The Everett Silvertips know exactly what happened Thursday night. They outshot the Prince Albert Raiders 41-26, got 39 saves from a starting goalie who held his nerve all night, and still walked off Angel of the Winds Arena ice with a 4-2 loss in Game 1 of the 2026 WHL Championship Final. The series is 1-0 Raiders. Game 2 is Saturday at 6 PM, same building, same ice.
The margin of error from here is zero. Here is what must change.
Fix the Second Period — It Cannot Happen Again
Everett controlled most of Game 1. They scored first. They were the better team for long stretches. Then the second period happened, and three goals in 20 minutes turned a close game into a two-goal deficit the Silvertips could never fully close.
Cale Sivertson tied it on an even-strength goal. Dylan Cootes scored on the power play to give Prince Albert the lead for good. Denton Christensen added the game-winner. Three different Raiders. Three different scenarios — even strength, man advantage, and opportunistic. It was not a flukey second period; it was Prince Albert executing in every situation the game presented.
The Silvertips cannot allow that sequence to repeat. Penalty discipline is paramount — Cootes’ power-play goal changed the game. Everett will need to be cleaner in the neutral zone, faster to close lanes in the defensive zone, and more willing to make the simple play instead of the creative one when defending their own end in the middle frame.
Make Orsulak Earn Every Save
Raiders goaltender Kolby Orsulak stopped 39 of 41 shots Thursday. That number is both the problem and the story. Everett generated volume — elite volume, in fact — but Orsulak had answers. Too many shots came from the perimeter. Too many were cleanly tracked, set, and stopped.
Game 2 requires a different approach. More traffic in front. More pucks going to the net from dangerous areas rather than the half-wall. More second-chance opportunities created by winning battles below the circles. The Silvertips have the personnel to do this — they need to commit to it earlier in shifts rather than waiting for the perfect passing lane to open.
Orsulak is a legitimate Stafford Smythe Trophy candidate through this playoff run. He will make saves. The goal is to make him work harder, make him move more, make him face grade-A looks that accumulate fatigue over three periods. Forty-one perimeter shots will not get it done.
DuPont and Vanhanen Must Generate More
The Silvertips’ top lines need to be more present. Connor Hvidston scored Everett’s second goal to pull within one late in the third, but the top of the lineup — including Jaxan DuPont and Ronan Vanhanen — needs to generate more sustained offensive pressure in Game 2.
This is what the WHL Final is. Every team you face has seen your tendencies. Prince Albert’s structure Thursday was disciplined and well-organized. Everett’s top players need to find ways to be disruptive — not just skilled, but physically present, creating chaos in the offensive zone that can’t be schemed against.
The Big Picture: Everett Has Been Here
One loss in a best-of-seven is not a crisis. The Silvertips have the home-ice advantage they earned through the regular season. After Saturday’s Game 2 at Angel of the Winds, the series shifts to Prince Albert for Games 3 and 4 on May 12 and 13 at Art Hauser Centre. If it comes back to Everett for Games 5, 6, and 7 — scheduled for May 15, 17, and 18 — the Silvertips will have played most of this series in front of their home crowd.
But none of that matters if they lose Game 2 and head to Prince Albert down 2-0. Winning Saturday is not optional. It is the task.
The Silvertips have the depth, the coaching staff, and the talent to respond. Angel of the Winds will be loud on Saturday night. The question is whether Everett can translate that energy into a complete 60-minute performance — the kind that closed out the Tri-City Americans and the Kamloops Blazers in earlier rounds.
Game 2. Saturday. 6 PM. Angel of the Winds Arena. The WHL Championship Final is tied at zero in the win column. That changes Saturday night, one way or the other.
Everett Silvertips WHL Championship Final coverage continues at Tygart Media. Game 3 is Monday, May 12 in Prince Albert. Game 4 is Tuesday, May 13.
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