WHL Roundup: Paddock solid as Pats sink Raiders on the road
Moose Jaw Warriors (6) at Brandon Wheat Kings (3)
Moose Jaw (44-11-1-2) // Brandon (31-23-3-2)
The Moose Jaw Warriors used a three-goal first period to power them to their 44th victory of the season, staying perfect in the season series against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Justin Almeida had a pair of goals, Jayden Halbgewachs (San Jose Sharks) added a goal and three points and Brayden Burke picked up a goal and an assist in the victory, Moose Jaw’s fourth straight against the Wheat Kings.
Captain Brett Howden (Tampa Bay Lightning), Halbgewachs, and Almeida struck for the Warriors in a 6:38 span during the opening period. Halbgewachs’ goal extended his goal scoring streak to four games while his point streak hit six contests.
Connor Gutenberg would strike back for Brandon on a early power play in the second period, but the Warriors came back with Almeida’s second of the game 82 seconds later while short-handed and Burke’s 29th of the season six minutes later.
Wheat Kings’ captain James Shearer tallied his second of the season 8:47 into the third on another power play, but the Warriors would extend their lead to four goals for the second time in the game with Tristyn DeRoose’s third of the season.
Brandon did answer back with the final goal of the game from rookie defenceman Braden Schneider, also counting as the first goal of his Western Hockey League career.
Logan Thompson made some spectacular saves, including a brilliant glove stop on Burke with seconds left in regulation, but ultimately took the loss after making 33 saves on 39 shots.
Adam Evanoff faced a lighter workload for his 13th victory of the season, making 21 saves on 24 shots.
Josh Brook (Montreal Canadiens) and Stelio Mattheos (Carolina Hurricanes) each picked up a pair of assists for their respective sides in the game.
Burke is now one goal away from his first 30-goal season in the WHL while Howden’s goal moved him to 249 career points.
The win helped the Warriors create some separation between themselves and the Swift Current Broncos for first place in the East Division and the league’s best record. The Wheat Kings missed an opportunity to
The season series is just ramping up as the regular season winds down. Starting March 2, the two clubs will meet four times in 16 days, split evenly between both home rinks.
Moose Jaw gets their 44th win on the season with a 6-3 victory in Brandon. pic.twitter.com/tUEmZzUnYb
— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) February 19, 2018
Today was Tim Hunter's 137th win on the Warriors bench. He ties Al Tuer for 1st on the franchise's all-time win list
— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) February 19, 2018
Regina Pats (3) at Prince Albert Raiders (1)
Regina (32-24-5-1) // Prince Albert (23-25-9-2)
The Regina Pats continued their impressive winning streak against the Prince Albert Raiders Monday, earning their 14th straight victory against their divisional opponent with a 3-1 win at the Art Hauser Centre.
Max Paddock stopped 37 of 38 shots in Monday’s contest while Matt Bradley added a goal and an assist, helping Regina move three points clear of the Wheat Kings for third in the East Division.
Nick Henry (Colorado Avalanche) opened the scoring 7:23 into the first and Jared Legien doubled the Pats’ lead nearly eight minutes later. Brett Leason would pull the Raiders within a goal with his 12th of the season, but Bradley would put things out of reach with the empty-net goal in the final minute.
Paddock stopped 13 shots in the first, 10 in the second, and 14 in the third to continue his hot play of late, pushing his personal winning streak to three games.
Ian Scott (Toronto Maple Leafs) put in a 21-save performance, keeping the Raiders close all game right up until the final minute.
The loss was a tough one to take for the Raiders, who remained a minimum of six points behind the Saskatoon Blades for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with the Blades still in action in Edmonton against the Oil Kings.
The final meeting of the season series will take place Tuesday, March 14 (7:00 p.m. MDT) in the Queen City.
RECAP: Max Paddock stellar as Pats down Raiders Monday. Details here: https://t.co/VQl9VE1yoC#JoinTheRegiment pic.twitter.com/PFnDlMdScM
— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) February 20, 2018
Saskatoon Blades (3) at Edmonton Oil Kings (2) — OT
Saskatoon (31-27-2-1) // Edmonton (18-33-6-2)
Braylon Shmyr and Chase Wouters each had a goal and an assist in regulation, but it was Jake Kustra’s fourth goal of the season that won Monday’s game as he scored 1:37 into the overtime period, lifting the Saskatoon Blades to their 31st victory of the season.
After a scoreless first, Shmyr had the only goal of the middle period and an errant play with the puck led to a short-handed goal from Wouters, giving the Blades a 2-0 advantage 7:20 into the third period.
On a normal day, that might’ve been enough, but the Oil Kings had some fight in them as Kobe Mohr and Trey Fix-Wolansky struck in the second half of the period to force things into overtime.
Edmonton can close to ending it in overtime as well, but as is the double-edged sword of overtime, that chance resulted in an odd-man rush the other way where Kustra made no mistake.
Nolan Maier stopped 13 of 15 shots in the victory on a day when he was tested, but didn’t face a barrage of shots. Todd Scott stopped 18 of 20 shots before leaving with an injury. Josh Dechaine stopped two of three shots in 14:17 of action.
Conner McDonald picked up an assist, as did captain Colton Kroeker for point 100 of his WHL career. Playing in his third game with the Oil Kings, forward Jake Neighbours tallied his first career point, an assist, on Mohr’s goal.
The final meeting of the season series will take place in Saskatoon on Tuesday, March 6 (7:05 p.m. CST).
Jake & Bake baby! Kustra wins in it overtime with his 4th goal of the season!!
🍏 Shmyr, Wouters#RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/woYpMBAQhv
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) February 20, 2018
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