The Swift Current Broncos have lost D Dillon Heatherington for what the club says will be four to six weeks. Heatherington left Friday’s 7-0 loss to the Hitmen in Calgary in the first period with an undisclosed injury. . . . Heatherington, a 19-year-old from Calgary, was playing in his seventh game since returning from being part of Canada’s victory at the WJC in Toronto and Montreal.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers are scheduled to meet the Oil Kings in Edmonton this afternoon. The Tigers will be without D Kyle Burroughs, F Anthony Ast and D Kyle Becker. . . . Bob Ridley, the long-time radio voice of the Tigers, tweeted Saturday afternoon that those three will be missing due to “injury and suspension.” . . . Burroughs was ejected from Friday’s 5-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars with a headshot major. He is awaiting a decision on the length of a suspension.
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John Paddock, the general manager and head coach of the Regina Pats, was fined $500 by the WHL on Saturday for comments he made concerning the officiating after a 4-3 OT loss to the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday night. . . . Moose Jaw F Jack Rodewald won that game with a PP goal at 3:44 of extra time. Regina D Sergey Zborovskiy had been penalized for tripping at 3:02. . . . After the game, Warren Woods of Regina radio station CJME tweeted: “Pats HC John Paddock says they were fortunate to get a point tonight but were " screwed by the officials" in OT.
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You will recall reading here yesterday about the Moose Jaw Warriors’ decision to fire head scout Rob MacLachlan, who had the rest of this season and 2015-16 remaining on his contract. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald covered the firing in a story in Saturday’s newspaper. That story is right here.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Saskatoon, F Brett Stovin, the team captain, scored three times and added an assist as the Blades dumped the Moose Jaw Warriors, 6-1. . . . Moose Jaw F Axel Blomqvist scored his 18th goal 28 seconds into the game. . . . The Blades then scored the next six goals — one in the first period, three in the second and two in the third. . . . Stovin, who has six goals over his last four games, broke a 1-1 tie with a PP goal at 3:13 of the second period. . . . He added a second goal at 10:51 of the middle period and completed the hat trick at 14:23 of the third with the game’s last goal. He’s got 18 on the season. . . . Saskatoon F Nick Zajac and F Ryan Graham each had a goal and two assists. Graham has 13 goals; Zajac has six. . . . Blades F Wyatt Sloboshan, playing on his 18th birthday, had two assists, as did F Josh Uhrich. . . . The Blades were 3-for-5 on the PP; the Warriors were 0-for-3. . . . Saskatoon G Brock Hamm ran his record to 3-0-0 with 31 saves. . . . The victory came on Saskatoon GM/head coach Bob Woods’ 47th birthday. . . . The Blades (13-29-3) have won a season-high four in a row. They are at home to Prince Albert this afternoon in a game that is to be televised by Sportsnet. . . . The Warriors (20-25-4) had won their previous two games. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story right here. . . .
In Brandon, the Wheat Kings erased a 2-1 deficit by scoring seven times en route to an 8-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Regina took a 2-1 lead into the second period and, in fact, held that lead almost 14 minutes into the period. However, Brandon exploded for seven goals in a span of 18:55 to take control. . . . Wheaties F Ryan Duke tied it 2-2 with his 14th goal at 13:40 of the second and D Ryan Pilon’s eighth goal, on a PP at 15:12, gave the home side the lead. . . . Pilon, Duke and F Nolan Patrick each scored twice, with the latter reaching the 20-goal plateau. . . . Brandon D Ivan Provorov and F Tim McGauley each had three assists and F Morgan Klimchuk, who was acquired from Regina prior to the trade deadline, had two. . . . F Adam Brooks scored his 20th goal for the Pats. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 24 shots in winning for the 29th time this season. . . . Brandon had a 55-27 edge in shots. . . . The Wheat Kings were 3-for-4 on the PP, scoring three of its first four goals with the man advantage. . . . Brandon (35-9-4) has won six in a row, matching its longest winning streak this season. The Wheat Kings remain one point behind the Kelowna Rockets, who hold down first place in the overall standings. . . . Regina (26-17-5) has lost five in a row (0-3-2). . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story right here. . . . 
In Edmonton, the Calgary Hitmen scored the game’s last five goals and beat the Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . D Marshall Donald, with his second goal, and F Brett Pollock, with his 22nd, gave Edmonton a 2-0 first-period lead. Donald was acquired from Calgary at the trade deadline. . . . Calgary F Adam Tambellini tied it with two goals, giving him 32, at 4:21 and 13:39 of the second. The second goal came via the PP. . . . Tambellini has six goals in his last three games. . . . F Elliott Peterson snapped the tie with his fifth goal, at 1:58 of the third, on a PP. . . . F Beck Malenstyn, with his sixth, and F Connor Rankin, with his 25th, scored nine seconds apart later in the third for insurance. . . . Rankin, F Pavel Kamaukhov and D Travis Sanheim each had two assists for the Hitmen. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields stopped 21 shots, 10 fewer than Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry. . . . The Hitmen (26-17-5) have won three straight. . . . The Oil Kings (22-20-6) are 0-2-1 over their last three outings. . . . The Oil Kings entertain Medicine Hat this afternoon, while the Hitmen are at home against Vancouver. . . . 
In Red Deer, the Rebels scored the game’s first four goals and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Thirteen Red Deer skaters earned at least a point, with F Brooks Maxwell the only one with two. He got his 15th goal and added an assist. . . . Vancouver F Zack Jones scored his 22nd goal at 6:48 of the third to get his guys to within two, at 4-2, but Red Deer D Haydn Fleury scored his third goal, on a PP, at 12:20. . . . Vancouver F Carter Popoff scored twice, giving him 20, and added an assist. . . . Red Deer G Rylan Toth stopped 28 shots. . . . Red Deer was 2-for-5 on the PP; the Giants were 0-for-3. . . . The Rebels (27-14-6) have points in eight straight (7-0-1). They are six points behind the Central Division-leading Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Giants, who were playing their fourth road game in five nights, slipped to 20-26-2. The Giants play in Calgary this afternoon. . . . Vancouver, Kamloops and Prince George are tied for third place in the B.C. Division. The way things are looking, one of those teams will get into the playoffs; the other two will miss out. . . . 
In Cranbrook, F Austin Vetterl scored twice to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 5-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Vetterl, who has six goals this season, gave the Ice a 3-1 lead at 6:32 of the second period and added a shorthanded goal at 3:41 of the third for a 4-2 lead. . . . F Jake DeBrusk scored both Broncos goals, giving him 27. . . . F Luke Philp scored his 22nd goal and added an assist for the Ice, which got two assists from F Levi Cable. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau scored his 23rd goal this season; it was the 100th regular-season goal of this career. He has 245 points in 239 games. . . . F Colby Cave had two assists for the Broncos (21-22-5), who have lost three in a row. . . . The Ice (25-22-1) has won three straight. . . . The Ice is at home to Prince George tonight. . . . 
In Lethbridge, G Jayden Sittler turned aside 52 shots and F Florian Bartram had two goals and an assist as they led the Hurricanes to a 7-4 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Lethbridge F Mike Winther broke a 3-3 tie with his eighth goal, at 10:13 of the second period, and Baltram got his second of the game, and third of the season, 4:54 later. . . . Baltram’s parents and a sister, who are from Austria, were in attendance. . . . Lethbridge scored four of the game’s last five goals. . . . Hurricanes F Giorgio Estephan scored his ninth goal, getting a shorthanded marker at 3:50 of the first, and added two assists. . . . F Ryley Lindgren and F Brayden Burke had three assists apiece for Lethbridge. . . . F Jansen Harkins scored twice for Prince George, giving him 16, and F Brad Morrison had two assists. . . . The Cougars outshot the Hurricanes, 56-32, including 28-7 in the third period. . . . Lethbridge scratches included F Jamal Watson (elbow) and D Nick Walters (ankle). Watson, the team captain, may return Tuesday in Medicine Hat. . . . The Hurricanes (11-28-6) snapped a five-game losing skid. . . . The Cougars (20-28-2), who play in Cranbrook tonight, have lost nine in a row (0-7-2). . . . 
In Spokane, G Evan Sarthou posted his fourth shutout in his last five starts as the Tri-City Americans beat the Chiefs, 2-0. . . . With Eric Comrie, Tri-City’s No. 1 goaltender, first with Canada’s national junior team and now injured, Sarthou has been the go-to guy. The 17-year-old — he’s a late-97 — from Black Diamond, Wash., was a third-round pick, 65th overall, in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Over his last five games, Sarthou has stopped 134 of 137 shots. That’s a .978 save percentage. . . . Sarthou has 10 victories this season and has put up shutouts in six of them. . . . Sarthou and Swift Current G Landon Bow lead the WHL in shutouts. Bow has been in 44 games; Sarthou has been in 24. . . . Carey Price holds the Tri-City single-season shutout record, with eight. . . . F Lucas Nickles scored his 18th goal 41 seconds into the third period. . . . Nickles drew the lone assist on F Beau McCue’s 18th goal, into an empty net, at 19:51. . . . The Chiefs lost D Matt Sozanski (shoulder) in the first period. They already were without F Calder Brooks, F Hudson Elynuik, D Evan Fiala, D Jordan Henderson and F Blair Oneschuk, all out with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Americans (24-22-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Chiefs (23-19-4) have lost five straight (0-4-1). . . . The Americans travel to Portland tonight, while the Chiefs are at home to Seattle. . . . 
In Victoria, G Justin Paulic stopped 26 shots to help the Royals to a 6-0 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Paulic, a trade deadline acquisition from Moose Jaw, is 4-0-0 with the Royals. That was his first shutout with the Royals and the third of his career. . . . The Blazers had beaten the Royals 4-3 in OT on Friday night. . . . Last night, F Brandon Fushimi’s 10th goal, at 8:08 of the first period, got things started. . . . The Royals then scored four straight PP goals. . . . Fushimi, who also had an assist, got Victoria’s sixth goal. His two goals were the only two not scored via the PP. . . . D Jack Walker scored his 11th goal and added two assists. . . . F Brandon Magee scored his 15th goal and had an assist. . . . F Matthew Phillips, who scored his first WHL goal in his first game on Friday, had two assists, as did sophomore F Tyler Soy. . . . Kamloops D Michael Fora, who didn’t play after the first period on Friday, was scratched with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Royals (26-19-4) have points in their last seven games (6-0-1). . . . Kamloops (18-25-6) had won its previous four games. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., F Miles Koules scored at 1:52 of OT to give the Portland Winterhawks a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Koules has 21 goals this season and two of them have been game-winners in Kent. . . . Seattle F Ryan Gropp forced extra time with his second goal of the game, and 18th of the season, at 11:55 of the third period. . . . This was the Thunderbirds’ Teddy Bear game and D Jared Hauf scored the goal that launched the stuffed toys at 5:50 of the first period. . . . Attendance was announced at 6,208, the third-largest crowd in the ShoWare Center’s existence. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand had opened the scoring, with his 28th goal, at 1:53. . . . F Nic Petan scored his seventh goal and added two assists, including one on the winner. . . . F Donovan Neuls had two assists for Seattle. . . . F Paul Bittner drew two assists for the Winterhawks. . . . Portland G Adin Hill was outstanding, with 42 saves, 17 of them in the second period. . . . The Winterhawks (27-19-3) have won four in a row. . . . The Thunderbirds (22-18-6) have lost three straight. . . . Portland entertains Tri-City tonight; the Thunderbirds are in Spokane. . . . Seattle and Spokane are tied for third place in the U.S. Division, two points ahead of Tri-City. . . . 
In Kelowna, the Rockets scored five times in the second period en route to an 9-3 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Rockets F Tyrell Goulbourne tied the game 1-1 at 16:24 of the first period and broke the tie at 4:26 of the second with a SHG. He’s got 17 goals this season. . . . Goulbourne also had three assists. . . . Kelowna beat Everett 5-3 on Friday night. . . . The Silvertips were playing their fourth road game in five nights, having swept the Cougars in Prince George on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . F Nick Merkley scored twice, giving him 16, and added an assist for Kelowna, while F Rourke Chartier moved back into the WHL goal-scoring lead with his 40th goal in his 40th game. He also had two assists. . . . Kelowna F Leon Draisaitl scored his fourth goal into an empty net with 5:49 to play in the third period. Trailing 6-3, Everett head coach Kevin Constantine went with the extra attacker with ample time remaining. . . . Kelowna D Cole Martin had two assists and was plus-6. He now leads the WHL at plus-38. In his last two-plus seasons, Martin is plus-146. . . . F Nikita Scherbak had two assists for Everett. . . . The Rockets (36-8-3) have won two in a row. They continue to lead the overall standings by one point over Brandon. . . . The Silvertips (30-14-4) are atop the U.S. Division. . . . Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier has a game story right here.———
Happy 66th b'day to Guy Charron who starred for some dismal Red Wing, Scout & Capital teams in the 70's. pic.twitter.com/vfazLRgCGA
— O-Pee-Chee Stars (@opeecheestars) January 25, 2015
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