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1988–89 WHL season

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Junior ice hockey season

Sports season
1988–89 WHL season
LeagueWestern Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Number of teams14
Regular season
Scotty Munro Memorial TrophySwift Current Broncos (1)
Season MVPStu Barnes (Tri-City Americans)
Top scorerDennis Holland (Portland Winter Hawks)
Playoffs
Finals championsSwift Current Broncos (1)
  Runners-upPortland Winter Hawks
WHL seasons
← 1987–881989–90 →
Sports season
1988–89 CHL season
LeagueCanadian Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Number of teams40
OHL
QMJHL
WHL
Memorial Cup
Finals championsSwift Current Broncos (WHL) (1st title)
  Runners-upSaskatoon Blades (WHL)

The 1988–89 WHL season was the 23rd season of the Western Hockey League (WHL), featuring fourteen teams and a 72-game regular season. Less than three years after the 1986 team bus crash that killed four players, the Swift Current Broncos put together the best season in the club's history. The Broncos won their first Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the best regular season record, and in the playoffs defeated the Portland Winter Hawks to win their first President's Cup as league champions—the Broncos went undefeated throughout the playoffs. This earned the Broncos a berth in the 1989 Memorial Cup tournament, which was hosted in Saskatoon. At the tournament, the Broncos defeated the host Saskatoon Blades to win the Memorial Cup title.

This was the first season for the Tri-City Americans after the New Westminster Bruins relocated to Kennewick, Washington prior to the season. The Americans became the fourth WHL club based in the United States.

Team changes

Regular season

Final standings

East Division GP W L T Pts GF GA
x Swift Current Broncos 72 55 16 1 111 447 319
x Saskatoon Blades 72 42 28 2 86 366 335
x Medicine Hat Tigers 72 41 27 4 86 359 326
x Prince Albert Raiders 72 37 33 2 76 302 286
x Lethbridge Hurricanes 72 27 39 6 60 356 380
x Moose Jaw Warriors 72 27 42 3 57 318 372
Brandon Wheat Kings 72 25 43 4 54 286 331
Regina Pats 72 23 43 6 52 306 358
West Division GP W L T Pts GF GA
x Portland Winter Hawks 72 40 28 4 84 408 395
x Victoria Cougars 72 36 32 4 76 341 351
x Kamloops Blazers 72 34 33 5 73 326 309
x Tri-City Americans 72 33 34 5 71 300 299
Seattle Thunderbirds 72 33 35 4 70 315 276
Spokane Chiefs 72 25 45 2 52 326 419

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Dennis Holland Portland Winter Hawks 69 82 85 167 120
Stu Barnes Tri-City Americans 70 59 82 141 117
Tim Tisdale Swift Current Broncos 68 51 82 139 89
Blair Atecheynum Moose Jaw Warriors 71 70 68 138 70
Troy Mick Portland Winter Hawks 66 49 87 136 70
Wayne Hynes Medicine Hat Tigers 72 54 81 135 66
Peter Kasowski Swift Current Broncos 72 58 73 131 46
Mike Sillinger Regina Pats 72 53 78 131 52
Sean Lebrun Tri-City Americans 71 52 73 125 92
Kirby Lindal Medicine Hat Tigers 71 67 55 122 83

1989 WHL Playoffs

First round

  • Swift Current earned a bye
  • Saskatoon earned a bye
  • Lethbridge defeated Prince Albert 3 games to 1
  • Moose Jaw defeated Medicine Hat 3 games to 0

Division semi-finals

  • Swift Current defeated Moose Jaw 4 games to 0
  • Saskatoon defeated Lethbridge 4 games to 0
  • Portland defeated Tri-City 5 games to 2
  • Kamloops defeated Victoria 5 games to 3

Division finals

  • Swift Current defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 0
  • Portland defeated Kamloops 5 games to 3

WHL Championship

  • Swift Current defeated Portland 4 games to 0

All-Star game

On January 24, the West Division defeated the East Division 5–1 at Brandon, Manitoba before a crowd of 2,933.

WHL awards

Most Valuable Player - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Stu Barnes, Tri-City Americans
Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Jeff Nelson, Prince Albert Raiders
Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Dennis Holland, Portland Winter Hawks
Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Blair Atcheynum, Moose Jaw Warriors
Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Dan Lambert, Swift Current Broncos
Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Wes Walz, Lethbridge Hurricanes
Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Danny Lorenz, Seattle Thunderbirds
Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Ron Kennedy, Medicine Hat Tigers
Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Dennis Beyak, Saskatoon Blades
Regular season champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Swift Current Broncos
WHL Plus-Minus Award: Darren Stolk, Medicine Hat Tigers

All-Star Teams

East Division
First Team Second Team
Goal Frederic Chabot Prince Albert Raiders Stan Reddick Moose Jaw Warriors
Defense Dan Lambert Swift Current Broncos Gord Kruppke (tied) Prince Albert Raiders
Collin Bauer Saskatoon Blades Todd Nelson (tied) Prince Albert Raiders
- - Bob Woods (tied) Brandon Wheat Kings
Center Mike Modano Prince Albert Raiders Tim Tisdale Swift Current Broncos
Left Wing Kirby Lindal Medicine Hat Tigers Gary Dickie Regina Pats
Right Wing Blair Atcheynum Moose Jaw Warriors Sheldon Kennedy Swift Current Broncos
West Division
First Team Second Team
Goal Danny Lorenz Seattle Thunderbirds Olaf Kolzig Tri-City Americans
Defense Steve Jaques Tri-City Americans Pat MacLeod Kamloops Blazers
Chad Biafore Portland Winter Hawks Geoff Smith Kamloops Blazers
Center Dennis Holland Portland Winter Hawks Stu Barnes Tri-City Americans
Left Wing Dave Chyzowski Kamloops Blazers Troy Mick Portland Winter Hawks
Right Wing Jackson Penney Victoria Cougars Pat Falloon Spokane Chiefs

See also

References

  1. Morrison, Scott (February 6, 2019). "From Tragedy to Triumph: The story of the Swift Current Broncos". Sportsnet. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  • 2005–06 WHL Guide
Preceded by1987–88 WHL season WHL seasons Succeeded by1989–90 WHL season
WHL seasons
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