The Wenatchee Wild advanced to the third round of the B.C. Hockey League playoffs Sunday night in Duncan, beating the Cowichan Valley Capitals 4-3 in overtime to clinch their Interior Conference semifinal series in six games.
Chad Sasaki was the OT hero for the Wild, scoring 5:42 into the extra session to cinch the victory, ending the surprising playoff run of the Capitals.
Lucas Sowder, with his league-leading ninth goal and 20th point of the playoffs, Marko Reifenberger and Nathan Iannone scored for Wenatchee, which overcame a 2-0 deficit in the second period. Preston Brodziak, David Melaragni and Jordan Robert were the Cowichan goalscorers. Robert's tying goal came with 4:16 left n the third period.
The Wild outshot the Caps 34-19.
Cowichan Valley was the 16th seed in the BCHL playoffs and upset the heavily-favoured Penticton Vees in the first round. The Caps won the series 4-2 over the Interior Division regular season champions. Wenatchee needed seven games to dispatch the West Kelowna Warriors in the opening round.
As the highest remaining seed in the Interior Conference, the Wild will host the first two games of the Interior championship, Friday and Saturday in Washington state. The Wild are the defending BCHL champions.
The other Interior semifinal series will be decided Monday night in Vernon, where the Vipers meet the Trail Smoke Eaters in Game 7.
The Island Division championship is also going to a seventh game tonight in Victoria, where the Grizzlies host the Powell River Kings. The winner of that series advances to the Coastal Conference championship against the Prince George Spruce Kings, which starts Friday night at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
The Spruce Kings completed a four-game sweep of the Chilliwack Chiefs last Tuesday, after winning their first-round series in five games over the Coquitlam Express.
