Tuesday’s WHL Round-up
TIGERS EDGE CHIEFS — Sean Ringrose scored the go-ahead goal 13:57 into the third period to lift the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers to a 3-2 win over the Spokane Chiefs in Western Hockey League action on Tuesday, December 16th.
Mark Isherwood – with his 13th of the season – and Josh Koper also scored for the Tigers (21-10-3-3), who improve to 3-1 on their U.S. Division tour. Goaltender Ryan Holfeld turned in a strong 44-save performance to backstop the Tigers to the victory.
Jared Spurgeon and Blake Gal scored for the Chiefs (20-11-0-3), who suffer their second straight home-ice defeat despite outshooting the visitors 46-25 in the contest. Netminder James Reid made 22 saves in a losing cause.
GIANTS 8, BRONCOS 1
Garry Nunn scored a pair of goals and chipped in two assists while Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Brent Regner each tallied a goal and two assists as the Vancouver Giants blasted the visiting Swift Current Broncos 8-1 on Tuesday.
Craig Cunningham and Craig Schira each notched a goal and an assist while James Wright and Andrej Kudrna also counted for the Giants (28-2-0-3), who pick up their seventh straight victory and improve to 16-0-0-2 on home ice this season. Tyson Sexsmith made 16 saves to record his 99th career victory.
Cody Eakin scored the only goal for the Broncos (20-15-0-1), who see a three-game winning streak come to an end. Travis Yonkman and Mark Guggenberger combined for 21 saves in a losing cause.
HITMEN 6, BLADES 4
Brendan Rowinski scored twice and Kyle Bortis and Carson McMillan each tallied a goal and a pair of assists to lead the visiting Calgary Hitmen to a 6-4 win over the Saskatoon Blades on Tuesday.
Brandon Kozun and Paul Postma each chipped in a goal and an assist for the Hitmen (30-5-1-1), who earn their fifth straight win and become the first 30-win team in the WHL this season. Martin Jones made 22 saves to claim his 20th victory of the season.
Stefan Elliott – with a goal and an assist – Curtis Hamilton, Gaelan Patterson and Sam Klassen scored for the Blades (24-10-2-0), who held a 3-1 lead up until the midway point of the second period before five of the next six goals to suffer the defeat. Braden Holtby made 27 saves in the loss.
REBELS 1, ROCKETS 0
Darcy Kuemper turned in a 29-save performance to record his second consecutive shutout and his third of the season as the Red Deer Rebels eked out a 1-0 win over the visiting Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday.
Defenceman Colin Archer – with his second of the season – potted the game’s only goal for the Rebels (14-18-0-5), who pick up their third consecutive victory and their sixth win in eight games. The victory leaves the Rebels two points behind Edmonton for fifth place in the Central Division.
Goaltender Adam Brown turned aside 26 of 27 shots he faced in a losing cause for the Rockets (19-14-0-0), who suffer their third straight setback and second straight away from home. The defeat leaves the Rockets 21 points behind Vancouver in the race for the B.C. Division lead.
HURRICANES 3, PATS 2
Dwight King’s 14th goal of the season early in the second period stood up as the winner as the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes edged the Regina Pats 3-2 on Tuesday.
Defenseman Cody Castro – with his first WHL goal – and Cam Braes also scored for the Hurricanes (20-14-0-1), who pick up their second win in a row and their 20th of the season, while Garrett Taylor added two assists. Juha Metsola made 23 saves in the victory.
Brett Leffler and Mitch Czibere scored for the Pats (18-15-1-4), who suffer their third consecutive setback but remain tied with Swift Current for second place in the East Division. Linden Rowat made 22 saves in the loss.
RAIDERS 5, WARRIORS 4
Brandon Herrod notched two goals and two assists while Justin Bernhardt added two goals and an assist as the visiting Prince Albert Raiders edged the Moose Jaw Warriors 5-4 on Tuesday.
Ryan McDonald also counted for the Raiders (15-21-2-0), who snap a 13-game road losing skid while earning only their second win in their last 13 games overall. Garrett Zemlak made 25 saves to record his ninth win of the season.
Jason Bast and Martin Filo each netted a goal and an assist while Joel Broda and Ian Duval also scored for the Warriors (10-22-0-1), who see their three-game winning streak come to an end. Jeff Bosch and Deven Dubyk combined for 25 saves in the defeat.
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