SATURDAY SPORTS PAGE

WINNIPEG – Carson Latimer scored the game-winning goal as the Winnipeg Ice beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-2 to take a 1-0 series lead in the Western Hockey League final.

Evan Friesen and Connor McClennon scored the other goals for Winnipeg, which took a 3-0 lead in the second period in front of a raucous crowd at Canada Life Centre, home of the NHL’s Jets.

Reid Schaefer and Kevin Korchinski replied for Seattle to bring the deficit within one, but the Thunderbirds couldn’t find the equalizer.

Ice goaltender Daniel Hauser made 27 saves to earn the win, while Thunderbirds netminder Thomas Milic stopped 25 of 28 shots in the loss.

The attendance was 5,531.

Both teams return to the ice in Winnipeg on Saturday for Game 2 of the best-of-seven series.

At the Centennial Cup in Portage, MB:

Ottawa Jr. Senators (1-0) 2
Terrabonne Cobras (0-1) 1

Timmons Rock (1-0) 4
Yarmouth Mariners (0-2) 3

Portage Terriers (1-0) 4
Steinbach Pistons (0-2)  2

The Toronto Maple Leafs are out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nick Cousins scored in overtime and Sergei Bobrovsky made 50 saves as the Florida Panthers downed Toronto 3-2 on Friday to win the second-round playoff series 4-1. The Panthers return to the Eastern Conference final for the first time since 1996, while an uncertain off-season looms for the Maple Leafs.

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Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly thought he scored the game-tying goal late in the second period of the loss to the Panthers, but a video review resulted in a no-goal decision. Fans at Scotiabank Arena watched a video replay of the puck crossing the line and were irate that Florida retained its 2-1 lead. Some spectators threw debris on the ice after the decision was announced.

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Jack Eichel had a goal and two assists, and the Vegas Golden Knights moved one win from the Western Conference Final after beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3. Mark Stone, Reilly Smith and Nic Hague also scored, and Jonathan Marchessault tied a franchise playoff record with three assists for the Golden Knights, who took a 3-2 series lead.

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Chris Bassitt pitched a two-hitter, Daulton Varsho hit a solo home run and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves 3-0. Bassitt struck out eight and walked two in the Blue Jays’ first individual shutout since Mark Buehrle accomplished the feat against Washington in 2015. Bassitt threw 70 of his 103 pitches for strikes to win his fourth straight decision.

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The Los Angeles Lakers eliminated the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors with a 122-101 victory in Game 6 of their second-round series. LeBron James had 30 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Anthony Davis had 17 points and 20 rebounds for the Lakers, who never trailed in a commanding closeout victory that punctuated their increasingly incredible late-season surge.

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Jimmy Butler scored 24 points, Bam Adebayo added 23 and the Miami Heat are headed back to the Eastern Conference finals after topping the New York Knicks 96-92. Max Strus scored 14 points and Kyle Lowry had 11 points and nine assists for the eighth-seeded Heat, who won the semifinal series 4-2 to become the second Number 8 seed in NBA history to make the conference finals.

(Canadian Press)