WHL notebook: Eastern teams vie for seeds
One point could end up being the difference between second and sixth places in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference.
The way the WHL playoffs are set up, all four division champions (two in the Eastern Conference, two in the Western) receive no lower than a No. 2 seed into the playoffs. Having the No. 2 seed brings the prospect of home-ice advantage through the conference semifinals.
Regina (68 points) leads the Eastern Conference’s East Division with 13 regular-season games left on its schedule. The Pats are currently seeded No. 2 in the conference despite having the fifth-best record. Four Central Division teams have better records than the Pats.
Swift Current, second place in the East Division, trails Regina by two points but is currently seeded sixth.
Regina took over the East lead for the first time this season with a 5-4 shootout win over Prince Albert on Friday. The following night, Regina lost a 4-3 shootout to Swift Current, leaving both teams tied for first in the East with 66 points.
Regina again took over first place alone on Monday night with a 4-0 win over Brandon (64 points), which lost its sixth consecutive game. Brandon could have forged a three-way tie for first in the East with a win.
Regina has missed the playoffs in four of the last five seasons.
“First place in our division is an unreal feeling,” forward Dyson Stevenson, who has played 241 games with the Pats, told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “I haven’t experienced it at all in my four years here.”