The Medicine Hat Tigers are all about big performances.
Curtis Valk and Emerson Etem each had three goals and an assist as the Medicine Hat Tigers defeated the host Lethbridge Hurricanes 8-2 on Friday in Western Hockey League action.
Etem now has the league lead for goals with 44 in only 43 games played.
James Bettauer scored a goal and set up three more for the Tigers (30-16-4), who have won six in a row, while Boston Leier had the other.
Brody Sutter and Jay Merkley each scored for the Hurricanes (19-31-1), who lost for the first time in three outings.
Tyler Bunz made 23 saves for the win as Damien Ketlo allowed all eight goals on 44 shots in a losing effort.
Medicine Hat went 4 for 8 on the power play while Lethbridge was 2 for 5.
Elsewhere in the WHL, it was: Moose Jaw 2, Saskatoon 1; Swift Current 3, Regina 2; Calgary 2, Vancouver 0; Edmonton 6, Brandon 2; Prince Albert 7, Kootenay 6 (SO); Red Deer 3, Tri-City 2 (OT); Everett 5, Prince George 2; Seattle 2, Kelowna 1 (SO); Portland 3, Spokane 2 (OT) and Victoria 4, Kamloops 2.
At Lethbridge, Alta., Etem opened the scoring at 4:37 of the first period and Valk followed him up with a power-play goal at 10:18, but Sutter responded with a goal with the man advantage just 52 seconds later.
Valk added his second of the period at 14:16 and again the Hurricanes responded with a power-play goal, this time from Merkley at 17:55.
Bettauer scored the only goal in the second period, coming on the power play at 13:48 to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes of play.
Medicine Hat opened the game up in the third period by scoring four straight goals.
Etem scored back-to-back at 1:38 and 15:56 to complete his hat trick, then it was Leier at 17:47 and finally Valk earned his hat trick with a final goal at 18:13 on the power play.
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Warriors 2 Blades 1
At Moose Jaw, Sask., Luke Siemens made 29 saves and Kenton Miller scored the game winner as the Warriors (30-14-6) beat Saskatoon (29-19-1).
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Broncos 3 Pats 2
At Regina, Taylor Vause scored two goals, including the game winner, as Swift Current (19-25-5) snapped their three-game losing streak bydefeating the Pats (26-18-6).
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Hitmen 2 Giants 0
At Calgary, Chris Driedger made 29 saves as the Hitmen (29-17-3) shutout Vancouver (28-19-3) to earn their fourth straight victory.
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Oil Kings 6 Wheat Kings 2
At Edmonton, Henrik Samuelsson scored two goals and Laurent Brossoit made 29 saves as the Oil Kings (33-11-6) beat Brandon (24-24-3).
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Raiders 7 Ice 6 (SO)
At Kootenay, B.C., Marc McNeill scored once in regulation, then added the shootout winner, as Prince Albert (16-30-3) snapped a six-game losing streak by beating the Ice (27-15-7).
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Tigers 8 Hurricanes 2
At Lethbridge, Alta., James Bettauer, Emerson Etem and Curtis Valk combined for 12 points as Medicine Hat (30-16-4) crushed the Hurricanes (19-31-1) for their sixth win in a row.
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Rebels 3 Americans 2 (OT)
At Red Deer, Alta., Mathew Dumba scored twice, including the winner in overtime, as the Rebels (22-21-5) beat Tri-City (35-11-2).
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Silvertips 5 Cougars 2
At Prince George, B.C., Dominik Bittner scored twice as Everett (11-30-9) handed the Cougars (15-30-4) their fourth straight defeat.
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Thunderbirds 2 Rockets 1 (SO)
At Kelowna, B.C., Colin Jacobs scored the shootout winner and Calvin Pickard made 30 saves as Seattle (18-26-2) beat the Rockets (21-23-6).
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Winterhawks 3 Chiefs 2 (OT)
At Spokane, Wash., Brad Ross scored twice, including the winner in overtime, and set up one more as Portland (32-14-3) halted the Chiefs (26-14-7) four-game winning streak.
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Royals 4 Blazers 2
At Victoria, Ben Walker, Brandon Magee and Robin Soudek each had a goal and an assist as the Royals (16-28-5) doubled up Kamloops (34-11-4).
