How’s that for Round One revenge?
After three straight years of being eliminated by the Portland Winterhawks, the Everett Silvertips returned the favour by sweeping their Pacific Northwest rivals in Round One of the 2026 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.
Everett closed out the series with a 6-3 decision in Portland on Wednesday night.
Forward Zackary Shantz recorded a three-point night (1G-2A) as the Silvertips scored six unanswered goals to erase a 2-0 deficit and send the Winterhawks packing. Nathan Free and Nathan Brown combined to give Portland a 2-0 advantage, before three straight Everett goals turned the tables in the second period. The ‘Tips tacked on three more to start the third period, taking complete control of the contest.
The regular-season champions were hot out of the gates with an 8-1 slugfest in Game 1, with Philadelphia Flyers prospect Luke Vlooswyk netting three assists.
Free gave Portland its first lead of the series by opening the scoring in Game 2, but that lasted all of 39 seconds before Rhys Jamieson levelled the match. Everett would go on to score four unanswered goals in a 4-1 win.
Everett flexed its balanced scoring attack in Game 3 as seven different skaters hit pay dirt in a 7-0 drubbing, while Anchorage, Alaska’s Anders Miller earned his first playoff shutout with a 19-save performance.
Game 3 also saw Florida Panthers prospect Shea Busch score in his return to the lineup after a five-month absence, where he was working back from an upper-body injury.
The Silvertips entered the postseason as the third-highest scoring team in the WHL, but blew away the competition with a whopping 25 goals in Round One.
Fourteen different skaters have lit the lamp for Everett, highlighted by Miettinen’s four tallies.
Miller, who was acquired from the Calgary Hitmen back in October, went 4-0 through the series with a 1.08 goals-against average, a .954 save percentage and one shutout.
Everett is coming off a club record 57-8-2-1 regular season that saw the U.S. Division powerhouse earn the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as WHL regular season champions for a second straight year.
On Tuesday, defenceman Landon DuPont was named to the 2025-26 WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team, while forwards Miettinen and Detroit Red Wings prospect Carter Bear cracked the Second All-Star squad.
Despite never missing the playoffs since joining the league in 2003-04, Everett hasn’t advanced past the second round since 2018, when the Tips fell to the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL Championship Series.
Everett- and a voracious horde of fans at Angel of the Winds Arena- will now await their second-round opponent.
The Silvertips will face the lowest-seeded team in the Western Conference in Round Two.
