Friday . . .

THE PLAYOFF CHASE
Teams in the running for playoff spots, showing games remaining (d — denotes division leaders, who are seeded one-two):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Brandon (10) 42-16-1-3-88
dx-Calgary (11) 42-17-1-1-86
x-Saskatoon (12) 40-14-3-3-86
Kootenay (11) 37-19-3-2-79
Red Deer (11) 35-22-0-4-74
Medicine Hat (10) 33-21-3-5-74
Swift Current (9) 31-28-0-4-66
Moose Jaw (13) 28-23-4-4-64
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Prince Albert (12) 28-27-3-2-61
Regina (11) 25-29-3-4-57
Friday: Regina 2 at Brandon 10; Calgary 4 at Kelowna 1; Spokane 6 at Kootenay 4; Prince George 1 at Red Deer 3; Vancouver 5 at Saskatoon 2; Chilliwack 3 at Swift Current 0.
Saturday: Prince Albert at Edmonton; Calgary at Kamloops; Kootenay at Lethbridge; Moose Jaw at Medicine Hat; Vancouver at Prince Albert; Chilliwack at Regina; Brandon at Saskatoon.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (13) 41-16-1-2-85
dx-Vancouver (11) 37-20-1-3-78
x-Everett (11) 38-19-3-1-80
x-Spokane (13) 38-20-3-1-78
x-Portland (10) 37-22-2-1-77
Kelowna (11) 29-27-2-3-63
Kamloops (9) 28-29-2-4-62
Chilliwack (11) 27-28-1-5-60
x — clinched playoff spot.
Friday: Seattle 4 at Kamloops 5 (OT); Calgary 4 at Kelowna 1; Spokane 6 at Kootenay 4; Vancouver 5 at Saskatoon 2; Chilliwack 3 at Swift Current 0; Everett 3 at Tri-City 2.
Saturday: Calgary at Kamloops; Kelowna at Portland; Vancouver at Prince Albert; Chilliwack at Regina; Everett at Seattle; Spokane at Tri-City.
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FRIDAY:
In Kennewick, Wash., F Kellan Tochkin broke a 2-2 tie at 3:58 of the third period as the Everett Silvertips scored a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Tri-City now is 25-7-0-0 at the Toyota Center. . . . Tochkin, who also scored the game’s first goal, now has 23 goals. . . . His winning goal came 3:03 after F Neal Prokop had pulled the Americans into a 2-2 tie. . . . Everett led 2-0 after one period, only to have the Americans get a goal from F Brooks Macek, his 17th, at 16:27 of the second. . . . Everett G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 34 shots as he earned his 20th victory this season, while Tri-City’s Drew Owsley turned aside 24. . . . Everett F Byron Froese had two assists. . . . Attendance was 5,461.
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In Saskatoon, special teams were a big deal as the Vancouver Giants dumped the Blades, 5-2. . . . The Giants were 2-for-2 on the PP, while the Blades were 0-for-6. That included four minutes in the second period after Vancouver D David Musil took a double high-sticking penalty. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 30 shots. . . . After F Walker Wintoneak gave Saskatoon a 1-0 lead, the Giants got first-period PP goals form D Neil Manning and F Milan Kytnar, who was acquired earlier from the Blades. . . . F Brendan Gallagher had two goals, giving him 34, and an assist for the Giants. . . . The Giants scored their last two goals in empty nets. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 18 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,097. . . . The Blades had won six of their previous seven games. . . . The Giants, who have won four in a row, are closing in on their fifth consecutive B.C. Division title. In WHL history, only the Kamloops Blazers (1983-88) have won five straight division titles.
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In Brandon, the Wheat Kings scored four times on the game’s first six PP
opportunities and went on to beat the Pats, 10-2. . . . F Brayden Schenn,
with his 25th, got Brandon on the board at 4:56 of the first period. . . .
The Wheat Kings then took complete control with four PP goals over the next 13 minutes, from F Toni Rajala, his 21st, F Shayne Wiebe (20), F Aaron
Lewadniuk (31) and F Jay Fehr (23). . . . The Wheat Kings now have eight
players on their roster with at least 20 goals this season. . . . Brandon
built up a 7-0 second-period lead before the Pats got goals from F Jordan
Eberle, his 41st, and F Jordan Weal, his 27th. . . . Rajala rang up three
goals — it was his first WHL hat trick — and two assists before he was done, while linemates Lewadniuk and Fehr each had a goal and three assists. . . . D Colby Robak, who didn’t practice Thursday because of a leg injury, had two assists and was plus-4. . . . D Darren Bestland was pointless and plus-4. . . . F Matt Calvert drew three assists. . . . Wiebe finished with two goals. . . . Brandon G Jacob De Serres stopped 13 shots. . . . The Regina duo of Damien Ketlo and Dawson Guhle combined to stop 26 shots. . . . The teams evenly split 172 penalty minutes, with most of those coming from a handful of late-game scraps. . . . Attendance was a season-high 5,536. . . . Brandon finished up 4-for-10 on the PP; Regina was 0-for-2. . . . The Wheat Kings, who have won 12 of their last 13 games, have won eight in a row at home. . . . This game turned ugly as, according to the Brandon Sun, “20-year-old Pats defenceman Colten Teubert goaded (Brandon defenceman Michael Stone, 17, into a fight that ended with the Wheat Kings forward crumpled on the ice and later being examined by doctors as of press time.” . . . Schenn, a teammate of Teubert’s on Canada’s national junior team, told The Sun’s Rob Henderson: “I think a guy like that has been in the league long enough, obviously it is a blowout game, but I think you’ve got to have a little bit more class than that. If you want to be tough guy, go fight (Wheat Kings enforcer) Jordan Hale, that’s all I’ve got to say about that.” . . . The bottom line is that the Pats are seven points out of a playoff spot and fading fast, and head coach Curtis Hunt wasn’t impressed. “We’ve got some players who, when the going gets tough, they didn’t really get going, they just went,” Hunt told the Regina Leader-Post. “I challenged the kids after about, ‘If you’re considering shutting this thing down, then you’ll be gone. We’ll get you running right out of town.' I have no interest in finishing this year at not competing at 110 per cent and I have no interest in guys who don’t put on the jersey with a sense of pride, a sense of urgency and a sense of team and wanting to get something accomplished.”
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In Edmonton, the Oil Kings scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-1. . . . F Cameron Abney broke a 1-1 tie at 13:10 of the second period with his fourth of the season. . . . This was Edmonton’s fifth victory in its last 37 games. . . . F Michael St. Croix added insurance, with his second of the game and 15th of the season, at 15:02 of the second. . . . F T.J. Foster and F Garry Nunn each had two assists for Edmonton. . . . Edmonton G Torrie Jung turned aside 31 shots, 11 fewer than Lethbridge’s Brandon Anderson. . . . The Hurricanes have lost four in a row. . . . Attendance was 4,713.
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In Kamloops, C C.J. Stretch scored at 1:22 of OT to give the Blazers a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent. . . . The Blazers had lost their last two games; the Thunderbirds now have lost 16 in a row. . . . Kamloops took a 4-2 lead into the third, but the Thunderbirds tied it on PP goals by F Prab Rai, at 1:47, and F Colin Jacobs, at 15:20. . . . .Rai, who scored twice, now has 34 goals this season. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 28 shots. . . . Kamloops G Kurtis Mucha made 23 saves as he tied the CHL record for career appearances by a goaltender. . . . Attendance was 4,081.
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In Kelowna, F Cody Sylvester broke a 1-1 tie at 11:43 of the second period and the Calgary Hitmen went on to a 4-1 victory over the Rockets. . . . Sylvester, who is from Kelowna, has eight goals this season. . . . The Hitmen have won 10 of their last 11 games. . . . F Tyler Shattock drew two assists for Calgary, which lost to the Rockets in six games in the WHL final last spring. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones stopped 24 shots, while Kelowna’s Mark Guggenberger turned aside 31. . . . Attendance was 6,231.
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In Cranbrook, the Spokane Chiefs counted the game’s last three goals and beat the host Kootenay ice, 6-4, for their sixth straight victory. . . . The Ice erased a 3-1 deficit — the visitors scored on three of their first five shots — with second-period goals from F Dustin Sylvester, shorthanded, F Max Reinhart and D Brayden McNabb. McNabb’s goal, his 16th, gave the Ice a 4-3 lead at 18:26. . . . Spokane D Stefan Ulmer, who had two goals and an assist, tied it 26 seconds later. . . . Spokane F Brady Brassart broke the tie at 3:36 of the third, with Ulmer getting the assist, and Chiefs F Levko Koper got the empty-netter at 19:59. . . . Spokane F Kyle Beach scored his WHL-leading 46th goal. He has nine goals in his last four games. . . . Spokane G James Reid made 25 saves, while the Ice’s Todd Mathews stopped 19. . . . Referee Derek Zalaski handed out four minor penalties, three to the Ice. . . . The Chiefs were 0-for-2 on the PP; the Ice was 0-for-0. . . . Attendance was 2,922.
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In Red Deer, the Rebels scored the game’s first three goals and went on to a 3-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Rebels now are 22-7-0-2 at home. . . . The Cougars have lost four in a row. . . . F Andrej Kudrna, with his 26th, F Daulton Siwak, with his second, and F Brett Ferguson, with his 11th, scored second-period goals from Red Deer. . . . Rebels G Darcy Kuemper stopped 23 shots, losing his shutout when F Alex Rodgers got his 18th, on the PP, at 5:01 of the third. . . . Prince George G Kyle Jahraus stopped 31 shots. . . . Prince George was 1-for-8 on the PP; the Rebels were 0-for-3. . . . F Brett Connolly (hip) didn’t play for the Cougars. . . . Attendance was 5,339.
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In Swift Current, G Lucas Gore stopped 31 shots to lead the Chilliwack
Bruins to a 3-0 victory over the Broncos. . . . The shutout was the fourth of
the season for Gore, which is a franchise single-season record. Alex Archibald set the previous record in 2006-07. . . . F Jamie Crooks scored two PP goals, the first one at 9:01 of the first period. He has 17 on the season. . . . F Kevin Sundher drew two assists. . . . Swift Current G Morgan Clark stopped 17 shots. . . . The game marked the return of Chilliwack GM/head coach Marc Habscheid to his hometown. He spent the last couple of seasons in Swift Current after being fired as an assistant coach by the NHL’s Boston Bruins. . . . Attendance was 2,333. . . . The Bruins were 2-for-5 on the PP; the Broncos, who had won their previous three games, were 0-for-8.