WHL HEADLINES

WHL SUNDAY RECAP – Eric Fehr scored a natural hat trick to lead the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings to a 4-3 win over the Regina Pats in one of five Western Hockey League contests on Sunday.
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rRyan Reaves also tallied for the Wheat Kings, who win their 11th straight game, while Tim Konsorada chipped in a pair of assists. The win improves the Wheaties to 37-19-5-1 and leaves them in sole possession of first in the East division. Fehr’s hat trick gives him 51 goals, making him the first 50-goal scorer in the league this season.
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rJon Bubnick, Jordan Fuder and Justin Bernhardt tallied third-period goals for the Pats while Rick Rypien chipped in two assists in the defeat – Regina’s 15th in a row. The loss leaves the Pats at 11-43-3-6 and they remain fifth in the East division.
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rElsewhere on Sunday, Andy Thompson‘s goal with 3:33 remaining in the third period earned the visiting Tri-City Americans a 3-3 tie versus the Everett Silvertips.
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rShaun Vey and Marcus Jonasen also scored for the Ams, who came back from a three-goal deficit, while Jason Beeman added two assists. The tie improves the Americans to 23-31-6-3 and moves them one point ahead of Spokane for fourth in the U.S. division.
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rAlex Leavitt and Mitch Love each netted a goal and an assist for the Silvertips while Mike Wall stopped 36 shots to hold on for the draw. The tie improves the Silvertips to 29-24-8-2 and gives them a three-point cushion over Portland for second in the U.S. division.
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rJonathan Filewich scored in overtime to lift the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Sunday.
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rKyle Pess scored a goal and an assist for the ‘Canes, who rallied from a 2-0 third-period deficit for the win, while Brent Seabrook also found the net. The win – the Hurricanes’ eighth in a row – improves them to 35-15-12-1 and keeps them first in the Central division.
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rSteve Covington and Dustin Kohn scored for the Hitmen in the defeat. The overtime loss leaves Calgary at 32-21-8-4 and keeps them third in the Central division.
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rDerek Dorsett scored the equalizer as his Medicine Hat Tigers skated to a 1-1 tie with the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors on Sunday.
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rMatt Keetley stopped 24 shots for the Tigers in the draw while Stefan Meyer picked up an assist on Dorsett’s game-tying goal. The tie improves the Tiger to 37-19-4-2, however, they fall three points behind Lethbridge for top spot in the Central division.
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rBlair Jones scored the only goal for the Warriors while Josh Lepp stopped 21 shots for the tie. The draw extends the Warriors’ winless skid to five games, but improves them to 12-41-10-1, leaving them four points up on Regina for fourth in the East division.
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rIn other action on Sunday, Bryan Bridges made 22 saves for his 10th shutout of the season as the Seattle Thunderbirds blanked the visiting Spokane Chiefs 3-0.
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rMitch Fadden scored the winner for the Thunderbirds while Matthew Hansen and Derek Couture also tallied in the victory. The win improves the T-Birds to 38-20-2-2 and keeps them comfortably in first place in the U.S. division.
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rJim Watt made 29 saves in a losing effort for the Chiefs. The defeat drops the Chiefs to 22-30-8-2 and leaves them one point behind Tri-Cities for fourth in the U.S. division.
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rFEHR AND BRIDGES SET MARKS
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rWith his hat trick in Sunday’s win over Regina, Brandon forward Eric Fehr has reached the 50-goal mark for the second consecutive season.
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rFehr, who now has a league-leading 51 goals, becomes the first Wheat King to record back-to-back 50-goal campaigns in over 20 years. The last Wheat King to accomplish the feat was Kelly Glowa, who scored 59 and 71 goals respectively in the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons.
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rFehr is also tying to become the first Wheat King to lead the league in scoring since Ray Ferraro won the league’s scoring derby with 108 goals and 192 points in the 1983-84 season.
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rFehr (51g-40a-91p) currently has an eight-point lead over teammate Ryan Stone in this season’s scoring race.
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rMeanwhile, Seattle’s Bryan Bridges posted his 10th shutout of the season in Sunday’s 3-0 win over the Spokane Chiefs.
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rHis 10 shutouts not only ties him for the league lead with Everett’s Mike Wall, but moves him into a tie with Wall and Chris Worthy of the 1967-68 Flin Flon Bombers for second for the most shutouts by a goaltender in a single season.
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rKelly Guard holds the single-season record of 13, which he set last season with the Kelowna Rockets.
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