It was a night full of anticipation and excitement as the 2025-26 WHL season officially opened on Friday night with eight games across the league. Here’s a brief glimpse at all matchups.

Moose Jaw 6 @ Brandon 4

The Moose Jaw Warriors spoiled the home opener for the Brandon Wheat Kings skating to a 6-4 win at the newly renamed Assiniboine Credit Union Place. Casey Brown (twice), Colt Carter, Ethan Semeniuk, Nolan Paquette and Pavel McKenzie found the back of the net for the visitors from The Friendly City. Matthew Hutchison made 40 stops for Moose Jaw in net.

For Brandon, rookie Chase Surkan made a strong first impression scoring the first two goals of his WHL career. Jordan Gavin and Gunner Gleasman also found the back of the net for the Wheat Kings. Jayden Kraus made 34 stops in his Brandon debut after being acquired this offseason from Victoria.

Saskatoon 2 @ Prince Albert 4

The Prince Albert Raiders got the best of their Highway 11 rival Saskatoon Blades with a 4-2 win at the Art Hauser Centre. Daxon Rudolph, Oli Chenier, Aiden Oiring and Ty Meunier found the back of the net for Prince Albert. Michal Orsaluk made 29 stops in his WHL debut.

Dominik Petr and Zach Olsen tickled the twine for Saskatoon. Ethan McCallum made 25 stops for the Blades.

Regina 3 @ Swift Current 4

The Swift Current Broncos scored three times in the second period to power their way to a 4-3 win at the InnovationPlex. Four different goal scorers tickled the twine for the Broncos in Noah Kosick, Sawyer Dingman, Stepan Kuryachenkov and Zach Pantelakis. Joey Rocha made 30 stops between the pipes.

For Regina, Liam Pue began his WHL career in style, potting his first career goal at the 18:31 of the second period. Keets Fawcett and Caden Brown were the other goal scorers for the Pats. 2025 1st overall pick Maddox Schultz did not record a point and registered four shots on goal in his WHL debut. Taylor Tabashniuk had 25 saves in goal.

Edmonton 4 @ Red Deer 2

The Edmonton Oil Kings took a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes and rode it to victory at the Marchant Crane Centrium. Luke Powell found the back of the net twice while Dylan Dean and Presley Kerner added single tallies. Ethan Simcoe made 16 stops to earn his first win of the season.

Red Deer struck twice in the third period thanks to a power play tally from Keith McInnis and an unassisted marker from Noah Milford. Peyton Shore made 22 stops in his season debut.

Calgary 5 @ Lethbridge 3

A strong third period helped the Calgary Hitmen take a 5-3 opening night win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. 

Calgary took a 2-0 lead after twenty minutes with markers from Kale Dach and Rylan Ng. In the second, Hudson Kibblewhite would strike with both a power play and short handed goal to tie the game for Lethbridge. Carson Olsen also scored his first career WHL goal for Lethbridge.

Andrei Molgachev would score his first two career WHL goals in the third period. Shaun Hildebrandt would add an empty netter. Anders Miller and Koen Cleaver each made 20 saves.

Portland 1 @ Prince George 6

Six different Cougars had multiple points as Prince George successfully defended home ice with a 6-1 win at the CN Centre. Former Lethbridge Hurricane Kooper Gizowski paced the Cougars with a goal and two helpers. Jett Lajoie lit the lamp twice while Brock Souch, Kayden Lemire and Riley Ashe also found the back of the net. Alexander Levshyn made 19 stops in the win.

For Portland, Ryan Miller was the lone Winterhawk to find the back of the net. Ondrej Stebetak made 19 stops.

Spokane 8 @ Kelowna 2

The Spokane Chiefs lit the lamp early and often on route to a 8-2 over the Kelowna Rockets at Prospera Place. Spokane scored four times in the first period and were paced by Mathis Preston who recorded three points (2g, 1a). Coco Armstrong and Chase Harrington tickled the twine twice each while Tristen Buckley, Ossie McIntyre and Sam Oremba also found the back of the net. Carter Esler made 36 saves in the win.

Connor Pankratz and Kalder Varga were the goal scorers for the Rockets. Jake Pilon and Josh Banini split the netminding duties.

Penticton 0 @ Victoria 5

It wasn’t the opening chapter the Penticton Vees had envisioned entering the season as they fell 5-0 to the Victoria Royals at Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena.

Ethan Eskit earned his first shutout as a Victoria Royal making 26 stops. Eskit was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings in an offseason trade. Newly minted captain Reggie Newman led the Royals with a goal and two helpers. Roan Woodward provided three assists. Wyatt Danyleyko, Hayden Moore, Max Finley and Daniel Morozov struck offensively.

Make sure you bookmark THN's WHL site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News. 

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