Saturday . . .

If the playoffs started today:
Eastern Conference
Calgary (1) vs. Edmonton (8)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Kootenay (7)
Brandon (3) vs. Lethbridge (6)
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Swift Current (5)
Edmonton picked up a loser point in Prince George to move into eighth, one point ahead of Prince Albert, which lost at home to Moose Jaw. . . . Medicine Hat is three points ahead of Swift Current, with both having played 63 games. . . . Lethbridge remains one-point ahead of Kootenay; the Ice has one game in hand. . . . Regina is ninth, five points behind Edmonton. Regina has 11 games remaining and has three games in hand on Edmonton. . . . Keep in mind that should there be a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot, a sudden-death game will be played to decide the issue.
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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)
Seattle and Kamloops are tied for fifth, however Seattle has one more victory and one game in hand. . . . Tri-City holds a six-point lead on Spokane, which has one game in hand. . . . Kelowna is three points behind Spokane, with the Chiefs holding a game in hand. . . . Everett is three points behind Seattle and Kamloops. . . . Prince George has a 14-point lead on Chilliwack, with the Bruins having 10 games left.
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SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Kamloops, LW Evander Kane scored Vancouver’s last three goals as the Giants beat the Blazers 5-4 in OT. . . . Kane has 39 goals on the season. He also had an assist, and now has 81 points in 48 games, his 1.69 points-per-game mark the best in the WHL. . . . Kamloops took a 3-2 lead into the third period. Kane scored twice, once on the PP, to give his side a 4-3 lead. . . . Kamloops RW Tyler Shattock scored with G Justin Leclerc on the bench to tie it at 19:45. . . . Kane won it 30 seconds into OT. . . . The victory was the Giants’ 49th of the season, tying the franchise record set last season. . . . Vancouver remains without D Jon Blum (shoulder), who was injured Feb. 13 in Kelowna. . . . Kamloops D Brandon Underwood returned after sitting out 19 games with a broken thumb. . . . Kamloops got two goals from C Scott Wasden, his first two-goal game since he counted three times in a 7-2 victory in Prince George on Dec. 14, 2007. . . . The Blazers’ other goal came from F Dalibor Bortnak, who hadn’t scored in 20 games.
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In Saskatoon, the Blades scored four times in the second period and went on to dump the Kootenay Ice, 5-3, in front of 6,028 fans. . . . It was Cancer Awareness Night. The Blades wore pink-trimmed jerseys and auctioned them, raising more than $9,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. . . . The teams were tied 1-1 when Saskatoon F Walker Wintoneak scored his 27th at 3:56 of the second. The Blades would put it all but out of reach with three more before the period ended. . . . Saskatoon G Braden Holtby won his 36th with 19 saves. . . . Saskatoon D Colin Joe, an offseason acquisition from the Kelowna Rockets, continued his wonderful season. He was plus-4 and is plus-42 on the season. . . . Saskatoon D Ryan Funk also was plus-4. . . . The WHL office is certain to investigate a second-period incident in which Kootenay D James Martin received a game misconduct for allegedly making a racial slur. According to Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “Martin was ejected following a second-period tussle with Blades LW Darian Dziurzynski. During the dust-up, officials heard Martin direct a racial slur towards Blades RW Josh Nicholls. The offence drew a game misconduct and Kootenay head coach Mark Holick didn’t argue the call.”
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In Brandon, F Matt Calvert and F Mark Stone had two goals each as the Wheat Kings dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 8-3. . . . Brandon has scored seven goals on seven occasions this season; this was its first time to hit eight. . . . It was the first time this season Brandon has scored eight goals. . . . Broncos F Geordie Wudrick opened the scoring with his 29th at 7:50 of the first period. . . . Brandon scored the game’s next four goals and six of the next seven. . . . Calvert has 23 goals; Stone has 15. Each also had an assist. . . . Brandon F Brayden Schenn had a goal and two helpers. . . . Brandon was 4-for-8 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-for-2. . . . Brandon is 7-0-0-0 against the Broncos this season. . . . Brandon is four points behind Saskatoon with a game in hand on the Blades. . . . The Broncos are without C Matt Tassone (shoulder), who is their top sniper, and RW Michael Stickland (possible concussion).
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In Prince George, the Cougars got shootout goals from F Brett Connolly and F Marek Viedensky to beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 4-3. . . . F Tyler Halliday scored twice for the Cougars, his second one, at 19:27 of the third, forcing OT. . . . Prince George F Nick Buonassisi missed on a second period penalty shot. . . . Viedensky set up both of Halliday’s goals. . . . Prince George G Joe Caligiuri stopped 37 shots, including two in the shootout. . . . C Justin Maylan also scored for the Cougars. He had been scratched from Friday’s game – a 3-2 Edmonton victory – after skipping school during the week.
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In Everett, D Tyler Myers scored his team’s last two goals as the Kelowna Rockets edged the Silvertips, 3-2. . . . Myers forged a 2-2 tie with his sixth goal of the season on a PP at 5:36 of the second period. He broke the tie 17 seconds into the third period. . . . Everett scored the only two goals of the first period, the second coming from D Trevor Bauer, his first career goal. . . . LW Jamie Benn drew assists on both of Myers’ goals. . . . Kelowna held a 46-29 edge in shots. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown, who relieved starter Mark Guggenberger with his side down 2-0 at 4:24 of the first, stopped 24 shots to improve to 16-4-0-1. . . . Attendance was 7,208. . . . Everett G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 43 shots. . . . Everett is without forwards Daniel Bartek (hand), Paul Van de Velde (shoulder), Tyler Maxwell (knee) and Dale Hunt (concussion). . . . The Silvertips are 0-8-2-0 against Kelowna, Spokane, Tri-City and Vancouver since early January.
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In Medicine Hat, there was fireworks as the Tigers whipped the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 8-3. . . . F Tyler Ennis had four goals and an assist for the Tigers. He has 35 goals this season. . . . Lethbridge led this one 2-0 at 5:08 of the first period and 3-1 at 3:26 of the second. But the Tigers scored three times in the second and then added four more in the third. . . . F Linden Vey set up three goals for Medicine Hat, while F Brennan Bosch had his 19th goal and four helpers. . . . Medicine Hat was 5-for-9 on the PP; Lethbridge was 2-for-11. . . . The two teams combined for 238 penalty minutes, 123 of those to the Tigers. . . . There were 20 fighting majors, a line brawl late in the third period and a game misconduct to Lethbridge head coach Michael Dyck. . . . That noise you hear? That’s the WHL cash register – ch-ching!!! . . . The Hurricanes remain without G Juha Metsola, whose little tweak must have really been a big tweak. He left after the first period of a Feb. 14 game.
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In Red Deer, the Calgary Hitmen tied the game late in the third period and went on to beat the Rebels 2-1 in a shootout. . . . It was the ninth time this season the Rebels have lost in the circus. . . . Calgary had beaten the visiting Rebels 7-2 on Friday night. . . . Calgary D Michael Stone forced OT at 16:10 of the third period, allowing the Hitmen to win their 54th game of the season. . . . D Luke Egener scored for Red Deer at 6:20 of the second period. . . . F Joel Broda and F Kris Foucault had shootout goals for Calgary, with F Willie Coetzee scoring for Red Deer in the circus. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones stopped 40 shots in winning for the 41st time this season. . . . Each side was 0-for-6 on the PP. . . . A note from John Down of the Calgary Herald, regarding Hitmen D Paul Postma: "The 19-year-old lost an edge and slid into the end boards while chasing down a loose puck early in the first period. He limped off and that was the last anyone saw of him."
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In Kennewick, Wash., G Chet Pickard’s 41 saves led the Tri-City Americans to a 2-1 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Pickard won for the 31st time this season. . . . The Americans are 27-4-0-1 at home. . . . The Toyota Center was sold out – 5,919. . . . Pickard’s younger brother, Calvin, plays goal for the Seattle Thunderbirds and had beaten the Chiefs, 3-0, in Kent, Wash., on Friday. . . . The Americans have won four in a row. . . . This has become one of major junior hockey’s grandest rivalries. . . . This season, the Chiefs have won five of nine from the Americans. . . . They will meet three more times down the stretch, including Saturday (Feb. 28) in Spokane. . . . F Mitch Fadden, with his 29th just 14 seconds in, and F Adam Hughesman, with his 13th, scored in the first period for Tri-City. . . . C Mitch Wahl, shorthanded, counted for Spokane in the second. He has 26. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski stopped 34 shots. . . . Tokarski and Chet Pickard were the goaltenders on Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the 2009 World Junior Championship in Ottawa. . . . Spokane D Jared Cowen, whose season was ended by a right knee injury on Jan. 30, had reconstructive surgery in Minneapolis on Thursday. . . . Tri-City is without F Jason Reese (ankle), F Petr Stoklasa (shoulder) and D Mitch McColm (concussion). . . . Spokane D Stefan Ulmer left in the third period after taking a hit from Tri-City F Johnny Lazo.
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In Prince Albert, D Travis Hamonic got the winner as the Moose Jaw Warriors beat the Raiders, 3-2. . . . The Warriors won’t make the playoffs but have recent victories over the Regina Pats and the Raiders, two teams that are scrambling for a playoff spot. . . . Moose Jaw F Jason Bast gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead with his 21st goal at 11:29 of the second period. . . . Hamonic got the winner at 13:05 of the third on the PP. . . . F Ryan McDonald pulled the Raiders to within one at 18:56 of the third.
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In Portland, F Jonathan Parker scored twice to help the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-3 victory over the Winter Hawks. . . . Parker opened the scoring, at 8:51 of the first, and closed it, at 18:42 of the third on the PP. He also had two assists as he enjoyed the best night of his young career. . . . G Calvin Pickard stopped 29 shots for Seattle, including a first-period penalty shot attempt by Luke Walker.