Kelowna 7 @Prince Albert 3
The Kelowna Rockets (19-11-2-1) road trip through the WHL’s East Division has been feast or famine. They started off with a 7-5 win over the Rrgina Pats, then dropped four straight, where they lost by three or more each time.
Friday night, it was a feast, as they scored six straight and took a 7-3 contest at the Art Hauser Centre against the Prince Albert Raiders (13-14-5-2).
Kole Lind, fresh off getting cut by Hockey Canada for the U-20 World Junior Championships, netted a hat-trick to lead the way and Carsen Twarynski had two goals and two assists for a four-point night.
Lind, who at 19 years old, saw his last chance at making Canada’s roster for the U-20’s, go by him, seemed to let getting cut fuel his game. He looked to shoot often and fired six shots on net.
The Raiders got in on the fore-check early and it paid dividends for them. Brett Leason forced Liam Kindree into giving up the puck by the Kelowna net. He then found Spencer Moe in front for his sixth goal this year.
Kole Lind then celebrated his return to the Kelowna lineup with a goal 10:44 into the second. Carsen Twarynski hit him with a pass on the rush and Lind put the puck over P.A. goalie Ian Scott’s blocker and in.
The Raiders then took a 2-1 lead on the power play five minutes later. Jordy Stallard took a pass from Cole Fonstad and then walked out of the corner and picked a corner over rookie goalie Roman Basran’s blocker.
Kelowna then tied the game again and again it was off Lind’s stick. He used a screen by Kyle Topping and then patiently waited for an opening before beating the P.A. netminder.
Twarynski then gave the Rockets their first lead of the game with a highlight-reel goal. He drove the right boards and then cut towards the net. flipping the puck around P.A. defender Brayden Pachal and catching it on the other side. He then beat Basran for his 22nd goal this year.
In the second period, the Rockets made it 4-2 off a strange play. Carson Miller was trying to clear the puck out at the blue line and it took a couple bounces before settling for Wil Kushniryk who lifted a shot past a surprised Scott for his second this year.
Lind then completed the hat trick off the rebound of a Libor Zabransky shot on the power play. Lind had just hit the post moments before as well.
The Rockets added another goal that acted as the dagger with 7:04 left. While short-handed, Twarynski and Leif Mattson skated in on a two-on-one and Mattson received a pass from Twarynski and then sent it right back for the overage forward’s second of the game.
Conner Bruggen-Cate then ended Scott’s night as he picked up a loose puck near the Raider net and then picked the top left corner on the Toronot Maple Leafs prospect. Scott gave up seven goals on 26 shots. Curtis Meger came on in relief.
P.A. made it 7-3 with under two minutes left with their second power play marker of the game. Max Martin drove a shot past Basran off a feed from Leason.
Basran was not tested too much as P.A. saw most of their best chances sail wide of the net altogether. He turned away 15 of 18 in the win.
Meger stopped the only shot he faced after relieving Scott.
Kelowna concludes their trip Saturday in Saskatoon. They will be without Cal Foote and Dillon Dube until well into January as the two made Canada’s final roster for the World Juniors.
P.A. now gets 11 days off before they are back in action at home against Saskatoon. They will likely continue being without Vojtech Budik, while he represents the Czech Republic at the World Juniors. He will be playing in Buffalo, in front of the NHL team who drafted him.
Brandon 3 Lethbridge 0
It is somewhat fitting that one of the most overlooked goalies in the WHL, plays for the most overlooked team (at least entering the season). Logan Thompson put up decent numbers last year, while playing in 40 games. 
This year, the Brandon Wheat Kings (24-7-0-1) back-stop has provided them with outstanding netminding. He was in fine form on Friday night in Brandon, as he stopped 13 shots in the second and 15 in the third, to shut out the Lethbridge Hurricanes (14-16-2-0) 3-0.
Thompson has started seven of the now 10-game win streak for Brandon and has won 12 of his last 13 starts. With his 38 stops tonight, he has 36 or more stops in 10 of those games.
Both teams came out flying in a fast-paced first period. The What Kings each clearly wanted the Teddy Bear Toss goal and the ‘Canes wanted to put their losing streak behind them. Gunner Wegleitner finally beat Stuart Skinner, after his team had many good looks. He scored after Stelio Mattheos forced a turnover behind the Lethbridge net and fed him right in front of Skinner with 56 seconds left in the first.
With so little time left in the first, the referees sent the teams to the locker rooms early and just added the 56 seconds to the start of the second. Brandon would score just 13 seconds after they restarted play. Connor Gutenberg picked off a pass from Calen Addison, skated in and snapped a heavy wrist shot past Skinner.
After Skinner was pulled in the third to help the desperate Hurricanes attack, Baron Thompson iced the game with an empty netter. Lethbridge had thrown everything they had at Thompson and the Wheaties, out shooting them 15-10 and hitting a couple posts.
The ‘Canes have now dropped four straight. They will try to right the ship Saturday in Regina. Brandon will try to make it 11 straight when they head to Moose Jaw,
Spokane 5 Everett 3
While Brandon was able to keep their streak alive, another one came to an end. The Everett Silvertips (19-13-1-1) saw their nine-game win streak end at the hands of the Spokane Chiefs (17-12-1-2). With Carter Hart off at Hockey Canada’s WJC camp, the Silvertips finally looked mortal between the pipes. 16-year-old Dustin Wolf got just his fifth career start and stopped 32 of 36 shots in defeat.
Spokane was led by their overage forward duo of Zach Fischer and Hudson Elynuik who each had three points. Donovan Buskey stopped 23 of 26 in the Chiefs net.
The Silvertips opened the scoring on a strange goal. Wyatte Wylie’s shot from the point was stopped by Spokane goalie Donovan Buskey, but the netminder went to his right for the puck, when it had gone to his left. Akash Bains dove for it and poked in his first since being acquired from Red Deer.
Hudson Elynuik then orchestrated a tying goal on the power play. Elynuik drew the defense, dropped a pass to a charging Ty Smith and then Smith hit a wide open Zach Fischer at the right post.
Everett retook the lead 5:33 into the second. Matt Fonteyne hit Patrick Bajkov with an nice outlet pass, setting up an odd-man rush. Bajkov then found Sean Richards crashing the net and he tapped the puck past Buskey.
Unlike a lot of nights with Hart in net where a 2-1 lead has just about meant the game was over, the Chiefs were able to surge back later in the second.
First, with three Chiefs parked in front of Wolf, Fischer threw the puck out to a pinching Nolan Reid. The blue-liner buried a wrist shot past a well-screen Wolf to tie the game and give him 11 goals this year. Then Jeff Faith gave Spokane the lead with 2:02 left in the first as his seeing-eye wrist shot beat Wolf, who was screened again.
Everett tied the game again in the third period as Fonteyne caught the Chiefs defense napping and burst in on Buskey. He deked the goalie and slid the puck in the net for his 16th this year.
The Chiefs veterans did not let losing their lead get the team down and instead provided the game winner. With 7:13 left, Fischer won a puck battle behind the Everett net and got it out front to Riley Woods, who found Elynuik.
Elynuik then out a bow on it with an empty-net-goal.
Everett sees their busy weekend continue with a game at home against the Prince George Cougars Saturday. Spokane plays their last game before the break at Veterans Memorial Coliseum tonight in Portland.
Seattle 5 Prince George 3
The Seattle Thunderbirds (14-14-3-1) have ridden their veteran defense group this year on both ends of the ice. For much of the season so far, Austin Strand led them in scoring from the blue line and team captain Turner Ottenbreit has been the team’s MVP so far for his two-way play.
While their forwards have slowly started to pick up the scoring, the defense continues to provide some key goals. That was the case again Saturday night vs. the visiting Prince George Cougars (12-15-3-2).
Seattle got five points, including two goals from their veteran blue liners and took down the Cougars 5-3. Matt Berlin got the win for Seattle, stopping 34 of 37.
Prince George had the flow of play to start the first, but they could not find the net in behind Seattle goalie Berlin.
Then after the media timeout, Seattle scored off a set play. Matthew Wedman won a draw clean back to Jarret Tyszka who quickly sent a pass over to Reece Harsch. The blue liner one-timed the puck past P.G. goalie Tavin Grant.
The second period found P.G. beating Berlin twice to take a 2-1 lead into the third. First, Ethan O’Rourke and Vladislav Mikhalchuk drove in on an odd-man rush, with O’Rourke feeding Mikhalchuk back door for the import from Belarus’ ninth this year. Then Josh Maser fired a shot from a tight angle off the far post and then off Berlin and just across the line for his 13th of the year.
Seattle would storm back in a goal-filled third period. Nolan Volcan tied the game back up 1:40 in, with a wrist shot that eluded Grant’s glove.
Then Strand drifted in from the right point on the power play and one-timed home his 10th goal on the man-advantage this season.
Donovan Neuls then gave the T-birds a 4-2 lead as Volcan found him all alone in front.
Aaron Boyd made this a tight affair with s marker with 1:31 left in regulation but Zack Andrusiak finished the Cougars off with an empty netter.
Tavin Grant stopped 26 of 30 in defeat.
Seattle plays in Spokane Sunday while P.G. heads up to Everett Saturday.
