Braves seize 3-2 edge

Cash Ulrich made 40 saves Thursday night as the Spokane Braves defeated the Castlegar Rebels 5-3 in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League playoffs at Castlegar, British Columbia.

Dylan Tappe and Jesse Collins scored two goals apiece for the Braves, who seized a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7, opening-round series.

Brycen Fischer added three assists for the Braves.

Spokane can close out the series at 7:45 tonight at Eagles Ice-A-Rena.

The second-seeded Rebels defeated the third-seeded Braves in the first two games of the series.

Track and field

Idaho junior Ulrike Hartz, who battled a foot injury earlier this year, won the women’s pentathlon at the Western Athletic Conference indoor championships at Nampa, Idaho.

Hartz totaled 3,784 points for a 239-point gap on teammate Lindsey Goodman, the runner-up. Idaho senior Darcy Collins (Kootenai High in Harrison), slowed by a sore knee in the final two events, took fifth with 3,427 points.

Heading into today’s final three events in the men’s heptathlon, Idaho’s Mike Carpenter is in second place and teammate Andrew Blaser sits in third. Sophomore Ryan Bowen (Lewiston) is in fifth place.