CHIEFS TOP AMERICANS, ‘TIPS MOVE BACK INTO TIE FOR FIRST IN WEST – Mitch Wahl scored his 30th goal of the season to help the visiting Spokane Chiefs edge the Tri-City Americans 5-4 in Western Hockey League action on Saturday night.
Tyler Johnson – with his 35th of the campaign – Corbin Baldwin, Anthony Bardaro and Kenton Miller also scored for the Chiefs (44-22-3-2), who lock up fourth place in the Western Conference and will face the Portland Winterhawks in the first round of the playoffs. James Reid made 37 saves to record his 37th win of the season.
Justin Feser, Kruise Reddick, Neal Prokop and Adam Hughesman scored for the Americans (47-22-1-2), who dropped four of their last six contest to close out the season. Alex Pechurskiy made 30 saves in the defeat.
The loss, combined with Everett’s win over Chilliwack, drops the Ams back into a tie for first place in the U.S. Division and Western Conference, meaning they need the ‘Tips to lose in regulation to the Chiefs on Sunday to earn the Division and Conference titles.
Shane Harper scored twice and set up another while Thomas Heemskerk made 25 saves to record his fourth shutout of the season as the Everett Silvertips blanked the visiting Chilliwack Bruins 5-0 on Saturday.
Chris Langkow – with a goal and three assists – Zack Dailey and Byron Froese also scored for the Silvertips (46-20-3-2), who need just one point from Sunday’s regular-season finale versus the Chiefs to win the U.S. division and Western Conference titles.
Braden Gamble made 34 saves in a losing cause for the Bruins (32-33-2-5), who finish the season in eighth place in the Western Conference standings, meaning a first-round playoff match-up with either Everett or Tri-Cities.
Ryan Johansen and Brad Ross each notched a goal and an assist to lead the visiting Portland Winterhawks to a 3-1 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday.
Nino Niederreiter – with his 36th of the season – also scored for the Winterhawks (44-25-2-1), who finish the season in fifth place in the Western Conference, setting up a first-round playoff meeting with Spokane. Mac Carruth made 39 saves to record the victory.
Brendan Rouse scored his sixth goal of the season for the Thunderbirds (18-41-7-5), who end their season on a three-game losing skid. Calvin Pickard made 33 saves in the defeat.
Brandon McMillan scored four goals in regulation play while Brett Bulmer scored the shootout winner to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 6-5 win over the visiting Prince George Cougars on Saturday.
Mitchell Callahan – with his 20th of the season – also scored in regulation for the Rockets (35-31-2-4), who earn their second straight win to close out the regular season and will face either Tri-Cities or Everett in the first playoff round. Adam Brown made 18 saves through three periods and overtime, and denied three of four Cougars’ shootout attempts to earn the win.
Brett Connolly – with a goal and an assist – Tyler Halliday, Parker Stanfield and Jaroslav Vlach also scored while Daniel Medlan-Marchen scored his first WHL goal for the Cougars (12-56-1-3), while Hudson Stremmel made 32 saves in regulation, but was beaten twice in the shootout for the loss.
James Henry, Craig Cunningham and Kevin Connauton scored in a shootout to lift the Vancouver Giants to a 6-5 win over the visiting Kamloops Blazers on Saturday.
JT Barnett – with his 20th of the season – Connauton, Milan Kytnar, James Wright and Brett Breitkreuz scored in regulation for the Giants (41-25-2-3), who went 2-for-5 on the power play in the contest. Mark Segal made 17 saves through three periods and overtime, and denied one of two Blazers’ shootout attempts to claim the win.
C.J. Stretch – with his 30th of the season – Dalibor Bortnak, Brendan Ranford, Colin Smith and Linden Saip scored in regulation for the Blazers (32-33-2-5), who finish the season in seventh place in the Western Conference and will face the Giants in the first round of the playoffs. Kurtis Mucha made 50 saves through regulation and overtime, but was beaten three times in the shootout for the loss.
Bretton Cameron scored twice, including his 40th of the season, to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 4-1 win over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday.
Emerson Etem and Taylor Gal also scored for the Tigers (41-23-3-5), who win their sixth straight game to end the season, and will face the Kootenay Ice in the first round of the playoffs. Tyler Bunz made 21 saves in the win.
Dustin Donaghy scored for the Hurricanes (20-44-5-3), who drop both games of their season-ending home-and-home series versus the Tigers. Brandon Anderson made 21 saves in the defeat.
Kevin King scored the winner and added an assist to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 2-1 win over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday.
James Martin also scored and Dustin Sylvester added two assists for the Ice (43-24-3-2), who win their third straight to end the regular season and lock up fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Todd Mathews made 20 saves in the win.
Sebastian Svendsen scored for the Oil Kings (16-43-4-9), who suffer their eighth loss in a row to end their season. Rookie goaltender Laurent Brossoit made 49 saves in a valiant effort in the defeat.
Stepan Novotny scored the winner in a shootout to lift the Swift Current Broncos to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday.
Rookie Michael Hey scored his first WHL goal while Justin Dowling and Michael Stickland also scored for the Broncos (36-30-1-4), who move one point up on the Warriors for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Mark Friesen made 25 saves in regulation and wasn’t beaten in the shootout for the win.
Jason Bast scored twice and Kevin Smith also scored for the Warriors (33-27-5-6), who have dropped three straight contests. Brandon Glover made 37 saves through regulation and overtime, but was beaten once in the shootout in the loss.
Brenden Walker’s ninth goal of the season 13:$1 into the second period proved to be the game-winner as the Brandon Wheat Kings got by the visiting Regina Pats 3-1 on Saturday.
Travis Hamonic and Aaron Lewadniuk also scored for the Wheat Kings (50-18-1-3), who close out their season with eight straight victories and hit the 50-win mark for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Andrew Hayes made 34 saves in the win.
Jordan Eberle scored his 50th goal of the season for the Pats (30-35-3-4), who end the season in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Dawson Guhle made 37 saves in a losing cause.
Craig McCallum and Igor Revenko each scored twice to lead the Prince Albert Raiders to a 7-3 win over the visiting Saskatoon Blades on Saturday.
Dustin Cameron – with his 30th of the season – Brandon Herrod and Jonathan Parker also scored for the Raiders (32-35-3-2), who end the season in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. Garrett Zemlak made 26 saves in the defeat.
Rookie Darren Deitz scored his first WHL goal while Marek Viedensky – with his 20th of the season – and Travis Toomey also scored for the Blades (46-19-3-4), who will face the Red Deer Rebels in the opening round of the playoffs. Adam Morrison made 32 saves in the loss.
