WHL HEADLINES

KOOTENAY CAPTURES SCOTTY MUNRO TROPHY – Nigel Dawes scored his 50th goal of the season to help the visiting Kootenay Ice to a 3-1 victory over the Spokane Chiefs in one of nine Western Hockey League contests on Saturday night.
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rKootenay’s win combined with Kelowna’s loss moves the teams into a tie for first in the B.C. division and first overall, but the tiebreaker goes to the Ice, who have more victories, meaning the team wins it’s first-ever regular-season league title.
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rSteven DaSilva and Adam Cracknell both scored for the Ice in the win, while Jeff Glass made 18 saves for his 34th victory of the season. The win sees the Ice finish the regular season at 47-15-7-3 and sets them up with a first-round playoff date with Kamloops.
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rJeff Lynch scored the lone goal for the Chiefs, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Friday. The defeat sees the Chiefs wrap up their regular season with a 24-38-8-2 record, good for fifth in the U.S. division.
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rElsewhere on Saturday night, Kieran Block netted the game-winner as the Medicine Hat Tigers got by the visiting Swift Current Broncos 2-1 last night, handing them top spot in the Eastern conference for the second straight season.
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rThe Tigers’ win combined with Brandon’s loss moved the teams into a tie for first in the Eastern conference, but Medicine Hat won the tiebreaker with a better head-to-head record versus the Wheat Kings.
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rKris Russell also tallied for the Tigers while rookie netminder Blaine Neufeld stopped 16 shots for his first career WHL victory in his first career start. The win sees the Tigers finish the regular season at 45-21-4-2 and atop the Central division
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rJosh Aspenlind scored the only goal for the Broncos while Kyle Moir stopped 33 shots in a losing cause. The defeat means the Broncos wrap up the regular season with a 22-41-6-3 record, good for fifth in the Central division.
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rA heroic Rick Rypien scored three goals and an assist to lead the Regina Pats to a 5-3 victory over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings last night, ending the Pats’ 29-game winless streak and vanquishing Brandon’s Eastern conference title hopes.
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rJordan McGillivray and Derek Reinhart also tallied for the Pats, who win their first contest since January 8th, while David Reekie made 37 saves for the victory. The win improves the Pats to 12-49-4-6 and fifth in the East division.
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rRyan Stone scored a goal and added an assist for the Wheat Kings while Lance Monych also tallied – his 30th of the season – to finish his regular season on a 15-game point streak. The defeat sees the Wheat Kings finish their season at 45-21-5-1.
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rIn Saskatoon, 15-year-old Colton Gillies‘ first career WHL goal was the game-winner as the Blades hung on for a 5-4 win over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders last night.
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rDaniel Waschuk scored a goal and added an assist for the Blades while Tyler Boldt scored once and added a pair of assists in the victory. The win sees the Blades finish their regular season at 37-23-6-6, and marks a 59-point improvement from the seven-win, 27-point season they had in 2003-04.
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rRyan DePape scored a pair of goals for the Raiders while Caine Pearpoint scored a goal and added an assist in the loss. The defeat sees the Raiders wrap up the regular season with a 31-32-5-4 record, good for third in the East division.
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rGilbert Brule scored two goals and two assists to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Kelowna Rockets, ending the Rockets’ hopes of a third consecutive Scotty Munro Trophy.
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rAdam Courchaine scored a goal and set up two more for the Giants while Marek Schwarz stopped 24 of 25 shots for the victory. The win sees the Giants finish the regular season at 34-30-4-4 and third in the B.C. division.
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rTyler Spurgeon scored the lone goal for the Rockets, who see their 11-game unbeaten streak ended on the last day of their season. The defeat sees the Rockets finish up at 45-13-12-2 and second in the B.C. division, Western conference and overall standings.
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rIn Seattle, Michael Funk scored with 32 second remaining in overtime to lift the visiting Portland Winter Hawks to a 3-2 victory over the Thunderbirds last night.
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rBrendan Mikkelson and Garrett Festerling also scored for the Hawks, who win their third straight contest, while Blake Grenier stopped 38 shots for the victory. The win improves the Hawks to 34-27-5-5 and vaults them one point ahead of Everett for second place in the U.S. division.
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rThomas Hickey scored a goal and added an assist for the T-Birds while Scott Jackson also tallied in the defeat. The overtime loss leaves the Thunderbirds at 42-24-2-3 and first in the U.S. division.
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rCarey Price stopped 33 shots for his eighth shutout of the season as the Tri-City Americans blanked the visiting Everett Silvertips 3-0 last night.
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rJason Beeman scored the winner for the Americans while Shaun Vey and Shawn Belle also tallied in the victory. The win improves the Ams to 26-34-8-3 and fourth in the U.S. division.
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rLeland Irving made 34 saves for the Silvertips in a losing effort. The defeat drops the ‘Tips to 33-27-9-2 and leaves them one point behind Portland for second in the U.S. division.
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rDion Phaneuf buried the winner 2:20 into overtime to lift the Red Deer Rebels to a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Hitmen on Saturday night.
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rJoel Henituik scored twice for the Rebels while Ashton Rome also tallied in the victory. The win improves the Rebels to 36-25-6-4 and leaves them just one point behind Calgary for third in the Central division.
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rShaun Landolt and Ryan Getzlaf each tallied a goal and an assist for the Hitmen while Brodie Dupont also tallied in the defeat. The overtime loss sees the Hitmen finish their regular season at 34-23-9-6 and, for the moment, third in the Central division.
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rIn other action on Saturday night, Real Cyr stopped 18 shots for his third shutout of the season as the Prince George Cougars managed a 2-0 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers.
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rLee Zalasky and Nicholas Drazenovic each tallied a goal and an assist for the Cougars in the victory. The win sees the Cougars end their regular season at 26-41-3-2 and fifth in the B.C. division – out of the playoffs.
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rMichael Maniago stopped 24 shots in a losing effort for the Blazers. The loss sees the Blazers wrap up their regular season at 26-37-7-2 and fourth in the B.C. division.
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