Chris Mast

WHL recap: Tigers and Silvertips add to division leads with wins

Medicine Hat 3 Kootenay 1

Bryan Lockner is looking more comfortable with the Medicine Hat Tigers (30-24-7-0). The former Regina Pat was traded to Medicine Hat around the trade deadline and had a goal in his first game with the Tigers.

In his next 15 games though, he had just one goal. Tuesday night the Colorado-native sniped the game winner, which was his third goal in his last four games. It’s safe to say he is starting to find some chemistry with the Tigers, as was was evidenced by the slick passing play that set up his winning wrist shot.

Lockner and the Tigers beat the Kootenay ICE (25-34-3-0) 3-1 on Tuesday, handing the ICE their fifth loss in six games and moving the Tigers three points up on Lethbridge for the Central Division lead, though the Hurricanes have two games in hand now.

Matt Berlin was a big reason why the ICE stayed in this game as he stopped 29 of 31. This was his best outing yet with the ICE, as the former Spokane Chief and Seattle Thunderbird has struggled at times since being acquired by the ICE.

 

Brett Davis got the ICE on the board first off a breakdown by Medicine Hat. The puck came out to Davis in the neutral zone and he burst in alone, beating Michael Bullion on his blocker side.

Medicine Hat responded with some good looks in the second period, including a Mark Rassell shot that found a post, but it took until there was 5:38 left in the middle frame before they finally beat ICE goalie Berlin.

They tied the game at one when Tyler Presiuzo forced an ICE turnover and got a shot by Berlin for his 13th goal of the year.

The Tigers kept the ICE on their heels in the third but again Berlin was up to the task and kept them at bay. That ended off a nice strong of passes by James Hamblin and Rassell. They ended up setting up Bryan Lockner streaking down the right wing and his shot squeaked through Berlin and in for the 2-1 Tigers lead.

That would prove to be the winner as David Quenneville iced the game with an empty netter after the ICE pulled Berlin for an extra attacker.

The Tigers now have the season series lead at 4-1.

Everett 4 @Spokane 1

Garrett Pilon’s two goals were not traditional hockey goals in the slightest, but they count on the scoreboard the same way the more conventional ones do. He scored twice and added an assist for three points while Connor Dewar added two points and Carter Hart stopped 28 of 29 in a 4-1 win for theĀ Everett Silvertips (38-17-2-3) over theĀ Spokane Chiefs (33-20-3-2) in Spokane.

Pilon notched his 29th this year to open the scoring. He scooped up a loose puck in the corner to Spokane goalie Dawson Weatherill’s right and sped around the net, tucking a backhand in on the wraparound. Weatherill was not able to hold the post with his left skate.

After Riley Sutter tipped a Jake Christiansen shot by Wetherill, Pilon notched his second of the game.

It looked more like a single in baseball than a goal as he tracked down a puck in the air on the power play and batted it by Weatherill.

Spokane then got on the score sheet as Eli Zummack skated in on the rush and toe-dragged around a ‘Tips defender before beating Hart on the blocker side.

Despite getting 12 shots on Hart in the third period though, Spokane could not solve the Philadelphia Flyers prospect. Connor Dewar then added a fourth Everett goal with 7:39 left to put the game out of reach.

Weatherill turned away 29 of 33 in the loss.

The loss snapped Spokane’s three-game winning streak and gives Everett a 6-2-1-0 season series lead.

 

Everett extended their lead in the U.S. Division to nine points with Portland having three games in hand now.

The also clinched a playoff spot for the 15th straight season.

Spokane had been nearing Portland in the race for home-ice in the U.S. bracket, but the regulation loss keeps them three points back and now Portland has a game in hand.