SUNDAY SHOTS: Moose Jaw D Travis Hamonic, 17, is so tough he could have played linebacker on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field on Sunday. He took a puck to face during the first period of Saturday’s 5-3 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. Did that stop him? No. He was back to start the second period, albeit wearing a full shield, and played a regular shift the rest of the way. . . . X-rays on Sunday, however, showed that his jaw had been fractured in two places. He is to see a specialist and that will determine how long he’ll be out. It is likely to be anywhere from two to six weeks. . . . If you take a look at the WHL standings, you will discover that 15 of the 22 teams (68.2 per cent) have more wins (W) than losses (L), and have winning percentages higher than .500. Gee, isn’t that wonderful. . . . But if you toss overtime and shootout losses into the loss column, suddenly there are 12 teams at .500 or better, which works out to (54.5 per cent). . . . There were five games played on Sunday and eight of the teams got points. Gotta love it when 80 per cent of the people go home happy. . . .
G Ryan Holfeld of the Medicine Hat Tigers posted Sunday’s lone shutout. It was the 53rd shutout in the WHL this season. By season’s end, goaltenders almost certainly will have record the fifth-highest single-season total in league history. Here are the top five shutout seasons:
- 141 (2004-05)
- 120 (2006-07)
- 107 (2003-04)
- 103 (2005-06)
- 61 (1999-2000)
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Edmonton, the expansion Oil Kings held their first Teddy Bear Toss and beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 2-1 in the circus. . . . The Oil Kings got the game’s first goal, at 19:32 of the first period, and this goal had to be the longest in the league this season – Breitkreuz (Van de Mosselaer, Szaszkiewicz). . . . That would be Brett Breitkreuz, his 14th, from Adrian Van de Mosselaer and J-P Szaszkiewicz. . . . Brandon C Tyler Dittmer, with his 28th, forced the extra time with a goal at 19:38 of the third period. The goal came with G Andrew Hayes on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Dittmer, Brandon’s leading sniper, ended a five-game scoring drought. . . . The circus got into the fifth round before Edmonton’s Tomas Vincour ended it. . . . Brandon (28-16-0-2) is sixth in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Oil Kings (16-23-4-6) are nine points out of a playoff spot. . . . Edmonton G Alex Archibald was superb in stopping 38 shots and four more in the shootout. . . . Hayes made 27 saves. . . . This was Edmonton’s first extra-time victory. As their record indicates, the Oil Kings have lost four times in OT and six times in shootouts. . . . The Wheat Kings came that close to being blanked for the first time this season. They and the Swift Current Broncos are the only teams not to have been shut out this season. . . .
In Seattle, RW Bud Holloway scored twice to lead the Thunderbirds to a 5-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Seattle (21-16-5-2) moved into sixth place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Chilliwack Bruins and two up on the Kamloops Blazers. The Thunderbirds visit Kamloops on Wednesday. . . . C Greg Scott had a goal and two assists for Seattle. . . . The Cougars (14-32-1-1) are 17 points out of a playoff spot. . . . Seattle G Riku Helenius, who made 26 saves, lost his shutout bid early in the third period when LW Dana Tyrell got his 18th goal of this season. . . . Prince George G Real Cyr stopped 43 shots. That included stopping RW David Richard on a second-period penalty shot. . . . Seattle was 0-for-9 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-for-4. . . .
In Calgary, D T.J. Fast’s goal in the circus gave the Tri-City Americans a 3-2 victory over the Hitmen. . . . The Americans (33-11-1-2) moved to the top of the U.S. Division standings, one point ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. Tri-City is one point behind the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Giants. . . . The Hitmen (32-13-1-3) have a four-point lead atop the Eastern Conference. . . . The 20-year-old Fast is from Calgary and had quite a few fans in attendance. . . . It was the first time in his career that he had taken part in a shootout. . . . The Americans got PP goals from C Jason Reese and C Taylor Procyshen, the latter scoring at 17:01 of the second period. . . . All four regulation-time goals came in the second period. . . . C Ian Duval gave Calgary a 1-0 lead and D Karl Alzner provided a 2-1 lead. . . . Calgary C Chase Schaber, who has yet to score a goal in 29 regular-season games, scored in the circus for Calgary. Which is why it’s called the circus. . . . Fast won the game in the fourth round. . . . Tri-City was without LW Colton Yellow Horn, the WHL’s leading sniper. He suffered one of those lower-body injuries in Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. . . .
In Red Deer, G Ryan Holfeld stopped 20 shots to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 3-0 victory over the Rebels. . . . It was the fourth shutout of the season for Holfeld and the fifth of his career. . . . It was the fifth time Red Deer has been blanked. . . . The Tigers (26-17-4-1) are seventh in the Eastern Conference, but just one point behind Brandon and onlyk 11 away from the top rung. . . . The Rebels (13-32-4-1) have lost four in a row. . . . C Daine Todd, with his 17th, scored the game’s first goal at 12:06 of the first period. . . . C Brennan Bosch got his 14th at 8:34 of the second, and LW Tyler Ennis scored his 26th into an empty net late in the third. . . . Red Deer G James Reimer stopped 44 shots. . . . Red Deer D Joel Kot (back) is done for this season. . . . The Rebels also are without D Cullen Morin (broken finger) and LW Colby Kulhanek (shoulder). . . .
In Lethbridge, RW J.D. Watt scored at 2:55 of overtime to give the Regina Pats a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Regina (31-15-3-1) is second in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Calgary. . . . The Hurricanes (28-14-2-3) are third, five points behind Regina. . . . The Pats have beaten Lethbridge three times this season, each time by a goal. . . . Lethbridge has picked up loser points in two of those games. . . . C Jordan Eberle scored his 30th goal of the season at 5:13 of the third period to force overtime. . . . Watt’s goal, on assists from C Scott Doucet and D Victor Bartley, was his ninth of the season. . . . Watt, Doucet and Bartley all were acquired by the Pats in the days leading up to the Jan. 10 trade deadline. . . . Regina had the only three shots of OT. . . . It’s believed that Lethbridge D Jesse Craige has a torn MCL in his right knee from a Saturday night collision. He’ll be further evaluated this week. . . . Lethbridge was without F Zach Boychuk. He sat out a one-game suspension incurred when he took a checking-from-behind major on Saturday. . . . Regina enjoyed three fruitful nights in the Central Division, having beaten the Kootenay Ice 6-5 in a shootout in Cranbrook on Friday and the Hitmen 2-1 in Calgary on Saturday.
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