SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
In Medicine Hat, C Daine Todd scored twice in the game’s first eight minutes to lead the Tigers to a 5-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Todd’s goal came on the Tigers’ first two shots of the game. . . . The Tigers (22-13-3-1) played their first home game after an eight-game road swing. . . . Medicine Hat, 6-2-1-1 in its last 10, is fourth in the Eastern Conference, just three points out of first. . . . The Broncos (18-16-0-5) lost 6-5 to the visiting Tigers on Friday. . . . Swift Current, which got two goals from C Levi Nelson, was 0-for-3 on the PP; the Tigers were 3-for-6. . . . LW Tyler Ennis had a goal, his 23rd, and two helpers for the Tigers. . . . Medicine Hat C Mikael Ahle’n, a 19-year-old from Sweden, scored his first WHL goal in his fifth game. . . . Medicine Hatr is 6-for-14 on the PP in its last two games. . . . Swift Current was without RW Keegan Dansereau and RW Dale Weise, both of whom drew suspensions for hits in Friday’s game. As a result, the Broncos dressed 10 forwards. . . . Also missing from the Broncos’ lineup was D Ryan Molle (broken kneecap). He’ll be gone a couple of months. . . . Medicine Hat D Trevor Glass suffered a knee injury Friday and didn’t play, so RW Jerrid Sauer filled that spot on the back end. . . . Medicine Hat also was without C Wacey Hamilton (concussion suffered Friday) and C Thomas Frazee. Frazee suffered a badly cut leg in a game in Kamloops on Dec. 11 and could miss another five weeks. . . .
In Prince George, G Mark Friesen stopped 40 shots for his fourth victory of the season as the Chilliwack Bruins beat the Cougars, 3-2. . . . That gave the Bruins a split of the weekend series in the northern city, the Cougars having won 1-0 on Friday. . . . RW Evan Pighin scored two third-period goals, the second on a penalty shot, to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead. . . . Chilliwack (18-16-3-1) is tied for fifth with the Everett Silvertips in the Western Conference. . . . The Cougars (13-24-1-0) are nine points out of a playoff spot. They are 3-6-1-0 in their last 10. . . . LW David Robinson scored his first career goal for the Bruins in the first period. . . . D Ty Wishart’s 12th goal of the season, with .4 of a second left in the second period, sent the teams to the third period all even. . . . The Cougars held a 42-25 edge in shots. . . .
In Red Deer, the Prince Albert Raiders beat the Rebels 5-2, handing the home team its second home-ice setback in two nights. The Rebels had been 4-2 losers at the hands of the Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday. . . . Second-period goals 55 seconds apart by C Justin Bernhardt and LW Jordan Trach gave the Raiders a 2-1 lead after two periods. . . . LW James Dobrowolski’s shorthanded goal early in the third period gave the visitors a 4-2 lead. . . . The Raiders (13-20-3-2) have won two in a row but are 10 points out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot. They are six points up on the last-place Rebels (10-25-4-1). . . .
In Everett, D Jonathan Harty scored twice to lead the Silvertips to a 6-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Everett was 4-for-7 on the PP; the Warriors were 0-for-6. . . . The victory allowed Everett (19-18-0-2) to keep pace with Chilliwack. Both teams have 40 points, good for fifth in the Western Conference. . . . The Warriors (19-10-4-3) are 8-1-0-1 in their last 10 and in seventh spot in the East. This was Moose Jaw’s first regulation-time loss in 14 games. . . . G Shayne Barrie made 34 saves to even his record at 4-4 for Everett. . . . Harty, who also had an assist, has seven goals this season. . . . This was Everett’s third game in three nights – the Silvertips had lost 5-2 to the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., and 3-0 to the Thunderbirds in Seattle after the Christmas break. . . . Everett C Zack Dailey, who suffered a groin injury in Seattle on Friday, didn’t play. . . . D Tyler Kieffer, who has joined the Silvertips from the USHL’s Lincoln Stars, didn’t play. . . . The game included 155 penalty minutes and a multi-fight situation early in the third period. . . . Could be more money flowing into the league coffers early in the week. . . .
In Spokane, G Kris Lazaruk stopped 36 shots to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 1-0 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Lazaruk stopped 15 shots in the first period and 14 in the second in earning his second shutout of the season and third of his career. . . . The Chiefs have been blanked twice this season. . . . Spokane (27-7-1-2) remains in first place in the Western Conference, but is just one point ahead of the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Ice (22-13-3-0) is tied for fifth with the idle Brandon Wheat Kings in the East, just four points in arrears of the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Chiefs had beaten the Ice 5-2 in Cranbrook on Friday. . . . RW Andrew Bailey scored the game’s only goal, his 16th of the season coming at 5:12 of the second period. . . . The Chiefs outshot the Ice 36-20 and lost for just the fourth time in 30 games when outshooting the opponent. . . .
In Vancouver, the Giants went 4-for-8 with the man advantage in beating the Kelowna Rockets 5-2 and close to within one point of West-leading Spokane. . . . D Craig Schira had two PP goals for Vancouver (26-7-1-3) which plays the Blazers in Kamloops on Sunday night. Schira also drew two assists. . . . Vancouver also got two goals and two helpers from C Casey Pierro-Zabotel. . . . RW Garry Nunn, like Pierro-Zabotel an addition from the BCHL, had a goal and two assists. . . . Kelowna (20-13-2-4) lost for the second time in two nights. It was beaten 4-3 by visiting Kamloops on Friday. . . . Kelowna lost LW James McEwan, its captain, with a hand injury during a first-period fight with Vancouver RW Garet Hunt. McEwan came out of it with a cut hand and was treated at hospital. It was the sixth time these two have fought, including three times this season. . . . Hunt later scrapped with Kelowna D Colin Joe. . . . C Cody Almond scored twice for Kelowna. . . . Vancouver is 18-0-0-0 when taking a lead into the third period. . . .
In Portland, G Kurtis Mucha stopped 37 shots as the Winter Hawks beat the Tri-City Americans, 2-1. . . . C Jacob Dietrich’s goal at 5:58 of the second period stood up as the winner. . . . The Americans (26-8-1-0) remain three points behind Vancouver and four behind Spokane in the Western Conference. . . . Portland held a 19-8 edge in shots in the first period and led 1-0 on RW Jason Grecica’s second goal of the season. . . . D T.J. Fast scored on a second-period power play to forge a 1-1 tie at 4:28. . . . Tri-City LW Colton Yellow Horn drew an assist on Fast’s goal. That was Yellow Horn’s 300rd career point. It also ran his point streak to 19 games, the longest in the WHL this season. . . . Portland (7-29-0-1) ended a three-game losing streak. . . .
In Saskatoon, C Jordan Eberle and LW Rudolf Cerveny scored in the shootout as the Regina Pats beat the Blades, 3-2. . . . The Pats were 2-for-11 on the power play; the Blades were 2-for-12. . . . The game included 32 minor penalties. . . . Saskatoon D Jyrki Niemi had a goal, his eighth, and an assist. . . . Assistant coaches ran both benches. Terry Perkins has been guiding the Pats with head coach Curtis Hunt in Czech Republic as an assistant coach with Team Canada. . . . David Struch was running the Blades as GM/head coach Lorne Molleken is in London, Ont., scouting the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . The Pats (23-14-1-1) are the second seed in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Calgary. . . . Saskatoon (12-21-2-0) is 15 points out of a playoff spot.
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