Thunderbirds, Winterhawks gear up for WHL playoffs on TSN+

Arizona Coyotes prospect Dylan Guenther and the Seattle Thunderbirds take on Winnipeg Jets prospect Chaz Lucius and the Portland Winterhawks on Friday as both teams gear up for the Western Hockey League Playoffs.

Watch Thunderbirds vs. Winterhawks LIVE at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on TSN+

The Thunderbirds are in first place in the Western Conference with a 53-10-3 record for 109 points and are only two points back of the Winnipeg ICE for the top spot in the league.

They are coming off a narrow 6-5 loss to the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday night.

Seattle's offence rode a five-goal second period led by forward Colton Dach and defenceman Jeremy Hanzel with a goal and two assists each.

Guenther contributed a goal and assist while Chicago Blackhawks prospect Nolan Allan and forward Nico Myatovic also scored for the Thunderbirds.

Prospect Scott Ratzlaff stopped 31 of 37 shots in the loss. His record fell to 17-2-1 with a .904 save percentage and 2.48 goals-against average this season.

Seattle have a 6-3-1 record against the Winterhawks this season.

The Thunderbirds will be matched up against the eighth-seeded Kelowna Rockets in Round 1 of the WHL Playoffs beginning on March 31.

The Winterhawks are solidified as the third seed in the Western Conference with a 39-19-8 record for 86 points.

They are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Giants on Tuesday night.

Portland got goals from forward Robbie Fromm-Delorme and rookie Diego Buttazoni to come back from a two-goal deficit in the third period and take the game to overtime.

\Giants forward Ty Halaburda dashed the Winterhawks' hope of a win by scoring with 36 seconds remaining in regulation.

Winterhawks goaltender Jan Spunar stopped 15 of 18 shots in the loss. His record fell to 16-7-0 with a .906 save percentage and 2.67 goals-against average this season.

Portland will be matched up against the sixth-place Everett Silvertips in Round 1 of the WHL Playoffs beginning on March 31.