WHL HEADLINES

WHL FRIDAY NIGHT RECAP – Andrew Ladd scored the winner as the visiting Calgary Hitmen edged the Kamloops Blazers 4-3 in one of eight Western Hockey League contests on Friday.
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rShaun Landolt tallied a goal and two assists in a four-goal second period performance by the Hitmen, while Konstantin Pushkarev shipped in a pair of assists to extend his point streak to six games. The win improves the Hitmen to 23-16-6-2 and keeps them third in the Central division.
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rKalvin Sagert, Aaron Richards and Matt Kassian tallied for the Blazers, who see their losing skid extended to three games with the defeat. The loss drops the Blazers to 17-24-3-2 and keeps them fifth in the B.C. division.
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rElsewhere last night, Troy Bodie scored with 11 seconds remaining in the third period to lift the Kelowna Rockets to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Portland Winter Hawks.
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rBlake Comeau also tallied for the Rockets while Derek Yeomans made 25 saves for the win. The victory improves the Rockets to 27-10-9-2 and keeps them atop the B.C. division.
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rCody Mcleod scored for the Hawks, extending his goal-scoring streak to eight games. The loss eaves the Hawks at 18-22-4-4 and they remain third in the U.S. division.
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rJordan McGillivray’s goal with two minutes left in the third period earned the Regina Pats a 5-5 draw with the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes last night.
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rRick Rypien and Kyle Ross each tallied a goal and two assists for the Pats while Logan Pyatt also chipped in a goal and a helper. The tie extends the Pats’ winless skid to seven games and leaves them at 11-30-3-4 and fourth in the East division.
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rJonathan Filewich scored two goals for the Hurricanes while Brent Seabrook chipped in three assists in the high-scoring affair. The draw improves the ‘Canes to 25-11-10-1 and keeps them two points up on the Tigers for first in the Central division.
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rIn Spokane, Kyle Howarth scored twice as his Chiefs beat the visiting Everett Silvertips 5-2 on Friday night.
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rSeth Compton netted the game-winner for the Chiefs while Jeff Lynch chipped in with a short-handed tally. The win improves the Chiefs to 16-21-7-1 and keeps them two points up on the Americans for fourth in the U.S. division.
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rIvan Baranka and Alex Leavitt scored for the ‘Tips in the loss. The defeat drops the Silvertips to 21-17-6-2 but they remain second in the U.S. division.
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rMatt Schneider’s first-period short-handed marker stood up as the winner as the Tri-City Americans downed the visiting Vancouver Giants 2-1 last night.
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rMarcus Jonasen also tallied for the Americans while Carey Price turned aside 32 pucks in the win. The victory snaps the Ams’ five-game losing skid and improves them to 16-20-4-2, but they remain fifth in the U.S. division.
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rGilbert Brule scored the lone goal for the Giants while Marek Schwarz made 33 saves in the defeat. The loss leaves the Giants at 25-19-1-2, but they remain comfortably in third spot in the B.C division.
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rRyan Cyr made 29 saves for his third shutout of the season as the visiting Saskatoon Blades blanked the Brandon Wheat Kings 3-0 last night.
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rDevin Setoguchi led the way with a goal and two assists while Aaron Bader scored once and set up another in the win. The victory improves the Blades to 26-14-5-4 and pushes them nine points ahead of Brandon for tops spot in the East division.
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rMike Nichol stopped 26 shots in a losing effort for the Wheat Kings. The defeat drops the Wheat Kings to 23-15-5-1 and keeps them second in the East division.
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rMikko Kuukka scored with just under three minutes remaining in the third period to lift the visiting Red Deer Rebels to a 5-4 win over the Prince Albert Raiders Friday night.
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rAshton Rome scored a hat trick for the Rebels while Ty Morris chipped in three assists in the victory. The win improves the Rebels to 22-15-4-4 and keeps them only two points back of Calgary for third in the Central division.
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rCaine Pearpoint scored twice and added an assist for the Raiders in the loss. The defeat sees the Raiders slip to 18-24-4-2 but they remain firmly in third spot in the East division.
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rIn other action last night, Matt Keetley turned in a 30-save performance for his third shutout of the season as the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers blanked the Swift Current Broncos 4-0.
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rClarke MacArthur scored twice and added an assist for the Tigers while rearguard Kris Russell tallied his 20th goal of the season. The win improves the Tigers to 27-13-3-2 and keeps them just two points behind Lethbridge for first in the Central division.
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rKyle Moir stopped 24 shots in a losing effort for the Broncos. The loss leaves the Broncos at 15-25-6-1 and they remain fifth in the Central division.
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