Scout
01-13-2008, 07:20 AM
with Gregg Drinnan
Sunday, January 13, 2008
SATURDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
In Medicine Hat, C Neal Prokop scored three times to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 6-3 victory over the the Tigers. . . . Prokop went into the game with seven points, including four goals, in 36 games. This was his first WHL three-goal game. He completed it with an empty-net goal. . . . The Warriors, now 11-11-1-2 on the road, are 22-13-4-4 overall. . . . G Joey Perricone made 39 shots for the Warriors, who fired 37 shots at two Medicine Hat goaltenders. . . . The Tigers (25-16-3-1) have lost three of four and now are just two points ahead of the seventh-place Warriors in the Eastern Conference race where 14 points separates first from eighth. . . .
In Regina, RW J.D. Watt and C Tim Kraus each set up two goals as the Pats dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 4-2. . . . The Pats are 27-15-3-1 and the Eastern Conference’s second seed as the East Division leaders. They are 3-0-2-0 in their last five games. . . . The Broncos (22-19-0-5), who are eighth in the conference, have lost their last two outings. . . . Regina was 2-for-8 on the PP; Swift Current was 1-for-8 and got a shorthanded goal from LW Erik Felde, his 18th, in the game’s last minute. . . . C Jordan Eberle got his 27th goal for Regina. . . .
In Saskatoon, C Matt Robertson had two goals to lead the Prince Albert Raiders to a 5-1 victory over the Blades. . . . Robertson had three assists Friday as the Raiders dropped a 5-3 decision to visiting Saskatoon. . . . Robertson has 19 goals this season. . . . F Justin Bernhardt assisted on two of Robertson’s goals and was credited with one goal himself. That goal originally was given to Robertson but was changed. . . . The Raiders (15-25-3-2) moved two points ahead of the Blades (15-26-2-1) and into 10th place in the Eastern Conference. . . . G Steven Stanford stopped 28 shots for the Raiders. . . .
In Cranbrook, RW Andrew Bailey’s goal 47 seconds into overtime gave the Kootenay Ice a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Ice outshot the Oil Kings 52-25 but had problems solving Edmonton G Alex Archibald. . . . Bailey, who has 20 goals, actually was benched for poor play early in the third period. . . . The Ice led 2-0 before Edmonton scored three straight
goals, two of them set up by RW Craig McCallum. . . . Kootenay LW Matt Fraser forced overtime when he tied the score with his sixth goal of the season at 8:18 of the third period. . . . C Steve Da Silva had two assists for the Ice, including one on the winner. . . . Both teams were 0-for-5 on the PP. . . . Ice G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 22 shots to improve to 10-3-1-0. . . .
In Brandon, the Vancouver Giants outshot the Wheat Kings 38-17 en route to a 4-1 victory. . . . C Evander Kane, 16, had two goals for the Giants, giving him 16 on the season. . . . The Giants were 2-for-3 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-2. . . . Vancouver C Casey Pierro-Zabotel set up two goals. . . . The Giants outshot their hosts 15-4 in the first period and 18-4 in the second. . . . Brandon (27-15-0-1) is fourth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the East Division-leading Regina Pats, who are the second seed. . . . Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith, making his 40th appearance of the season, stopped 16 shots. . . . Kelowna Rockets D Luke Schenn, given some time off after playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship, was in the stands watching his younger brother, Brayden, who is having a terrific freshman season with the Wheat Kings. . . .
In Lethbridge, C Brandon Sutter tied the game late in the third period and then scored in the circus as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Hurricanes 3-2. . . . The Hurricanes (27-14-1-3) led 2-0 before the game was six minutes old, thanks to PP goals by C Dwight King, his 20th, and D Jesse Craige, his eighth. . . . C Brennen Wray got Red Deer on the scoreboard late in the first period. . . . Sutter forced overtime with his 14th goal at 16:43 of the third period. . . . In the shootout, LW Troy Ofukany and Sutter scored for Lethbridge; C Zach Boychuk counted for Lethbridge, but King and C Mitch Fadden weren’t able to solve Red Deer G James Reimer. . . . Reimer stopped 38 shots through overtime. . . . The Rebels (13-28-4-1) are last in the Eastern Conference but are now within two points of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Lethbridge lost D Brennan Yadlowski with an undisclosed injury in the first period. . . . G Juha Metsola, who has been bothered by a sore groin, started for Lethbridge for the first time since Dec. 9. . . .
In Seattle, RW Bud Holloway returned with a pair of goals to lead the Thunderbirds to a 4-1 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks. . . . Holloway, who had missed three games with a concussion, has 19 goals. . . . Both his scores came on the PP as Seattle went 2-for-10; Portland was 0-for-4. . . . Seattle C Charles Wells, 16, scored his first WHL goal. . . . The Thunderbirds (19-14-5-1) moved into a tie with the Chilliwack Bruins for sixth in the Western Conference. . . . The Winter Hawks are 8-33-0-1 and 25 points out of a playoff spot with 30 games remaining. . . . RW Prab Rai had a goal, his fourth, and two assists for Seattle. . . . Portland G Kurtis Mucha stopped 35 shots, 18 more than Seattle’s Riku Helenius. . . .
In Kamloops, the Blazers broke out to a 2-0 lead early in the second period and hung on for a 2-1 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . Kamloops, playing at home for the first time in a week, halted a four-game losing streak. The Blazers (20-23-1-1) hold down eighth spot in the Western Conference, two points behind the Bruins (20-19-3-1) and the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . RW Juuso Puustinen (Finland) and LW Ivan Rohac (Slovakia) were back in Kamloops’ lineup after playing at the World Junior Championship and they combined on the game’s first goal just 60 seconds into the first period. Rohac beat his check behind the Chilliwack net and centred to Puustinen who beat G Mark Friesen. . . . RW Kenton Dulle gave Kamloops a 2-0 lead a 2:17 of the second period. . . . RW Brendan Campos, with his 17th, pulled Chilliwack to within one at 9:12 of the second. . . . Kamloops G Justin Leclerc stopped 29 shots and was especially sharp down the stretch when the Bruins had two power plays in the game’s last eight minutes. . . . The teams were sent to their dressing rooms with 2:03 left in the second period after a slapshot by Kamloops D Darcy Huisman shattered a pane of glass behind the Chilliwack net. . . .
In Prince George, C Cody Almond had a goal and two assists to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . The Rockets beat the Cougars 11-1 one night earlier and are 4-0 in Prince George this season. . . . D Collin Bowman, younger brother of Spokane Chiefs LW Drayson Bowman, scored his first WHL goal for the Rockets. . . . Kelowna C Colin Long scored his 23rd goal, into an empty net, and maintained his one-point lead over Chilliwack Bruins F Mark Santorelli atop the WHL points race. . . . C Justin Maylan scored his first goal for the Cougars. The 16-year-old was acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors earlier in the week. . . . The Rockets (27-13-2-4) won their seventh straight game. . . . The Cougars (13-29-1-0) have lost six in a row and are 15 points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Rockets held a 41-19 edge in shots. . . . Each team was 09-for-5 on the PP. . . . According to Jim Swanson, the sports editor of the Prince George Citizen, that 11-1 beating on Friday was the worst loss in the Cougars’ history in Prince George. . . .
In Spokane, the Tri-City Americans rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Chiefs 3-2 in a game that went to the circus. . . . LW Colton Yellow Horn and C Jason Reese, both of whom scored in regulation time, scored in the circus to give the Americans the victory. . . . Neither LW Drayson Bowman nor LW Ondrej Roman could beat Spokane G Chet Pickard in the shootout. . . . Pickard, who stopped 33 shots through OT, is 26-7-1-2. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski (18-3-0-2) stopped 32 shots. . . . C Tyler Johnson (7:37) and C Seth Compton (17:32) scored first-period goals for the Chiefs. . . . Yellow Horn got the Ams on the scoreboard with his 29th goal at 18:10 of the first period. . . . Reese’s 18th goal, a shorthanded effort at 14:02 of the second period, tied the score. . . . The Americans have 16 shorthanded goals this season, seven more than any other team. . . . Tri-City was 0-for-3 on the PP; Spokane was 0-for-7. . . . Attendance was 10,366. . . . The loser point allowed the Chiefs (31-8-1-3) to stay in first place overall, one point ahead of the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Americans (30-10-1-2) are two points in back of Vancouver and are tied with the idle Calgary Hitmen, who lead the Eastern Conference. . . . The start of the game was delayed about 45 minutes because Tri-City’s bus broke down en route.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
SATURDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
In Medicine Hat, C Neal Prokop scored three times to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 6-3 victory over the the Tigers. . . . Prokop went into the game with seven points, including four goals, in 36 games. This was his first WHL three-goal game. He completed it with an empty-net goal. . . . The Warriors, now 11-11-1-2 on the road, are 22-13-4-4 overall. . . . G Joey Perricone made 39 shots for the Warriors, who fired 37 shots at two Medicine Hat goaltenders. . . . The Tigers (25-16-3-1) have lost three of four and now are just two points ahead of the seventh-place Warriors in the Eastern Conference race where 14 points separates first from eighth. . . .
In Regina, RW J.D. Watt and C Tim Kraus each set up two goals as the Pats dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 4-2. . . . The Pats are 27-15-3-1 and the Eastern Conference’s second seed as the East Division leaders. They are 3-0-2-0 in their last five games. . . . The Broncos (22-19-0-5), who are eighth in the conference, have lost their last two outings. . . . Regina was 2-for-8 on the PP; Swift Current was 1-for-8 and got a shorthanded goal from LW Erik Felde, his 18th, in the game’s last minute. . . . C Jordan Eberle got his 27th goal for Regina. . . .
In Saskatoon, C Matt Robertson had two goals to lead the Prince Albert Raiders to a 5-1 victory over the Blades. . . . Robertson had three assists Friday as the Raiders dropped a 5-3 decision to visiting Saskatoon. . . . Robertson has 19 goals this season. . . . F Justin Bernhardt assisted on two of Robertson’s goals and was credited with one goal himself. That goal originally was given to Robertson but was changed. . . . The Raiders (15-25-3-2) moved two points ahead of the Blades (15-26-2-1) and into 10th place in the Eastern Conference. . . . G Steven Stanford stopped 28 shots for the Raiders. . . .
In Cranbrook, RW Andrew Bailey’s goal 47 seconds into overtime gave the Kootenay Ice a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Ice outshot the Oil Kings 52-25 but had problems solving Edmonton G Alex Archibald. . . . Bailey, who has 20 goals, actually was benched for poor play early in the third period. . . . The Ice led 2-0 before Edmonton scored three straight
goals, two of them set up by RW Craig McCallum. . . . Kootenay LW Matt Fraser forced overtime when he tied the score with his sixth goal of the season at 8:18 of the third period. . . . C Steve Da Silva had two assists for the Ice, including one on the winner. . . . Both teams were 0-for-5 on the PP. . . . Ice G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 22 shots to improve to 10-3-1-0. . . .
In Brandon, the Vancouver Giants outshot the Wheat Kings 38-17 en route to a 4-1 victory. . . . C Evander Kane, 16, had two goals for the Giants, giving him 16 on the season. . . . The Giants were 2-for-3 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-2. . . . Vancouver C Casey Pierro-Zabotel set up two goals. . . . The Giants outshot their hosts 15-4 in the first period and 18-4 in the second. . . . Brandon (27-15-0-1) is fourth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the East Division-leading Regina Pats, who are the second seed. . . . Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith, making his 40th appearance of the season, stopped 16 shots. . . . Kelowna Rockets D Luke Schenn, given some time off after playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship, was in the stands watching his younger brother, Brayden, who is having a terrific freshman season with the Wheat Kings. . . .
In Lethbridge, C Brandon Sutter tied the game late in the third period and then scored in the circus as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Hurricanes 3-2. . . . The Hurricanes (27-14-1-3) led 2-0 before the game was six minutes old, thanks to PP goals by C Dwight King, his 20th, and D Jesse Craige, his eighth. . . . C Brennen Wray got Red Deer on the scoreboard late in the first period. . . . Sutter forced overtime with his 14th goal at 16:43 of the third period. . . . In the shootout, LW Troy Ofukany and Sutter scored for Lethbridge; C Zach Boychuk counted for Lethbridge, but King and C Mitch Fadden weren’t able to solve Red Deer G James Reimer. . . . Reimer stopped 38 shots through overtime. . . . The Rebels (13-28-4-1) are last in the Eastern Conference but are now within two points of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Lethbridge lost D Brennan Yadlowski with an undisclosed injury in the first period. . . . G Juha Metsola, who has been bothered by a sore groin, started for Lethbridge for the first time since Dec. 9. . . .
In Seattle, RW Bud Holloway returned with a pair of goals to lead the Thunderbirds to a 4-1 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks. . . . Holloway, who had missed three games with a concussion, has 19 goals. . . . Both his scores came on the PP as Seattle went 2-for-10; Portland was 0-for-4. . . . Seattle C Charles Wells, 16, scored his first WHL goal. . . . The Thunderbirds (19-14-5-1) moved into a tie with the Chilliwack Bruins for sixth in the Western Conference. . . . The Winter Hawks are 8-33-0-1 and 25 points out of a playoff spot with 30 games remaining. . . . RW Prab Rai had a goal, his fourth, and two assists for Seattle. . . . Portland G Kurtis Mucha stopped 35 shots, 18 more than Seattle’s Riku Helenius. . . .
In Kamloops, the Blazers broke out to a 2-0 lead early in the second period and hung on for a 2-1 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . Kamloops, playing at home for the first time in a week, halted a four-game losing streak. The Blazers (20-23-1-1) hold down eighth spot in the Western Conference, two points behind the Bruins (20-19-3-1) and the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . RW Juuso Puustinen (Finland) and LW Ivan Rohac (Slovakia) were back in Kamloops’ lineup after playing at the World Junior Championship and they combined on the game’s first goal just 60 seconds into the first period. Rohac beat his check behind the Chilliwack net and centred to Puustinen who beat G Mark Friesen. . . . RW Kenton Dulle gave Kamloops a 2-0 lead a 2:17 of the second period. . . . RW Brendan Campos, with his 17th, pulled Chilliwack to within one at 9:12 of the second. . . . Kamloops G Justin Leclerc stopped 29 shots and was especially sharp down the stretch when the Bruins had two power plays in the game’s last eight minutes. . . . The teams were sent to their dressing rooms with 2:03 left in the second period after a slapshot by Kamloops D Darcy Huisman shattered a pane of glass behind the Chilliwack net. . . .
In Prince George, C Cody Almond had a goal and two assists to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . The Rockets beat the Cougars 11-1 one night earlier and are 4-0 in Prince George this season. . . . D Collin Bowman, younger brother of Spokane Chiefs LW Drayson Bowman, scored his first WHL goal for the Rockets. . . . Kelowna C Colin Long scored his 23rd goal, into an empty net, and maintained his one-point lead over Chilliwack Bruins F Mark Santorelli atop the WHL points race. . . . C Justin Maylan scored his first goal for the Cougars. The 16-year-old was acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors earlier in the week. . . . The Rockets (27-13-2-4) won their seventh straight game. . . . The Cougars (13-29-1-0) have lost six in a row and are 15 points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Rockets held a 41-19 edge in shots. . . . Each team was 09-for-5 on the PP. . . . According to Jim Swanson, the sports editor of the Prince George Citizen, that 11-1 beating on Friday was the worst loss in the Cougars’ history in Prince George. . . .
In Spokane, the Tri-City Americans rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Chiefs 3-2 in a game that went to the circus. . . . LW Colton Yellow Horn and C Jason Reese, both of whom scored in regulation time, scored in the circus to give the Americans the victory. . . . Neither LW Drayson Bowman nor LW Ondrej Roman could beat Spokane G Chet Pickard in the shootout. . . . Pickard, who stopped 33 shots through OT, is 26-7-1-2. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski (18-3-0-2) stopped 32 shots. . . . C Tyler Johnson (7:37) and C Seth Compton (17:32) scored first-period goals for the Chiefs. . . . Yellow Horn got the Ams on the scoreboard with his 29th goal at 18:10 of the first period. . . . Reese’s 18th goal, a shorthanded effort at 14:02 of the second period, tied the score. . . . The Americans have 16 shorthanded goals this season, seven more than any other team. . . . Tri-City was 0-for-3 on the PP; Spokane was 0-for-7. . . . Attendance was 10,366. . . . The loser point allowed the Chiefs (31-8-1-3) to stay in first place overall, one point ahead of the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Americans (30-10-1-2) are two points in back of Vancouver and are tied with the idle Calgary Hitmen, who lead the Eastern Conference. . . . The start of the game was delayed about 45 minutes because Tri-City’s bus broke down en route.