ROCKETS EDGE HITMEN – Collin Bowman’s power play marker 5:09 into the third period broke a 1-1 tie as the visiting Kelowna Rockets eked out a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen in Western Hockey League action on Saturday, February 28th.
Cody Almond – with his 32nd of the season – also scored for the Rockets (40-21-1-3), who held the Hitmen’s top-ranked power play scoreless on six opportunities in the contest. Mark Guggenberger turned aside 34 of 35 shots to post the victory.
Tomas Karpov – with his seventh goal of the season – had the lone marker for the Hitmen (55-8-3-1), who see their 12-game winning streak halted while suffering just their fourth home-ice loss of the season. Martin Jones made 15 saves in a losing cause.
WARRIORS 6, OIL KINGS 5 O/T
Dylan Hood scored his 15th goal of the season 1:57 into overtime to lift the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 6-5 win over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday.
Cody Smuk scored twice and set up another, Kevin Smith and Corey Scott each tallied a goal and an assist and Matt MacKay also scored for the Warriors (18-44-1-2), who snap a three-game losing skid. Jeff Bosch made 24 saves to claim the victory.
Tyler Hlookoff scored twice and T.J. Foster, Brenden Dowd and Brent Raedeke also scored for the Oil Kings (27-31-4-5), who have dropped three straight games in extra time or a shootout. Torrie Jung made 26 saves in the defeat.
BLADES 8, WHEAT KINGS 1
Walker Wintoneak and Gaelan Patterson each tallied two goals and an assist as the visiting Saskatoon Blades blasted the Brandon Wheat Kings 8-1 on Saturday night.
Chris Langkow – with a goal and two assists – Milan Kytnar, Travis Toomey and Derek Hulak also scored for the Blades (47-15-3-1), who win in Brandon for the second straight night and stretch their East Division lead to eight points over the Wheat Kings. Braden Holtby made 28 saves in the victory.
Matt Calvert scored the only goal for the Wheat Kings (43-18-3-1), who have been outscored 12-4 by the Blades in their two-game weekend series. James Priestner made 24 saves in the loss.
BRONCOS 5, HURRICANES 2
Jan Dalecky notched two goals and two assists as the Swift Current Broncos skated to a 5-2 win over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday.
Geordie Wudrick scored two goals and added an assist while Cody Eakin tallied a goal and a pair of helpers for the Broncos (37-27-1-1), who earn their third straight victory and move past Medicine Hat into fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Travis Yonkman made 26 saves in the victory.
Zach Boychuk – with a goal and an assist – and Dwigth King scored for the Hurricanes (31-29-3-2), who have lost four of their last five games. Juha Metsola made 23 saves in the loss.
THUNDERBIRDS 5, WINTER HAWKS 3
Prab Rai scored two goals and set up another to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 5-3 win over the visiting Portland Winter Hawks on Saturday.
Joanthan Parker scored two goals and Charles Wells added his third marker of the season for the Thunderbirds (31-29-1-3), who stretch their win streak to four games and remain tied with Kamloops for fifth place in the Western Conference. Calvin Pickard made 23 saves to record the victory.
Ty Rattie – with his first WHL goal – Radim Valchar and Oliver Gabriel scored for the Winter Hawks (16-43-2-2), who suffer their second defeat in a row. Kurtis Mucha and Keith Hamilton combined for 32 saves in the defeat.
ICE 2, TIGERS 0
Todd Mathews turned in a 30-save effort to post his second shutout of the season as the visiting Kootenay Ice blanked the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday.
Tylan Stephens and Ian Barteaux scored for the Ice (31-26-2-6), who pick up their second win in as many nights and pad their lead over Lethbridge to three points for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Ryan Holfeld made 36 saves in a losing cause for the Tigers (34-25-4-3), who were held scoreless on four power plays en route to their second setback in three games.
REBELS 3, RAIDERS 2
Cody Gross’ 10th goal of the season 15:12 into the second period stood as the game-winner as the Red Deer Rebels edged the visiting Prince Albert Raiders 3-2 on Saturday.
Landon Ferraro – with his 32nd of the season – and Jordie Deagle also scored for the Rebels (21-34-1-9), who pick up their second win in a row. Darcy Kuemper turned aside 25 of 27 shots he faced to record his 17th win of the season.
Igor Revenko and Justin Bernhardt scored for the Raiders (28-34-4-1), who drop their second straight decision and fall two points behind Edmonton for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Garrett Zemlak made 28 saves in the loss.
BLAZERS 6, COUGARS 2
C.J. Stretch and Shayne Wiebe each tallied two goals and an assist to lead the visiting Kamloops Blazers to a 6-2 win over the Prince George Cougars on Saturday.
Jimmy Bubnick – with a goal and an assist – and Zak Stebner also scored for the Blazers (30-30-2-4), who pick up their second win in as many nights over the Cougars and remain tied with Seattle for fifth place in the Western Conference. Justin Leclerc made 30 saves to claim the win.
Brett Connolly – with his 29th of the season – and Parker Stanfield scored for the Cougars (24-39-0-2), who drop their second straight decision but remain comfortably in eighth place in the Western Conference. Joe Caligiuri made 26 saves in the loss.
AMERICANS 5, CHIEFS 2
Kruise Reddick scored twice and added an assist to lead the visiting Tri-City Americans top a 5-2 win over the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday.
Mitch Fadden scored twice and Tyler Schmidt added a goal and an assist for the Americans (46-16-0-3), who stretch their winning streak to eight games and pad their U.S. Division lead to 10 points over the Chiefs. Chet Pickard turned aside 12 of 13 shots he faced in 46:33 of action for the win while Brett Martyniuk stopped 5 shots in relief.
Tyler Johnson – with a goal and an assist – and Drayson Bowman scored for the Chiefs (41-20-0-3), who suffer their fourth loss in their last six games. Dustin Tokarski made 24 saves in the loss.
GIANTS 3, SILVERTIPS 0
Jamie Tucker stopped 24 shots to post his fifth shutout of the season as the visiting Vancouver Giants blanked the Everett Silvertips 3-0 on Saturday.
Garry Nunn – with a goal and an assist – Andrej Kudrna and Casey Pierro-Zabotel scored for the Giants (53-7-1-3), who have blanked the ’Tips three straight times and outscored them 18-0 in the process.
Thomas Heemskerk turned in a 48-save performance in a losing cause for the Silvertips (25-31-7-2), who see their losing skid hit five games.
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Photos courtesy of WHL Club Photographers: Frank Deines III, Gary Peterson, Mick White, Mark Rogers
