SATURDAY’S WHL ROUND-UP
T-BIRDS NIP TIPS IN OVERTIME – Burke Gallimore scored his 31st goal of the season 4:44 into overtime to lift the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 3-2 win over the visiting Everett Silvertips in Western Hockey League action on Saturday.
Brenden Dillon and Travis Toomey each tallied a goal and an assist and Ryan Button chipped in two assists for the Thunderbirds (25-32-4-5), who have won three of their last four games and move to within three points of Prince George and Kamloops for a share of eighth place in the Western Conference. Calvin Pickard made 31 saves to claim the victory.
Parker Stanfield and Landon Ferraro scored for the Silvertips (27-27-7-4), who suffer their fourth straight defeat and now sit just two points ahead of Chilliwack for sixth place in the Western Conference. Luke Siemens made 42 saves in the loss.
ROCKETS 5, HURRICANES 3
Tyson Barrie scored twice and set up another to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-3 win over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday.
Zach Franko, Spencer Main and Geordie Wudrick also scored for the Rockets (38-26-0-1), who went 3-for-4 on the power play in the contest. Adam brown turned aside 28 of 31 shots he faced to record his 32nd win of the season.
Daniel Johnston, Mitch Maxwell and Jacob Berglund scored for the Hurricanes (22-31-5-8), who suffer their third defeat over their last four games but remain tied for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Brandon Anderson made 20 saves in a losing cause.
WINTERHAWKS 5, GIANTS 0
Keith Hamilton made 29 saves to record his first career WHL shutout to lift the visiting Portland Winterhawks to a 5-0 win over the Vancouver Giants on Saturday.
Brad Ross scored twice and set up another while Derrick Pouliot, Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Johansen also counted for the Winterhawks (45-17-0-3), who cruise to their fifth win in a row and maintain their three-point lead over Spokane for first place in the Western Conference.
Mark Segal and Brendan Jensen combined for 35 saves in the loss for the Giants (33-26-1-4), who suffer their second loss in a row and now sit six points behind Kelowna for the B.C. Division lead.
CHIEFS 4, COUGARS 2
Tyler Johnson’s 48th goal of the season 7:51 into the second frame was the winner as the visiting Spokane Chiefs doubled up the Prince George Cougars 4-2 on Saturday.
Dominik Uher, Anthony Bardaro and Brenden Kichton also scored for the Chiefs (42-17-4-2), who earn their fourth consecutive victory and remain in second place in the U.S. Division. Mac Engel made 28 saves to claim his seventh win over his last eight starts.
Jaroslav Vlach and Spencer Asuchak scored for the Cougars (29-33-2-2), who suffer their third loss in a row and their eighth loss in 10 games, and now sit tied with Kamloops for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Ty Rimmer made 32 saves in the loss.
BRUINS 4, BLAZERS 1
Ryan Howse scored his 47th goal of the season and set up two more to lead the Chilliwack Bruins to a 4-1 win over the visiting Kamloops Blazers on Saturday.
Roman Horak and Brandon Manning each tallied a goal and an assist and Dylen McKinley also scored for the Bruins (29-30-2-3), who stretch their win streak to four games and move into sole possession of seventh place in the Western Conference. Lucas Gore made 26 saves in the win.
JT Barnett scored the only marker for the Blazers (29-34-3-1), who suffer their third loss in a row and fall into a tie with the Cougars for eighth place in the West. Jeff Bosch made 32 saves in the defeat.
TIGERS 3, OIL KINGS 1
Emerson Etem scored his 40th and 41st goals of the season and added an assist to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 3-1 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday.
Wacey Hamilton – with his 20th of the season – also scored for the Tigers (41-17-4-4), who exact revenge for the Oil Kings’ 4-3 shootout win over them on Friday night in Edmonton. Tyler Bunz made 28 saves to pick up his 32nd win of the season.
Mark Pysyk scored the only goal for the Oil Kings (30-30-2-5), who remain one point up on Brandon for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Jon Groenheyde made 26 stops in a losing cause.
BRONCOS 2, HITMEN 0
Mark Friesen made 28 saves to claim his fifth shutout of the season as the visiting Swift Current Broncos blanked the Calgary Hitmen 2-0 on Saturday.
Jordan Peddle and Brad Hoban scored for the Broncos (25-40-0-1), who snap an eight-game losing skid and sit six points back of Lethbridge and Prince Albert for a share of eighth place in the East.
Brandon Glover made 17 saves in a losing cause for the Hitmen (19-41-3-2), who suffer their sixth straight setback and will be eliminated from playoff contention if they drop another point or if Lethbridge or Prince Albert gain one more point.
BLADES 7, WARRIORS 2
Curtis Hamilton, Darian Dziurzynski and Marek Viedensky each scored twice to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 7-2 win over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday.
Josh Nicholls scored and set up four more for a five-point effort for the Blades (51-13-0-2), who win their fourth straight contest and improve to an impressive 29-3-0-1 on home ice this season. Adam Morrison turned aside 16 of 18 shots he faced to notch the win.
Quinton Howden and Dylan Hood scored for the Warriors (36-24-2-3), who suffer their fourth loss to the Blades over the past month but remain comfortably in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Thomas Heemskerk made 18 saves in the loss.
PATS 6, WHEAT KINGS 5
Lane Scheidl scored four goals and set up two more for a six-point effort as the Regina Pats edge the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Saturday.
Jordan Weal tallied two goals and three assists, Garrett Mitchell chipped in four assists and Myles Bell added three helpers for the Pats (23-35-6-2), who snap a three-game losing skid by splitting their home-and-home series versus the Wheaties and move to within three points for a share of eighth place in the East. Matt Hewitt made 32 saves in the win.
Scott Glennie scored twice while Shayne Wiebe, Mark Stone and Jordan Fransoo also scored for the Wheat Kings (29-30-1-7), who see a four-game winning streak come to an end and remain one point behind Edmonton for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Corbin Boes made 23 saves in the loss.
ICE 4, RAIDERS 2
Matt Fraser scored twice to help the visiting Kootenay Ice double up the Prince Albert Raiders 4-2 on Saturday.
Cody Eakin tallied a goal and two assists and Steele Boomer also counted for the Ice (41-21-1-3), who snap a three-game losing skid and remain firmly in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Nathan Lieuwen made 32 saves to record his 30th win of the season.
Mark McNeill notched a goal and an assist and Jonathan Parker also counted for the Raiders (26-35-2-3), who drop their second decision in as many nights and remain tied for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Eric Williams made 25 saves in the defeat.
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