Saturday . . .

Taking Note is taking off for a few days. Back late in the week, hopefully.
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F Casey Pierro-Zabotel, who won the WHL scoring title last season with the Vancouver Giants, has been reassigned by the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. . . . Pierro-Zabotel, 21, had one assist and was plus-1 in seven games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. His first AHL assist was recorded on January 31 against the Manitoba Moose. . . . He had 33 points, including nine goals, in 38 games with the Nailers before being recalled.
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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)
dx-Calgary (10) 43-17-1-1-88
dx-Brandon (9) 42-17-1-3-88
x-Saskatoon (11) 41-14-3-3-88
Kootenay (10) 38-19-3-2-81
Medicine Hat (9) 34-21-3-5-76
Red Deer (11) 35-22-0-4-74
Swift Current (9) 31-28-0-4-66
Moose Jaw (12) 28-24-4-4-64
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Prince Albert (11) 29-27-3-2-63
Regina (10) 26-29-3-4-59
Saturday: Calgary 4 at Kamloops 3; Kootenay 2 at Lethbridge 1 (SO); Moose Jaw 0 at Medicine Hat 4; Vancouver 2 at Prince Albert 3 (OT); Chilliwack 3 at Regina 5; Brandon 4 at Saskatoon 6.
Sunday: Kootenay at Medicine Hat; Prince Albert at Swift Current.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (11) 41-17-1-2-85
dx-Vancouver (10) 37-20-2-3-79
x-Everett (10) 39-19-3-1-82
x-Spokane (12) 39-20-3-1-80
x-Portland (9) 38-22-2-1-79
x-Kelowna (10) 29-28-2-3-63
Kamloops (8) 28-30-2-4-62
Chilliwack (10) 27-29-1-5-60
x — clinched playoff spot.
Saturday: Calgary 4 at Kamloops 3; Kelowna 2 at Portland 3; Vancouver 2 at Prince Albert 3 (OT); Chilliwack 3 at Regina 5; Everett 4 at Seattle 2; Spokane 2 at Tri-City 1.
Sunday: Kelowna at Seattle.
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SATURDAY:
In Kennewick, Wash., the Spokane Chiefs broke a scoreless tie with two third-period goals as they beat the host Tri-City Americans, 2-1. . . . The Chiefs have won seven in a row and now have won four straight from the Americans and six of nine in the season series. . . . Tri-City has lost four of its last six games. . . . F Brady Brassart, with his eighth, at 1:43 and F Blake Gal, with his eighth, at 2:57, gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. . . . Tri-City D Brett Plouffe got his sixth at 18:22 on the PP. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 32 shots as the Chiefs won their third road game in four nights. . . . Tri-City G Alexandre Pechurskiy stopped 22 shots. . . . The Americans were 1-for-6 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-for-1. . . . Attendance was 5,783. . . . Tri-City F Kruise Reddick (foot) returned after a six-game absence.
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In Edmonton, G Cam Lanigan stopped 31 shots to help the Oil Kings to a 3-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . F Cameron Abney, with his fifth, just 31 seconds into the game and F Devin Balness, with his fifth, at 3:37, gave the home team an early 2-0 lead. . . . F Parker Stanfield cut that in half with his 10th at 12:26, only to have F Robin Soudek, with his eighth, restore Edmonton’s two-goal lead at 18:35. . . . Four goals in the first period and there wasn¹t another until 5:05 of the third when Prince George F Brock Hirsche scored his 13th on the PP. . . . The Cougars, who have lost five in a row, were 1-for-2 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 0-for-2. . . . Prince George G Hudson Stremmel stopped 27 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,216. . . . The Cougars had F Troy Bourke, a second-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, in their lineup, along with D Dane Phaneuf, a third-round pick in 2009. Phaneuf is the younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs D Dion Phaneuf, who played in the WHL with the Red Deer Rebels and who was on hand for this game. . . . Bourke and the younger Phaneuf play for the midget AAA Edmonton South Side Athletic Club that was eliminated from the playoffs earlier in the week.
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In Kamloops, Blazers G Kurtis Mucha set a Canadian Hockey League for career games played by a goaltender but he wasn’t able to beat the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Hitmen scored in the last minute of each of the first two periods and went on to a 4-3 victory. . . . Mucha played in his 240th regular-season game, breaking the record that had been held by Ryan Mior, who played with the QMJHL’s P.E.I. Rocket and Gatineau Olympiques (2003-08). . . . F Chase Schaber, who went to Kamloops from Calgary as part of five-player deal in January, scored twice, giving him 13. He opened the scoring 16 seconds into the game and closed it with 11.5 seconds remaining in the third period. . . . Calgary, with 15 victories in its last 18 games, took control with three straight goals after Schaber’s first score. . . . D Giffen Nyren, who went from Kamloops to Calgary for a draft pick earlier in the season, scored at 19:22 of the first and F Cody Sylvester counted at 19:34 of the second. . . . Mucha finished with 25 saves. . . . Calgary G Michael Snider stopped 17 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,533. . . . Calgary F Jimmy Bubnick, who was part of that five-player deal, missed his third straight game with a shoulder injury.
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In Lethbridge, F Dustin Sylvester scored the only goal of the shootout as the Kootenay Ice scored a 2-1 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The teams exchanged first-period goals, with F Carter Bancks getting his 15th, shorthanded, for the home team at 3:13 and F Christian Magnus getting his second of the season for the Ice at 17:42. . . . Kootenay, which had lost its previous two games, was 0-for-5 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-for-7. . . . The Hurricanes, who have lost five straight, had a great chance to win it in OT when Ice forwards Kevin King (high-sticking) and Max Reinhart (unsportsmanlike conduct) were penalized at 3:17. But the home side failed to capitalize. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 27 shots, while Lethbridge¹s Linden Rowat blocked 20. . . . Attendance was 3,344.
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In Medicine Hat, G Tyler Bunz stopped 23 shots for the shutout as the Tigers beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 4-0. . . . D Jace Coyle’s 10th goal, at 14:38
of the first period, stood up as the winner as Bunz posted the second shutout of
the season and the second of his career. . . . D Mark Isherwood scored twice for
the Tigers, who halted a three-game losing skid, and now has 16 on the season. . . . Moose Jaw G Jeff Bosch stopped 16 shots. . . . Medicine Hat was 1-for-3 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-for-3. . . . Attendance was 4,006.
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In Portland, D Troy Rutkowski broke a 2-2 tie at 16:17 of the third period to give the Winterhawks a 3-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Rockets, now having lost three in a row, took a 2-1 lead into the third period after F Shane McColgan scored at 19:59 of the second period to break a 1-1 tie. . . . Portland F Nino Niederreiter scored his 33rd, on the PP, at 14:52 of the third to tie it at 2-2. . . . Portland was 1-for-7 on the PP; Kelowna was 0-for-5. . . . Attendance at Memorial Coliseum was 4,197. . . . McColgan, 16, has 24 goals. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 35 shots, one fewer than Kelowna¹s Adam Brown.
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In Prince Albert, D Ryan Button’s OT goal gave the Prince Albert Raiders a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Raiders F Brandon Herrod had forced OT with a shorthanded goal, his 34th goal of the season, at 14:38 of the third period. . . . The Raiders took a 1-0 lead on F Igor Revenko’s 24th goal, on the PP, at 2:19 of the second. . . . Vancouver F Brendan Gallagher scored twice, at 3:38 of the second and 11:22 of the third, to give his side a 2-1 lead. He has 36 goals. . . . Vancouver F Craig Cunningham drew assists on both goals. . . . Prince Albert G Jamie Tucker, who asked for a trade out of Vancouver and ended up with the Raiders, stopped 29 shots, 11 fewer than the Giants’ Mark Segal. . . . The Raiders, who had lost their last five games, were 1-for-6 on the PP; the Giants, who had won four in a row, were 0-for-6. . . . Attendance was 2,228.
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In Regina, F Jordan Weal scored two goals and set up two others as the Pats dropped the Chilliwack Bruins, 5-3. . . . Weal has 29 goals. . . . Regina F Jordan Eberle added his 42nd goal and two assists. . . . The Pats were without F Garrett Mitchell. He returned Friday after missing three games with a concussion, then suffered a broken nose during a 10-2 loss to the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . Chilliwack F Jamie Crooks scored his 18th goal. He and F Shayne Neigum scored to pull the Bruins to within 3-2, but Regina F Hampus Gustafsson scored his 11th at 11:02 of the third and Weal added his second goal 2:52 later. . . . Regina G Damien Ketlo stopped 22 shots, while Chilliwack’s Braden Gamble turned aside 23. . . . The Bruins were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Pats were 0-for-2. . . . Attendance was 4,739.
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In Saskatoon, the Blades overcame a 3-1 first-period deficit and beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 6-4. . . . Brandon got PP goals from D Colby Robak, his 14th, and F Jay Fehr, his 24th, at 10:41 and 12:04 of the first period to take a 3-1 lead. . . . The Blades scored the game’s next three goals, with F Zac Boyer giving them a 4-3 lead with his 10th goal at 13:27 of the second. . . . That goal sent Brandon starter Andrew Hayes to the bench, having stopped 19 of 23 shots. . . . Brandon D Jordan Hale, with his third, put the visitors back into a tie. . . . Saskatoon D Jyri Niemi broke the 4-4 tie at 12:31 of the third on the PP. . . . Blades F Derek Hulak added an empty-netter, his 27th. . . . Brandon was 2-for-4 on the PP; Saskatoon was 1-for-5. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 23 shots. . . . Attendance was 5,181. . . . The Wheat Kings were without F Mark Stone, who was injured during a 10-2 victory over the visiting Regina Pats on Friday and spent the night in hospital. He was released from Brandon General on Saturday morning. He is out indefinitely with a concussion. . . . D Travis Hamonic made his long-awaited debut with the Wheat Kings. Hamonic, who was acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors on Jan. 10, had been out since suffering a shoulder injury while playing for Canada at the World Junior Championship in Saskatoon. . . . Brandon had won five in a row and 12 of 13 going into this one.
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In Kent, Wash., the Everett Silvertips scored the game’s last four goals and beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-2. . . . The Thunderbirds had a 2-0 lead on a first-period goal by F Chance Lund, his fifth, at 10:36 and a second-period score by F Prab Rai, his 35th, at 3:06 of the second on the PP. . . . Everett tied it before the period ended as F Tyler Maxwell, with his 31st, and F Dan Iwanski, with his sixth, scored. . . . F Byron Froese broke the tie with his 25th, on the PP, at 6:31 of the third period. . . . Everett F Shane Harper iced it with an empty-netter. He has 37 goals. . . . Attendance was 5,174. . . . The Thunderbirds now have lost 17 in a row. . . . Everett was 3-for-4 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 1-for-4.