WINNIPEG — Matthew Savoie scored once and added two assists as the Winnipeg ICE defeated the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors 5-3 in the opening game of their Western Hockey League Eastern Conference semifinal series on Friday.
Zach Benson, Owen Pederson, Connor McClennon and Graham Sward also scored for the ICE, who outshot the Warriors 37-29. Conor Geekie chipped in with two assists.
Brayden Yager, Jagger Firkus and Maximus Wanner scored for the Warriors, who trailed 3-1 after the first period. The teams were tied 3-3 heading into the third. Ryder Korczak chipped in with two assists.
Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg.
Elsewhere in the WHL:
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REBELS 3 BLADES 1
Red Deer leads best-of-seven series 1-0
SASKATOON, Sask. — Jace Isley scored at 14:19 of the third period to give the visiting Red Deer Rebels a 2-0 lead and some breathing room and they managed to hang on for a 3-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades in the opening game of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Jhett Larson and Christoffer Sedoff (empty-netter) also scored for the Rebels, who were outshot 24-20 in the tight defensive game.
Jake Chiasson scored at 18:08 of the third period for the Blades to reduce the deficit to 2-1 but the Blades couldn't get any closer. Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play.
Game 2 is Sunday at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.
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BLAZERS 6 WINTERHAWKS 4
Kamloops leads best-of-seven series 1-0
KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Jakub Demek scored twice and Olen Zellweger chipped in with two assists as the Kamloops Blazers rolled over the visiting Portland Winterhawks 6-4 in the opening game of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
Emmitt Finnie, Fraser Minten, Matthew Seminoff and Logan Stankoven also scored for the Blazers, who outshot the Winterhawks 38-32.
James Stefan scored three times and Marcus Nguyen netted a single for the Winterhawks, who were tied 1-1 with the Blazers after the first period, but trailed 4-2 heading into the third. Kyle Chyzowski chipped in with two assists.
Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops.
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THUNDERBIRDS 4 COUGARS 1
Seattle leads best-of-seven series 1-0
SEATTLE, Wash. — Dylan Guenther scored twice and Brad Lambert chipped in with two assists as the Seattle Thunderbirds edged the visiting Prince George Cougars 4-1 in the opening game of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
Lucas Ciona and Nico Myatovic (empty-netter) also scored for the T-Birds, who outshot the Cougars 44-24.
Koehn Ziemmer scored for the Cougars, who trailed 2-1 after the first period and the second period was scoreless.
Game 2 in the series is scheduled for Saturday at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash.
* This roundup was generated automatically with a CP-developed application.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2023.
The Canadian Press
