WHL HEADLINES – Saturday Night Recap

GIANTS SHUT DOWN HAWKS – Mitch Bartley (pictured) scored once and added an assist to help the Vancouver Giants to a 5-0 win over the visiting Portland Winter Hawks in one of nine Western Hockey League contests on Saturday, December 17th.
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rJ.D. Watt – with the winner – Kyle Lamb, Tim Kraus and Mario Bliznak also scored for the Giants, who win for the fifth straight time. Dustin Slade stopped 13 shots for his fifth shutout of the season for the Giants. The win improves Vancouver to 23-8-0-4 but they remain two points behind Kootenay for the B.C. Division lead.
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rLuke Shier stopped 22 shots for the Winter Hawks, who suffer their fifth straight defeat. The loss drops the Hawks to 15-14-1-2 and they remain second in the U.S. Division.
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rElsewhere on Saturday night, Keegan Dansereau scored twice to lead the visiting Calgary Hitmen to a 6-2 win over the Saskatoon Blades.
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rRyan White, Kris Deines, Brodie Dupont and Riley Merkley also score for the Hitmen, who stretch their winning streak to eight games. Daniel Spence turned in a 28-save performance to earn his third straight victory. The win improves Calgary to 26-8-0-0 but they remain two points behind Medicine Hat for first place in the Central Division.
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rJustin McCrae and Joe Barnes tallied for the Blades, who see their five-game winning streak halted, while Anton Khudobin and Kevin Armstrong combined for 20 saves in a losing cause. The defeat leaves Saskatoon at 22-14-1-1 and tied for first in the East Division.
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rIn Regina, Justin Bernhardt scored once and added two helpers to lead the Pats to a 4-2 win over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday.
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rJoran Fuder, Ian Duval and Craig Schira also counted for the Pats, who win for the fifth time in their last six outings. David Reekie turned aside 12 shots to claim the victory. The win improves the Pats to 20-13-0-1 and they remain third in the East Division.
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rA.J. Thelen tallied a goal and an assist for the Raiders, who drop their sixth straight decision, while Peter Cmorej also scored. Alex Archibald and Karsten Felske combined for 26 saves in a losing effort. The defeat drops the Raiders to 9-20-0-7 and they remain tied for fourth in the East Division.
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rIn Moose Jaw, Kenndal McArdle score twice to lead the Warriors to a 4-0 win over the visiting Red Deer Rebels on Saturday.
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rRiley Holzapfel – with a goal and an assist – and Cole Simpson also counted for the Warriors while Josh Lepp turned in an admirable 39-save performance to earn his second shutout of the season. The win improves Moose Jaw to 21-11-2-2 and moves them into a tie with Saskatoon for the East Division lead.
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rAndrew Leslie stopped 36 of 40 shots for the Rebels in a losing cause. The defeat – Red Deer’s second straight shutout loss – leaves them at 10-22-1-3 and they remain fifth in the Central Division.
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rIn Cranbrook, Dale Mahovsky scored once and set up another to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 3-1 win over the visiting Spokane Chiefs on Saturday.
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rBen Maxwell and Steven DaSilva also scored for the Ice, who win their second straight outing, while Taylor Dakers turned aside 33 of 34 shots for the win. The victory improves Kootenay to 25-11-0-2 and keeps the Ice in first place in the B.C. Division.
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rChad Klassen scored the lone goal for the Chiefs, who drop their second straight decision, while Jim Watt Made 22 saves in a losing cause. The defeat leaves Spokane at 15-17-1-0 and they remain fourth in the U.S. Division.
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rIn Kennewick, Jason Beeman scored twice as the Tri-City Americans managed a 2-1 win over the visiting Kelowna Rockets on Saturday.
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rLogan Stephenson and Ian McDonald each assisted on both of Beeman’s goals while netminder Carey Price turned aside 31 of 32 shots for the win in his first game back since returning from the Canadian World Junior team selection camp. The victory improves the Ams to 13-14-3-1 and leaves them just one point behind Spokane for fourth in the U.S. Division.
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rMike Card scored the lone goal for the Rockets while Derek Yeomans stopped 25 of 27 shots in the defeat. The loss leaves the Rockets at 22-9-1-1 and they remain third in the B.C. Division.
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rIn Everett, Shaun Heshka scored twice and added two assists to lead the Silvertips to a 5-0 win over the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday.
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rPeter Mueller scored once and added three assists for the ‘Tips, who win their third in a row, while Torrie Wheat and Graham Potuer also scored in the victory. Leland Irving stopped all 34 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season. The victory improves Everett to 20-14-1-0 and pads their U.S. Division lead to eight points over second-placed Portland.
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rGavin McHale stopped 29 shots for the Thunderbirds in a losing effort. The defeat – the T-Birds’ fifth straight – drops them to 14-16-1-3 and they remain third in the U.S. Division.
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rIn Prince George, Eric Hunter and Colin Patterson scored in a shoot-out to lift the Cougars to a 2-1 win over the visiting Kamloops Blazers.
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rHunter also counted the lone goal in regulation for the Cougars, who win their fourth straight game, while Scott Bowles stopped 15 of 16 shots through 65 minutes, and denied two of three Kamloops shooters in the shoot-out to take the win. The victory improves Prince George to 19-14-0-3 and moves them four points ahead of the Blazers for fourth in the B.C. Division.
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rRoman Tesliuk scored the lone goal for the Blazers in regulation while Michael Maniago turned in a solid 38-save performance in regulation, but was beaten on both Cougars’ shoot-out attempts to take the loss. The shoot-out defeat leaves the Blazers at 18-18-0-1 and they remain fifth in the B.C. Division.
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rIn other Saturday action, Daine Todd and Derek Dorsett each tallied a goal and an assist to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 4-1 win over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes.
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rTommy Maxwell and Chris Stevens also scored for the Tigers, who win their third straight game, while Matt Keetley stopped 29 shots to claim the victory. The win improves Medicine Hat to 24-8-0-6 and keeps them two points up on Calgary for first in the Central Division.
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rJacob Dietrich scored the lone goal for the Hurricanes, who suffer their second loss to the Tigers in as many nights, while Kevin Opsahl stopped 26 shots in the defeat. The loss drops the Hurricanes to 15-13-2-4 and they remain third in the Central Division.
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