Road to Memorial Cup daily: Five clubs punch ticket to second round
CHL Three Stars
Red Deer captain Jayden Grubbe had five assists to take Friday’s first star as the Rebels completed a series victory over Calgary. Grubbe had 10 points in the series, which came after a career year during the regular season where he had 67 points.
Mats Lindgren (BUF) continued his impressive postseason as he claimed the evening’s second star. The Rebels defenceman had his second four-point (2G, 2A) performance of the WHL Playoffs and is tied second in scoring among d-men with eight points.
Dom DiVincentiis (WPG) made 37 saves to register his first career postseason shutout to earn the third star. DiVincentiis, who led the OHL in wins during the regular season with 36, blanked Mississauga as North Bay took a 3-2 series lead.
OHL
Eastern Conference
(2) North Bay vs. (7) Mississauga — Battalion lead series 3-2
Game 5: Battalion 6-0 Steelheads
- Kyle Jackson (SEA) had three points (2G, 1A) as the Battalion took a 3-2 series lead
- Matvey Petrov (EDM) and Pasquale Zito (DET) each had three assists while Ty Nelson (SEA) had a goal and two helpers
- Game 6 is April 9 at 6:05pm ET
JACKO AGAIN! @91Kjacko pic.twitter.com/Foc8X9CY6q
— North Bay Battalion (@OHLBattalion) April 8, 2023
Western Conference
(3) Sarnia vs. (6) Guelph — Sting lead series 3-2
Game 5: Storm 3-1 Sting
- Jake Karabela (WSH), Max Namestnikov and Jake Murray had goals as the Storm kept their season alive for the second straight game
- Patrick Leaver stopped 32 shots for the Storm with Zach Filak the only Sting skater to beat him
- Game 6 is April 9 at 2pm ET
(4) Saginaw vs. (5) Flint — Spirit lead series 3-2
Game 5: Firebirds 5-2 Spirit
- Five different Firebirds scored as they kept their season alive with a 5-2 win in Saginaw
- Tristan Bertucci and Gavin Hayes (CHI) each had two assists
- Saginaw outshot Flint 40-24 as Dean Loukus and Mitchell Smith were the only Spirit players to beat Nathan Day
- Game 6 is April 8 at 7:05pm ET
QMJHL
Eastern Conference
(3) Moncton vs. (6) Baie-Comeau — Wildcats lead series 3-2
Game 5: Wildcats 3-2 Drakkar (OT)
- Anthony Hamel scored the overtime winner at 4:41 as the Wildcats took a 3-2 series lead
- Maxim Barbashev (NYR) and Thomas Auger also scored for Moncton while Etienne Morin tallied three assists
- Jacob Steinman made 34 saves in the Moncton net while Baie-Comeau’s Olivier Ciarlo stopped 38 shots
- Game 6 is April 10 at 6pm ET
HAMMER WITH THE OT WINNER!
We're coming home Monday night up 3-2! pic.twitter.com/a0SPxauALp— Moncton Wildcats (@monctonwildcats) April 8, 2023
(4) Chicoutimi vs. (5) Rimouski — Oceanic win series 4-1
Game 5: Oceanic 4-2 Sagueneens
- Luka Verreault was credited with the game-winner, and ultimately the series winner, as Rimouski eliminated the fourth seeded Sagueneens
- Luke Coughlin and William Dumoulin both had two assists for the Oceanic
- Rimouski will play either Quebec or Halifax in the second round
Western Conference
(2) Gatineau vs. (7) Saint John — Olympiques win series 3-1
Game 5: Olympiques 5-1 Sea Dogs
- The Olympiques advanced to the second round of the QMJHL Playoffs for the third consecutive season after a 4-1 series win over the defending Memorial Cup champions
- Five of the club’s six goals came from NHL Drafted prospects Tristan Luneau (ANA), Cam MacDonald (TB), Olivier Nadeau (BUF), Samuel Savoie (CHI) and Zach Dean (STL)
- Francesco Lapenna stopped 30 shots in the Gatineau net while Saint John’s Ventsislav Shingarov made 43 saves
- The Olympiques will face Rouyn-Noranda in the second round
(3) Victoriaville vs. (6) Drummondville — Voltigeurs win series 4-1
Game 5: Voltigeurs 4-2 Tigres
- Manix Landry had a pair of goals as Drummondville eliminated the third ranked Tigres
- Nino Tomov and Sam Oliver also scored for the Voltigeurs while Riley Mercer made 34 saves
- Drummondville will play Sherbrooke in the second round
(4) Rouyn-Noranda vs. (5) Shawinigan — Huskies win series 4-1
Game 5: Huskies 5-3 Cataractes
- Daniil Bourash and Samuel Rousseau each had a goal and an assist as the Huskies took out the defending QMJHL champions
- Louis-Philippe Fontaine, Dyllan Gill and Bill Zonnon also scored for Rouyn-Noranda, who were outshot 33-21
- The Huskies will face Gatineau in Round 2
WHL
Eastern Conference
(2) Red Deer vs. (7) Calgary — Rebels win series 4-1
Game 5: Rebels 6-5 Hitmen (OT)
- Ben King (ANA) had the series clinching goal in overtime as the Rebels advanced to the second round for consecutive seasons. King also added three assists in the victory
- Matteo Fabrizi and Christoffer Sedoff (VGK) had gotten the game to overtime with goals in the final 4:28
#FlyTogether prospect Ben King's overtime winner sent @Rebelshockey into the second round Friday night! 🚨 #RoadtoMemorialCup pic.twitter.com/8t6diKlJJT
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) April 8, 2023
(3) Saskatoon vs. (6) Regina — Blades lead series 3-2
Game 5: Blades 4-2 Pats
- Egor Sidorov’s second multi-goal effort of the series powered Saskatoon to its first series lead
- Vaughn Watterodt and Conner Roulette (DAL) also scored for the Blades
- Connor Bedard scored twice for Regina and leads the CHL with 10 postseason goals
- Game 6 is April 8 at 9pm ET
Western Conference
(3) Portland vs. (6) Everett — Winterhawks lead series 3-1
Game 4: Silvertips 5-0 Winterhawks
- The Silvertips staved off elimination after a 5-0 win against their American rival
- Tyler Palmer stopped all 27 shots he faced to record his first postseason shutout
- Caden Zaplitny had a goal and an assist
- Game 5 is April 8 at 9pm ET
(4) Prince George vs. (5) Tri-City — Cougars lead series 3-2
Game 5: Cougars 6-2 Americans
- The Cougars took a 3-2 series lead as Bauer Dumanski and Zac Funk both scored twice
- Caden Brown had three points (1G, 2A) for Prince George while Fischer O’Brien had two assists
- Game 6 is April 9 at 9pm ET
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