Hockey

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

Winterhawks tie franchise-best mark for single-season point total

By: The Canadian Press

Saturday, Mar. 16, 2013 at 1:47 AM | Comments: 0

Brendan Leipsic scored three goals and Ty Rattie added two more as the Portland Winterhawks matched their highest single-season point total ever with an 8-4 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds Friday in Western Hockey League play.

Portland equalled its franchise record of 113 points set in the 1980-81 season and has two games remaining to break the record.

Oliver Bjorkstrand, Tyler Wotherspoon and Joey Baker also scored for the Winterhawks (55-12-3), who extended their win streak to four games.

Robert Lipsbergs scored his team-leading 26th of the season for the Thunderbirds (24-38-9), who also got goals from Seth Swenson, Adam Kambeitz and Justin Hickman.

With the hat trick, Leipsic moved into the WHL lead with 48 goals. Rattie has 47, and lineman Nicolas Petan, who had three assists Friday, is tied with Josh Nicholls of the Saskatoon Blades for third with 45.

Lipsbergs brought Seattle back within three, but Baker got his first of the season with 40 seconds left to close out the scoring.

Brendan Burke stopped 31 shots to earn the victory in net for Portland, while Danny Mumaugh allowed all eight goals on 36 shots for the Thunderbirds.

Portland went 3 for 8 on the power play, while Seattle went 1 for 3.

Elsewhere in the WHL, it was: Calgary 5, Kootenay 3; Lethbridge 8, Medicine Hat 4; Moose Jaw 5, Brandon 2; Prince Albert 6, Saskatoon 5 (OT); Swift Current 3, Regina 2 (SO); Edmonton 3, Red Deer 1; Kamloops 5, Prince George 2; Spokane 6, Tri-City 0; Victoria 4, Everett 1 and Kelowna 6, Vancouver 2.

At Portland, Ore., Leipsic scored twice in the first period to give the Winterhawks a 2-0 lead, but the Thunderbirds got one back when Swenson scored a power-play goal late in the period.

A wild start to the second period saw three goals in the first 3:28, starting with Hickman tying the game 2-2.

Rattie made it 3-2 before Kambeitz tied the game again.

Portland took the lead for good with 2:01 left in the second on Bjorkstrand's 30th of the season.

Leipsic scored his hat-trick goal shorthanded early in the third period, and Rattie and Wotherspoon scored on the power play less than a minute apart later in the period to make it 7-3.

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Hitmen 5 Ice 3

At Cranbrook, B.C., Brady Brassart had two goals and two assists and Cody Sylvester scored twice to push his goal streak to six games as Calgary (46-20-5) downed Kootenay (34-35-2) for its sixth win in a row.

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Hurricanes 8 Tigers 4

At Lethbridge, Alta., Brady Ramsay and Josh Derko both had two goals and an assist and Russell Maxwell scored once and set up two more as the Hurricanes (28-33-10) doubled up Medicine Hat (35-33-3).

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Warriors 5 Wheat Kings 2

At Moose Jaw, Sask., Sam Fioretti and Brayden Point both scored twice and Justin Kirsch had a goal and two assists as the Warriors (25-36-10) defeated Brandon (23-40-8) in a game with no post-season relevance for either team.

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Raiders 6 Blades 5 (OT)

At Prince Albert, B.C., Leon Draisaitl scored 2:47 into overtime and Chance Braid had a goal and three assists in regulation as the Raiders (36-28-7) halted a six-game winless streak by defeating Saskatoon (44-22-5).

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Broncos 3 Pats 2 (SO)

At Regina, Coda Gordon scored the shootout winner as Swift Current (35-29-7) erased an early 2-0 deficit to defeat the Pats (25-37-9) for its third win in a row.

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Oil Kings 3 Rebels 1

At Red Deer, Alta., Griffin Reinhart scored the winner at 6:59 of the third period and Laurent Brossoit stopped 30 shots as Edmonton (50-15-6) handed the Rebels (39-25-7) their first regulation loss in six outings.

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Blazers 5 Cougars 2

At Kamloops, B.C., Tim Bozon had two goals and two assists and Brendan Ranford scored once and set up two more as the Blazers (46-20-5) beat Prince George (21-42-8) for their first win in three outings.

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Chiefs 6 Americans 0

At Spokane, Wash., Carter Proft scored twice and Eric Williams made 20 saves as the Chiefs (43-25-2) picked up their fourth straight victory by blanking Tri-City (40-26-4).

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Royals 4 Silvertips 1

At Victoria, Joe Hicketts and Jordan Fransoo both scored two goals and Steven Hodges picked up three assists as the Royals (34-30-7) snapped a three-game slide by beating Everett (24-40-6).

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Rockets 6 Giants 2

At Vancouver, Damon Severson, Colton Sissons and Tyson Baillie each had a goal and an assist as Kelowna (51-16-4) beat the Giants (21-48-2) to extend its win streak to five games.

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