The Spokane Chiefs and Medicine Hat Tigers will face off for the Ed Chynoweth Cup in the Western Hockey League championship series next week.
For Warren’s Dawson Cowan, it marks his first appearance in the WHL final as the Chiefs’ starting goaltender.
Spokane swept the Western Conference championship with a 6–4 win over the Portland Winterhawks in Game 4 on Thursday night. The victory sends the Chiefs to the league final for the fifth time in franchise history. Spokane last captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2008, later going on to win the Memorial Cup that same year in Kitchener, Ont.
Cowan and the Chiefs have had a dominant playoff run so far, with series wins over the Victoria Royals and Vancouver Giants en route to the final.
Awaiting them is a top-seeded Medicine Hat Tigers team that has cruised through the Eastern Conference. Led by 17-year-old phenom Gavin McKenna, the Tigers dropped just one game while eliminating the Swift Current Broncos, Prince Albert Raiders and Lethbridge Hurricanes.
The Chiefs boast firepower of their own, with Cowan backstopping one of the WHL’s most productive playoff squads. The 18-year-old leads all WHL goaltenders with 12 wins in 14 postseason appearances—he also topped the league in regular season victories.
In front of him is an explosive forward group that leads the WHL with 85 playoff goals. NHL draft picks Andrew Cristall and Berkly Catton have combined for 72 points through the first three rounds.
Game 1 is set for Friday in Medicine Hat. Both teams will get a few days to rest and reset before the battle begins.
The series winner will advance to the 2025 Memorial Cup, scheduled for May 22 to June 1 in Rimouski, Que.
