WHL HEADLINES

WHL WEDNESDAY NIGHT RECAP – Devan Dubnyk made 28 saves for his sixth shutout of the season as the Kamloops Blazers blanked the visiting Tri-City Americans 3-0 in one of seven Western Hockey League contests on Wednesday night.
r
rRaymond Macias tallied the winner for the Blazers while Reid Jorgensen and Matt Kassian also scored in the victory. The win improves the Blazers to 22-29-6-2 and keeps the four points ahead of Prince George for fourth in the B.C. division.
r
rCarey Price Turned aside 19 of 22 shots he faced in a losing effort for the Americans. The loss drops the Ams to 20-28-5-3 and keeps the two points behind Spokane for fourth in the U.S. division.
r
rElsewhere on Wednesday, Lauris Darzins tallied the winner as the Kelowna Rockets eked out a 2-1 win over the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds.
r
rTyler Spurgeon also scored for the Rockets while Derek Yeomans made 23 saves for the victory. The win improves the Rockets to 34-11-11-2 and leaves them three points behind Kootenay for the B.C. division lead.
r
rZack FitzGerald scored the lone goal for the T-Birds while Bryan Bridges stopped 30 of 32 shots in the defeat. The loss extends Seattle’s winless skid to six games, leaving them at 34-19-1-1 and first in the U.S. division.
r
rThe visiting Lehtbridge Hurricanes scored two third-period goals to earn a 2-1 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers last night.
r
rColton Yellow Horn scored a goal and added an assist for the Hurricanes while Aaron Sorochan made 31 saves for his league-leading 28th win of the season. The win improves the Hurricanes to 31-15-12-1 and gives them sole possession of top spot in the Central division.
r
rClarke MacArthur scored the lone goal for the Tigers while Kevin Nastiuk made 23 saves in a losing cause. The loss drops the Tigers to 34-18-3-2 and leaves them second in the Central division.
r
rDustin Byfuglien scored the game-winner as the visiting Prince George Cougars beat the Spokane Chiefs 2-1 last night.
r
rColin Patterson also scored for the Cougars while Scott Bowles turned in a 38-save performance for the victory. The win snaps the Cougars’ six-game losing skid, leaving them at 22-33-3-1 and keeping them four points behind Kamloops for fourth in the B.C. division.
r
rDerek Ryan scored the lone goal for the Chiefs, while Jim Watt made 33 saves in the defeat. The loss drops the Chiefs to 20-27-8-2 and they remain two points ahead of the Ams for fourth in the U.S. division.
r
rIn Swift Current, Luke Hunter‘s second-period marker was the game’s only goal as the Broncos blanked the visiting Calgary Hitmen 1-0 on Wednesday night.
r
rKyle Moir stopped 31 shots for his third shutout of the season for the Broncos. The win snaps the Broncos’ five-game losing streak, improving them to 19-30-6-2, but keeping them fifth in the Central division.
r
rJustin Pogge stopped 30 shots for the Hitmen in the defeat. The loss extends Calgary’s winless skid to three games and leaves them at 30-20-7-3, dropping them into a tie with Red Deer for third in the Central division.
r
rIn Vancouver, Andrew Leslie made 20 saves for his second shutout of the season as the visiting Red Deer Rebels blanked the Giants 3-0 last night.
r
rMikko Kuukka and Colin Fraser scored for the Rebels while Tanner Gillies netted his first WHL goal in the victory. The win improves the Rebels to 31-20-4-4 and moves them into a tie with Calgary for third in the Central division.
r
rMarek Schwarz made 22 saves in a losing effort for the Giants. The loss extends the Giants’ losing streak to four games, leaving them at 27-25-3-3 and third in the B.C. division.
r
rIn other action last night, Tyler Plante made 22 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings blanked the Prince Albert Raiders 4-0.
r
rRyan Stone tallied a shorthanded marker for the Wheat Kings while Eric Fehr fired his league-leading 43rd goal of the season in the victory. The win – Brandon’s sixth straight – improves them to 32-19-5-1 and leaves them just two points behind Saskatoon for the East division lead.
r
rRejean Beauchemin made 21 saves for the Raiders in the defeat. The loss drops the Raiders to 23-27-5-4 and keeps them third in the East division.
r
r———————————————————————
r
r