WHL Tonight: Henry & Leschyshyn tally five-point games as Hurricanes storm over ICE

 

Western Hockey League Three Stars: Saturday, December 29

1. Jake Leschyshyn, Lethbridge Hurricanes: Vegas Golden Knights prospect Jake Leschyshyn of the Lethbridge Hurricanes recorded the first five-point game of his WHL career, which included the third hat trick of his WHL career and a pair of assists in an 8-4 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

The Saskatoon, Sask. product scored the fifth, seventh, and eighth goals of the game for Lethbridge, adding assists on their first and fourth goals. The performance gave Leschyshyn 49 points (24G-25A) in 35 games this season and 148 points (69G-79A) in 224 WHL regular season games.

2. Zack Andrusiak, Seattle Thunderbirds: Seattle Thunderbirds forward Zack Andrusiak recorded the fifth hat trick of his WHL career Saturday night in an 8-6 loss to the Portland Winterhawks. Andrusiak scored the second, third, fifth, and sixth goals of the game for the Thunderbirds, marking his fourth hat trick of the 2018 calendar year for the Thunderbird player.

The performance also marked the second four-goal game of the 2018-19 WHL Regular Season for the Thunderbirds after Noah Philp recorded one against the Kelowna Rockets on October 10. Andrusiak now has 37 points (25G-12A) in 33 games this season. The Armstrong, B.C. product now has back-to-back 25-goal seasons and 122 points (67G-55A) in 172 WHL regular season games.

3. Nick Henry, Lethbridge Hurricanes: Colorado Avalanche prospect Nick Henry of the Lethbridge Hurricanes recorded the first five-point game of his WHL career Saturday, scoring once and adding four helpers in an 8-4 win over the Kootenay ICE.

Henry scored the opening goal of the game, then added assists on the Hurricanes’ second, fourth, fifth, and sixth goals. The 19-year-old from Portage la Prairie, Man. has 55 points (17G-38A) in 36 games this season. He also has 165 points (66G-99A) in 161 WHL regular season games.

 

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Edmonton Oil Kings 1 at Red Deer Rebels 2 (SO)

2019 NHL Draft prospect Ethan Anders stopped 38 shots in regulation and overtime, then denied all four shooters in the shootout as the Red Deer Rebels bounced back with a 2-1 win against the Edmonton Oil Kings Saturday.

Anders and Myskiw kept the game scoreless until the third when Jeff de Wit and Conner McDonald traded goals in the second half of the period. Myskiw stopped 29 of 30 shots in regulation and overtime with his only blemish in the shootout coming against Cameron Hausinger.

Lethbridge Hurricanes 8 at Kootenay ICE 4 

Five-point games from Jake Leschyshyn (Vegas Golden Knights) and Nick Henry (Colorado Avalanche) powered the Lethbridge Hurricanes to an 8-4 win over the Kootenay ICE Saturday at Western Financial Place.

Leschyshyn had a hat trick and two assists while Henry had a goal and four helpers in the win. 2019 NHL Draft prospect Dylan Cozens added a pair of goals, Calen Addison (Pittsburgh Penguins) had a goal and two assists, and captain Jordy Bellerive (Pittsburgh Penguins) added four helpers in the offensive showcase.

Danila Palivko picked up the first goal of his WHL career as part of a two-point night. Jaegar White and 2019 NHL Draft prospect Peyton Krebs each had three points in the defeat.  The Hurricanes scored four times in the first, three times in the second, and once in the third to secure the win.

Bryan Thomson stopped 33 of 37 shots for the first win of his WHL career.

Victoria Royals 2 at Medicine Hat Tigers 4 

Garin Bjorklund stopped 21 shots to earn the first win of his WHL career while captain James Hamblin recorded his second-straight multi-goal game in a 4-2 win for the Medicine Hat Tigers over the Victoria Royals Saturday at the Canalta Centre.

Hamblin had the only goal of the first, extending his goal-scoring streak to four games. Ty Yoder scored his first of two goals in the contest to even up the game in the second, but Hamblin responded with his second to make it a 2-1 game after 40 minutes.

Yoder tied up the game early in the third, but a game-winning goal from 2019 NHL Draft prospect Ryan Chyzowski and an empty-net goal from Ryan Jevne rounded out the scoring.

Portland Winterhawks 8 at Seattle Thunderbirds 6

Zack Andrusiak recorded the fifth hat trick of his WHL career and finished with four goals, but it wasn’t enough to withstand the soaring offence of the Portland Winterhawks in an 8-6 result over the Seattle Thunderbirds Saturday.

Lane Gilliss and Ryan Hughes each had a pair of goals while WHL leading scorer Joachim Blichfeld (San Jose Sharks) tallied the opening goal to kickstart a four-point game for the Danish product. Noah Philp also had a four-point night, scoring once and adding three helpers for Seattle in the loss.

Leading 3-0 after 20 minutes, the Winterhawks allowed five goals to the Thunderbirds in the second, but rallied with three goals in the third to break open the 5-5 deadlock and win the game.

Tri-City Americans 1 at Spokane Chiefs 2

Jake McGrew (San Jose Sharks) scored with three seconds left in regulation to snatch a 2-1 victory for the Spokane Chiefs away from the Tri-City Americans Saturday.

Dominic Schmiemann and 2019 NHL Draft prospect Luke Toporowski traded goals to keep the two teams in a 1-1 tie until McGrew snapped the deciding goal home with just seconds to go. The game-winning goal completed a multi-point night for McGrew while 2019 NHL Draft prospect Adam Beckman and teammate Eli Zummack each picked up a single assist.

Bailey Brkin stopped 18 of 19 shots for the win, beating out Beck Warm, who stopped 33 of 35 shots.

Prince George Cougars 1 at Everett Silvertips 6 

Jackson Berezowski and Martin Fasko-Rudas each scored twice while Artyom Minulin added three assists as the Everett Silvertips won by a 6-1 score over the Prince George Cougars Saturday in downtown Everett, Wash.

First period goals from Bryce Kindopp, Berezowski, and Fasko-Rudas provided more than enough offence in the contest as the Silvertips continued their winning ways. Fasko-Rudas added his second of the game 21 seconds into the second while Riley Sutter (Washington Capitals) also found the back of the net for the Silvertips. Berezowski wrapped up the scoring in the third.

Max Palaga stopped 24 of 25 shots in the win. Ryan Schoettler had the lone goal for the Cougars.

Kamloops Blazers 1 at Kelowna Rockets 2 

A trio of 2019 NHL Draft prospects guided the Kelowna Rockets to a 2-1 win Saturday over the Kamloops Blazers at Prospera Place to split a home-and-home series between the two teams.

Luke Zazula opened the scoring for the Blazers, but Nolan Foote and Kyle Topping provided the response for the Rockets. Roman Basran stopped 33 of 34 shots in the victory. Dylan Ferguson (Vegas Golden Knights) stopped 31 shots in the one-goal loss.

Dalton Gally added a pair of assists while Leif Mattson and 2019 NHL Draft prospect Lassi Thomson each picked up a single helper in the win.