KENT, Wash. — Matthew Rempe scored his second goal of the game 1:20 into overtime to send the Thunderbirds to a 4-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets Friday as Seattle clinched their first-round WHL playoff series in five games.

Jordan Gustafson scored a goal and added an assist in the Seattle victory.

Talyn Boyko made 40 saves for the Rockets as they were outshot 44-21 by the Thunderbirds.

Gustafson's goal came at the 10:19 mark of the third period to give Seattle a 3-1 advantage. A pair of Kelowna goals 10 seconds apart a couple minutes later from Jake Lee and Gabriel Szturc evened things up at 3-3 and sent the game into the extra period.

The fourth period wouldn't last long, however, as Rempe struck quickly to send his team into the second round.

Up next for the Thunderbirds will be the winner of the Everett Silvertips, Vancouver series, which got knotted up at 2-2 after the Giants exploded for an 11-6 victory Friday.

In other WHL playoff action, the Moose Jaw Warriors finished off their series with the Saskatoon Blades in Game 5 with a 6-3 win, the Red Deer Rebels went up 3-2 in their series with the Brandon Wheat Kings after a 3-1 victory, the Winnipeg Ice thrashed the Prince Albert Raiders 8-2 to move onto the next round in five games and the Kamloops Blazers blanked the Spokane Chiefs 3-0 to earn a series sweep.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2022.