The Saskatoon Blades erased a two-goal deficit in the third period and Jake Chiasson scored 7:20 into the extra frame to defeat the host Regina Pats 4-3 Wednesday night in the WHL playoffs.
It was the second consecutive night the Blades rallied to win in OT to tie their best-of-seven, opening-round series 2-2.
Superstar Connor Bedard, who is expected to go first overall in the NHL Draft in June, did all he could for the Pats with two goals and 10 shots on net.
After Egor Sidorov opened the scoring for the Blades in the second, Bedard got the Pats on the board with just 25 seconds remaining in the period firing a wrister past goalie Ethan Chadwick to tie it 1-1.
The 17-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., notched his eighth goal of the post-season only 13 seconds into the third to push the Pats ahead, and teammate Tanner Howe made it 3-1 for Regina 40 seconds later.
Saskatoon battled back, however, with Jayden Wiens and Charlie Wright scoring to knot it back up and force OT.
It was the third straight game in the series that required overtime to solve.
The Pats, who finished sixth in the WHL's Eastern Conference standings during the regular season, are making their first playoff appearance since 2018.
BEDARD’S PLAYOFF TOTALS: 4 GP, 8 G, 5 A, 13 Pts.
BEDARD’S REGULAR SEASON TOTALS: 57 GP, 71 G, 72 A, 143 Pts.
PATS’ RECORD: Best-of-7 series tied 2-2 with Blades.
UP NEXT: Game 5 is Friday at 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CST in Saskatoon.
With Bedard the top-ranked prospect for the 2023 NHL Draft, here's a look at the current lottery odds. There will be two lottery draws where the top two picks are up for grabs. The percentages below indicate the chances of a team winning the first lottery when the top pick is in play. However, teams can only move up a maximum of 10 spots in order, so if a team outside of the bottom 11 wins the first draw, they won't get the first overall pick. Therefore, while the 32nd-ranked team has an 18.5 per cent to win the first lottery, they still have a 25.5 per cent chance to pick first overall.
The NHL Draft Lottery will be held on May 8 and the results will be revealed live on Sportsnet and SN NOW.
* denotes a team outside of the bottom 11 that can't get the first overall pick in the lottery
• Florida's unprotected first-round pick belongs to the Montreal Canadiens
• Standings as of games ending April 6
