After sweeping the first two games of the Prairie Junior Hockey League final in Saskatoon, Fort Knox hosted the Westleys for games three and four of the best-of-seven.
On Saturday, the Westleys scored a 7-1 victory in front of a packed house in Fort Qu’Appelle to cut Fort Knox’s series lead to 2-1.
On Sunday, the teams played game four. The Westleys would open the scoring on the power play midway through the first period when Tayden Cousins would find the back of the net on the power play, for his sixth of the playoffs. Saskatoon would then shout out Fort Knox for the remainder of the period, exiting the first frame with a 1-0 lead despite being outshot 14-9.
In the second period, Fort Knox would find the equalizer off the tape of Mitchell Czemeres, who would find the back of the net for his first goal of the playoffs. Just over 5 minutes later, River Banks would give Fort Knox the lead with his eighth playoff goal. That is how the second period would end with Fort Knox in front 2-1.
After the second intermission, Saskatoon wouldn’t waste any time tying the game. 6:49 into the third period, Carter Walter would tally his ninth playoff goal to tie the game 2-2. The Westleys would continue to battle and regain the lead with 5:57 to go when Tayden Cousins scored. But Fort Knox wasn’t done. 2:06 later, Castor Berezuik would tie the game 3-3, forcing overtime.
In the extra period, the Westleys carried most of the play and had the better chances to score. However, with 12:09 showing on the clock, Fort Knox would break into the Saskatoon end on a partial 2-on-1. Shaden Duliak’s initial shot would be stopped on the play, but he stuck with it and found a way to sweep the rebound home for the 4-3 victory and 3-1 series lead.
Fort Knox, who are attempting to win the league title for the first time in league history, will head north to Saskatoon for game five in the series on Tuesday night. Should a sixth game be required, it will be played in Fort Qu’Appelle on Thursday night.
