Wednesday . . .

The Vancouver Giants return home Friday night after what has to be the longest road trip in WHL history. The Giants and Kelowna Rockets will play at Pacific Coliseum, the first game there since Jan. 3. On that night, the Giants beat the Rockets, 6-3. . . . The Giants then had to vacate the facility for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. They have played 27 games since the last played in their home rink. . . . The Giants started by going 5-5-0-0. They then played five ‘home’ games in the Langley Events Centre, going 3-1-0-1. They then played a game in Chilliwack, and won. . . . Then it was back to Langley for another ‘home’ game, and a victory. . . . The last 10 games were played on the road, where they went 5-4-1-0. . . . Add it all up and the Giants are 15-10-1-1 since they last played in the Pacific Coliseum. You have to think they are pleased with that.
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The Prince Albert Raiders are out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. That much was decided in Wednesday’s action. . . . The Kootenay Ice moved a point ahead of the Medicine Hat Tigers in the fight for fourth place and home-ice advantage in the first round. . . . The Chilliwack Bruins moved into a tie with the Kamloops Blazers for seventh in the Western Conference. They are two points behind the Kelowna Rockets. All three teams have two games remaining.
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THE PLAYOFF CHASE
Teams in the running for playoff spots, showing games remaining (d — division leaders, who are seeded one-two; y — clinched division championship; x — clinched playoff spot):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
y-Calgary (2) 50-17-1-2-103
dx-Brandon (2) 48-18-1-3-100
x-Saskatoon (2) 45-18-3-4-97
x-Kootenay (2) 41-24-3-2-87
x-Medicine Hat (2) 39-23-3-5-86
x-Red Deer (2) 39-26-0-5-83
x-Moose Jaw (2) 33-27-4-6-76
x-Swift Current (2) 35-30-1-4-75
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Prince Albert (2) 31-34-3-2-67
Wednesday: Moose Jaw 2 at Brandon 8; Swift Current 5 at Prince Albert 2; Regina 3 at Saskatoon 2; Calgary 4 at Edmonton 1; Red Deer 1 at Kootenay 5.
Thursday: No games scheduled.
Friday: Brandon at Regina; Prince Albert at Saskatoon; Edmonton at Calgary; Medicine at Lethbridge; Kootenay at Red Deer.
Saturday: Saskatoon at Prince Albert; Regina at Brandon; Moose Jaw at Swift Current; Edmonton at Kootenay; Lethbridge at Medicine Hat.
Sunday: Red Deer at Calgary.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (2) 46-21-1-2-95
y-Vancouver (3) 40-24-2-3-85
x-Everett (3) 44-20-3-2-93
x-Spokane (3) 43-21-3-2-91
x-Portland (2) 42-25-2-1-87
x-Kelowna (2) 33-31-2-4-72
x-Kamloops (2) 32-32-2-4-70
x-Chilliwack (2) 32-32-1-5-70
Wednesday: Chilliwack 7 at Prince George 4; Seattle 1 at Tri-City 4.
Thursday: No games scheduled.
Friday: Portland at Chilliwack; Prince George at Kamloops; Tri-City at Spokane; Kelowna at Vancouver; Seattle at Everett.
Saturday: Prince George at Kelowna; Kamloops at Vancouver; Chilliwack at Everett; Portland at Seattle; Spokane at Tri-City.
Sunday: Vancouver at Seattle; Swift Current at Moose Jaw; Everett at Spokane.
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WEDNESDAY:
In Saskatoon, F Jordan Eberle scored two goals go help the Regina Pats to a 3-2 victory over the Blades. . . . Eberle, who leads the WHL with 104 points, has 48 goals. . . . Eberle holds a four-point lead over linemate Jordan Weal, who reached the 100-point plateau with one assist. . . . Eberle scored at 9:04 of the first period and 4:18 of the second as the visitors took a 2-0 lead. . . . In his last five games in Saskatoon, Eberle scored nine goals and set up two others. . . . D Stefan Elliott scored both goals for the Blades. His first, his 25th, pulled them to within 2-1 at 19:18 of the second. . . . Regina D Myles Bell restored the two-goal lead with his fourth goal at 3:29 of the third. . . . Elliott’s second goal originally was credited to F Dan Hulak, but was changed after the game. . . . The Pats, who won’t make the playoffs, have won three in a row. . . . Regina G Dawson Guhle stopped 33 shots; Saskatoon’s Adam Morrison stopped 31. . . . Both teams were 0-for-4 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 4,904.
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In Prince Albert, the Swift Current Broncos put up a 5-2 victory, putting out the Raiders’ faint playoff hopes in the process. . . . With the victory, the Broncos clinched the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Broncos got first period goals from F Michael Stickland, his 21st, shorthanded at 15:08, and F Justin Dowling, his 30th, on the PP at 17:36, and never looked back. . . . The Broncos also scored two empty-net goals, one by F Cody Eakin, his 46th, at 17:59 of the third and the other by Dowling, at 19:24. . . . Swift Current G Morgan Clark stopped 38 shots, six more than the Raiders’ Garrett Zemlak. . . . F Igor Revenko scored his 25th goal of the season for the Raiders, who have lost seven of eight. . . . Attendance was 2,166. . . . Swift Current F Matt Tassone, who sat out close to a month with a sports hernia, returned but left with back problems. The Broncos also were without F Adam Lowry (shoulder) and F Dillon Wagner (knee). They both have missed four games now.
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In Brandon, F Brayden Schenn picked up a six-pack — two goals and four assists — to lead the Wheat Kings to an 8-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . On Friday, Brandon beat visiting Moose Jaw, 9-2. . . . This could be a first-round playoff matchup, too. . . . Attendance was 6,022, the largest crowd ever to attend a What Kings game in what is now known as Westman Place. . . . The Wheat Kings reached 100 points for a second straight season, the first time the franchise has done that since 1977-78 and 1978-79. . . . Schenn has 33 goals. . . . F Matt Calvert helped Brandon with two goals, giving him 44, and three assists. . . . F Aaron Lewadniuk also had two Brandon goals, raising his total to 36, while teammate Scott Glennie had his 31st goal and three assists and D Colby Robak had a goal and two helpers. . . . Schenn, Calvert and Glennie each finished plus-4 on a line that totalled 15 points. . . . D Clinton Atkinson scored his first goal of the season for Moose Jaw. . . . Brandon G Jacob DeSerres stopped 21 shots, 23 fewer than Moose Jaw’s Brandon Glover. . . . Glover started his third straight game as Jeff Bosch has a hip problem. . . . The Wheat Kings have won six straight, while the Warriors have lost four of five. . . . Brandon was 3-for-5 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 1-for-4. . . . Brandon’s previous single-game attendance record (5,957) was set during a playoff game against the Calgary Hitmeni n April 2005. . . . The Wheat Kings, the host team for the Memorial Cup, have drawn 170,832 fans this season, and that also is a franchise record. . . . The Warriors went without F Quinton Howden (broken collarbone), D Dylan McIlrath (shoulder) and F Brendan Rowinski (lower body). . . . Brandon D Mark Schneider (concussion) returned after a three-game absence.
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In Edmonton, the Calgary Hitmen scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Oil Kings, 4-1. . . . The Hitmen are the first WHL team this season to post 50 victories. . . . Calgary F Ian Schultz, with his 23rd, broke a 1-1 tie at 1:16 of the third period. . . . F Joel Broda, with his 38th, and F Tyler Fiddler, with his 29th, added insurance. . . . After Calgary F Del Cowan opened the scoring at 8:35 of the first period, on the PP, Edmonton D Drew Nichol tied the score with his third goal of the season at 3:35 of the second. . . . Calgary, which has won seven in a row, was 2-for-3 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-for-7. . . . The Oil Kings have lost six in a row. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones stopped 20 shots. He has allowed two goals over his last five complete games. . . . Edmonton G Torrie Jung turned aside 26 shots. . . . Attendance was 5,986. . . . Referee Brett Iverson, who needed some dental work done after taking a stick to the face in Prince George on Saturday, worked the game with Jon Stephenson. Iverson is from Vancouver.
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In Cranbrook, D Joey Leach drew four assists and was plus-5 to lead the host Kootenay Ice to a 5-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The victory lifted the Ice into fourth place in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the idle Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . F Lane Scheidl gave the Rebels, who now have lost three straight, a 1-0 lead at 10:40 of the first period. . . . Leach then helped set up four straight goals, two in the second period and two more in the third. . . . F Kevin King had two goals for the Ice. He has 27 on the season. King tied it 49 seconds into the second period and F Matt Fraser broke the 1-1 tie with his 32nd goal at 1:06. . . . Attendance was 2,727. . . . The Ice went in having lost five of six. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews stopped 23 shots, while Red Deer’s Darcy Kuemper kicked out 30. . . . Kootenay D Ryan Molle was pointless but finished plus-4.
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In Prince George, F Ryan Howse scored twice to help the Chilliwack Bruins to a 7-4 victory over the Cougars. . . . One night earlier, Howse had three goals in a 7-4 victory. . . . In eight games against the Cougars this season, Howse, who is from Prince George, has scored 13 goals. He has 46 goals this season. . . . The Cougars, who trailed 4-1 late in the second period, cut it to 4-3 going into the third period. Howse then scored shorthanded at 1:08 of the third. . . . F James Dobrowolski scored three times for the Cougars, giving him 22 on the season, and also had an assist. He scored his third goal on the PP at 6:41 of the third, but the Bruins got that one back when F Shane Neigum got his 11th at 7:55. . . . Chilliwack F Tim Traber, who played last season for the major midget Cariboo Cougars, who play out of Prince George, scored his fourth goal of the season into an empty net. It was his second goal of the game. . . . Chilliwack D Jesse Craige didn’t get a point but was plus-4, while D Brandon Manning, who also is from Prince George, had a goal. . . . Cougars F Troy Bourke, who scored two goals in his first game in Prince George on Tuesday, scored again in this one. . . . F Brett Connolly of the Cougars didn’t get any points and finished minus-5. . . . Prince George was 3-for-9 on the PP; the Bruins were 0-for-4. . . . Bruins D Matt Delahey played with a full facemask after taking a puck in the face Tuesday and losing a couple of teeth. . . . Chilliwack took 62 of the 106 penalty minutes handed out by referees Carl Poole and Trevor Hanson. . . . The Cougars, with two road games remaining, have lost 15 in a row.
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Brendan Shinnimin set up three goals to lead the host Tri-City Americans to a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent). . . . F Jordan Messier scored the game’s first two goals, giving him 22, at 1:05 and 4:03 of the second period. . . . After F Tyler Alos got his seventh, on the PP, for the Thunderbirds at 18:18 of the second, the Americans put it away with two third-period goals. . . . F Justin Feser, with his 34th, and F Kruise Reddick, with his 18th, both scored on the PP. . . . Tri-City was 2-for-4 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 1-for-2. . . . G Calvin Pickard stopped 42 shots for the Thunderbirds, while Tri-City G Alex Pechurskiy turned aside 26. . . . The Americans continue to be without G Drew Owsley (concussion) and are using Josh Romeike as a backup. Romeike, who has played hockey in the Tri-City area with the Tier III junior A Titans, is one of the Zamboni drivers at the Toyota Arena and Toyota Centre in Kennewick.