WHL Morning Skate: Wednesday, April 3 - Western Hockey League
RULE OF THREES
-Three teams (Prince George, Swift Current and Portland) can advance to the Second Round of the 2024 WHL Playoffs with a victory on Wednesday night
-Three players scored hat tricks to propel their teams to victory on Tuesday night
-For a third straight postseason, Red Deer has had at least two games in its First Round series go to overtime
RESULTS
Saskatoon 4, Prince Albert 3 (OT)
SAS leads 2-1
The Raiders clawed back from two deficits to force the extra frame in front of a boisterous crowd at the Art Hauser Centre, with 2024 NHL Draft-eligible Ryder Ritchie flexing his stellar shot and superb playmaking ability in the process. But it was Saskatoon’s Easton Armstrong playing hero with the overtime winner to complete the hat trick and give the top-seeded Blades their first lead of the series.
THREE STARS
1- Ryder Ritchie, PA
-1G, 1A, +1
2- Easton Armstrong, SAS
-3G, +3
3- Sloan Stanick, PA
-2A, +2
Prince George 4, Spokane 2
PG leads 3-0
Hayden Paupanekis got the Spokane crowd on their feet by batting a fluttering puck into the net, but Washington Capitals prospect Zac Funk came alive with a two-goal, two-assist performance to drive the Chiefs to the brink. Can top 2024 NHL Draft prospect Berkly Catton help Spokane stave off elimination with a win on Wednesday night?
THREE STARS
1- Zac Funk, PG
-2G, 2A, +2
2- Ondrej Becher, PG
-2A, +2
3- Ty Cheveldayoff, SPO
-1G
Swift Current 5, Lethbridge 3
SC leads 3-0
Powerplay perfection. The visiting Broncos went 4/5 on the man advantage to chase Harrison Meneghin and put Lethbridge in danger of facing a sweep. Luke Mistelbacher scored Swift Current’s first postseason hat trick since Glenn Gawdin netted all three in a 3-2 Game 4 win over Everett in the 2018 WHL Championship Series on May 8, 2018. Swift Current will try to punch its ticket to the Second Round on Wednesday night.
THREE STARS
1- Luke Mistelbacher, SC
-3G, +1
2- Sean Tschigerl, LET
-1G, 1A, +1
3- Conor Geekie, SC
-1G, 1A
Portland 6, Victoria 5
POR leads 3-0
The Victoria Royals forced Portland to play catchup by earning two early leads, but the Winterhawks took flight to seize the 3-0 series lead. Edmonton Oilers prospect James Stefan tallied his second-ever playoff hat trick, Florida Panthers prospect Josh Davies racked up a goal and two assists, and San Jose Sharks prospect Luca Cagnoni sent a hail-mary saucer pass up the ice for Captain Gabe Klassen to bury the game-winner. Portland has scored the second-most goals in the playoffs so far (15) and can move on to the Second Round with a win on Wednesday.
THREE STARS
1- James Stefan, POR
-3G, 1A, +3
2- Luca Cagnoni, POR
-3A, +1
3- Tyson Laventure, VIC
-1G, 1A, -1
Medicine Hat 3, Red Deer 4 (OT)
RD leads 2-1
The Tigers have struck first in every game this series, but the Rebels seem pretty comfortable in the role of comeback kids. After Hayden Harsanyi opened the scoring for Medicine Hat, Carson Latimer scored shorthanded and on the powerplay to help Red Deer go up 3-2. Top 2024 NHL Draft prospect Andrew Basha scored the equalizer with less than a minute left in the third period to force overtime for the second time in this series, but Samuel Drancak called game with a powerplay marker to give Red Deer the 2-1 series lead.
THREE STARS
1- Samuel Drancak, RD
-1G
2- Carson Latminer, RD
-2G, +1
3- Andrew Basha, MH
-1G, +1
Wenatchee 1, Kelowna 5
KEL leads 2-1
Playoff Briley Wood continues to be the best version of Briley Wood for Wenatchee, with the veteran opening the scoring with his fifth goal of the series. But the Rockets fired back on home ice, scoring two goals a minute apart in the first period to take the lead and never relinquish it. Tij Iginla snagged a pair to hit five goals in the playoffs and Jari Kykkanen shined once again in front of more than 4,000 fans at Prospera Place.
THREE STARS
1- Jari Kykkanen, KEL
-31/32 saves
-.968 save percentage
2- Tij Iginla, KEL
-2G, +3
3- Caden Price, KEL
-1G, +4
WHL PLAYOFFS TOP PERFORMER- MARCH 29
Easton Armstrong’s first playoff hat trick had massive implications for the top-ranked Saskatoon Blades.
The veteran scored the first two goals of the game against Prince Albert and capped it off (get it?) with the overtime winner 23 seconds into the fourth frame.
Saskatoon now owns a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Hockey League Eastern Conference quarter-final series.
The 21-year-old gave his team an early lead by picking off a Raiders pass in their own zone and going glove side on a partial breakaway and struck again five minutes later with a deceptive five-hole shot on Max Hildebrand to put Saskatoon up 2-0.
In overtime, Armstrong was in the right place at the right time to tap in a beautiful pass from Captain Trevor Wong to seal the Game 3 victory.
The hat collector was in town. @BladesHockey | #WHLHatTricks | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/aEZZgsTkw3
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 3, 2024
ON TAP
