The 2003–04 WHL season was the 38th season of the
Western Hockey League (WHL). Twenty teams completed a 72-game season. The defending champion
Kelowna Rockets won their second consecutive
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the best regular season record; however, they failed to defend their playoff title as the
Medicine Hat Tigers won the
President's Cup, their fourth in team history, defeating the expansion
Everett Silvertips in the championship series. This gave Medicine Hat a berth in the
2004 Memorial Cup tournament, which, because it was hosted by Kelowna, also featured the Rockets, who went on to win the tournament.
League notes
The
Everett Silvertips joined the WHL as its 20th franchise, playing in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference.[1] The Silvertips went on to post an historic inaugural season, breaking 10 junior hockey expansion team records. This included winning both a division title and conference title, winning a playoff series against the league's top regular season team, and becoming the first junior hockey expansion team to win a conference championship.
The playoff format was simplified so that the top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs, eliminating the possibility of cross-overs between divisions.
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
The 2003–04 WHL season was the 38th season of the
Western Hockey League (WHL). Twenty teams completed a 72-game season. The defending champion
Kelowna Rockets won their second consecutive
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the best regular season record; however, they failed to defend their playoff title as the
Medicine Hat Tigers won the
President's Cup, their fourth in team history, defeating the expansion
Everett Silvertips in the championship series. This gave Medicine Hat a berth in the
2004 Memorial Cup tournament, which, because it was hosted by Kelowna, also featured the Rockets, who went on to win the tournament.
League notes
The
Everett Silvertips joined the WHL as its 20th franchise, playing in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference.[1] The Silvertips went on to post an historic inaugural season, breaking 10 junior hockey expansion team records. This included winning both a division title and conference title, winning a playoff series against the league's top regular season team, and becoming the first junior hockey expansion team to win a conference championship.
The playoff format was simplified so that the top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs, eliminating the possibility of cross-overs between divisions.
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average