Friday . . .

This weekend, hockey fans can watch for Bruce Luebke’s second annual Best of the East poll, which is to be published in Sunday’s Brandon Sun. Luebke is the long-time radio play-by-play voice of the Brandon Wheat Kings on CKLQ. . . . And, yes, the second annual WHL Power Poll is in the process of being prepared for publication. Give me another week or 10 days and it should be ready.
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If the playoffs started today:
Eastern Conference
Calgary (1) vs. Edmonton (8)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Lethbridge (7)
Brandon (3) vs. Kootenay (6)
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Swift Current (5)
Edmonton has a one-point edge on Prince Albert for the final playoff spot. Each has six games remaining. . . . Saskatoon holds a six-point edge on Brandon. Those teams play Saturday in Brandon and Tuesday in Saskatoon. . . . Swift Current remains one point behind Medicine Hat, each with seven games to play. . . . Lethbridge is one point behind Kootenay and each of those teams has eight games remaining. . . . Regina has even games left and is six points behind Edmonton.
Saturday: Saskatoon at Brandon; Kelowna at Calgary; Kootenay at Medicine Hat; Edmonton at Moose Jaw; Prince Albert at Red Deer; Lethbridge at Swift Current.
Sunday: Lethbridge at Regina.
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Western Conference
Vancouver (1) vs. Prince George (8)
Tri-City (2) vs. Everett (7)
Spokane (3) vs. Kamloops (6)
Kelowna (4) vs.Seattle (5)
Vancouver plays two more games this weekend and will clinch first place with two victories. . . . Spokane plays host to Tri-City on Saturday. The Americans lead the Cchiefs by eight points. . . . Kelowna, which lost in Red Deer on Friday, now is three points behind Spokane. . . . Seattle and Kamloops are tied for fifth, but the Thunderbirds have one more victory and two games in hand. . . . Everett is five points behind Kamloops and appears to be settling into seventh.
Saturday: Kelowna at Calgary; Vancouver at Everett; Kamloops at Prince George; Portland at Seattle; Tri-City at Spokane.
Sunday: Vancouver at Chilliwack; Everett at Seattle; Portland at Tri-City.
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THE GREAT RACE
Moose Jaw 64 17 44 1 2 37
Chilliwack 66 15 44 2 5 37
Portland 62 16 42 2 2 36
Moose Jaw, Chilliwack and Portland all lost Friday night.
Saturday: Edmonton at Moose Jaw; Portland at Seattle.
Sunday: Vancouver at Chilliwack; Portland at Tri-City.
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In Brandon, F Adam Chorneyko’s 20th goal broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Saskatoon Blades a 4-3 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Saskatoon now is 26-5-1-0 on the road. . . . Brandon took a 2-1 lead into the third period only to be outscored 3-1. . . . Saskatoon D Ryan Funk, with his fourth of the season, tied it at 4:26 on the PP and D Sam Klassen gave the visitors the lead with his second at 5:07. . . . F Colby Robak pulled Brandon back into a tie at 10:53 with his 13th goal. . . . Saskatoon G Braden Holtby stopped 35 shots in putting up his 38th victory. Brandon G Andrew Hayes turned aside 17 shots. . . . After two periods, Brandon had outshot the visitors 33-11 but its lead was only 2-1. . . . Saskatoon was 1-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 1-for-4. . . . Saskatoon, the second seed in the Eastern Conference, leads No. 3 Brandon by six points. The teams play again Saturday in Brandon and Tuesday in Saskatoon. . . . Brandon will open the first round at home March 20 and 21. But the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, which runs March 30 to April 4, will again play into Brandon’s playoff schedule, forcing Brandon to play a potential Game 7 elsewhere. And, should Brandon advance to the second round, it would have to open on the road.
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In Moose Jaw, F Dwight King scored twice to lead the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 5-2 victory over the Warriors. . . . The Hurricanes scored the game’s first four goals as they led 3-0 and 4-0 at the period breaks. . . . Lethbridge had a 41-17 edge in shots. . . . Lethbridge went into Moose Jaw having lost three in a row.
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In Swift Current, the Broncos had all seven shots of the overtime as they beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . D Derek Claffey got the winner, his third goal of the season, with 12 seconds left in OT. . . . Each team had 18 shots through three periods.
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In Medicine Hat, F Tyler Ennis scored six goals as the Tigers dumped the Prince Albert Raiders, 6-2. . . . The WHL single-game record of seven goals is shared by five players. . . . Ennis, who has 41 goals this season, struck for three goals in the second period and three more in the third. . . . The Raiders actually took a 1-0 lead into the second period. . . . Ennis is believed to be the first player in Tigers’ history to score six times in one game. “Every time I scored and came back to the bench it was just like, ‘Wow!’ ” Ennis told the Medicine Hat News. “I couldn’t believe it. They just kept going in. It felt good." . . . Prince Albert F Ryan McDonald scored the game’s first goal in his 300th regular-season game. . . . Medicine Hat scratched veteran LW Travis Dunstall, 19, to allow C Jayce Douskey, a product of Centennial, Colo., to make his WHL debut. He was the 109th pick in the 2007 bantam draft.
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In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice took an early 2-0 lead and went on to score a 5-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The result, combined with other outcomes, left Regina six points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Pats have lost three in a row and 13 of 16. . . . Regina was without F Brett Leffler (sprained knee). . . . Ice captain Andrew Bailey’s shorthanded goal gave his side a 2-0 lead. . . . Prior to the game, the City of Cranbrook honoured the late Ed Chynoweth. . . . A crowd of 4,015 was on hand to salute Chynoweth, who died in April after a fight with cancer. A plaque was dedicated for the Rec Plex Wall of Fame and a replica of Chynoweth’s Hockey Hall of Fame banner was hoisted into the arena rafters.
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In Red Deer, G Darcy Kuemper turned aside 41 shots to lead the Rebels to a 3-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Red Deer, with the WHL’s 20th-ranked power play, was 3-for-7 with the man advantage. . . . F Willie Coetzee’s 16th goal, at 3:06 of the third period on the PP, broke a 2-2 tie and held up as the winner. . . . F Landon Ferraro scored his 31st for Red Deer. . . . F Stepan Novotny and F Ian Duval each had a goal and an assist for the Rockets. . . . Kelowna was playing in its 1,000th regular-season game since relocating from Tacoma, Wash., over the summer of 1995. . . . Kelowna LW Jamie Benn (undisclosed) sat this one out.
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In Everett, F Brendan Shinnimin scored his 10th goal with 1:58 left in the third period to give the Tri-City Americans a 5-4 victory over the Silvertips. . . . The Americans have won seven straight; the Silvertips have lost four in a row. . . . Six of the game’s nine goals came in the third period. . . . Everett led 2-0 after one period, trailed 3-2 at 3:51 of the third, then led 4-3 at 7:53 of the third. . . . D Jarrett Toll tied it for the Americans at 11:28 of the third. . . . F Taylor Procyshen scored his 35th of the season for the Ams, while F Jason Reese added his 30th and F Mitch Fadden got No. 33. . . . F Kellan Tochkin scored twice for Everett. He has 18. . . . Everett was 4-for-11 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-for-3. . . . Everett lost D Trevor Bauer (concussion) early in the first period.
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In Vancouver, the Giants set another franchise record as they dumped the Chilliwack Bruins, 3-1. . . . The victory left the Bruins with 108 points, two more than the franchise record of 106 set last season. . . . Vancouver tied a franchise record with its 27th home-ice victory of the season. . . . Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith won his 37th game with 22 saves. . . . The loss officially eliminated Chilliwack from playoff contention. . . . The Giants play in Everett on Saturday before going into Chilliwack on Sunday. . . . Two victories would give the Giants the Western Conference title for a second straight season.
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In Spokane, G Dustin Tokarski stopped 32 shots to help the Chiefs to an 8-0 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks. . . . F Blake Gal scored twice. . . . The Chiefs were without three veteran defencemen — Jared Cowen (knee, out for season), Trevor Glass (shoulder) and Stefan Ulmer (concussion). . . . F Dustin Donaghy moved back to defence to help out. . . . Tokarski recorded his seventh shutout of the season; he holds the franchise’s career record with 15. . . . The Chiefs are at home to Tri-City on Saturday as one of the WHL’s best rivarlies resumes. The game already is sold out.
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In Prince George, D Zac Stebner scored two PP goals to help the Kamloops Blazers to a 4-3 victory over the Cougars. . . . Stebner, who came over from the Prince Albert Raiders in an early-season deal, has 10 goals this season. . . . His first goal gave Kamloops a 2-1 lead with three seconds left in the first period. . . . Stebner later broke a 2-2 tie and RW Tyler Shattock upped the Kamloops lead to 4-2 in the third period. . . . Kamloops G Justin Leclerc was strong with 34 saves.