Plauderecke » Rockets downed the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds 6-3 on

KELOWNA, B.C. - Nick Merkley and Damon Severson each had a goal and two assists as the Kelowna Rockets downed the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds 6-3 on Saturday in Western Hockey League playoff action. Riley Stadel, Tyrell Goulbourne, Rourke Chartier and Cole Linaker also scored for the Rockets, who lead the second-round series 2-0, while Jordon Cooke made 36 saves for the win. Scott Eansor, Alexander Delnov and Roberts Lipsbergs supplied the scoring for the Thunderbirds. Seattles Taran Kozun allowed five goals on 29 shots against. --- OIL KINGS 3 WHEAT KINGS 0 EDMONTON — Tristan Jarry won the goaltender battle, stopping 29 shots as the Oil Kings blanked Brandon to go up 2-0 in their second-round matchup. Jordan Papirny stopped 54-of-57 shots, including 21 in the third period, for the Wheat Kings. Edgars Kulda had two goals and an assist to lead the Edmonton offence. Ashton Sautner also scored for the Oil Kings while Brett Pollock tacked on two assists. --- ICE 4 TIGERS 2 MEDICINE HAT, Alta. — Rinat Valiev broke a 2-2 deadlock at 13:08 of the third and Jagger Dirk added insurance into an empty net as Kootenay doubled up the Tigers to open its second-round series with a victory. Jon Martin and Austin Vetterl also scored for the Ice and Mackenzie Skapski made 28 saves for the win. Marek Langhamer gave Medicine Hat a chance by stopping 38-of-41 shots while Cole Sanford and Trevor Cox each had a goal and an assist. Jordan Steenbergen of the Tigers and Kootenays Blake Penner were assessed fighting majors and game misconducts at 19:49 of the third. --- WINTERHAWKS 6 ROYALS 3 PORTLAND, Ore. — Oliver Bjorkstrand and Derrick Pouliot each had two goals and an assist as the Winterhawks toppled Victoria for a 2-0 second-round series lead. Nicolas Petan and Anton Cederholm also scored for Portland and Brendan Leipsic chipped in with three assists. Steven Hodges scored twice for the Royals and assisted on Austin Carrolls goal as well. Brendan Burke made 22 saves for the Winterawks while Victorias Patrik Polivka turned aside 38-of-44 shots in defeat. --- Swell Lahev . But back-up Peter Budaj has put up two wins and an overtime loss while starting three games in four nights since Price went down with a suspected groin injury. Swell Lahev Cz .com) - The Los Angeles Kings werent playing their best hockey before the league went on break during the Winter Olympics. http://www.swelllahevcz.com/ . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U.Cincinnati, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - The Seton Hall Pirates will attempt to build off a pair of victories over ranked opponents when they visit the Xavier Musketeers in a Big East Conference matchup at Cintas Center on Wednesday evening. Four days after knocking off No. 15 St. Johns on New Years Eve, the Pirates handed sixth-ranked Villanova its first loss of the season. The consecutive upsets catapulted the squad from unranked to No. 19 in the country. Sterling Gibbs scored 20 points and came up with a steal late in overtime as Seton Hall earned a 66-61 win over the Wildcats. Khadeen Carrington had a career-high 17 points off the bench and the Pirates limited Villanova to 31.0 percent shooting. Carrington was fouled and sunk two free throws with 22.5 seconds left in OT to put Seton Hall ahead 64-61, and after Gibbs forced a Ryan Arcidiacono turnover, Jaren Sina made two foul shots to seal the win. The Pirates are 12-2 overall with both losses coming on the road. Gibbs has shown to be one of the more prolific scorers in the Big East to this point, as he is shooting 47.7 percent from the floor overall and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc in netting 16.6 ppg. He also paces the Pirates with 52 assists and 18 steals. Freshman IIsaiah Whitehead, who averaged 11.dddddddddddd9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists over his first 11 games, is still sidelined with a stress fracture. Brandon Mobley will take on more of a role in his absence, as he is logging 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Xavier fell to 10-4 on the season after dropping a 71-68 decision to DePaul on Saturday. Trevon Bluiett notched a double-double with 19 points and 12 boards, while Myles Davis 14 points provided a spark off the bench for the Musketeers, who were coming off a 17-point win over Georgetown. With the score tied at 66-66 down the stretch, DePaul scored five points at the free throw line and limited Xavier to 1-of-6 shooting from the floor. Dee Davis had a chance to send the game into overtime, but his last-second, 3- point field goal try came up just short. Xavier leads the Big East in scoring offense (79.9 ppg), assists (17.4), field goal percentage (.498) and 3-point percentage (.392). The Musketeers boast a plus-13.1 scoring margin and are plus-6.1 on the boards. Bluiett and Matt Stainbrook lead the team is scoring at 13.1 and 12.1 ppg, respectively. Stainbrook is also pulling down 7.3 rpg, while Davis and Remy Abell are both averaging about 10 ppg. ' ' '