While F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats has won the WHL Triple Crown — he led the league in goals, assists and points — it seems that he is going to have to share the lead in one of those categories.
Some time today (Monday), the WHL website is expected to indicate a scoring change from a Friday night game.
That change will award an assist to Prince George F Riley Heidt on the Cougars’ fourth goal in a 7-2 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops. That goal was scored by F Koehn Ziemmer, giving the Cougars a 4-1 lead at 5:06 of the second period.
That assist means Ziemmer, a native of Saskatoon who turned 18 on Saturday, will finish with 97 points, 72 of them assists, in 68 games. He was the second overall selection in the WHL’s 2020 draft.
Bedard, who played in 57 games this season, had the outright lead in goals (71) and points (143). As the points leader, he will be awarded the Bob Clarke Trophy.
The WHL’s draft lottery is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, with teams in the lottery able to move up a maximum of two spots.
That’s it. Another WHL regular season is in the books. The Edmonton Oil Kings beat the host Calgary Hitmen, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the 2022-23 regular season. . . . The announced attendance of 7,905 lifted the WHL’s average per game to 3,877, an increase of 672 over last season. . . . Could it be that the WHL is on the way back at the gate after taking a two-season beating from the pandemic? . . . You will recall that the 2019-20 season was brought to a premature end by the pandemic. When it ended in March, each of the 22 teams had played between 30 and 34 games, and the average attendance was 4,154. The 2020-21 season was wiped out, although teams did play some games in what was a developmental situation. . . . In the 20 seasons from the turn of the century through 2019-20, the lowest average attendance was 4,115 in 2000-01. The other seasons all averaged between 4,251 (2001-02) and 4,817 (2012-13). . . . So while this season’s average still was under 4,000, it just might be showing us that pre-pandemic crowds are on the way back. We certainly will hope that’s the case.
SUNDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:
It took until the final game of the WHL’s 2022-23 regular season, but the defending-champion Edmonton Oil Kings finally got to double digits in victories as they beat the Hitmen, 2-1, in Calgary. . . . That lifted Edmonton’s record to 10-54-4 as it snapped a seven-game losing skid (0-6-1). Still, the Oil Kings, who went 50-14-4 last season, now hold the dubious distinction of having the poorest record in WHL history in the season after winning a championship. The 2018-19 Swift Current Broncos had held the record, having finished 11-51-6. . . . The Hitmen (31-29-8) had won their previous four games. . . . F Loick Daigle (9) broke a 1-1 tie at 19:33 of the third period to give the Oil Kings the victory. Daigle, who turned 21 on Jan. 31, was playing in his final junior game. . . . F Marshall Finnie (8) had given Edmonton a 1-0 lead at 12:45 of the first period. . . . F Sean Tschigerl (27) tied it, shorthanded, at 9:11 of the second period. . . . The Oil Kings got 32 saves from G Logan Cunningham. . . . Calgary lost F Ethan Moore to a boarding major and game misconduct at 6:08 of the second period.
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OK . . . what’s next in the WHL?
All eight first-round best-of-seven playoff series are scheduled to open on Friday, which means that the rumours of TSN showing Game 1 between the Saskatoon Blades and Regina Pats on Thursday were just that — rumours.
THE PLAYOFF MATCHUPS:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Winnipeg (1) vs. Medicine Hat (8) — Opens with games in Winnipeg on Friday and Saturday. . . . The Ice won the season series, 3-1-0, outscoring the Tigers, 20-12. . . . The Tigers beat the Ice, 6-4, in Medicine Hat on March 1.
Red Deer (2) vs. Calgary (7) — They’ll start with games in Red Deer on Friday and Saturday. . . . Red Deer was 6-1-1 in the season series; Calgary was 2-4-2. . . . In their most-recent meetings, the Hitmen won, 4-3, in Red Deer on March 10, with the Rebels winning, 9-0, in Calgary on March 11.
Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6) — Games 1 and 2 are set for Saskatoon on Friday and Sunday. The ice isn’t available on Saturday because of an NLL game. . . . The season series went to the Blades, 4-2-0. . . . Saskatoon is 15-4-2 versus Regina over the past five seasons. . . . This season, the Blades held a 25-18 edge in goals. . . . Regina F Connor Bedard had five goals and four assists in five games against the Blades, but he was blanked in two of those games. . . . The Pats’ last two visits to Saskatoon drew sellout crowds of 14,768.
Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5) — They are scheduled to open in Moose Jaw with games on Friday and Saturday. . . . The Warriors won the season series, 3-1-0, and held an 18-14 edge on the scoreboard. . . . The Warriors lost four players to suspension on Feb. 11; they went 9-8-0 since then, including 6-2-0 in their last eight games. Assuming those players — G Conner Ungar, D Max Wanner, D Marek Howell and F Lynden Lakovic — carried out the terms of their suspension, they will be eligible to play on Friday.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8) — Games 1 and 2 are to be played in Kent, Wash., on Friday and Saturday. . . . The Thunderbirds swept the season series, 4-0, outscoring the Rockets, 15-7, but they haven’t played each other since Dec. 30 and 31. . . . After losing 1-0 in Everett on Feb. 4, the Thunderbirds closed by going 19-2-1. The two regulation losses — 6-5 in Kamloops and 3-1 to visiting Portland — occurred in their past three games.
Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7) — They’ll open in Kamloops on Friday and Saturday. . . . Kamloops dominated the season series, going 6-1-1; the Giants were 2-6-0. . . . The Blades outscored the Giants, 33-19. . . . In their last meeting, on March 11 in Kamloops, the Blazers won, 6-0.
Portland (3) vs. Everett (6) — It opens with games in Portland on Friday and Saturday. . . . The season series went to Portland, 6-1-1; Everett was 2-6-0. . . . The Winterhawks held a 34-25 edge in goals. . . . Everett won, 10-3, at home on March 3, but then lost, 3-1, in Portland on March 5.
Prince George (4) vs. Tri-City (5) — This series is the only one that will be played under a 2-3-2 format. The first two games are to be played in Prince George on Friday and Saturday before the scene shifts to Kennewick, Wash. . . . The Americans won the season series, 3-1-0; the Cougars were 1-2-1. . . . Tri-City led 17-14 on the scoreboard, but these teams last met on Dec. 9 and 10. . . . These were two of the hottest teams in the league as the regular season wound down. The Cougars closed on an 8-0-3 run; the Americans went 6-0-1.
(NOTE:There are excellent playoff previews available on the WHL’s website.)
Gardiner MacDougall, who coached teams to the 2022 Memorial Cup and 2023 Canadian university men’s hockey titles, has a lot of fans out there. One of them has reminded me that I shortchanged him here when I dropped a few sentences after his U of New Brunswick Reds won another championship. “I’d like to add to Mr. Gardiner MacDougall’s list of championships in the past several months,” the email read. “He guided the Canadian university all-star squad to a gold medal performance in the World University Games in January in Lake Placid, N.Y.” . . . Yes, he certainly did. It’s worth pointing out that it was his second Universiade championship; he also was head coach of the Canadian team that won in 2013 in Trentino, Italy. . . . At some point in the not too distant future, MacDougall should be an inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
THINKING OUT LOUD — The Penticton Vees concluded a 50-3-1 regular season on Sunday, setting a BCHL record for best points percentage (.935) in the process. So now they go into the playoffs with opponents knowing that if they are to advance they will have to beat the Vees four times in seven games, which would be as many losses as they suffered in the 54-game regular season. . . . BTW, in their last 109 games, including last spring’s 16-1 playoff run, the Vees are 109-12-3. . . . I’m not positive about the previous record, but the 2011-12 Vees went 54-4-2 and that’s a .917 points percentage. . . . If you need to contact me this week, please do so before Thursday. It’s Opening Day and I will be kind of busy all day and into the night. . . . There’s something wrong with the NHL’s Dept. of Discipline when a deliberate cross-check to the face that inflicts damage draws only a one-game suspension. F Blake Lizotte of the L.A. Kings got just that for taking his stick to the face of Winnipeg Jets D Josh Morrissey, who needed stitches inside his mouth and to his chin. Maybe one day the NHL will get serious about shots to the head, but it won’t be today or tomorrow. . . . Noticed some followers of the Vancouver Canucks celebrating the fact they their favourite team reached the .500 mark with Sunday’s 4-2 victory in Chicago. That lifted Vancouver’s record to 34-34-5. That tells me the Canucks have 34 wins and 39 losses, and that’s not .500 in my book. . . . Unfortunately, the Canucks still aren’t going to make the playoffs. . . . The place to be on Tuesday night? The Whitney Forum in Flin Flon. It’ll be the Bombers and Estevan Bruins in Game 7 of a first round SJHL series. Flin Flon forced the series to the limit with a 4-1 victory in Estevan on Sunday night.
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My wife, Dorothy, will be taking part in the 2023 Kamloops Kidney Walk on June 4 and, for a 10th straight year, is fund-raising. In September, she will celebrate 10 years as a transplant recipient. . . . If you would like to make a donation and be part of Team Dorothy, you may do so right here.
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If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
Living Kidney Donor Program
St. Paul’s Hospital
6A Providence Building
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-9027
Toll free: 1-877-922-9822
Fax: 604-806-9873
Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca
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Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney
Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre
Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9
604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182
kidneydonornurse@vch.ca
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Or, for more information, visit right here.
Gibson, 15, six conditional WHL draft picks and a fourth-round pick in the 2004 draft from the Seattle Thunderbirds for the rights to F Dylan Guenther, 19, the rights to F Jordan Ramsay, who will turn 16 on Jan. 24, and a 2023 eighth-round pick. . . . The conditional picks — a second in 2023, sixth in 2024, fourth in 2025, and first, fourth and fifth in 2026 — all hinge on the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes assigning Guenther to Seattle. . . . Guenther, a first-round pick by the Coyotes in the NHL’s 2021 draft, has three goals and eight assists in 22 games with Arizona this season. . . . He scored the OT goal on Thursday as Team Canada beat Czechia, 3-2, in the World Junior Championship final in Halifax. . . . The Oil Kings selected Guenther with the first overall pick of the WHL’s 2018 draft. He helped the Oil Kings to the WHL championship last season as they beat the Thunderbirds in the championship final. . . . 
CHL at the moment, acquired F Jake Chiasson, 19, from the Brandon Wheat Kings for a first-round WHL draft pick in 2023, a second-rounder in 2025 and a conditional second in 2026. . . . Chiasson, from Abbotsford, B.C., was a fourth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL’s 2021 draft. The Wheat Kings selected him in the first round of the WHL’s 2018 draft. . . . He was in his fourth season with Brandon, having put up 30 goals and 41 assists in 141 regular-season games. . . . This season, he has 10 goals and 18 assists in 37 games. . . . From the Saskatoon news release: “Chiasson made international news earlier this winter as he and three teammates, who were driving over a bridge in Brandon, helped save the life of a distressed man.” . . . The 2023 first-round pick was Saskatoon’s and not the one the Blades acquired from Seattle in the deal that had F Brad Lambert’s rights move to the Thunderbirds. . . .
Wiesblatt, 20, from the Prince Albert Raiders for three conditional draft picks — a first in 2025 and two seconds in 2026. . . . The picks — one of the second-round picks was acquired from Brandon earlier on Tuesday —
acquiring F Zac Funk, 19, from the Calgary Hitmen for F Carter MacAdams, 18, and three WHL draft picks — second-rounders in 2023 and 2024, and a fourth in 2024. . . . Funk, from Coldstream, B.C., had 13 goals and 19 assists in 33 games with the Hitmen this season. In 129 career games, he has 78 points, 39 of them goals. . . . He was a second-round pick by Calgary in the 2018 draft. . . . MacAdams, from South Surrey, B.C., was picked by the Cougars in the fourth round of the 2019 WHL draft. He has 18 goals and 30 assists in 117 regular-season games over three seasons with Prince George. This season, he has six goals and 15 assists in 36 games.
Swift Current Broncos for a ninth-round pick in the WHL’s 2026 draft. Weigel, from Warman, Sask., is with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos and, according to the Blazers, “will remain with the Broncos for the 2022-23 season and become an affiliate player.” . . . He has six goals and 18 assists in 31 games with Humboldt this season. . . . Weigel has played in 25 WHL games — one with the Regina Pats and 24 with Swift Current. He has six assists in those games. . . . Regina picked him in the sixth round of the WHL’s 2018 draft.
had passed, the Regina Pats acquired F Steel Quiring, 19, from the Everett Silvertips for a fourth-round pick in the WHL’s 2026 draft. Quiring, from Vernon, B.C., had three goals and three assists in 30 games with Everett. He also has played for the Kelowna Rockets and Calgary Hitmen. The Silvertips acquired him from the Hitmen on Sept. 30. . . . The Rockets selected him in the fifth round of the 2018 draft. . . . Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge) pointed out on Twitter that “the Pats are Quiring’s 4th WHL team in the last
Sunday’s craziness and with the WHL’s deadline now only hours away.
Mason Ward, 20, moving to the Broncos for Kayden Sadhra-Kang, 19. . . . The Wheat Kings acquired Ward from the Red Deer Rebels prior to the 2021-22 season. From Lloydminster, the 6-foot-5 Ward had four goals and six assists in 38 games with Brandon this season. . . . The 6-foot-4 Sakhra-Kang, from Richmond, B.C., was acquired by Swift Current from the Lethbridge Hurricanes early last season. In 90 games with the Broncos, he had four goals and 19 assists. . . . 
got D Ethan Peters, 19, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for a second-round pick in the WHL’s 2025 draft. From Moose Jaw, Peters was in his third season with Edmonton. He recorded 28 points, including 24 assists, in 119 regular-season games. . . . Following last season, he was presented with the Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy as the WHL’s Scholastic Player of the Year. . . . 
one goal in five games with Finland at the WJC. . . . Seattle acquired his WHL rights from the Saskatoon Blades on June 30 for fourth- and sixth-round picks in the WHL’s 2023 draft, a conditional first-rounder in 2023 and a conditional second-rounder in 2024. . . . With Lambert having been assigned to Saskatoon, the Blades now are in possession of those two conditional draft picks. . . . Might the Blades spend some draft capital today before the trade deadline arrives?
assists in 12 games with the Moose. The Jets selected him with the 18th pick of the NHL’s 2021 draft. Portland grabbed his WHL rights in the fourth round of the 2018 bantam draft. . . . Last season, he played at the U of Minnesota, putting up 19 points, including nine goals, in 24 games. . . . Last week, he helped Team USA to a bronze medal at the WJC. He finished with seven points, five of them goals, in as many games. He had three goals, including the OT winner, as the Americans beat Sweden, 8-7, in the third-place game.
reunited with Team Canada teammates Caedan Bankier and Logan Stankoven,
year-old captain and another member of Canada’s national junior team.
and the Ottawa Senators grabbed him in the second round of the NHL’s 2021 draft.
Kootenay Ice rocked the WHL’s world with what was then seen as a huge deal.
there has been speculation that Finnish F Brad Lambert will be joining the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. That speculation heated up Sunday when his name was dropped from the roster of the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Lambert, who had two goals and one assist in 14 AHL games, is listed as inactive on the Moose’s stats page. He had one goal in five games with Finland at the WJC.
Canada, returned to the Regina Pats’ lineup on Sunday. All he did was score four goals and add two assist as the Pats beat the visiting Calgary Hitmen, 6-2. . . . The announced attendance was 4,761, the Pats’ largest home crowd this season. . . . Bedard’s first career six-point outing included a pair of shorthanded goals. . . . Despite missing 11 games while with Team Canada, Bedard’s 70 points, in 29 games, has him leading the points race by eight points over F Andrew Cristall of the Kelowna Rockets. With 31 goals, Bedard is two behind F Kai Uchacz of the Red Deer Rebels, and Bedard’s 39 assists are two more than D Lukas Dragicevic of the Tri-City Americans. . . . Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post was in attendance; his story is 
Thursday that they are serious about this season by acquiring F Blake Swetlikoff from the Spokane Chiefs. . . . In the exchange, the rebuilding Chiefs (7-24-3) picked up the rights to F Jack Lackas and two draft picks — a second-rounder in 2026 and a fifth in 2025. . . . Swetlikoff, a 19-year-old from Regina, was a third-round selection in the 2018 WHL draft. He has 19 points, 14 of them assists, in 34 games with Spokane this season. . . . In 128 career regular-season games, he has 22 goals and 39 assists. . . . “We feel that (Swetlikoff) will help our top nine,” Lethbridge general manager Peter Anholt said in a news release. “It was a steep price for us to pay, but our team deserved to be added to with the way we’ve played this season.” . . . Swetlikoff is expected to make his Lethbridge debut on Saturday against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Hurricanes (21-15-1) are sixth in the 12-team conference, having won six of their past 10 games. They are one point behind the Calgary Hitmen (20-11-4) and three in arrears of the Moose Jaw Warriors (23-13-0). . . . Lackas, who turned 16 on Dec. 26, is from Las Vegas. Lethbridge selected him in the WHL’s 2021 U.S. draft, but he is unsigned. Lackas is playing with the U16 AAA Phoenix Jr. Coyotes this season.
forwards on Thursday. Ryker Singer is on his way to Red Deer, with Arjun Bawa moving to Prince George. The Cougars also got second- and seventh-round picks in the WHL’s 2023 draft in the exchange. . . . Singer, the 20th player chosen in the WHL’s 2020 draft, has three goals and six assists in 34 games this season. He is from Paradise Hills, Alta. . . . “He’s got speed, skill and good hands, and he’s a smart player,” Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner and general manager, told Greg Meachem of reddeerrebels.com. “It’s a trade for both teams (where) we wanted to add more speed to our team with skill, and they wanted a player who has some size.” . . . Bawa, from Richmond, B.C., had two goals and three assists in 34 games this season. Red Deer took him in the 
second round of the 2020 draft. . . . “Arjun . . . is a big physical player (who) will fit well with our forward core,” offered Mark Lamb, the Cougars’ general manager and head coach, in a news release. . . . The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Bawa is the son of Robin Bawa, a former WHLer (Kamloops Jr. Oilers, Kamloops Blazers, New Westminster Bruins, 1982-87) who went on to play 61 NHL games. He was the first player of Indian descent to play in the NHL. . . . The Rebels are scheduled to play the Raiders in Prince Albert tonight, while the Cougars are at home to the Everett Silvertips.
a game against the Prince George Cougars on Friday night.
Monday morning. . . . Marty Murray, who is in his first season as the team’s general manager, has taken over behind the bench. . . . This is the first firing in Brandon since Kelly McCrimmon announced on Sept. 8, 2020, that he had sold the franchise to the J&G Group of Companies, under Jared Jacobson. . . .
point for the Oil Kings in the 2022 playoffs. Only 3 of them are still on the team today after the Golder trade. (Dowhaniuk, Wiebe, Seitz).”
the back end, and a third-round selection in the WHL’s 2023 draft to the Kelowna Rockets for F Riley Kovacevic, 18.
Saskatchewan, Alta., Boyko had five goals and five assists in 23 games with the Cougars. He was a first-round selection by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2017 bantam draft. In 198 career regular-season games, he has 94 points, including 48 goals. . . . Wiebe, from Moose Jaw, has three goals and one assist in six games with Edmonton this season. He is six games into a seven-game suspension that was handed down after he, a repeat offender, took a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct in Saskatoon on Nov. 12. Earlier, he sat out four games after being suspended following a knee-on-knee hit on Saskatoon F Josh Pillar. . . . In 130 regular-season games, the first 73 with the Red Deer Rebels, Wiebe has 60 points, 22 of them goals. Last season, he finished with 10 goals and 26 assists in 41 games, then added two goals and six assists in 13 playoff games. He also had three goals and one assist in three games at the Memorial Cup. . . . Obviously, he brings more edge to the game than does Boyko, and that would seem to be what the Cougars want. . . . 
Nicholas Cristiano, 18, from the Kelowna Rockets for a fifth-round selection in the 2023 WHL draft. . . . With veteran G Tyler Palmer, 19, not having played since Nov. 12, the Royals needed a goaltender to pair with Logan Cunningham, 17. . . . Cristiano, from Langley, B.C., started this season with the Rockets — he was 0-1-0, 2.61, .879 — before being released and joining the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors. In three games with the Warriors, he was 1-2-0, 4.42, .867. . . . According to Dan Price, the Royals’ general manager and head coach, Palmer is “on personal leave and with his family.” . . . Palmer, who is 3-10-3, 4.22, .876 this season, is from Fernie, B.C. . . . The Royals (3-17-3) are scheduled to entertain the Moose Jaw Warriors (15-9-0) tonight.
was announced that the Kingston Frontenacs, Niagara IceDogs, Saginaw Spirit and Soo Greyhounds all have expressed the intent of bidding to play host to the 2024 Memorial Cup. . . . You will be aware that Saginaw is in Michigan; the Memorial Cup hasn’t been played in an American city since 1998 when the Spokane Chiefs were the host team. . . . Bids are to be submitted by Jan. 31 with the winning bid to be announced in March. . . . Kingston, Niagara Falls and Saginaw haven’t served as the host city for a Memorial Cup tournament; it was held in Sault Ste. Marie in 1993. . . . The OHL last played host to the tournament in 2017 when it was in Windsor. . . . The 2023 tournament is scheduled to be held in Kamloops.
Detroit Red Wings and the organization’s goaltending situation these days. . . . That’s because the Red Wings claimed G Magnus Hellberg on waivers from the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday. . . . WHL teams are going to be watching to see how Hellberg slots into the goaltending depth chart and just how the dominoes will fall. That’s because the Red Wings already have Ville Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic on their NHL roster, with Victor Brattstrom and Jussi Olkinuora with the AHL-Grand Rapids Griffins. The guy some WHL teams are interested in, Sebastian Cossa, is one of three goaltenders with the ECHL’s Toldeo Walleye. Cossa, 20, was a first-round selection by the Red Wings in the NHL’s 2021 draft. He then backstopped the Edmonton Oil Kings to the 2021-22 WHL championship. . . . The Oil Kings are in a rebuilding mode and haven’t been shy about trading players off that team’s roster; F Jakub Demek, F Shea Van Olm, D Luke Prokop and F Jalen Luypen all have been dealt as Edmonton stockpiles draft picks and younger players. . . . So if the Detroit dominoes fall in such a way that the 6-foot-6, 210-pound Cossa is returned to Edmonton, you have to think his stay there won’t last long.
regulation-time loss after they skated out of Everett with a 5-2 victory over the Silvertips. . . . Portland (17-1-2) now has points in 12 straight (10-0-2). . . . Everett (12-8-1) had lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . Portland erased a 1-0 first-period deficit with the next four goals. . . . F Dawson Pasternak (4) and F Josh Zakreski (4) each had a goal and an assist for Portland, which held a 45-26 edge in shots, including 18-4 in the second period. . . . The Winterhawks had F Cole Cairns, 15, and F Hudson Darby, 15, in their lineup for the first time, having lost F Kyle Chyzowski and F Diego Buttazzoni to injury. Cairns plays for the U18 team at the RINK Hockey Academy in Winnipeg, while Darby is with the U18 Swift Current Legionnaires. . . . Portland also scratched F Robbie Fromm-Delorme, its leading scorer, and F Jack O’Brien, neither of whom was shown in Tuesday’s roster report. . . . F Jackson Berezowski, who last played on Nov. 4, and D Aidan Sutter were among Everett’s seven scratches. . . .
victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Tigers (7-10-5) had lost two in a row (0-1-1). . . . The Oil Kings (4-18-1) had won their previous two games. . . . F Mason Finley (5) gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead in the first period. . . . The Tigers scored the last six goals, two of them via the PP. . . . F Brendan Lee had a goal (13) and an assist as he ran his goal streak to five games and a point streak to six games. He has 22 points in 22 games this season. Last season, he totalled 21 points in 52 games split between Medicine Hat and the Saskatoon Blades. . . . F Tyler MacKenzie and F Andrew Basha each had three assists. . . .
victory over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Cougars, who lead the B.C. Division, are 13-9-0. Prince George holds a five-point lead on Kamloops with the Blazers having five games in hand. . . . The Warriors (13-9-0) had won their previous two games. This was the start of their swing through the B.C. Division. . . . The Warriors led 2-0 late in the first period, but the Cougars tied it on two goals from F Caden Brown (6) before the period ended. Brown also had an assist for a three-point night. . . . F Chase Wheatcroft’s 17th goal, at 2:14 of the third period, broke a 2-2 tie and stood up as the winner. . . . The Cougars outshot the visitors 46-21, including 24-4 in the second period when they were unable to solve G Connor Ungar. . . . F Koehn Ziemmer of the Cougars had an assist to run his point streak to 14 games. . . . F Jagger Firkus of the Warriors also had an assist as he ran his point streak to 15 games. . . . The Warriors had F Riley Niven back in the lineup after he hadn’t played since Oct. 8. . . .
Vancouver Giants to a 6-4 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . The Giants (8-9-4) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Chiefs (4-14-1) have lost three in a row. . . . Ostapchuk, the Giants’ captain, gave his side a 4-3 lead at 17:15 of the second period with his ninth goal. . . . F Colton Langkow, who has four goals, scored two PP goals, one at 5:38 of the third period for a 5-3 lead and an empty-netter at 19:59. Langkow also had an assist. . . . The Giants got 34 stops from G Brett Mirwald, who was making just his second start — and third appearance — in November. . . . 
Ice to a 3-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Ice improved to 21-2-0; the Hurricanes are 12-10-1. . . . The Hurricanes had beaten the host Ice 2-1 on Tuesday night, snapping Winnipeg’s 15-game winning streak. . . . Benson drew the primary assist as F Ty Nash (10) tied the score, 2-2, at 17:29 of the second period. Benson’s 14th goal, at 5:16 of the third, stood up as the winner. . . . Lethbridge is two games into a six-game road trip that continues with games in Brandon on Friday and Saturday nights. . . . Ice F Conor Geekie had his point streak snapped at 12 games. . . . G Dan Hauser started for the Ice after a two-game absence. He missed one game due to illness, than backed up Mason Beaupit on Tuesday. Hauser got the victory with 19 saves as he improved his record this season to 15-0-0. He is 56-3-2 in his career. 
would seem that the Thunderbirds liked it there . . . and that they badly want another taste.
dumped the Brandon Wheat Kings, 6-1. . . . The Tigers (6-9-4) have points in three straight (2-0-1). They have won two straight for the first time this season. . . . The Wheat Kings (7-12-2) have lost three in a row and nine of 10. . . . Lee, who has 10 goals, gave his guys a 2-0 lead, on a PP, at 11:39 of the first period, and then made it 3-1 at 7:16 of the second. . . . F Oasiz Wiesblatt helped out with three assists. . . . The Tigers took a 3-1 lead into the third period and promptly scored three times in 75 seconds to take complete control. . . . Medicine Hat held a 37-19 shot advantage, including 15-2 in the second period.
north of the Midtown shopping mall. Saskatoon City Council voted unanimously to approve that site on Tuesday. . . . Bryn Levy of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix wrote: “City director of technical services Dan Willems told council Wednesday’s decision ‘opens the door’ for more detailed funding and design proposals before a final council vote on whether to proceed with a project.” . . . The SaskTel Centre, the home of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, has been open since Feb. 9, 1988. . . . Levy’s story is 
Connor McLennon had two goals — he’s got 10 — and two assists for Winnipeg. . . . F Austin Roest scored his 11th for the visitors. . . . G Daniel Hauser stopped 37 shots for the Ice as he posted his 11th straight victory. His career regular-season record now is 52-3-2. . . . Everett has two Winnipeggers on its roster — F Ryan Hofer and F Caden Zaplitny — and they each scored once. . . . The Ice (14-1-0) has won nine in a row, with its next eight games on home ice where it is 2-0. . . . F Connor Geekie and D Graham Sward, who was acquired on the weekend from the Spokane Chiefs, were among Winnipeg’s scratches. Geekie was serving a one-game suspension after being penalized for slew-footing in a game against the Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday. . . .
Tigers in Medicine Hat. . . . F Zack Ostapchuk, the Giants’ captain, pulled his guys into a 2-2 with 5.4 seconds left in the third period. . . . Lipinski won it at 3:28 of OT. . . . F Gavin McKenna, 14, the first pick in the WHL’s 2022 draft, played his second game with the Tigers. He was in the lineup on Sept. 24 and had four assists in a 9-1 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. He was held off the scoresheet last night. . . . 
Americans, 5-4. . . . F Landon Kosior broke a 4-4 tie on a PP at 1:09 of the third period. . . . Kosior finished with two goals and two assists. F Carson Latimer had three assists for the winners. . . . F Luke Moroz, a first-round selection in the WHL’s 2022 draft, made his debut with the Raiders. He was added to the roster after F Cole Peardon and F Ryder Ritchie headed to Langley, B.C., and the U-17 World Hockey Challenge that is to begin on Thursday. Moroz, 15, is playing with the Regina Pat Canadians of the SMAAAHL. . . . The Raiders began the game with nine forwards, then lost F Zach Wilson after a couple of scraps 12 minutes into the first period. . . . 
route to a 5-3 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Thunderbirds, now 10-1-0, got a goal and two assists from F Kyle Crnkovic, who has points in 11 straight games. Yes, he has a point in every game this season. . . . F Reid Schaefer had his second three-goal game this season for Seattle, giving him 13. He is tied for the WHL lead with F Connor Bedard of the idle Regina Pats. . . . F Kevin Korchinski added three assists for Seattle. . . . This completed a tripleheader between these teams. They split on Friday and Saturday in Prince George, with the Thunderbirds winning 5-4 and the Cougars winning 4-1. . . . Seattle F Jared Davidson had two assists but his five-game goal streak was halted. . . . 
5-1 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . The Hurricanes scored the game’s last four goals. . . . F Deegan Kinniburgh, who is from Taber, Alta., made his WHL debut with the Royals. Kinniburgh, who plays for the U18AAA Hurricanes, was a ninth-round pick in the WHL’s 2021 draft.
TAKING NOTE 