Oil Kings to Host Thunderbirds in WHL Championship Final

The Western Hockey League has its league championship series set in place for the coming week. With the Edmonton Oil Kings easily taking care of business against the Winnipeg ICE last week, the team sat in limbo waiting for their Western Conference opponent as the Seattle Thunderbirds and Kamloops Blazers battled it out in a full seven-game Eastern Conference Championship series. Despite Kamloops pulling ahead to a 3-2 series lead, Seattle stormed back with two straight victories, earning the series win and a place in the WHL final. The seven-game series is set to begin on Friday, June 3. Edmonton's Rogers Place will serve as host to Thunderbirds in games 1, 2, and if needed five, six and seven. The accesso ShoWare Center in Seattle will be the home rink for games 3 and 4. Due to arena scheduling conflicts, Game 6 will be Seattle's third home game, despite being played in Alberta. It will be both Edmonton and Seattle's fourth appearance in the WHL Championship, with the Oil Kings having last won in 2014, while the Thunderbirds took home the 2017 cup. This series between Seattle and Edmonton will be the first time the two teams duke it out in the WHL Championship series. The winner of the WHL's Ed Chynoweth Cup will move on to Saint John, New Brunswick, where it will take on the Sea Dogs as well as the winners of the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in the return of the Memorial Cup. 2022 WHL Championship Series  Game 1 – Friday, June 3 at Edmonton (Rogers Place – 8 p.m.) Game 2 – Sunday, June 5 at Edmonton (Rogers Place – 8 p.m.) Game 3^ – Tuesday, June 7 at Seattle (accesso ShoWare Center – 9:05 p.m.) Game 4^ – Wednesday, June 8 at Seattle (accesso ShoWare Center – 9:05 p.m.) Game 5*^ – Saturday, June 11 at Edmonton (Rogers Place – 9 p.m. ) Game 6*^ – Monday, June 13 at Edmonton (Rogers Place – 8:30 p.m.) Game 7*^ – Tuesday, June 14 at Edmonton (Rogers Place – 8 p.m.) * = if necessary ^ = TSN National Broadcast TSN will broadcast the 2022 WHL Championship Series, beginning with Game 3 on Tuesday, June 7 (time & location TBD). Games 1 and 2 of the 2022 WHL Championship Series will be available on WHL Live on CHL TV. For more details on TSN national broadcasts, please refer to your local cable listings.