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Looking for good read today? Here’s Jim Matheson’s Hockey World from the pages of the Edmonton Journal. It’s at least a two-cupper.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, the Warriors held a 39-13 edge in shots and whipped the Regina Pats, 8-1, to even that series at 1-1. . . . Games 3 and 4 are to be played in Regina on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . F Cody Beach and F Eric Arnold had two goals and an assist each for the Warriors, who scored once in the first period, three times in the second and four times in the third. . . . Moose Jaw G Luke Siemens lost his shutout to F Dyson Stephenson at 5:32 of the third. . . . Leading 3-0, the Warriors held a 19-4 edge in shots. . . . Warriors D Dallas Ehrhardt had one assist and was plus-5. . . . Warriors F Sam Fioretti had a goal and two helpers. . . . Moose Jaw took 64 of 118 penalty minutes. Referees Pat Smith and Chad Williams handed out nine misconducts. . . . 
In Medicine Hat, the Tigers went 3-for-6 on the PP and beat the Saskatoon Blades, 5-3. . . . Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem was in on all five of his side’s goals, scoring twice and setting up three others. . . . The Tigers take a 2-0 lead to Saskatoon for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . The Tigers erased a 3-2 deficit with the game’s last three goals. . . . Etem scored two first-period power-play goals. . . . After F Josh Nicholls gave Saskatoon a 3-2 lead at 6:55 of the second, Medicine Hat D James Bettauer tied it at 16:28. . . . Tigers F Hunter Shinkaruk broke the 3-3 tie at 14:32 of the third and F Curtis Valk added insurance at 19:54 on a PP. . . . Shinkaruk also had three assists. . . . Saskatoon was 0-1 on the PP. . . . The Blades continue to be without G Adam Todd (concussion), F Michael Burns (concussion) and D Tommy Stipancik (mononucleosis). They also were without D Darren Dietz, who drew a ‘tbd’ suspension for a slashing major on Tigers F Emerson Etem late in Game 1. . . . An interesting note from Les Lazaruk, the radio voice of the Blades: In their history, the Blades have lost the first game of a series on the road on 13 occasions. Only once have they come back to win Game 2. That was in 1992 against the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . 
In Kamloops, the Blazers scored five times in the second period and beat the Victoria Royals, 7-4. . . . Kamloops took a 6-1 lead into the third period. . . . F Jordan DePape scored twice for Kamloops, the first coming on a penalty shot at 19:24 of the first period to give his side a 1-0 lead. . . . Kamloops F J.C. Lipon had two assists for the second straight game. . . . The Blazers take a 2-0 lead into Games 3 and 4 in Victoria on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Victoria F Taylor Crunk scored his first WHL goal. He was goal-less in 39 regular-season games. . . . Crunk, who turned 17 on Jan. 20, is a freshman from San Jacinto, Calif. . . . Kamloops had a 53-28 edge in shots on goal. . . . The Blazers were 2-7 on the PP; the Royals were 0-5. . . . Kamloops has won back-to-back playoff games for the first time since the spring of 1999 when Habscheid was its head coach. . . .
In Portland, G Mac Carruth stopped 20 shots to lead the Winterhawks to a 4-0 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Carruth earned his 20th playoff victory. He is the only goaltender in Portland history with that many postseason victories. . . . Carruth has two career playoff shutouts. . . . The Winterhawks hold a 2-0 lead as the series heads to Kelowna for games on Tuesday and Thursday. . . . Portland was 2-8 on the PP and also got a shorthanded goal from F Brad Ross. . . . D Troy Rutkowski scored the game’s first goal at 7:30 of the first period on the PP. . . . F Ty Rattie, who had three goals in a 6-3 victory on Friday, had a goal and an assist in Game 2. . . . F Sven Baertschi set up two goals. . . . The Winterhawks again were without F Brendan Leipsic. . . . The Rockets continue to be without F Spencer Main (concussion) and D Mitchell Chapman (undisclosed). . . . Kelowna was 0-5 on the PP. . . . The Rockets took 53 of 91 penalty minutes, including 23 to F Brett Bulmer. He took four minors, two of them for kneeing, and a kneeing major and game misconduct, the latter at 12:11 of the third period. . . . Portland F Oliver Gabriel got the old heave-ho 31 seconds into the second period. He took a slashing minor and was promptly tossed, perhaps for saying something to an official. . . . After Game 1, you may recall, Kelowna G Adam Brown made a point of grabbing the final puck and keeping it. So what happened after Game 2. Well, it seems Rutkowski picked it up off the ice. End of story. Right? Wrong. . . . Jim Beseda of The Oregonian reports that Portland D Joe Morrow took the puck from Rutkowski, “skated across the ice and flipped it in Brown's direction” as the Rockets headed to the dressing room. “You know,” Morrow said, “he deserved it, so he can have it back. And if he wants to keep doing that, he can keep every puck after we win from now on. That's his choice." . . .
In Vancouver, the Giants scored the game’s first five goals and went on to beat the Spokane Chiefs, 7-3. . . . Vancouver leads the series 2-0 with the next two games in Spokane on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. . . . F Brendan Gallagher and F Marek Tvrdon each had two goals and two assists for Vancouver, while F Jordan Martinook had a goal and three assists. . . . Martinook has eight points in the first two games of this series. . . . The Giants also got two goals, both on the PP, from D Neil Manning. . . . F Mitch Holmberg scored twice for Spokane. . . . Vancouver G Adam Morrison stopped 38 shots. . . . Vancouver was 3-7 on the PP; Spokane was 2-6. . . . Spokane D Brendan Kichton, who was struck in the face by a puck in the third period of Game 1, didn’t play in Game 2. He may have a broken jaw. . . . Kichton, a first-team all-star, is the Western Conference’s defenceman of the year. . . . The Giants are without D David Musil, who has undergone surgery to repair a broken scaphoid. . . . Vancouver inserted D Blake Orban, who played 43 regular-season games, into its lineup and took out D Reid Zalitach, a 2011 bantam draft pick. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans scored three PP goals and beat the Everett Silvertips, 3-1. . . . Two of those PP goals came in the first period when the Americans spent 11:58 with a man advantage; the Silvertips didn’t get a power play. . . . Everett F Ryan Harrison took an interference major and game misconduct at at 9:44 of the first period. . . . Tri-City scored twice on the ensuing power play. . . . Everett F Cody Fowlie took a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 4:20 of the second period. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland scored the game’s first goal at 10:21 of the first period. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin had two assists. . . . Tri-City G Ty Rimmer stopped 17 shots, 16 fewer than Everett’s Kent Simpson. . . . Rimmer lost his shutout bid when D Ryan Murray scored at 18:57 of the third period. . . . Tri-City lost D Drydn Dow with an apparent arm injury after he was hit from behind by Everett F Manray Hayer, who was given a double minor. . . . The Americans lead 2-0 as the series goes to Everett for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports on Game 2 right here. You may have guessed that Everett head coach Mark Ferner wasn't impressed by the officiating.———
SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Brayden Point, Moose Jaw.
F Cain Franson, Vancouver.
F Manraj Hayer, Everett (double minor).
F Cody Fowlie, Everett (major).
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Austin Madaisky, Kamloops.
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