Road to Memorial Cup daily: Seven teams complete first round sweeps
CHL Three Stars
Alexis Gendron’s (PHI) second hat-trick of the QMJHL Playoffs earned him the first star as Gatineau took a 3-1 series lead over Saint John. Gendron, who also scored three times in Game 2, scored 55 times during the regular season.
Thomas Verdon’s first career postseason hat-trick saw collect the second star as he helped Rouyn-Noranda to a 3-1 series lead over Shawinigan. Verdon, who had 46 points during the regular season, finished sixth in rookie scoring.
Mats Lindgren’s (BUF) four assists gave him Wednesday’s third star as Red Deer took a 3-1 series lead on Calgary. Lindgren had 34 points (11 goals) in his first season with the Rebels.
OHL
Eastern Conference
(2) North Bay vs. (7) Mississauga — Series tied 2-2
Game 4: Steelheads 4-1 Battalion
- Angus MacDonell scored twice, including the game-winner in the third, as the Steelheads tied their series with North Bay
- James Hardie and Zander Veccia also scored for the Steelheads who have turned the series into a Best-of-3
- Game 5 is April 7 at 7pm ET
(4) Peterborough vs. (5) Sudbury – Petes win series 4-0
Game 4: Petes 4-2 Wolves
- The Petes became the first OHL club into the second round after they swept Sudbury in four games
- Owen Beck (MTL), Tommy Purdeller, J.R. Avon (PHI) and Tucker Robertson (SEA) all scored for Peterborough
- Brennan Othmann (NYR) added two helpers for the Petes
- Landon McCallum scored both Wolves goals
Western Conference
(4) Saginaw vs. (5) Flint — Spirit lead series 3-1
Game 4: Spirit 2-1 Firebirds (OT)
- Saginaw captain Mitchell Smith scored the overtime winner at 5:57 to give the Spirit a 3-1 series lead on their U.S. rival
- Roberto Mancini had levelled things up for Saginaw in the second frame after Amadeus Lombardi (DET) had given Flint the lead earlier in the period
- Game 5 is April 7 at 7:05pm ET
The @SpiritHockey captain wins Game 4 in OT! 😱
Mitchell Smith goes for a skate and beats Nathan Day to give Saginaw a 3-1 series lead heading back home for Game 5 on Friday night!#OHLPlayoffs | #SAGvsFLNT pic.twitter.com/1kxslihDrX
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 6, 2023
QMJHL
(1) Quebec vs. (8) Charlottetown — Remparts win series 4-0
Game 4: Remparts 5-1 Islanders
- Five different skaters found the back of the net as the top seeded Remparts completed its sweep of Charlottetown
- Pier-Olivier Roy’s shorthanded beauty in the second period stood as the game-winner while he also added two assists
- James Malatesta (CBJ) had two helpers for Quebec while Nathan Gaucher (ANA) and Justin Robidas (CAR) each had multi-point outings
(2) Halifax vs. (7) Cape Breton — Mooseheads wins series 4-0
Game 4: Mooseheads 3-2 Eagles
- Alexandre Doucet’s second period goal, that came a man down, stood as the game-winner as the Mooseheads eliminated Cape Breton in four games
- Jordan Dumais (CBJ) and Markus Vidicek also scored for Halifax while Josh Lawrence had two assists
(3) Moncton vs. (6) Baie-Comeau — Series tied 2-2
Game 4: Wildcats 5-2 Drakkar
- Three first period goals set Baie-Comeau on the path to a big Game 4 win to even their series with Moncton
- Felix Gagnon had two goals while Justin Poirier contributed three points (1G, 2A). Captain Isaac Dufort had two assists
- Game 5 is April 7 at 7pm ET
(4) Chicoutimi vs. (5) Rimouski — Oceanic lead series 3-1
Game 4: Sagueneens 5-1 Oceanic
- Chicoutimi kept their season alive courtesy of a 5-1 win in Game 4 over Rimouski
- Jeremy Leroux had a pair of goals for the Sags
- Peteris Bulans and Romain Rodzinski each had two assists
- Charles-Antoine Lavallee stopped 37 shots as William Dumoulin was the only Oceanic player to beat him
- Game 5 is April 7 at 7:30pm ET
Western Conference
(1) Sherbrooke vs. (8) Blainville-Boisbriand — Phoenix win series 4-0
Game 4: Phoenix 5-0 Armada
- Joshua Roy (MTL) had three points (2G, 1A) as Phoenix completed the sweep of the Armada
- Olivier Adam stopped all 16 shots he faced to record the shutout
- Jakub Brabenec (VGK) scored his first goal of the postseason in the win
(2) Gatineau vs. (7) Saint John — Olympiques lead series 3-1
Game 4: Olympiques 6-0 Sea Dogs
- While Gendron’s hat-trick led the way for Gatineau, Zach Dean (STL) added three points (1G, 2A) to take over the QMJHL Playoffs scoring lead
- Riley Kidney (MTL) had a goal and an assist
- Francesco Lapenne made 26 saves to register the shutout
- Game 5 is April 7 at 6pm ET
#FueledbyPhilly prospect Alexis Gendron had his second hat-trick of the #QPlayoffs Wednesday as the @OlympiquesGAT took a 3-1 series lead over Saint John! 🎩🎩🎩
Un deuxième tour du chapeau dans les #SeriesLHJMQ pour Alexis Gendron! pic.twitter.com/3y7Xs91XMg
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) April 6, 2023
(3) Victoriaville vs. (6) Drummondville — Voltigeurs lead series 3-1
Game 4: Voltigeurs 2-1 Tigres
- Jeremy Lapointe was credited with the game-winner as Drummondville put themselves in prime position to advance to the second round for the second time in three seasons
- Nino Tomov also scored for the Voltigeurs while Riley Mercer stopped 31 shots
- Game 5 is April 7 at 7pm ET
(4) Rouyn-Noranda vs. (5) Shawinigan — Huskies lead series 3-1
Game 4: Huskies 6-3 Cataractes
- The Huskies doubled up the defending QMJHL champions 6-3 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead
- While Verdon’s hat-trick was the headline, Tristan Allard and Daniil Bourash each had a goal and an assist
- Dyllan Gill had a pair of helpers for the Rouyn-Noranda, who limited Shawinigan to just 17 shots
- Game 5 is April 7 at 7pm ET
WHL
Eastern Conference
(1) Winnipeg vs. (8) Medicine Hat — ICE win series 4-0
Game 4: ICE 3-2 Tigers
- Ty Nash’s goal 70 seconds into the third was the series clincher as Winnipeg advanced to the second round after they swept Medicine Hat
- Matthew Savoie and Owen Pederson also scored for the ICE while Daniel Hauser collected his fourth win of the series between the pipes
(2) Red Deer vs. (7) Calgary — Rebels lead series 3-1
Game 4: Rebels 6-1 Hitmen
- While Lindgren tallied four helpers, Ben King (ANA) found the back of the net twice as Red Deer took a 3-1 series lead
- Ollie Josephson, Jhett Larson and Kai Uchacz all had a goal and an assist
- Jayden Grubbe notched three assists for the Rebels while Kyle Kelsey made 36 saves
- Game 5 is April 7 at 9pm ET
(3) Saskatoon vs. (6) Regina — Series tied 2-2
Game 4: Blades 4-3 Pats (OT)
- Jake Chiasson (EDM) had the overtime winner at 7:20 as Saskatoon reclaimed home ice advantage in their series with Regina
- Jayden Wiens and Charlie Wright scored in the third period for the Blades to erase a 3-1 deficit for the second straight game
- Connor Bedard scored twice and leads the WHL in goals (8) and points (13) in the postseason
- Game 5 is April 7 at 9pm ET
#LetsGoOilers prospect Jake Chiasson buries the OT winner for @BladesHockey as they even their series with Regina at 2-2! #RoadtoMemorialCup pic.twitter.com/Hbscnpmul8
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) April 6, 2023
(4) Moose Jaw vs. (5) Lethbridge — Warriors win series 4-0
Game 4: Warriors 5-2 Hurricanes
- Brayden Yager had three points (2G, 1A) as Moose Jaw completed a series sweep of Lethbridge
- Maximus Wanner (EDM) also had three points (1G, 2A) while Atley Calvert and Jagger Firkus (SEA) both had two assists
- With their series victory, it marks the second straight year Moose Jaw has advanced to Round 2
Western Conference
(1) Seattle vs. (8) Kelowna — Thunderbirds win series 4-0
Game 4: Thunderbirds 3-0 Rockets
- Thomas Milic blanked Kelowna with a 19-save shutout as Seattle swept Kelowna
- Lucas Ciona (CGY), Dylan Guenther (ARI) and Jordan Gustafson (VGK) all scored for the T-Birds
- Seattle outshot Kelowa 38-19
(4) Prince George vs. (5) Tri-City — Series tied 2-2
Game 4: Cougars 6-2 Americans
- Jaxsen Wiebe (ANA) and Koehn Ziemmer both scored twice as Prince George tied its series with Tri-City
- Riley Heidt and Chase Wheatcroft (DAL) both scored and added an assist
- Game 5 is April 7 at 10:05pm ET
