BRONCOS CLINCH FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT WITH WIN OVER RAIDERS – The Swift Current Broncos locked up the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with a 5-2 win in Prince Albert over the Raiders in Western Hockey League action on Wednesday night.
Justin Dowling scored twice and Cody Eakin and Michael Stickland each tallied a goal and an assist for the Broncos (35-30-1-4), who are playoff bound for a fifth straight season, while Stepan Novotny notched his 25th goal of the season. Morgan Clark made 38 saves in the victory.
Nathan Deck had a goal and an assist and Igor Revenko also scored for the Raiders (31-34-3-2), who needed to win in regulation to keep their post-season hopes alive but will now miss the playoffs for a third straight year. Garrett Zemlak made 32 saves in the defeat.
Brayden Schenn scored twice and added four assists for a six-point effort while Matt Calvert notched two goals and three assists as the Brandon Wheat Kings blasted the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors 8-2 on Wednesday.
Aaron Lewadniuk scored twice, Scott Glennie tallied a goal and set up three more and Colby Robak picked up a goal and two helpers for the Wheat Kings (48-18-1-3), who win their sixth straight game and have outscored the Warriors 17-4 in two meetings over the last five days. Jacob DeSerres made 21 saves to notch the win.
Jason Bast – with a goal and an assist – and Clinton Atkinson replied for the Warriors (33-27-5-5), who drop their second straight decision and now sit just one point up on Swift Current for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Brandon Glover went the distance, making 44 saves in the loss.
Jordan Eberle scored his 47th and 48th goals of the season to lead the visiting Regina Pats to a 3-2 win over the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday.
Myles Bell scored the eventual game-winner and added an assist for the Pats (30-33-3-4), who have won three straight games since being officially eliminated from post-season contention. Dawson Guhle made 33 saves to record his ninth win of the season.
Stefan Elliott tallied a goal and an assist and Derek Hulak notched his 32nd goal of the season for the Blades (45-18-3-4), who can now finish no better than second place in the Eastern Conference. Adam Morrison made 31 saves in the defeat.
Ian Schultz scored the go-ahead goal 1:16 into the third period as the visiting Calgary Hitmen skated to a 4-1 victory in Edmonton over the Oil Kings on Wednesday.
Del Cowan, Joel Broda and Tyler Fiddler also scored and Brandon Kozun chipped in two assists for the Hitmen (50-17-1-2), who hit the 50-win mark for the second year in a row and maintain their three-point lead over Brandon for first place in the WHL standings. Martin Jones made 20 saves to claim his 35th win of the season.
Drew Nichol scored the only goal for the Oil Kings (16-41-4-9), who went 0-for-7 on the power play en route to their sixth straight setback. Torrie Jung made 26 saves in a losing cause.
Kevin King scored twice and Joey Leach racked up four assists to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 5-1 win over the visiting Red Deer Rebels on Wednesday.
Elgin Pearce notched a goal and an assist while Matt Fraser and Brock Montgomery also connected for the Ice (41-24-3-2), who leapfrog the idle Medicine Hat Tigers into fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Todd Mathews made 23 saves to post the victory.
Lane Scheidl scored the lone marker for the Rebels (39-26-0-5), who suffer their third loss in a row and drop four points back of Kootenay for fourth place in the Conference. Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves in the loss.
Ryan Howse and Tim Traber each scored twice to lead the visiting Chilliwack Bruins to a 7-4 win over the Prince George Cougars on Wednesday.
Colton Grant and Shayne Neigum each notched a goal and an assist and Brandon Manning scored his 13th goal of the season for the Bruins (32-32-1-5), who defeated the Cougars by the same 7-4 score line on Tuesday night. Braden Gamble made 20 stops for his sixth win of the season.
James Dobrowolski scored three goals and set up another for the Cougars (11-56-1-2), who have lost 15 straight games, while rookie Troy Bourke scored his third goal in the last two games. Hudson Stremmel made 29 saves in the loss.
Jordan Messier scored his 21st and 22nd goals of the season to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 4-1 win over the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds on Wednesday.
Justin Feser – with his 34th of the season – and Kruise Reddick also scored while Brendan Shinnimin drew three assists for the Americans (46-21-1-2), who snap a three-game losing skid and move into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. Alex Pechurskiy made 26 saves to earn the win.
Tyler Alos scored the only goal for the Thunderbirds (18-39-7-5), who have lost five of their last six games. Calvin Pickard made 42 saves in the defeat.
