WHL roundup: Blazers' offence comes up big in blanking Giants
Published
KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Connor Levis scored twice, Fraser Minten and Jakub Demek each had a goal and assist and netminder Matthew Kieper stopped 25 shots as the Kamloops Blazers beat the visiting Vancouver Giants 6-0 in Western Hockey League action on Saturday.
The Blazers, who will host the 2023 Memorial Cup (May 26-June 4) and play in it as the host team, also got goals from Emmitt Finnie and Olen Zellweger.
The Blazers (44-11-4-2) led 1-0 after the first period and 4-0 heading into the third.
Netminder Jesper Vikman stopped 38 of 44 shots for the Giants (24-29-5-3).
Elsewhere in the WHL:
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REBELS 9 HITMEN 0
CALGARY, Alta. — Jhett Larson scored three goals and Kyle Kelsey made 25 saves to register the shutout as the visiting Red Deer Rebels blitzed the Calgary Hitmen 9-0.
Craig Armstrong, Mats Lindgren, Kai Uchacz, Jayden Grubbe, Carson Birnie and Hunter Mayo also scored for the Rebels (41-17-3-3).
The Hitmen (26-27-5-3) trailed 4-0 after the first period and 9-0 heading into the third. The Rebels outshot the hosts 57-25.
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WHEAT KINGS 10 OIL KINGS 2
BRANDON, Man. — Rylen Roersma and Dawson Pasternak each scored twice as the Brandon Wheat Kings blitzed the Edmonton Oil Kings 10-2.
Zakhar Polshakov, Nolan Ritchie, Caleb Hadland, Joby Baumuller, Evan Groening and Nolan Flamand also scored for the Wheat Kings (26-28-8-0).
Loick Daigle and Noah Boyko scored for the Oil Kings (9-49-4-0).
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COUGARS 6 ROYALS 3
VICTORIA, B.C. — Koehn Ziemmer and Carlin Dezainde each scored twice as the visiting Prince George Cougars defeated the Victoria Royals 6-3.
Chase Wheatcroft and Zac Funk also scored for the Cougars (33-24-5-0).
Riley Gannon, Alex Thacker and Brayden Schuurman scored for the Royals (15-41-6-1).
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THUNDERBIRDS 5 SILVERTIPS 1
SEATTLE, Wash. — Jeremy Hanzel scored twice as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the visiting Everett Silvertips 5-1.
Nico Myatovic, Dylan Guenther and Brad Lambert also scored for the Western Conference-leading Thunderbirds (50-9-1-2).
Jackson Berezowski scored for the Silvertips (30-29-2-1).
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TIGERS 7 PATS 0
MEDICINE HAT, Alta. — Andrew Basha scored four goals and Beckett Langkow stopped 17 shots for the shutout as the Medicine Hat Trigers trounced the visiting Regina Pats 7-0.
Gavin McKenna, Rhett Parsons and Tomas Mrsic also scored for the Tigers (27-26-8-1).
Goaltender Drew Sim kicked out 33 of 40 shots for the Pats (31-27-3-1).
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AMERICANS 3 WINTERHAWKS 2 (OT)
KENNEWICK, Wash. — Reese Belton's second goal of the game, at 1:08 of overtime, lifted the Tri-City Americans to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Portland Winterhawks.
Adam Mechura also scored for the Americans (29-26-5-2). Lukas Dragicevic chipped in with two assists.
Marcus Nguyen and Luke Schelter scored for the Winterhawks (38-17-4-3).
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ROCKETS 5 CHIEFS 4 (OT)
SPOKANE, Wash. — Gabriel Szturc's second goal of the game, at 2:24 of overtime, gave the visiting Kelowna Rockets a 5-4 win over the Spokane Chiefs.
Elias Carmichael, Marcus Pacheco, Dylan Wightman also scored for the Rockets (25-34-3-0), who built a 4-0 lead and the had to battle to win in overtime. Szturc also added two assists.
Cade Hayes, Carter Streek, Jaren Brinson and Berkly Catton scored for the Chiefs (14-39-4-4), who outshot the Rockets 41-25.
* This roundup was generated automatically with a CP-developed application.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2023.