There were 10 games last night and five ended in shutouts. . . . Also when the night was done, three players were tied for the WHL lead in goals, with 36. . . .
In Portland, G Mac Carruth was writing records again as the Winterhawks blanked the Spokane Chiefs, 4-0. . . . Carruth stopped 26 shots as he set a single-season franchise record with his sixth shutout. Lanny Ramage had set the record of five in 2000-01. . . . It also was Carruth’s 10th career shutout, extending his franchise record. . . . The Winterhawks also extended the team franchise record with this season’s 11th shutout. . . . As well, D Troy Rutkowski played in his 221st straight game, tying D Andrew Ference for the franchise’s iron man record. Ference set the record by playing from Feb. 18, 1995 through Oct. 11, 1998. . . . Rutkowski has played in 332 regular-season games. . . . F Taylor Leier got the game’s first goal, his 20th, at 14”22 of the first period. . . . Portland held a 21-1 edge in shots in the opening period. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic scored twice, giving him 36 goals this season and moving him into a tie for the WHL lead with teammate Nic Petan and F Colin Smith of Kamloops. . . . Petan, the WHL’s points leader, was held of the score sheet and now holds a three-point lead, 93-90, over Leipsix. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie also was blanked and had his 15-game point streak ended. . . .
In Saskatoon, F Michael Ferland scored three times to lead the Blades to a 4-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Saskatoon now has won four in a row. . . . Ferland, who also had an assist, broke a 1-1 tie with his second goal at 6:01 of the second and later added an empty-netter. He’s got six goals now. . . . Ferland was playing in his 200th regular-season game. . . . The Broncos have followed a seven-game winning streak by dropping three of four. . . .
In Prince Albert, G Luke Siemens turned aside 40 shots as the Raiders beat the Calgary Hitmen, 2-0. . . . Siemens put up his fifth shutout this season and the 11th of his career. . . . F Shane Danyluk scored the game’s first goal, his seventh, shorthanded at 11:32 of the second period. He’s got seven goals. . . . F Chase Braid, with his eighth, added insurance at 2:38 of the third. . . .
In Brandon, F Jayce Hawryluk scored twice to help the Wheat Kings to a 5-2 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Hawryluk, who has 15 goals, also scored twice Friday in Brandon’s 3-2 loss in Regina. After his first goal last night, he had been in on seven consecutive Brandon goals, scoring five of them. . . . Brandon D Ryan Pulock drew five assists for his first career five-point night. . . . Brandon lost D Tyler Yaworski to a headshot major that took Regina D Luke Fenske out of the game. . . .
In Cranbrook, G Mackenzie Skapski turned aside 23 shots as the Kootenay Ice beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 3-0. . . . Skapski has four shutouts, all of them this season. . . . F Levi Cable’s shorthanded goal at 7:00 of the second period stood up as the winner. . . . The Ice scored its other two goals via the PP, the last one into an empty net. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau had two assists. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart drew one assist and ran his point streak to 16 games, the longest active streak at the moment. . . .
In Medicine Hat, G Laurent Brossoit earned his second straight shutout as the Edmonton Oil Kings beat the Tigers, 6-0. . . . Brossoit stopped 23 shots in putting up his fourth blank job this season and the ninth of his career. He already held the modern-day franchise record. . . . Brossoit and Tristan Jarry have posted seven shutouts in Edmonton’s last 16 games. . . . The Oil Kings have played 53 games and have held the opposition to two or fewer goals in 36 of those. . . . D Ashton Sautner’s second goal this season, at 19:00 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . D Martin Gernat had three assists. . . . F Curtis Lazar and F Henrik Samuelsson each scored his 27th goal. . . . F Michael St. Croix had a goal and an assist to run his point streak to nine games. . . . The defending-champion Oil Kings have won eight straight. . . .
In Prince George, F Alex Gogolev scored the lone goal of the circus as the Victoria Royals beat the Cougars, 2-1. . . . The Cougars had beaten the Royals 6-2 on Friday. . . . Gogolev gave Victoria a 1-0 lead with his 19th goal at 5:41 of the second period. . . . D Dallas Ehrhardt got his fifth to tie it at 18:26 of the third. . . . Gogolev was the seventh shooter in a four-round shootout. . . . Victoria G Patrik Polivka stopped 38 shots through OT. . . .
In Everett, F JC Lipon scored once in regulation time and again in the circus as the Kamloops Blazers got past the Silvertips, 3-2. . . . Everett D Landon Oslanski forced OT with his 12th goal, via the PP, at 11:54 of the second. . . . Lipon was the only scorer in a shootout that went four rounds. . . . Kamloops F Colin Smith scored his 36th goal. He has goals in five straight games. . . . Everett was able to dress only 16 skaters, two under the maximum. . . . On top of the injuries they had going into the weekend, Everett was without F Tyler Sandhu, who was injured in Friday’s 2-1 shootout loss to visiting Tri-City, and F Kohl Bauml (ill). . . . Of the 18 players Everett dressed last night, 12 were freshmen. . . . The teams meet again Thursday in Kamloops. . . .
In Kelowna, G Jordon Cooke stopped 22 shots to lead the Rockets to a 5-0 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Rockets had beaten the host Giants 5-1 on Friday. . . . Cooke has five shutouts, all this season. . . . The Rockets won their 23rd straight home game, one shy of a franchise record set in 1994-95 when the team played out of Tacoma. . . . F Myles Bell scored twice, giving him 31, and added an assist, while F Colton Sissons had three assists and now has an 11-game point streak. . . . The Rockets scored two shorthanded goals and one on the PP. . . .
In Kent, Wash., F Justin Feser scored the game’s last two goals as the Tri-City Americans beat the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent), 4-3, in overtime. . . . Feser tied the game at 18:27 of the third period and won it 27 seconds into OT. . . . Tri-City’s captain has 29 goals this season. . . . Americans G Luke Lee-Knight turned aside 32 shots.---
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Lukas Sutter, Saskatoon
D Mason Geertsen, Vancouver (double minor)
CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Tyler Yaworski, Brandon (major)
F Jens Meilleur, Brandon
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From Everett G Austin Lotz (@lotzy30): “Shopping will be the reason that one day il be homeless #clothesonclothesonclothes”
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From Portland D Troy Rutkowski (@TRutter2): “Would like to thank the @pdxwinterhawks for flying my family and @abawdzy in this weekend. #firstclassorganization”
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