WHL Tonight: Robins sends teddies flying while Maier closes door on Raiders
Western Hockey League Three Stars: Sunday, December 9, 2018
1. Nolan Maier, Saskatoon Blades: Draft-eligible goaltender Nolan Maier of the Saskatoon Blades became the first WHL goaltender to hold the top-ranked team in the CHL off the scoresheet Sunday in a 1-0 win. Maier stopped all 32 shots from the Raiders, turning aside 10 shots in the first, eight in the second, and 14 in the third.
The shutout was the fourth of his WHL career, improving the Blades to 19-10-3-0 on the season, which has them second in the WHL’s East Division. The clean sheet was also the first recorded against the Blades since Swift Current Broncos goaltender Stuart Skinner stopped all 29 shots sent his way on January 12, 2018 at the Art Hauser Centre. The 17-year-old from Yorkton, Sask. currently has a 15-8-2-0 record, 2.70 goals-against-average, 0.912 save percentage, and two shutouts with the Blades this season.
2. Egor Zamula, Calgary Hitmen: Philadelphia Flyers prospect and Calgary Hitmen defenceman Egor Zamula recorded the first multi-goal game of his WHL career Sunday as part of a three-point effort in a 6-3 win at home against the Kamloops Blazers. Zamula scored Calgary’s fifth and sixth goals of the game, with both goals coming 75 seconds apart.
Signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Flyers in September 2018, Zamula has impressed this season with 24 points (7G-17A) in 31 games. Those totals have him tied for 10th in defensive scoring. Sunday’s game also marked the 100th of his WHL career, with the Chelyabinsk, Russia product recording 42 points (9G-33A) between the Regina Pats and Hitmen.
3. Dustin Wolf, Everett Silvertips: 2019 NHL Draft prospect Dustin Wolf of the Everett Silvertips posted the seventh shutout of his WHL career Sunday, stopping all 21 shots sent his way from the Spokane Chiefs. Wolf stopped seven shots in the first, four in the second, and 10 in the third for the clean sheet, marking the first time he’s shutout the Chiefs in his career.
Through 31 games this season, Wolf has maintained a 23-7-1-0 record, 1.84 GAA, a 0.928 SV%, and three shutouts. The product of Tustin, Calif. is rated by NHL Central Scouting as a ‘C’ prospect ahead of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Prince Albert Raiders 0 at Saskatoon Blades 1
It was a big win for the Saskatoon Blades on Sunday night as they became the first team to shutout the Prince Albert Raiders this season and end 2019 NHL Draft prospect Brett Leason’s incredible 30-game point streak.
The Blades played a textbook game from start to finish against the Raiders, particularly when it came to goaltending. Saskatchewan-native Nolan Maier stopped all 32 shots that came his way to earn his second shutout of the season.
On the offensive side of the puck, it only took one goal for the Blades to knock down the Raiders. Scoring on an odd-man rush in the second period, Tristen Robins put a shot upstairs over Ian Scott (Toronto Maple Leafs), sparking the release of the Blades’ Teddy Bear Toss.
Kamloops Blazers 3 at Calgary Hitmen 6
Kaden Elder sent the Teddy Bears flying and the Calgary Hitmen rolled to their fourth-straight victory Sunday at home with a 6-3 decision against the Kamloops Blazers in front of 18,015 fans.
Fans didn’t have to wait long to throw thousands of teddy bears onto the ice, with Jake Kryski flipped the puck over to Kaden Elder, springing the forward in on a breakaway where he converted 4:18 into the contest.
To the Blazers’ credit, they responded to each of the Hitmen’s first two goals. Just 1:42 into the second, Martin Lang evened up the game, but Kryski would put the Hitmen in front again 2-1, only to be responded to minutes later by Kyrell Sopotyk.
Charging into the lead though were the Hitmen, who exploded for four goals in a 3:02 span as James Malm, Tye Carriere, and a pair of goals from Egor Zamula (Philadelphia Flyers) pushed the score from 2-2 to 6-2. A goal midway through the third period from Zane Franklin brought the Blazers within three, but that’d be as close as they’d come in the contest.
Riley Stotts (Toronto Maple Leafs) added three assists while Dakota Krebs added a pair of helpers. Connor Zary had a pair of assists while Lang added two assists to his goal for the three-point game.
Spokane Chiefs 0 at Everett Silvertips 2
It was a tight game for a full 55 minutes between the Spokane Chiefs and Everett Silvertips until Bryce Kindopp pulled out two goals in the last five minutes of the game to take the win for Everett.
The breakthrough in the game came at 15:34 in the third period when Reece Vitelli fired a shot from the blue line and it skiffed off of Kindopp’s back to sneak past Spokane’s goaltender Bailey Brkin. Down a goal, the Chiefs pulled Brkin for the extra attacker but fell short in their efforts when Kindopp managed to score his second goal of the night on the empty net.
Earning his third shutout of the 2018-19 WHL Regular Season, 2019 NHL Draft prospect Dustin Wolf stopped all 21 shots from the Chiefs in the victory.
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