EDMONTON — The Seattle Thunderbirds scored the first two goals on Friday night and then hung on to defeat the host Edmonton Oil Kings 2-1 in the first game of the Western Hockey League's championship series.
Seattle, coming off a tough seven-game series against the Kamloops Blazers, got goals from Matthew Rempe and Connor Roulette, then relied on a 43-save performance from goalie Thomas Milic to get the job done.
Carter Souch scored Edmonton's lone goal at 11:40 of the third period on the power play.
Edmonton beat the Winnipeg ICE in 5 games in the WHL's Eastern Conference Final.
Game 2 in the series goes Sunday in Edmonton.
