WHL roundup: Mirwald stops 51 shots but Blazers burn Giants 3-2
By The Canadian Press on February 4, 2023.
LANGLEY, B.C. – Logan Stankoven and Ryan Hofer each had a goal and assist and the visiting Kamloops Blazers edged the Vancouver Giants 3-2 in Western Hockey League action on Saturday. Matthew Seminoff chipped in with a goal for the Blazers (30-19-4-2), who will host the Memorial Cup tournament from May 26 to June 4. Caedan Bankier had two assists for the winners, who had difficulty beating superb Giants’ netminder Brett Mirwald. Dylan Anderson and Ty Thorpe scored for the Giants (18-24-4-2), who were outshot 54-36 at Langley Events Centre. Elsewhere in the WHL: — OIL KINGS 5 HITMEN 1 CALGARY, Alta. – Luca Hauf scored twice as the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings upset the Calgary Hitmen 5-1. Rilen Kovacevic, Loick Daigle and Rhett Melnyk also scored for the Oil Kings (8-37-3-0). Riley Fiddler-Schultz scored for the Hitmen (23-18-5-2). — BLADES 3 ICE 2 SASKATOON, Sask. – Jake Chiasson scored at 3:21 of the third period and the goal stood up as the winners as the Saskatoon Blades edged the visiting Winnipeg ICE 3-2. Brandon Lisowsky and Egor Sidorov also scored for the Blades (31-12-3-1). Connor McClennon scored twice for the ICE (37-7-1-0), who outshot the Blades 36-24. — TIGERS 4 HURRICANES 2 MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Oasiz Wiesblatt scored twice as the Medicine Tigers overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-2. Cayden Lindstrom and Tyler MacKenzie also scored for the Tigers (20-21-7-1), who were outshot 37-32. Logan McCutcheon and Tyson Laventure scored for the Hurricanes (27-18-3-2). — SILVERTIPS 1 THUNDERBIRDS 0 EVERETT, Wash. – Beau Courtney scored a first-period goal and Tyler Palmer made 35 saves for the shutout as the Everett Silvertips edged the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds 1-0. The Western Conference-leading Thunderbirds (35-9-1-1) outshot the Silvertips 35-25 but could not beat Palmer in Everett’s (24-22-2-0) net. Both teams were 0-for-3 on the power play. — WINTERHAWKS 4 AMERICANS 1 PORTLAND, Ore. – Gabe Klassen scored a goal and added an assist as the Portland Winterhawks defeated the visiting Tri-City Americans 4-1. Diego Buttazzoni, Marcus Nguyen and Aidan Litke also scored for the Winterhawks (35-10-2-1). Adam Mechura scored for the Americans (25-17-4-1), who were outshot 43-26. — COUGARS 4 ROYALS 2 PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – Koehn Ziemmer scored twice and Chase Wheatcroft added a goal and assist as the Prince George Cougars clipped the visiting Victoria Royals 4-2. Caden Brown also scored for the Cougars (21-21-4-0), who outshot the visitors 31-20. Marcus Almquist and Reggie Newman scored for the Royals (14-31-4-1). — ROCKETS 4 RAIDERS 0 KELOWNA, B.C. – The Kelowna Rockets scored twice in the first period and then held on to defeat the visiting Prince Albert Raiders 3-0. Elias Carmichael scored twice for the Rockets (17-26-3-0), while Marcus Pacheco and Carson Golder netted singles. The Rockets were outshot 51-23 but received brilliant shutout goaltending from Talyn Boyko. The Raiders (19-27-3-0) were 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Rockets were 1-for-3. — REBELS 1 CHIEFS 0 (SO) SPOKANE, Wash. – The visiting Red Deer Rebels peppered 45 shots at the Spokane net, but needed a Ben King goal in the three-round shootout to edge the Chiefs 1-0. Dawson Cowan stopped 45 shots in regulation and overtime for the Chiefs (9-33-2-3), while Kyle Kelsey stopped 26 shots to record the shutout for the Rebels (34-10-1-3). * This roundup was generated automatically with a CP-developed application. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2023. 46-45
