Saturday . . .

Sometimes blogging is like fishing . . . you drop a line in the water and see what happens. . . .
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The game scheduled for Feb. 16 that has the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent visiting the Chilliwack Bruins now will begin at 8 p.m. (Pacific time). . . . The starting time was changed so as to avoid a conflict with an Olympic game between Canada and Norway. . . . Anyone wearing red will be able to purchase a ticket for that particular WHL game for $5.
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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)
d-Brandon (15) 37-16-1-3-78
d-Calgary (18) 36-16-1-1-74
Saskatoon (18) 36-12-3-3-78
Kootenay (16) 34-17-3-2-73
Medicine Hat (14) 32-18-3-5-72
Red Deer (17) 30-21-0-4-64
Prince Albert (16) 28-23-3-2-61
Moose Jaw (19) 26-19-5-3-60
Swift Current (16) 28-25-0-3-59
Regina (16) 24-25-3-4-55
Saturday: Medicine Hat 0 at Calgary 2; Kootenay 4 at Regina 5 (OT); Brandon 3 at Saskatoon 4 (OT); Red Deer 0 at Swift Current 6.
Sunday: No games scheduled (Super Bowl Sunday).
Monday: No games scheduled.
Tuesday: Regina at Brandon; Moose Jaw at Kootenay; Lethbridge at Red Deer; Calgary at Swift Currrent.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (19) 38-13-0-2-78
d-Vancouver (15) 33-20-1-3-70
Everett (17) 34-18-2-1-71
Portland (15) 34-20-2-1-71
Spokane (17) 31-20-3-1-66
Kelowna (15) 28-25-2-2-60
Kamloops (15) 26-25-2-4-58
Chilliwack (16) 24-26-1-5-54
x — clinched playoff spot.
Saturday: Kelowna 1 at Chilliwack 0; Spokane 1 at Everett 5; Lethbridge 1 at Kamloops 2; Portland 6 at Seattle 3; Tri-City 5 at Vancouver 4 (OT).
Sunday: No games scheduled (Super Bowl Sunday).
Monday: No games scheduled.
Tuesday: Seattle at Tri-City.
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SATURDAY:
In Saskatoon, the Blades erased an early 3-0 lead and beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-3, in overtime. . . . F Toni Rajala (1:22), F Shayne Wiebe (1:58) and F Matt Calvert (5:11) scored first-period goals for Brandon, with Calvert’s goal, his 36th, coming while the visitors were shorthanded. He leads the WHL with nine shorthanded snipes. . . . Calvert has nine goals in six games versus the Blades. . . . Saskatoon F Walker Wintoneak scored shorthanded at 3:45 of the third to get the Blades to within one and D Stefan Elliott tied it on the PP, with his 20th, at 14:46. . . . F Gaelan Patterson scored his 18th, at 2:01 of OT, to win it. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 19 shots, while Brandon’s Jacob De Serres turned aside 36. . . . Saskatoon was 1-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-2. . . . Attendance was 4,474. . . . Brandon had a seven-game winning streak snapped and fell into a tie for first-place overall with the Tri-City Americans and Saskatoon. . . . The Wheat Kings went into the game having beaten the Blades four times in five tries, including twice in Saskatoon. . . .
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In Langley, B.C., the Tri-City Americans overcame a 3-0 first-period deficit and beat the Vancouver Giants 5-4 in a shootout. . . . F Patrick Holland, who had a goal and two assists in regulation, won it with the only goal of the shootout. . . . D Kevin Connauton, Vancouver’s last shooter, hit the right post. . . . Vancouver led 3-0 at 11:53 of the first period when F James Wright got his second goal since returning from the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. . . . The Americans scored the game’s next four goals, with D Tyler Schmidt giving them their first lead at 14:31 of the third. . . . Vancouver F Milan Kytnar forced OT with his seventh goal with 11.5 seconds left in the third period. . . . F Justin Feser and F Neal Prokop each had a goal and two assists for the Americans. . . . The Giants got two assists from F Tomas Vincour. . . . Tri-City G Alexander Pechurskiy stopped five of eight shots before being relieved by Drew Owsley, who stopped 30 of 31. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal turned aside 31 shots. . . . Tri-City was 1-for-2 on the PP; the Giants were 0-for-2. . . . Attendance was 4,488. . . . The Giants are 3-1-1-0 at Langley.
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In Calgary, G Martin Jones stopped 33 shots, including a penalty shot, as the Hitmen blanked the Medicine Hat Tigers, 2-0. . . . Jones, who has made 14 straight starts since returning after playing for Canada at the world junior tournament, has five shutouts this season and 13 in his career. He now shares the franchise career shutout record with Justin Pogge. . . . F Joel Broda’s 28th goal, on the PP at 19:50 of the second period, stood up as the winner. . . . F Del Cowan added an empty-netter for his 12th goal of the season. . . . Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem wasn’t able to score on a penalty shot at 8:05 of the second period. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 23 shots. . . . Attendance was 8,689. . . . Calgary was 1-for-3 on the PP; Medicined Hat was 0-for-4. . . . Calgary has won three in a row, while the Tigers have lost three straight. . . . The Hitmen had beaten the Tigers 4-1 in Medicine Hat on Thursday.
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In Chilliwack, G Adam Brown stopped 26 shots for the shutout as the Kelowna Rockets blanked the Bruins, 1-0. . . . F Lucas Bloodoff scored the game’s only goal, his 11th, at 3:59 of the third period on the PP. It was the attack of the Killer Bs, as Brett Bulmer and Collin Bowman drew assists on the goal. . . . Brown has four shutouts this season and six for his career. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 33 shots. . . . Kelowna was 1-for-4 on the PP; the Bruins were 0-for-6. . . . Attendance was 3,162. . . . The Rockets, who now have won nine in a row, next play Wednesday when they visit the Everett Silvertips.
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In Everett, F Byron Froese had two goals and two assists to lead the Silvertips to a 5-1 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Froese has 21 goals this season. . . . F Kellan Tochkin got his 20th of the season for Everett, while F Tyler Maxwell added his 26th. . . . The line of Froese, Tochkin and Maxwell combined for 10 points, including the four goals. . . . F Kyle Beach got No. 36 for the Chiefs, who had won two in a row and four of five. . . . The Silvertips had lost two straight. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 18 shots. . . . Spokane opened with James Reid, who stopped 27 of 32. Michael Tadjdeh came on at 4:56 of the third and stopped all 11 shots he saw. . . . Everett was 1-for-4 on the PP; the Chiefs were, uhh, 0-for-0. . . . Attendance was 6,944.
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In Kamloops, D Ryan Funk broke a 1-1 tie in the third period to give the Blazers a 2-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Funk’s shot from the point appeared to glance off Lethbridge D Mike Reddington before going past the catching mitt of G Brandon Anderson. . . . Funk’s sixth goal of the season came at 13:41 of the third period. . . . Lethbridge F Carter Bancks scored the game’s first goal, at 1:48 of the second. . . . The Blazers tied it 45 seconds into the third when D Bronson Maschmeyer scored his seventh on the PP. . . . Kamloops, which had lost three of four, was 1-for-1 on the PP; the Hurricanes (16-34-3-2), now having lost eight in a row, were 0-for-5. . . . Kamloops G Jon Groenheyde stopped 22 shots, while Anderson turned aside 32. . . . Attendance was 4,386.
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In Prince George, the Edmonton Oil Kings broke a 1-1 tie with four second-period goals and went on to beat the Cougars, 5-2. . . . The Cougars had beaten the Oil Kings 4-1 on Friday. . . . F Robin Soudek broke a 1-1 tie at 15:55 of the second period and the Oil Kings added three more goals before the period ended. . . . F Garry Nunn got his 13th (at 16:45), with F Sebastian Svendsen getting his eighth (16:55) and F T.J. Foster his sixth (18:01). . . . Edmonton (12-33-4-8) was 1-for-6 on the PP; the Cougars (10-41-1-2) were 0-for-5. . . . Attendance was 1,852. . . . Edmonton G Torrie Jung turned aside 19 shots, while the Cougars’ Hudson Stremmel stopped 35.
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In Regina, D Mitch Spooner scored his second goal of the season at 2:15 of OT to give the Pats a 5-4 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Pats had forced OT with two late third-period goals -- by D Cody Carlson, at 18:07, and F Jordan Eberle, at 19:04. . . . Eberle’s goal was his WHL-leading 39th. He also had two assists, including one on the winner. . . . Regina went into this game having lost four in a row, the last three in shootouts. . . . F Jesse Ismond scored three times -- once in each period -- for the Ice. He has 17 goals. . . . Ismond’s third goal gave the Ice a 4-2 lead at 8:12 of the third period. . . . Regina G Damien Ketlo stopped 27 shots, while the Ice’s Todd Mathews turned aside 22. . . . The Pats were 0-for-4 on the PP; the Ice was 0-for-3. . . . Attendance was 4,361.
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In Swift Current, G Morgan Clark stopped 37 shots to help the Broncos to a 6-0 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Broncos broke a scoreless tie with four second-period goals. . . . Clark, who was acquired from the Rebels last season, has one shutout this season and three in his career. . . . The Broncos got three goals from F Justin Dowling, giving him 25. . . . Dowling also had an assist. . . . Broncos F Cody Eakin scored his 38th goal, one off the WHL lead. . . . Attendance was 2,268.
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In Kent, Wash., the Portland Winterhawks erased a 2-1 deficit with four second-period goals and went on to beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 6-3. . . . The Winterhawks, who had beaten the Thunderbirds 6-3 in Portland on Friday, are 10-0 against the Thunderbirds this season. . . . The Winterhawks got points from 14 players with no one earning more than one. . . . F Luke Walker got his 22nd goal, while F Nino Niederreiter got No. 31 for Portland. . . . Niederreiter, who has goals in four straight games, is the first Portland 30-goal man since F Dan Da Silva and F Cody McLeod each scored 31 in 2004-05. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth, starting his sixth straight game as Ian Curtis nurses a shoulder injury, made 24 saves. . . . Seattle’s Calvin Pickard stopped 21 through two periods, with Michael Salmon stopped eight shots in the third. . . . Each team was 1-for-3 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 4,570. . . . The Winterhawks next play Wednesday when the Tri-City Americans visit Memorial Coliseum. That game was to have been played in the Rose Garden but has been moved to make way for a Billy Joel/Elton John concert. . . . The Thunderbirds now have lost 11 in a row.