Wednesday’s WHL Round-up

ICE EDGE HURRICANES – Chad Greenan‘s second goal of the game 1:01 into the third period stood as the game-winner as the Kootenay Ice held on for a 4-3 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes in one of seven Western Hockey League contests on the last day of February.
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rCurtis Billsten – with his 20th of the season – and Steve DaSilva also scored for the Ice (43-16-3-3), who clinch at least second place in the Central Division with the victory. Taylor Dakers made 25 saves to pick up his 29th victory of the season. The win leaves Kootenay eight points behind Medicine Hat for the Central Division lead.
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rJosh Gionfriddo, Carter Bancks and Kyle Lamb scored for the Hurricanes (31-29-2-3), who trailed by 3-0 and 4-1 deficits in the contest, while Michael Maniago made 33 saves in the defeat. The loss keeps the Hurricanes five points behind Red Deer for fourth place in the Central Division.
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rWHEAT KINGS 4, AMERICANS 2
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rMark Derlago notched his league-leading 40th goal of the season to help the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans on Wednesday night.
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rAndrew Clark, Ryan Reaves and Jeff Topilko also scored for the Wheat Kings (36-19-2-8), who win their fifth game in a row. Tyler Plante made 23 stops to pick up his 26th win of the season. The victory leaves the Wheat Kings 16 points ahead of Regina for first in the East Division, and needing just two more points to clinch the division title.
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rMichael Kaye and Shaun Vey scored for the Americans (39-22-1-1), who drop their third straight decision, while Chet Pickard made 28 saves in the loss. The defeat keeps the Ams five points ahead of Seattle and Spokane for second place in the U.S. Division.
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rSILVERTIPS 4, BLAZERS 1
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rMike Alexander scored his first two WHL goals as the visiting Everett Silvertips skated to a 4-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday.
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rZach Hamill and Brandon Campos also scored for the Silvertips (50-11-1-2), who become the first team to top the 50-win plateau since Red Deer and Kelowna both accomplished the feat in 2002-03. David Reekie made 20 saves in the win. The victory gives the Silvertips a three-point lead over Medicine Hat in the race for first overall in the WHL.
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rRaymond Macias – with his 27th of the season – scored the only goal for the Blazers (38-21-3-1), who slump to their seventh consecutive defeat, while Dustin Butler made 17 saves in a losing cause. The loss leaves the Blazers eight points adrift of Vancouver in the race for the B.C. Division lead.
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rGIANTS 3, ROCKETS 0
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rBlaine Neufeld celebrated his 20th birthday with a 10-save shutout performance as the visiting Vancouver Giants skated to a 3-0 victory over the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday night.
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rJ.D. Watt, Michael Wuchterl and Wacey Rabbit scored for the Giants (39-14-3-7), who improve to 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 games. The victory gives the Giants an eight-point cushion for first place in the B.C. Division.
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rTorrie Jung made 22 saves in a losing cause for the Rockets (18-37-5-4), who drop their fourth straight contest. With the loss, the Rockets remain two points behind Chilliwack for the fourth and final playoff spot in the B.C. Division, with both teams having eight games remaining on their schedules.
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rWARRIORS 7, RAIDERS 4
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rRiley Holzapfel scored two goals and two assists to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 7-4 win over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders in a critical East Division contest on Wednesday night.
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rJason Reese – with two goals and an assist – Brad Riege, Keith Voytechek and Steven Gillen also scored for the Warriors (24-36-3-0), who snap a two-game losing skid, while Kurt Jory turned in a 35-save effort to claim the victory. The win moves the Warriors past the Blades and into fifth place in the East Division and only four points behind Prince Albert for fourth place.
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rMike Hellyer – with a goal and an assist – Andy Smith, Mike Gauthier and Lukas Zeliska scored for the Raiders (25-32-3-3), who drop their second straight and eighth in their last 10 games. Jesse Deckert made 24 saves in a losing effort. The loss leaves the Raiders three points behind Swift Current for third place in the East Division.
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rRaiders’ head coach Peter Anholt coached his 964th career regular-season game, moving him into third place on the WHL’s list of all-time games coached.
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rCHIEFS 9, WINTER HAWKS 1
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rMichael Grabner notched his third hat trick in the last two weeks to lead the visiting Spokane Chiefs to a 9-1 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks on Wednesday night.
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rDefenseman Jared Spurgeon – with two goals – Derek Ryan, Cody Esposito, Judd Blackwater and Stephane Lenoski also scored for the Chiefs (34-24-4-3), who win their second straight game. Dustin Tokarski made 20 saves to earn the win. The victory moves the Chiefs into a tie with Seattle for third place in the U.S. Division.
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rTeegan Moore scored the lone goal for the Winter Hawks (15-45-1-1), who suffer their ninth straight defeat, and 19th in their last 20 games. Kurtis Mucha made 18 saves in a losing effort.
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rBRONCOS 3, BLADES 0
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rKyle Moir stopped all 24 shots he faced to record his career-best fifth shutout of the season as the visiting Swift Current Broncos blanked the Saskatoon Blades 3-0 on Wednesday night.
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rLevi Nelson, Kyle Bortis and Daniel Rakos scored for the Broncos (28-33-1-2), who earn their second straight victory. The win gives the Broncos a three-point lead over the Raiders for third in the East Division, and an eight-point cushion for a playoff spot.
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rGarrett Zemlak stopped 23 of 26 shots in a losing cause for the Blades (23-35-2-2), who drop their second straight decision. The loss drops the Blades into sixth place in the East Division, and leaves them six points behind Prince Albert for a playoff spot.
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