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| Photo by Marissa Baecker |
| Bonners Ferry's James Porter is lighting up Canadian hockey as a rookie goaltender for the Kelowna Rockets. |
Porter made 74 saves in a home-and-home series win against the Kamloops Blazers, helping the Rockets extend their winning-streak to five and improving their first place B.C Division record to 23-11-2-1.
Last Wednesday he stopped a career-high 46 shots and added four more saves in the shootout, earning first star honors in the 2-1 victory at home.
In Kamloops on Friday, Porter was named second star with his second shutout of the season making 28 saves in the 3-0 victory over the Blazers.
A 17-year-old from Bonners Ferry, Porter was chosen by the Rockets in the seventh round of the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft. In 26 appearances this season he carries a 15-5-2-0 record with a goals-against-average of 3.22 and save percentage of .904.
His two shutout victories have been recorded in a span of three games with the first coming December 16 before the holiday break with a 40-save performance in a 5-0 win over the Saskatoon Blades.
Also considered for the award this week was Mathieu Bellemare of the Shawinigan Cataractes, who posted a 1-1-0-0 record including a shutout victory making 71 saves for a goals-against-average of 0.51 and save percentage of .986. In the OHL, Leo Lazarev of the Barrie Colts made 82 saves while posting a 2-0-0-0 record along with a goals-against-average of 1.50 and save percentage of .965.