1978 WCLH Playoffs

 1st Round (best 3 of 5)

1st Fargo Owls vs. 8th Medicine Hat Hawks: Game 1 was back and forth until, in the 3rd period, behind 3-2 Hawks, Sam Park got a breakaway and beat Owls goalie Nate Benn to tie the game 3-3. It took two overtimes to end game 1 as the Owls James Morry scored a top corner with 5:21 left in the 2nd overtime. Game 2 was all Owls as they would beat the Hawks 4-1, then the Owls blank the Hawks 5-0 in game 3 to finish the series in 3 games.

2nd Kenora Pioneers vs. 7th Saskatoon Cats: Pioneers head coach Leo Newton said, “This is our series, plain and simple.” Those words motivated the team as Kenora did more than sweep the Cats in three games. They also kept the Cats from scoring goals as Pioneers goalie Zack Mick shut Saskatoon out in all three games.

3rd Abbotsford Forest Kings vs. 6th Moose Jaw Wings: Game 1 was essential for the Wings, with forward Shawn Ryan scoring 2 goals and 2 assists, defencemen Herb Williams shutting down the Forest Kings offence, and rookie forward Joe Robin playing like he is the veteran with 1 goal, 4 assists as the Wings beats Forest Kings 5-2. Abbotsford got a wake-up call from game 1, so they turned it around in-game number 2 as forward Grey Bushey led the way with 2 goals, 1 assist and forward Rick Queen made 3 assists as Forest Kings took it 3-1 to even the series one apiece. Forest Kings got themselves on a roll as Grey Bushey scored a hat-trick which would be it as Abbotsford won it 3-1 to take the lead in the series 2-1. Game 4 was a must-win for the Wings as they played just like game 1 as Shawn Ryan made 2 goals, 3 assists as Moose Jaw won it over Abbotsford with a 6-3 final to tie the series 2-2. In-game number 5, the first two periods were even between the two, but when period number 3 started, it was all Moose Jaw as Herb Williams shocked everyone as he scored his first-ever goal. After that, three other Wings players score goals as the Moose Jaw Wings win game 5 with a score of 6-2 and win the series 3-2.

4th Nanaimo Sharks vs. 5th Brandon Buffalos: The drama in Brandon shows it as both Luke James and Paul Cole tried to put their difference aside, but it wasn’t enough as Nanaimo swept the Buffalos in 3 games, all thanks to forward Luke Stillman with 4 goals, and 8 assists in 3 games, also international junior star Kenta Takamachi played great with 5 goals, 4 assists in 3 games. “With my players step their game up to another level, it’s just what we needed to be ready for round 2.” Sharks head coach Sam McLee said at the press conference after game 3.

Round 2 (best 3 of 5)

1st Fargo Owls vs. 6th Moose Jaw Wings: This is the rematch between Fargo and Moose Jaw from last year's playoffs; unlike that year was round 1, this year; it is round 2. Moose Jaw shocked the Owls with a 4-1 win in front of a sold-out Fargo Center in-game one. “We played awful plain and simple I didn’t need to tell my players they know it, and they’ll find a way to turn this around quickly.” Owls head coach Rich Gibs said after the game. The Owls turned it around in games 2 and 3 thanks to goalie Shawn Paxton who let in just 2 of 61 shots he took. Forward Dick Bartram lead the way with 4 goals and 2 assists in two games for the Owls to take the series lead 2-1. Game four is where the event that everyone would call “the comeback” after two periods, the Wings were leading 5-1, but in the third period, Fargo was starting to play like a must-win mode as Dick Bartram scores a hat-trick, followed by defence Jack Moore, and forward Justin Ash to break a tie with 1:07 left in the third period, the Owls went defence mode as Moose Jaw players were shooting pucks all over goalie Frank Watson as they held on until the game clock hit zero. The Fargo Owls completes the comeback with a 6-5 to win game four and the series 3-1.

2nd Kenora Pioneers vs. 4th Nanaimo Sharks: Both teams play hard; Kenora took game one 3-2, the Sharks took game two with a 4-2 win, Kenora bounced back in game three 4-1 victory, but in-game four the Pioneers thought that they’re going to win it but two late goals made by both Curtis Samford, and George Rogers to win it 4-3 to even the series 2 apiece. In-game number 5, the Pioneers suffer a huge heartbreaker. Goalie Zack Mick injured his hip during the first period; Zack finished the period but didn’t come back in the second as he got replaced by backup Luke Osborne, and the Sharks took the advantage and scored 4 unanswered goals as Nanaimo won game five 7-3 to win the series 3-2. “It was my call to sideline Zack. He was hurt real bad I don’t want to have him suffer a career-ending injury that will hunt both him, the team and me, so with that, we will fight another day, and we will be better.” Pioneers head coach Leo Newton said after losing game 5.

1978 Jade Trophy Championship (best 4 of 7)

1st Fargo Owls vs. 4th Nanaimo Sharks: The Fargo Owls are back in the finals for the second year, while the Nanaimo Sharks' last championship appearance was back in 1974 when they were the Greyhounds. In-game one, Fargo got off to a hot start as Dick Bartram did it again with 2 goals and 4 assists as the Owls won 7-4. Fargo took game two with Dick Bartram, who made 3 goals and 5 assists as they blew out Nanaimo 8-2 final to take a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 was a game-changer for the Sharks as Kenta Takamachi scored a hat-trick, his playoff career first, leading the Sharks to a 4-2 win. The Sharks would continue to roll as Luke Stillman made 1 goal and 4 assists as Nanaimo beat Fargo 5-2 to even the series 2-2. Game five is a must-win for both teams. Many said that “if you win game 5, you win the whole series!” That is what the Owls did as Justin Ash and Dick Bartram each scored a goal and kept the Sharks from scoring as the Owls took game five 3-1. Game number six is where the Owls have the answers, while the Sharks do not as the final score is the Owls 3, Sharks 2 as Fargo wins the series 4-2, and the 1978  Jade Trophy Champions, and they will make the trip to Toronto for 1978 Valor Cup Tournament for the second year in a row.