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:
Chet Pickard, Tri-City, 2007-08
Bart Hunter, Regina, 1979-80
44:
Kelly Guard, Kelowna, 2003-04
Tim Cheveldae, Saskatoon, 1987-88
42:
Tyson Sexsmith, Vancouver, 2007-08
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:
Kevin Nastiuk, Medicine Hat, 2003-04
Cam Ward, Red Deer, 2002-03
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WHAT WE HAVE AFTER FRIDAY’S GAMES:
(x – guaranteed to finish there)
Eastern Conference
1. Calgary, 95 points (plays Kootenay in Cranbrook on Saturday and at home Sunday)
2. Regina, 94 (East Division champ could still finish first in the conference; will play Swift Current, Brandon or Moose Jaw)
3. Medicine Hat, 93 (only one game left, at home against Lethbridge)
4. Lethbridge, 92 (two games left; has one more victory than Kootenay)
5. Kootenay, 92 (two victories over Calgary and the Ice could be first)
6. Swift Current, 89 (one game left, at home to Moose Jaw)
7. Brandon, 88 (will finish sixth or seventh; will draw Calgary, Regina, Medicine Hat, Kootenay or Lethbridge)
x-8. Moose Jaw, 86 (will play the No. 1 seed)
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Western Conference
1. Spokane, 106 (a victory over host Tri-City on Saturday clinches first-place overall; finishes in Portland on Sunday)
x-2. Vancouver, 102 (opens Friday against Chilliwack)
3. Tri-City, 106 (a regulation-time victory over visiting Spokane means a first-place finish)
x-4. Seattle, 87 (will open against Everett or Kelowna)
5. Kelowna, 82 (one game left, at home to Prince George on Saturday)
6. Everett, 81 (holds the tiebreaker over Kelowna)
x-7. Chilliwack, 61 (gets the Giants in the first round. Again.)
x-8. Kamloops, 58 (will play Spokane or Tri-City in the first round)
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FRIDAY IN THE WHL:
In Lethbridge, the Medicine Hat Tigers outscored the Hurricanes 4-3 in the circus to post a 4-3 victory. . . . The Tigers (43-21-5-2) have won six in a row and are 5-0-1-1 against Lethbridge. The victory lifted the Tigers into third spot in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the idle Calgary Hitmen who are leading the way. . . . The Hurricanes (43-21-2-3) are tied with the Kootenay Ice for fourth. . . . Lethbridge plays in Medicine Hat on Saturday, while the Ice begins a home-and-home set with the Hitmen in Cranbrook. . . . The Tigers forced OT when D Shayne Brown scored at 18:07 of the third period. It was his third goal of the season. . . . Each team had 19 shots on goal through OT. . . . Lethbridge had three opportunities to win it in the circus but couldn’t get the crucial save or the final goal. . . . F Mikael Ahl’en notched the winner for Medicine Hat. . . .
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In Chilliwack, the Bruins scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Kamloops Blazers, 3-1. . . . The Bruins (27-34-4-5) snapped a nine-game losing streak. They will finish seventh in the Western Conference and play the Vancouver Giants in the first round. . . . The Blazers (27-39-2-2) are 1-11-1-0 in their last 13 games and 11-23-1-1 on the road. They will finish eighth in the conference and play either the Spokane Chiefs or Tri-City Americans in the opening round. . . . RW Evan Pighin had a goal, his 20th, and an assist for the Bruins, who outshot the Blazers 34-18. . . .
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In Everett, the Seattle Thunderbirds scored two third-period PP goals and beat the Silvertips, 3-1. . . . The Thunderbirds (40-23-5-2) sewed up fourth place in the Western Conference with the victory. . . . The Silvertips (39-28-0-3) have lost three in a row and are sixth, one point behind Kelowna. . . . Seattle has won seven of nine games with Everett this season and the teams play Sunday in Seattle. . . . F Bud Holloway and F Greg Scott, Seattle’s top guns, scored after Everett F Kyle Beach was hit with a checking-from-behind major for a hit on Thunderbirds D Benn Olson. . . . Beach was penalized at 7:53 of the third period. Holloway scored his 39th goal of the season, breaking a 1-1 tie, at 9:55; Scott got his 38th at 11:53. . . . Beach, who was ejected, will be hearing from the WHL office. . . . Seattle G Riku Helenius stopped 35 shots. . . . Everett G Leland Irving made 38 saves. . . . Eight fighting majors were handed out in the game’s last five seconds. . . . Seattle was 3-for-9 on the PP; Everett was 1-for-5. . . . After the game, Everett head coach John Becanic tossed Beach under the bus. “One person cost us the game tonight," Becanic told Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald. "He cost us a goal in the first period. He cost us our captain (Jonathan Harty) being out for 17 minutes having to defend him. He cost us the two power-play goal in the third." . . .
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In Edmonton, F J-P Szaszkiewicz scored two second-period goals to help the Oil Kings close out the home portion of their schedule with a 4-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Oil Kings (21-38-4-7) snapped a seven-game losing streak. . . . The Rebels (18-46-4-3) have lost five in a row. . . . The teams meet Saturday in Red Deer. . . . Szaszkiewicz has five goals on the season. . . . Edmonton G Alex Archibald stopped 26 shots to improve his record to 16-23-4-3. . . . The expansion Oil Kings finished their first home schedule at 13-18-2-3. . . .
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In Moose Jaw, F Spencer McAvoy’s third goal of the season broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Swift Current Broncos a 4-3 victory over the Warriors. . . . The Broncos (41-23-1-6) have won six of their last seven games and moved into sixth in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Warriors (36-21-6-8) will finish eighth in the conference. . . . The same teams close out their regular seasons in Swift Current on Saturday. . . . D Travis Harmonic’s fourth goal of the season pulled Moose Jaw into a 3-3 tie at 7:26 of the third period. . . . McAvoy scored at 12:18 of the third period. . . .
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In Prince Albert, the Blades were outshot 37-18 but still beat the Raiders, 6-3. . . . Saskatoon (29-34-3-5) will finish ninth in the Eastern Conference but has a better record than the Western Conference’s seventh- and eight-place teams. . . . The Raiders (25-41-3-2) have lost three in a row. . . . Saskatoon LW Ondrej Fiala had two goals and an assist. He has 20 goals this season. . . . The teams finish their seasons Saturday in Saskatoon. . . .
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In Regina, D Victor Bartley and F Scott Doucet, two trade acquisitions, scored in the circus to give the Pats a 3-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings in what may have been a first-round preview. . . . Regina (44-21-4-3) has clinched the East Division pennant and, with one game remaining, can still finish first in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Wheat Kings (41-24-3-3) play host to the Pats on Saturday. . . . Brandon got two PP goals from F Scott Glennie, giving him 26, and took a 2-1 lead into the third period. . . . F Matt Strueby, whose sixth goal of the season was the winner when the Pats wrapped up the division flag, scored on the PP at 7:57 of the third period to tie it. . . . F J.D. Watt, another Regina trade acquisition, had the Pats’ other goal. . . . Regina had a 29-28 edge in shots but Brandon had a 4-1 advantage in OT. . . . Brandon was 2-for-5 on the PP; Regina was 1-for-7. . . . Regina’s average attendance this season was 5,095, the best in franchise history. . . . Regina C Tim Kraus (tonsillitis) sat out his third straight game. . . .
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In Spokane, the Chiefs tied a franchise record for victories as they dumped the Portland Winter Hawks, 6-3. . . . . The Chiefs (50-14-1-5) have won eight in a row and are 8-0 against Portland this season. . . . The Winter Hawks (10-57-2-1) have lost 24 of their last 25 games. . . . The Chiefs were 4-for-8 on the PP; Portland was 2-for-6. . . . LW Drayson Bowman had two goals for the Chiefs, who also won 50 games in 1995-96. . . . Bowman has 42 goals. . . . The Chiefs have two games remaining, including Saturday night in Kennewick, Wash., against the Americans. Those teams are tied for first in the Western Conference, with the Americans needing a regulation-time victory to wrap it up. The game will be televised on Comcast Channel 12 at 7 p.m. . . . Attendance was 10,259. The Chiefs drew an average of 6,557 fans this season. . . . Portland G Jordan White stopped 38 shots as his record slid to 1-20-1-0. . . . Spokane’s Kevin Armstrong (20-5-1-2) stopped 22 shots. . . .
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In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans scored a 4-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets, setting up a one-game showdown for first-place in the WHL’s overall standings. . . . Tri-City (51-16-2-2) will play host to the Spokane Chiefs (50-14-1-5) on Saturday if the Americans win in regulation time they will get top spot. Should Spokane win in regulation, the Chiefs will finish first. If any loser points are handed out, the Chiefs will be able to clinch first with a victory over the Winter Hawks in Portland on Sunday. . . . Either Tri-City or Spokane will end up winning at least 50 games and finishing third in the conference. . . . The Americans swept the Rockets, 4-0-0-0, this season. . . . The Rockets (37-26-2-6) had won their last two games. . . . Tri-City G Chet Pickard stopped 25 shots to earn his 45th victory in his 63rd appearance of the season. He is only the seventh goaltender to win 45 games in a season and the first since Milan Hnilicka of the Swift Current Broncos won 46 in 1992-93. . . . Kelowna C Colin Long was held pointless. He has 98 points, . . . . Tri-City LW Colton Yellow Horn had two assists, to get to 96 points. Chilliwack F Mark Santorelli also has 96. . . . The Americans were 2-for-12 on the PP; the Rockets were 0-for-6. . . . LW Jamie Benn scored his 31st goal for Kelowna. He has two goals in as many games after sitting for six weeks with a high ankle sprain. . . .
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In Vancouver, the Giants doubled the Prince George Cougars 4-2 in front of 10,478 fans. . . . The Giants (47-15-2-6) have won eight of their last 11. . . . They won the season series from Prince George, 5-3. . . . The Cougars (19-47-1-3) have lost four of five. . . . Vancouver will face the Chilliwack Bruins in the first round. Last season, Vancouver took out Chilliwack in five games in the opening round. . . . This season, the Giants are 7-0-1-1 against the Bruins. . . . Prince George captain Greg Gardner tied the franchise record for career games played held by Chris Falloon (336). . . . The Giants set a franchise record for points in a season (1-2) and tied a franchise mark with their 47th victory. . . . D Jon Blum and RW Michal Repik had two goals each for the Giants, with RW Spencer Machacek drawing two assists. . . . Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith stopped eight of nine shots before being relieved in the third period by Kraymer Barnstable, who also stopped eight of nine shots. Sexsmith got credit for his 42nd victory of the season. . . . Prince George G Real Cyr stopped 40 shots as his mates were outshot 23-4 in the first period and 13-5 in the second.
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