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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Portland, F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored two PP goals to help the Winterhawks to a 3-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Bjorkstrand, a Danish freshman, has 11 goals. . . . The Winterhawks have won 12 in a row, while the Blazers have lost four straight and five of six. . . . Kamloops (17-5-1) continues to lead the overall standings, but Portland (16-3-1) is just two points back with three games in hand. . . . The teams next play Friday when they meet in Kamloops. . . . The Winterhawks are on their longest run since 1997-98 when they won 15 in a row from Jan. 9 to Feb. 10. . . . Kamloops F Jordan DePape left in the first period with an undisclosed injury. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 24 shots in improving to 9-0-0. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic had two assists to get his point streak to eight games. He has 18 points in that stretch. . . .
In Brandon, G Eetu Laurikainen stopped 26 shots to lead the Swift Current Broncos to a 3-2 victory over theWheat Kings. . . . F Levi Bews and F Graham Black each scored his 10th goal as the Broncos took a 3-1 lead into the third period. . . . F Alessio Bertaggia got his 13th goal late in the third period. . . . Swift Current was without F Brent Benson, who suffered an undisclosed injury on a hit by Prince Albert D Evan Morden on Wednesday. . . . 
In Vancouver, the circus went seven rounds before F Carter Popoff’s goal gave the Giants a 4-3 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . F Zach Pochiiro and F Colin Jacobs had shootout goals for the visitors, with F Jackson Houck and D Brett Kulak doing the same for Vancouver. . . . Prince George F Daulton Siwak hit a post in Round 4 when a goal would have won it. . . . The Cougars, who have lost five in a row, forced OT with two third-period goals, from F Brett Roulston, at 17:07, and F Jari Erricson, at 17:35. . . . Giants G Payton Lee stopped 37 shots in his fourth straight start. . . . The Cougars played at home to the defending-champion Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday and Saturday nights, losing 4-2 each game, and then rode the bus all night to get to Vancouver for a 4 p.m. start. The Giants didn’t play on Saturday. . . . The Cougars had F Jansen Harkins in their lineup. He was the second overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft. He plays for the major midget Vancouver-Northwest Giants. . . . F Taylor Vickerman, 16, scored his first WHL goal for the Giants. It came in his 12th game. Vickerman is from Kennewick, Wash. Interestingly, his family billeted a defenceman named Darrell Hay when he played for the Americans. Darrell, of course, is the son of Giants head coach Don Hay. . . . The Cougars were without F Jake Mykitiuk (mononucleosis) and F Jordan Tkatch (undisclosed). All missing were F Brock Hirsche and Troy Bourke, both of whom suffered undisclosed injuries on Friday. ———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Tyler Bell, Kamloops
F Oliver Bjortstrand, Portland
CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Sportstalk (@DanRussellCKNW): “Took my 6 yr old to the Giants WHL game tonight. Left before the "gimmick". He was just fine with the game being 3-3.”
If you weren’t aware, Dan Russell, the host of Sportstalk and a play-by-play voice of the WHL games on Shaw, is not a fan of the shootout.
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