PHOTO COURTESY WHL/CALGARY HITMEN
The Calgary Hitmen completed a first-round sweep of the Brandon Wheat Kings on Thursday, winning Game 4 4-2 in Virden, MB.
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The Calgary Hitmen were the lone Eastern Conference team to break out the brooms in the first round of the WHL Playoffs.
The Hitmen swept their first-round series with the Brandon Wheat Kings, winning Game 4 on Thursday 4-2 in Virden, Man. They won Game 3 on Tuesday 3-1.
Brandon opened the scoring with a pair of first period goals from Grayson Burzynski and Chase Surkan before the Hitmen mounted their comeback bid. A second period goal from Kale Dach brought them within one, and Harrison Lodewyk tied the game early in the final frame.
Just over two minutes after they tied the game, the Hitmen grabbed a lead with Ethan Moore’s fifth of the series. Julien Maze potted an empty netter to ice the win and sweep the series.
Moore’s tally in the third period was the game winner, giving him the deciding goal in all four games of the first-round sweep, the first time in the WHL’s modern era one skater has scored four game winners in a single series.
It’s a second straight year the Hitmen have swept their first-round opponent, dispatching the Saskatoon Blades in four gmaes last year.
The Hitmen outscored the Wheat Kings 14-8 in the series. Brandon has been eliminated in the first round of the WHL Playoffs for a fourth straight season.
Everett (1) vs. Portland (8)
Game 3: EVT 7, POR 0
Game 4: EVT 6, POR 3
The Everett Silvertips finally got their playoff revenge on the Portland Winterhawks.
After being eliminated by the Winterhawks in the last three playoffs, the Silvertips swept Portland 4-0 with a 6-3, Game 4 win Wednesday.
They took Game 3 7-0 Tuesday with a trio of multi-point efforts, Julius Miettinen; Jose Heslop and Matias Vanhanen all recording a goal and an assist.
Portland led 2-0 in Game 4 through 25 minutes before Everett rattled off six unanswered goals in 28 minutes, two coming on the power play. Medicine Hat product and Winterhawks captain Ryan Miller scored late in the third period for the 6-3 final. Miller finished with a goal and an assist in the series.
Zackary Shantz had a goal and two assists and both Lukas Kaplan and Rylan Gould had a goal and assist.
Everett goaltender Anders Miller started all four games in the sweep, running a .947 SV% and a 1.25 GAA, picking up one shutout.
The Silvertips complete their first sweep in a playoff series since the first round of the 2016 Playoffs, when they also swept the Winterhawks. Portland will miss out on the second round for the first time since 2019.
Kelowna (4) vs. Kamloops (5)
Game 3: KEL 7, KAM 4
Game 4: KEL 6, KAM 2
The 2026 Memorial Cup hosts are off to the second round of the WHL Playoffs.
The Kelowna Rockets swept the Kamloops Blazers in the first round, with a 7-4 Game 3 win and a 6-2 Game 4 win Wednesday.
Kelowna led 3-0 after 20 minutes in Game 3, before the teams traded goals in the second for a 4-2 Rockets lead through 40. A busy third period saw Kelowna skate to the 7-4 win on the back of a two-goal, two-assist performance from Tij Iginla. Vojtech Cihar had a goal and three assists and both Rowan Guest and former Medicine Hat Tiger Nate Corbet had a goal and an assist.
In Game 4, Kamloops scored first on a power play before the Rockets rattled off five goals across 28 minutes of play en route to the win. Cihar scored twice in the series clincher.
Harrison Boettiger worked all four wins in net for Kelowna, with a .934 SV% and a 2.00 GAA. Medicine Hat product Josh Evaschesen had an assist in four games for Kamloops.
