WHL HEADLINES

WHL SATURDAY NIGHT RECAP – Ian McDonald scored 1:19 into overtime to lift the visiting Tri-city Americans to a 3-2 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks in one of seven Western Hockey League contests on Saturday night.
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rShane Gimas and Marc Connors also scored for the Americans while Carey Price turned in a 43-save performance in the win. The victory improves the Ams to 24-31-7-3 and they move into sole possession of fourth spot in the U.S. division.
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rDarrell May and Michael Funk scored for the Winter Hawks while Blake Grenier stopped 26 of 29 shots in the defeat. The overtime loss leaves the Hawks at 29-25-5-5 and moves them into a tie with Everett for second in the U.S. division.
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rElsewhere last night, Marc Desloges scored a goal and set up two more to lead the visiting Swift Current Broncos to a 5-2 win over the Regina Pats.
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rZach Smith scored the game-winner for the Broncos – also his first WHL tally – while Kyle Moir made 30 saves for the victory. The win snaps the Broncos’ seven-game losing streak and improves them to 20-36-6-3, however, they remain fifth in the Central division.
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rJonathan Bubnick and Justin Bernhardt scored for the Pats, who see their winless skid stretched to 25 games. The defeat leaves the Pats at 11-45-4-6 and they remain fifth in the East division – five points back of fourth-places Moose Jaw.
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rIn Vancouver, Tyler Spurgeon‘s third-period marker lifted the visiting Kelowna Rockets to a 1-1 tie with the Giants on Saturday night.
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rDerek Yeomans made 15 saves for the Rockets who, with the draw, extend their unbeaten streak to six games. The tie improves the Rockets to 40-12-12-2 and keeps them two points ahead of Kootenay for the B.C. division lead.
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rGilbert Brule scored the lone goal for the Giants, who are winless in five straight contests. The draw improves the Giants to 30-28-4-4 and they remain third in the B.C. division.
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rBryan Bridges stopped all 18 shots he faced for his 11th shutout of the season as the Seattle Thunderbirds blanked the visiting Everett Silvertips 2-0 on Saturday night.
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rNate Thompson scored both goals for the Thunderbirds, who win their third straight contest, while Tyler Metcalfe chipped in two assists in the victory. The win improves the T-Birds to 40-20-2-2 and pads their U.S. division lead to 14 points over the ‘Tips and Hawks.
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rMike Wall turned in a 25-save performance in a losing effort for the Silvertips. The defeat leaves Everett at 29-25-8-2 and drops them into a tie with Portland for second in the U.S. division.
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rIn Medicine Hat, Roman Psurny scored twice to lead the Tigers to a 5-2 win over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes last night.
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rJarret Lukin scored a goal and chipped in an assist for the Tigers while Stefan Meyer and Cody Blanshan also scored in the victory. The win improves the Tigers to 39-20-4-2 and leaves them just one point behind the Hurricanes for top spot in the Central division.
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rJohn Lammers scored a goal and added an assist for the Hurricanes while Colton Yellow Horn also tallied in the defeat. The loss – the ‘Canes’ second straight – leaves them at 36-17-12-1 and cuts their Central division lead to just one point over the Tigers.
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rCurtis Cooper‘s first goal in two seasons turned out to be the winner as the Prince George Cougars beat the visiting Spokane Chiefs 3-1 last night.
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rLee Zalasky and Greg Gardner also scored for the Cougars while Real Cyr stopped 30 shots for the victory. The win improves the Cougars to 24-38-3-1 and leaves them just five points behind Kamloops for the fourth and final playoff spot in the B.C. division.
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rGary Gladue scored the lone goal for the Chiefs in the defeat. The loss drops the Chiefs to 23-32-8-2 and leaves them fifth in the U.S. division – two points behind fourth-placed Tri-Cities.
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rIn other action on Saturday, Joel Henituik netted the winner as the Red Deer Rebels managed a 3-2 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders.
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rShaden Moore netted his first WHL goal in the Rebels’ win while Dion Phaneuf also tallied to extend his goal-scoring streak to four games. The win improves the Rebels to 33-24-4-4 and leaves them four points behind Calgary for third in the Central division.
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rBrad Erickson and Brett Novak scored for the Raiders, who see their three-game winning streak ended with the defeat. The loss leaves the Raiders at 27-30-5-4 and third in the East division.
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