It came down to the last game in the WHL 2025-26 regular season to determine which team the Prince George Cougars would face in the first round of the playoffs.
Cameron Schmidt, who is from Prince George, scored twice, including his league-high 51st goal to help the (31-27-6-4) Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-0 victory Sunday night over the Chiefs in Spokane.
Marek Sklenicka was superb in the Seattle net getting the shutout as Spokane outshot the Thunderbirds 39-20.
The loss kept the (36-30-2) Chiefs in 6th place in the Western Conference, one point behind the (31-24-7-6) Kamloops Blazers.
The (44-22-2) Cougars finished on an 8-game winning streak to end up 3rd in the Conference and 2nd in the B.C. Division.
Prince George beat the (28-30-6-4) Victoria Royals twice on the weekend in the provincial capital, 4-3 in a shootout Friday and 2-1 Saturday.
Those losses prevented Victoria from making the playoffs, as the Royals ended up 9th, two points behind the (30-30-7-1) Portland Winterhawks.
Cougars flush Royals’ playoff hopes in regular season finale https://t.co/PZdYZxtP64
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 22, 2026
The first-round series will feature a 2-3-2 format with the first two games at CN Centre Friday night at 7:00 and Saturday night at 6:00.
In the regular season, the Cougars won all four games against the Chiefs.
SEEING RED!😤🔴
The @PGCougars and @spokanechiefs will begin their best-of-seven, Round One series on Friday! #WHLPlayoffs
📝 | https://t.co/G8E3Rhheiq pic.twitter.com/B8CwfqQYf3
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) March 23, 2026
Other Western Conference first round matchups have #1 Everett against #8 Portland, #2 Penticton against #7 Seattle and #4 Kelowna against #5 Kamloops.
The WHL final 2025-26 regular season standings are here.
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