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F Mads Eller (Edmonton, 2013-15) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Gentofte Stars (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, he had three goals and three assists with the Adirondack Thunder (ECHL), and two goals and four assists in 22 games with the Windsor Spitfires (OHL). . . .
F Shane McColgan (Kelowna, Saskatoon, Portland, 2008-14) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Tilburg Trappers (Netherlands, Germany Oberliga). Last season, he had five goals and four assists in 14 games with St. Thomas University (CIS).
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It would seem that the WHL is attempting to muzzle anyone who happens to be employed under its umbrella.
Why else would the league fine Peter Anholt, the general manager of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, for answering a question? Anholt got touched for $1,000 on Friday.
(Psst! Just between you and me, and don’t tell anyone because it’s confidential, but the WHL also touched up the Hurricanes for $2,500 for an equipment violation. Apparently, something happened that was in violation of an agreement with a CHL licensed supplier.)
Earlier in the week, Anholt dealt his team’s leading scorer, F Brayden Burke, to the Moose Jaw Warriors for F Ryan Bowen, a second-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft and an undisclosed conditional pick in the 2019 draft.
Last season, Burke finished third in the WHL scoring race, with 109 points. He tied for the assists lead,
with 82. This season, he had 23 points, including 19 assists, in 15 games.
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| PETER ANHOLT |
However, the Hurricanes, so good a season ago, have been like hot-and-cold running water — 7-8-3, including 2-6-2 in their last 10 outings.
Asked by Matt Battochio of Global TV to explain the deal, Anholt replied:
“He was distracted a lot from Day 1. He wasn’t great at (training camp). I just really sensed that he was a distraction to our team in a lot of ways.
“We want players to understand, we will give you every opportunity you can have to be a player here, within reason. In (Burke’s) case he took it for granted, and abused it. So it’s time to move on.
“I gave him a great coaching staff to work with to enable him to put up over a 100 points last (season) with a real good team. You give a guy lots of opportunities, lots of breaks, and in the end they kind of stick it to you.”
Burke was selected by the Red Deer Rebels in the seventh round of the 2012 bantam draft and later was traded to the Hurricanes. Anholt was on the Rebels’ scouting staff in 2012 so was familiar with Burke before joining the Hurricanes during the 2014-15 season.
After head coach Brent Kisio left the Hurricanes in mid-October to coach at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, Anholt moved back behind the bench. Whatever he saw in five games from that vantage point was enough for him to pull the trigger on the deal with Moose Jaw.
“I think anybody who’s been on a team realizes what a good teammate is. Making good decisions when you’re away from the rink and someone’s not looking over your shoulder. That’s the bottom line,” Anholt told Battochio. “We had guys that signed here because of my vision and what we wanted to do with the hockey club. And when somebody stifles that, and I see that, and I saw it even closer when I was up close and personal as a coach, it’s time to make a call.”
Anholt also told Battochio that he felt the issue with Burke went back to last spring.
“I think we’ll be a better team as we come through this (adversity),” he said. “Last (season) we had none until playoffs, and what good did it do? It’s kind of interesting that one of the players that didn’t really play well in playoffs was one of the ones we moved out. We will be a better team.”
Battochio even asked Anholt how he felt Burke would do with the Warriors.
Anholt’s response: “I don’t care. He’s a Moose Jaw Warrior now. I don’t care.”
Burke has yet to report to the Warriors, although the team says he is expected to arrive on Sunday. He apparently went home to Edmonton after the trade occurred.
In a league where so much of what we hear is pablum, Anholt’s decision to answer a question with something other than “the kid wasn’t giving 110 per cent so his compete just wasn’t there” was extraordinary.
As the general manager of a team he feels has a whole lot more to give, Anholt obviously chose to take a scorched-earth approach as he delivered a message he no doubt hoped would be heard in his dressing room. Rest assured that Anholt also wanted the ticket buyers of Lethbridge to know why chose to trade away a top-flight player.
He didn’t light up a 16-year-old freshman in the process; rather, it was a 19-year-old in his third season. You can bet that Anholt was hoping Burke would get the message, too.
However, the WHL doesn’t like spice on its pablum or brown sugar on its oatmeal, and it didn’t like what it heard.
All other general managers and coaches now are on notice, so it’ll be back to “we have to get pucks in deep and be hard on their defence. We have to play a heavy game for 60 minutes.”
Oh, and general managers and coaches are going to have to add one other line to the standard repertoire: “We have to make sure the guys are wearing the proper elbow pads.”
Criticize a player publicly and it might cost you $1,000. Wear the wrong elbow pads and it’s $2,500.
Welcome to today’s WHL.
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The Saskatoon Blades have acquired D Jordan Henderson, 19, from the Spokane Chiefs for a sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. . . . Henderson, from Surrey, B.C., was a fourth-round pick by Spokane in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . He has four assists in 15 games with Spokane this season. In 112 career regular-season games, he has one goal and 12 assists. . . . The Blades, who obviously were looking to add experience and depth to their back end, now are carrying eight defencemen. However, Jake Kustra is injured and Libor Hajek will be leaving for the World Junior Championship where he will play for his native Czech Republic. . . . The Blades next play Sunday when they meet the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. Henderson is expected to join them before that game.
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The Saskatoon Blades have signed F Ethan Mack, who was an eighth-round selection in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. Mack, from Edmonton, had 40 points, including 21 goals, in 34 games with the bantam AAA South Side Athletic Club Lions last season. This season, he has five goals and nine assists in 13 games with the Northern Alberta Extreme 15 of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.
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Got a tip or some information you would like to pass along? Email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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SC Broncos Bantam AA Thank Head Coach of @SCBroncos Manny V. for running practice last night. Great to see the community involvement!— Cheyenne Arntsen (@ArntsenC) November 12, 2016
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
.952 - Picking up the win earlier today, @bdnwheatkings Jordan Papirny has saved 100 of the last 105 shots faced while playing on home ice— WHL Facts (@WHLFacts) November 12, 2016
At Brandon, F Ty Lewis, F Stelio Mattheos and F Reid Duke each had three points to lead the Wheat Kings to a 5-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Wheat Kings took control with three first-period
goals that allowed them to take a 3-1 lead into the second period. . . . F Tyler Coulter got his seventh goal at 4:45 and D Kale Clague’s fourth goal, shorthanded, made it 2-0 at 6:44. . . . Red Deer F Dawson Martin cut into the lead with his fourth goal at 8:39. . . . Lewis got his 10th goal, on a PP, at 10:40 to restore the two-goal lead. . . . F Michael Spacek’s 11th goal, on a PP, pulled the visitors back to within one at 7:27 of the second period. . . . Lewis scored again just 58 seconds into the third period and Mattheos added a PP goal, his eighth score this season, at 13:10. . . . Lewis added an assist to his brace of goals, while Duke had three assists and Mattheos had two. F Tanner Kaspick also had two helpers. . . . G Jordan Papirny stopped 32 shots for Brandon. . . . Red Deer starter Riley Lamb was beaten on the only two shots he faced. Lasse Peterson came on to stop 21 of 24 shots in 53:16. . . . Brandon was 2-4 on the PP; Red Deer was 2-5. . . . The Wheat Kings (8-7-3) went into the game not having scored in 17 power-play opportunities. . . . The Rebels slipped to 9-8-2. . . . Red Deer is without D Alex Alexeyev (undisclosed injury) and F Grayson Pawlenchuk (high ankle sprain). Alexeyev is week-to-week; Pawlenchuk could be gone for as long as six weeks. . . . Announced attendance: 5,024.
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| TY LEWIS |
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At Kamloops, F Garrett Pilon and F Deven Sideroff each had a goal and two assists to help the Blazers to a 5-2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Pilon, whose father, Rich, a hard-nosed defenceman who
banged heads on behalf of the Raiders back in the day, has three goals; Sideroff has 11. . . . D Brendan Guhle got the Raiders on the board first, scoring his second goal, on a PP, at 7:42 of the first period. . . . But it was pretty much all Blazers after that. . . . Sideroff tied the score at 9:21 and F Erik Miller gave the home side the lead with his first goal at 14:25. . . . Pilon scored what proved to be the winner at 16:19. . . . Kamloops D Shaun Dosanjh’s first goal stretched the lead at 4:48 of the second period. . . . Raiders F Austin Glover, with his sixth, got his guys to within two at 12:43. . . . Kamloops F Rudolfs Balcers, who missed on a second-period penalty shot, put the game away with his 11th goal at 9:30 of the third period. . . . Kamloops D Dawson Davidson had two assists. . . . The line of Sideroff, Pilon and Balcers finished with seven points. . . . G Connor Ingram, who hoped Prince Albert’s midget AAA team to a national championship, stopped 21 shots for the Blazers. . . . Raiders starter Ian Scott fought the puck in this one and was gone after allowing four goals on 19 shots. The fourth one was a rebound off the end boards that bounced into the crease before Scott kicked it into his own net. Reliever Nick Sanders came on to stop 16 of 17 shots in 35:12. . . . Prince Albert was 1-4 on the PP; Kamloops was 0-3. . . . The Blazers moved to 11-9-1, while the Raiders are 5-12-1. . . . Kamloops continues to be without veteran D Dallas Valentine (elbow), but he is back skating and could return before too long. . . . Announced attendance: 3,844.
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| GARRETT PILON |
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From the "can you believe it" file: dating back to last year in the regular season, the Tips have won 9 straight over the Winterhawks.— Mike Benton (@Benton_Mike) November 12, 2016
At Portland, the Everett Silvertips scored the game’s first two goals and went on to a 2-1 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . Everett (14-2-2) has points in seven straight (6-0-1) and has moved into a tie with the idle Prince George Cougars for first place in the overall standings, one point ahead of the Regina Pats. . . . The Winterhawks (8-12-0) have lost nine in a row. . . . Everett got a PP goal from F Patrick Bajkov, his eighth, at 16:38 of the first period. . . . F Dominic Zwerger’s eighth goal, at 5:07 of the second, proved to be the winner. . . . F Keegan Iverson got the home side to within a goal with his ninth at 12:51 of the third. . . . D Noah Juulsen had two assists for Everett, with Bajkov adding one to his goal. . . . G Carter Hart turned aside 23 shots for Everett, while Cole Kehler stopped 26 for the Winterhawks. . . . The Silvertips were 1-5 on the PP; the Winterhawks were 0-4. . . . Announced attendance: 3,065.
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At Kent, Wash., the Calgary Hitmen gained a 2-0 lead early in the third period en route to a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . F Beck Malenstyn’s third goal, at 19:51 of the second period, opened
the scoring and F Jakob Stukel (5) made it 2-0 at 2:48 of the third period. . . . Seattle D Ethan Bear made it interesting when he scored his fourth goal at 17:00, with G Rylan Toth on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Calgary F Matteo Gennaro, who also had an assist, got the empty-netter at 18:59. He’s got four goals. . . . Calgary G Cody Porter stopped 27 shots, 14 more than Toth. . . . Calgary was 1-3 on the PP; Seattle was 0-5. . . . The Hitmen (7-5-2) are 4-0-1 in their last five outings. . . . The Thunderbirds slipped to 7-8-1. . . . Calgary, which opened a U.S. Division tour with the game, remains without D Jake Bean (hand). . . . F Mathew Barzal, who has been returned to the Thunderbirds by the NHL’s New York Islanders, has rejoined the team but didn’t play in this one. The Thunderbirds are to play the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C., tonight. . . . Prior to the game, the Thunderbirds announced that they have dropped F Mackenzie Wight, 17, and G Matt Berlin, 18, from their roster. Wight, from Burnaby, B.C., was pointless in six games. He was a seventh-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Berlin, who was acquired from the Spokane Chiefs last month, got into one game, beating the Warriors 5-1 in Moose Jaw. . . . Berlin is expected to join the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders, who acquired his rights from the Drayton Valley Thunder. . . . Announced attendance: 5,342.
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| MATTEO GENNARO |
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The room is ready to go for tonight's Remembrance Day game as we take time to remember. #LestWeForget pic.twitter.com/gQ0wqHgcl2— Victoria Royals (@victoriaroyals) November 12, 2016
At Victoria, F Matt Phillips scored twice to help the Royals to a 4-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Phillips, who has 11 goals, struck 14 seconds apart — at 1:13 and 1:27 of the second period — as the home team took a 4-0 lead. . . . F Ryan Peckford’s sixth goal, on a PP at 14:12 of the first period, had made it 1-0, with F Jack Walker’s 11th goal, at 19:23, making it 2-0. . . . Peckford also had two assists. . . . The Americans made it interesting on third-period goals from D Dylan Coghlan (4), at 2:47, and F Vladislav Lukin (10), on a PP, at 5:45. . . . The Royals got 32 saves from G Griffen Outhouse, 18 of them in the third period. Tri-City’s Rylan Parenteau stopped 26 shots. . . . Victoria was 1-4 on the PP; Tri-City was 1-5. . . . The Royals (11-7-2) have points in five straight (3-0-2). . . . The Americans (12-7-1) had a four-game winning streak snapped. . . . Announced attendance: 6,027.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Kootenay at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Prince George at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Saskatoon at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Red Deer at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Portland, 7 p.m.
Everett at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Brandon at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Seattle vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.
Tri-City at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
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In Brandon, the Wheat Kings clinched first place overall with a 9-2 victory over Moose Jaw, a loss that ended the Warriors’ playoff hopes. . . . The Warriors are out of the playoffs for a third straight season. . . . Brandon D Reid Gow broke a 1-1 tie with his second goal, at 18:52 of the first period, and the Wheat Kings went from there. . . . Brandon F Nolan Patrick scored his 30th goal. He is the first 16-year-old to reach that mark since F Brett Connolly of the Prince George Cougars in 2008-09. F Patrick Marleau of the Seattle Thunderbirds did it in 1995-96. . . . Patrick also had three assists. He finished with 56 points in 55 games. . . . F Stelio Mattheos, a 15-year-old from Winnipeg, made his WHL debut with the Wheat Kings and scored his first goal. He was the first overall selection in the 2014 bantam draft. This season, with the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild, he had 25 points, 14 of them goals, in 27 games. An undisclosed injury kept him out of the Canada Winter Games and the Wild’s playoff games. . . . F Duncan Campbell was among Brandon’s scratches. He suffered an undisclosed injury during Friday’s game in Moose Jaw. . . . D Eric Roy played his 322nd regular-season game with the Wheat Kings, leaving him in second place on the franchise’s all-time games played list. Only D Dwayne Gylywoychuk played more games (323) in a Wheat Kings uniform. . . . Roy also picked up an assist for his 200th regular-season point. . . . Attendance was 5,312, the largest crowd in Brandon this season. . . . Brandon F Jayce Hawryluk scored his 30th goal. . . . Warriors F Brayden Point ran his goal streak to nine games. He finishes with 38 goals this season. . . . F Jack Rodewald got his 35th goal for the Warriors. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 26 shots as he won his WHL-leading 44th game of the season. He was 4-0-0 against Moose Jaw. . . . The Wheat Kings (53-11-8) are 6-0-1 in their last seven games. . . . The Warriors (32-35-5) had won their previous three games. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story 
In Prince Albert, the Raiders scored the game’s first five goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Raiders G Rylan Parenteau stopped 22 shots. He lost his shutout when F Adam Brooks scored his 30th goal at 19:45 of the third period. . . . Raiders F Craig Leverton scored his 20th goal. . . . Regina head coach John Paddock was on a scouting mission, so assistant coach Dave Struch ran the bench. D Colby Williams, the Pats’ player of the year, was scratched. Instead, he was on the bench as an assistant coach. . . . The Raiders (31-37-4) won their last two games. . . . The Pats (37-24-11) have lost four in a row (0-2-2). . . . 
In Red Deer, F Mads Eller broke a 2-2 tie at 6:52 of the second period as the Edmonton Oil Kings beat the Rebels, 3-2. . . . F Brett Pollock gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead with his 32nd goal at 4:20 of the first. . . . Red Deer F Preston Kopeck tied it with No. 21 at 5:16, on a PP. . . . Edmonton F Davis Koch got his 11th goal at 7:02 of the first. . . . Red Deer F Adam Musil tied it with his 15th at 17:58. . . . Edmonton G Patrick Dea stopped 24 shots, 11 fewer than Red Deer’s Rylan Toth. . . . Red Deer F Brooks Maxwell had two assists. . . . F Conner Bleackley, the Rebels’ captain, was back in the lineup for the first time since Feb. 6. . . . The Oil Kings (34-31-7) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Rebels (38-23-11) went 1-1-1 in their last three games. . . . 
In Medicine Hat, the Tigers defeated the Saskatoon Blades 6-2 in what was the final regular-season game at The Arena. . . . The Tigers will move into the brand new Regional Event Centre next season. . . . The teams combined for 135 penalty minutes, with the Tigers taking 86 of those. . . . That included 32 to D Ty Lewington, their captain. At 13:03 of the third period, he was hit with an instigating minor, two fighting majors, a misconduct and a game misconduct. That’s enough to make one wonder if he might be suspended when the playoffs open. . . . Lewington also had a goal, his ninth, and two assists. . . . F Steve Owre scored his 20th goal for the Tigers, while F Trevor Cox got No. 29. . . . F Brett Stovin, the Blades’ captain, scored his 29th goal in his final junior game, while F Ryan Graham got No. 20. . . . According to Blades radio voice Les Lazaruk, the game “was nasty, chippy . . . at times dirty. Like old days!” . . . The Blades again scratched D Brycen Martin with an undisclosed injury. He could be assigned to the AHL’s Rochester Americans as soon as Monday. Martin was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the third round of the NHL’s 2014 draft. . . . The Tigers (45-23-4) are 4-0-1 in their last five. . . . The Blades (19-49-4) lost their last nine games. . . . 
In Kamloops, F Cole Ully set up three goals as the Blazers dumped the Prince George Cougars, 5-2. . . . The Blazers took a 3-0 lead into the second period. Kamloops had a 25-5 edge in shots in the first period. . . . The Blazers were eliminated from the playoff chase moments after their game ended when the host Tri-City Americans beat the Spokane Chiefs, 2-1. . . . It’s the first time in franchise history that Kamloops has missed the playoffs in two straight seasons. . . . F Matt Needham scored his 25th goal for Kamloops and also had an assist, while F Logan McVeigh, playing his last WHL game, got his 10th goal and added an assist. . . . Ully finished with 94 points, including 34 goals, in 69 games. He has signed with the NHL’s Dallas Stars so may end up with their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, next week. . . . The Cougars scratched G Ty Edmonds, F Zach Pochiro and D Tate Olson, all of whom had played in a 3-1 victory over the visiting Blazers on Friday night. . . . The Blazers (28-37-7) had lost their previous four games. . . . The Cougars (31-36-5) had a three-game winning streak end. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., F Brian Williams snapped a 1-1 tie at 19:31 of the second period and the Tri-City Americans went on to beat the Spokane Chiefs, 2-1. . . . The victory clinched the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot for the Americans, eliminating the Kamloops Blazers from the chase. . . . D Brandon Carlo gave Tri-City a 1-0 lead with his fourth goal at 15:02 of the first period. . . . Spokane F Keanu Yamamoto tied it with No. 12 at 10:23 of the second. . . . F Richard Nejezchleb had two assists for Tri-City. . . . Williams’ 17th goal came via the PP. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie made 29 saves, four more than Spokane’s Garret Hughson. . . . The Americans were 1-for-9 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-for-4. . . . F Hudson Elyniuk was among Spokane’s scratches. He had returned to the lineup Friday night after being out since Dec. 28. . . . The Americans (31-37-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Chiefs (34-33-4) have lost four straight. . . . 
In Kelowna, F Leon Draisaitl scored two goals and added an assist as the Rockets got past the Vancouver Giants, 5-2. . . . The Rockets scored the game’s first four goals. . . . Draisaitl, who joined the Rockets from the NHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings in January, finished with 53 points, 19 of them goals, in 32 games. . . . F Gage Quinney had four assists for Kelowna. . . . Giants F Zane Jones scored his 29th goal. . . . Rockets G Jackson Whistle stopped 21 shots, 25 fewer than Vancouver’s Payton Lee. . . . D Mason Geertsen, 19, was among Vancouver’s scratches. A fourth-round selection by Colorado in the NHL’s 2013 draft and is believed close to signing with the Avalanche. Should that happen, chances are he would finish the season with Colorado’s AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, who are coached by former WHL player/GM/coach Dean Chynoweth. . . . The Rockets (53-13-6) are 3-0-1 in their last four outings. . . . The Giants (27-41-4) went 1-1-1 in their last three games. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., F Ryan Gropp scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 6-3 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The result set up a first-round playoff meeting between these two teams. . . . Gropp, who scored three goals on Friday night, wound up with 30 goals. . . . Seattle erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals, but the Winterhawks got back to within one, at 4-3, when F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored on a penalty shot at 12:50 of the third period. . . . Seattle D Jerret Smith provided insurance with a PP goal at 13:11. He’s got 11 goals. . . . Seattle D Shea Theodore got his 13th into an empty net at 18:41. . . . Bjorkstrand scored three times. He leads the WHL in goals (61) and points (115), all in 58 games. With one game remaining, he is assured of winning the WHL scoring race. . . . Bjorkstrand is the first Portland skater with 60 goals since F Lonny Bohonos scored 62 in 1993-94. . . . Thunder birds G Logan Flodell stopped 35 shots, six more than Portland’s Adin Hill. . . . Seattle was without D Sahvan Khaira. He drew a one-game suspension for a kneeing major and game misconduct he incurred on Friday in Spokane. . . . Attendance was 6,220, the largest crowd in Kent this season. . . . The Thunderbirds got a scare in the third period when F Mathew Barzal took a shot off the right ankle and needed help getting to the bench. He was back in action shortly afterwards. . . . Barzal and F Roberts Lipsbergs each had two assists. . . . Seattle (38-25-9) has won four straight. . . . The Winterhawks (42-23-6) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Everett, F Brandon Magee scored in the fourth round of a shootout to give the Victoria Royals a 4-3 victory over the Silvertips. . . . Victoria F Jack Walker and Everett F Ivan Nikolishin exchanged goals in the first round. . . . Victoria D Joe Hicketts scored his 12th goal, on a PP, at 17:46 of the second to tie it 2-2. . . . Everett F Matt Fonteyne got his seventh goal at 19:50 of the second. . . . F Taylor Crunk of the Royals tied it with his 10th goal at 9:57 of the third. He finished with two goals and an assist. . . . Victoria G Justin Paulic stopped 23 shots. Everett F Kohl Bauml came up short on a penalty shot at 17:02 of the third period. . . . G Carter Hart, 16, made his eighth straight start for Everett and stopped 24 shots. . . . The Royals (39-29-4) had lost their previous two games. . . . Everett (42-20-9) has points in its last four games (2-0-2).
In Red Deer, the Rebels erased a 2-0 deficit with three second-period goals and beat the Calgary Hitmen, 3-2. . . . D Travis Sanheim, with his 13th goal, and D Ben Thomas, with his seventh, scored 44 seconds apart late in the first for Calgary. . . . Red Deer F Riley Sheen got his guys on the board with a PP goal, his 21st, at 1:17 of the second. . . . F Preston Kopeck tied it with his 20th at 9:08 and D Brett Cote broke the tie with his ninth, on a PP, at 14;15. . . . Red Deer was 2-for-5 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-2. . . . Rebels G Rylan Toth made 28 saves. . . . Calgary started Brendan Burke, who was beaten three times on 12 shots. Mack Shields played the third period, stopping seven shots. . . . Attendance was a season-high 7,058. . . . The Rebels (37-21-10) have won five straight. . . . The Hitmen (40-22-5) have lost three in a row. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, the Regina Pats scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Warriors, 4-3. . . . Moose Jaw took a 3-0 lead when F Axel Blomqvist scored his 24th goal at 14:19 of the first. . . . Regina F Patrick D’Amico got his 19th goal at 14:48 of the first. . . . Pats D Colby Williams got his side to within a goal with his 10th goal at 19:19 of the second. . . . Regina F Rykr Cole scored his ninth goal to tie it at 1:03 of the third. . . . F Pavel Padakin got the winner, his 26th, shorthanded, at 15:12. . . . The Pats thought D’Amico had scored just before that, but he ended up with a penalty instead. . . . After the game, Regina head coach John Paddock told reporters. “I got whacked once already this year, but all I know is that there were two game-winning goals.” . . . Moose Jaw F Brayden Point, celebrating his 19th birthday and playing in his 200th game, scored his 34th goal. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown stopped 33 shots, three more than Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko. . . . Warriors F Jaimen Yakubowski, just off a stint on the injury list with a shoulder injury, didn’t finish the game. He left after taking a check from Regina F Austin Wagner. . . . The Pats (37-22-9) have won two in a row. . . . The Warriors (29-34-5) have lost two straight. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story 
In Cranbrook, F Jaedon Descheneau and F Matt Alfaro each scored twice as the Kootenay Ice dumped the Medicine Hat Tigers, 7-1. . . . Ice F Austin Vetterl snapped a 1-1 tie with a PP goal at 8:49 of the first period and the home side took it from there. . . . Descheneau, who has 32 goals, also had an assist. . . . Alfaro has 12 goals. . . . D Tanner Lishchynsky, D Tyler King and F Levi Cable each had two assists for the Ice, while F Luke Philp scored his 30 goal and added two helpers. . . . Vetterl added two assists to his goal. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart scored his 18th goal. . . . The Tigers’ goal came from F Trevor Cox, his 26th. He scored while shorthanded at 8:20 of the first period. . . . Kootenay G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 32 shots, setting a franchise single-season record in the process. That record (1,724) had been held by Tim Winters (1996-97). . . . The Tigers were missing D Ty Stanton and D Tommy Vannelli. . . . The Ice (35-29-4) has won two straight. . . . The Tigers are 41-23-3. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story 
In Prince Albert, the Swift Current Broncos scored two shootout goals and beat the Raiders, 2-1. . . . F Glenn Gawdin and F Jake DeBrusk scored for the winners in the shootout; F Reid Gardiner scored for the Raiders. . . . D Brendan Guhle gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead with a PP goal at 5:18 of the first period. He’s got four goals. . . . Broncos F Coda Gordon got his 24th goal at 9:38 of the second period. . . . Broncos G Landon Bow stopped 46 shots, six fewer than Prince Albert’s Nick McBride. . . . The Raiders were without F Austin Glover, who isn’t likely to play tonight or Sunday either. . . . The Broncos (31-32-5) ended a seven-game losing skid. . . . The Raiders (28-35-4) had a four-game winning streak snapped. . . . 
In Spokane, the Chiefs blew a 3-0 lead but then scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Portland Winterhawks, 5-3. . . . The Chiefs held a 3-0 first-period lead on goals by F Adam Helewka, his 39th, on a PP, F Riley Whittingham, his 15th, and F Kailer Yamamoto, his 20th, shorthanded. . . . Portland D Anton Cederholm got his guys going with his eighth goal at 9:43 of the second. . . . F Oliver Bjorkstrand got his WHL-leading 55th goal at 19:47 of the second, via the PP, and F Chase De Leo tied the game with his 34th at 5:29 of the third. . . . Whittingham broke the tie at 9:39 of the third period, while on the PP, and F Dominic Zwerger added an empty-netter. . . . Bjorkstrand’s goal was his 100th point of the season. He now has back-to-back 100-points seasons. . . . Chiefs D Jason Fram had two assists. . . . Portland F Nic Petan drew one assist, giving him 350 career regular-season points in 246 games. . . . Spokane was 3-for-7 on the PP; Portland was 1-for-4. . . . The Chiefs (33-29-4) have won two in a row. This victory was head coach Don Nachbaur’s 200th with the Chiefs. . . . The Winterhawks (40-21-5) are 9-1-2 in their last 12 games and 17-2-2 in their last 21. . . . 
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