Can Jr. Thunder carry Thorne Cup Championshp momentum into 2017-18 — WSHL Season preview.
The Western States Hockey League has just a pair of Midwest-based teams but one of them made some big noise in the post season a year ago.
The Wichita Junior Thunder got hot at the right time and rolled right to the Thorne Cup Championship.
The Thunder finished third overall in the Midwest Division and rolled past the Dallas Snipers in the opening round of the post season, capturing the Best-of-Three opening round in two straight game.
That advanced the Thunder into the semi-final in the underdog position but they brushed that off and moved to the Division finals with a two-game sweep of Oklahoma City Jr. Blazers on the road.
Meanwhile, the other Midwest team, the Springfield (MO) Express also moved out of the first round with a sweep against the Tulsa Jr. Oilers, but the road stopped for the Express in Texas as they pushed it to the three-game limit, but ultimately fell to the Division Champion Rhinos.
The Thunder stayed hot and moved past the Rhinos in two straight games to advance to the Thorne Cup Tournament as the Midwest representative.
At the championship tournament, Wichita continued its playoff winning straight, defeating Long Beach 6-3, edging Colorado 6-5 and doubling Idaho 2-1 to move into the Semi Finals where a 4-2 doubling of Ogden put the Thunder into the Championship game.
In the final, the Thunder ran into the Idaho IceCats once again and with its 11th straight playoff win, the Jr. Thunder ended the IceCats two-year reign as league champs.
The Jr. Thunder will be looking to build off last season’s team success when it begins the 2017-18 season on the road, playing at the Blazer Ice Center in Oklahoma City on Sept. 22 with three games, Sept. 22-24.
The Express will enter play the following weekend, playing host to the same Jr. Thunder Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at Mediacom IcePark in Springfield, MO.
After six straight on the road, the Jr. Thunder will finally get a chance to play on home ice, playing host to the Cheyenne Stampede Oct. 6-8.
The WSHL Showcase Tournament is scheduled for Dec. 19-22 and once again Las Vegas will be the site of the event.
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About Author
jimmerdenhollander@gmail.com
Born and raised in Ontario, Canada and moved to the state of Wisconsin in my late 30's. I worked at various newspapers and magazines in various sports positions for 25 years before changing careers five years ago. Now I am streamlining my focus on hockey only and in particular, all levels of hockey in the American Midwest.