WHL Roundup: Leipsic's three points lead Winterhawks past Thunderbirds 6-2

Brendan Leipsic scored once and set up two more as the Portland Winterhawks downed the host Seattle Thunderbirds 6-2 on Saturday in Western Hockey League play.

Leipsic extended his point streak to 18 games and has 18 goals and 43 points in the process. The 18-year-old forward has recorded a multi-point outing 15 times this season and now has 21 goals and 49 points in 27 games, which places him fourth in WHL scoring.

The victory moves Portland into first place in the WHL standings as they now have a league-best 24 wins and three games in hand on the Kamloops Blazers, who have an equal amount of points with 49.

Presten Kopeck scored twice for the Winterhawks (24-5-1) while Ty Rattie, Adam De Champlain and Nicolas Petan added single goals.

Petan's goal gives him 50 points in 32 games and third spot in league scoring.

Connor Sanvido and Jesse Forsberg scored for the Thunderbirds (16-14-1), who had their four-game win streak halted, and Shea Theodore assisted on both.

Roberts Lipsbergs failed to pick up a point, which ended his point streak at 11 games.

Mac Carruth made 35 saves for the win as Brandon Glover turned aside 35-of-41 shots in a losing cause.

Portland went 1 for 6 on the power play while Seattle failed to score on three chances with the man advantage.

Elsewhere in the WHL, it was: Moose Jaw 4, Spokane 3; Saskatoon 9, Regina 0; Brandon 5, Red Deer 4; Edmonton 4, Calgary 2; Lethbridge 6, Kootenay 1; Prince Albert 7, Medicine Hat 0; Everett 4, Vancouver 2; Kelowna 7, Prince George 2 and Victoria 2, Swift Current 1.

At Kent, Wash., Forsberg opened the scoring for Seattle 2:36 into the first period, but Rattie and Kopeck responded to give Portland a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes of play.

Leipsic and Petan scored less than two minutes into the second period to make it 4-1 before Sanvido got one back for the Silvertips at 14:55.

De Champlain and Kopeck scored less than six minutes into the third period to give Portland a comfortable four-goal lead

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Warriors 4 Chiefs 3

At Moose Jaw, Sask., Maple Leafs prospect Morgan Rielly scored the winning goal early in the third period and added an assist and Justin Paulic stopped 29 shots as the Warriors (12-14-7) edged Spokane (22-8-1), which lost in regulation time for the first time in 10 games

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Blades 9 Pats 0

At Saskatoon, Matej Stransky had two goals and two assists, Josh Nicholls scored twice and Andrey Makarov made 15 saves as the Blades (14-14-1) crushed Regina (11-17-4), which are on a six-game slide.

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Wheat Kings 5 Rebels 4

At Brandon, Man., Ryley Miller scored the winning goal 3:26 into overtime and Corbin Boes stopped 44 shots as the Wheat Kings (11-17-4) snapped a seven-game winless streak by beating Red Deer (19-12-2), who lost for the first time in 10 outings.

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Oil Kings 4 Hitmen 2

At Calgary, Griffin Reinhart had a goal and two assists and Laurent Brossoit made 29 saves as Edmonton (19-7-5) halted the Hitmen's (20-7-3) three-game winning streak.

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Hurricanes 6 Ice 1

At Lethbridge, Alta., Brady Ramsay scored twice and added an assist while Graham Hood produced a goal and two assists as the Hurricanes (16-14-1) downed Kootenay (), which have dropped seven of its last 10 outings.

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Raiders 7 Tigers 0

At Medicine Hat, Alta., Luke Siemens made 24 saves and Dakota Conroy and Anthony Bardaro each had a goal and two assists as Prince Albert (21-10-2) blanked the Tigers (14-17-2), who had their three-game win streak snapped.

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Silvertips 4 Giants 2

At Everett, Wash., Trent Lofthouse scored three times and Austin Lotz turned away 20-of-21 shots as the Silvertips (12-20-2) snapped a three-game winless streak by doubling up Vancouver (8-22-0).

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Rockets 7 Cougars 2

At Kelowna, B.C., Tyson Baillie had two goals and an assist and Jordon Cooke stopped 18 shots as the Rockets (19-9-2) downed Prince George (10-16-4), which have just three wins in 10 games.

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Royals 2 Broncos 1

At Victoria, Patrik Polivka made 32 saves and Austin Carroll and Brandon Magee scored as the Royals (16-13-1) slipped past Swift Current (13-16-5).