SASKATOON — A three-point night from Fraser Minten lifted the Saskatoon Blades to a 4-1 win over the Red Deer Rebels in Western Hockey League playoff action on Friday.
Minten scored twice and notched an assist for the Blades, while Brandon Lisowsky contributed one of each.
Vaughn Watterodt rounded out the scoring for Saskatoon.
Carson Birnie replied for the Rebels 5:29 into the second period, temporarily levelling the score at 1-1.
Saskatoon goalie Evan Gardner made 16 saves and Chase Wutzke stopped 20 of 23 shots for Red Deer.
The Blades lead the best-of-seven second-round series 1-0, with Game 2 set to go Sunday in Saskatoon.
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BRONCOS 7 WARRIORS 2
(Broncos lead best-of-seven series 1-0)
MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Josh Filmon and Brady Birnie each put up a pair of goals as Swift Current trounced Moose Jaw to open the second-round series.
Connor Hvidston, Ty Coupland and Matthew Ward also scored for the Broncos, and Reid Dyck stopped 33 of 35 shots.
The Warriors got goals from Jagger Firkus and Brayden Yager.
Moose Jaw's Jackson Unger made 18 saves before being replaced midway through the third period. Dimitri Fortin made seven stops in relief.
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COUGARS 4 ROCKETS 0
(Cougars lead best-of-seven series 1-0)
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — Joshua Ravensbergen stopped all 21 shots he faced as Prince George blanked Kelowna to open the second-round series.
The Cougars got goals from Ephram McNutt, Borya Valis, Keaton Dowhaniuk and Terik Parascak, and Zac Funk contributed a pair of assists.
Rockets goalie Jari Kykkanen stopped 29 of 33 shots.
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WINTER HAWKS 8 SILVERTIPS 2
(Winter Hawks lead the best-of-seven series 1-0)
PORTLAND, Ore. — Two goals and an assist from Tyson Jugnauth helped Portland to a big win over Everett to open the second-round series.
Kyle Chyzowski also scored twice for the Winter Hawks, while Tyson Yaremko, Josh Davies, Nate Danielson and Jack O'Brien all added singles. Goalie Jan Spunar put up 21 saves.
The Silvertips got goals from Tarin Smith and Parker Berge.
Tyler Palmer stopped 23 shots for Portland before being pulled to start the third period. Ethan Chadwick had 16 saves in relief.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2024.
The Canadian Press
