By Cami Kepke via Western Hockey League

RED DEER, Alta. - Six different players found the back of the net as Manitoba downed British Columbia 6-2 on the second day of the 2025 WHL Cup.

The Manitobans drew first blood after a picture-perfect breakout that saw Graham Gard (Lethbridge Hurricanes / Winnipeg, Man.), the younger brother of Red Deer Rebels star and Philadelphia Flyers prospect Matthew Gard, stretch the puck to twin brothers Chace Gregg (Victoria Royals / Winnipeg, Man.) and Brayden Gregg (Wenatchee Wild / Winnipeg, Man.), with Brayden converting a tap-in feed.

British Columbia piled on the pressure in search of a response, with Christopher Kokkoris (Edmonton Oil Kings / Langley, B.C.) putting a long shot on net and Logan Henry (Regina Pats / Prince George, B.C.) on hand to seize a loose puck and quickly tuck it behind the goaltender.

Henry, the 23rd overall pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft, bagged another goal to give the West Coast club its first lead of the game.

2025 sixth-overall selection Louis Oscar Holowaychuk (Vancouver Giants / Vancouver B.C.) used a clever poke check to steal the puck at the B.C. blue line and flew down the wing before finding Henry on a two-on-one.

With the clock winding down on the first period, Manitoba defenceman Mateo Ferreira (Kamloops Blazers / Winnipeg, Man.) stunned the crowd by dancing one B.C. player before weaving past another and rifling the puck home to level the game at 2-2.

From there, it was all Manitoba.

Just over a minute into the second period, Athens Shingoose (Prince Albert Raiders / Waywayseecappo, Man.) picked up a loose puck in the corner and calmly stepped up and roofed a backhander for the eventual game-winning goal.

Shingoose followed it up by teeing up 2025 fifth-overall pick Reid Nicol (Everett Silvertips / Brandon, Man.) for a wrister from just below the faceoff dot to give Manitoba a 4-2 lead entering the final frame

Halfway through the third, Jake Beaty (Lethbridge Hurricanes / Virden, Man.) put the game out of reach with a crisp one-timer from the slot, and Crewe Schimnowski (Portland Winterhawks / Winnipeg, Man.) capped off the night by burying a loose puck off of a scramble in front of the B.C. net.

Ardan Downey (Victoria Royals / Winnipeg, Man.) turned aside 19 of 21(.904 save percentage) shots in the win as Manitoba improved to 2-0, while Dylan Mingo (Moose Jaw Warriors / Peachland, B.C.) battled 34 of 40 shots (.850 save percentage).

Manitoba’s Crosby Mateychuk (Vancouver Giants / Dominion City, Man.), who played OT hero on Wednesday, and Cole Landreville (Edmonton Oil Kings / St. Claude, Man.) also snagged two assists each.

Henry was named B.C.’s Player of the Game with a two-goal effort, while Athens Shingoose earned the nod for Manitoba with a one-goal, three-assist outing.

In the late game, Alberta rebounded with a resounding 5-0 shutout of Team Saskatchewan.

Captain Teagen Bouchard (Kamloops Blazers / Falher, Alta.) got things rolling with an early powerplay wrister from the faceoff dot.

The Alberta man-advantage went back to work shortly afterward after a Saskatchewan hooking penalty.

Cruz Jim (Brandon Wheat Kings / Grande Prairie, Alta.) showed off his skating by powering past the defence and cutting toward the net before wiring the puck to a wide-open Miles Kalen (Wenatchee Wild / Edmonton, Alta.) for a backdoor tap-in.

Jim, a 5-foot-8 defenceman, netted a goal of his own minutes later after turning an attempted clear into a tremendous one-timer.

The host province built on its three-goal lead in the second period with a bar-down snipe from Cohenn Rotar (Swift Current Broncos / Grande Prairie, Alta.).

Both teams played hard until the final buzzer, though Alberta would net one final goal as Hunter Saddleback (Medicine Hat Tigers / St. Albert, Alta.) buried a shot through traffic with just 15 seconds to play.

Jim led his team with a goal and two helpers, while Miles and Bouchard added a goal and an assist each, and Luke Huska (Swift Current Broncos / Calgary, Alta.) chipped in a pair of helpers.

Chase Nielson (Red Deer Rebels / Fort MacLeod, Alta.) posted a sparkling seven saves for the first shutout of the tournament, and Josh Benjamin (Calgary Hitmen / Gull Lake, Sask.) denied 23 of 28 shots (.821 save percentage).

Defender and alternate captain Jeff Prpich (Moose Jaw Warriors / Kenaston, Sask.) and Jim were named Player of the Game for their respective teams.

Saskatchewan (0-2) will try to get in the win column and dish Manitoba its first loss of the tournament in their round-robin finale on Friday, October 24, at 10:30 a.m. MST.

British Columbia (1-1-0-0) will take on Alberta (1-0-1-0) at 1:15 p.m. MST.