WHL playoffs round-up: Pats, Warriors advance; P.A. Raiders out in 5

Though the first round of WHL playoffs isn't yet finished, all three Saskatchewan teams have wrapped up their series, and the two advancing teams are breaking a 25-year, collective drought.

Albeit set to face off against different teams, the Regina Pats and the Moose Jaw Warriors are both advancing to round 2for the first timesince 1991, according to Regina Leader-Post sports columnist Rob Vanstone.

Inyears past, oneteam has made it to round 2 while the other has fallen short;this is the first time in a quarter-century bothteams have made it in the same year; the Pats dispatched the chippy Lethbridge Hurricanes in five games, while the Warriors did the same with the Prince Albert Raiders.

Here's a recap of round one and a preview of round twofor Saskatchewan's WHL teams.

Three teams in;two teams advance

The Pats, Warriors and the Raiders were the only three Saskatchewan teams to make it into this year's postseason.

The Pats lost game 1 of their seven-game series against Lethbridge, but they turned game 2 into a 3-0 shutout win and didn't look back, despite close scores in games 3 and 4 in Regina.

The Pats sent the 'Canes packing 7-2 in game 5 in Lethbridge to take the series5-1. The round 1 win was an upset for the Pats, who entered the playoff race as the league's eastern conference wildcard, while the Hurricanes were slotted atsecond place, behind Brandon.

Moose Jaw and Prince Albert entered the playoff picture at sixth and fifth place, respectively.

The Warriors lost game 3, after going up 2-0 on the Raiders in the series.

That game proved to be their only hiccup: the Warriors made light work of their northern counterparts, posting back-to-back shutout wins in games 4 and 5 against P.A., with 7-0and 5-0 wins, respectively.

Round 2: Regina vs. Red Deer

The Pats are set to square off against the Red Deer Rebels, coached by Brent Sutter, with game 1 going Saturday at 6 p.m. in Red Deer.

The Rebels finished only one point back of the the Hurricanes, in third place, in the league's eastern conference standings.

They also have a bit of added momentum this year: Red Deer is set to host theMemorial Cup in May. That means the Rebels will play in the final tournament no matter what, but they'll want to advance as deep into the playoffs as possible to earn their bragging rights.

The Pats are known more for their quick transition play and capitalizing off turnovers, whereas the Rebels are known for a more physicaltype of play.

An advantage Regina has is centre Adam Brooks, who led the league in scoring with 38 goals and 82 assists for a total of 120 points. The highest scoring Red Deer player is left wingerIvan Nikolishin, who scored 82 points via 31 goals and 51 assists.

Round 2: Moose Jaw's opponent still undecided

The Warriors are still waiting to see if they'll face the Brandon Wheat Kings or the Edmonton Oil Kings in round 2.

Brandon holds the series lead at3-2.Game 6 goes Tuesday night in Brandon, and if needed, game 7goes Wednesday night again in Brandon.

Brandon finished in first place in the eastern conference; Edmonton finished ninth.

Regardless of who the Warriors face, they have a strong advantage in left wingerDryden Hunt. He was second, only behind the Pats' Brooks, in league scoring this year, notching 58 goals and 58 assists for 116 regular season points.

If the Warriors do face the Wheat Kings, they'll have their hands full with centresJayce Hawryluk andNolan Patrick, both of whom cracked the 100-point mark in scoring this year.

Hawryluk had 106 points, while Patrick notched 102.