The Transcona Railer Express have taken a commanding early lead in their Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League playoff series against the Raiders Jr. Hockey Club, winning the opening two games in decisive fashion.
Transcona opened the series with a 5–0 victory on March 13 at Ed Golding Arena in Winnipeg. The Railer Express struck twice in the first period and never looked back, outshooting the Raiders 57–28 in the contest.
Roan Coe opened the scoring at 8:49 of the first period, finishing a play set up by Noah St. Laurent and Carter Johannesson. Kyle Todoruk doubled the lead less than two minutes later with help from Nathan Turner and Matthew McCorrister.
Transcona continued to apply pressure in the second period. Kaden Bruchanski scored on the power play early in the frame, assisted by Nolan Van Den Bussche and Turner, before Van Den Bussche added a shorthanded marker late in the period to make it 4–0.
Declan Whiteman completed the scoring with a power-play goal midway through the third period.
Despite the lopsided score, Raiders goaltender Owen Savoie delivered a strong performance under heavy pressure, making 52 saves on 57 shots.
The Railer Express carried that momentum into Game 2 on March 15 at Seven Oaks SportsPlex, skating to a 7–1 victory to take a 2–0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Transcona struck quickly with two power-play goals in the opening minutes. Van Den Bussche opened the scoring at 3:14 before Turner added another power-play tally just over two minutes later. Van Den Bussche scored again later in the first period, this time shorthanded, to give the Railer Express a 3–0 lead after 20 minutes.
Bruchanski added another power-play goal early in the second period before St. Laurent extended the lead to 5–0.
The Raiders finally broke through in the third period when Carter Andersson scored at 6:09, assisted by Ashton Henry and Noah Banera.
Transcona answered with two more goals from Todoruk and Coe to secure the 7–1 win.
Savoie once again faced a heavy workload in the Raiders’ net, making 38 saves on 45 shots, while Transcona goaltender Sage Delaronde stopped 20 of 21 shots.
Special teams proved to be a key factor in the series so far, with the Railer Express scoring six power-play goals and adding two shorthanded markers through the first two games.
Game 3 of the series is scheduled for March 17 in Transcona, with the Raiders looking to get back into the series. Game 4 will be played March 20 at Seven Oaks SportsPlex.
The series continues March 22 in Transcona and March 24 back in Winnipeg if necessary, with a potential Game 6 set for March 27.
