SATURDAY SPORTS: PATS BLOWN AWAY IN LETHBRIDGE

WHL

Lethbridge, Alta. – The Regina Pats began their three game road trip with a 6-1 loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday inside the Enmax Centre.

Sam Oremba scored his 11th of the season early in the second to cut the deficit to 2-1, which would be the closest they would get with the Canes’ scoring four consecutive goals. The Pats swapped goaltenders throughout the game, with Kelton Pyne playing the first 43:52 and Ewan Huet playing the final 16:08.

Sean Tschigerl led the way for the Hurricanes with three points (2G-1A), while Leo Braillard (1G-1A), Kooper Gizowski (2A) and Trae Wilkie (2A) chipped in with multi point efforts. Brayden Edwards, Miguel Marques and Noah Chadwick rounded out the scoring for the Hurricanes, and Harrison Meneghin made 19 saves.

(ReginaPats.com/Dante DeCaria)

Elsewhere in the WHL on Friday:

HITMEN 8 WHEAT KINGS 0

CALGARY – Alex Garrett stopped 33 shots as the Calgary Hitmen defeated the Brandon Wheat Kings 8-0 in Western Hockey League play Friday night. Maxim Muranov and Ben Kindel led the way offensively for Calgary (19-18-5-1) with two goals apiece. Oliver Tulk, Ethan Moore, Tyson Greenway and Carson Wetsch had the others.

Raiders 5, Blades 4 (SO)

At Prince Albert, Sask., Sloan Stanick and Krzysztof Macias scored shootout goals to earn the Raiders (20-22-1-3) the win. Stanick, Aiden Oiring, Turner McMillen and Oli Chenier scored in regulation. Brandon Lisowsky, with two, Tyler Parr and Easton Armstrong had the goals for Saskatoon (31-9-2-3).

Warriors 6, Tigers 5 (SO)

At Moose Jaw, Sask., Matthew Savoie scored in the shootout to secure the Warriors (28-15-0-2) the victory. Denton Mateychuk, with three, Jagger Firkus and Lynden Lakovic all replied in regulation. Gavin McKenna, with two, Hayden Harsanyi, Shane Smith and Dru Krebs countered for Medicine Hat (28-14-3-1) as Zach Zahara stopped 49 shots.

Rebels 6, Oil Kings 3

At Red Deer, Alta., Hunter Mayo had two goals to pace the Rebels (26-13-1-4). Kalan Lind, Mats Lindgren, Matteo Fabrizi and Frantisek Formanek also scored. Gavin Hodnett, Smyth Rebman and Roan Woodward had goals for Edmonton (15-26-1-1).

Thunderbirds 6, Wild 3

At Wenatchee, Wash., Eric Alarie scored three goals to lead the way for Seattle (15-23-2-0). Sawyer Mynio, Braeden Cootes and Nathan Pilling also scored. Evan Friesen, with two goals, and Kenta Isogai replied for the Wild (26-16-4-0).

Blazers 4, Rockets 3 (OT)

At Kelowna, B.C., Nathan Behm scored twice, including the overtime winner, for Kamloops (11-28-3-2). Ashton Ferster and Jordan Keller had the others. Gabriel Szturc, with two, and Andrew Cristall had the goals for the Rockets (21-21-2-0).

Giants 5, Royals 3

At Langley, B.C., Jaden Lipinski had two goals for the Giants (19-24-2-0). Cameron Schmidt, Tyson Zimmer and Wyatt Wilson also scored. Justin Kipkie, Tyson Laventure and Ben Riche had the goals for Victoria (24-16-3-3).

Chiefs 4, Cougars 3

At Spokane, Wash., Berkly Catton had two goals to lead the Chiefs (16-21-4-0). Shea Van Olm and Rasmus Ekstrom had the others. Terik Parascak, Hunter Laing and Riley Heidt scored for Prince George (30-13-0-1).

Winterhawks 3, Americans 2

At Kennewick, Wash., Gabe Klassen scored twice to lead the way for Portland (28-11-2-1). Josh Davies had the other goal. Jake Sloan and Jackson Smith countered for Tri-City (17-24-2-1).

NHL

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5 RANGERS 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Jonathan Marchessault scored three times, Adin Hill stopped 36 shots and the surging Vegas Golden Knights beat the New York Rangers 5-2 on Friday night.

PANTHERS 3, PENGUINS 2, SO

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sam Reinhart scored the winner in the shootout to help Florida edge Pittsburgh.

Reinhart also scored in regulation and former Penguin Evan Rodrigues also had a power-play goal. Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves for the Panthers, who won their third straight game. Florida has won eight of its last 12 overall.

AVALANCHE 5, KINGS 1

DENVER (AP) — Logan O’Connor scored two of Colorado’s three first-period goals helping the Avalanche rout Los Angeles. Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Josh Manson also scored for the Avalanche, who have three straight wins and 11 in their last 14 games. Alexandar Georgiev stopped 26 shots.

BLUES 4, KRAKEN 3, OT

SEATTLE (AP) — Pavel Buchnevich scored his second goal of the game 3:31 into overtime and St. Louis rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat Seattle.

CFL/NFL

The Chicago Bears on Friday hired Kerry Joseph as their new quarterbacks coach. Joseph, 50, brings eight years of coaching experience — four in the NFL and four at the collegiate level. He has spent his entire NFL coaching career with the Seahawks, most recently serving as the assistant quarterbacks coach in 2022-23. He previously served as Seattle’s offensive assistant/running backs coach (2020) and assistant wide receivers coach (2021). The New Iberia, LA product was named MVP of the CFL in 2007 while with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He also played in the CFL with Ottawa, Toronto and Edmonton.

Kelly Malveaux, a defensive back who played 10 seasons in the CFL, has died at 47. Malveaux helped the Calgary Stampeders win the Grey Cup in 2001 and was a CFL East Division all-star twice, with Montreal in 2004 and Winnipeg in 2008. Malveaux had 490 tackles, 17 interceptions, one touchdown and six sacks in 156 career CFL games.
The Toronto Argonauts have signed all-star linebacker Wynton McManis to a contract extension. The 29-year old was named a CFL all-star for a second-straight season in 2023 with 79 defensive tackles, four sacks, four interceptions and one fumble recovery in 16 games. He had a team-high 95 tackles and helped Toronto win the Grey Cup in 2022, his first season with the Argos.

NBA

The reeling Toronto Raptors are home to Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers as part of tonight’s NBA action. The Raptors enter the game with seven losses in their last eight games. That run includes a 126-120 loss to the Clippers on January 10th in Los Angeles.

(Canadian Press, ChicagoBears.com)