Ryan McDonald gave the Prince Albert Raiders a two-goal advantage Tuesday night -and when they couldn't hold onto it, he handed them another one.
McDonald provided all the offence for the Raiders on Tuesday, scoring four times in a 4-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos in Western Hockey League action.
McDonald, who turns 21 on Jan. 5, gave the Raiders (17-22-2-0) a 2-0 lead with a pair of second-period goals. After Matt Tassone and Justin Dowling scored for the Broncos (23-16-0-1) to tie it 2-2, McDonald scored the eventual game winner with 4:06 left in the third period to complete the hat trick.
He added his fourth of the game, and 23rd of the season, into an empty net in the final minute, giving him eight goals in the past four games and nine in eight games in December.
Thanks to Tuesday's four-goal burst, the Prince Albert native sits second in team scoring with 39 points (23 goals, 16 assists) in 41 games, and is just three goals away from matching his career high set last season.
In other WHL action Tuesday, it was: Saskatoon 1 Regina 0; Brandon 6 Lethbridge 4; Kelowna 2 Prince George 1; Vancouver 8 Moose Jaw 3; and Seattle 2 Chilliwack 0.
At Prince Albert, Sask., Dowling and Tassone each had a goal and an assist to pace Swift Current, which saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.
Steven Stanford stopped 31 shots to earn the win for the Raiders.
Travis Yonkman made 27 saves in defeat for the Broncos.
Blades 1 Pats 0
At Saskatoon, Braden Holtby made 22 saves as the Blades blanked Regina.
Darian Dziurzynski scored the only goal of the game for Saskatoon (26-11-2-0).
Linden Rowat made 31 saves for Regina (19-17-1-4).
Wheat Kings 6 Hurricanes 4
At Lethbridge, Alta., Andrew Clark scored twice as Brandon beat the Hurricanes.
Brayden Schenn, Anton Lewadniuk, Jay Fehr and Paul Ciarelli also scored for the Wheat Kings (21-13-2-1).
Colton Sceviour had a pair of goals to pace the Hurricanes (20-17-0-2), while Dwight King and Carter Ashton also scored.
Rockets 2 Cougars 1
At Kelowna, B.C., Lucas Bloodoff scored twice in the Rockets' win over Prince George.
Rookie Adam Brown stopped 19 shots to earn the win for Kelowna (22-15-0-0).
Justin Maylan had the only goal for the Cougars (14-24-0-1).
Giants 8 Warriors 3
At Vancouver, Andrej Kudrna had two goals and two assists as the Giants routed Moose Jaw.
Casey Pierro-Zabotel also scored twice while Mike Berube, Lance Bouma, Adam Basford and Mikhail Fesenko added goals as Vancouver (31-2-0-3) won its 10th straight game.
Joel Broda had two goals and Martin Filo added a single for Moose Jaw (11-25-0-1).
Thunderbirds 2 Bruins 0
At Seattle, Wash., Lindsay Nielsen scored both goals as the Thunderbirds' blanked Chilliwack.
Jacob DeSerres turned aside 22 shots to earn the shutout for Seattle (15-19-1-2).
Mark Friesen made 26 saves for the Bruins (11-24-2-2).