WHL Roundup: Peckford piles up points, Rasmussen takes CHL scoring lead
All kinds of scoring to speak of on a Tuesday night in the Western Hockey League.
Tri-City Americans forward Michael Rasmussen leads the entire CHL in scoring after finding twine for the 11th time. The Victoria Royals kicked three field goals against the Saskatoon Blades as sophomore forward Ryan Peckford piled on six points.
Yes…we said SIX POINTS. Half a dozen. One goal and five assists for Ryan Peckford.
Let that soak in for a second. It’s a lot to take in.
If you have to pick your jaw up off the floor, don’t worry, we did the same thing earlier.
The Regina Pats remained undefeated in regulation, while the pesky Swift Current Broncos snuck past the Prince George Cougars.
In what could be considered the only low-scoring game of the evening, Dawson Weatherill outdueled Carter Hart as the Spokane Chiefs earned a much-needed victory.
And now, for those dastardly details…
Lethbridge Hurricanes (1) at Regina Pats (6)
Lethbridge (5-4-1-1) // Regina (7-0-3-0)
Filip Ahl registered two goals and an assist while Sam Steel remained hot, tallying twice in the Regina Pats’ 6-1 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes Tuesday night.
Regina got to Hurricanes goaltender Stuart Skinner early and often, scoring four times in the first period before Giorgio Estephan finally got Lethbridge on the board late in the period.
Steel’s second goal of the goal came midway through the third period on a shorthanded effort, giving him nine goals on the season and 19 points, good enough to sit tied atop the WHL leaderboard with Portland Winterhawks forward Cody Glass.
Tyler Brown took care of business in the blue paint, making 22 saves for his fourth win of the year.
Tri-City Americans (4) at Portland Winterhawks (3)
Tri-City (6-4-0-0) // Portland (8-4-0-0)
The Tri-City Americans erased a 3-1 Portland Winterhawks lead to come from behind and win 4-3 Tuesday night.
Michael Rasmussen scored his WHL-leading 11th goal of the season midway through the third period to give the visitors their first advantage of the night , while defenceman Juuso Valimaki added a goal and an assist to fuel the Americans. Kyle Olson chipped in with two helpers along the way.
For the Winterhawks, Keegan Iverson scored twice, while Cody Glass registered two assists to maintain pace atop the WHL scoring charts. With 19 points, Glass is knotted with Sam Steel for the WHL lead in overall scoring as of Tuesday night. Skyler McKenzie assisted on all three Winterhawks goals.
In net, Rylan Parenteau made 38 saves to collect his third win of the season and second since arriving in Tri-City.
Fun little statistic for everyone. With his goal tonight, @mrasmussen16 now leads the entire CHL in goals scored. #CantStop #WontStop #GoAms
— Tri-City Americans (@TCAmericans) October 19, 2016
Swift Current Broncos (5) at Prince George Cougars (4) – OT
Swift Current (8-2-0-1) // Prince George (10-2-1-0)
The Swift Current Broncos are establishing quite a reputation as hardened road warriors.
Trailing 4-2 to Prince George Cougars in the third period Tuesday night, the Broncos scored twice in a matter of 53 seconds to knot the affair 4-4 before Tyler Steenbergen scored the overtime winner on 59 seconds into free hockey.
Not a bad way to go about maintaining pace with the high-powered Regina Pats in the WHL’s East Division.
Steenbergen finished the night with a pair of goals, while Glenn Gawdin clicked for a goal and an assist. Joining the multi-point parade were Colby Sissons (2A), Artyom Minulin (2A) and Aleksi Heponiemi (2A).
Taz Burman made 30 saves for his fourth win of the season.
GAME OVER! @T_Steener slides home the OT winner!! #SCB complete the comeback to win 5-4 over @PGCougars! #50YearsStrong
— SC Broncos (@SCBroncos) October 19, 2016
Everett Silvertips (1) at Spokane Chiefs (2)
Everett (8-2-1-0) // Spokane (3-4-1-1)
Kailer Yamamoto had a goal and an assist while Dawson Weatherill made 26 saves as the Spokane Chiefs edged the Everett Silvertips 2-1 Tuesday night.
Weatherill outdueled reigning CHL Goaltender of the Year Carter Hart, to claim his second win of the season.
Tanner Wishnowski, who was acquired by the Chiefs via trade with Kelowna on Monday, tallied two assists in his Spokane debut.
Kailer Yamamoto on getting back on the winning track, and on his fast start to the season. #GoChiefsGo pic.twitter.com/rhvsdaNzxB
— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) October 19, 2016
Saskatoon Blades (3) at Victoria Royals (9)
Saskatoon (5-3-1-0) // Victoria (6-5-0-0)
The Victoria Royals scored five times in the first period en route to a 9-3 thumping of the Saskatoon Blades Tuesday night.
After registering three points in his first 10 games of the season, 17-year-old Ryan Peckford exploded with a goal and five assists for a six-point effort Tuesday night. The outburst leaves the native of Stony Plain, Alta., with nine points through 11 games to start the season and within two of the career mark he set (11 points) during his rookie campaign in 2015-16.
Regan Nagy had a pair of goals along with an assist, while 2015-16 WHL Rookie of the Year Matthew Phillips had three helpers, as did defenceman Ryan Gagnon.
Griffen Outhouse made 20 saves for his sixth win of the campaign.
ROYALS WIN! Victoria tops Saskatoon by a score of 9-3 as Ryan Peckford records 6 pts (1g-5a)!
Final Shots: VIC 35 | SSK 23 pic.twitter.com/PlEKwSY8WM
— Victoria Royals (@victoriaroyals) October 19, 2016
