The Everett Silvertips try take a commanding Western Hockey League Championship Series lead on Wednesday when they take on the Prince Albert Raiders in Game 4.
Everett took a 2-1 series lead on Tuesday after holding on to defeat the Raiders narrowly 3-2 in Game 3.
Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen broke the 2-2 deadlock with only 4:28 remaining in the third period, cleaning up the rebound off a Brek Liske shot and put the puck past Raiders netminder Michal Orsulak.
The goal was Miettinen’s league-leading 13th goal of the playoffs and his 25 points are good for second in the WHL.
Philadelphia Flyers draft pick Luke Vlooswyk and 2026 NHL Draft prospect Matias Vanhanen also provided offence for the Silvertips while Liske and forward Carter Bear both added two assists each.
Silvertips netminder Anders Miller continues to dominate the WHL playoffs, improving his record to 14-2 and leads the league with a 1.90 goals-against average and .932 save percentage.
San Jose Sharks prospect Max Heise and winger Ben Harvey scored for the Raiders.
Prince Albert was missing star defenceman Daxon Rudolph, who was suspended for one game for cross-checking Bear near the end of Game 2.
Rudolph leads the WHL playoffs with nine goals and 26 points and was third among defencemen in the regular season with 28 goals and 78 points in 68 games.
The 6-foot-2, right-shot defenceman is ranked No. 8 on TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button’s March draft list.
Orsulak did all he could to give the Raiders a chance to win the game, allowing three goals on 44 shots.
The 6-foot-4 netminder from Czechia now has a 13-5 record in the postseason with a .903 save percentage and 2.50 GAA.
Everett is searching for their first Ed Chynoweth Cup in franchise history after previously making a WHL final appearance in 2004 and 2018.
The Raiders are going for their third championship after successfully claiming the Ed Chynoweth Cups in both their previous appearances in 1985 and 2019.
Game 5 of the series will take place on Friday at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert which can be seen LIVE at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT on TSN3/5, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.
