MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM — In the first 23 minutes of the Western Hockey League Cup semi-final between Saskatchewan and Alberta, the team from the land of living skies could do no wrong ,

From that point on, the shoe was completely on the other foot.

The end result saw Alberta score eight straight goals before rolling to a 9-5 victory and booking their spot in the final Sunday afternoon in Red Deer.

The annual tournament features the best 15-year-old players born in 2009 in Western Canada, most of whom are drafted or listed by WHL clubs. Each province sends an all-star team, and the event is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence.

Blake Chorney of Nipawin (Vancouver Giants) opened the scoring at 5:18 of the first period and Trae Peterson of Sturgis (Tri-City Americans) gave Saskatchewan a 2-0 lead with 3:03 to play then that they took the lead from the start. frame.

Saskatoon’s Chorney and Cash Arcand-Vandale (Red Deer Rebels) scored 1:40 apart early in the second period to give Saskatchewan a 4-0 lead, but that would be the last bit of good news in the day for the team in green.

Alberta scored three goals over the remainder of the second period before going on an all-out blitz with six goals in the third period to secure their blowout victory.

Matthew Hilderman (Seattle Thunderbirds) scored four goals in that span, while Brock England (Seattle Thunderbirds) scored two to go along with a goal and three points from Mirco Dufour (Everett Silvertips) and single goals by Jagger John (Saskatoon Blades) and Ossie Mcintyre (Spokane Chiefs).

Chorney completed his hat trick with 3:11 to play, but Saskatchewan couldn’t get any closer thanks to an empty net by Hilderman with 1:59 to play.

Regina’s Adam Muntain (Spokane Chiefs) made 42 saves while going the distance in goal for Team Sask, while Leif Oaten (Lethbridge Hurricanes) stopped 24 for Alberta.

Saskatchewan will now face British Columbia in the bronze medal game after Manitoba earned a 4-2 victory in the other semifinal, with puck drop at 10:15 a.m. Sunday.

Alberta will face Manitoba for gold at 1 p.m.