Conference Final Gm. 4: Hallelujah! Whalers Stave Off Sweep, 5-4 (OT)

Svendson is correct: the Whalers did avoid a four-game sweep, but the Ice Hawks have a commanding series lead after identical scorelines in Games 1 through 3: all 4-1 wins for Delta.

Sher-WIN line back together

The Whalers do have glimmers of hope. Head coach Jason Rogers made two major decisions for Game 4: first, he decided to put the band back together.

The top line of Svendson, centreman Zach Sherwin and captain Chris Fortems were given a wake-up call in Game 3, where the offensive talents were split up, and the Whalers struggled to stay in a penalty-filled contest.

With the last line change at home, the Sherwin line provided all the offence the Whalers needed in a topsy-turvy match-up.

And second, Rogers put backup goalie Evan Paul in net for Game 4. It was the 20-year-old’s first start for the Whalers in the playoffs and he faced 44 shots.

Fortems (one goal, two assists) opened the scoring when he one-timed a pass from Svendson.
“Big Goal” Cole followed up with his first of the night on the power play.

But Delta’s Colin Jang and Tye Hemenway responded to tie the game at 2-2.

After Svendson again connected on the man advantage, the Ice Hawks regrouped and Brayden Sinclair beat Paul with six-and-a-half minutes left in the third period.

A mere nine seconds later, Zach Sherwin responded with his eighth of the postseason to put the Pod ahead 4-3.

Luck be a Lucchesi tonight

After only seeing 90 seconds of action earlier in this series, Game 4 was Paul’s chance to shine. It was also almost his last chance after the Ice Hawks had a fortuitous bounce go their way.

With three minutes left in the third, Whalers and Ice Hawks fought for possession of the puck on the side boards. Paul lost track of the play and a split second later, Ice Hawk Alex Lucchesi’s shot trickled into the White Rock net.

The Pod rallied around Paul and Svendson’s game-winner took care of the rest.

‘Fighting for their lives’: Coach Rogers

“You have three 20-year-olds fighting for their lives in the hockey world,” White Rock head coach Jason Rogers commented about his top line of Svendson, centreman Zach Sherwin and captain Chris Fortems, who had a combined 11 points.

At press time March 14, Svendson led the Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL) postseason in goals with 10; Sherwin remained on top of the overall scoring race with 18 points.

To put Svendson’s dominance into perspective, no other Whaler had ever scored a hat trick in the playoffs since the club joined the PJHL in 2018.

One-hour break, then back to work. “Enjoy the moment and let’s get back to work on Thursday,” Rogers concluded.

Now, the series shifts back to the Ladner Leisure Centre for Game 5 on Thursday, Mar. 16. start time: 7:30 p.m.