For the second straight season, the Winnipeg Ice are headed to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship.
The Ice pounded the Moose Jaw Warriors 8-2 in Game 6 Monday to win their second-round series.
Conor Geekie and Connor McClennon scored two goals each, while Zack Ostapchuk, Vladislav Shilo, Graham Sward, and Evan Friesen also lit the lamp for Winnipeg.
Ice coach James Patrick says his team came to play.
“We were so dialed in, so focused, one line after the other,” Patrick said. “Some big goals from guys who have been doing it all series long.”
All of the scoring came in the first two periods for Winnipeg, who took a 2-0 lead after one, and then exploded for six goals in the second.
Ice goalie Daniel Hauser made 25 saves.
The series was by no means an easy one for the Ice, who trailed 2-1 after three games and were down 2-0 in Game 5 on Saturday, before storming back.
The Ice will now play the winner of the Red Deer Rebels and Saskatoon Blades series, which is tied at three. The Blades have battled back from a 3-0 deficit, and Game 7 will go Tuesday.
Last season, the Ice made the Eastern Conference Championship, but lost in five games to the Edmonton Oil Kings.