Hudson Darby and Kyle McDonough scored third-period goals 30 seconds apart, and the Portland Winterhawks beat the Western Hockey League’s top team on its home ice in Game 7.

The Winterhawks topped Everett 4-2 Tuesday and won the series 4-3, and advanced to the Western Conference finals.

Portland is the defending champion in the Western Conference.

The Hawks will play Spokane, which topped Victoria 5-4 in two overtimes in Game 6 of to win the series 4-2 Tuesday. The series starts 7 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Sunday in Spokane, and shifts to Portland 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, April 30-May 1 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Hawks trailed 2-1 early in the third period after Everett’s Lukas Kaplan scored. But the Hawks went back to back on goals midway through the period, first on Darby’s shot from a sharp angle that went off goalie Raiden LeGall’s mask at 7:37 and then on McDonough’s game-winner after a storm on the net at 8:07, making it 3-2.

Goaltender Ondrej Stebetak took care of business from there.

Stebetak had been pulled after giving up five goals in Game 6, but he was strong in Game 7, especially in the third period. The Silvertips outshot the Hawks 42-34, including 14-9 in the third period.

Diego Buttazzoni added an empty-net goal.

Kyle Chyzowski scored early in the second period.

Everett had the WHL’s top regular-season record at 48-12-4-4 for 104 points. Portland finished fifth in the West. But the Silvertips played in playoffs without Carter Bear, one of the WHL’s best prospects for the 2025 NHL draft.

The Winterhawks have won consecutive Game 7s on the road, after beating Prince George in the first round.

Portland is coached by Kyle Gustafson, who served as longtime assistant before getting the head position this season. He’s a Portland native and Centennial High School graduate.

About Spokane
The general manager for Spokane is Matt Bardsley, a Portland native and Wilson High graduate. He got his start as a Hawks scout, and moved up to being an executive and also held a GM position with Kamloops.

The Chiefs went 45-20-1-2 (93 points) during the regular season, and they scored the second most goals in the WHL (292) and allowed the fifth fewest (202). They had the top power play in the league at 28.9% — no surprise given their high-end talent.

Andrew Cristall, who scored the game-winner Tuesday, led the WHL with 132 points (48 goals, 84 assists) and teammate Berkly Catton finished at 109 points (38 goals, 71 assists).

Cristall was a second-round Washington Capitals pick. Catton is a star. He was the WHL’s No. 1 bantam pick in 2021, and then went No. 8 overall in the first round to the NHL’s Seattle Kraken in 2024. He’s 5-10, 175 pounds and 18 years old and from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was a member of Canada’s world junior team.

The Chiefs won four of six meetings with Portland.

Shea Van Olm had a hat trick in the series-clincher versus Victoria.