Kamloops at Vancouver, 5 p.m.
Prince George at Seattle, 5:05 p.m.
Everett at Spokane, 5:05 p.m.
---
SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, the Victoria Royals scored two late goals and beat the Raiders, 5-4. . . . The Royals, who won their 40th game of the season, have won seven straight away from home. Victoria is 20-6-1 on the road. . . . Royals D Travis Brown tied the game with a PP goal at 9:49 of the third, and F Jack Walker won it at 14:54. Brown has 12 goals; Walker has five. . . . F Brandon Magee had three assists for the Royals, who opened a five-game East Division swing, while D Joe Hicketts and F Axel Blomqvist each had two. The Broncos will play in all East Division cities with the exception of Swift Current. Victoria beat the host Broncos 4-3 in OT on Dec. 12. . . . F Leon Draisaitl and F Collin Valcourt each had three assists for the Raiders, who had taken a 4-3 lead on F Dakota Conroy’s 22nd goal at 5:21 of the third. . . . Victoria G Coleman Vollrath stopped 22 shots in earning his 20th victory. . . . The Royals, who are 10-0-2 in their last 12 outings, are thrd in the Western Conference, five points behind the Portland Winterhawks and five ahead of the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Raiders (26-28-4) are four points out of the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . 
In Regina, F Glenn Gawdin scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Swift Current Broncos a 4-3 victory over the Pats. . . . Regina F Dyson Stevenson forced OT with a PP goal at 5:42 of the third period. He’s got 26 goals. . . . F Colby Cave scored twice -- he’s got 27 -- for the Broncos, at 16:37 of the second and 42 seconds into the third, as they took a 3-2 lead. . . . F Graham Black got his 29th goal for the Broncos. . . . Swift Current G Eetu Laurikainen stopped 46 shots, 16 more than Regina’s Daniel Wapple. . . . The Broncos were 1-for-1 on the PP; the Pats were 1-for-5. . . . The Broncos (29-22-8) got two points for the victory, while Regina (30-22-6) got the loser point. The outcome left the teams tied for first place in the East Division. . . . After the game, Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Broncos, tweeted that Broncos F Nate Burns “left the game hurt at the end of regulation. Hopefully it's not serious.” . . .
In Brandon, F Jaedon Descheneau scored his 37th goal and added three assists as the Kootenay Ice skated to a 5-2 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart had a goal, his 31st, and an assist as he ran his point streak to 17 games, the second-longest active streak in the WHL. . . . Brandon has lost five in a row. . . . Kootenay had won 3-2 in OT in Brandon on Friday night. . . . Ice F Tim Bozon scored his 100th regular-season goal in his 198th game. It was his 28th of the season and came into an empty net at 19:32 of the third period. . . . Six of the goals were scored in the first period. . . . Brandon D Ryan Pulock had given his side a 1-0 lead with his 17th goal at 2:43. Pulock has 58 career goals, three shy of Brad McCrimmon’s franchise record for a defenceman. . . . Ice F Luke Philp got his 25th at 4:02 and the Ice went on to get goals from Reinhart, Descheneau and F Austin Vetterl, his 11th (shorthanded), before the period ended. . . . Ice D Landon Peel helped out with two assists. . . . The Wheat Kings were able to dress only 16 skaters as they scratched five injured regulars -- F Rihards Bukarts, F Jayce Hawryluk, D Rene Hunter, F Richard Nejezchleb and F John Quenneville. . . . The Ice (33-22-4) is fifth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Wheat Kings (28-23-8) are two points behind Regina and Swift Current. . . . 
In Lethbridge, F Adam Tambellini scored three times to lead the Calgary Hitmen to an 8-1 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Hitmen have won six in a row. . . . Tambellini has 24 points, including 12 goals, in 18 games since leaving the U of North Dakota and joining the Hitmen. Eight of his goals have come over his last six games. . . . Calgary D Alex Roach scored twice, giving him four goals in his last two games after he had gone 17 games without a goal. He’s got eight on the season. . . . D Travis Sanheim added three assists for Calgary. . . . Calgary F Brady Brassart had an assist, giving him a career-high nine-game point streak. . . . With No. 1 G Chris Driedger serving a team-issued suspension, G Mack Shields stopped 29 shots. . . . The Hitmen were 4-for-8 on the PP, and held a 47-30 edge in shots. . . . Lethbridge D Macoy Erkamps took a kneeing major and game misconduct at 6:38 of the third period. . . . The Hitmen were without D Jaynen Rissling, who drew a TBD suspension under supplemental discipline after a game against the visiting Saskatoon Blades on Friday night. . . . Calgary (38-15-6) is tied with the idle Edmonton Oil Kings atop the Central Division and the Eastern Conference. The Oil Kings (40-14-2) hold three games in hand. . . . Lethbridge (12-43-5) is back in the WHL cellar, .004 behind the Kamloops Blazers. . . . 
In Red Deer, the Saskatoon Blades scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Rebels, 4-1. . . . F Conner Bleackley scored his 26th of the season for the Rebels at 6:32 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon F Chase Clayton tied it with his eighth goal at 11:20 and F Ryan Graham gave the Blades the lead at 18:53, via the PP. . . . Graham finished with two goals, giving him nine this season. . . . Saskatoon G Troy Trombley stopped 41 shots. . . . Les Lazaruk, the play-by-play voice of the Blades, called his 1,500th WHL game. . . . The Blades (16-39-5) are 11th in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Rebels (28-27-4) hold down the conference’s last playoff spot. . . . 
In Medicine Hat, F Curtis Valk ran his point streak to 18 games as the Tigers beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 6-1. . . . Valk scored his 34th goal, just 16 seconds into the first period, and later added an assist. . . . F Josh Winquist of the Everett Silvetips had an 18-game point streak earlier in the season. Those are the longest streaks in the WHL this season. . . . The single-season record? F Jeff Nelson of the Prince Albert Raiders had a 56-game streak in 1990-91. . . . Medicine Hat G Nick Schneider turned aside 29 shots. He is 3-0 with the Tigers, who acquired him from the Regina Pats in January. . . . Medicine Hat F Trevor Cox scored his 20th goal. . . . The Warriors were without F Scott Cooke, who completed a two-game WHL suspension. . . . The Tigers (36-20-3) have won four straight and are fourth in the Eastern Conference, five points ahead of Kootenay. . . . The Warriors (15-34-8) are 10th. . . . 
In Kamloops, F Cole Ully scored in OT to give the Blazers a 4-3 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Ully’s goal, at 3:27 of extra time, snapped the Blazers’ 11-game losing streak. . . . In regulation time, the Cougars erased 2-0 and 3-1 deficits. . . . F Mitch Friesen scored his first WHL goal for the Blazers. He started the season with them, but has been playing for the junior B Kamloops Storm. . . . Ully’s 27th goal, at 17:50 of the second period, had given Kamloops a 3-1 edge. . . . Kamloops D Edson Harlacher had one assist and was plus-3. . . . F Todd Fiddler, with his 38th goal of the season, shorthanded, got the Cougars to within one and F Troy Bourke, with his 24th, tied it at 4:10. . . . Fiddler also had two assists. . . . The Blazers won’t play at home again until March 12 as the Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men’s curling championship, takes over the Interior Savings Centre. The Blazers have 13 games remaining in their regular season and only two of them are at home. . . . Kamloops (12-42-5) now has a .246 winning percentage, just ahead of the cellar-dwelling Lethbridge Hurricanes (.242). . . . The Cougars (24-29-8) are four points out of the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . 
In Vancouver, the Portland Winterhawks set a franchise record as they beat the Giants, 7-4. . . . The Winterhawks, who broke open a scoreless game with five second-period goals, now have won 16 straight games, breaking the franchise record that had been shared by the 1979-80 and 1997-98 teams. . . . The Kelowna Rockets also won 16 straight games this season. . . . Portland next plays on Tuesday when it entertains the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Winterhawks’ last regulation loss occurred Jan. 4 when they were beaten 3-2 by the visiting Victoria Royals. Six days later, Portland dropped a 3-2 shootout decision in Victoria. . . . Portland led this one 6-0 when F Nic Petan scored his 32nd goal, on a PP, just 34 seconds into the third period. Petan also had an assist and now leads the WHL, with 100 points, three more than Spokane Chiefs F Mitch Holmberg, who had four-point night. . . . Petan also has a 12-game assist streak, tying him with F Leon Draisaitl of the Prince Albert Raiders for the longest this season. Petan has 16 assists in the 12 games, exactly what Draisaitl put up. . . . Portland F Dominic Turgeon had a goal, his 10th, and two assists, while F Alex Schoenborn also had a goal, his 16th, and two helpers. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand helped out with three assists, while F Paul Bittner scored his 20th goal. . . . F Tim Traber scored twice for Vancouver, giving him 12 goals this season. . . . Prior to the game, the Giants inducted F Brendan Gallagher, their all-time leading scorer, into their Ring of Honour. . . . The Winterhawks went 4-0 on a swing into the B.C. Division. They won twice in Prince George and once in Kamloops. . . . Portland (42-12-5) is seven points behind the Kelowna Rockets, who lead the overall standings. . . . Vancouver (27-23-10) has lost five in a row and is tied for sixth with the Everett Silvertips in the Western Conference. . . 
In Everett, the Seattle Thunderbirds scored two third-period goals and beat the Silvertips, 3-2. . . . With the victory, Seattle clinched a Western Conference playoff spot. . . . F Russell Maxwell tied the game at 1:39 of the third and F Adam Henry won it at 9:03. Maxwell has 13 goals; Henry has seven. . . . Everett F Josh Winquist scored his 37th goal on a first-period PP. That was his 200th career point. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 27 shots, including all 11 he faced in the third period. . . . Attendance was 7,579. . . . The Thunderbirds were fined $750 for their role in a line brawl with the visiting Tri-City Americans on Friday night. It was Seattle’s second such incident this season. . . . Seattle (37-17-5) is fourth in the Western Conference, five points behind Victoria and eight ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Everett (28-22-8) is tied with Vancouver for sixth. . . . 
In Spokane, G Eric Williams recorded the shutout and F Mitch Holmberg, who was playing in his 300th regular-season game, had four points as the Chiefs beat the Tri-City Americans, 7-0. . . . Williams stopped 16 shots in posting his third shutout this season and the ninth of his career. . . . Holmberg had two goals, giving him a WHL-leading 49, and two assists. He now has 97 points, three behind Portland F Nic Petan, who leads the scoring race. . . . Spokane D Reid Gow had three assists. He has 46 assists in 51 games; he finished last season with a career-high 44 in 64 games. . . . Gow has 51 points this season, equalling his total from last season. . . . Chiefs F Adam Helewka scored his 20th goal. . . . The Chiefs are 7-1-1 against the Americans this season. The teams will meet three more times before season’s end. . . . Tri-City F Jessey Astles was assessed a headshot major and game misconduct at 19:26 of the second period. . . . The Americans drew a $500 fine for their part in a line brawl with the host Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday night. It was Tri-City’s first such incident this season. . . . Spokane (33-20-5) is fifth in the Western Conference, eight points behind Seattle. . . . Tri-City (27-26-6) is eighth, four points ahead of Prince George.---
TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Saskatoon Blades D Dylan Busenius (@OnTheBus_2): “Huge congrats to @Bladesvoice for calling his 1500th game! Massive milestone glad I could be apart of it. #bestofthebest”
---
From Kamloops Blazers F Mitch Friesen (@freezer_96), who scored his first WHL goal last night: “Holy cow is this real life? I scored a goal!! #btown”
---
From Tbird Tidbits (@TBirdTidbits): “Getting third star tonight in Everett, Taran Kozun (@KingTarzan49) has been 1 of the games 3 stars in 9 out of his 13 starts with Seattle.”
There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
Posts
