Thunderbirds prospect Hilderman pots four goals as Alberta advances to WHL Cup Final

Red Deer, Alta.- A ferocious comeback led by Seattle Thunderbirds prospect Matthew Hilderman (Cochrane, Alta.) helped Alberta punch its ticket to Sunday’s WHL Cup final.

The 5-foot-8, 165-pound winger scored four goals as Alberta overcame a 4-0 deficit to defeat Saskatchewan 9-5 in Saturday’s semifinal match.

His fellow Thunderbirds pick, Brock England (Airdrie, Alta.) also added two goals and an assist while Jordin St. Louis (Portland Winterhawks / Airdrie, Alta.) picked up three helpers.

Saskatchewan also saw a stellar performance from 2024 WHL Prospect Draft 10th overall pick Blake Chorney (Vancouver Giants / Nipawin, Sask.), who potted a natural hat trick of his own.

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Chorney got Saskatchewan on the board just over five minutes into the game- but it wasn’t just his wrist shot that was impressive. The 5-foot-11, 182-pound forward made a smart play to disrupt Alberta’s attempted breakout and start the sequence that led to the game-opening goal.

On a late powerplay, defenceman Jake Hargrave (Kelowna Rockets / Lucky Lake, Sask.) jumped up in the play and ripped a cross-ice pass to Trae Peterson (Tri-City Americans / Yorkton, Sask.) to double Saskatchewan’s lead after the first period.

Cash Arcand-Vandale (Red Deer Rebels / Saskatoon, Sask.) extended the lead with a powerplay blast barely a minute into the middle frame.

Shortly afterward, Kayden Stroeder (Edmonton Oil Kings / Lanigan, Sask.) connected with Chorney on a two-on-one, with Chorney deking the netminder to bury his second of the night and make it 4-0 for Saskatchewan.

But Alberta wouldn’t go down without a fight.

On an Alberta powerplay, Brock England (Seattle Thunderbirds / Airdrie, Alta.) made a slick backhand pass to a wide-open Mirco Dufour (Everett Silvertips / Rocky View, Alta.) to get the host province on the board.

Lief Oaten (Lethbridge Hurricanes / Calgary, Alta.) kept his team in the mix with a key penalty shot stop on Chorney, and on another powerplay, alternate captain Crew Martinson (Tri-City Americans / Old, Alta.) danced through the defenders and fed Matthew Hilderman for Alberta’s second goal.

Alberta flexed its passing prowess again seconds later as captain Ben Harvey (Prince Albert Raiders / Edmonton, Alta.) and Dufour flew up the ice and set up England to make it a 4-3 game with 20 minutes to play.

The massive comeback effort extended into the third period, where England tied the match with a wrister from the slot and Jagger John (Saskatoon Blades / Fort McMurray, Alta.) gave Alberta its first lead of the game by tipping Owen Hayden’s (Kelowna Rockets / Caglary, Alta.) point shot home.

Additional goals from John, Ossie McIntyre (Spokane Chiefs / St. Alberta, Alta.) and another pair from Hilderman gave Alberta a commanding 7-4 lead late in the game.

Chorney would complete the natural hat trick with Saskatchewan’s lone goal of the third period, but Hilderman capped off the night by firing the puck into the empty net for his fourth goal of the night and an Alberta victory.

Hilderman, who now has five goals at the tournament, was named Alberta’s Player of the Game, while Hargrave picked up the honour for Saskatchewan.

Oaten stopped 24 of 29 shots faced, while Adam Muntain (Spokane Chiefs / Regina, Sask.) turned aside 41 of 49.

Alberta (2-2) awaits the winner of this afternoon’s semifinal between British Columbia (3-0) and Manitoba (0-3) and will meet the winner in Sunday’s gold medal game at 1:00 p.m. MST.

Saskatchewan (2-2) takes on the loser of the upcoming semifinal in the third-place game at 10:15 a.m. at Red Deer’s Peavey Mart Centrium.