WHL roundup: Peter Quenneville scores in first WHL game for Brandon Wheat Kings

Saskatoon Blades 3 Brandon Wheat Kings 1

First game, first goal. Peter Quenneville, the newest member of the Brandon Wheat Kings, scored his team’s only goal as the visiting Saskatoon Blades took the East Division clash 3-1 in the WHL’s only game Thursday night.

Blades goalie Alex Moodie turned away 40 shots in the win, while winger Brett Stovin potted a pair of goals, including the winner, to pace Saskatoon to victory. Jordan Papirny made 24 saves for the Wheat Kings in a losing cause in front of a crowd of 2,926 at Brandon’s Westman Place.

Quenneville tallied late in the third period to foil Moodie’s shutout bid. Quenneville, an Edmonton native, joined the Wheat Kings on Wednesday after the team acquired his playing rights from the Prince George Cougars.

The 19-year-old winger, whose 27-year-old brother John is also a Wheat King, had played five games this fall at Quinnipac University, an NCAA Division 1 school, where he had recorded four assists.

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Heading in, odds were not on the Blades coming within about three minutes of a shutout:

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The game was the Wheat Kings’ first game at home following aroad trip that saw them go 2-4. The Blades snapped a four-game losing skid with the victory.

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Thrower to miss Saturday’s Giants game vs. Cougars

Vancouver Giants defenceman Dalton Thrower will miss his team’s next game thanks to a hit delivered by Edmonton Oil Kings forward Mitchell Moroz on Tuesday night.

Thrower took a Moroz elbow to the head in the third period of the Oil Kings’ 5-0 win but finished the game. The Giants  face the Prince George Cougars on Saturday.

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Blazers captain on shelf?

After taking a shot in the face during his team’s 4-1 win over the visiting Red Deer Rebels, Kamloops Blazers captain Matt Needham stayed home in B.C. while the rest of the lineup travelled to Everett, where they lost 3-1 to the Silvertips on Wednesday.

Needham remained in Kamloops with what the team said was the flu.

Kamloops returns home for a Friday date with the Edmonton Oil Kings, who are coming off a pair of shutout wins over the Victoria Royals and the Vancouver Giants.

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