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PRINCE GEORGE, B. Chris Harris .C. -- Henrik Samuelsson had four goals and an assist as the Edmonton Oil Kings crushed the host Prince George Cougars 8-0 on Friday in Western Hockey League action. Reid Petryk scored twice and added two assists for the Oil Kings (30-13-1) while Ben Carroll and Cody Corbett had a goal apiece. Mitchell Moroz tacked on three assists for Edmonton and Tristan Jarry made 17 saves for his sixth shutout of the season. Zach Pochiro was a team-worst minus-4 for the Cougars (17-24-6), who have just three wins in their last 10 outings. Prince Georges Adam Beukeboom started in net but was pulled after allowing five goals on 24 shots in 21 minutes of action. Ty Edmonds went the rest of the way for the Cougars and stopped 30-of-33 shots in relief. Edmonton went 3 for 6 on the power play while Prince George failed to score on five chances with the man advantage. --- ICE 6 PATS 1 REGINA -- Mackenzie Skapski stopped 22 shots as Kootenay handed the Pats their first regulation-time loss in six outings. Ryan Chynoweth, Luke Philp and Zach McPhee had a goal and an assist each for the Ice (23-20-4) while Sam Reinhart, Austin Vetterl and Jaedon Descheneau had the others. Dryden Hunt scored the lone goal for Regina (23-18-5) as Dawson MacAuley turned away 26-of-32 shots in defeat. Kootenay went 2 for 3 on the power play while the Pats went 1 for 2. --- BLADES 3 RAIDERS 1 SASKATOON -- Troy Trombley made 41 saves as the Blades snapped a four-game slide by defeating Prince Albert. Cory Millette, Nick Zajac and Brett Stovin supplied the offence for Saskatoon (13-31-4). Jayden Hart scored for the Raiders (22-20-2) with just 1:40 remaining in the third period to halt Trombleys shutout bid. Prince Alberts Cole Cheveldave turned away 19-of-21 shots in a losing cause. --- WHEAT KINGS 6 BRONCOS 5 BRANDON -- Peter Quenneville scored once and set up three more as the Wheat Kings slipped past Swift Current. Ryan Pulock and Tim McGauley each had a goal and two assists for Brandon (24-17-4) while Ryan Pilon, Jesse Gabriel and Richard Nejezchleb scored the others. Graham Black had a pair of goals for the Broncos (23-17-6) and Coda Gordon and Jay Merkley produced a goal and an assist apiece. Geordie Maguire scored once to round out his clubs offence. Jordan Papirny made 28 saves for the Wheat Kings. Eetu Laurikainen turned aside 36-of-42 shots for Swift Current. --- HITMEN 5 REBELS 1 RED DEER, Alta. -- Jake Virtanen had a goal and an assist as Calgary beat the Rebels for its first win in three outings. Colby Harmsworth, Mike Winther, Linden Penner and Joe Mahon also scored for the Hitmen (30-10-5) while Elliott Pederson and Alex Roach tacked on two assists apiece. Red Deer (22-21-2) got its lone goal from Presten Kopeck. Calgarys Chris Driedger made 23 saves for the win. Patrik Bartosak started in net for the Rebels but was pulled after allowing three goals on 10 shots. Taz Burman replaced Bartosak and stopped 16-of-18 shots in 32 minutes of relief. --- GIANTS 6 BLAZERS 2 KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- Dalton Thrower scored twice and Joel Hamilton had three assists as Vancouver handed the Blazers their sixth loss in a row. Tyler Morrison had a goal and an assist for the Giants (23-15-8) and Arvin Atwal, Thomas Foster and Travis McEvoy each scored once. Joe Kornlesen and Nathan Looysen scored for Kamloops (10-30-5). Payton Lee made 29 saves for Vancouver as Bolton Pouliot gave up six goals on 27 shots for the Blazers. --- WINTERHAWKS 8 WARRIORS 2 PORTLAND, Ore. -- Taylor Leier scored twice and Chase De Leo had four assists as the Winterhawks crushed Moose Jaw. Derrick Pouliot had a goal and two assists for Portland (29-12-5), Paul Bittner, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Dominic Turgeon and Brendan Leipsic had a goal and an assist apiece and Keegan Iverson scored once. Sam Fioretti and Brayden Point each had a goal and an assist for the Warriors (13-26-6). Brendan Burke made 24 saves for Portland. Moose Jaws Zach Sawchenko allowed four goals on 19 shots before giving way to Justin Paulic, who kicked out 13-of-17 shots in 27 minutes of relief. --- ROYALS 3 ROCKETS 1 VICTORIA -- Steven Hodges scored twice and set up one more as the Royals snapped Kelownas three-game win streak. Travis Brown also scored for Victoria (30-15-2) and Brandon Magee chipped in with two assists. Nick Merkley scored for the Rockets (36-6-2). Patrik Polivka made 34 saves for the Royals while Jordon Cooke turned away 24-of-27 shots in defeat. --- CHIEFS 2 SILVERTIPS 1 EVERETT, Wash. -- Eric Williams made 27 saves as Spokane held off the Silvertips to pick up at least one point in its seventh straight contest. Adam Helewka and Dominic Zwerger scored for the Chiefs (27-13-4) to make it 2-0 midway through the second period. Logan Aasman brought Everett (24-14-7) within a goal at 11:06 of the second while Austin Lotz stopped 22 shots in a losing cause. Silvertips forward Joshua Winquist received a five-minute major and game misconduct at 8:11 of the third period for kneeing. --- THUNDERBIRDS 4 AMERICANS 0 KENT, Wash. -- Taran Kozun stopped all 26 shots his way as Seattle blanked Tri-City for its fifth win in a row. Jaimen Yakubowski had a goal and an assist for the Thunderbirds (27-14-5) while Russell Maxwell, Roberts Lipsbergs and Sam McKechnie had the others. Parker Wotherspoon was a team-worst minus-3 for the Americans (20-21-4). Back-up netminder Evan Sarthough turned aside 27-of-31 shots for Tri-City. Karl Mecklenburg . Toronto was seeded behind Calgary, but has home floor for the Champions Cup falling into its lap after the Rock dispatched Buffalo and the Roughnecks were upset by Edmonton in the first round. Emmanuel Sanders . A third-round pick of Jacksonville in the 2011 draft, Rackley started 14 games at left guard for the Jags as a rookie and opened all 11 contests he appeared in this past season. PHILADELPHIA -- Allen Iverson cupped his hand to his left ear and asked to hear his favourite tune one more time. With that command, 20,000 roaring Philadelphia 76ers fans gave AI the standing ovation he earned by stamping himself as one of the franchises all-time greats. Iverson, emotional as he thanked former teammates and friends, had his No. 3 retired at halftime of Saturdays game against Washington. High above the Wells Fargo Center court, Iversons banner slipped between Maurice Cheeks No. 10 and Charles Barkleys No. 34. "They all wanted me to talk about how much yall loved me," Iverson said, "but trust me, the feeling was mutual." Iverson officially retired in October after last playing in 2010. He won four scoring titles for the Sixers and was the 2001 MVP when he led them to the NBA Finals. He never won a championship, the lone omission in a career that is destined for the Hall of Fame. The Sixers may as well have turned the arena into an AI museum. Four banners greeted fans at the main concourse entrance, and photos of him were plastered all around the arena. The merchandise stands sold Iverson jerseys for $130, and lower level tickets were going for as much for $1,280 on Stubhub about an hour before the 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The fans loved him, and he blew them kisses after the No. 3 was raised to show how much he loved them back. "I am Philly," Iverson said. "Its always going to be that way." Iversons return injected a rare dose of excitement into a franchise playing some of the worst basketball in the league. The Sixers, in full-blown rebuilding mode, had lost 12 straight entering Saturdays game. The losing didnt matter much Saturday, just the memories. The Sixers wore special "Iverson Forever" patches on their jerseys and Iversons 3 on their pregame warmup shirts. "Its a great example of how this city responds to somebody that they clearly think the world of and brought such exciting times to the city of Philadelphia," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. The Sixers retirement gift was a boat named in honour of his nickname, "The Answer." "It feels good," Iverson said after the ceremony, "but some part of my heart hurts because I know its over." Iverson joined Cheeks, Barkley, Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving among the eight retired numbers in franchise history. Erving attended thhe ceremony. Duke Ihenacho. Moses Malone, Dikembe Mutombo, Theo Ratliff, Gary Payton and former team president Pat Croce also were at the celebration. Former coach Larry Brown, who both clashed with and loved Iverson over their tenure, sent a videotaped message. "I just want to tell you, and I say this fondly: God put me there to coach you," Brown said. Iverson said Brown was the player who moulded him into one of the NBAs best. "I always had raw talent," he said. "I needed Larry Brown to polish it up." Iverson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft and spent his first 10 seasons in Philadelphia. He also played for Denver, Detroit, and Memphis before returning to Philadelphia for a 25-game stint in 2009-10. Iverson, who mashed hip-hop culture and hoops like no player before him, was perhaps at his peak in his fifth NBA season. The 165-pound guard averaged 31.1 points, was the MVP of the All-Star game and propped an entire franchise on his 6-foot frame all the way to the finals. Led by Brown, the Sixers needed Game 7 wins in consecutive series for the right to play the Lakers. Shaquille ONeal, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers swept their way through the post-season before Game 1 in Los Angeles. Iverson had 48 points in 52 minutes of an overtime victory. The Sixers didnt have enough to go the distance and the Lakers won the next four games. Hes 21st on the NBAs career scoring list with 24,368 points over 914 career games. Iverson, drafted out of Georgetown, scored 30-plus points 345 times and was an 11-time All-Star. His No. 3 jersey was a bestseller around the globe, the headband wrapped snugly around his cornrows, and the tattoos were as much a part of his image as the way he ricochets around the court. Play every game like it was his last was more than a catchphrase, it was a lifestyle. "Who could not be an Allen Iverson fan?" said Thaddeus Young, the lone current Sixers player who played with Iverson. "It got no bigger than him in Philadelphia." NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was at the game for AIs night. "Allen was a special player," Silver said before the game. "The great things he did for the league far outweigh the occasional headache. I always thought even at the time of Allen Iversons prominence in the league, he was representative of his generation." ' ' ' |
