Lucas Sowder scored a natural hat trick as part of a four-goal second period for the Wenatchee Wild as they claimed a 6-3 win in Game 7 over the West Kelowna Warriors.
The visitors took a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes on goals less than a minute apart by Lucas Cullen and Willie Reim but the Wild exploded in the middle frame with Sowder scoring his fourth, fifth and sixth goals of the playoffs in succession to put Wenatchee in the lead for good.
PJ Fletcher made it 4-2 Wild going to the third and in the final frame, Cullen got the Warriors back within one but Fletcher restored the two-goal Wild lead and Brian Adams iced it with an empty-net goal in the final minute.
Wenatchee will play Cowichan Valley in Round 2.
Pierce Diamond made 36 saves and and Dan McIntyre scored the winning goal midway through the third period as the Cowichan Valley Capitals completed a shocking opening-round upset of the Interior No. 1 seed Penticton Vees with a 3-1 victory on home ice.
David Melaragni got the Caps on the board late in the first period with a power-play goal and it wound up being the only goal until McIntyre’s at 9:50 of the third. Kolton Cousins added an empty net goal with just over three minutes to go. The Vees got one back off the stick of Lukas Sillinger in the final minute but that’s as close as they’d get.
Cowichan advances to Round 2 and will face the Wenatchee Wild, who – as the No. 3 seed in the Interior – are the highest-seeded team to move on.
