SUNDAY SPORTS: RUSH PREVAIL, DUB PLAYOFFS, OILERS ROLL
Photo: Sask Rush
NLL
SASKATOON SK – A valiant comeback came up just short as the Vancouver Warriors scored five late fourth quarter goals before falling to the Saskatchewan Rush in overtime 12-11 Saturday night at SaskTel Centre.
Kyle Killen had a game for Vancouver, scoring three times and adding three helpers for six points. Chase Scanlan added a pair as did Aldergrove’s Ryan Martel and Port Moody’s Riley Loewen, who tied the game at 11-11 with just over a minute to play. Coquitlam’s Reid Bowering scored once and added another 14 loose balls to his league leading total.
Coquitlam’s Robert Church scored four times for the Rush including the overtime winner at 2:06 of the fifth period.
Vancouver will continue on their final road stretch of the season, heading down to Denver for a date against the defending NLL Champions, the Colorado Mammoth. The Vancouver Warriors will next be home on Saturday, April 15th when they host the Panther City Lacrosse Club and Beach Night! Game time is at 7 PM.
WHL PLAYOFFS
ICE 5 TIGERS 2
WINNIPEG – Connor McClennon scored two power-play goals and Zack Ostapchuk added a goal and assist as the Winnipeg ICE defeated the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers 5-2 on Saturday in Western Hockey League playoff action.
Thanks to a 5-3 victory on Friday, the ICE now lead the first-round, best-of-seven series 2-0.
Briley Wood and Matthew Savoie also scored for the ICE, who led 1-0 after the first period and 3-1 after 40 minutes.
Andrew Basha and Dallon Melin scored for the Tigers.
For the second consecutive game, the ICE won the special teams battle going 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Tigers went 1-for-4.
WINTERHAWKS 4 SILVERTIPS 0
Portland leads best-of-seven series 2-0
PORTLAND, Ore. – Marcus Nguyen scored twice and goaltender Jan Spunar made 23 saves as the Portland Winterhawks defeated the visiting Everett Silvertips 4-0.
Jack O’Brien also scored twice for the Winterhawks, who grabbed a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Winterhawks won Game 1 on Friday 4-3.
The Winterhawks outshot the Silvertips 32-23.
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WARRIORS 5 HURRICANES 1
Moose Jaw leads best-of-seven series 2-0
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Lucas Brenton scored twice as the Moose Jaw Warriors defeated the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-1 to grab a 2-0 lead in their first-round, best-of-seven playoff series.
Ryder Korczak, Atley Calvert and Denton Mateychuk also scored for the Warriors, who won Game 1 on Friday 2-1 in double overtime.
Anton Astashevich scored for the Hurricanes, who were outshot 34-22.
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THUNDERBIRDS 4 ROCKETS 1
Seattle leads best-of-seven series 2-0
SEATTLE, Wash. – Jared Davidson scored once and added two assists as the Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the visiting Kelowna Rockets 4-1 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series.
Dylan Guenther, Lucas Ciona and Nolan Allan also scored for the Thunderbirds, who won Game 1 on Friday 3-2.
Dylan Wightman scored for the Rockets, who were outshot 48-26.
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COUGARS 2 AMERICANS 1 (OT)
Best-of-seven series tied 1-1
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – Jaxsen Wiebe scored at 4:52 of overtime as the Prince George Cougars edged the visiting Tri-City Americans 2-1 to even up their best-of-seven playoff series at a game apiece.
The Americans won Game 1 on Friday 6-4.
Cole Dubinsky, who assisted on the winning goal, also scored for the Cougars Saturday.
Adam Mechura scored for the Americans, who were outshot 38-18.
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HITMEN 2 REBELS 1 (OT)
Best-of-seven series tied 1-1
RED DEER, Alta. – David Adaszynski scored at 16:42 of overtime to give the visiting Calgary Hitmen a 2-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels.
Sean Tschigerl also scored for the Hitmen, who tied the first-round, best-of-seven playoff series 1-1. The Rebels won Game 1 on Friday 3-0. Carter MacAdams chipped in with two assists.
Christoffer Sedoff scored for the Rebels, who outshot the Hitmen 39-38.
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BLAZERS 6 GIANTS 1
Kamloops leads best-of-seven series 2-0
KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Olen Zelleger scored once and added two assists as the Kamloops Blazers defeated the visiting Vancouver Giants 6-1 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round, best-of-seven playoff series.
Ryan Hofer, Caedan Bankier, Daylan Kuefler, Dylan Sydor and Emmitt Finnie also scored for the Blazers, who won Game 1 on Friday 8-0.
Logan Stankoven chipped in with three assists. The Blazers outshot the Giants 55-26.
Samuel Honzek scored a third-period power-play goal for the Giants to break the shutout bid.
SJHL PLAYOFFS ROUND 2
Battlefords 7 Melfort 1 (Stars lead 2-0)
Flin Flon 5 Humboldt 2 (Series tied 1-1)
NHL
The Edmonton Oilers have punched their ticket to the post-season by defeating the visiting Anaheim Ducks 6-0. Leon Draisaitl scored three goals, including his 50th of the season, while Zach Hyman, Darnell Nurse and Connor McDavid netted singles for the Oilers, who extended the Ducks’ losing streak to seven straight game. Jack Campbell stopped 36 shots to post the shutout.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
Carolina 3 Montreal 0
Toronto 3 Ottawa 0
St. Louis 6 Nashville 1
Boston 4 Pittsburgh 3
Buffalo 6 Philadelphia 3
Florida 7 Columbus 0
Tampa Bay 5 N.Y. Islanders 0
New Jersey 6 Chicago 3
Colorado 5 Dallas 2
Los Angeles 3 Seattle 1
Vegas 4 Minnesota 1
San Jose 7 Arizona 2
CURLING
Virtually nothing went skip Brad Gushue’s way in his opening game Saturday against Switzerland at the world men’s curling championship. But after shaking off an 8-3 setback, the Canadian men’s crew bounced back with a 10-6 victory over Italy, leaving them at 1-and-1. Canada will play games against New Zealand and Norway on Sunday.
MARCH MADNESS
UConn doled out another drama-free basketball beatdown, getting 21 points from Adama Sanogo to dispatch Miami 72-59 and move one win from the school’s fifth national title. Jordan Hawkins overcame his stomach bug and scored 13 for the Huskies, who came into this most unexpected Final Four as the only team with any experience on college basketball’s final weekend. The Huskies will face San Diego State, which became the first team to hit a buzzer beater while trailing in a Final Four game for a 72-71 victory over Florida Atlantic.
(VancouverWarriors.com/Canadian Press)
