Miettinen Lifts Everett Past Pa Raiders 3-2 for 2-1 Lead
Julius Miettinen scored with 4:28 left in regulation and the Everett Silvertips beat the pa raiders 3-2 on Tuesday at the Art Hauser Centre, taking Game 3 of the 2026 WHL Championship Series. Everett now leads the best-of-seven final 2-1 after surviving a game that swung back and forth before Miettinen finished it.
His winner was his 13th goal of the 2026 WHL Playoffs. Miettinen finished with 25 points in 16 playoff games, including 13 goals and 12 assists, and he buried the chance after the puck landed on his stick with an open net in front of him.
Art Hauser Centre Pressure
The game played out in front of an overcapacity crowd of 3,299, and the scoring opened and closed the kind of tight series game that leaves little margin for mistakes. Matias Vanhanen gave Everett its first goal of the night and his first of the series, while Max Heise answered late in the first period on a Raiders power play to make it 1-1.
Prince Albert then pushed ahead early in the second period when Ben Harvey scored 1:59 into the frame. Everett answered again late in the period, when Luke Vlooswyk tied it 2-2 with 1:53 left for his first goal of the playoffs.
Miettinen and Vlooswyk Deliver
The final turn came with 4:28 left. Miettinen took the pass, had space, and finished the chance that separated the teams after a game in which both sides traded momentum and neither could hold a lead for long.
Steve Hamilton said his team settled in during the middle stretch. “I thought the second half of the second period we kind of found it a little bit,” he said. “We got a little bit harder, more physical, got involved, and we started to really get into it.”
Ryan McDonald pointed to the early pace and the discipline issue that followed. “Really good first 30 minutes – we were quick, we were direct, we got pucks behind and got to work,” he said. “Then they were able to tilt the ice on us and discipline has to be a big key for us.”
Series Shift For Prince Albert
Everett’s 2-1 lead changes the weight of the series for Prince Albert, which now has to respond after dropping a game it led twice. Miettinen’s finish gave the Silvertips the edge in a series that has already turned on power play chances, late-period goals, and one open look at the right moment.
Vlooswyk called his own goal a release after the drought. “It was pretty exciting to get that monkey off the back,” he said. “It felt unbelievable, it was a big goal and I think we got a lot of energy off of it.”
