SATURDAY’S WHL ROUND-UP
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BLAZERS KEEP WIN STREAK ALIVE – Colin Smith scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Kamloops Blazers to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Victoria Royals in Western Hockey League action on Saturday night.
Tim Bozon scored and set up two more, Jordan DePape and Matt Needham each added singles, and JC Lipon picked up two assists for the Blazers (14-0-0-1), who rattle off their 12th consecutive victory and have piled up a whopping 74 goals in their 15 games this season. Cole Cheveldave turned aside 25 of 27 shots to claim his 10th victory of the season.
Jamie Crooks and Brandon Magee scored for the Royals (9-6-0-0), who trailed 4-0 after the opening period en route to their second straight defeat. Patrik Polivka turned aside 28 of 33 shots in a losing cause.
OIL KINGS 5, ROCKETS 3
Henrik Samuelsson scored twice and set up another to lead the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 5-3 victory over the visiting Kelowna Rockets on Saturday.
Michael St. Croix and Dylan Wruck each tallied a goal and an assist, Klarc Wilson tallied his second of the season, and T.J. Foster had three assists for the Oil Kings (8-3-1-2), who pick up their third win in a row. Laurent Brossoit made 24 saves in the win.
Dylen McKinlay, Zach Franko and Tyson Baillie scored for the Rockets (7-6-1-1), who held a 3-2 lead after the second period but allowed three unanswered goals in the third period in the loss. Jordon Cooke stopped 38 of 42 shots in the setback.
HURRICANES 4, BRONCOS 1
Craig Leverton scored twice to pace the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos on Saturday.
Brady Ramsay notched a goal and an assist and Graham Hood scored his first goal of the season for the Hurricanes (8-7-1-0), who outshot the visitors 50-23 as they post their fourth win in their last five games. Ty Rimmer made 22 saves to post the victory.
Adam Lowry scored his eighth goal of the season for the Broncos (6-7-3-1), who went 0-for-4 on the power play as they suffer their seventh loss in their last 10 games. Eetu Laurikainen made 33 saves over the first two periods, absorbing the loss, while Landon Bow stopped all 13 shots he faced over the final 20 minutes.
CHIEFS 3, AMERICANS 2
Todd Fiddler’s eighth goal of the season, tallied in the second period, was the winner as the visiting Spokane Chiefs edged the Tri-City Americans 3-2 in Kennewick, WA, on Saturday.
Mike Aviani picked up a goal and an assist and Jackson Playfair scored his first WHL goal for the Chiefs (10-5-0-0), who built up a 3-0 lead after two periods and withstood an Ams’ comeback attempt in the third period. Eric Williams made 35 saves to claim the victory.
Marcus Messier – with a goal and an assist – and Malte Stromwall scored for the Americans (9-5-1-1), who suffer their second straight defeat and drop to second place in the U.S. Division. Eric Comrie stopped 17 of 20 shots in a losing cause.
COUGARS 3, WHEAT KINGS 2 S/O
Zach Pochiro scored the decisive goal in a shootout to lift the Prince George Cougars to a 3-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday.
Marc McNulty and Brett Roulston scored in regulation play for the Cougars (7-7-1-0), who pick up their second straight victory after having lost six straight. Mac Engel made 26 saves through three periods and overtime, and denied four of five Wheat Kings’ shootout attempts to post the win.
Chad Robinson – with his first as a member of the Wheat Kings – and Colton Waltz scored for the Wheat Kings (7-6-2-1), who overcame a 2-0 deficit in the third period to send the game to overtime and the eventual shootout. Curtis Honey turned in a 46-save performance through regulation play, but was beaten twice in the shootout to take the loss.
THUNDERBIRDS 3, SILVERTIPS 2
Connor Honey’s second goal of the game, scoring 8:53 into the third period, was the game-winner as the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds edged the Everett Silvertips 3-2 on Saturday.
Alex Delnov also scored for the Thunderbirds (7-5-0-0), who earn their second straight win and move past the ‘Tips into fourth place in the U.S. Division. Justin Myles stopped 27 of 29 shots he faced to record his first WHL victory.
Tyler Sandhu and Reid Petryk scored for the Silvertips (6-8-0-1), who see their four-game winning streak come to an end. Austin Lotz made 16 saves while taking the loss in his first start since returning from injury.
RAIDERS 5, WARRIORS 1
Mike Winther scored a hat trick and Leon Draisaitl had three assists to lead the Prince Albert Raiders to a 5-1 win over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday.
Josh Morrissey and Dakota Conroy each notched a goal and an assist for the Raiders (9-4-0-2), who split their two-game weekend set versus the Warriors and remain in first place in the East Division. Luke Siemens made 27 saves to post the victory versus his old team.
Justin Kirsch – with his sixth of the season – scored the only goal for the Warriors (7-6-1-1), who trailed 3-0 after the first period and 4-0 after two periods of play. Daniel Wapple made 25 saves in the setback.
TIGERS 5, PATS 4
Hunter Shinkaruk scored twice and set up two more as the Medicine Hat Tigers skated to a 5-4 win over the visiting Regina Pats on Saturday.
Dylan Busenius – with a goal and two assists – Dylan Bredo and Trevor Cox also scored for the Tigers (7-8-1-0), who went 2-for-5 on the power play as they post their third straight victory. Marek Langhamer made eight saves in the third period to claim the win after replacing Cam Lanigan, who stopped 13 of 15 shots over the first two frames.
Morgan Klimchuk scored twice and set up another while Dyson Stevenson and Colton Jobke each notched a goal and an assist for the Pats (6-9-1-0), who suffer their second loss in as many nights on their Central Division road trip. Matt Hewitt made 29 saves in the defeat.
REBELS 4, HITMEN 3 S/O
Brady Gaudet scored in the seventh round of a shootout to lift the Red Deer Rebels to a 4-3 win over the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Saturday.
Gaudet also notched his first goal of the season in regulation play while Turner Elson scored twice for the Rebels (8-8-1-1), who were blanked on four power play chances in the contest. Patrik Bartosak made 41 saves through regulation play, and denied six of seven Hitmen shootout chances to post the win.
Zane Jones, Cody Sylvester and Jake Virtanen scored and Alex Roach had three assists for the Hitmen (8-3-1-2), who suffer their second straight loss and fall into a tie with Edmonton for first place in the Central Division. Chris Driedger made 32 saves through regulation play, but was beaten twice in the shootout to absorb the loss.
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