meanwhile, Everett takes on Portland once more before heading up to Kamloops and Prince George.
Header photo courtesy of Seattle Thunderbirds.
by Cameron Riggers | Nov 17, 2023 | WHL
Sound Of Hockey is proud to present new coverage of the Western Hockey League. Most weeks, we will discuss the teams based locally around Seattle, but to get things rolling this week, let’s do a quick check-in on all the U.S. Division teams, the Everett Silvertips, Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs, Tri-City Americans, and Wenatchee Wild. In this space, we will also talk about what’s happening with Kraken prospects playing elsewhere in the WHL.
As the temperatures in the Pacific Northwest are cooling down, things are beginning to heat up for teams in the U.S. Division, and only nine points separate the first- and last-place teams. We look back at some of their recent performances and ahead to what’s on the docket in the upcoming week.
Everett Silvertips
The Silvertips came back from their road trip with a vengeance. Winners of five in a row, including wins this week over Kelowna, Vancouver, and Prince Albert, Everett remains toward the top of the U.S. standings. The Tips have a busy weekend with a home-and-home against the Seattle Thunderbirds before jogging down to Portland on Sunday, then back in time for Saskatoon on Wednesday.
Portland Winterhawks
The Portland Winterhawks have been dishing teams L’s left and right so far this season. This is no different from years prior, but Portland, currently ranked third in the entire CHL, has secured points in each of its last five games including this week’s lone game in Vancouver. The Hawks outshot the Giants 34-10 through two periods on Friday, including a pair of goals and a primary assist from team point leader Gabe Klassen, who helped take down Vancouver, 5-1.
Portland had a hiatus this past week but is back on home ice to start the weekend, beginning with Prince Albert making its lone appearance in the Rose City this season. The Winterhawks will follow that up with a Sunday showdown with the Silvertips, then round out their homestand playing host to the Victoria Royals on Wednesday.
Seattle Thunderbirds
Despite a strong start to the season at 7-1-0, the defending champions have cooled off significantly, dropping six of their last seven games and falling near the bottom of the U.S. Division standings. The T-Birds split a Friday and Saturday home-and-home with the Victoria Royals, losing 3-2 in Victoria, but then bouncing back the following night with a 5-4 win in Kent.
They tried stringing together two in a row, but Prince Albert had other plans on Tuesday, as three first-period goals from the Raiders were all they needed for a 3-2 final.
Defenseman Jeremy Hanzel provided an offensive boost for the T-Birds this week, accounting for three goals, including a pair in Saturday’s game against Victoria.
It will be an action-packed week ahead for the Thunderbirds, as they go back-to-back with the Silvertips, Friday in Everett and Saturday in Kent. They will have a quick Tuesday night jaunt to Tri-City, then head back home the following night to host the Kelowna Rockets.
Spokane Chiefs
Did you know it’s been over two decades since the Spokane Chiefs last won the U.S. Division? Seriously. Not once since 1999-00 have the Chiefs been in the top spot of the U.S. on the last day of the season, and that includes their 2007-08 Memorial Cup. And so far this season, this will likely not change. Spokane, despite early explosions from Connor Roulette and top prospect Berkly Catton, currently sits in last place in the U.S. This week, despite a mundane 3-2 loss to Prince Albert on Friday, Spokane eventually put together a better performance offensively on Saturday, taking out Kamloops, 6-3.
The homestand continues for the Chiefs this week, with Wenatchee making its first ever appearance at Spokane Arena on Saturday night and then hosting Kamloops once more Sunday and wrapping it up with the Vancouver Giants on Wednesday.
Tri-City Americans
The Americans knew they needed to make a change in goal after a lackluster finish in October, a stretch from Oct. 15-28 that saw them go 2-3-2 with a correlating -14 goal differential. They decided they needed to make a splash by acquiring goaltender Kyle Kelsey from the Red Deer Rebels, a move they hoped would bolster their early puck-stopping struggles.
The Americans are 4-2-0 since the acquisition of Kelsey, though this week halted their momentum just a bit, starting with a 3-0 loss to Kamloops on Friday. Tri-City found better momentum on Saturday, as Kelsey stopped 31 of 35 shots in his second start with the Americans, who bounced back to beat Prince Albert, 5-4. Despite this performance, the success wouldn’t carry over to Wednesday, and the Americans were taken down by Wenatchee, 5-2.
This week is a light one in the Tri-Cities. The Americans will rematch with Wenatchee in Kennewick Friday night, then welcome in the T-Birds on Tuesday.
Wenatchee Wild
Though this new edition of the Wenatchee Wild is off to a fast start in their inaugural WHL season, it hasn’t come without its growing pains. Wenatchee made its first Alberta trip since its reincarnation from Winnipeg, and despite the strong effort to start the trip in Swift Current, the Wild dropped their following two games on the trip, losing handedly to Lethbridge on Friday, 5-1, and Medicine Hat on Saturday, 4-1.
The offense was given a boost thanks to the Buffalo Sabres sending down top prospect Matthew Savoie, reuniting him with Arizona Coyotes prospect Conor Geekie. Savoie and Geekie led the charge on Wednesday, combining for six points (Geekie: 2-2—4) en route to a 5-2 victory over the Americans.
It will be a busy week ahead for the Wild, who will play four games in five days, beginning with a visit to Tri-City for a Friday night rematch with the Americans and following that with a Saturday night date in Spokane. The Wild travel back home Sunday to face Prince Albert, then welcome in Saskatoon on Tuesday.
Kraken WHL prospects
Jagger Firkus continues to impress in Moose Jaw, as the Kraken’s second-round pick in 2022 leads the league with 40 points in just 19 games played. Meanwhile, defensive prospects Caden Price and Lukas Dragicevic started to contribute on offense for their respective teams recently. Price has nearly a point per game with Kelowna, while Dragicevic is at half a point per game for Tri-City. Dragicevic is finding his offense with his impressive one-time shot, a shot he showed off on Saturday against Prince Albert.
What to watch
Everett traveling to Portland on Sunday is sure to be a doozy, as both teams vie for the top spot in the U.S. division. With the chance of seeing two of the league’s top goalies in Tyler Palmer and Jan Spunar, this match could be an early decider of who takes control in the division going forward.
