WHL Roundup: Merkley, Baillie lead Rockets offensively in win over Giants

KELOWNA, B.C. - Nick Merkley and Tyson Baillie both had two goals and an assist as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Vancouver Giants 5-2 on Saturday night in Western Hockey League action.

Calvin Thurkauf opened the scoring for the Rockets (17-5-1) in the first period.

Tyler Benson and Carter Popoff scored for Vancouver (5-14-4), which lost its fourth in a row.

Jackson Whistle made 22 saves for the win in net as Ryan Kubic kicked out 27-of-31 shots for the Giants.

Kelowna was 1 for 6 with the man advantage while Vancouver went scoreless on three chances.

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RAIDERS 4 PATS 3 (OT)

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Reid Gardiner scored the winner 11 seconds into overtime and added three assists as the Raiders edged Regina.

Simon Stransky struck twice to lead the Prince Albert (15-5-3) offence in regulation. Jesse Lees also scored while Austin Glover tacked on four assists.

Adam Brooks, Adam Berg and Chase Harrison had goals for the Pats (10-9-2).

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HURRICANES 5 BLADES 2

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Cory Millette had a goal and two assists to lead the Hurricanes past Saskatoon.

Carter Folk, Egor Babenko, Brett Davis and Ryley Lindgren also scored for Lethbridge (14-9-0).

Terrell Draude struck twice in the first period for the Blades (9-9-3).

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ICE 2 BRONCOS 1

CRANBROOK, B.C. — Matt Alfaro scored a short-handed goal late in the third period as the Ice edged Swift Current.

Luke Philp tied the game 1-1 for Kootenay (6-16-2).

Andreas Schumacher found the back of the net for the Broncos (8-14-2).

Shane Allan of the Ice was ejected at 17:52 of the third period after a major penalty for charging.

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HITMEN 4 SILVERTIPS 3 (SO)

CALGARY — Radel Fazleev was the only one to score in the shootout as the Hitmen slipped past Everett.

Carsen Twarynski, Jordy Stallard and Colby Harmsworth supplied the offence in regulation for Calgary (13-10-1), which won its fourth straight.

Remi Laurencelle, Graham Millar and Matt Fonteyne had goals for the Silvertips (11-7-2).

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COUGARS 5 TIGERS 2

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. — Chase Witala scored twice as Prince George topped the Tigers.

Jansen Harkins, Brogan O'Brien and Jared Bathune also scored for the Cougars (12-9-1).

Max Gerlach and Mason Shaw had goals for Medicine Hat (7-11-3).

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BLAZERS 5 OIL KINGS 3

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Collin Shirley had a goal and two assists as the Blazers toppled Edmonton.

Gage Quinney, Nick Chyzowski, Deven Sideroff and Ondrej Vala rounded out the attack for Kamloops (10-8-3), which scored four goals in the third period.

Brayden Gorda, David Koch and Tyler Robertson chipped in for the Oil Kings (8-14-3).

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CHIEFS 5 WARRIORS 2

SPOKANE, Wash. — Adam Helewka struck twice as the Chiefs extended their win streak to three games by getting past Moose Jaw.

Evan Fiala, Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Markson Bechtold also scored for Spokane (12-8-3).

Josh Brook and Noah Gregor found the back of the net for the Warriors (11-8-4).

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AMERICANS 6 ROYALS 5 (OT)

KENNEWICK, Wash. — Vladislav Lukin scored the winner in overtime as the Americans came from behind to edge Victoria.

Parker Bowles had a goal and two assists for Tri-City (9-13-1), which also got goals from Brandon Carlo, Brian Williams, Michael Rasmussen and Juuso Valimaki.

Tyler Soy scored twice while Dante Hannoun, Logan Fisher and Chaz Reddekopp had the others in a five-goal first period for the Royals (16-7-2).

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THUNDERBIRDS 5 WINTERHAWKS 2

KENT, Wash. — Jamal Watson had a goal and an assist as the Thunderbirds won their sixth straight with a victory over Portland.

Mathew Barzal, Donovan Neuls, Matthew Wedman and Nick Holowko had the others for Seattle (15-6-1).

Paul Bittner had both goals for the Winterhawks (11-10-0), who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

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