SATURDAY SPORTS PAGE: ICE DRAW FIRST BLOOD

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg ICE scored two unanswered goals in the first period and received flawless goaltending from Daniel Hauser as they defeated the visiting Saskatoon Blades 3-0 in the opening game of the Western Hockey League Eastern Conference final on Friday night.

Ben Zloty, Zack Ostapchuk and Carson Lambos scored for the ICE, who led 2-0 after the first period and 3-0 heading into the third.

The Blades, coming off a tough seven-game series with the Red Deer Rebels in which they dropped the first three games before pulling off the “reverse sweep,” were outshot 26-16.

The Blades went 0-for-4 on the power play, while the ICE went 0-for-1.

Game 2 is Saturday afternoon at Wayne Fleming Arena.

POKECHECKS: The Western Conference final between the Kamloops Blazers and Seattle Thunderbirds starts Saturday at the ShowWare Center in Kent, Wash. … The Blazers are the host team for the 2023 Memorial Cup championship, which starts May 26 with the Blazers playing the QMJHL champions.

SPORTSBREAK

The Toronto Blue Jays won their fifth consecutive game Friday night and improved to 17-and-9 by squeezing past the visiting Seattle Mariners 3-2. Alejandro Kirk had three hits, including a solo homer for the Blue Jays, who will play the Mariners on Saturday afternoon in the second game of their three-game series. The Mariners have lost three in a row.

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The Boston Bruins, who set wins and points records during the NHL regular season, will have to win a Game 7 on Sunday to keep their superb season going. The Florida Panthers scored four times in a wild third period Friday night to beat the Bruins 7-5 to even their best-of-seven series at 3-3. Matthew Tkachuk led the winners with two goals and an assist. Brad Marchand had four assists for the Bruins.

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The New York Islanders and Minnesota Wild are the first two teams eliminated from the NHL playoffs. The Wild lost 4-1 at home Friday night to Jake Oettinger and the Dallas Stars, losing their best-of-seven series in six games. The Islanders were also eliminated in six games, losing 2-1 in overtime to the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. Paul Stastny scored six minutes into overtime to send the Isles packing.

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The Seattle Kraken were unable to polish off the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena, dropping a 4-1 decision to the defending Stanley Cup champions to force a winner-take-all Game 7 showdown on Sunday in Denver. Artturi Lehkonen scored two goals for the Avalanche.

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Malik Monk scored 28 points, De’Aaron Fox added 26 points and 11 assists, and the Sacramento Kings staved off elimination in their first-round NBA playoff series by beating the Golden State Warriors 118-99 on Friday night in Game 6. Now, a winner-takes-all Game 7 is back in Sacramento on Sunday afternoon.

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Matthew Bergeron of Victoriaville, Quebec was the first Canadian selected in this year’s NFL draft. The Atlanta Falcons selected the 23-year-old offensive tackle in the second round of Friday’s draft, 38th overall. Bergeron started 11 games last season at Syracuse. Then in the third round, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Illinois safety Sydney Brown of London, Ontario, with the third pick, 66th overall.

(Canadian Press)