– The killer P’s ignited the Brandon Wheat Kings’ three-goal third period in a 6-3 win over the visiting Prince George Cougars Saturday night. Ryan Pulock, Ryan Pilon and Peter Quenneville scored for Brandon in the final frame as the Wheat Kings on for the sixth time in eight games. The victory coupled with Swift Current’s 3-2 overtime loss in Saskatoon Saturday leaves Brandon one point behind the Broncos for first-place in the WHL’s East Division. For more on the Wheat Kings, visit Bruce Luebke’s blog at http://luberslounge.blogspot.ca/
– Other games in the WHL Saturday included Virden product Landon Peel notching his third goal of the season in Kootenay’s 6-2 win over Moose Jaw; Killarney’s Reid Gow got Spokane’s only goal in regulation in a 2-1 shootout victory over Tri-City while former Wheat King Jordan Fransoo had his second of the year in Victoria’s 3-1 victory over Vancouver.
– Curtis Oliver’s goal with just under five minutes left in the third period snapped a 2-2 tie and lifted the Virden Oil Capitals to a 3-2 win over the Waywayseecappo Wolverines Saturday night. Kyler Beckett stopped 33 shots as the Oil Caps won their fourth straight and remain tied with Dauphin atop the Sherwood Division. The Kings downed Swan Valley 6-5 in a shootout last night for their seventh straight win while Selkirk extended their winning streak to 18 straight with a 6-3 win over Steinbach and OCN topped Winkler 5-1.
– Duncan Campbell had two goals and an assist to pace the Brandon Wheat Kings to an 8-1 victory over the Eastman Selects in Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League action Saturday night. Tanner Kaspick added a goal and two helpers as Brandon won their fifth in a row to maintain a three point lead over the second-place Winnipeg Wild in the standings. The Wild blanked the Southwest Cougars 3-0 Saturday, leaving Southwest in seventh-place and just a single point ahead of Yellowhead and Interlake. The Chiefs fell 4-3 in a shootout to Norman Saturday, with Riley Shamray, Ashton Anderson and Josh Martin scoring the goals for Yellowhead.
– The Winnipeg Jets scored on their first and fourth shots of the game, and on their 32nd, an overtime goal from Dustin Byfuglien in a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday. Mark Scheifele, Zach Bogosian, Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little also scored for Winnipeg as they won for the fifth time in six games and got back to the .500 mark on the season at 24-24-5.
– Corey Perry and Matt Beleskey both scored, and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 at Dodger Stadium in the NHL’s first warm-weather outdoor game. Jonas Hiller made 36 saves in his 20th career shutout as the league-leading Ducks dominated the landmark meeting of Southern California’s two hockey teams.
– Any last glimmer of playoff hope evaporated for the Brandon Bobcats Saturday night with a 77-69 loss to the Winnipeg Wesmen. Ali-Mounier had a team-high 14 points for the Bobcats, who shot just 35 per cent from the field in the first half and just 37 per cent from the charity stripe in the game. The loss leaves Brandon at 5-and-11 and 12 points behind the Westman for fourth-place and the final playoff spot in the Prairie Division with just six games left in the regular season. Meanwhile, Winnipeg beat Brandon 76-66 in Canada West women’s basketball action Saturday. Cassie Cookie had her fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds for BU. The Lady ‘Cats fall to 5-and-11 on the season.
– Carberry product Braden Calvert goes after the Canadian Junior Men’s Curling title Sunday. Calvert and his team from the Deer Lodge Curling Club finished first in the round-robin with a 9-and-1 record and earned a bye into the final, which will be broadcast LIVE on TSN beginning at 2:00 p.m.. Alberta and New Brunswick are playing in Sunday morning’s semifinal. On Saturday, Alberta’s Kelsey Rocque won the Canadian Junior Women’s title with a 7-6 win over British Columbia’s Kalia Van Osch in the final.
– The Brandon Sun Westman Super League of Curling will crown it’s champion Sunday. Terry McNamee is looking for a fourth straight title, and received a bye into the semifinals along with Kelly Marnoch. Jerry Chudley faces Jim Renwick and Brian Fowler takes on Cale Dunbar in the quarter-finals at 10:00 a.m.. The semifinals are at 1:30 p.m. with the championship game at 5:00 p.m..
– Terrence Ross matched Vince Carter’s record for the biggest scoring performance in Raptors’ history, but his 51-point effort wasn’t enough as the Los Angeles Clippers beat Toronto 126-118 on Saturday night. Ross nailed 10 three-pointers, but the Clippers broke the game open midway through the fourth quarter. Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan missed the second half with a sprained left foot.
– Former lightweight champion Benson Henderson won a disputed split decision over Josh Thomson in a five-round lightweight fight at UFC Chicago on Saturday night, likely ending Thomson’s career. Henderson (20-3) received winning scores of 48-47 and 49-46, and the other judge scored it 48-47 for Thomson (20-6). The announcement drew boos from the United Center crowd.
