Friday’s WHL Round-up

GIANTS KNOCK DOWN ROCKETS – Brett Festerling scored the game-winner and added an assist to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 4-1 win over the visiting Kelowna Rockets in one of nine Western Hockey League contests on Friday, October 27th.
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rCody Franson, Garet Hunt and J.D. Watt also counted for the Giants (14-0-1-0), who win their 10th consecutive game on home ice, while Dustin Slade stopped 12 of 13 shots he faced to earn the win. The victory gives the Giants a 13-point lead at the top of the B.C. Division.
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rLucas Bloodoff scored the lone goal for the Rockets (4-9-0-2), who suffer their third straight defeat, while Kristofer Westblom turned in a valiant 49-save effort in a losing cause. The defeat leaves the Rockets in fourth place in the B.C. Division.
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rHITMEN 3, PATS 0
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rBrodie Dupont scored twice to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 3-0 victory over the visiting Regina Pats on Friday night.
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rAlex Plante – with his third goal in as many games – also tallied for the Hitmen (8-6-0-1), who win their second straight outing, while Riley Merkley chipped in three assists. Dan Spence turned in a 35-save performance to pick up his first shutout of the season. With the win, the Hitmen move into a tie for third place in the Central Division.
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rLinden Rowat stopped 21 of 24 shots he faced in a losing cause for the Pats (7-6-0-0). The defeat keeps the Pats in third place in the East Division.
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rBRUINS 4, WHEAT KINGS 2
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rJosh Aspenlind scored twice, including the game-winner, and added an assist to lead the Chilliwack Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday.
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rOscar Moller also scored twice and added an assist for the Bruins (4-11-1-0), who win back-to-back games for the first time in franchise history, while Jim Watt made 21 saves to pick up the victory. The win leaves the Bruins one point behind Kelowna for fourth place in the B.C. Division.
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rCodey Burki scored both goals for the Wheat Kings (8-5-0-2), who drop their second game in a row, while Joe Caligiuri made 31 saves in a losing cause. The defeat leaves the Wheaties tied for top spot in the East Division.
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rREBELS 4, ICE 2
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rKirill Starkov scored the game-winner to lead the visiting Red Deer Rebels to a 4-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice on Friday night.
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rMartin Hanzal – with a goal and an assist – Devon LeBlanc and Brandon Sutter also counted for the Rebels (9-3-2-1), who pick up their fourth straight victory, while James Reimer stopped 25 shots to earn the win. The victory leaves the Rebels in sole possession of second place in the Central Division.
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rAndrew Bailey – with a goal and an assist – and Michael Busto scored for the Ice (8-5-0-1), who drop their second straight decision, while Kris Lazaruk made 30 saves in the defeat. The loss leaves Kootenay tied with Calgary for third place in the Central Division.
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rBRONCOS 4, HURRICANES 2
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rMichael Wilson scored the winner as the visiting Swift Current Broncos doubled up the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night.
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rR.J. Larochelle and Dale Weise each tallied a goal and an assist for the Broncos (9-6-0-0) while Daniel Rakos also counted. Kyle Moir turned in a solid 44-save performance to backstop the Broncos to the win. The victory moves the Broncos into a tie with Brandon atop the East Division.
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rZach Boychuk and Ben Wright scored for the Hurricanes (5-11-1-1), who suffer their seventh straight defeat, while Michael Maniago made 29 saves in a losing cause in his Hurricanes debut. The defeat keeps the Hurricanes in fifth place in the Central Division.
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rCOUGARS 2, BLADES 0
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rVladimir Mihalik scored once and added an assist as the Prince George Cougars blanked the visiting Saskatoon Blades 2-0 on Friday night.
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rDana Tyrell also scored for the Cougars (5-7-0-2) while Real Cyr stopped all 16 shots he faced to pick up his first shutout of the season. The win moves the Cougars into sole possession of third place in the B.C. Division.
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rBraden Holtby stopped 27 of 29 shots in a losing cause for the Blades (5-8-0-1). The defeat leaves the Blades in fifth place in the East Division.
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rTHUNDERBIRDS 4, CHIEFS 3 O/T
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rRadek Meidl scored with 17 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-3 win over the Spokane Chiefs on Friday night.
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rAaron Gagnon – with two goals and an assist – and Ian McKenzie also counted for the Thunderbirds (4-3-0-4) while Derek Yeomans stopped 34 shots to earn the victory. The win keeps the T-Birds in fourth place in the U.S. Division.
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rDerek Ryan – with a goal and an assist – David Rutherford and Mitch Wahl scored for the Chiefs (5-6-3-0), who drop their sixth straight decision, while Dustin Tokarski and Kevin Armstrong combined for 29 saves in a losing cause. The overtime defeat keeps the Chiefs in third place in the U.S. Division.
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rWINTER HAWKS 6, BLAZERS 3
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rColton Sceviour scored once and added two assists to lead the Portland Winter Hawks to a 6-3 win over the visiting Kamloops Blazers on Friday night.
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rMatt Sokol, Rob Klinkhammer, Viktor Sjodin and Kyle Bailey each tallied a goal and an assist for the Winter Hawks (5-7-0-0), who win their second in a row, while Frazer McLaren also counted. Kurtis Mucha made 32 saves to pick up the win for the Hawks. The victory keeps the Hawks two points behind Seattle for fourth place in the U.S. Division.
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rTerrance Delaronde, Travis Dunstall and Brock Nixon scored for the Blazers (7-4-1-1) while Dalyn Flette made 29 saves in a losing cause. Despite the defeat, the Blazers remain in second place in the B.C. Division.
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rRAIDERS 5, WARRIORS 3
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rJeff May netted the winner midway through the third period to lift the Prince Albert Raiders to a 5-3 victory over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday night.
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rJosh Elder – with a goal and an assist – Mike Hellyer, Ryan DePape and Andy Smith also scored for the Raiders (6-6-1-0) while David Aime made 27 saves to pick up his fourth win of the season. The victory leaves the Raiders in fourth place in the East Division.
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rRichard Rapac, Kenndal McArdle and Jason Bast scored for the Warriors (3-9-0-0), who drop their fourth straight decision, while Kurt Jory made 22 saves in the loss. The defeat keeps the Warriors in sixth place in the East Division.
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