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PLAYOFF NOTES: The Portland Winterhawks will be without F Taylor Peters (knee) for the remainder of the playoffs. He was injured while blocking a shot in Game 2 of their series with the Spokane Chiefs on Sunday. . . . The Saskatoon Blades, with GM/head coach Lorne Molleken suspended, will have assistant coach David Struch running the bench Wednesday night when they meet the Rebels in Red Deer. Struch, a former Blades player, has been on the Saskatoon coaching staff since May 2006. He will be assisted by Jerome Engele, a long-time associate/assistant coach in Saskatoon. . . . With four players suspended, Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that the Blades “plan to insert rookie defencemen Dalton Thrower and Darren Dietz, both 16, as well as 16-year-old centre Lukas Sutter and 15-year-old winger Levi Bews. Thrower played 55 regular-season games with the Blades, while Dietz, Sutter and Bews were all late-season call-ups from their Alberta midget AAA teams.” . . . Spokane Chiefs F Ryan Letts (knee) has yet to play in the playoffs and is questionable for Game 3 against the visiting Portland Winterhawks. . . . D Evan Morden, 16, is to join the Everett Silvertips this week. Morden, a seventh-round draft pick in 2008, spent the season with the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders.
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FIRST ROUND
(Best-of-7)
(All times local)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Calgary (1) vs. Moose Jaw (8)
(Moose Jaw leads series 3-1)
Tuesday: Calgary 3 at Moose Jaw 4
Thursday: Moose Jaw at Calgary, 7 p.m.
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Brandon (2) vs. Swift Current (7)
(Brandon leads series 3-0)
Tuesday: Brandon 5 vs. Swift Current 2 (at Regina)
Wednesday: Brandon vs. Swift Current (at Regina), 7 p.m.
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Saskatoon (3) vs. Red Deer (6)
(Saskatoon leads series 2-0)
Wednesday: Saskatoon at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
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Kootenay (4) vs. Medicine Hat (5)
(Kootenay leads series 2-1)
Tuesday: Kootenay 1 at Medicine Hat 4
Wednesday: Kootenay at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
Tri-City (1) vs. Chilliwack (8)
(Tri-City leads series 2-1)
Tuesday: Tri-City 1 at Chilliwack 5
Wednesday: Tri-City at Chilliwack, 7 p.m.
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Vancouver (2) vs. Kamloops (7)
(Vancouver leads series 3-0)
Tuesday: Vancouver 5 at Kamloops 4 (OT)
Wednesday: Vancouver at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
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Everett (3) vs. Kelowna (6)
(Everett leads the series 2-1)
Tuesday: Everett 3 at Kelowna 5
Wednesday: Everett at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
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Spokane (4) vs. Portland (5)
(Spokane leads series 2-0)
Wednesday: Portland at Spokane, 7 p.m.
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TUESDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, the Warriors beat the Calgary Hitmen 4-3 to take a 3-1 series lead and close to within one victory of one of the biggest upsets in WHL history. . . . The Warriors, the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed, finished 29 points behind the Hitmen, who finished first overall. . . . Game 5 is Thursday in Calgary. . . . The Warriors led throughout this game, taking a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by F Jason Bast, his sixth of the series, and D Chad Suer, on the PP. Suer scored on one of those goofy dump-ins off the side glass. . . . After F Joel Broda got Calgary close with a PP goal at 11:28, Moose Jaw F Thomas Frazee restored the three-goal lead at 17:33. . . . F Nathan MacMaster upped Moose Jaw’s lead to 4-1 at 8:05 of the second. . . . MacMaster, who is from Calgary, had two regular-season goals and now has one in the playoffs. . . . The Hitmen got close on a second-period goal from F Cody Sylvester, at 9:15, and a third-period score by D Giffen Nyren, at 8:01. . . . Moose Jaw G Jeff Bosch stopped 35 shots, two more than Calgary’s Martin Jones. . . . Moose Jaw was 1-for-7 on the PP; Calgary was 1-for-4. . . . Attendance was 2,258.
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In Chilliwack, G Lucas Gore stopped 48 shots, including 21 in the third period, as the Bruins dumped the Tri-City Americans, 5-1. . . . The Americans hold a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 in Chilliwack on Wednesday night. . . . The Americans are winless in their last three games in Chilliwack. . . . This was the second playoff victory in Chilliwack’s franchise history. The Bruins are 2-10 in playoff games. . . . F Dylen McKinlay had a goal and two assists for the Bruins, while F Ryan Howse scored twice. . . . Chilliwack scored the game’s first five goals, the first two coming via first-period power plays. . . . Bruins D Brandon Manning had two assists. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin broke Gore’s shutout bid on the PP at 11:27 of the third. . . . Tri-City starter Drew Owlsey stopped nine of 13 shots and was gone eight minutes into the second with the Bruins up 4-0. . . . Chilliwack was 2-for-9 on the PP; the Americans, who had gone 6-for-9 in Game 2, were 1-for-9. . . . Attendance was 3,513, the largest crowd of the series. . . . The Americans lost F Neal Prokop at 1:02 of the first period when he appeared to lose an edge and slid heavily, feet first, into the boards. He suffered a broken left femur and the 19-year-old’s season is over.
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In Kamloops, F Brett Breitkreuz scored his second goal of the game at 2:28 of overtime to give the Vancouver Giants a 5-4 victory over the Blazers. . . . The Giants lead the series 3-0 and can end it Wednesday night in Kamloops. . . . The Blazers led four times in this one and four times the Giants came back in short order to equalize. . . . Kamloops F C.J. Stretch, who has yet to win in 15 playoff games with the Blazers, gave his guys a 4-3 lead at 6:35 of the third period on the PP. . . .. Vancouver F Brendan Gallagher tied it 2:49 later to force OT. . . . D Kevin Connauton, F Milan Kytnar and F James Henry each had two assists for Vancouver. . . . The winner came off a Henry shot that was deflected in by Breitkreuz, who was acquired from the Edmonton Oil Kings at the trade deadline. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 27 shots, while Kurtis Mucha of the Blazers stopped 34. . . . Kamloops, which now has lost 18 straight playoff games, was 3-for-8 on the PP; the Giants, who got a shorthanded goal from D Nolan Toigo, were 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 4,398.
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In Kelowna, F Brett Bulmer’s goal at 16:00 of the third period broke a 3-3 tie and the Rockets went on to a 5-3 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Silvertips hold a 2-1 edge with Game 4 in Kelowna on Wednesday night. . . . Everett took a 3-1 lead into the second period, only to have the Rockets tie it on goals by F Geordie Wudrick, his second of the game and fourth of the series, and F Mitchell Callahan. . . . Callahan later got his second of the game, into an empty net. . . . D Tyson Barrie drew three assists for Kelowna and D Dallas Jackson had two. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped nine of 11 shots before being lifted after F Shane Harper scored at 11:28 of the first to give Everett a 2-1 lead. . . . G Mark Guggenberger came on to stop 22 of 23 shots. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson turned aside 33 shots. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-2 on the PP; Everett was 1-for-4. . . . Attendance was 6,085. . . . Everett was without all-star D Radko Gudas, who suffered an upper-body injury in Game 2.
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In Medicine Hat, D Jace Coyle’s PP goal at 10:13 of the second period stood up as the winner as the Tigers got past the Kootenay Ice, 4-1. . . . The teams came out of the first period tied 1-1, with F Emerson Etem scoring for Medicine Hat and D James Martin for the Ice. . . . Coyle broke the tie with his first goal of the series. . . . F Wacey Hamilton and F Joey Frazer rounded out the scoring the game’s last 1:30, the latter scoring a shorthanded empty-netter. . . . Medicine Hat F Bretton Cameron, who had two assists, was hit with a charging major and game misconduct at 18:34 of the third period. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz turned aside 20 shots, while Todd Mathews of the Ice kicked out 23. . . . The Tigers were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Ice was 0-for-6. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . Uhh, actually it wasn’t. It was 3,816.
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In Regina, F Brayden Schenn scored twice and set up two others to help the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 5-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Wheat Kings hold a 3-0 series lead and can wrap it up Wednesday night in Regina. The Broncos are playing their home games in Regina because their home arena is being used for the world women’s curling championship. . . . Attendance was 1,473. . . . So much for home-ice advantage. . . . Schenn’s first goal, his third of the series, was shorthanded and opened the scoring just 1:33 into the first period. . . . F Aaron Lewadniuk upped the lead to 2-0 at 4:01. . . . .The Broncos tied it on goals by F Brad Hoban and F Justin Dowling in the second period. . . . Brandon D Alex Urbom broke the 2-2 tie at 8:49 of the third period. . . . Schenn scored again at 10:29 and F Matt Calvert added an empty-netter at 18:24. . . . Brandon D Jordan Hale was hit with a charging major and game misconduct at 19:21 of the third period. He hit Broncos F Adam Lowry. . . . Brandon G Jacob DeSerres stopped 35 shots, while the Broncos’ Morgan Clark kicked out 28. . . . Brandon was 0-for-3 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-for-5.
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