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G Chet Pickard of the Tri-City Americans earned his 40th victory of the season Friday, beating the Rebels 6-1 in Red Deer. He has one more victory than Tyson Sexsmith of the Vancouver Giants. Here is a list of goaltenders to have recorded 40 or more victories in one season:49:
Glen Hanlon, Brandon, 1976-77
48:
Corey Hirsch, Kamloops, 1989-90
Grant Fuhr, Victoria, 1980-81
47:
Trevor Kruger, Swift Current, 1988-89
46:
Milan Hnilicka, Swift Current, 1992-93
45:
Bart Hunter, Regina, 1979-80
44:
Kelly Guard, Kelowna, 2003-04
Tim Cheveldae, Saskatoon, 1987-88
42:
Matt Keetley, Medicine Hat, 2006-07
Matt Keetley, Medicine Hat, 2005-06
David Lemanowicz, Spokane, 1995-96
41:
Norm Maracle, Saskatoon, 1993-94
Travis Laycock, Prince Albert, 1991-92
40 :
Chet Pickard, Tri-City, 2007-08
Kevin Nastiuk, Medicine Hat, 2003-04
Cam Ward, Red Deer, 2002-03
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Condolences to Randy Hansch and his family on the death of his father, Ralph, in Edmonton. Randy is a former WHL goaltender and longtime director of player personnel with the Kamloops Blazers. He left the Blazers last summer and signed on as assistant general manager with the Edmonton Oil Kings, citing a desire to spend more time with his father, who was ill. Ralph played goal for the Edmonton Waterloo Mercurys, who won the gold medal at the 1952 Olympic Winter Games in Oslo, Norway. . . .————————
It’s Hockey Challenge day in Seattle on Saturday, with six games on tap. The big two are the Kelowna Rockets versus the Thunderbirds at 6:05 p.m., followed by the Hockey Challenge 2008 Celebrity All-Star Game. According to the Thunderbirds, “Celebrities scheduled to appear in the All-Star game include: Tom Arnold (Pride, True Lies), Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville), Jason Thompson (General Hospital), Cameron Bancroft (24: Day 4, Hockeyville on CBC), Brian Basset (cartoonist of "Adam @ Home" and "Red and Rover"), Kelly Tysland (formerly Kelly Stephens, a 2006 U.S. Women's Olympic hockey bronze medalist), Bill Wixey (KCPQ news anchor), Brad Goode (KING news anchor), Ian Furness (KJR 950 AM Host) and Steve The Producer (KISW 99.9 FM Host). T-Birds alumni who will play in the game include Jamie Huscroft, Pat Smith, Al Kinisky, Regan Mueller, Blake Knox, Troy Hyatt and Lloyd Shaw.” . . . Over the last nine years, the Challenge has raised more than $3.5 million for the Seattle Ronald McDonald House. . . .————————
FRIDAY IN THE WHL:In Saskatoon, C Travis Toomey scored a PP goal with three seconds left in the third period to give the Blades a 5-4 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Blades (25-34-3-4) are 7-2-0-2 in their last 11 games. . . . The Tigers (37-21-5-2) had won four of their last five. They are fifth in the Eastern Conference. . . . Saskatoon held a 4-1 lead late in the second period before the Tigers came back. . . . Toomey, who has nine goals, also had two assists. . . . Saskatoon LW Ondrej Fiala had a goal and two assists. . . .
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In Brandon, G Joe Caligiuri made 26 saves to lead the Wheat Kings to a 4-0 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Wheat Kings (38-22-2-2) have won four of their last five games and are sixth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Medicine Hat. . . . The Hurricanes (41-18-2-3) had a three-game winning streak snapped. They had been 3-1 against Brandon this season. . . . Lethbridge is third in the Eastern Conference. . . . C Brayden Schenn scored the game’s first goal. That was the 27th of the season for the 16-year-old freshman. . . . It was Caligiuri’s fourth shutout. . . . Brandon has put up seven shutouts; Lethbridge has been blanked three times. . . . Lethbridge was 0-for-9 on the PP and gave up a shorthanded goal. . . .———
In Everett, G Leland Irving tied a WHL record as the Silvertips blanked the Seattle Thunderbirds, 2-0. . . . The Silvertips (36-25-0-3), who had been off for a week, won for the seventh time in eight games. They are sixth in the Western Conference, one point behind the idle Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Thunderbirds (35-21-5-2) had a four-game winning streak end. They are fourth in the conference, one point ahead of Kelowna. . . . Irving has 21 shutouts in his career. That equals the career record held by Bryan Bridges (Seattle/Kootenay, 2001-06). Bridges played in 213 regular-season games; Irving played in Game No. 191 on Friday. . . . Irving, who stopped 37 shots, has four shutouts this season. . . . "It's a big relief," Irving told the Everett Herald’s Nick Patterson. "But I can't take all the credit. Without the guys in that room there's no way I would be able to get this many. Especially on a night like tonight. I felt there were a couple times I was down and out and the guys were right there to bail me out. It's quite an achievement. I'm pretty proud, but at the same time it's pretty irrelevant compared to what we're trying to get done here. I'm going to keep taking it one game at a time and when the season's over, then we can enjoy what we've accomplished." . . . Seattle now is 6-2 against Everett this season. . . . F Clayton Bauer, with his 24th, and F Kyle Beach, with his 27th, had the goals. . . . Attendance was 8,440. . . . Everett had sent D Paul Sohor, the 98th pick in the 2006 bantam draft, back home to Winnipeg, but brought him back after D Chris de la Lande (leg) went down in practice on Thursday. . . . Everett remains without D Mike Alexander (shoulder) and D Taylor Ellington (foot). . . . Seattle LW Chase Lund, 16, made his WHL debut. Lund, from Fairview, Alta., was the 82nd pick in the 2007 draft. . . .———
In Moose Jaw, F Brett Stone scored on a slapshot in the circus to give the Calgary Hitmen a 6-5 victory over the Warriors. . . . Moose Jaw (32-18-6-7) had won its last two games. The Warriors are 19-4-4-4 in the Crushed Can. . . . Moose Jaw is eighth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the idle Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Hitmen (44-17-1-3), who hadn’t played in six days, are 4-1 versus the Warriors. . . . Calgary got circus goals from Stone and F Chase Schaber, while G Dan Spence stopped both Moose Jaw attempts. . . . F Ian Duval led the Hitmen with a goal and two assists. . . . F Jason Bast got his 29th and 30th goals for Moose Jaw, while C Kyle Bortis got his 35th for Calgary. . . . The Hitmen were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Warriors were 0-for-4. . . .———
In Prince Albert, C Ryan McDonald broke a 2-2 tie with a late third-period PP goal as the Raiders beat the Kamloops Blazers, 4-2. . . . The Raiders (24-36-3-2) moved into 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the idle Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Blazers (26-35-2-2) have lost eight in a row, including five on an East Division road swing that ends Saturday in Saskatoon. . . . Kamloops clinched the Western Conference’s last playoff spot when the Prince George Cougars lost 5-2 to the visiting Vancouver Giants. . . . McDonald also drew two assists for the Raiders. . . . RW Juuso Puustinen had two goals for Kamloops. He has 24 this season. . . .———
In Prince George, the Giants scored the game’s first three goals and cruised to a 5-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . The Giants (44-13-2-6) have one regulation-time loss in their last 15 games. They are tied for first place overall with the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Cougars (17-43-1-3) have lost three in a row. . . . RW Garet Hunt scored twice for the Giants. . . . Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith won his 39th game of the season, one off the WHL lead. . . . Prince George captain Greg Gardner scored his career-best 21st goal of the season. . . . The loss knocked the Cougars from playoff contention. They have eight games remaining and are 18 points behind Kamloops. . . . It was the Cougars’ 1,000th regular-season game, and 500th home game, since they relocated from Victoria in 1994. . . . Jim Swanson, the Prince George Citizen sports editor, points out: “Early goals have been the norm for the Cats. Twenty-three goals have been scored against the Cougars in the opening five minutes of play this season, and a whopping 49 have gone into the net in the first 10 minutes. Knowing that, it's not hard to understand why the Cougars are 7-32-0-2 when they give up the first goal, and 4-29-0-1 when trailing at the first Zamboni appearance.” . . . F Adam Basford, 18, made his WHL debut with the Giants. . . .———
In Red Deer, D T.J. Fast had two goals and two assists to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 6-1 victory over the Rebels. . . . The Americans (46-14-2-2) are tied with Vancouver for first place overall. . . . The Rebels ((17-41-4-3) have lost three in a row. . . . Tri-City G Chet Pickard earned his 40th victory. Former Brandon G Glen Hanlon holds the single-season record (49). . . . Tri-City scored three third-period goals to break this one open. . . .———
In Regina, C Jordan Eberle scored three times and set up two others as the Pats roared from behind for a 6-5 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Pats(39-21-4-2) are 22-8-1-1 at home. They are atop the East Division so are the Eastern Conference’s second seed. . . . The Bruins (26-31-4-4) are 0-4-0-1 on their East Division swing despite having held a lead at one point in each game. . . . C Oscar Moller scored once for the Bruins. He has eight goals and an assist in his last six games. . . . Chilliwack LW Mark Santorelli drew two assists and moved into a tie for the WHL scoring lead with Kelowna Rockets C Colin Long. They have 93 points apiece. . . . Santorelli was listed as questionable before the game with an undisclosed injury. With the playoffs nearing, you can bet it’s either an upper or lower body thing. . . . Eberle, 17, has 40 goals this season. . . . Chilliwack led this one 3-0 before the game was 12 minutes old, thanks to three PP goals. The Bruins finished 3-for-6 on the PP. . . . Eberle tied the game 5-5 at 10:01 of the third period and C Tim Kraus won it at 17:19, with Eberle getting the first assist. . . . Krauss had two goals. . . . “What a show (Eberle) put on tonight,” Pats centre Tim Kraus told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “He’s an unbelievable player and he was driven just to get that. After the first (goal) I asked him if that was his 40th and he said ‘No, that’s coming later tonight.’ He didn’t back down on his word.” . . . Eberle is Regina’s first 40-goal man since Matt Hubbauer got 48 in 2001-02. . . . Regina scratched LW Ryan DePape for what head coach Curtis Hunt said were “performance” reasons.
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