Alberni Valley Bulldogs – 6
Victoria Grizzlies – 4
The Alberni Valley Bulldogs eliminated the Victoria Grizzlies with a 6-4 road victory in Game 4 to sweep their first-round series and advance to Round 2 for the second year in a row. The Bulldogs led 2-0 at the first intermission after goals by Matthew Maltais and AJ Vasko, then Dakota MacIntosh made it 3-0 to start the middle frame. The Grizzlies did not back down though, returning fire with goals by Anthony Carone and Owen Bohn to cut the lead to one before Emanuelson Charbonneau made it 4-2 heading to the third. Luc Pelletier gave Victoria life again, scoring 19 seconds into the final period, but Will Elger and MacIntosh sealed the game with two late markers. The Bulldogs are the first Coastal Conference team to advance and will have to wait to find out their opponent in the second round.
Salmon Arm Silverbacks – 2
Prince George Spruce Kings – 1 (2OT)
CJ Foley was the overtime hero, scoring with less than five minutes to play in double OT and completing the first round sweep as the Salmon Arm Silverbacks edged the Prince George Spruce Kings 2-1 in Game 4. Despite the overtime heroics, it was the goaltenders who stole the show in this one. Salmon Arm’s Matthew Tovell stopped 39 of 40 shots in the win, while Prince George’s Jordan Fairlie made 47 saves in the loss. With each team scoring once in the first period, the two goaltenders went over four periods without surrendering a goal.
Penticton Vees – 5
Trail Smoke Eaters – 1
The Penticton Vees got two goals and an assist from Josh Nadeau and another pair of tallies from defenceman Owen Simpson as they outshot the Trail Smoke Eaters 53-27 in their 5-1 victory in Game 4 to clinch a first-round sweep. After a scoreless first period, Dovar Tinling and Nadeau got the visiting team on the board, but Adam Marshall answered for Trail to make it a one-goal game headed to the final period. In the third, Penticton pulled away with three straight goals to seal the win. Luca Di Pasquo made 26 saves for the Vees to earn the victory. As the top seed in the conference, Penticton will host Game 1 of the second round no matter who their opponent is.
Wenatchee Wild – 4
Cranbrook Bucks – 2
For the second night in a row, it was the Parker Murray show in Wenatchee as the second-year BCHLer scored four goals in a second consecutive game to lead the Wild to a 4-2 win in Game 4 over the Cranbrook Bucks. After scoring his fourth in overtime last night, Murray picked up where he left off, opening the scoring midway through the first period to give Wenatchee a 1-0 lead. In the second, he quickly scored three goals in less than five minutes to increase his team’s lead to 4-0. Bryce Sookro and Noah Quinn would get Cranbrook on the board, but it was too little, too late. Wenatchee has a chance to complete the upset in Game 5 on Friday, back in Cranbrook.
Chilliwack Chiefs – 7
Coquitlam Express – 2
The Chilliwack Chiefs are on the precipice of advancing to the second round after defeating the Coquitlam Express 7-2 at home in Game 4 on Wednesday night. Tim Delay and AJ Lacroix each scored two goals, while Mason Kesselring, Abram Wiebe and Aaron Davidson had the other markers for the Chiefs. Chilliwack built a 5-0 lead by the midway point of the second period and the Express were never able to recover. Evan Brown and Liam Tanner scored for Coquitlam in the loss. The Express will try to avoid elimination in Game 5 back at home on Friday night.
Vernon Vipers – 7
West Kelowna Warriors – 0
Ethan David made 28 saves to earn his first career postseason shutout and the Vernon Vipers got goals from seven different players as they blanked the West Kelowna Warriors 7-0 to even up their first round series at 2-2. Defenceman Dylan Compton led the way for Vipers after scoring once and adding a pair of assists, while Hank Cleaves and Isaac Tremblay also had multi-point nights. The two teams have alternated wins and losses so far this series, a trend which the Warriors hope continues in Game 5 on Friday night.
