WHL Roundup: Giants edge Royals 6-5 in overtime

By Canadian Press on September 26, 2025.

LANGLEY — Cameron Schmidt knocked in the game-winning goal at 4:45 of overtime as the Vancouver Giants edged the Victoria Royals 6-5 on Friday in Western Hockey League action.

Adam Titlbach, with two goals, Ryan Lin, Cameron Schmidt, Ty Halaburda and Tyus Sparks also scored for Vancouver (1-1-0). Burke Hood kicked out 31 shots.

Ashton Brown, Miles Cooper, Reggie Newman, Roan Woodward and Henry Peterson replied for Victoria (1-0-1). Ethan Eskit stopped 31 shots.

The Royals went up 3-1 after the first period and held a 4-2 edge entering the third period. And that’s when the Giants shifted the momentum of the game.

Halaburda’s goal with 1:46 left in regulation put the Giants ahead 5-4 before Woodward sent the game to overtime with 28 seconds remaining.

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BLAZERS 4 THUNDERBIRDS 3

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Nathan Behm capped a two-goal effort with the game-winner with 3:03 remaining to lift the Kamloops Blazers to a 4-3 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds.

JP Hurlbert and Ty Bonkowski added the others as Kamloops (2-0-0) outscored the Thunderbirds 4-1 after the visitors held a 2-0 lead within the first five minutes of the first period. Ivans Kufterins made 34 saves.

Brock England, Coster Dunn and Hyde Davidson scored for Seattle (1-1-0). Grayson Malinoski stopped 49 shots.

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ROCKETS 5 VEES 4

PENTICTON, B.C. — Owen Folstrom netted the game-winning goal on the power play with 4:43 remaining as the Kelowna Rockets overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat the Penticton Vees 5-4.

Tomas Poletin, with two goals, Jacob Henderson and Hiroki Gojsic also scored for Kelowna (1-1-0), which outscored the Vees 5-1 from the 6:31 mark of the second period and onward. Josh Banini made 32 saves.

Diego Johnson scored twice, while Ryden Evers and Jacob Kvasnicka added the others for Penticton (1-2-0). Jesse Sanche stopped 17 shots.

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RAIDERS 6 PATS 4

REGINA – Daxon Rudolph had a goal and two assists as the Prince Albert Raiders topped the Regina Pats 6-4.

Aiden Oiring, Brayden Dube, Owen Corkish, Ben Harvey and Max Heise also contributed for Prince Albert (2-0-1). Steele Bass made 18 saves.

Caden Brown, Julien Maze, Cohen Klassen and Reese Hamilton replied for Regina (0-3-0). Kelton Pyne stopped eight of 12 shots and only lasted through the first 1:04 of the second period before Taylor Tabashniuk entered the game and stopped 17 of 18 shots.

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BLADES 5 HURRICANES 3

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – David Lewandowski had a goal and an assist as the Saskatoon Blades downed the Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-3.

Hunter Laing, Rowan Calvert, Kazden Mathies and Dominik Petr all scored once for Saskatoon (2-1-0), which was down 3-0 in the first period before scoring five unanswered goals. Ethan McCallum gave up three goals on six shots and only lasted through the first 12:05 of the opening frame, with Evan Gardner stopping all 17 shots he faced the remainder of the way.

Gavin Lesiuk, Logan Wormald and Kade Duell scored for Lethbridge (1-2-0). Koen Cleaver made 34 saves.

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BRONCOS 6 TIGERS 3

SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. – Sawyer Dingman scored twice as the Swift Current Broncos defeated the Medicine Hat Tigers 6-3.

Zach Pantelakis, Trae Wilke, Parker Rondeau and Noah Kosick provided the rest of the offence for Swift Current (2-0-0), which after surrendering the opening goal, took a 6-1 edge. Joey Rocha made 33 saves.

Jonas Woo, Bryce Pickford and Misha Volotovskii replied for Medicine Hat (1-1-0). Jordan Switzer gave up three goals on 14 shots and came out midway through the second period, with Carter Casey stopping seven of 10 shots the rest of the way.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2025.

The Canadian Press