Saturday's highlights

Peter DeBoer, head coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers got his 500th coaching victory Saturday as the Rangers dumped the visiting Erie Otters 4-3 in overtime. DeBoer, 39, is the fifth OHL head coach to get to 500 victories. The others? Brian Kilrea (Ottawa 67’s) has 1,130, and think about that for a bit. The late Bert Templeton won 907, while Larry Mavety with the Kingston Frontenacs has 655 and former Peterborough Petes head coach Dick Todd won 558. . . . The WHL has had three head coaches go over 500 victories -- Ken Hodge (742), Ernie McLean (548) and the late Pat Ginnell (518). . . .

SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

In Brandon, the Wheat Kings, who trailed 3-0 before the game was seven minutes old, fought back to beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 6-3. . . . Scott Glennie and Andrew Clark -- yes, he should be on one of the WHL’s ADT Challenge teams -- had two goals each for Brandon. . . . Moose Jaw (9-4-3-1) suffered its first regulation-time loss in 12 games. . . . And how sad is it that a loss isn’t just a loss, it’s either regulation-time or overtime or shootout. . . . Can we please go back to wins, losses and ties. . . . Brandon (11-6-0-1) has won four straight and moved past Moose Jaw into third place in the East Division. . . . And that’s another thing. The WHL’s new playoff format is grand, so let’s dump the division standings. OK? . . . Brandon hooked G Andrew Hayes, who gave up three goals on four shots, and Joe Caligiuri came on to stop all 13 shots he saw. . . .

In Calgary, the Hitmen scored the game’s first four goals and beat the Saskatoon Blades, 4-1. . . . The Hitmen (12-6-0-1) halted a three-game losing skid. They also had lost two straight at home. . . . The Blades (4-11-1-0) are 0-10-0-0 on the road. . . . RW Carson McMillan had two goals for the Hitmen. . . . Calgary G Dan Spence stopped 30 shots and lost his shutout bid at 16:43 of the third period. . . .

In Chilliwack, the Kelowna Rockets completed a weekend sweep of the Bruins with a 4-3 victory. On Friday in Kelowna, the Rockets had won 3-2. . . . Kyle St. Denis had two goals for the Rockets, who jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second period. . . . The Rockets (8-7-1-1) have won three straight. . . . Chilliwack is at 10-5-2-0. . . . RW Oscar Moller had his 17th goal for the Bruins. . . . According to the Kelowna Daily Courier, “Saturday’s announced attendance was 4,741, though there were plenty of empty seats at Prospera Centre.” . . .

In Lethbridge, Mike Wuchterl’s seventh goal of the season, a shorthanded marker, was huge as the Hurricanes edged the Portland Winter Hawks, 3-2. . . . Portland’s Colton Sceviour scored at 19:05 while shorthanded to cut into Lethbridge’s 3-0 lead. . . . Wuchterl scored shorthanded at 9:31 of the third period to ice it. . . . The Hurricanes (10-7-1-1) have won six of seven. . . . The Winter Hawks (3-14-0-0) had halted a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory in Medicine Hat on Friday. . . .

In Seattle, Bud Holloway had four goals, including the winner, as the Thunderbirds dumped the Tri-City Americans, 6-4. . . . Seven of the game’s 10 goals were scored in the third period. . . . With three minutes to play in the third period, Holloway had one goal and the Thunderbirds trailed, 4-3. He tied the score at 17:15, broke a 4-4 tie at 19:27 of the third period and added an empty-net goal at 19:55. . . . Holloway has seven goals this season. . . . Seattle D Thomas Hickey had a goal and two assists. . . . Colton Yellow Horn had two goals for the Americans. He has seven on the season and it has to be bad news for other teams if he has found his range. . . . Tri-City C Taylor Procyshen, the pride of Emerald Park, Sask., also had two goals and now has 12 on the season. . . . The Thunderbirds (7-4-2-1) had lost three straight. They now have beaten the Americans twice this season, having won 6-2 in Seattle on Oct. 12. . . . The Americans (13-5-0-0) were coming off an 8-2 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants on Friday. . . . Despite the 10 goals, there were only three power plays in the entire game. Tri-City was 0-for-1 on the PP; Seattle was 0-for-2. . . . The referee was Matt Kirk. . . . Tri-City head coach Don Nachbaur has 349 WHL coaching victories, 181 of them with Seattle. . . .

In Spokane, G Tyson Sexsmith stopped 25 shots in 65 minutes and then turned aside three more in the circus as the Vancouver Giants beat the Chiefs, 2-1. . . . Spokane (12-2-1-2) had a nine-game winning streak, the second-longest in franchise history, come to an end. . . . Vancouver (12-4-1-2) had a two-game losing streak halted. . . . C Chris Bruton gave Spokane a 1-0 lead on a second-period power play. . . . C Mario Bliznak tied it for Vancouver early in the third. . . . Bliznak later added the only goal of the shootout. . . .

In Swift Current, Brent Henke’s shootout goal gave the Edmonton Oil Kings a 4-3 victory over the Broncos. . . . Swift Current (11-5-0-3), which lost 5-3 in Brandon on Friday, now has lost two straight. . . . Edmonton (8-6-1-2) has won four in a row. . . . Henke has three circus-time goals this season but this was his first winner. . . . Note to goaltenders: Henke is 3-for-4 in shootouts, with all three goals going in high on the glove side. . . . Edmonton D Cameron Cepek scored about eight minutes into the third period to force overtime. . . . Edmonton G Alex Archibald stopped 34 shots.