WEDNESDAY DUB, CENTENNIAL CUP ROUND-UP: ICE FACING ELIMINATION
KENT, Wash. – Nico Myatovic scored the game-winner at the 11:16 mark of overtime to send the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 2-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers Wednesday, knotting up their WHL Western Conference final series at two games apiece.
Thomas Milic made 35 saves in the victory while his Blazers counterpart, Dylan Garand stopped 37-of-39 shots.
Daylan Kuefler opened the scoring with 54 seconds left to play in the first period, giving Kamloops a 1-0 lead.
Jordan Gustafson tied the game up for Seattle less than two minutes into the second period.
Gustafson then helped to set up Myatovic’s game-winning goal in the extra period.
The series will shift back to Kamloops for a pivotal Game 5 on Friday.
In the other conference final, the Oil Kings took a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Winnipeg Ice as Carter Souch’s two goals and Josh Williams’s three assists helped Edmonton to a 4-2 victory.
The Oil Kings will attempt to close things out at home in Edmonton on Friday.
Summerside earned a dramatic win to clinch a playoff spot, Dauphin wrapped up top spot in Group B and Brooks finished perfect as the prelims came to a close in Estevan
Summerside Western Capitals 4, Ottawa Jr. Senators 3 (OT)
Dauphin Kings 6, Soo Thunderbirds 1
Brooks Bandits 4, Estevan Bruins 0
Next games – Friday, May 27 (Quarterfinals):
• Flin Flon Bombers vs. Pickering Panthers (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT)
• Collège Français de Longueuil vs. Summerside Western Capitals (9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT)
TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcast partners, will broadcast the championship game at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on May 29, with all playoff-round games livestreamed at HockeyCanada.ca.
Quotes:
“There were some stressful moments, but at the two-and-a-half-minute mark we called a timeout with our top five guys on the ice. We moved our goalie in and out a couple of times and finally got a big goal by [Brendan] McCarthy – an unlikely hero, but a hero today. We knew what was at stake and it had nothing to do with coaching. These kids know what it takes to win. We’re pretty happy to still be playing and not packing our bags to go home; it’s awesome, but the job’s not done yet.”
– Summerside head coach Bill McGuigan on his team’s dramatic win to reach the quarterfinals
“We have had a bit of a carry-over from the [MJHL] championship series against Steinbach. We had a great series, the work ethic and compete level was there and that’s continued into this tournament. Our goaltender – Carson Cherepak – is playing really well; the first 10 minutes of both games he was outstanding and gave us an opportunity to win. Getting the bye to the semifinals is also something you want when you come into the tournament, you just want to make the next round. Being first in the pool and getting a bye to the semis on Saturday is fantastic for us. Guys can rest up, have a day off tomorrow, practice on Friday and be ready to go.”
– Dauphin Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley on the keys to his team’s success
“I thought I played well, but credit to my team who kept pucks to the outside for some fairly easy saves. Being able to control rebounds on other shots that aren’t just straight covers was huge for our team. We still wanted to play well tonight, we still had the battle with Dauphin and knew we had to get the win to still clinch first overall, so it was great to see everyone show up and play their best.”
– Brooks Bandits goaltender Ethan Barwick on his 32-save performance
“We had a great year; we had a target on our back all year and always had the best effort against every team we played. I’m really proud that we accomplished something, we’re [SJHL] champions and that’s hard to do, but unfortunately we just didn’t have a good tournament. We had a slow start, some mental mistakes, which is uncharacteristic for us, but it happens in this tournament and in the end we just couldn’t catch up.”
– Estevan Bruins head coach and general manager Jason Tatarnic reflecting on the season
(Canadian Press/HockeyCanada.ca)
