WHITE ROCK, BC.
The White Rock Whalers, up 2-0 in the series after two games, continued their Harold Brittain Conference Finals matchup against the Mission City Outlaws on Saturday at South Surrey Arena. On Sunday, the series shifted back to Mission. Despite a strong start to game 3, the Whalers fell in overtime. Less than 24 hours, the Whalers were able to respond in game 4 in Mission with a strong shutout performance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Mission City Outlaws at White Rock Whalers, Mar. 21
After a thrilling come from behind victory in game 2, the Whalers once again hosted game 3 at South Surrey Arena. With both of the first two games in this series being super close, it was expected that game three would be similar, and in fact that was the case, as it was another close game.
The Whalers had a 5 on 3 opportunity halfway into the 1st period but were unable to open the scoring. The Whalers outshot the Outlaws 12-3 in the opening scoreless 20 minutes, with Outlaws goalie Jake Poblete keeping his team in this game early on. The second period was also scoreless, as the Whalers continued to get scoring chances but couldn't open the scoring despite outshooting the Outlaws 12-4 in the 2nd.
The third period was the most even period in game three, which each team taking two penalties. Despite being outshot 30-11 at one point, the Outlaws opened the scoring with 15 minutes remaining. Two minutes later, on the powerplay, Colton Collard scored his 2nd goal of the game for the Outlaws after a very nice individual effort. The Whalers found themselves again down 2-0 late in the 3rd period, a very similar situation to game two.
The Whalers, as they've done before in the playoffs, didn't give up without a fight late in this game. Whalers captain Wendell Adriano scored his 11th of the playoffs on a powerplay which brought the Whalers to within one goal with six minutes remaining. Nico McDonald tied the game with two and a half minutes left, as the Whalers once again found a way to battle back late in this series.
However, a 3-0 series lead wasn't destined, as the Whalers comeback fell short in overtime. Three seconds after a Whalers penalty expired, Carson Lane was the overtime hero for Mission with a well placed wrist shot over the glove of Whalers goaltender Joshua Dubreuil. Final shots on goal were 43-25 for the Whalers, and Mission was now back in this series with the help of the 1st star of the game Jake Poblete with 41 saves and Colton Collard's two goal performance.
White Rock Whalers at Mission City Outlaws, Mar. 22
The series continued the following night at Mission City Leisure Centre, a smaller rink similar to the size the Whalers are normally used to playing at Centennial Arena. The Whalers didn't let their game 3 overtime loss change the way they played in game 4, and as a result they secured a big win on the road in game 4.
Game four began with Dylan Heer opening the scoring for the Whalers on the powerplay just two minutes into the game. Each team had multiple powerplays in the 1st period, but after 20 minutes the score was still 1-0 Whalers, with the shots on goal 16-12 for White Rock.
The 2nd period was where the Whalers pulled ahead in this game, outshooting the Outlaws 19-9. Although the Whalers didn't score on their two powerplay opportunities in the second, Dylan Heer extended the Whalers lead to 2-0 with 17 minutes left in the 2nd. Less than two minutes later, Dylan Heer completed his hat trick, scoring his 3rd of the game and 8th of the playoffs to give the Whalers a 3-0 lead.
Entering the 3rd period, the Whalers had a 3-0 lead, and the Outlaws switched goaltenders for the final 20 minutes. Despite this being a crucial game for both teams to win (especially for Mission), the 3rd period lacked the intensity you might except for a Conference Final game. Shots on goal were only 10-6 for the Whalers, as they once again finished with well ahead of the Outlaws in total shots on goal in the game 45-27.
Parker Wells scored an empty net goal to give the Whalers a 4-0 lead with 94 seconds remaining. The Whalers finished the game 1/4 on the powerplay, while the Outlaws struggled on the powerplay going 0/4. No penalties were taken in the 3rd, and Whalers goaltender Joshua Dubreuil secured a 27 save shutout.
Up Next for the Pod
The Whalers now hold a 3-1 series lead over the Outlaws, needing just one more win to be crowned the champions of the Harold Brittain Conference.
Game five of this series will be the final game hosted by Mission, with puck drop set for Tuesday, March 24th at 7:00 pm. If the Whalers are unable to win in game 5, the series will shift back to South Surrey Arena for the final game(s) of the series. If necessary, game 6 will be on Thursday, March 26th at 7:15 pm, followed by if necessary a winner takes all game 7 on Friday, March 27th at 7:00 pm.
If you can’t make it to watch the action in person, tune in at FloHockeyTV.com to keep up with the Whalers throughout their final remaining games in their 2026 playoff run.
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