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| Netminder Stuart Skinner made 32 saves in the shutout win for the Broncos. |
On Wednesday night at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett,
Wash., Skinner made 32 saves and offensive defenceman Colby Sissons wired home
a second period power-play goal to give the Broncos a 1-0 victory over the
Everett Silvertips in Game 4 of the WHL Championship series.
With the win, the Broncos lead the best-of-seven set 3-1 and
can close things out in Game 5 on Friday, which is set for a 7:30 p.m. local
time start at the Angel of the Winds Arena. Swift Current last won the WHL
title in 1993, which happens to be the last time a Saskatchewan-based team took
the league championship.
Skinner has posted a 15-9 record, a 2.21 goals against
average, a .931 save percentage and five shutouts this post-season. The
19-year-old Edmonton product had six shutouts in the 2017-18 regular season in
56 appearances split between the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Broncos.
The third round 2017 NHL Entry Draft selection of the
Edmonton Oilers was dealt by the Hurricanes to the Broncos in a blockbuster
trade on Jan. 9.
In the opening 20 minutes, the Silvertips outshot the
Broncos 8-4, but Swift Current had a big early chance to go ahead when centre
Giorgio Estephan deflected a point shot from Sisson off the post of the Everett
goal.
Early in the second period, Broncos left-winger Beck
Malenstyn had a short-handed breakaway, but he was stoned by Silvertips star
netminder Carter Hart.
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| Colby Sissons scored the lone goal of Game 4 of the WHL final. |
From that point, Skinner slammed the door in the Swift
Current goal.
With just under six minutes to play in the third, he stopped
Silvertips right-winger Garrett Pilon on a hard mid-range drive and stoned
Everett left-winger Connor Dewar, who tried to backhand home the rebound.
After the Silvertips pulled Hart for an extra attacker,
Pilon found himself alone in front of the Swift Current goal with the puck, but
his shot was turned back by a left pad stop from Skinner.
Hart turned away 18 shots to take the setback in goal for
the Silvertips.
The Broncos went 1-for-4 on the power play, while the
Silvertips failed to score on five chances with the man advantage.
Overage Silvertips star right-winger Patrick Bajkov played
in Game 4 after leaving to the dressing room on a couple of occasions in his
club’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Broncos in Game 3 on Tuesday.
The Silvertips, who finished third overall in the WHL
regular season with a 47-20-2-3 record, are 8-1 on the road in the playoffs and
5-6 at home. The Broncos, who finished second overall in the WHL regular season
with a 48-17-5-2 mark, are 7-5 on the road in the post-season and 8-4 at home.
If Everett wins Game 5 on Friday, the series will shift back
to Swift Current for Games 6 and 7 if necessary, which will be held on Sunday
and Monday respectively with a 7 p.m. local start times on both nights at the
Innovation Credit Union i-Plex.
Back in the Express with Valkyries’ Peters
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| Devyn Peters (#31) is a breakout running back for the Valkyries. |
Last season, Peters played linebacker on defence for most of
her rookie campaign with the Western Women’s Canadian Football League team. In
the league’s consolation final clash between the Valkyries and Edmonton Storm,
Peters was inserted at running back on offence, and she carried the ball 15
times for 218 yards and scored two touchdowns in a 44-20 Saskatoon victory.
The 19-year-old sophomore heads into this season as a
full-time running back with the Valkyries.
On Saturday, the Valkyries will host the defending WWCFL
champion Regina Riot at 8 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium. The game was originally
slated to be held at Saskatoon Minor Football Field but construction at that
facility forced the contest to be moved.
Both teams head into this contest with identical 1-0 regular
season records. Last Saturday, the Riot traveled to Winnipeg, Man., and thumped
the Manitoba Fearless 56-14. The Valkyries were in Winnipeg last Sunday and
blanked the Wolfpack 48-0.
The Express story on Peters can be found right here.
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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