Edmonton 5 Kootenay 1 The young Kootenay ICE (20-23-3-0) could be forgiven for overlooking the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings (13-26-4-2) on Friday night. They had just pulled out an exciting win on the road over the division-leading Medicine Hat Tigers and were about to have three straight games against teams […]
Central Division
Rebels Czech’d by the Raiders
It was an unexpected burst of goals from defensemen, specifically Vojtech Budik, that sealed the Rebels fate in tonight’s match-up between the Red Deer Rebels (10-23-8-3) and the visiting Prince Albert Raiders (16-20-6-2). The goals came early and often from the Prince Albert Raiders, looking to gain some ground on […]
Hitmen slowly gaining ground on the injury front
Life from the press box has provided a new perspective for a pair of Calgary Hitmen. Andrew Viggars and Tristen Nielsen have been sidelined for nearly one third of the season with identical injuries: both players broke bones in the same hand/wrist joint one game apart. Nielsen got pinned up […]
Rockets edge feisty Hurricanes
When the Lethbridge Hurricanes last blew into Prospera Place in the Okanagan Valley, the host Kelowna Rockets dispatched the visitors by a 7-4 count in November. This time around, the Hurricanes arrived following a roster overhaul, primarily due to Western Hockey League trade deadline deals that have changed the nucleus […]
WHL recap: ICE win late; Pats, Chiefs and Thunderbirds each add to their win totals as well
Regina 4 @Prince Albert 3 The Regina Pats (24-19-4-0)got two goals from Matt Bradley and one from Jesse Gabrielle to come back from a 2-1 deficit to go on to win over the Prince Albert Raiders (16-20-6-2) 4-3. The Pats have had the Raiders number this year, winning the first […]
Ice cool under pressure leading up to trade deadline
While WHL teams were busy throwing around draft picks like candy leading up to the trade deadline, the Kootenay Ice remained relatively inactive, choosing to stick to the plan. It may sound cliche, but Ice President and GM Matt Cockell, who took over ownership the team alongside Greg Fettes last […]
Nielsen’s presence presented problems for Blades
On a lost defensive faceoff, everyone has their assignments on who to cover in an attempt to turn the puck back over. Flying out to the point to block an attempted slap shot isn’t necessarily in the playbook for Calgary Hitmen’s leading scorer Jakob Stukel, but a little improvisation never […]
WHL recap: Hurricanes and Thunderbirds get wins in B.C.
Lethbridge 4 @Kamloops 2 It’s looking more and more like a fresh start in Lethbridge is just with the doctor ordered for Brad Morrison. The overage forward, who had previously played for the Vancouver Giants is having a great start to his time with the Lethbridge Hurricanes (21-19-3-0) since coming […]
Points Per Game
As of January 16/18 here are the WHL players who are averaging at least 1 point per game this season. Name Team GP G A PTS PTS/G 1 Heponiemi, Aleksi SC 32 21 58 79 2.47 2 Steenbergen, Tyler SC 29 35 30 65 2.24 3 Burke, Brayden MJ […]
WHL 3-on-3 Overtime & Shootout History
3-on-3 overtime was implemented into the WHL in the 2015-16 season. 2017-18 marks the 13th season the WHL has used the shootout format. As of January 16/18 there has been 902 shootouts in WHL history. The first year there were 94 shootouts, the most in one season. Before switching […]