WHL: Sidorov’s five-point effort leads Blades’ 7-0 thumping, series sweep of Rebels
By The Canadian Press on April 17, 2024.
RED DEER, Alta. – Egor Sidorov had a hat trick and two assists powering the Saskatoon Blades to a 7-0 thumping of the Red Deer Rebels to complete the second-round sweep on Wednesday in Western Hockey League playoff action. Rowan Calvert and Brandon Lisowsky each had one goal and two assists, while Fraser Minten and Alexander Suzdalev provided the rest of Saskatoon’s offence. Evan Gardner earned a 26-save shutout as the Blades advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship series for the second year in a row. Taylor Tabashniuk stopped 24 shots for Red Deer, which was outscored 21-7 across four consecutive losses in the best-of-seven series. — ROCKETS 2 COUGARS 1 (Cougars lead best-of-seven series 3-1) KELOWNA, B.C. — Gabriel Szturc scored the eventual winner with 58 seconds left in the second period as the Kelowna Rockets avoided elimination with a 2-1 win over the Prince George Cougars. Szturc’s goal made it a 2-0 game for Kelowna, following Max Graham’s marker at 15:14 of the middle frame. Hudson Thornton made it a one-score contest with 3:23 remaining in the third period for Prince George, which will look to wrap up the best-of-seven second-round series at home on Friday. — WARRIORS 5 BRONCOS 2 (Warriors lead best-of-seven series 3-1) MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Jagger Firkus scored twice in a run of four unanswered goals from Moose Jaw that fuelled the Warriors’ 5-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos. Ethan Hughes, Brayden Yager and Rilen Kovacevic contributed a goal apiece for Moose Jaw, which now sits one win away from taking the best-of-seven second-round series. Conor Geekie and Caleb Wyrostok scored for Swift Current, which held a 2-1 lead by the 2:04 mark of the second period. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2024. 18-17
