Western Hockey League schedule for Saturday, December 29th, 2018

Here's Saturday's schedule around the Western Hockey League for December 29th, 2018 (All times Pacific):

Edmonton Oil Kings (19-12-4-2) at Red Deer Rebels (20-11-2-0) 6:00 pm
Lethbridge Hurricanes (18-10-4-2) at Kootenay ICE (8-23-5-1) 6:00 pm
Portland Winterhawks (19-11-3-2) at Seattle Thunderbirds (11-17-4-0) 6:05 pm
Victoria Royals (17-13-1-0) at Medicine Hat Tigers (18-15-1-2) 6:30 pm
Kamloops Blazers (13-16-2-1) at Kelowna Rockets (16-17-3-0) 7:05 pm
Tri-City Americans (18-12-1-1) at Spokane Chiefs (19-12-2-2) 7:05 pm
Prince George Cougars (12-19-1-2) at Everett Silvertips (28-7-1-1) 7:05 pm

Another overtime with Portland, another win forAms

Portland, OR.-- For the fourth time in as many meetings this season, it took extra time for the Tri-City Americans and Portland Winterhawks to decide things, with an overtime goal by Parker AuCoin sealing the deal in a 3-2 Americans win, before 8,061 at the Moda Center in Portland Friday night.

Coming off the Christmas break, the two teams went toe-to-toe from the opening draw. Portland's Brendan De Jong would energize the crowd with a goal at 8:04, assisted by Lane Gilliss and Cross Hanas on the power play, putting the Hawks up 1-0. Tri-City would respond with a power play goal of their own late in the period, as a redirect by Sasha Mutala found the back of the net for his 8th goal of the season. Kyle Olson and Aaron Hyman drew the assists at 17:27, tying the game 1-1.

Each team would hit the scoreboard in the second period. Blake Stevenson's 6th of the year, assisted by Samuel Stewart and Riley Sawchuk at 6:08, put Tri-City up 2-1. The score would stay that way for over 10 minutes, before Ryan Hughes, off an assist by Clay Hanus at 16:38 would bring Portland even at 2-2.

After a scoreless third period, the teams would step into their fourth overtime in as many games this season. Playing solid defence, the Americans would force the Winterhawks into their own end. Just over a minute into the extra session, the puck would end up behind the Portland net. Mutala got to the puck about the same time as the Hawks' Joachim Blichfeld, appearing to trip him up in an attempt to gain control. The officials kept the whistles silent, Mutala would shovel the puck back to AuCoin, who would then cut across the net from right to left, sliding a backhander along the ice and in the far side for his 18th goal of the season, with the second assist going to Olson at 1:19, giving Tri-City the 3-2 win. It is the fourth extra time with for the Americans over Portland this season (One came in a shootout) and runs the Tri-City overtime record this season to 9-1-1, their current win streak to 4 (all in overtime) and their record in one-goal games to 10-3-1-1.

Goaltending was sharp in both ends. In his 30th appearance this season, Beck Warm made 33 saves to help the Americans to their 18th win of the season. Shane Farkas did a stellar job keeping the Hawks in the game, making 29 saves. Both teams were even on the power play, going 1-for-3.

With the win, Tri-City improves to 18-12-1-1, while the loss drops Portland to 19-11-3-2. The Hawks remain second in the U.S. Division, 15 points behind front-running Everett. The Americans, who trail third place Spokane by 4 points, still hold the top spot in the Western Conference standings, 9 points ahead of Kamloops and 11 points ahead of Prince George.

Coming Up: Tri-City gets another chance to climb closer to the top three, with a road match-up tonight with the Spokane Chiefs. Game time at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena is 7:05 pm. The live broadcast, with Craig West, gets underway at 6:45 pm and can be heard throughout Southeast Washington on Newstalk 870 KFLD and online at newstalk870.am. The games can also be viewed online for free, by going to WHL.ca, clicking WHL Live, schedule, then clicking Buy next to the listing of the game. Use code WHLGIFT18.

Western Hockey League roundup for Friday, December 28th, 2018

Prince Albert Raiders 4, Saskatoon Blades 2

3,130 at the Art Hauser Centre watched the hometown Raiders score twice in the third to win their 33rd game in 36 starts. Noah Gregor scored twice for Prince Albert, Aliasei Protas scored the eventual game-winner halfway through the third and Cole Fonstad added an empty netter with 10 seconds left. Donovan Buskey made 34 saves. For the Blades, Gary Haden scored on the power play, Kristian Roykas Marthinsen added a goal, Dorrin Luding made 32 saves.

Regina Pats 3, Brandon Wheat Kings 2

For the second night in a row, Regina built a 3-1 lead in the third, then held on for the 3-2 win. Garrett Wright, Austin Pratt and Logan Nijhoff scored for the Pats, Max Paddock made 18 saves. For the Wheat Kings, goal scorers were Luka Burzan and Cole Reinhardt, Ethan Kruger made 35 saves. Attendance was 5,501 at the Brandt Centre.

Moose Jaw Warriors 4, Swift Current Broncos 3 (OT)

After a 3-3 game went through a scoreless third, Teristan Langan, who scored late in the second, scored at 2:36 of overtime on the power play to win it for the Warriors, before 2,768 at Innovation Credit Union i-plex. Daemon Hunt and Justin Almeida added goals for Moose Jaw, Almeida also had 2 assists and Adam Evanoff made 24 saves. For the Broncos, Ethan Regnier had a goal and assist, Matthew Culling and Alec Zawatsky added single and Joel Hofer had 35 saves.

Edmonton Oil Kings 7, Calgary Hitmen 3

A 6 goal second period sent Edmonton past Calgary, before 7,045 at Rogers Place. Andrei Pavlenko, Zach Russell and Andrew Fyten had a goal and assist each, Wyatt McLeod, Ethan Cap, Vladimir Alistrov and Aidan Lawson each had a goal and Dylan Myskiw made 29 for the Oil Kings. For the Hitmen, Mark Kastelic scored twice, Carson Focht once and Jack McNaughton made 31 saves.

Victoria Royals 6, Lethbridge Hurricanes 2

Dante Hannoun scored 4 goals and added an assist to lead Victoria to the win, before 4,286 at Enmax Centre. Tarun Fizer had a goal and 2 assists, Igor Martynov a goal and assist and Brock Gould 30 saves for the Royals. For Lethbridge, Jordy Bellerive had a goal and assist, Calen Addison a goal, Carl Tetachuk and Reece Klassen combined for 23 saves.

Medicine Hat Tigers 4, Kootenay ICE 1

With 3,195 looking on at Canalta Centre, Medicine Hat scored twice in the third period to win a close one. Ryan Jevne, James Hamblin on the power play, Hamblin again and Ryan Chyzowski into an empty net scored for the Tigers, Jordan Hollett made 26 saves. Martin Bodak scored for Kootenay, Jesse Makaj made 29 saves.

Vancouver Giants 6, Red Deer Rebels 0

After a scoreless first, Vancouver scored twice in the second and four times in the third, to roll to the road win before 4,626 at Enmax Centrium. For the Giants, Jared Legien  and Tristen Nielsen had a goal and 2 assists each, Alex Kannok Leipert and Justin Sourdif a goal and assist each, Davis Koch and Jared Dmytriw a goal each and David Tendeck made 28 saves. For Red Deer, Ethan Anders and Byron Fancy combined to make 29 saves.

Kamloops Blazers 3, Kelowna Rockets 2 (OT)

Zane Franklin scored the tying goal on the power play with 1:06 remaining in regulation, then tallied the winner at 4:18 of overtime to lead Kamloops to the win before 4,251 at Sandman Centre. Brodi Stuart added a short handed goal for the Blazers, while Dylan Ferguson made 36 saves. For Kelowna, Lane Zablocki acored late in the second and Kaeden Korczak added a power play goal in the third, James Porter made 26 saves.

Tri-City Americans 3, Portland Winterhawks 2 (OT)

Tri-City won their 9th overtime game of the season, thanks to a goal by Parker AuCoin at 1:19 of the extra session. Sasha Mutala on the power play and Blake Stevenson also scored for the Americans, who got 33 saves from Beck Warm. Portland goal scorers were Brendan DeJong on the power play and Ryan J|Hughes. Shane Farkas had 29 saves. Attendance at the Moda Center was 8,061.

Prince George Cougars 2, Seattle Thunderbirds 1

After a scoreless first period, a second period goal by Prince George's Vladislav Mikhalchuk and a third period goal by Josh Maser, sent the Cougars to the win. Payton Mount's third period goal brought Seattle within one, but they could get no closer. Taylor Gauthier made 29 saves for Prince George, Liam Hughes 30 for the Thunderbirds. Attendance at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent was 4,100. 

Everett Silvertips 3, Spokane Chiefs 1

A Jack Finley goal gave Spokane a 1-0 lead after one, but second period goals by Gage Concalves and Connor Dewar, plus a third period empty net goal by Dewar, powered Everett to the win before 5,350 at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Dustin Wolf made 14 saves for the Silvertips, Bailey Brkin 40 for the Chiefs. 

Western Hockey League schedule for Friday, December 28th, 2018

Here's Friday's schedule around the Western Hockey League for December 28th, 2018 (All times Pacific):

Saskatoon Blades (21-10-5-0) at Prince Albert Raiders (32-2-0-1) 5:00 pm
Brandon Wheat Kings (15-11-3-3) at Regina Pats (10-24-0-1) 5:00 pm
Moose Jaw Warriors (17-8-5-1) at Swift Current Broncos (7-25-1-1) 5:00 pm
Calgary Hitmen (15-15-3-1) at Edmonton Oil Kings (18-12-4-2) 6:00 pm
Victoria Royals (16-13-1-0) at Lethbridge Hurricanes (18-9-4-2) 6:00 pm
Vancouver Giants (22-8-2-0) at Red Deer Rebels (20-10-2-0) 6:00 pm
Kootenay Ice (8-22-5-1) at Medicine Hat Tigers (17-15-1-2) 6:30 pm
Kelowna Rockets (16-17-2-0) at Kamloops Blazers (12-16-2-1) 7:00 pm
Tri-City Americans (17-12-1-1) at Portland Winterhawks (19-11-2-2) 7:00 pm
Everett Silvertips (27-7-1-1) at Spokane Chiefs ( 19-11-2-2) 7:05 pm
Prince George Cougars (11-19-1-2) at Seattle Thunderbirds (11-16-4-0) 7:35 pm

Western Hockey League roundup for Thursday, December 27th, 2018

Regina Pats 3, Brandon Wheat Kings 2

Pats built a 3-1 lead early in the third, then held on for the win, before 3,582 at Westoba Place. For Regina, Sergei Alkimov scored twice, Robbie Holmes once and Max Paddock made 21 saves. For the Wheat Kings, Ridly Greig and Cole Reinhardt scored once each and Ethan Kruger made 19 saves.

Swift Current Broncos 4, Moose Jaw Warriors 3 (OT)

Alex Moar's 1st goal of the season at 1:58 of overtime, won it for the Broncos. Carter Chorney, Matthew Culling and Matthew Stanley also scored for Swift Current, with Joel Hofer making 39 saves. For Moose Jaw, goal scorers were Jet Woo, Brayden Tracey and Keenan Taphorn, Brodan Salmond made 17 saves. Attendance at Mosaic Place was 3,756.

Prince Albert Raiders 4, Saskatoon Blades 3 (OT)

Brayden Pachal scored twice, including the winner 33 seconds into overtime, to win it for Prince Albert. Noah Gregor also scored twice for the Raiders, Donovan Buskey made 23 saves. For Saskatoon, Kyle Crnkovic, Eric Florchuk and Max Gerlach scored goals, Nolan Maier made 27 saves. Attendance at SaskTel Centre was 4,631.

Western Hockey League schedule for Thursday, December 27th, 2018

Here's Thursday's schedule around the Western Hockey League for December 27th, 2018 (All times Pacific):

Regina Pats (9-24-0-1) at Brandon Wheat Kings (15-10-3-3) 5:00 pm
Swift Current Broncos (6-24-1-1) at Moose Jaw Warriors (17-8-4-1) 5:00 pm
Prince Albert Raiders (31-2-0-1) at Saskatoon Blades (21-10-4-0) 5:00 pm

Ams grab another OT victory over Portland

Portland, OR. -- For the second consecutive night, a last-minute, extra attacker goal and just like the previous night, it was the boys from Kennewick who would come out on top in the end, as the Tri-City Americans scored late in overtime to defeat the Portland Winterhawks 4-3 Sunday, before a crowd of 6,375 at the Moda Center in Portland.

The two-teams, as is typical whenever they meet, battled fast and furious, but neither was able to dent the twine in the opening 20, keeping the game scoreless head into the second. In the middle frame, the two offences, held in check in the first, each struck twice. Joachim Blichfeld opened the scoring with his league-leading 31st goal of the season, assisted by Ryan Hughes and Clay Hanus at 1:06, putting the Hawks up 1-0. Tri-City would respond with a pair of goals to grab the lead. Kyle Olson scored his 7th from Riley Sawchuk at 6:40 to make it 1-1, then Sawchuk scored from Parker AuCoin and Aaron Hyman at 9:01, putting the visitors up 2-1. Portland would pull back into a tie less than a minute later, as Hughes scored from Hanus and Blichfeld at 9:54.

In the third, the Americans went back on top at 12:58 as Sawchuk scored his 11th from AuCoin and Sasha Mutala, making it a 3-2 game. It stayed that way until late. And just like Saturday, the trailing team pulled their goaltender and would strike for an extra attacker goal in the final minute. Jared Freadich scored for the Winterhawks from John Ludvig and Blichfeld at 19:26, tying the game 3-3 and forcing overtime for the third time in as many meetings between two two rivals this season., With time winding down and a shootout looming, Olson nailed his 8th of the year, thanks in part to a helper from Sawhuck, all with Hyman sitting in the box on a tripping penalty called at 2:40. The goal gave Tri-City their third overtime victory in the past eight days, with their season OT record improving to 4-1-4-1, in a league-high 10 overtime contests.

Shots were close again, with the Ams outshooting Portland 36-34. Beck Warm made 31 saves for Tri-City. His opposing netminder, Shane Farkas, made 32 saves for Portland. Neither team scored on the power play, the Americans in 5 chances, the Winterhawks in 4.

Tri-City ends the pre-holiday schedule with a slate of 17-12-1-1 for 36 points, 6 points behind Portland and Spokane, who are tied for second in the U.S. Division. The Americans have a firm grip on the #1 Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, 9 points ahead of Kamloops. The Winterhawks hit the break with a mark of 19-11-2-2 for 42 points.

Coming Up: The two teams open up their post-Christmas schedule against each other in Portland's Moda Center on Friday, December 28th at 7:00 pm. Tri-City then plays at Spokane on Saturday, December 29th, then host the Chiefs in their annual New Year's Eve matchup in the Toyota Center in Kennewick on Monday, December 31st.

Western Hockey League roundup for Sunday, December 16th, 2018

Lethbridge Hurricanes 6, Calgary Hitmen 4

A four-goal third period was the difference for the Hurricanes, in front of 8,544 in the Scotiabank Saddledome. Jordy Bellerive scored twice for Lethbridge and added an assist, Ty Prefontaine, Taylor Ross and Dylan Cozens had a goal and assist each, Logan Barlage a goal and Carl Tetachuk 24 saves. For the Hitmen, Kaden Elder had a goal and assist, Bryce Bader, Riley Stotts and Mark Kastelic a goal each, Jack McNaughton 20 saves.

Edmonton Oil Kings 7, Kootenay ICE 4

Edmonton is now 4-1-1-0 in their past six, after Sunday's win before 6,794 at Rogers Place. The Oil Kings, who scored 3 in the first and 3 in the third, were led by Brett Kemp, with 2 goals and an assist, Dylan Guenther with 2 goals, Scott Atkinson and Vince Loschiavo with a goal and assist each, David Kope a goal, Carter Souch 3 assists and 26 saves from the combo of Todd Scott and Dylan Myskiw. For Kootenay, which has won just once in the past month, got goals from River Fahey, Cole Muir, Martin Bodak and Brad Ginnell, plus 32 saves from Jesse Makaj.

Tri-City Americans 4, Portland Winterhawks 3 (OT)

For the second consecutive night, a last-minute goal forced overtime and like Saturday, Tri-City would score in the extra session to win it. After a scoreless first, each team scored twice in the second. Portland goals came from Joachim Blichfeld and Ryan Hughes, Americans' goals from Kyle Olson and Riley Sawchuck. The Ams grabbed the lead in the third on Sawchuk's second of the night, but with the goaltender off, Jared Freadrich scored at 19:26 to send the contest to OT. The overtime featured end-to-end action, with each team peppering the opposing goal. With time ticking down and a shootout looming, Olson would score his second of the night, this one short handed at 4:37 to make Tri-City a winner again. Beck Warm picked up his 16th win for the Ams with 31 saves, Shane Farkas made 32 for the Winterhawks, 5-3-2-0 in their past 10. Attendance at Portland's Moda Center was 6,375.

Spokane Chiefs 6, Seattle Thunderbirds 5 (OT)

Eli Zummack's 11th goal of the season 1:47 into overtime gave Spokane their 19th win of the season, before 4,595 at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Chiefs were led by Adam Beckman's 2 goals and 2 assists, Zummack's goal and 2 assists, plus single goals from Noah King, Luc Smith and Luke Toporowski. Dawson Weatherill had 32 saves. Seattle had 2 goals and an assist from Matthew Wedman, 2 from Dalton Hamaliuk, plus a goal and assist from Nolan Volcan and 27 saves from Liam Hughes.

Vancouver Giants 2, Prince George Cougars 1

3,514 at the Langley Events Centre were treated to a thriller to end the pre-Christmas schedule, as Brayden Watts scored his second power play goal of the contest with 50 seconds left in regulation, to win it for the Giants. Jackson Leppard scored the Prince George goal early in the first. David Tendeck had 30 saves for Vancouver, Taylor Gauthier 32 for the Cougars. The Giants have won 4-of-5 against PG this season.

Western Hockey League schedule for Sunday, December 16th, 2018

Here's Sunday's schedule around the Western Hockey League for December 16th, 2018 (All times Pacific):

Lethbridge Hurricanes (17-9-4-2) at Calgary Hitmen (15-14-3-1) 3:00 pm
Kootenay ICE (8-21-5-1) at Edmonton Oil Kings (17-12-4-2) 3:00 pm
Prince George Cougars (11-18-1-2) at Vancouver Giants (21-8-2-0) 4:00 pm
Tri-City Americans (16-12-1-1) at Portland Winterhawks (19-11-1-2) 5:00 pm
Seattle Thunderbirds (11-16-3-0) at Spokane Chiefs (18-11-2-2) 5:05 pm

Furious comeback nets Ams OT win over Portland

Kennewick, WA. -- With 4,327 in the Toyota Center roaring their approval, the Tri-City Americans staged an improbable, but not surprising comeback Saturday, defeating the Portland Winterhawks 3-2 in overtime, in a key mid-season U.S. Division contest.

After a scoreless first period, Portland would forge a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes, on a Joachim Blichfeld short handed goal, assisted by Jake Gricius at 18:27 of the middle stanza.

The lead held firm throughout the third for the visitors and grew to 2-0 on a Michael Kvasnica goal, assisted by Clay Hanus at 12:47. But, for the ninth time this season and second consecutive contest, overtime would be required for Tri-City. Captain Nolan Yaremko would dig into the lead with his 15th goal of the season, assisted by Paycen Bjorklund at 14:34 to make it a 2-1 game. Then, at the 19:00 mark, the Hawks' Blichfeld was hit with a delay penalty, for shooting the puck over the glass. The Americans would eagerly take advantage of the gift, by pulling the goaltender and setting up a 6-on-4 advantage in the final minute. In the dying moments, in a furious scramble at the Portland net, Yaremko would fire the puck home, tying the game with just 10 seconds remaining, sending the Toyota Center crowd into a frenzy. Yaremko's second of the night and 16th of the season, was a power play/extra attacker goal, assisted by Parker AuCoin and Kyle Olson at 19:50 and sent the game into overtime.

The action continued into the extra session, with plenty of time spent in both ends, before defenseman Aaron Hyman, assisted by Connor Bouchard and Sasha Mutala would strike for his 8th goal of the season and 3rd since joining Tri-City from Regina, ending the game at 3:26 in favor of the Americans, 3-2.

Shots were even on the night, 34-34. Beck Warm was solid once again for the Americans, making 32 saves, while the Winterhawks' Shane Farkas was strong too, making 31 saves. Tri-City was 1-for-6 on the power play and 3-of-3 on the penalty kill.

With the win, the Americans improve to 16-12-1-1 on the season for 34 points, while Portland slips to 19-11-1-2 for 41 points. Tri-City is 4th in the U.S. Division, but holds the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. The Winterhawks are second in the U.S. Division, 6 points behind third place Spokane.

Coming Up: The Two teams wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule with a matchup at Portland's Moda Center, Sunday afternoon at 5:00 pm. The game can be heard on Newstalk 870 KFLD and online at newstalk870.am with Craig West beginning at 4:345 pm. The teams meet again, in Kennewick to start the post-holiday schedule on Friday, December 28th. 

Western Hockey League roundup for Saturday, December 15th, 2018

Brandon Wheat Kings 6, Saskatoon Blades 5 (OT)

Saskatoon overcame a four-goal Brandon second period with a two-goal third period of their own to force overtime, but the Wheaties would end up winning it just shy of the midway point of the extra session. Stelio Mattheos scored 3 goals for Brandon, including the game winner 2:25 into OT and also added an assist, Ben McCartney, Cole Reinhardt and Connor Gutenberg also scored, Luka Burzan had 4 assists and Ethan Kruger had 35 saves. For Saskatoon, Max Gerlach scored twice, Dawson Davidson, Tristen Robins and Chase Wouters once each, with Nolan Maier making 25 saves. The loss snapped Saskatoon's 4 game win streak and ended Brandon's 3 game losing skid. Attendance was 4,455 at Westoba Place.

Moose Jaw Warriors 6, Regina Pats 3

Moose Jaw exacted revenge for Friday's loss in Regina by doubling up on the Pats before 4,214 at Mosaic Place. Tristan Langan had 3 goals and 1 assist for the Warriors, Justin Almeida had 2 goals and 4 assists, Dalton Hamaliuk scored a goal and Brodan Salmond made 23 saves. For Regina, Robbie Holmes had 2 goals and an assist, Austin Pratt had a goal and an assist and Dean McNabb and Max Paddock combined to make 20 saves. Moose jaw was 3-for-7 on the power play, the Pats were 2-for-6.

Prince Albert Raiders 7, Swift Current Broncos 5

2,809 at the Art Hauser Centre were treated to a high scoring affair Saturday night. Noah Gregor and Justin Nachbaur scored twice each for the Raiders, Parker Kelly and Ozzy Wiesblatt had a goal and assist each, Sean Montgomery scored a goal and Donovan Buskey teamed with Brett Balas for 13 saves. For Swift Current, Joona Kiviniemi and Dawson Zawatsky had a goal and assist each, Matthew Culling, Ethan O'Rourke and Dawson Springer scored once each and Joel Hofer made 49 saves on a night where PA outshot the Broncos 56-18.

Lethbridge Hurricanes 5, Kamloops Blazers 2

A 3-goal third period broke open a 2-2 tie and gave Lethbridge the win in front of 3,781 at the Enmax Centre. Jordy Bellerive led the Canes with a goal and 2 assists, Taylor Ross, Jake Leschyshyn, Nick Henry and Dylan Cozens had a goal and assist each and Reece Klassen had 37 saves. For Kamloops, who has now lost 5 straight, Kyrell Sopotyk and Connor Zary scored goals, Dylan Garand made 36 saves.

Edmonton Oil Kings 3, Calgary Hitmen 2 (OT)

The Oil Kings overcame a 2-0 deficit to win in overtime. Kaden Elder scored at even strength, Jake Kryski on the power play, to give the Hitmen the lead early in the second. But Edmonton responded with goals from Vince Loschiavo in the second, Davis Kope in the third and Andrew Fyten 40 seconds into overtime to win it. Dylan Myskiw had 32 saves for the Oil Kings, Jack McNaughton had 41 stops for Calgary. 6,751 looked on at Rogers Place.

Kelowna Rockets 2, Medicine Hat Tigers 1

Rockets withstood a late Medicine Hat push for the road win before 3,018 at Canalta Centre. Leif Mattson scored both, one into a rare 1st period empty net and the other on a second period power play for Kelowna, Roman Basran made 31 saves. The Tigers' goal was scored by James Hamblin, Jordan Hollett made 18 saves.

Tri-City Americans 3, Portland Winterhawks 2 (OT)

The Americans rallied from a 2-0 third period deficit, tied it in the closing seconds, then won it in overtime, before 4,327 at Toyota Center. Nolan Yaremko scored twice for Tri-City, including the tying goal with 10 seconds left in regulation. Aaron Hyman scored the game-winner, Beck Warm made 32 saves. For Portland, Michael Kvasnica and Joachim Blichfeld scored goals, Shane Farkas made 31 saves.

Victoria Royals 4, Vancouver Giants 2

A 2-goal third period won it for the Royals, in front of 6,812 at Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena. D-Jay Jerome scored twice for Victoria, Dante Hannoun had a goal and assist, Ty Yoder a goal and Griffen Outhouse 25 saves. For the Giants, Tristen Nielsen and Owen Hardy scored goals, David Tendeck made 20 saves. The third period also included 58 minutes in penalties.

Everett Silvertips 6, Seattle Thunderbirds 1

Everett scored 4 in the first and never looked back, in front of 8,133 at Angel of the Winds Arena. Riley Sutter scored twice for the Silvertips, Martin Fasko-Rudas and Bryce Kindopp a goal and assist each, Jackson Berezowski and Gianni Fairbrother a goal each and Dustin Wolf made 21 saves. For Seattle, JaxanKaluski scored, Cole Schwebius made 33 saves. 

Western Hockey League schedule for Saturday, December 15th, 2018

Here's the Saturday schedule around the Western Hockey League for December 15th, 2018 (All times Pacific):

Calgary Hitmen (15-14-2-1) at Edmonton Oil Kings (16-12-4-2) 3:00 pm
Regina Pats (9-23-0-1) at Moose Jaw Warriors (16-8-4-1) 5:00 pm
Swift Current Broncos (6-24-1-1) at Prince Albert Raiders (30-2-0-1) 5:00 pm
Saskatoon Blades (21-10-3-0) at Brandon Wheat Kings (14-10-3-3) 5:30 pm
Kamloops Blazers (12-15-2-1) at Lethbridge Hurricanes (16-9-4-2) 6:00 pm
Kelowna Rockets (15-17-2-0) at Medicine Hat Tigers (17-14-1-2) 6:30 pm
Portland Winterhawks (19-11-0-2) at Tri-City Americans (15-12-1-1) 7:05 pm
Vancouver Giants (21-7-2-0) at Victoria Royals (15-13-1-0) 7:05 pm
Seattle Thunderbirds (11-15-3-0) at Everett Silvertips (26-7-1-1) 7:05 pm

Western Hockey League roundup for Friday, December 14th, 2018

Regina Pats 2, Moose Jaw Warriors 1

All the scoring came in the second period, before 5,052 at the Brandt Centre. Warriors opened the scoring at 4:00 of the second on a Kaeden Taphorn power play goal, but Regina responded with a Riley Krane goal at 13:48, then the game-winner would come at 18:47 from Steven Zonneveld. Dean McNabb made 26 saves for the Pats, Adam Evanoff 16 for Moose Jaw.

Saskatoon Blades 3, Brandon Wheat Kings 2

A goal with 5 seconds left in regulation by Gary Haden won it for Saskatoon, giving them 5 wins in their last 6 outings. Brandon Machado and Josh Paterson also scored for the Blades, with Nolan Maier making 33 saves. Ridley Greig scored for Brandon, Linden McCorrister got one short handed, Ethan Kruger made 19 saves. Attendance was 3,219 at SaskTel Centre.

Prince Albert Raiders 6, Swift Current Broncos 4

Raiders scored twice in each period, with 2,338 in attendance at Innovation Credit Union i-plex. Prince Albert got 2 goals and 1 assist from Sean Montgomery, Carson Miller added a goal and assist, Spencer Moe, Noah Gregor and Eric Pearce scored the other goals, Donovan Buskey made 22 saves. The Broncos offense came from Connor Horning with a goal and assist, plus Matthew Culling, Joona Kiviniemi and Alec Zawatsky scoring one each. Joel Hofer made 25 saves for Swift Current.

Calgary Hitmen 5, Kelowna Rockets 1

Hitmen won for the fifth straight time, in front of 8,757 at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Jake Kryski scored twice for Calgary, including one on the power  play, Egor Zamula had a power play goal and 2 assists, Riley Stotts had a goal and assist, Ryder Korczak scored a goal and Jack McNaughton made 25 saves. The Rockets goal was scored by Kyle Crosbie, with James Porter making 27 saves.

Kootenay ICE 5, Kamloops Blazers 3

Kootenay won for the first time in 31 days, thanks to a goal and assist each by Peyton Krebs and Jaeger White, plus singles by River Fahey, Jakin Smallwood and Davis Murray. Jesse Makal backstopped the Ice to the win with 37 saves, in front of a Western Financial Place crowd of 2,397. Quinn Schmiemann scored twice for the Blazers, Connor Zary had a goal and assist, Dylan Ferguson made 25 saves. After winning 6 of 8 from November 17th through December 5th, Kamloops has now lost five straight, one in overtime.

Medicine Hat Tigers 4, Red Deer Rebels 1

Tigers broke away from a 1-all tie after one, with 2 in the second and 1 in the third, in front of 3,720 at the Enmax Centrium in Red Deer. Josh Williams scored a pair of power play goals for Medicine Hat, James Hamblin added a power play goal, Bryan Lockner scored and Mads Sogaard made 49 saves. The Rebels got a goal from Chris Douglas and 34 saves from Ethan Anders.

Spokane Chiefs 5, Seattle Thunderbirds 3

A 3-goal second period was the difference in the Spokane win, before 4,483 at accesso ShoWare Center. Jake McGrew scored 3 goals, one on the power play and one into an empty net and added an assist to lead the Chiefs. Eli Zummack and Adam Beckman had a goal and assist each, Bailey Brkin had 24 saves. For Seattle, Nolan Volcan scored twice, Payton Mount once, Liam Hughes had 27 saves.

Everett Silvertips 4, Vancouver Giants 1

Bryce Kindopp scored twice to lead Everett, Dawson Butt and Reece Vitelli added goals and Dustin Wolf made 37 saves. For the Giants, Owen Hardy scored, Trent Miner and David Tendeck combined for 23 saves. 3,866 watched at Langley Events Centre.

Victoria Royals 5, Prince George Cougars 1

The Royals broke open a 1-goal game with a 3-goal third period. Tarun Fizer and Dino Kambeitz had a goal and assist each for Victoria, Phillip Schultz, Brandon Cutler and Kaid Oliver scored once each, Brock Gould made 34 saves. For Prince George, who lost for the 10th time in 12 games, Rhett Rhinehart scored, Isaiah DiLaura made 29 saves. 3,904 attended the game at Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena in Victoria.

                               

Western Hockey League Schedule for Friday, December 13th, 2018

Here's Friday's schedule around the Western Hockey League for December 14th, 2018 (All times Pacific):

Moose Jaw Warriors (16-7-4-1) at Regina Pats (8-23-0-1) 5:00 pm
Brandon Wheat Kings (14-9-3-3) at Saskatoon Blades (20-10-3-0) 5:00 pm
Prince Albert Raiders (29-2-0-1) at Swift Current Broncos (6-23-1-1) 5:00 pm
Kelowna Rockets (15-15-2-0) at Calgary Hitmen (14-14-2-1) 6:00 pm
Kamloops Blazers (12-14-2-1) at Kootenay ICE (7-21-5-1) 6:00 pm
Medicine Hat Tigers (16-14-1-2) at Red Deer Rebels (20-9-2-0) 6:00 pm
Prince George Cougars (11-17-1-2) at Victoria Royals (14-13-1-0) 7:05 pm
Everett Silvertips (25-7-1-1) at Vancouver Giants (21-6-2-0) 7:30 pm
Spokane Chiefs (17-11-2-2) at Seattle Thunderbirds (11-14-3-0) 7:35 pm

Western Hockey League roundup for Tuesday, December 11th, 2018

Saskatoon Blades 6, Edmonton Oil Kings 3

Saskatoon won for the 4th time in their past 5 games, in front of 2,947 at SaskTel Centre. A three-goal third period for the Blades broke the game open after a 3-3 tie through 40 minutes. Gary Haden led the Saskatoon attack scoring four goals, including all three third period Blades tallies. Chase Wouters and Seth Bafaro also scored, Nolan Maier made 22 saves. For the Oil Kings, Liam Keeler, Brett Kemp on the power play and Matthew Robertson scored goals, Todd Scott had 23 saves.

Kelowna Rockets 3, Kootenay ICE 1

Leif Mattson scored a pair of power play goals, Kyle Topping added one too, James Porter made 29 saves to power Kelowna to the road win in front of 1,997 at Western Financial Place. Cole Muir scored the ICE goal, Jesse Makaj made 27 saves. The Rockets were 3-for-4 on the power play. Kootenay's winless streak is now at 12 and they are 1-14-3-0 since a modest two-game win streak October 30th-November 1st.

Red Deer Rebels 2, Kamloops Blazers 1

Red Deer skated to the win, before 3,289 at the Enmax Centrium. For the Rebels, Reece Johnson scored a first period power play goal and Alex Morozoff scored in the second. A Brodi Stuart goal at 7:14 brought Kamloops within a goal, but they couldn't get the equalizer. Red Deer's Ethan Anders stopped 31 of 32 shots, Dylan Ferguson stopped 41 of 43 for the Blazers. The Rebels went 1-for-8 on the power play and 3-of-3 on the penalty kill.

Seattle Thunderbirds 6, Prince George Cougars 5

The Thunderbirds have now won 3 of their last 5, thanks in part to a three-goal second period. Nolan Volcan had 3 goals and 1 assist for Seattle, Zack Andrusiak 2 goals and 3 assists, Jarrett Tyszka 1 goal, 1 assist, Liam Hughes 24 saves. For the Cougars, Vladislav Mikhalchuk scored twice, Jackson Leppard a power play goal, Taylor Gautheir and Isaiah DiLaura combined for 37 saves. The TBirds were 2-for-4 on the power play, PG was 1-for-3. Attendance was 4,145 at accesso ShoWare Center. The Cougars have dropped 7 of their past 8.

Victoria Royals 7, Portland Winterhawks 4

Victoria scored 3 times in each of the first two periods to skate past Portland, in front of 3,206 at Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena. The Hawks led 2-0 just past the midway point of the first, before the Royals fired up the offense. For Victoria, Tarun Fizer scored 3 goals, Dante Hannoun had 2 goals and 2 assists, Ralph Jarratt and Brandon Cutler scored once each, while Griffen Outhouse made 35 saves. Brock Gould played 1:46, but didn't face any shots. For Portland, Cross Hanas scored twice, Joachim Blichfeld and Mason Mannek once each, Shane Farkas and Dante Giannuzzi combined for 30 saves.

Western Hockey League roundup for Sunday, December 9th, 2018

Saskatoon Blades 1, Prince Albert Raiders 0

Tristen Robins of Saskatoon scored the game's only goal at 5:14 of the second period. Nolan Maier made 32 saves for the Blades, Ian Scott 26 for Prince Albert. For the Raiders, it was just their second regulation loss of the season against 29 wins and 1 shootout loss. Attendance at the SaskTel Centre was 6,334.

Calgary Hitmen 6, Kamloops Blazers 3

A 5-goal second period paved the way to the Calgary win before 18,015 at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Egor Zamula scored 2 goals and added 1 assist for Calgary, James Malm had a goal and assist as did Jake Kryski, Tye Carriere and Kaden Elder scored a goal each, Riley Stotts had 3 assists and Jack McNaughton made 23 saves. For the Blazers, Martin Lang had a goal and 2 assists, Kyrell Sopotyk and Zane Franklin had a goal each, while Dylan Garand and Dylan Ferguson combined to make 30 saves. The Teddy Bear Toss, which delayed the game 41 minutes, netted 29,635 stuffed toys.

Everett Silvertips 2, Spokane Chiefs 0

The game was scoreless after two, with 4,873 looking on at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett. But a pair of Bryce Kindopp goals, at 15:34 and into an empty net at 19:48, powered the Silvertips to the win. Dustin Wolf made 21 saves for Everett, Bailey Brkin made 38 saves for the Chiefs.

Ams take wild one over Lethbridge in overtime

Kennewick, WA. -- The game started a bit slow but finished at a frenetic pace Saturday night, as the Tri-City Americans rallied from a 2-0 deficit, then let a 7-4 third period lead slip away, before rallying to take an 8-7 win in overtime over the Lethbridge Hurricanes, before 4,712 at the Toyota Center.

Lethbridge would take control of the game with a pair of first period goals. Jake Elmer scored from Dylan Cozens and Alex Cotten at 9:33, then Cozens from Taylor Ross and Nick Henry at 19:39, for that 2-0 lead after one.

In the second, the pace picked up quite a bit. Kyle Olson got the Americans on the board and the teddy bears on the ice with his 6th goal of the season, assisted by Aaron Hyman and Krystof Hrabik. The power play goal, coming at 1:39, brought a Toyota Center record 4,168 bears and made it a 2-1 game. Tri-City then forged ahead with a pair of Nolan Yaremko goals. The first, assisted by Isaac Johnson and Olson at 5:39, tied it 2-2. The second, coming on the power play at 7:58 and assisted by Parker AuCoin and Hrabik, gave the Captain 14 goals on the season and put the Americans ahead 3-2. That lead only lasted 65 seconds however, as the 'Canes' Jordy Bellerive scored from Jake Leschyshyn at 9:03, squaring the score at 3-3. Tri-City would regain the lead on Aaron Hyman's 7th of the season and 2nd with the Americans. The power play goal, assisted by Olson and Hrabik at 16:22, put Tri-City back on top 4-3. 18 seconds later, Riley Sawchuk would score his 9th of the season, assisted by Connor Bouchard and Dom Schmiemann at 16:40, would give the Americans a 5-3 lead after 40 minutes and send the fans to Burger Ranch as well, with the home team's 5th goal of the game.

Leschyshyn would bring Lethbridge within one at 5-4, with a power play goal assisted by Elmer and Ross at 6:20 of the third, to make it a 5-4 game. Two goals by the Americans, would seemingly put the game in Tri-City's back pocket. Sasha Mutala's 7th of the season, assisted by Sawchuk and AuCoin at 13:54, for a 6-4 Americans lead. The advantage would grow on AuCoin's 17th goal of the season, assisted by Roman Kalinichenko and Hrabik at 13:54, putting Tri-City on top, 7-4. The Hurricanes though, refused to roll over and would unleash a furious rally. Elmer scored his second of the night, assisted by Cozens at 14:22, to slice the deficit to 7-5. Ross would make it 7-6 with a goal from Cozens and Elmer at 14:59, then Elmer would round out his hat trick with a goal at 17:49, assisted by Ross and Merezhko, tying the game 7-7 and eventually forcing overtime.

In the extra session, the Americans controlled play and got things set up just the way they wanted. Johnson would get the puck in neutral ice, make a nice move against a defender to go one way, then the other, to create space with which to enter the Lethbridge zone on the right wing. He would then fire from about 40 feet away, with his wrister going high to the glove side and in for his 12th of the season. Hrabik drew his 5th assist of the night, with Dom Schmiemann getting the other helper at 1:10 of overtime, giving Tri-City the 8-7 win.

The Hurricanes outshot the Americans 44-41. Beck Warm made 37 saves for Tri-City, Reece Klassen 33 for Lethbridge. The Americans' power play continues it's resurgence, going 3-for-6, while the penalty kill was 1-for-2.

With the win, Tri-City improves to 15-12-1-1 for 32 points, 4th in the U.S. Division and 1st Wild Card in the Western Conference. Lethbridge slips to 15-9-4-2 for 36 points, third in the Central Division.

Coming Up: The Americans play their final two games before the Christmas Break next weekend, hosting the Portland Winterhawks next Saturday the 15th at Toyota Center at 7:05 pm, then play at Portland on Sunday the 16th, beginning at 5:00 pm. Both games can be heard locally on Newstalk 870 KFLD and online at newstalk870.am with Craig West beginning at 6:45 pm Saturday and 4:45 pm Sunday. Lethbridge hosts Kamloops next Saturday and play at Calgary next Sunday. 

Western Hockey League roundup for Saturday, December 8th, 2018

Saskatoon Blades 5, Moose Jaw Warriors 3

A 4 goal second period was the key for Saskatoon in the win captured before 3,219 at Mosaic Place. Riley McKay, Zach Huber, Brandon Schuldhaus, Gary Haden and Josh Paterson scored for the Blades, Dorrin Luding made 28 saves. For Moose Jaw, Tate Popple, Keenan Taphorn and Tristan Langan scored, Brodan Salmond and Adam Evanoff combined to make 20 saves. Langan's goal, coming on the power play, came as a result of the only penalty called in the entire game.

Prince Albert Raiders 5, Brandon Wheat Kings 2

3,107 looked on at the Art Hayser Centre, as the Raiders won for the 28th time this season, scoring 3 times in the second and 2 times in the third. Cole Fonstad scored twice for Prince Albert, including the game-winner, other goal scorers were Kody McDonald, Sean Montgomery on the power play and Noah Gregor. Ian Scott made 39 saves. For Brandon, Linden McCorrister on the power play and Luka Burzan scored, Jiri Patera made 42 saves.

Edmonton Oil Kings 3, Kamloops Blazers 2 (OT)

Each team scored once in both the second and third periods, then Trey Fix-Wolansky fired home the winner 30 seconds into overtime to win it for the Oil Kings. Jalen Luypen and Carter Souch scored in regulation for Edmonton, Orrin Centazzo and Martin Lang, with 13 seconds left in regulation, scored for Kamloops. Dylan Myskiw made 23 saves for the Oil Kings, Dylan Ferguson 37 for the Blazers, with a league-high for this season 18,103 looking on at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

Medicine Hat Tigers 4, Regina Pats 2

Medicine Hat broke away from a 2-2 tie just past the 13 minute mark of the third with a pair of goals to win it in front of 2,844 at Canalta Centre. Jaden Joseph and Sergei Alkhimov scored for Regina, Dean McNabb made 42 saves. For the Tigers, James Hamblin short handed, Ryan Jevne twice and Logan Christensen scored goals, Mads Sogaard made 23 saves.

Red Deer Rebels 6, Swift Current Broncos 2

The Rebels ran over Swift Current, scoring twice in each period, before 4,125 at the Enmax Centre. For Red Deer, Brandon Hagel had 2 goals and 2 assists, Cameron Hausinger 2 goals and 1 assist, Brett Davis 1 goal and 3 assist and Josh Tarzwell 1 goal. Ethan Anders made 21 saves. For the Broncos, Matthew Culling and Alec Zawatsky scored goals, Joel Hofer had 34 saves. Both teams were 1-for-3 on the power play.

Portland Winterhawks 3, Prince George Cougars 0

Shane Farkas made 22 saves, while  Jake Gricius, Ryan Hughes on the power play and Jaydon Dureau scored goal, leading Portland to the win before 3,670 at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum. Taylor Gauthier made 36 saves for Prince George. The Winterhawks were 1-for-3 on the power play and 6-of-6 on the penalty kill.

Everett Silvertips 2, Seattle Thunderbirds 1

Sean Richards scored for Everett at 16:25 of the first, the TBirds' Nolan Volcan tied it at 3:59 of the second, then the 'Tips Max Patterson nailed the game-winner at 7:46 of the third. Dustin Wolf had 43 saves for Everett and Liam Hughes 36 for Seattle. 6,126 watched at accesso ShoWare Center in Kent.

Spokane Chiefs 4, Kootenay ICE 3 (OT)

Bobby Russell, Luc Smith and Cordel Larson scored in regulation for the Chiefs, with Peyton Krebs, Jaeger White on the power play and Brad Ginnell with 8 seconds left scoring for Kootenay. Eli Zummack then scored the game winner for Spokane at 2:35 of overtime, before 9,807 at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Dawson Weatherill in net for the Chiefs made 25 saves, Jessee Makaj made 28 stops for the ICE.

Tri-City Americans 8, Lethbridge Hurricanes 7 (OT)

In the wildest game of the night in the WHL, the Americans fell behind 2-0, then let a 7-4 third period lead slip away, only to step up and score 1:10 into free hockey to win it. Captain Nolan Yaremko scored twice for Tri-City, Kyle Olson and Parker AuCoin had a goal and 2 assists each, Isaac Johnson, Riley Sawchuk and Aaron Hyman had a goal and assist each and Sasha Mutala scored once, Krystof Hrabik added 5 assists. Johnson's goal was the game-winner at 1:10 of overtime. Beck Warm had 37 stops for the Ams. For Lethbridge, Jake Elmer had 3 goals and 2 assists, Taylor Ross and Dylan Cozens had a goal and 3 assists each, Jake Leschyshyn had a goal and assist, Jordy Bellerive scored a goal and Reece Klassen made 33 saves. 4,712 were in attendance at Toyota Center. A new record was set on Olson's goal at 1:39 of the second, when 4,168 bears hit the ice as part of the team's annual Teddy Bear Toss Night. Tri-City went 3-for-6 on the power play and 1-of-2 on the penalty kill.

Vancouver Giants 2, Victoria Royals 1 (OT)

Tarun Fizer scored for Victoria at 13:29 of the third, Bowen Byram at 18:41 of the third for Vancouver, then Jared Dmytriw notched the winner at 3:02 of the overtime to win it for the Giants, before 9,385 at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. David Tendeck made 25 saves for the Giants, Griffen Outhouse made 36 saves for the Royals.

Western Hockey League schedule for Saturday, December 8th, 2018

Here's Saturday's schedule around the Western Hockey League for December 8th, 2018 (All times Pacific):

Saskatoon Blades (17-10-3-0) at Moose Jaw Warriors (16-6-4-1) 5:00 pm
Brandon Wheat Kings (14-8-3-3) at Prince Albert Raiders (27-1-0-1) 5:00 pm
Kamloops Blazers (12-11-1-1) at Edmonton Oil Kings (15-11-3-2) 6:00 pm
Swift Current Broncos (5-22-1-1) at Red Deer Rebels (18-9-2-0) 6:00 pm
Prince George Cougars (11-15-1-2) at Portland Winterhawks (17-10-0-2) 6:00 pm
Everett Silvertips (23-7-1-0) at Seattle Thunderbirds (10-13-3-0) 6:05 pm
Regina Pats (8-21-0-1) at Medicine Hat Tigers (14-14-1-2) 6:30 pm
Victoria Royals (13-12-0-0) at Vancouver Giants (20-6-2-0) 7:00 pm
Kootenay ICE (7-20-4-1) at Spokane Chiefs (15-10-2-2) 7:05 pm
Lethbridge Hurricanes (15-9-3-2) at Tri-City Americans (14-12-1-1) 7:05 pm

Ams downed by Seattle

Kennewick, WA -- Seattle's Zack Andrusiak scored just 14 seconds into the contest and the Thunderbirds never looked back, skated to a 4-1 win over the Tri-City Americans Friday night, before 3,214 at the Toyota Center.

Andrusiak dented the twine as the clock ticked for just the 14th time Friday night, with assists going to Matthew Wedman and Nolan Volcan, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.

The Americans would tie the game near the midway point of the contest, with Captain Nolan Yaremko firing one home for his 13th goal of the season, assisted by Kyle Olson and Aaron Hyman. The power play goal, coming at 9:55, tied the game 1-1 through 40 minutes.

However, it was all Seattle in the third. Dillon Hamaliuk scored from Noah Philip and Andrej Kukuca at 1:42, Simon Kubicek scored from Jake Lee at 11:24 and Wedman scored unassisted into an empty net at 17:39 to wrap things up, giving the TBirds the 4-1 win.

Goaltending was pretty good at both ends. Seattle's Cole Schwebius, making a rare start, made the most of his chance, stopping 21 shots for his first decision since November 2nd. And despite allowing 4 goals, Beck Warm was outstanding in the Tri-City net, holding his team in the contest, with 39 saves.

The Thunderbirds outshot the Americans 43 to 22. Tri-City was 1-for-2 on the power play and 4-of-4 on the penalty kill.

With the win, Seattle improves to 10-13-3-0 for 23 points, 7 points back of 4th place Tri-City in the U.S. Division. The Americans slip to 14-12-1-1 for 30 points, 4 points behind 3rd place Spokane in the U.S. Division and still is possession of the number one Western Conference playoff spot.

Coming up: The Americans host the Lethbridge Hurricanes Saturday night in the annual Teddy Bear Toss Night. Tickets still remain, but are almost all game. They are available at all the usual outlets. The game is also the first SWX televised contest of the season, with Craig West sliding over from the radio booth to provide the TV play-by-play, beginning at 7:00 pm. John Meissner comes in to provide the radio play-by-play call on Newstalk 870 KFLD and newstalk870.am, beginning with the Gesa Credit Union warm-up show, beginning at 6:45 pm. The Americans won last season's meeting between the two teams, 6-3 in Lethbridge on February 13th. The Hurricanes lost 6-2 at Spokane last night.

Western Hockey League roundup for Friday, December 7th, 2018

Prince Albert Raiders 5, Brandon Wheat Kings 2

Raiders scored 4 times in the second to put it away. Noah Gregor, Ozzy Wiesblatt and Cole Fonstad had a goal and assist each for the Raiders, who are now 27-1-0-1. Eric Pearce and Sean Montgomery scored one each, Donovan Buskey made 24 saves. For Brandon, Ben McCartney and Connor Gutenberg scored goals, Jiri Patera made 36 saves, with 3,738 in attendance at Westoba Place.

Moose Jaw Warriors 3, Saskatoon Blades 2

Warriors scored once in each period to win, in front of 3,236 at SaskTel Centre. Luke Ormsby, Tristan Langan on the power play and Brayden Tracey, on the power play midway through the third with the game-winner for Moose Jaw, Brodan Salmond made 33 saves. For the Blades, Eric Florchuk and Josh Paterson scored, Nolan Maier made 22 saves. Langan added two assists for the Warriors, who went 2-for-3 on the power play and 5-of-5 on the penalty kill.

Calgary Hitmen 3, Swift Current Broncos 2

Calgary's Josh Prokop scored the game-winner with 23 seconds left in regulation. Egor Zamula scored earlier in the third and Riley Stotts in the second for the Hitmen, who got 11 saves from Jack McNaughton. Swift Current's Joona Kiviniemi and Ethan O'Rourke scored, Isaac Poulter made 42 saves for the Broncos. Game played at the Scotiabank Saddledome in front of a crowd of 5,560.

Red Deer Rebels 4, Regina Pats 3 (SO)

Regina built a 3-1 lead early in the third, but the Rebels fought back with two late ones, then won it in the shootout. Brandon Hagel opened the scoring late in the first for Red Deer, before the Pats took over with second period goals by Austin Pratt and Sergei Alkhimov and an early third period by Scott Mahovlich. Red Deer responded with goals by Cameron Hausinger  and Alex Morozoff to tie it. The Rebels' Brett Davis round two marker was the only shootout goal between the two teams and was the game decider. Ethan Anders made 25 saves for Red Deer, Max Paddock 32 for Regina. Attendance at the Enmax Centrium was 3,721.

Kelowna Rockets 2, Victoria Royals 0

Lane Zablocki and Nolan Foote, on the power play into an empty net, scored third period goals and Roman Basran made 16 saves, to power Kelowna to the win, before 4,822 at Prospera Place. Griffen Outhouse made 30 saves for Victoria.

Portland Winterhawks 5, Prince George Cougars 2

Joachim Blichfeld and Seth Jarvis pointed Portland towards victory with a pair of first period power play goals, Robbie Fromm-Delorme, Cody Glass short handed and John Ludvig added goals in the second and Shane Farkas made 23 saves to lead the Hawks to the win before 5,183 at the Moda Center. Josh Maser in the second and VladislavMikhalchuk in the third scored power play goals for Prince George, with the tandem of Taylor Gauthier and Isaiah DiLaura combining for 30 saves. Portland went 2-for-2 on the power play, the Cougars were 2-for-8.

Spokane Chiefs 6, Lethbridge Hurricanes 2

Spokane scored twice in each period to cruise to the win, before 5,011 at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Riley Woods and Luc Smith had 2 goals and 1 assist each, Jake McGrew and Cordel Larson scored once each, Eli Zummack contributed 4 assists to the winning effort and Bailey Brkin made 28 saves for the Chiefs, who went 3-for-4 on the power play and 2-of-3 on the penalty kill. For Lethbridge, Igor Merezhko and Jackson Shepard scored goals, Carl Tetachuk and Reece Klassen teamed up to make 23 saves.

Seattle Thunderbirds 4, Tri-City Americans 1

A 3 goal third period sparked Seattle to their 4th road victory of the season and 10th victory over all, in front of 3,214 at the Toyota Center. For the Thunderbirds, Zack Andrusiak scored a mere 14 seconds into the contest, followed with third period goals by Dillon Hamaliuk, Simon Kubicek and Matthew Wedman into an empty net. The Tri-City goal was scored by Captain Nolan Yaremko and came on the power play. Cole Schwebius stood tall in the Seattle goal, making 21 saves. At the other end, despite allowing 4, Beck Warm was outstanding for the Americans, making 39 saves

Ams mount comeback only to drop shootout at Kelowna

Kelowna, BC -- The Tri-City Americans battled back from an early second period 3-0 hole Wednesday night, before being outscored 2-0 in the deciding shootout, losing to the Kelowna Rockets 4-3, before 4,181 at Prospera Place in Kelowna.

Despite a shots advantage of only 11-10 in the opening 20 minutes, the Rockets would score twice to grab the lead, as Erik Gardiner scored from Lane Zablocki and Kyle Topping at 8:15, then Liam Kindree lit the lamp, assisted by Nolan Foote and Libor Zabransky at 14:07.

The Kelowna lead grew in the opening stages of the second, as Nolan Foote scored from Kindree at 1:54, for a 3-0 Rocket lead. The Americans comeback would begin just before the horn to end the second period, as Parker AuCoin scored his 14th of the season from Krystof Hrabik and Aaron Hyman on the power play at 19:56, making it 3-1 Kelowna after two.

In the third, the Tri-City comeback continued, as AuCoin scored his second of the night and 15th of the season, coming once again on the power play, with Hrabik and Nolan Yaremko assisting at 8:53 to make it a 3-2 game, advantage Rockets. The Americans continued to apply heavy pressure and finally drew even at 17:24 as defenseman Aaron Hyman scored his 6th of the season and 1st with Tri-City, assisted by Samuel Stewart and Kyle Olson, knotting the score at 3-3 and forcing overtime.

The extra session featured plenty of action, but neither team registered a shot of goal and the game would move on to the deciding shootout, to see who would get the extra standings point. The Americans sent out, in succession, Nolan Yaremko and Kyle Olson, but both were stopped. Kelowna's Kindree was stopped in round one, but Foote and Leif Mattson would score in the next two rounds, giving the Rockets the 4-3 win.

Goaltending was superb at both ends. James Porter made 28 saves for Kelowna, sprinkling in several big ones along the way. Talyn Boyko, making just his second career start and third appearance, got stronger as the game went along, finishing the night with 24 saves for Tri-City. Special teams continued to spark to life from their early season funk for the Americans, going 2-for-7 on the power play and 2-of-2 on the penalty kill.

With the win, the Rockets improve to 13-15-2-0 for 28 points, second in the B.C. Division. Tri-City slips to 14-11-1-1 for 30 points, 4th in the U.S. Division. The Americans have come up winless in 7 of their past 9 games.

Coming up: Tri-City returns home Friday night to face the Seattle Thunderbirds, 7:05 pm faceoff at the Toyota Center, with Craig West calling the action on Newstalk 870 KFLD and newstalk870.am beginning at 6:45 pm. Then, on Saturday, the Americans host the Lethbridge Hurricanes for the teams' annual "Teddy Bear Toss Night," with game time set for 7:05 pm. Tickets for both contests are available at the Toyota Center box office and all Ticketmaster locations, plus online at amshockey.com.

Western Hockey League roundup for Wednesday, December 5th, 2018

Medicine Hat Tigers 6, Moose Jaw Warriors 5 (OT)

The two teams combined for 9 goals in the first two periods, but it was a Tigers power play goal early in overtime that decided things, before 3,004 at Mosaic Place. For Medicine Hat, Ryan Jevne scored twice, including the game-winner 1:16 into overtime, while also adding an assist. Daniel Baker had a goal and two assists, Joel Craven, James Hamblin and Tyler Preziuso scored a goal each, Ryan Chyzowski added 3 assists, Linus Nassen 2 assists and Jordan Hollett 1 assist and 40 saves. For Moose Jaw, Jett Woo had a goal and 3 assists, Josh Brook and Tristan Langan a goal and assist each, Luke Ormsby and Keenan Taphorn a goal each, with Adam Evanoff making 40 saves.

Edmonton Oil Kings 6, Regina Pats 1

Steady pressure on the pedal all night helped Edmonton cruise past Regina, before 4,720 at Rogers Place. Trey Fix-Wolansky had a goal and 3 assists for the Oil Kings, Vince Loschiavo a goal and 2 assists, Dylan Guenther, Jake Neighbours, Matthew Robertson and Carter Souch had a goal each, Todd Scott had 24 saves. For Regina, Riley Krane scored, Max Paddock made 32 saves.

Lethbridge Hurricanes 3, Kootenay ICE 2 (OT)

Dylan Cozens scored at 1:17 of overtime to power Lethbridge past the ICE, in front of 1,923 at Western Financial Place. Also scoring for Lethbridge were Alex Cotten and Jake Leschyshyn, Reece Klassen made 28 saves. For Kootenay, Cole Muir and Jakin Smallwood scored, Jesse Makaj made 36 saves.

Kamloops Blazers 3, Victoria Royals 2

Several close games in the WHL and this one was no exception. Kamloops came from 2-0 down after one, scoring once in the second and twice in the third, grabbing a win when trailing after two for just the second time in eight such situations this season. For the Blazers, goals came from Kyrell Sopotyk, Jermaine Loewen and the eventual winner from Josh Pillar, with Dylan Garand making 19 saves. Victoria goals were scored by D-Jay Jerome and Phillip Schultz, Brock Gould made 26 saves.

Kelowna Rockets 4, Tri-City Americans 3 (SO)

Tri-City fought back from a 3-0 deficit to force free hockey, but were outgunned in the shootout, for their 7th non-win in their past nine starts. Kelowna built a 3-0 lead early in the second on goals by Erik Gardiner, Liam Kindree and Nolan Foote, but the Americans, as is their custom, refused to quit, responding with a pair of goals from Parker AuCoin, then the equalizer from Aaron Hyman at 17:24 of the third. After a scoreless overtime, Nolan Foote and Leif Mattson scored in rounds 2 and 3 of the shootout for the Rockets, while Tri-City was blanked. allowing Kelowna to escape with the extra standings point, in front of 4,181 at Prospera Place. Goaltending was pretty sharp at both ends. James Porter made 28 saves, several big ones among them for the Blazers. In the Americans goal, Talyn Boyko made just his second-ever WHL start and got stronger as the game progressed, ending the night with 24 saves. Tri-City went 2-for-7 on the power play and 2-of-2 on the penalty kill.

Everett Silvertips 4, Spokane Chiefs 2

Everett skated to their seventh consecutive win, before 3,627 fans at Angel of the Winds Arena. Silvertips goal scorers were Jackson Berezowski, Bryce Kindopp, Jake Christansen and Sean Richards into an empty net, with Dustin Wolff making 25 saves. For Spokane, Ethan McIndoe and Riley Woods scored third period power play goals, Bailey Brkin made 33 saves.

Ams look for payback in matchup with Kelowna

The Tri-City Americans seek a bit of payback for a home-ice overtime loss last week, when they meet the Kelowna Rockets Wednesday night at Kelowna's Prospera Place.

Tri-City, 14-11-1-0 on the season, is 1-1-1-0 against the Rockets this season, including last Friday's 3-2 overtime loss to Kelowna at the Toyota Center. The Ams won 5-4 in Kelowna on October 13th, while Kelowna won in Kennewick 3-2 on October 12th. Nolan Yaremko paces the Tri-City attack with 1 goal and 5 assists in 3 games, while Beck Warm is 0-1-1 in net, with a 3.06 goals against average and a .905 saves percentage. Backup Talyn Boyko's only start of the season came in that 5-4 win in Kelowna on October 13th. For the Rockets, leading scorers with 4 points each, are Leif Mattson (2g, 2a), Kaeden Korczak (1g, 3a) and Kyle Topping (1g, 3a), all in 3 games. In net, James Porter is 1-0-0-0, 1.99 and 9.29, while Roman Basran is 1-1-0-0, 3.53 and .885. The Americans are 2-for-9 on the power play and 15-of-18 on the penalty kill in the series, while Kelowna is 3-for-18 on the power play and 7-of-9 on the penalty kill. Tri-City enters the night 4th in the U.S. Division and first in the Western Conference Wild Card standings. The Rockets are tied with Victoria for second in the B.C Division.

Game time is set for 7:05 pm. The live broadcast, with Craig West calling the play-by-play, comes over Newstalk 870 KFLD and newstalk870.am beginning at 6:45 pm Wednesday evening.

Western Hockey League schedule for Wednesday, December 5th, 2018

Here's Wednesday's schedule around the Western Hockey League for December 5th, 2018 (All times Pacific):

Medicine Hat Tigers (13-14-1-2) at Moose Jaw Warriors (15-6-3-1) 5:00 pm
Regina Pats (8-20-0-0) at Edmonton Oil Kings (14-11-3--2) 6:00 pm
Lethbridge Hurricanes (14-8-3-2) at Kootenay ICE (7-20-3-1) 6:00 pm
Victoria Royals (13-10-0-0) at Kamloops Blazers (11-11-1-1) 7:00 pm
Tri-City Americans (14-11-1-0) at Kelowna Rockets (12-15-2-0) 7:05 pm
Spokane Chiefs (14-9-2-2) at Everett Silvertips (22-7-1-0) 7:05 pm

Western Hockey League roundup for Tuesday, December 4th, 2018

Brandon Wheat Kings 4, Medicine Hat Tigers 1

2 in the third broke open a one-goal game and powered Brandon to the win. Luka Burzan, Stelio Mattheos, Linden McCorrister and Ben McCartney into an empty net scored for Brandon, Jiri Patera made 40 saves. For Medicine Hat, Ryan Chyzowski scored, Mads Sogaard made 42 saves. Attendance at Westoba Place in Brandon was 3,227.

Swift Current Broncos 3, Prince Albert Raiders 2 (SO)

The Raiders win streak, which had reached a team-record 19, became an un-beaten streak instead Tuesday night, as Swift Current prevailed in a shootout, before 2,295 at the Innovation Credit Union i-plex in Swift Current. Each team scored once in the first and once in the third.Tanner Nagel registered a power play goal at 7:01 of the first for the Broncos, with Brett Leason scoring his league-best 28th goal at 9:59. After a scoreless second, Brayden Pachal gave P.A. it's only lead of the night at 11:05 of the third, but Swift Current responded at 18:16 with the tying goal from Ethan Regnier, In the shootout, the Raiders' Noah Gregor, Leason and Ozzy Wiesblatt were turned away, but the Broncos' Regnier scored in round three to give Swift Current their 5th win of the season, while P.A. slipped to 26-1-0-1. Joel Hofer was stellar in goal for the Broncos, making 52 saves, while the Raiders Ian Scott was solid as well, making 21 stops.

Western Hockey League schedule for Tuesday, December 4th, 2018

Here's Tuesday's schedule around the Western Hockey League for December 4th, 2018 (All times Pacific):

Medicine Hat Tigers (13-13-1-2) at Brandon Wheat Kings (13-7-3-3) 5:00 pm
Prince Albert Raiders (26-1-0-0) at Swift Current Broncos ( 4-21-1-1) 5:00 pm

Giants sweep Tri-City

Langley, B.C. -- Back in their new home, after a successful visit to their old one Saturday, The Vancouver Giants knocked off the Tri-City Americans 4-2 Sunday afternoon, before 2,978 at the Langley Events Centre.

Blake Stevenson would give the Americans a 1-0 lead after one with a short handed goal, his 5th red light special of the season, assisted by Riley Sawchuk at 12:15. Tri-City played one of their strongest first periods in quite awhile in grabbing that advantage after 20 minutes.

In the second Jared Dmytriw brought the Giants even with an assist from Owen Hardy at 5:26. But just 138 seconds later, the Americans would take back the lead, as Isaac Johnson scored his 11th of the season, assisted by Samuel Stewart and Connor Bouchard at 7:44, putting Tri-City on top 2-1 after 40 minutes.

In the third though, Vancouver would take control of the game, scoring three times to come from behind and win the game. Aidan Barfoot scored from Alex Kannok and Ty Ettinger at 7:26, David Koch nailed a power play goal at 13:49 from Milos Roman and Bowen Byram for what would count as the game-winner, then Roman would add insurance at 15:16 from Justin Sourdif and Brayden Watts, signing off on the 4-2 Giants win. Vancouver outshot the Americans 34-28, after being outshot 16-10 in the first. Trent Miner made 26 saves for the Giants and Beck Warm made 30 saves for Tri-City. Both teams scored one power play goal, Vancouver in 3 chances and the Americans in 5 tries.

With the win, the Giants are now 20-6-2-0, 1st place in the B.C. Division, 16 points ahead of both Victoria and Kelowna. The Americans fall to 14-11-1-0 for 29 points, 3 points behind 3rd place Portland in the U.S. Division.

Coming up: Tri-City travels to Kelowna for a 7:05 pm game this Wednesday, December 5th. Craig West has the call on Newstalk 870 KFLD and newstalk870.am beginning at 6;45 pm Wednesday night. Vancouver hosts Victoria at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver on Saturday, December 8th.

Western Hockey League roundup for Sunday, December 2nd, 2018

Medicine Hat Tigers 3, Regina Pats 2

Tigers scored all 3 of their goals in the third, to overcome a 2-0 deficit after two. Bryan Lockner scored at 1:19, Josh Wiliams at 7:13 and James Hamblin the winner at 18:30. Regina's two goals came in the first, from Sergei Alkhimov and Austin Pratt. Jordan Hollett had 30 saves for Medicine Hat, Max Paddock 38 for the Pats. Attendance at the Brandt Center was 5,213.

Prince George Cougars 5, Victoria Royals 3

P.G. built a 3-0 lead after one, then held on for the win. Vladislav Mikhalchuk scored a pair of first period goals for the Cougars, Rhett Reinhart scored for Victoria. Josh Maser increased the lead early in the second, but Taran Fizer and Dante Hannoun, on the power play struck 2 1/2 minutes apart to narrow the gap to 4-2, but the teams would score just one more goal each on the night, Ilijah Colina late in the second for PG and Matthew Smith early in the third for Victoria, for the final score of 5-3 Cougars. In goal, Taylor Gauthier made 21 saves for Prince George, Brock Gould 19 for Victoria. Attendance was 3,614 at CN Centre.

Calgary Hitmen 5, Moose Jaw Warriors 1

The Hitmen rolled to the win before 8,701 at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Kaden Elder had 2 goals and 1 assist, James Malm 2 goals and Egor Zamula had a goal and an assist. Jack McNaughton made 33 saves. For Moose Jaw, Justin Almeida scored, Adam Evanoff made 29 saves.

Lethbridge Hurricanes 5, Red Deer Rebels 4 (OT)

Red Deer forced overtime with Brett Davis' second goal of the game at 19:42 of the third, but Nolan Jones would score at 1:50 of the extra session to win it for Lethbridge. Besides Jones' game-winner, Taylor Ross scored twice, one on the power play and Dylan Cozens also scored, while Carl Tetachuk made 28 saves. For the Rebels, goal scorers besides Davis were Chris Douglas and Zak Smith. Ethan Anders made 36 saves. Attendance at Enmax Centre in Lethbridge was 3.189.

Portland Winterhawks 10, Kootenay ICE 2

Portland scored 4 times in the first and 4 more in the third to roll to their second big offensive output in as many nights, with 5,069 looking on at the Moda Center. For the Winterhawks, Joachim Blichfeld tallied 3 goals and 1 assist, Cody Glass had 2 goals and 3 assists, Lane Gilliss scored twice, Michael Kvasnica had a goal and assist, Reece Newkirk and Jaydon Dureau scored once each and Jared Freadrich dealt out 5 assists. Shane Farkas stopped 24 shots and Portland went 4-for-6 on the power play. For Kootenay, Nolan Orzeck and Peyton Krebs scored goals, Duncan McGovern and Jesse Makaj made 36 saves. The Hawks are the second team to score 10 in a game this season, following Vancouver's 10-4 victory over Regina on November 16th.

Vancouver Giants 4, Tri-City Americans 2

The Giants scored 3 in the third, to come from 2-1 down after two. Jared  Dmytriw, Aidan Barfoot, Davis Kock on the power play and Milos Roman scored for Vancouver, Trent Miner made 26 saves. Blake Stevenson scored a short handed goal for the Americans, Isaac Johnson scored on the power play and Beck Warm made 30 saves. Attendance at the Langley Events Centre was 2,978.

Western Hockey League schedule for Sunday, December 2nd, 2018

Here's Sunday's schedule around the Western Hockey League for December 2nd, 2018 (All times Pacific):

Medicine Hat Tigers (12-13-1-2) at Regina Pats (8-19-0-0) 2:00 pm
Victoria Royals (13-9-0-0) at Prince George Cougars 2:00 pm
Moose Jaw Warriors (15-5-3-1) at Calgary Hitmen (11-14-2-1) 3:00 pm
Tri-City Americans (14-10-1-0) at Vancouver Giants (19-6-2-0) 4:00 pm
Red Deer Rebels (17-9-1-0) at Lethbridge Hurricanes (13-8-3-2) 5:00 pm
Kootenay ICE (7-19-3-1) at Portland Winterhawks (15-10-0-2) 5:00 pm

Ams lose in Vancouver

Vancouver. B.C. -- The Vancouver Giants staved off every Tri-City Americans comeback, skating to a 5-2 win Saturday night, before 6,156 at their former home, Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

The Giants skated to a 2-0 lead after one. Milos Roman scored on the power play, assisted by Dylan Plouffe at 3:05, then Evan Patrician scored unassisted at 12:46, giving Vancouver their first two-goal lead of the night,

In the second period, Isaac Johnson got Tri-City on the board with his 10th marker of the year, a power play goal assisted by Samuel Stewart and Connor Bouchard at 8:25, cutting the deficit to 2-1.The Giants responded six minutes later with a Dawson Holt goal at 14:26, assisted by Owen Hardy, to increase the lead to 3-1. The Americans would crawl within one once again with Parker AuCoin's 13th goal of the season, assisted by Krystof Hrabik and Aaron Hyman on the power play at 16:35, to narrow the gap to one once more but could get no closer. Brayden Watts scored for Vancouver from Dawson Holt and Milos Roman at 17:31, for a  4-2 lead through 40 minutes.

The Giants would add one more in the third, as Bowen Byram scored an empty net, short handed goal from Davis Koch at 18:55 to cap the scoring, giving Vancouver the final winning margin of 5-2.

David Tendeck made 24 saves for the Giants, while Beck Warm had 32 saves for Tri-City. Vancouver was 1-for-4 on the power play, the Americans were 2-for-7.

With the win, the Giants improved to 19-6-2-0 for 40 points, first in the B.C. Division. With the loss, Tri-City is now 14-10-1-0 for 29 points, 4th in the U.S. Division.

Coming up: The Americans and Vancouver meet again Sunday, this time in Langley at the Langley Event Centre. Game time is 4:00 pm. Broadcast with Craig West begins at 3:45 pm  on Newstalk 870 KFLD and newstalk870.am.

Western Hockey League roundup for December 1st, 2018

Prince Albert Raiders 5, Regina Pats 2

The Raider win streak is now at 19, after tonight's win in front of 6,283 at the Brandt Centre in Regina. For PA, Ozzy Wiesblatt and Kody McDonald had a goal and assist each, Brayden Paschal, Spencer Moe and Brett Leason scored one each, Noah Gregor had 3 assists and Ian Scott made 24 saves. For the Pats, Carter Massier and Jadon Joseph scored goals, Dean McNabb made 24 saves.

Brandon Wheat Kings 5, Swift Current Broncos 2

Brandon broke open a 2-2 tie after two, with a three-goal third period, to send the Broncos to their 8th loss in their past 9 games, with 2,310 watching at Innovation Credit Union i-plex in Swift Current. Linden McCorrister scored three, including two on the power play for the Wheat Kings, who went 3-for-7 with the extra man. Stelio Mattheos scored on the power play, Ridley Greig also scored for Brandon, Jiri Patera made 31 saves. For the Broncos, Joona Kiviniemi and Andrew Fyten scored goals, Joel Hofer made 30 saves.

Moose Jaw Warriors 3, Red Deer Rebels 2

Warriors came from 2-1 down after one, with two in the second to win in front of 3,717 at the Enmax Centrium. Daemon Hunt, Tate Popple and Jett Woo scored goals, Adam Evanoff made 16 saves for Moose Jaw. For Red Deer, Brandon Hagel and Zak Smith scored goals, Byron Fancy made 43 saves. There were just three penalties called in the entire game, all three on the Rebels.

Calgary Hitmen 4, Edmonton Oil Kings 3 (OT)

Kaden Elder scored halfway through the extra session to win it for Calgary, in front of 5,724 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.Bryce Bader and Jake Kryski scored first period goals for the Hitmen, Kryski scored in the second as well and Jack McNaughton made 26 saves. For Edmonton, Brett Kemp, Quinn Benjafield and Trey Fix-Wolansky scored goals, Todd Scott made 27 saves.

Lethbridge Hurricanes 3, Medicine Hat Tigers 1

Lethbridge won for the 4th time in their past 5 games, thanks to a 3-goal second period. Jordy Bellerive scored at even-strength, Jake Leschyshyn and Dylan Cozens scored power play goals for the Hurricanes, Reece Klassen made 31 saves. James Hamblin scored a power play goal for Medicine Hat, Mads Sogaard made 23 saves. Lethbridge went 2-for-3 on the power play, the Tigers 1-for-4.

Kamloops Blazers 6, Seattle Thunderbirds 3

Orrin Centazzo scored twice and added an assist for Kamloops, Quinn Schmiemann had a goal and 2 assists, Zane Franklin a goal and an assist, Jermaine Loewen and Kobe Mohr a goal each, Connor Zary 3 asists, Dylan Garand 26 saves. For the Thunderbirds, Tyler Carpendale, Andrej Kukuca and Nolan Volcan scored goals, Liam Hughes 30 saves, with 5,250 in attendance at Kamloops' Sandman Centre.

Saskatoon Blades 5, Kelowna Rockets 4 (OT)

Kelowna scored 3 in the third period to force overtime, but Dawson Davidson's goal 23 seconds in the extra frame won it for the Blades. Davidson's OT winner was his second of the night for Saskatoon, Gary Haden had a goal and assist, Tristen Robins and Brandon Schuldhaus also scored for the Blades, who got 29 saves from Nolan Maier. For Kelowna, Kyle Topping had a goal and assist, Mark Liwiski, Braydyn Chizen and Leif Mattson scored goals, Roman Basran and James Porter combined to make 30 saves. Attendance was 5,104 at Prospera Place.

Portland Winterhawks 8, Spokane Chiefs 2

Lane Gilliss scored 2:10 into the contest, bringing 10,450 bears onto the ice and Portland rolled from there to the lopsided win, in front of 9,304 at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Ryan Hughes scored twice for the Hawks, Joachim Blichfeld had a goal and 2 assists, Reece Newkirk, Seth Jarvis and Jaydon Dureau had a goal and an assist each, Jake Gricius scored once and Shance Farkas made 18 saves. For Spokane, Jake McGrew and Filip Kral scored goals, Dawson Weatherill and Bailey Brkin made 36 saves combined. Both teams went 1-for-2 on the power play.

Victoria Royals 5, Prince George Cougars 1

Victoria's 4-goal first period propelled them to the win before 3,658 at CN Centre. For the Royals, Igor Martynov and Dante Hannoun scored twice each, Tanner Sidaway once and Brock Gould and Keegan Maddocks combined for 18 saves. Illijah Colina scored for Prince George, Taylor Gauthier made 21 saves.

Vancouver Giants 5, Tri-City Americans 2

Vancouver bolted out to a 2-0 lead, then whenever the Americans would close to within one, the Giants would scored again quickly to keep control. Milos Roman, Evan Patrician, Dawson Holt all scored once each for Vancouver, then Bowen Byram wrapped it up with a short handed empty netter with 1:05 left. David Tendeck backstopped the Giants to the win with 24 saves. For Tri-City, Isaac Johnson and Parker AuCoin scored power play goals, Beck Warm made 32 saves. The game drew 6,156 at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

Everett Silvertips 3, Kootenay ICE 0

Max Palaga made 36 saves, Luke Ormsby, Bryce Kindopp on the power play and Gianni Fairbrother into an empty net for Everett, with 5,063 on hand at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett. Jessee Makaj made 42 saves for Kootenay.