Connor Bedard scores hat trick, but Pats fall 9-5 to Warriors in WHL
By The Canadian Press on March 17, 2023.
REGINA – Connor Bedard’s hat trick was in vain as his Regina Pats fell 9-5 to the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors in the Western Hockey League on Friday. Jagger Firkus countered with a hat trick for Moose Jaw (39-22-0-3) with Eric Alarie, Ryder Korczak, Logan Dowhaniuk, Atley Calvert, Martin Rysavy and Josh Hoekstra also scoring for the Warriors. Moose Jaw has a playoff spot secured, while the Pats (32-28-3-1) are still looking to lock in a post-season berth. Bedard is the projected No. 1 pick in June’s NHL draft. Warriors netminder Jackson Unger made 21 saves for the win. Alexander Suzdalev and Riley Ginnell were Regina’s other goal scorers. Kelton Pyne stopped 22 shots and Drew Sim nine in Regina’s net. RAIDERS 4 WHEAT KINGS 3 BRANDON, Man. – Sloan Stanick scored twice, including the game-winner at 17:37 of the third period. for the Raiders. Carter Anderson and Ryder Ritchie also scored for Prince Albert (27-34-3-0) with goaltender Tikhon Chaika stopping 36 shots. Nolan Ritchie, Andrei Malyavin and Nate Danielson replied for Brandon (26-31-8-0) with Carson Bjarnason turning away 17 shots in a losing cause. HURRICANES 6 HITMEN 4 LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Tyson Laventure paced the Hurricanes with a goal and two assists. Brayden Edwards, Trae Wilke, Jett Jones, Logan McCutcheon and Cole Shepard were the other goal scorers for Lethbridge (34-24-3-3). Hurricanes goaltender Bryan Thomson had 26 saves. Riley Fiddler-Schultz, Matteo Danis, London Hoilett and Maxim Muranov scored for Calgary (27-28-5-3). Hitmen goalie Brayden Peters had 26 saves in the loss. REBELS 2 BRONCOS 0 RED DEER, Alta. – Kyle Kelsey posted a 34-save shutout for the host Rebels (42-17-3-3). Jayden Grubbe and Jace Isley scored once for Red Deer. Broncos netminder Reid Dyck stopped 29 shots. TIGERS 7 OIL KINGS 2 EDMONTON – Dru Krebs’ hat trick paced the visiting Tigers to victory. Cayden Lindstrom, Dallon Melin, Brendan Lee and Hunter St. Martin each scored singles for Medicine Hat (28-26-8-1). Evan May stopped 20 shots in the Tigers’ net while his Oil Kings counter part Kolby Hay turned away 22. Ethan MacKenzie and Cole Miller were goal scorers for Edmonton (9-50-4-0) at the bottom of the league. BLAZERS 5 ROCKETS 2 KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Rockets goaltender Talyn Boyko’s 55 saves weren’t enough to stop Kamloops, who got goals from five different Blazers. Emmitt Finnie, Shea Van Olm, Logan Stankoven, Connor Levis and Dylan Sydor all scored for Kamloops (46-11-4-2) atop the B.C. Division. Blazers goaltender Dylan Ernst had a 24-save night. Grady Lenton and Dylan Wightman replied for Kelowna (26-36-3-0). THUNDERBIRDS 5 WINTERHAWKS 2 SEATTLE, Wash. – Dylan Guenther led the host Thunderbirds with a goal and two assists. Mekai Sanders, Luke Prokop, Kevin Korchinski and Brad Lambert also chipped in goals for Seattle (51-9-1-2) atop the U.S. Division. T-Birds goalie Scott Ratzlaff stopped 19 of 21 shots. Josh Zakreski and Jack O’Brien each scored for Portland (39-18-4-3). Dante Giannuzzi stopped 18 of 23 shots and Jan Å punar all seven he faced in Portland’s net. COUGARS 7 ROYALS 1 PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – Seven different Cougars scored for the hosts with Hudson Thornton’s goal and two assists leading the way. Cayden Glover, Riley Heidt, Koehn Ziemmer, Chase Wheatcroft, Arjun Bawa and Zac Funk also scored for Prince George (34-24-6-0). Cougars goaltender Tyler Brennan stopped 20 shots in the win while Royals goalie Braden Holt repelled 31 shots by the Cougars. Matthew Hodson scored for Victoria (15-42-6-1). AMERICANS 3 CHIEFS 1 SPOKANE, Wash. – Jordan Gavin, Tyson Greenway and Jalen Luypen all scored in a winning cause for Tri-City (30-26-5-3). Americans goaltender Tomas Suchanek stopped all but one of the 24 shots he faced. Tommaso De Luca scored the only goal for Spokane (14-41-4-5) with goaltender Dawson Cowan making 21 saves in the loss. GIANTS 3 SILVERTIPS 0 LANGLEY, B.C. – Jesper Vikman’s 32-save shutout led the Giants to victory. Captain Ty Thorpe had a goal and an assist, with Colton Roberts and Jaden Lipinski also scoring for Vancouver (26-29-5-3). Tyler Palmer had 19 saves in the loss for Everett (31-30-2-1). This roundup was generated automatically with a CP-developed application. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2023. 53-52
