Kyle Crnkovic scored his fifth league-leading goal and added an assist as the Seattle Thunderbirds overcame Peterborough Petes 4-1 on Friday to qualify for the Memorial Cup final.
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Brad Lambert, Colton Dach and Nico Myatovic scored other goals for Seattle, who made 27 saves from Thomas Milic.
Brennan Othmann answers for Ontario Hockey League champion Peterborough. Michael Simpson made 43 saves.
The Western Hockey League champions Thunderbirds will face Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions Quebec Remparts in Sunday’s final.
Quebec secured the final spot after opening the tournament with consecutive round-robin wins against hosts Kamloops Blazers — who were eliminated in Thursday’s tiebreak by Peterborough — and Seattle.
The Thunderbirds entered the semifinals after beating Kamloops 6-1 on Wednesday.
After losing his first two games – including a 6-3 loss to Seattle last Saturday – Petes prevented elimination and was forced to play a tiebreak with a 4-2 win over Remparts on Tuesday.
Near the midpoint of the opening half, Thunderbirds forward Jared Davidson delivered a powerful shot from behind into the bottom sheet from guard Petes Cam Gauvreau.
Gauvreau and Thunderbirds blueliner Nolan Allan dropped their gloves but were prevented from fighting by officials. Gauvreau was given two minutes for a check from behind and another for unsportsmanlike behaviour, while Allan was awarded two minutes for the latter.
Dylan Guenther was saved by a shot from the slit in power play, one of several missed scoring opportunities for Seattle, who edged Peterborough 14-5 from goalless goal. win.
Connor Lockhart had Petes’ best chance of scoring, firing a shot from the left side of the head and bouncing over the bar with just over three minutes left in the first half.
Peterborough striker Avery Hayes got up slowly after being elbowed in the face by teammate Tucker Robertson at the far end of the goal. Both try to check out Thunderbirds guard Luke Prokop at the bottom of the table in the Seattle area.
Hayes returned to the game at the start of the second half.
Simpson – who made 43 saves in Thursday’s 5-4 extra-time win – became even more of a bright spot for Peterborough for much of the mid-frame as Seattle continued to pressurize.
Simpson threw rocks at Lucas Ciona and Davidson, among others, as Seattle had some great chances from the slot.
Lambert eventually overcame Seattle with 4:28 left in the second inning. He hit a backhand after a bounce went past Simpson’s leg in his first game of the tournament.
Dach added a 1:28 lead for the Thunderbirds in the third half after Crnkovic’s cross.
Othmann put Petes on the board just 1:13 later. Owen Beck passed the ball to Othmann with a reverse pass and he beat Milic for second place.
Crnkovic – who scored a hat-trick in the team’s previous game – took a two-goal lead at 9:33 after a challenge in front after saving a side shot.
Myatovic scored into an empty net with the game remaining 2:09 after Reid Schaefer’s cross just outside the Peterborough penalty area.
Note: Former women’s national team members Manon Rhaeume, Meghan Agosta and current captain Marie-Philip Poulin were present to perform the pre-match ball drop ceremony.
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