Florida (7) vs New York Islanders (5)
The Panters and Isles engaged in an offensive display forgetting about the defense on Saturday. Matt Stajan had what has to be his best offensive performance to date of his career in the WCHL. Stajan scored five times.......... YES FIVE TIMES people !! To lead his Panthers to victory, oh ya he added an assist for a season high 6 points. If the Isles hadn't scored two late markers to make the final 7-5, this game would have looked ugly. Andrej Meszaros, Phil Kessel and Ruslan Fedotenko all collected three assists nights for Florda. Roman Hamrlik (2-1-3), Brad Richards (1-2-3) and Corey Perry (0-3-3) all played a large part in New York's scoring. With the win Florida moves withing 6 points of 8th place Tampa in the East.

Anaheim (4) vs Minnesota (2)
Two goals in thirty seconds had Minnesota leading 2-1 after 40 minutes, and carrying the play out shooting Anaheim 20-13. However a three goal third period on seventeen shots by the Ducks (two on the powerplay) and Anaheim left Minnesota with the two points. Defenseman Johnny Oduya (1-2-3), and Brad Stuart (2-0-2), and forward Ryan Malone (1-2-3) lead the Ducks. Raffi Torres and Aaron Miller both scored for Minnesota. Tuukka Rask stopped 23 shots for his 21st win. Anaheim was 3 for 6 on powerplay and with the win have now won three straight.

Atlanta (1) vs Detroit (4)
Peter Olvecky had two goals to lead the home town Wings past the high potent offense of Atlanta. Lubomir Vinovsky's goal at 7:46 of the second period broke a 1-1 tie and Steve Reinprecht scored late in the third for Detroit to squash any chance of a Thrasher comeback. Jan Hejda scored the lone marker for Atlanta who lost for the first time in three contests. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 22 shots for his 26th win of the season.

NJ (9) vs Phoenix (0)
This really wasn't a contest at all. New Jersey completely and utterly embarrassed the Coyotes on their home ice (but at least the fans still went home happy on Snuggie night at the arena). A four goal first period was more than enough, the Coyotes should have been euthenized after 20 minutes as they refused to put up any resistance, being out-shot 41-10 by the Devils through the game. Tyler Bozak (2-2-4) lead the offense for New Jersey, seven Devils had two point nights, with David Perron and Niklas Hagman each chipping in a pair of goals. Dwayne Roloson had his easiest game in awhile as he turned aside all 10 shots he faced for his 3rd WCHL shut-out of the season.

St. Louis (3) vs Colorado (8)
Loui Eriksson scored a hat-trick and two assists to lead the Avalanche to a 8-3 dismantling of the Blues. Matt Cooke had a pair of goals during a five goal first period, and a host of other Avalanche players had two point nights. Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 20 shots for his 29th win. Alex Svitov had two goals and rookie Blake Evans had the other for the Blues who have dropped three of their last five games.

Edmonton (2) vs Chicago (5)
Bryce Salvadore scored a hat-trick while teammates Nick Boynton and Ryan Potulny each contributed three assists as the Blackhawks beat the Oilers 5-2. Two goals in twenty seconds in the second period was all Chicago needed to bury the Oil. Tim Thomas turned aside 17 saves for his 14th victory of the season. Ryan Clowe with a goal and Yannick Riendeau with a goal and an assist were the offense for Edmonton.

Ottawa (5) vs Toronto (4)
This edition of the Battle of Ontario was played in "The Big Smoke" otherwise known as Toronto. The Leafs started out great as they notched three in the first period on ten shots, then it was Ottawa's turn as they scored three in the second to take a 4-3 lead. Toronto tied it in the third but a very late goal by Sen's Jarkko Ruutuu with 1:21 remaining in regulation would be the winner and the Ottawa fans that had travelled down for the game errupted in celebration. Jarkko Ruutuu had (1-2-3) and Antti Miettinen (2-0-2) lead the Sens, Manny Legace came in in relief for Ottawa and was credited with the win saving 10 of the 11 shots he faced.
For the Leafs it was defenseman Wade Redden with (1-2-3) and forward Tim Jackman (1-1-2) that led the way.

Calgary (2) vs New York Rangers (1)
This tightly contested game played by two of the league's better teams was not disappointing. After a scoreless first Mike Richards scored his 19th to put the Flames on top at 7:28, but the Rangers replied just 1:05 later on a goal by Anze Kopitar, his 20th. David Clarkson would score the winner for the Flames with Ranger's Shane Doan serving a penalty for holding at 4:18 of the third and Jonas Hiller would do the rest shutting down New York, he stopped 26 shots for his 16th victory of the season. The win was somewhat bittersweet as the Flames lost both Nick Foligno (a slight sprained left ankle) for about a week and Jamie McBain (bruised left foot) is listed day-to-day afte blocking a shot.

Dallas (5) vs Washington (2)
The Stars jumped all over Washington, after surrendering the first marker, by scoring three straight to end the first 3-1 and added two more in second to blow game wide open. T.J. Oshie scored his 14th of the season on the powerplay early in third period but the game was out of reach by then. Mike Lundin had a trio of assists for the Stars while Brian Pothier, Jakub Voracek and Tore Vikingstad all had (1-1-2). Roberto Luongo won for his 23rd time this season as he stopped 24 shots. Jose Theodore surrendered 4 goals on 14 shots before being replaced by Marty Turco in the Capitals net. Oshie had an assist to go along with his goal and Anton Volchenkov had a pair of assists for the Caps.

LA (2) vs Nashville (0)
Evgeny Dadonov and Jay Bouwmeester (on powerplay) scored goals for LA while Ryan Miller stopped 27 shots to register his 18th victory and his 4th shut-out of the season. LA has won 3 straight and is now within 5 points of the eighth and final playff spot in the West. Nashville lost their third straight and is 3-7 in last ten games and are starting to see the possibility of missing the playoffs become a reality. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 26 shots in the loss.

Pittsburgh (2) vs San Jose (5)
The Sharks feasted on Penguin on Saturday night, winning easily 5-2. San Jose scored three in the first and another two in the third. The Pens had 15 extra man chances and scored on just two of them. The Sharks were 3 for 6 with the extra man. Dany Heatley scored a goal and two assists while Eric Staal added a pair of helpers for San Jose. Alex Semin and Jarret Stoll found the back of the net for Pittsburgh. Cam Ward stopped 33 shots for the win, his 34th. Pittsburgh failed to make up any ground on Conference leading Philly but San Jose seems to have gotten back on the track now with their second win in a row and are 5-5 in last ten.

Philly (2) vs Boston (5)
Philly went into Boston and took on the leagues hottest team as the Bruins had a 11 game streak going into Saturday's match. Boston evened up the season series with a 5-2 victory. Actually if not for Chris Mason's play on the night (stopping 38 shots) the game could have easily hit double digits. The Flyers were only able to fire 10 shots in the game (not period) at Craig Anderson who had an easy night for his 30th win on the season. Jeremy Williams had a pair of goals for Boston while Brendan Morrison, Chris Pronger and Colby Armstrong all had two assists for Pittsburgh. Mike Green and Scott Hartnell scored for Philly. The Flyers lead in the East shrunk to just three points with the Bruins victory.

Reporting for The WCHL Network...............
Peter Pucker

Sorry for the delay (and the missed weeks). Without further ado...

Colorado (4) vs Edmonton (2)
Two goals and an assist by Av's Matt Cooke paced Colorado to a 4-2 win over the Oilers at Rexall Center in Edmonton. Colorado led 3-1 after 40 minutes. Edmonton would cut the lead to one on a Ray Whitney powerplay goal at the 5:23 mark of the third. Matt Cooke's second of the game restored the Av's two goal lead and helped move Colorado within two points of San Jose for 1st in the Western Conference. Francois Beauchemin and Patrick Sharp both added (1-1-2) and Michael Cammalleri had two helpers for the Avs, while Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 34 shots for his 25th win. Yannik Riendeau scored Edmonton's other marker while defenseman Jordan Leopold assisted on both goals.

Nashville (4) vs Columbus (7)
The Predators hit a sour note as they were thoroughly beat by Columbus. A three goal first period powered the Blue Jackets to the win, led by Dean McAmmond's hat-trick and Michael Handzus' one goal and three assists the game was never in question for Columbus. Marcel Goc tossed in three helpers and Johan Hedberg made 17 saves for the win. Jiri Hudler had a pair, Glen Metropolit and Zach Bogosian had the other goals for Nashville.

Calgary (4) vs San Jose (1)
San Jose's losing streak has reached a season high four games with this most recent loss to the Flames. Calgary scored all four of their goals on the powerplay, the Sharks seemed to be a step behind Calgary all night as most of their penalties (14) were for hooking and holding. Four different players scored for the Flames, while Joe Corvo and Steven Stamkos had two asists each. Calgary's Jonas Hiller made 21 saves for the win, his 13th. Zach Parise scored on the Sharks first shot on net at the 0:21 mark of the first, Jamie McBain destroyed Trevor Daley, leaving him leaking all over the ice, in a fight just five seconds later during a line brawl which seemed to light a fire under the Flames as they didn't look back. McBain was ejected for intent to injure.

St. Louis (5) vs Dallas (2)
Steve Mason stopped 27 Star's shots as he backstopped the Blues to a 5-2 win over the talented Stars. Jarred Smithson had two goals and an assist, while Thomas Vanek had three assists to power the Blues. David Krejci (1-1-2) and Alex Ovechkin (0-2-2) were the offense for Dallas. Roberto Luongo took over for John Grahame in Star's net after the latter yielded four goals on 20 shots. Despite the loss the Stars played in front of a sold out house of 21,500 and continue to be one of the better draws in the league, averaging almost 21,000 fans. With the loss Dass failed to make up any ground on Colorado for second in the West.

Pittsburgh (3) vs Philly (7)
The Pens travelled down the turnpike to Philly and had hoped to build on a two game win streak including a 5-1 win the last time these two teams met just four nights ago. The Flyers returned the favor as they would score four in the second period with Philly up just 2-1 and add two more in the third to ground the flightless birds. Jeff Carter led the charge with a hat-trick including his team leading 24th on the powerplay early in the third period to put the game out of reach before the Pens added two late goals to make the score a bit more respectful. Jason Pominville also scored a pair for the Flyers who are 9-1 in their last ten games at Wells Fargo Center, with the win Philly stretched their lead ver the Pens by five points. For the Pens, Alex Semin had a goal and an assist while Andrei Markov had two helpers.

Anaheim (2) vs Phoenix (1)
Vesa Toskala stopped 27 shots for Phoenix but the offense in front of him dried up as the desert dogs dropped the tenth game of their last twelve. Anaheim got goals from Rick Nash and Mike Ribeiro,while Hugh Jeesiman tallied for the Coyotes. With the win Anaheim moved within one point of Edmonton for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. Only just over 7,000 fans came out of the heat in Glendale to watch the Coyotes drop their 25th game.

Atlanta (3) vs NJ (4) OT
Daniel Sedin scored a hat-trick, his third on the powerplay in the third to send the game into OT, but the Devil's Brook Laich spoiled the effort as he scored his 17th of the season 1:10 into the extra frame and sent the Devil faithful home happy. Henrik Sedin assisted on two of his brothers goals and Martin Brodeur stopped 17 shots in suffering his 8th loss this season. Devil's Dwayne Roloson stopped 19 and won for his 19th time this season. Laich added an assist for a two point night, Tomas Kaberle and Vincent Lecavalier both registered a pair of assists for the winners.

LA (2) vs Vancouver (4)
Vancouver would score twice in the first and would be up 3-0 by the 3:38 mark of the second before LA showed any push back. LA would score the next two goals to come within one of the Canucks but Alexei Ponikarovsky would score his second of the night into an empty net with just twenty seconds remaining to put game away. Vancouver won for the second night in a row and kept within 5 points of 5th place Calgary. Steve Ott led the Canucks with (1-2-3) while Marc-Andre Bergeron had (1-1-2). Miikka Kiprusoff won his 20th of the season while stopping 25 shots. Paul Stastny led LA (1-1-2), Ryan Miller lost his 18th of the season in net for LA.

Reporting for WCHL Network...
Peter Pucker

San Jose (2) @ Florida (6)
The most dominate team in the WCHL was thoroughly dominated in Sunrise Fla., as the Sharks came into the game having only lost twice in 25 games this season before tonight. Florida scored early (:34 second into the first) and often, scoring six times on 35 shots. Cam Ward was pulled for the first time this season after surrendering four goals on nineteen shots. Chris Campoli scored two powerplay goals in the Panther's three goal burst in ther first. Others having a great night for Florida were, Phil Kessel and Adrej Meszaros (1-2-3), Pekke Rinne stopped 27 of 29 shots for the Cats. The lone shinning star for the Sharks was Dany Heatley (0-2-2).

Anaheim (2) @ Detroit (4)
The Ducks were motored down by Detroit as the 'Wings scored four times with the extra skater- three of those in the first period. Lubomir "Lubey" Visnovsky tallied twice giving him eight on the season for Detroit, Nik Antropov had three assists giving him the team scoring lead with 29 points. Ryan Malone and rookie Logan Couture scored for Anaheim, while Tuukka Rask stopped 21 shots in the loss. Evgeni Nabokov moved his record to 12-8-2 on the season with the win.

Phoenix (5) @ Minnesota (4)
The Coyotes had a 4-0 lead after just 30 minutes and seemed content to sit back. Although the third period started well for them as they stretched their lead to 5-1, Minnesota for their part did not fold up as they scored three times to close the period however that is as close they would come as they fell just short of the improbable come back. Petteri Nokelainen (2-1-3) was first star for Phoenix, three other players had (1-1-2) for the 'Yotes. Gilbert Brule had a pair of goals (and a fight) while Paul Kariya had a trio of assists for the Wild.

Carolina (6) @ New Jersey (2)
The season seems to be getting away from the Devils as they suffered their fifth lost in six games in a demoralizing 6-2 beat down at the hands of the 13th placed Hurricanes. It was 4-0 'Canes by the 5:48 mark of the second period, powered by two extra man markers. Cristobal Huet stopped 27 shots for the win and Scott Gomez (2-2-4) was amazing, Brendan Witt (0-4-4), and Mike Fisher (2-1-3) also were stand-outs. Brooks Laich (1-1-2) led the Devils, while Dwayne Roloson was pulled after giving up four goals on fifteen shots for New Jersey. The lone sore spot for Carolina was the injury suffered by Justin Williams, team reps say Williams aggravated an old injury to his left knee and will be out for two days for precautionary measures.

Ottawa (3) @ Pittsburgh (5)
Bobby Ryan led the Penguins with his two goal second period outburst to help Pittsburgh past the Sens. The game was up for grabs in the third at 3-2 Sens, but then the Pens' struck for three goals in three minutes late in the third including two straight on the powerplay to put the game away. Marc-Andre Fleury won for the 15th time this season stopping 15 shots while defensemen Dan Boyle and recently acquired Ron Hainsey had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh. Ales Kotalik (2 goals) and Brad Lukowich (2 assists) were the offense for Ottawa. Senator's Antti Miettinen left the game in the second period with a bruised arm after being hit into the boards by Nathan Horton but is won't miss any time.

St.Louis (2) @ Vancouver (3) S/O
Jerred Smithson's fourth goal of the season with just over four minutes remaining in regulation tied the game for the Blues and sent the game into overtime. Daniel Alfredsson was the only skater to score in the shoot out sending the Canuck faithful out on the street in a jovial mood. Defenseman Milan Jurcina had a pair of assists for Vancouver while Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 22 shots for the win. All wasn't positive for Vancouver as Shawn Thornton was lost to the team for atleast a week with what the team is calling a lower body injury. Steve Mason played well in the loss, stopping 30 shots.

Calgary (3) @ Philly (4) OT
Ryan Getzlaf scored at the 2:43 mark of OT on the Flyers second shot of extra time for their fourth straight win. The Flyers had a 3-1 lead at the 1:26 mark of the third and seem to be satisfied with that, Calgary on the other hand had other ideas as they scored twice in the period, the tying goal coming on the powerplay while Getzlaf was in the box for slashing. Getzlaf paid back his team for kiling the penalty off when his shot in OT found the back of the net. Jeff Carter seems to be fully recovered from an injury earlier this season as he fired (1-2-3), gritty Scott Hartnell scored a pair while young Kyle Cumisky had a pair of helpers for the Flyers. Chris Mason was outstanding as he stopped 45 shots in the win as the Flyers were out-shot 48-21 in the game. Jonas Hiller stopped three of four shots he faced in relief of Flames starter Sergei "Bob" Bobrovsky who allowed three goals on 17 shots.

Washington (3) @ Columbus (4) S/O
The Capitals were comfortably ahead 3-0 after two periods while being out-shot 21-10. The Blue Jackets made their shots count in the third as they scored three on ten shots to tie the game at three. No further goals were scored in the period so it was off to extra time but they could not settle it there and it was off to the exciting art of the shoot-out. Jason Spezza scored the only goal in the shoot-out to complete the come back for the Blue Jackets. Jamie Langenbrunner had a goal and an assist for Columbus while Johan Hedberg had 14 saves in the win. T.J Oshie and Tim Connolly both had a pair of assists and Jose Theodore made 29 saves in regulation and overtime. Tyler Kennedy left the game for Columbus halfway through the first and didn't return, he is listed as day-to-day with what is believed to be a right knee injury.

Reporting for The WCHL Network........
Peter Pucker

The San Jose Sharks are in the process of one of the most amazing stretches to start a season in WCHL history. After 24 games, the Sharks sport a 22-1-1 record with their only blemishes coming to the middling Oilers and a shootout loss to Nashville. Zach Parise and his linemate Dany Heatley are continuing their hot starts and sit in 5th and 7th respectively in league scoring. Scoring 6 or more goals seven times so far, the Sharks are nearly doubling their opponent's in every game. A recent poll of a few WCHL GM's suggests that there is some jealousy league-wide about the Sharks' season so far, as most GMs are suggesting this team will be unable to win more than 34 out of their final 58 games, which would be needed to top 120 points. With the Sharks currently on pace for 153 points, it's pretty safe to say you can pencil the Sharks into the post-season perhaps earlier than any other team in WCHL history.

At the other end, the Ottawa Senators have announced they'll be wearing bright orange jerseys from now on to better reflect their new defensive "pylon" system. Doug Weight might be the worst 1st line centre in the league with only 6 points, and one can't help but feel bad for Antti Miettinen who seems to be the only player who actually shows up to each game. With only two wins so far this season, it's fairly safe to argue that the Sens are gunning for that top pick in the Tavares/Hedman/Duchene lottery.

Elsewhere in the league, Marian Gaborik of the Calgary Flames has created some space between himself and Dallas' Alex Ovechkin for the scoring lead. Gaborik's 140 point pace will be tough to maintain, especially for a player that is notoriously made of glass, but there's no doubt he's making a case for himself as a potential WCHL MVP.

Finally, in what has perhaps become the weirdest phenomenon in the league, empty net goals have become virtually non-existent. Only twice in 371 games has there been an ENG. On first glance, one would assume that goalies aren't being pulled in the last minute, but that's actually not the case. The best guess seems to be that the goalies may be tying fishing line across the posts to prevent goals while no one else is looking...

Here's this week's Power Rankings:

St. Louis (4) @ Detroit (3)

The Blues drove into The Motor City and clipped the Wings 4-3. Detroit tried as they might to come out on top by firing 41 shots at Nik Backstrom but he was the difference in this one by turning aside 38 of those shots. Devin Setoguchi scored twice in the game, including the winner for the Blues on the powerplay midway through the third, in fact three of St.Louis' four goals were scored on the powerplay. Ryan Smyth and Peter Forsberg had a pair of assists also for St.Louis. Eight different players registered a point for Detroit but it wasn't enough. Evgeni Nabokov who was tagged with the loss for the Wings, made 18 saves on 22 shots.

Calgary (3) @ Carolina (1)

The Flames scored all the offense they would need, in the second period as they scored three times in the period, two of those on the powerplay. Carolina would score once in the third to ruin rookie Sergei "Bob" Bobrovsky's shot at his first career WCHL shut-out. Joe Corvo (1-1-2) and Marian Gaborik (0-2-2) led the offense for Calgary. Ales Hemsky half way through the third was the only 'Cane to find the back of the net.

Toronto (0) @ Washington (5)

Unlikely goal scorer Scott Nichol instilled he's own style of Capital punishment on the Maple Leafs as he fired three goals in a 5-0 white-wash of Toronto. Anssi Salmela (0-3-3) and Sean Avery (0-2-2) also had great nights for the all checking line scoring line. Jose Theodore stopped all 23 shots he faced to record his second shut-out this season. The game wasn't the only thing the Leafs lost, rookie center Ryan Stone was lost to the team for at least a week with what the team is calling a lower body injury.


Tampa Bay (7) @ New Jersey (1)

No I didn't write the score backwards, The Lightning went into "The Swamp" and made New Jersey's night a living hell as they handed them their second straight loss (after eight straight wins). Tampa scored twice in the first and second periods while turning the trick in the third, the only blemish on Brian Elliot's record for the night was a Chris Kunitz's goal midway through the second. Brian Rafalski and Jere Lehtinen led the Lightning (2-1-3). The Devils fired a low 12 shots at Brian Elliot in Tampa's net.

NY Rangers (4) @ Philly (3)

The Rangers broke the Philly's three game win streak with a 4-3 road win. The game started well for the Flyers as they jumped out 1-0 at the 1:18 mark of the first period, but it was pretty much downhill from there as the Rangers would score four of the next six goals. Anze Kopitar (0-3-3) and Shane Doan (2-1-3) led the Rangers while King Henrik made 25 saves. Matt Moulson (0-2-2) continued to carry a hot stick and Scott Hartnell (1-1-2) led the way for the Flyers, who are 6-4 in their last ten home games. The Rangers are alone atop the Eastern Conference with a 8-2 record in their last ten games. Scott Hartnell and ex-Flyer Chris Phillips renewed acquaintances as they dropped the gloves in the third period, with Hazel May's grey skirt calling it a draw.

Nashville (3) @Colorado (6)

Colorado got out to a 2-0 lead after one pretty evenly played period but the two teams exploded for seven goals on 30 shots in the second and after the smoke settled the Avs had sent Nashville packing on the wrong end of a 6-3 drubbing. Troy Brouwer not known for his goal scoring did most of the damage for Colorado as he had a career four goal game, Blake Comeau and Nick Lidstrom both had three helpers. Guillaume Latendresse and Jesse Niinimaki led Nashville with (1-1-2), Jiri Hudler chipped in a pair of assists.

Atlanta (6) @ Boston (3)

The Thrashers, trying to keep pace with the Rangers doubled up on the Bruins 6-3. The Bruins kept it close after two as they were only down by one after fourty minutes but Atlanta came out in the third and put the game away with three goals. Atlanta had five players with two points including James Neal (2-0-2) but it was Mason Raymond and Patrik Berglund that led the way (0-3-3). Brendan Morrison led the Bruins (1-1-2). Martin Brodeur got his 14th win of the season.

Phoenix (3) @ Dallas (1)

The game was tightly played for two periods as the two teams were deadlocked at one. Phoenix came out in the third and scored two early period goals to put the game away. Eric Brewer had two goals for Phoenix and Alex Auld had 20 saves for his fifth win of the season. Brian Gionta had the lone marker for Dallas as Roberto had an off night allowing three goals on twenty shots.



Reporting for The WCHL Network
Peter Pucker

Columbus (5) @ St.Louis (3)

The Blue Jackets went into St.Louis on a two game win streak and early on it looked like that's where it would stop but then, cue the come back. The Blues were up 3-1 just three minutes into the second period, then just eighteen seconds later the Blue Jackets started their come back. Four goals in an eleven minute span was more than enough to send the Blues' faithful home signing a sour note again. Leading the way for Columbus was Jason Speeza (1-2-3), Johan Hedberg registered the win stopping 21 of 24 shots. Daniel Paille scored twice for the Blues and Steve Mason stopped all 6 shots he faced after relieving Niklas Backstrom (in the second period), who allowed 5 goals on 20 shots. Marcel Goc was lost to Columbus in the second period with what the team is calling back spasms but is not expected to miss any games.

Vancouver (4) @ Calgary (1)

The Canucks went to Cowtown and doused the Flames by a score of 4-1. Vancouver scored 4 goals on 22 shots and led 4-0 after two. Calgary finally decided to play some hockey in the third as they fired 17 shots on Miikka Kiprusoff beating him just once, alittle too little, too late. Alex Ponikarovsky (0-3-3) and Pavel Datsyuk (1-2-3) led the offense for the Canucks, while Marion Gaborik was the only Flame to beat Kipper who stopped a total of 29 shots.

Dallas (6) @ Chicago (4)

A total of eight goals were scored in the game's first 16 minutes as the Stars put up a five spot and led 5-3, each team scored one more in the third. Both teams used their back ups in the game in hopes of swinging the momentum. Rookie Mike Lundin had a pair of goals to led Dallas. Jason Blake (1-2-3), Bryce Salvador (1-1-2) and Evgeny Artyukhin (0-2-2) led Chicago. Roberto Luongo perserved the win for John Grahame, as he stopped all seven shots he faced in relief.

Colorado (5) @ NY Islanders (1)

The Avs went to Uniondale and left the Isles feeling stranded after a 5-1 defeat. Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov lost his shut-out bid with just over a minute remaining in the third on the powerplay with Brendan Morrow serving a questionable interference penalty, Brzy stopped 32 of 33 shots he faced for his 11th win of the season. Mike Cammalleri had three helpers while, Braydon Coburn and David Jones both had (1-1-2) for the Avs. Mike Rozsival was the only one to find the back of the net for the Isles.

Anaheim (6) @ Tampa Bay (4)

The Ducks must love playing on Saturday nights as they won for the third time in a row playing on Saturday. This game was looked to be a laugher early as the Ducks jumped all over the Lightning, perforating Brian Elliot for 5 goals in 19 shots before being replaced by Dan Cloutier who surrendered the final goal of the half sack before Tampa woke up and struck for four goals on 16 shots in the final sixteen minutes of the game but came two goals short of a come back. Andrew Brunette scored a pair while four other Avs had two points in the game. Adrian Aucoin (1-1-2) and Curtis Glencross (0-2-2) led the attack for Tampa Bay.



Minnesota (3) @ Florida (5)

The Wild out-shot Florida 11-2 in the first but the game was tied after the first twenty, and that could very well have been the turning point of the game as the Panthers came out and scored the next three goas to take a 4-1 lead by the 6:41 mark of the second. Minny scored twice in the third to cut the lead to a signle goal but Florida would score the insurance marker on the powerplay late to secure their sixth win in their last ten games. Matt Stajan (1-1-2) and Chris Campoli (0-2-2) led the Panthers and Pekka Rinne registered his 8th victory. Minnesota was led by Paul Kariya (1-1-2). Rookie Darcy Campbell was lost to the Wild early in the first period to what team reps are calling an upper body injury and could be out of the line up as long as three weeks, Campbell is the latest to join the ever growing list of injuries to the Wild, which now sits at five players.

Edmonton (2) @ Nashville (0)

The Oilers went hunting for a victory in Nashville and came away with a 2-0 win. The game was as close as the score would dictate as were the shots with Edmonton winning that stat also at (24-23). Nashville never could find an answer for Jordan Leopold's powerplay goal midway through the first which ended up being the winner. Kurtis Foster had Edmonton's other marker while Tomas Vokoun registered his first shut-out of the season, stopping 23 shots. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 22 shots and played very well for Nashville.

Toronto (1) @ New Jersey (4)

New Jersey's latest win streak reached five games as they powered past the Maple Leafs, 4-1. The Devils lead 2-0 after one and 3-0 after two periods before Toronto got one back on the powerplay in the first minute of the third. Vinny Lecavalier scored eight and a half minutes later also on the PP to restore New Jersey's three goal lead. Dwayne Roloson keeps piling up the wins as he recorded his 12th of the season putting him third in the league in that catagory. Chris Kunitz and Dan Cleary had (1-1-2) on the night for the Devils. Eric Fehr scored the lone goal for the Leafs.

Washington (1) @ Buffalo (3)

The Caps had hoped to build on their modest one game win streak with a visit to Buffalo but the Sabres proved poor hosts as they handed the road team a 3-1 defeat. The game was tied at one after one but the Sabres added a goal in each of the next two periods to salt the game away. Tomas Plekanec and Marian Hossa each had a goal and assist to lead Buffalo. The Caps lone goal was scored by Niklas Bergfors. Jimmy Howard got the win for Buffalo while Jose Theodore was tagged with the loss for Washington.

Pittsburgh (3) @ Boston (4)

Boston is currently riding a three game win streak after defeating their Eastern Conference rivals from Pittsburgh 4-3. These two very good teams left it all out on the ice but if not for the heroics of Marc-Andre Fleury it could have been alot worse as he stopped 29 of 33 shots he faced before being pulled in favor of Martin Gerber who stopped all seven shots he faced in relief. The reasoning for Fleury's hook was being down played by Pens GM Pat Matthews who was quoted as saying "Mind your damn business !!" when questioned after the game. It was rumoured that Matthews was unhappy with the way Fleury had whiffed on the winning goal by Marek Zidlicky and sent the message down to the coach to pull him. The Bruins were led on the score sheet by Chris Pronger (1-1-2) while another defensemen Dan Boyle led the Pens (0-2-2). Bruins' Craig Anderson stopped 18 shots for his 12th win of the season. Pittsburgh lost two players to injury in the game, Andrei Markov took a shot off his right foot and Pat Marleau seemed to be favoring his groin as he exited the locker room after the game. It was thought Markov's injury is nothing more than a stinger and won't miss any time but Marleau could be lost to the team for upto 3 weeks with a badly strained groin.

Atlanta (4) @ Philly (3)

Could the season get any worse for the Flyers? Once the toast of the league, they lost their third in a row and now see themselves in a four-way tie for 2nd in the East. The Flyers were up 3-0 on Atlanta with less than a minute remaining in the second period but surrendered a Tom Poti powerplay goal which seemed to deflate the team and when they returned for the third only one team came to play. Atanta would strike for three straight in the period, on the strength of two James Neal pwerplay goals. Three other Thrashers had two point nights. Jeff Carter had a pair of helpers for the losers, Chris Mason looks as if he maybe tiring having played all 18 of the Flyers games so far this season, allowing four goals on 15 shots. Another one of Philly's troubles was the fact that the team failed to score on ten man advantages on the night.

Reporting for The WCHL Network.........
Peter Pucker

The second edition of the Season 12 Power Rankings sees a lot of movement as every team moves beyond the 10 game mark of the season. Moving up the ladder, Dallas jumped 12 spots by reeling off 5 straight wins including an 8-0 thumping of the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs. Going the other way, the biggest drop belongs to the New Jersey Devils who fell 12 spots due to 5 losses in 6 games after starting the season 6-0.

Toronto has been the league's stat-padder so far as they've been shutout 5 times already, and have losses of 10-0, 8-0, 8-0 7-0 and 5-0. Two of those big losses came at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins who also have a 10-0 tally over Florida that has helped vault them to a league leading 4.55 goals per game.

Surprisingly, there is a 4 way tie at the top of the scoring race, with two Canucks (Datsyuk and Alfredsson) an Av (Ericksson) and a Flame (Gaborik) all stuck on 18 points. The surprising part isn't that these players are at the top, as they're all big names, but rather none represent a team in the top 5 of this week's Power Rankings.

Here are the second edition of the Power Rankings for Season 12:

Vancouver (6) @ Philly (1)

After the Flyers ripped off seven straight wins, they have allowed eleven goals in the past two loses including six tonight against the Canucks. The game was tied at 1-1 after one period with the Flyers out-shooting the Canucks 12-5, but an early goal (eight seconds in) by Alfredsson and two subsequent powerplay goals before the end of the second period had the Canucks up by a pair. Vancouver would add two more in the third to complete the rout. Ex-Flyer Scottie Upshall led the Nucks with (2G, 1A) and Wojtek Wolski had three assists. Scottie Hartnell had the lone goal for Philly while being (-3) on the night.

Colorado (3) @ Chicago (5)

The Blackhawks avenged an overtime loss at the hands of the Avs just three nights earlier with a 5-3 win on home ice. Colorado was up 2-1 after one, but Bryce Salvador's second of the season tied things after two. The 'Hawks scored three in the third (two by Josef Vasicek) including the insurance marker by Geno Artyukhin who also had three asists to lead Chicago,Tim Thomas stopped 27 of 30 shots in the win. Ex-Hawk Patrick Sharp led the Avs with (1-1-2).

New Jersey (0) @ Buffalo (4)

Another of the Eastern Conference elite (so far this season) lost their second of the season. The Devils not only lost but were shut-out on the road by the Sabres who presently occupy eighth place in the East. Matt Cullen led the way for Buffalo with (1-1-2), Jimmy "Howie" Howard got his first goose egg of the season stopping all 21 shots he faced. Dwayne Roloson allowed all four goals on 16 shots before being replaced by Jonas "the Monster" Gustavsson just short of the five minute mark of the third for New Jersey.

New York Islanders (1) @ Atlanta (3)

One of the league's top teams that seem set to stay on top won yet again, this time beating a struggling Islander squad 3-1. The Thrashers took a 2-1 lead into the third period where Sergei Gonchar's 4th of the season on the powerplay at the 1:53 mark was the insurance marker. Daniel Sedin and Martin St.Louis both had a pair of assists for Atlanta while Martin Brodeur stopped 23 of 24 shots for his 6th win of the season. With his two points on the night Daniel stretched his team scoring lead over his brother Henrik by two. Corey Perry with his 3rd of the season was the lone goal scorer for the Isles.

Detroit (6) @ Minnesota (7) S/O

Two Western Conference teams that are struggling to find their indentity went toe-to-toe right to the end. The Wild led 4-1 just six minutes into the second period and seemed to sit back a bit, that is all the Wings needed as they scored three times in just over six minutes to tie things up after 40 minutes. Both teams scored twice in the final frame and nothing could be settled in the extra five minutes, so off to the shoot-out where Sergei Fedorov burned his old team as he was the only player to score and Halak stopped Mike Knuble on the final shot to perserve the win for Minny. Six Wild players had two points on the night including the team's leading scorer Martin Hanzel (1-1-2) on the night. Steve Reinprecht (2-1-3) and Marco Sturm (0-3-3) led the Wings.

Edmonton (2) @ Nashville (1)

Yet another Western Conference battle saw the Oilers go into "Music City" and tune the Preds by a 2-1 score. Nashville took a 1-0 lead into the middle of the third on a first period goal by defenseman Kevin Bieksa but goals by Yannick Riendeau and Oilers scoring leader Ray Whitney on the powerplay with four and half minutes remaining, dashed any hopes of a home ice win. Tomas Vokoun stopped 20 of 21 shots, while Ray Emery took the loss stopping 18 of 20 shots for Nashville.

St.Louis (0) @ Anaheim (5)

Two teams at the opposite end of the standings met in "Disneyland" and the Blues must have thought they were an amusement ride (without the amusement) as the Ducks scored early and often in their 5-0 white-wash of the Blues. If it wasn't for Nik Backstrom's heroics in the Blues net the score could very well have been in the double digits as he stopped 39 of 44 shots. Four Ducks had two point nights leading the way was Ryan Malone (1-1-2). Tuuka Rask stopped 21 shots for his first shut-out of this early season for Anaheim.

The first week of the season saw some huge blowouts with Pittsburgh embarrassing Florida 10-1, Calgary avenging an opening game loss to their provincial rivals in Edmonton with a 8-1 thrashing of the Oilers and in Vancouver, the Canucks crushed the Red Wings 7-1 on home ice. In all, teams managed to score 5 or more goals 32 times in the first 60 games of the season, and though it's incredibly early, San Jose's Eric Staal and Zach Parise are on pace for 180 points each. Is this the start of a new high-scoring era in the WCHL?

Here are the opening set of Power Rankings for Season 12:

Season 12 will begin on Boxing Day and all GMs are expected to get lines in to Trent before the season starts.

And here's to a happy and safe holiday for everyone in the WCHL. Enjoy!