Saturday . . .

F Evan Pighin won’t play for the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies this weekend after Hockey Canada suspended him. Pighin left the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins to play for the Grizzlies despite never having been released by the Bruins nor clearing WHL waivers. He is on the Bruins’ suspended list. Apparently, this whole matter will be heard in Ottawa on Monday with officials from Hockey Canada, Hockey B.C., the BCHL and the WHL on hand. . . . Sharie Epp of the Victoria Times-Colonist has the latest on the mess and it’s right here.
---
Garrett Wilson of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack has been suspended for 15 games – yes, 15 games – for a match penalty he incurred in an Oct. 10 game. It seems he slew-footed Dan Kelly of the Kitchener Rangers. Kelly ended up with a broken ankle.
---
SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans needed a shootout to beat the Spokane Chiefs 3-2 in a rematch of last spring’s Western Conference finalists. . . . The Chiefs won that playoff series in seven games, with five of the games going to OT. . . . Attendance for this one was 5,116. . . . The Americans (8-3-0-0) closed to within two points of the Chiefs (8-1-0-3) who haven’t lost in 11 games since opening with a 4-2 loss to the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook. . . . The Americans, 4-0 at home, have won three in a row. . . . The Chiefs had won four straight. . . . The Americans had a 49-41 edge in shots, as goaltenders Chet Pickard of Tri-City and Dustin Tokarski of Spokane put on a show. . . . Tri-City C Johnny Lazo was the only one of six shooters to score in the circus. . . . Spokane scored first, with F Dustin Donaghy getting his third at 3:29 of the first period. C Jason Reese tied it for the Ams with his ninth just over three minutes later. . . . Spokane C Mitch Wahl got his seventh at 12:04 of the first period. . . . Tri-City’s Taylor Procyshen, with his fourth, tied it at 18:59 of the second. Reese drew an assist.
---
In Brandon, F Brayden Schenn’s two goals helped the Wheat Kings to a 3-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Wheat Kings (7-4-1-0) have won four of five, picking up nine of a possible 10 points in the process. . . . The Broncos (9-4-0-0) are 4-2 on the road. . . . Schenn’s goals came 2:03 apart, the first in the last second of the first period and the second, shorthanded, at 2:02 of the second. . . . He has seven goals this season. . . . Brandon F Jay Fehr, who was coming off back-to-back four-point outings, had his sixth goal of the season. . . . Brandon C Matt Lowry didn’t earn a point but finished plus-3. . . . G Andrew Hayes stopped 25 shots for Brandon. Swift Current F Keegan Dansereau ruined his shutout bid at 18:58 of the third period. . . . Attendance was 4,569.
---
In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice scored four second-period goals and went on to a 6-3 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Ice (6-5-1-3) has won three straight and four of five. . . . The Bruins (5-5-1-1), who were outshot 50-18, have lost three in a row. . . . Chilliwack RW Ryan Howse, who had been out for two weeks with a concussion, scored all of his club’s goals and has five this season. It was his first three-goal game in the WHL and the second multi-goal game of his career. . . . D John Negrin had a goal and two assists for the Ice. . . . Freshman C Max Reinhart, the son of former NHL D Paul Reinhart, scored his first WHL goal for Kootenay. . . . Howse’s second goal, at 8:39 of the second period, gave his side a 2-1 lead, but the Ice scored four times before the period ended. . . . His departure left the Bruins with only eight healthy forwards. . . . Chilliwack F David Robinson took a puck to the face in the first period and lost a couple of teeth. . . . Jeff Bromley of the Kootenay NewsAdvertiser points out that Chilliwack head coach Jim Hiller and Kootenay assistant Scott Beattie once were linemates at Northern Michigan. . . . And here’s Bromley on the crowd of 2,696 fans: “Spirited and they still got the wave going. Okay, it was more like ripples but still . . .”
---
In Moose Jaw, the Warriors got off to a 5-1 lead and hung on for a 5-4 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks. . . . The Warriors (5-5-0-1) had lost three in a row. . . . Portland (1-9-0-0) has lost eight straight and is 0-2 on its eastern swing. . . . F Brad Ross had two goals for the Winter Hawks, who were 2-for-10 on the PP, while Moose Jaw was 1-for-3. . . . Portland G Kurtis Mucha stopped 29 shots, nine more than Moose Jaw’s Deven Dubyk. . . . C Brayden Metz, acquired earlier in the month from the Chilliwack Bruins, scored his first goal for the Warriors and it turned out to be the winner.
---
In Medicine Hat, the Tigers erased a 2-0 deficit with four straight goals and dumped the Regina Pats, 6-3. . . . The Pats (6-4-1-2) scored two PP goals in the first period, but the Tigers (6-3-2-2) outscored them 6-1 the rest of the way. . . . F Matt Strueby had two assists for Regina as he continues to produce offensively. . . . Medicine Hat got goals from six players. . . . F Brett Leffler scored twice for Regina which went 2-2 on an Alberta swing.
---
In Red Deer, Cass Mappin and Willie Coetzee had two goals each to lead the Rebels to a 6-4 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Rebels (4-5-0-4) snapped a seven-game losing streak. . . . The Cougars (7-5-0-0) are 1-4 on a nine-game road trip. . . . LW Dana Tyrell had three goals for the Cougars.
---
In Everett, freshman C Byron Froese had two goals and an assist to lead the Silvertips to a 5-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Silvertips (6-4-1-0) have won three straight and four of five. . . . The Blazers (4-8-0-1) had lost four in a row. . . . Freshman G Kent Simpson stopped 29 shots for Everett, which led 4-0 in the second period. . . . Kamloops G Justin Leclerc stopped 38 shots.
---
In Seattle, C Colin Long scored his ninth goal of the season to help the Kelowna Rockets to a 3-2 victory over the Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle (2-8-0-1) has lost three in a row. This was only Seattle’s second home game this season. . . . The Rockets (7-6-0-0) led 2-1 and 3-2 at the breaks. . . . On Friday, Long had been minus-5 in an 8-6 loss in Everett. . . . F Lucas Bloodoff’s fourth goal, at 10:52 of the second, proved to be the winner. . . . Kelowna had a 30-18 edge in shots. . . . Rockets G Adam Brown improved to 2-0-0-0 with the victory.