WHL HEADLINES – Saturday Night Recap

GIANTS BLANK HITMEN – Mitch Bartley (pictured) tallied two goals and an assist to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 5-0 win over the visiting Calgary Hitmen in one of six Western Hockey League match-ups on Saturday, November 5th.
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rTim Kraus scored once and added an assist for the Giants while Michal Repik chipped in a goal and one helper in the win. Spencer Machachek also counted and Dustin Slade turned aside all 18 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season. The victory – the Giants’ second straight – improves them to 9-6-0-1 but they remain fifth in the B.C. Division.
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rDaniel Spence, making only his third appearance of the season, turned aside 24 shots in a losing cause for the Hitmen. The defeat snaps Calgary’s five-game win streak and leaves them at 14-5-0-0 and still atop the Central Division.
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rElsewhere on Saturday, Moises Gutierrez scored the winner as the Kamloops Blazers skated to a 3-1 win over the visiting Kelowna Rockets.
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rRoman Tesliuk and Ashton Rome also scored for Kamloops while Devan Dubnyk turned aside 29 of 30 shots for the win. The victory snaps a four-game losing skid for the Blazers and leaves them at 10-10-0-0 and fourth in the B.C. Division.
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rBrent Howarth scored the lone goal for the Rockets, who drop their second game in as many nights, while Kristofer Westblom made 23 saves in a losing cause. The defeat drops the Rockets to 12-6-0-1 and they remain tied with Prince George for top spot in the B.C. Division.
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rIn Spokane, Michael Grabner scored twice as the Chiefs nipped the visiting Tri-City Americans 3-1 on Saturday night.
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rDerek Ryan also scored and Kyle Howarth chipped in two assists while Jim Watt made 29 saves for the victory. The win improves Spokane to 8-9-0-0 and they remain second in the U.S. Division.
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rShaun Vey scored the lone goal for the Americans, who drop their third straight game, while Carey Price stopped 31 of 34 shots in the defeat. The loss leaves the Ams at 4-10-0-0 and they remain fifth in the U.S. Division.
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rIn Saskatoon, Wacey Rabbit scored the decisive goal in a shoot-out to lift the Blades to a 5-4 win over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday.
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rTodd Panchyson scored twice for the Blades in regulation while Devin Setoguchi and Joe Barnes also scored. Anton Khudobin allowed three goals on 12 shots for the Blades while Kevin Armstrong stopped 26 of 27 shots after replacing Khudobin, and denied two of three Tigers shooters in the shoot-out for the victory. The win improves the Blades to 9-7-1-1 and they remain third in the East Division.
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rTommy Maxwell scored twice for the Tigers through regulation time while David Schlemko and Jerrid Sauer also scored. Blaine Neufeld stopped 34 shots in regulation, but was beaten twice in the shoot-out loss. The defeat – the Tigers’ fifth shoot-out loss this season – drops them to 11-3-0-5 and they remain second in the Central Division.
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rIn Lethbridge, Colton Yellow Horn scored two goals to lift the Hurricanes to a 4-2 win over the visiting Everett Silvertips on Saturday.
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rFormer Silvertip Curtis Billsten tallied a goal and an assist for the ‘Canes while Dwight King also scored in the win. Kevin Opsahl turned aside 18 of 20 shots to grab the victory. The win improves Lethbridge to 8-7-0-2 and they remain third in the Central Division.
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rZach Dailey and Mark Kress scored for the Silvertips, who see their eight-game winning streak ended, while Leland Irving made 19 saves in the loss. The defeat drops the ‘Tips to 13-5-0-0 and they remain first in the U.S. Division.
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rIn other Saturday action, Derek LeBlanc scored three goals as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the visiting Swift Current Broncos 8-5.
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rMark Derlago and Ryan Reaves each scored twice for the Wheat Kings, who snap a four-game losing skid, while Daryl Boyle also counted in the win. Tyler Plante stopped 25 shots to claim the victory. The win improves the Wheaties to 5-12-1-1 and sees them move past Prince Albert into fourth spot in the East Division.
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rJeremy Schenderling – with a pair – Levi Nelson, Andrew Wasmuth and Spencer McAvoy scored for the Broncos, who drop their third straight game, while Kyle Moir and Brant Hilton combined for 33 saves in the defeat. The loss leaves the Broncos at 6-11-0-2 and fourth in the Central Division.
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