WHL HEADLINES

BRANDON @ MOOSE JAW TONIGHT ON SHAW – Kenndal McArdle (pictured) and the Moose Jaw Warriors (13-42-10-1) host the red-hot Brandon Wheat Kings (40-19-5-1) in one of three Western Hockey League contests on Sunday.
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rTonight’s contest between the Warriors and Wheat Kings can be seen throughout the Manitoba and Saskatchewan regions on SHAW.
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rThe Warriors, who currently occupy fourth in the East division, are coming off Friday’s 1-0 victory over Lethbridge that snapped a six-game winless skid. The Warriors are 9-19-5 on home ice this season but have only lost once in their last six games in Moose Jaw. McArdle leads the Warriors in scoring with 36 goals and 72 points this season.
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rThe Wheat Kings, who top the East division and Eastern conference, are coming off Friday’s 5-2 victory over Swift Current for their 14th straight win. The wheat Kings’ power play has been very strong on the road this season, clicking at 21.9 per cent efficiency. Eric Fehr, who leads the league in scoring with 53 goals and 98 points, has scored 27 of Brandon’s 86 power play goals this season.
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rIt’s the seventh meeting of the season between the Warriors and Wheat Kings. Brandon is undefeated versus Moose Jaw through the first six meetings, with five wins and a tie.
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rSHAW’s broadcast can be seen in Saskatchewan locally in Saskatoon, Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Weyburn, Estevan, Yorkton, North Battleford, Meadow Lake, and in Regina on Access Communications. Throughout Manitoba, the game will air locally in Brandon on Westman Media and all Westman branches throughout the province, and in Winnipeg on SHAW T.V.
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rElsewhere on Sunday, the Kamloops Blazers (24-33-7-2) welcome the Vancouver Giants (30-28-4-4) in a B.C. division battle.
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rThe Blazers, who currently sit fourth in the division, are coming off Friday’s 3-0 loss to Kootenay and are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. Kamloops is 17-13-3 on home ice this season.
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rThe Giants, who sit third in the B.C. division, skated to a 1-1 draw with Kelowna last night and are winless in five straight contests. Vancouver is 9-20-3 on the road this season.
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rIt’s the eighth and final meeting of the season between the Blazers and Giants. Vancouver is undefeated versus Kamloops this season, with a 6-0-1 record through the first seven encounters.
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rIn other action on Sunday, the Portland Winter Hawks (29-25-5-5) host U.S. division rivals the Seattle Thunderbirds (40-20-2-2).
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rThe Winter Hawks, who are currently tied with Everett for second in the U.S. division, fell 3-2 in overtime to the Americans last night and are 6-3-1 in their last 10 contests. Dan Da Silva (28g-37a) leads the Hawks in scoring with 65 points this season. Portland could clinch a tie-break with a win tonight.
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rThe Thunderbirds, who top the U.S. division, blanked Everett 3-0 last night and are undefeated in five straight contests. Seattle could clinch the U.S. division title with a win, a tie, or an overtime loss tonight.
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rIt’s the 10th of 12 meetings this season between the T-Birds and Hawks. Seattle leads the series 5-3-1, but Portland is 3-0-1 versus the T-Birds in the last four meetings. Seven of Hawks’ defenceman Braydon Coburn‘s 12 goals this season have come against Seattle.
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