Wednesday . . .

The Portland Winter Hawks are expecting the 7 millionth fan in franchise history to come through the turnstiles Saturday when they are at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent. That fan will be presented with, among other things, season tickets for 2009-10 and an autographed stick. That fan also will take part in the ceremonial faceoff and is guaranteed a spot in the annual Dash for Cash promotion later that night. . . .
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The CHL’s top 10, as selected by a panel of anonymous NHL scouts (with current and previous rankings, team and league plus record through Tuesday in parentheses):
1. (1) Windsor Spitfires (OHL, 50-6-0-1)
2. (2) Calgary Hitmen (WHL, 51-7-3-1)
3. (3) Vancouver Giants (WHL, 48-5-1-3)
4. (4) Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL, 45-11-2-0)
5. (5) Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL, 46-9-0-3)
6. (7) Saskatoon Blades (WHL, 43-14-3-1)
7. (9) Belleville Bulls (OHL, 38-15-2-2)
8. (6) Quebec Remparts (QMJHL, 43-11-0-3)
9. (8) Brampton Battalion (OHL, 38-16-1-1)
10. (10) Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL, 40-16-3-1)
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WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Moose Jaw, F Brandon Herrod scored twice to lead the Prince Albert Raiders to a 4-3 victory over the Warriors. . . . Herrod’s second goal, his 13th, gave the Raiders a 4-1 lead at 2:39 of the second period. . . . His first goal came while shorthanded; his second came on the PP. . . . The Warriors were 2-for-9 on the PP; the Raiders were 1-for-4.
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In Medicine Hat, F Del Cowan had two goals to help the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 4-1 victory over the Tigers. . . . F Linden Vey opened the scoring for the home side on a PP at 2:53 of the second period. . . . Cowan tied it 58 seconds later. . . . Cowan has 11 goals this season. . . . The Wheat Kings, who have won 24 of their last 29 games, now are within four points of the Saskatoon Blades, who are the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Those two teams will meet three more times this season. . . . Brandon, which is on a real roll as the playoffs approach, has won three road games over the last four nights. . . . The Wheat Kings are 22-9-1-0 away from home.
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In Calgary, the Eastern Conference’s top two teams met head-on with the Hitmen taking down the Saskatoon Blades, 5-1. . . . The Hitmen scored four times in the second period. . . . Calgary (52-7-3-1) set franchise records for most victories (30) and most points (61) on home ice. . . . F Brett Sonne had a goal and two assists for Calgary as he ran his points streak to 15 games. He has 26 goals over his last 24 games. In fact, he has struck for 32 of his 42 goals since playing for Canada at the World Junior Championship. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones turned aside 26 shots in winning his 39th game of the season. That tied the single-season franchise record set by Alexandre Fomitchev in 1998-99. . . . Calgary F Joel Broda scored his WHL-best 46th goal of the season.
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In Kelowna, F Alexander Wiklund’s shootout goal gave the Chilliwack Bruins a 4-3 victory over the Rockets. . . . You have to wonder if the Rockets have been reading their press clippings, considering they lost to the Western Conference’s two poorest teams in the span of two days. Kelowna fell 4-3 in Portland on Monday afternoon. . . . Bruins D Brandon Manning forced OT with a goal at 17:27 of the third. . . . F Ryan Howse scored his 25th goal for the visitors. . . . The Bruins had lost 10 in a row. . . . Kelowna led this one 3-0 midway through the first period thanks to three goals in the span of 66 seconds. . . . Bruins G Marc Friesen relieved started Lucas Gore after the third Kelowna goal, at 9:55 of the first period. Friesen stopped all 32 shots he faced. . . . Howse and Wiklund scored for Chilliwack in the circus; C Colin Long, who got his 29th goal in the first period, scored for Kelowna in the circus. . . . The Bruins hadn’t won since Jan. 23 when they beat, yes, the Rockets, 5-4 in a shootout. Wiklund scored in the circus that night, too. . . . Kelowna was without LW Jamie Benn, who is day-to-day with a throat problem.
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In Everett, the Silvertips scored three early PP goals and went on to a 7-3 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks. . . . The victory lifted the Silvertips into a tie for fifth with the idle Kamloops Blazers in the Western Conference. . . . Referee Andy Thiessen gave Everett the game’s first five power plays and the Silvertips scored on three of them to take a 3-0 lead into the second period. . . . F Campbell Elynuik, the son of former NHLer Pat Elynuik, scored his first WHL goal for the Silvertips. It was his second WHL game. . . . Everett LW Daniel Bartek scored one goal before leaving in the third period with a hand injury after blocking a shot. Bartek was just back in the lineup after recovering from a fractured foot.
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In Spokane, LW Drayson Bowman scored one of the stranger hat tricks in WHL history as the Chiefs beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 7-3. . . . Bowman counted twice on two penalty shots and added a power-play goal. He now has 35 goals this season. . . . He scored on a penalty shot at 5:20 of the first period and did it again at 19:23 of the second period. In between, he scored a PP goal at 1:55 of the second. . . . C Tyler Johnson also scored three times for the Chiefs. He has 22 goals on the season after scoring 13 last season. . . . Bowman and Johnson added an assist apiece, while C Mitch Wahl set up three Spokane goals. . . . The Chiefs led 3-1 after one period and 7-1 after two. . . . Spokane has won 17 of 19, including five in a row. . . . The Portland Winter Hawks are expecting the 7 millionth fan in franchise history to come through the turnstiles Saturday when they are at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent. That fan will be presented with, among other things, season tickets for 2009-10 and an autographed stick. That fan also will take part in the ceremonial faceoff and is guaranteed a spot in the annual Dash for Cash promotion later that night.