Shea Busch hat trick leads Everett Silvertips to 7-2 win to claim WHL Championship
KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA - NOVEMBER 21: Landon DuPont #9 of the Everett Silvertips skates against the Kelowna Rockets at Prospera Place on November 21, 2025 in Kelowna, British Columbia. (Steve Dunsmoor / Getty Images)
The Everett Silvertips are WHL champions for the first time in franchise history.
Shea Busch scored a hat trick to lead the Silvertips to a 7-2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders in Game 5 of the WHL Championship series to claim the Ed Chynoweth Cup on Friday night.
Busch, a fourth-round pick of the Florida Panthers, scored just 68 seconds into the game to put the Silvertips in front, and they never looked back. After dropping Game 1 in Everett, the Silvertips won four straight games to claim the series and book their spot in the Memorial Cup.
Mattias Uyeda scored late in the first period to give Everett a 2-0 lead at the intermission.
Brayden Dube cleaned up a rebound to get the Raiders on the board early in the second period, but it was all Silvertips from there.
Brek Liske scored an unassisted goal off a nifty move down to the left circle to give the Silvertips a 3-1 lead with just over five minutes left in the second period.
Busch's second goal came on the power play when a rebound off goaltender Michal Orsulak deflected off defenseman Linden Burrett and into the net for a 4-1 advantage at the end of the second period.
Busch then completed the hat trick in the third period, snapping a loose puck off a face-off past Orsulak for a 5-1 lead. Less than a minute later, Nolan Chastko added another goal as the Silvertips hammered the afterburners.
Justice Christensen got one back for Prince Albert midway through the third period, but Landon DuPont added a power play goal for Everett to push the lead back to five, 7-2.
The best team in the WHL throughout the regular season was equally dominant through the playoffs.
Everett lost just one game through the first three rounds of the playoffs, earning sweeps over the Portland Winterhawks in the first round, and the Penticton Vees in the Western Conference finals. The Kelowna Rockets were the only team to manage a win against the Silvertips prior to the championship series.
The Raiders stole Game 1 in Everett with a 4-2 victory that put Everett down in a series for the first time in the postseason. The Silvertips rebounded with four consecutive victories, including three straight on the road in Saskatchewan.
It's the first title in franchise history for the Silvertips, who were playing in the championship series for the third time. The Silvertips were swept by the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2004, and lost in six games to the Swift Current Broncos in 2018.
Seattle Kraken second-round pick Julius Miettinen was named the MVP of the WHL playoffs for Everett, scoring 27 points on 14 goals and 13 assists in 18 games played for the Silvertips.
Everett posted a league-best 57-8-2-1 record for 117 points to win the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the best regular season team in the WHL. Prince Albert won the Eastern Conference crown with a 52-10-5-1 mark for 110 points before making their run to the WHL Championship series.
The victory sends the Silvertips to the Memorial Cup for the first time. The tournament – set to take place in Kelowna, B.C. from May 21-31 – features the winners of all three Canadian Hockey Leagues: the WHL, the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League. Additionally, the home team gets an automatic berth into the tournament.
The Silvertips will be joined by the Kelowna Rockets (host) and Kitchener Rangers of the OHL. The final spot will go to either the Chicoutimi Saguenéens or the Moncton Wildcats. Chicoutimi holds a 3-2 series lead in the QMJHL championship series.
The Source: Information in this story came from the WHL and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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