WHL Tonight: Murray sends ‘plethora of plush’ onto the ice as Kootenay ICE roll over Blazers
Western Hockey League Three Stars: Friday, December 14, 2018
1. Mads Sogaard, Medicine Hat Tigers: 2019 NHL Draft prospect Mads Sogaard of the Medicine Hat Tigers stopped a career-high 49 shots Friday as the Tigers downed the division-leading Red Deer Rebels by a 4-1 score Friday.
Sogaard, who will get to showcase his goaltending skills in Red Deer next month as well at the 2019 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, is now 10-4-1-2 on the season with a 2.39 goals-against-average, 0.931 save percentage, and one shutout. The Aalborg, Denmark product is now 3-1-1-1 when facing 40 or more shots in a game.
2. Jake McGrew, Spokane Chiefs: San Jose Sharks prospect and Spokane Chiefs forward Jake McGrew recorded the second hat trick of his WHL career Friday in a 5-3 win against the Seattle Thunderbirds. McGrew scored Spokane’s first, second, and fifth goals of the game, burying the last one into an empty net. McGrew also added an assist on Spokane’s third goal for the four-point night.
The performance was the fourth multi-goal game of his WHL career while his four points were a career-high total, topping five separate three-point performances.
3. Josh Williams, Medicine Hat Tigers: 2019 NHL Draft prospect Josh Williams of the Medicine Hat Tigers supplied the offence Friday in his team’s 4-1 win over the Red Deer Rebels, scoring twice and adding a pair of assists.
Williams scored the first and third goals of the contest for the Tigers, picking up primary assists on the other two goals. The four points gave Williams 20 points (8G-12A) in 34 games this season, matching his total output from last season in 13 fewer games. The Langley, B.C. product has been graded as a ‘B’ skater by NHL Central Scouting head of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Moose Jaw Warriors 1 at Regina Pats 2
A disciplined game for the Regina Pats resulted in a 2-1 win against the Moose Jaw Warriors.
It was a hard-fought battle between both teams in the first period leading to a scoreless result. In the second period a beautiful give-and-go play between Yegor Buyalski and Kaeden Taphorn would be the only goal Moose Jaw could score on Regina’s Dean McNabb, who stopped a stellar 26 of 27 shots against the Warriors.
A turnover behind the net by the Warriors created a prime opportunity for Riley Krane to scoop the puck and put it into the net, tying the game 1-1. To cap off the Regina Pats score and earn the game-winning goal, Steven Zonneveld scored his first career WHL goal on a well-timed cross-ice pass that resulted in a breakaway. With another scoreless period, the Pats took the win 2-1.
The two teams collide at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw, Sask. in WHL on Access action.
Brandon Wheat Kings 2 at Saskatoon Blades 3
In the first game of this home-and-home series, the Saskatoon Blades managed to sneak away with the win 3-2 against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Notching his seventh goal of the year, Ridly Greig put Brandon on the board first on an odd-man rush. But, Brandon Machado and Josh Paterson were quick to respond with two goals for Saskatoon before the end of the first. Adding his first short-handed goal of the season to his stats was Brandon’s Linden McCorrister who tied the game 2-2.
With fans anticipating an overtime game after the two teams didn’t score in the majority of the third, it was a big shock when the Blades and Gary Haden capitalized on a breakaway opportunity with just 4.1 seconds left in the game to win 3-2. Contributing to the Blades’ success was Nolan Maier who stopped 33 of 35 shots from the Wheat Kings.
Prince Albert Raiders 6 at Swift Current Broncos 4
Taking a 6-4 win in the first of a home-and-home series, the Prince Albert Raiders defeated the Swift Current Broncos.
Jumping right into the game, Carson Miller and Noah Gregor (San Jose Sharks) scored two goals for the Raiders in the first period. Another two goals courtesy of Eric Pearce and Sean Montgomery tallied the Raiders’ score to four, but a quick snapshot by Joona Kiviniemi marked one goal for the Broncos.
A wild third and tremendous effort by Swift Current had Alec Zawatsky, Connor Horning and Matthew Culling scoring for the Broncos and Spencer Moe and Montgomery adding to the Raiders score finishing the game 6-4.
Kelowna Rockets 1 at Calgary Hitmen 5
Egor Zamula (Philadelphia Flyers) extended his point streak to five games and his goal streak to four games Friday as the Calgary Hitmen rolled to a 5-1 victory at home against the Kelowna Rockets.
Jake Kryski added a pair of goals against his former team in the victory while Jack McNaughton stopped 25 of 26 shots, improving to 9-7-0-1 on the season.
Zamula and Kyle Crosbie traded goals in the first eight minutes of the game, while Kryski put the Hitmen in front 2-1 later in the period. Riley Stotts (Toronto Maple Leafs) scored the lone goal of the second and Ryder Korczak struck in the third period, adding to Kryski’s second of the game.
Kaden Elder added a pair of assists in the contest while Stotts picked up an assist for the multi-point game.
Kamloops Blazers 3 at Kootenay ICE 5
A tight game between the Kootenay ICE and the Kamloops Blazers finished in a 5-3 win for the Central Division team.
A quick release by Connor Zary just 45 seconds into the game put the Blazers’ up 1-0, which would be the only time Kamloops would be ahead in this game. Less than two minutes later, Davis Murray picked up the equalizer to propel a plethora of plush onto the ice for Kootenay’s Teddy Bear, Toque and Mitten Toss. A textbook tip by 2019 NHL Draft prospect and ICE captain Peyton Krebs put Kootenay up 2-1 by the end of the first period.
Joining Murray and Krebs on the score sheet was Jakin Smallwood and Jaegar White and Quinn Schmiemann to finish the second period 4-2. Picking up his second goal of the game, Schmiemann moved the Blazers closer to the ICE, but River Fahey was able to score his first goal of the season to regain a two-goal lead and win the game 5-3.
Medicine Hat Tigers 4 at Red Deer Rebels 1
2019 NHL Draft prospects Mads Sogaard and Josh Williams led the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 4-1 win over the Red Deer Rebels in central Alberta Friday night.
Sogaard stopped 49 of 50 shots sent his way and four points (2G-2A) from Williams led the defensive and offensive charges respectively. Linus Nassen (Florida Panthers) added three assists in the victory while captain James Hamblin contributed a goal and an assist.
Chris Douglas opened the scoring in the first, but Williams tied up the game after 20 minutes. The Tigers then rattled off a pair of goals in the second and one more in the third.
2019 NHL Draft prospect Ethan Anders stopped 34 shots in the loss.
Spokane Chiefs 5 at Seattle Thunderbirds 3
Jake McGrew (San Jose Sharks) recorded the second hat trick of his WHL career with an empty-net goal Friday, securing a 5-3 win for the Spokane Chiefs against the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Nolan Volcan scored twice in the contest, opening the game with a short-handed goal in the first period, but a pair of goals from McGrew gave the Chiefs a lead. Volcan’s second of the game pushed the two teams back into a tie, but the Chiefs responded almost immediately as Adam Beckman potted his 15th of the season to restore the one-goal advantage for the visitors.
Payton Mount would once again put the two teams into a tie, but a goal from Eli Zummack soon after put the Thunderbirds down one heading to the third, where McGrew’s hat-trick goal was the only one to feature.
Bailey Brkin stopped 24 shots to earn the win while Liam Hughes turned aside 27 in the defeat.
Everett Silvertips at Vancouver Giants
2019 NHL Draft prospect and Everett Silvertips goaltender Dustin Wolf came within minutes of another shutout, but settled for a strong 37-save performance in a 4-1 win over the Vancouver Giants Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
It was Owen Hardy’s goal with 2:16 left that spoiled the shutout, but Wolf’s performance held strong as the reigning Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week and WHL Eli Wilson Goaltending Goaltender of the Week.
Before all that though, the Silvertips had tacked on four goals in a 5:47 span during the second half of the second period. Bryce Kindopp found the back of the net twice, while Dawson Butt and Reece Vitelli also scored.
Four different Silvertips picked up a single assist in the victory.
Prince George Cougars 1 at Victoria Royals 5
Brock Gould stopped a career-high 34 shots, while Tarun Fizer and Dino Kambeitz each contributed a goal and an assist in a 5-1 victory for the Victoria Royals against the visiting Prince George Cougars Friday.
Rhett Rhinehart had the only goal through 20 minutes to give the Cougars the early edge, but goals 74 seconds apart in the second period from Fizer and Kambeitz put the Royals in the drivers seat. In the third, Kaid Oliver and Brandon Cutler put the icing on the game early into the period, scoring 37 seconds apart before two minutes had elapsed in the frame.
Phillip Schultz closed out the game with his sixth of the season. Dante Hannoun had a pair of assists in the victory.
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