Northwest Notes June 25, 2025

Chiefs to open WHL season at Kelowna

The defending Western Conference champion Spokane Chiefs will open their 2025-26 Western Hockey League season on Friday, Sept. 19 at the Kelowna Rockets, who will host the 2026 Memorial Cup.

Spokane will play at Kamloops the following night. The Chiefs' home opener is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27 vs. the Tri-City Americans at the Spokane Arena.

All 23 WHL clubs (which includes the addition of the expansion Penticton Vees) will play 68 games in the regular season, beginning Sept. 19 and concluding Sunday, March 22, 2026.

The WHL playoffs will begin Friday, March 27, 2026, culminating with the WHL Championship Series from Friday, May 8, through Monday, May 18.

Kelowna will host the Memorial Cup from Friday, May 22, through Sunday, May 31, 2026 at Prospera Place. Spokane also bid for the Memorial Cup.

Former Mead standout to play volleyball at Gonzaga

SPOKANE — Danikah Johnson, a Mead High graduate and redshirt sophomore and All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference Honorable Mention in volleyball at Western Washington in 2024, is transferring to Gonzaga, Bulldogs coach J.T. Wenger announced.

Johnson, a middle blocker, had a .285 hitting percentage and 1.07 blocks-per-set average in limited action at Western Washington in 2024. Johnson finished second on the team with 48 total blocks, sixth in kills (84, 1.87 kills/set), and had 15 aces. She recorded a season-high 12 kills on three separate occasions, including in back-to-back wins over Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific. She's a former WIAA All-State First Team selection and All-GSL First Team honoree.

Klaire Mitchell, the former Lake City High and Grand Canyon University star, is in her first season as an assistant coach at Gonzaga.

¡VAMOS VANDALS! Vandals to broadcast five home football games in Spanish

MOSCOW — Five Idaho Vandal football games will broadcast in Spanish with Vandal Athletics and Spanish language partners, Nampa-based Radio Rancho. 

The games will again be broadcast on La Poderosa 100.7 FM in the Treasure Valley, on GoVandals.com and on the Varsity Network app. La Poderosa covers all of Treasure Valley and can be heard in Twin Falls.

The broadcast radio team returns — Steve Guasch, who does Spanish-language play-by-play for the Seattle Mariners, and former Idaho All-American kicker and punter Ricardo Chavez.

The five-game schedule builds on last season’s four-game slate in which Idaho became the first FCS school to produce a Spanish-language football broadcast and the first Division I school in the northwest to broadcast a game in Spanish.

"The reception last year was overwhelmingly positive, and we look forward to bringing even more Vandal Football games to our Idaho Hispanic community this year," Idaho assistant athletic director Jerek Wolcott said.

Idaho’s games against St. Thomas (Sep. 6), Northern Colorado (Oct. 11), Portland State (Oct. 25), UC Davis (Nov. 8), and Idaho State (Nov. 22) will be broadcast in Spanish. All Spanish-language broadcasts will comprise of a 15-minute pregame show, a full halftime show featuring interviews, and a postgame show.

La Poderosa reaches over 50% of Idaho’s Hispanic population of over 270,000. Making up around 14% of Idaho’s total population, the Hispanic population is the fastest growing demographic in the Gem State.