Wednesday, December 29, 2010

12/28 Recap: Fienhage gets first; McNabb approaches mark

Corey Fienhage scored his first WHL goal Tuesday and added a pair of assists as Kamloops downed Vancouver, 6-1. The athletic defenseman scored the Blazers final goal of the game when he shot in from the right point and completed a three-way passing play with a sharp wrister. Fienhage looked strong on the puck with well-rested legs from the Christmas break en route to his first multi-point game since April of 2008 when he was with the USHL's Indiana Ice..

Elsewhere, Brayden McNabb scored a pair of goals as Kootenay doubled Medicine Hat, 6-3. McNabb's empty-netter, his seventh goal of the season and 133rd career point, puts him just two points shy of the all-time franchise lead for a defenseman. He is currently tied for seventh in WHL scoring for defensemen with 29 points.

Jerome Gauthier-Leduc scored a goal and an assist as Rimouski lost in overtime to Gatineau, 6-5. The 6'2 defender scored his fifth of the year, and first in 12 games, a little over three minutes into the first period. At the opposite end, JGL was on the ice for the game-tying goal with less than five minutes to play in regulation.

Matt MacKenzie (-1) contributed five shots on goal as Calgary got throttled by Moose Jaw, 6-1. The game at the Saddledome drew a crowd of 9,273. The USA-Slovakia World Junior Championship game at HSBC Arena filled 12,750 seats.

Kevin Sundher was +1 as Chilliwack downed Prince George, 3-0. The budding center is now a cumulative +7 on the season, good for tops among all Chilliwack skaters.

Riley Boychuk was -3 as Portland lost to Tri-City, 5-1. The big forward skated on a line with newly acquired Craig Cunningham, who was playing his first game as a Winterhawk after arriving from Vancouver earlier in the day.

On Monday, Mark Pysyk assisted on the game winning goal as Edmonton edged Lethbridge, 3-2. The helper was Pysyk's 15th point of the season (1+14).

Fienhage was +1 was Kamloops defeated Vancouver, 4-1.

In the QMJHL, Gauthier-Leduc was even as Rimouski shot past Drummondville, 3-2.