Spokane, Wash.- After falling behind 2-1 midway through the second period, the Spokane Chiefs roared back with seven straight goals as they cruised to a 9-4 win over the Giants to eliminate Vancouver and punch their ticket to Round Two.
Spokane took their first two games of the series 4-1 and 7-5 before falling to the Giants 3-2 in Game 3.
The Chiefs bounced back with a 6-2 win on Thursday to set up Saturday’s elimination match.
Captain Berkly Catton (Seattle Kraken), regular season points leader Andrew Cristall (Washington Capitals) and regular season goals leader Shea Van Olm formed one of the most potent lines in 2024-25, and the dynamic trio was firing on all cylinders in a critical matchup.
Van Olm, who won the Ed Chynoweth Cup with Edmonton in 2022 and competed at the 2023 Memorial Cup with Kamloops, bagged his first playoff hat trick (in addition to a pair of helpers) with three consecutive tallies in the first and second periods, while Catton netted a monstrous two goals and five assists.
Not to be outdone, Cristall tallied two goals and four assists.
Spokane will move on to the second round for the first time since 2019, when the Chiefs made it all the way to the Western Conference Championship, where they were downed by none other than the Vancouver Giants in five games.
Fans can stream the 2025 WHL Playoffs for free on Victory+.
