Two more WHL head coaches have contributed to the coaches’ benevolent fund. John Becanic of the Everett Silvertips wrote a $500 cheque for comments he made about the officiating after a 3-1 loss to the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds on Jan. 11. . . . Red Deer’s Brian Sutter was touched for $500 for taking a game misconduct on Jan. 11 when the Rebels beat the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors, 3-0. . . . Becanic’s fine was enough to move him into a tie for first place with Don Hay of the Vancouver Giants in the Coach/GM Cash League Standings. . . .
A list of coaches and general managers who have been disciplined by the WHL this season, showing games suspended, number of times fined and total amount fined:
Games Fines/Total
John Becanic, Everett 0 2/$1,000
Don Hay, Vancouver 0 2/$1,000
Dean Chynoweth, Swift Current 2 1/$500
Greg Hawgood, Kamloops 0 1/$500
Dave Hunchak, Moose Jaw 0 1/$500
Curtis Hunt, Regina 0 1/$500
Wade Klippenstein, Prince George 0 1/$500
Steve Pleau, Edmonton 0 1/$500
Roy Stasiuk, Lethbridge 0 1/$500
Turner Stevenson, Seattle 0 1/$500
Rob Sumner, Seattle 0 1/$500
Brian Sutter, Red Deer 0 1/$500
TOTALS 2 14/$7,000
G David Reekie, whose WHL career began with the Kamloops Blazers before moving on to the Regina Pats and Everett Silvertips, now is with the USHL’s Lincoln Stars. On Tuesday he was named the USHL’s goaltender of the week for a second time. He was 2-0-0 with a 0.50 GAA and a .986 save percentage. On the season, he is 9-2-0 with a 1.21 GAA and a .963 save percentage. . . . It’s fair to say he has taken that league by storm. Earlier in the season, he even scored a goal.
TUESDAYS HIGHLIGHTS:
In Prince Albert, the Vancouver Giants outshot the Raiders 34-17 en route to a 4-2 victory. . . . The Giants (31-9-1-4) moved into first place overall,
one point ahead of the Spokane Chiefs and two up on the Calgary Hitmen, both of whom were idle. . . . The Giants are 13-2-0-1 in their last 16 games. . . . The Raiders (15-26-3-2) are 6-15-2-1 at home. . . . The Giants led 3-0
early in the second period on two goals from RW Spencer Machacek — he has 25 — and one from red-hot C Evander Kane, who has 17. . . . Speaking of
red-hot, C Matt Robertson had two assists for the Raiders and now has nine points in his last three games. . . . The game was to have been televised live by Shaw but the telecast was cancelled when the flight carrying the broadcast crew couldn’t land in Saskatoon because of inclement weather. . . .
In Regina, the Pats built up a 6-0 lead early in the third period and went
on to beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 6-2. . . . The Pats (28-15-3-1) are
4-0-2-0 in their last six games and lead Brandon by five points in the East
Division. . . . The Wheat Kings (27-16-0-1) have lost two in row and four of six. . . . C Tim Kraus scored twice for Brandon while C Jordan Eberle and LW Michael MacAngus each had two assists. D Logan Pyett added his 16th goal and an assist. . . . Regina got goals from trade acquisitions Ryan DePape and Scott Doucet. . . . Brandon’s PP is 1-for-19 in its last four games. It was 0-for-6 in this one. . . . Regina D Victor Bartley (groin) didn’t play. He has yet to dress for the Pats since being acquired from the Kamloops Blazers prior to the deadline. . . . Brandon lost LW Daniel Bartek (knee) in the second period. He is to be examined further on Wednesday. . . . Brandon D Daryl Boyle (shoulder) remains sidelined. . . . Regina RW Brett Leffler is out for up to two weeks with a shoulder injury. . . . The Pats open a five-game road swing Friday in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice. . . .
In Saskatoon, G Joey Perricone stopped 33 shots to lead the Moose Jaw
Warriors to a 1-0 victory over the Blades. . . . It was the ninth shutout of Perricone’s career, breaking the franchise record that had been held by Donovan Nunweiler (1993-97). Perricone has four shutouts this season. . . . The Blades have been blanked five times. . . . C Evan Fuller, acquired from the Prince George Cougars at the trade deadline, scored the game’s lone goal. His first goal with Moose Jaw was his seventh of the season. . . . Moose Jaw LW Terrance Delaronde and Saskatoon C Mike Reich dropped the mitts three seconds into this one. . . . In the middle of the third period, there was an 18-minute delay to fix a shattered pane of glass, the result of check by Moose Jaw D Keaton Ellerby on Saskatoon F Walker Wintoneak. . . . The Warriors (23-13-4-4) have won two in a row and are tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Blades (15-27-2-1) have lost two in a row. . . .
In Kamloops, the Blazers erased a 2-1 deficit with three goals early in the second period and beat the Kelowna Rockets, 5-3. . . . The Blazers (21-23-1-1) moved into a tie for sixth in the Western Conference with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Chilliwack Bruins, both of whom were idle. . . . The Rockets (27-14-2-4) had a seven-game winning streak halted. They had outscored their opposition 39-7 in those games. . . . The Rockets outshot the Blazers 38-25 but had problems with Kamloops G Justin Leclerc. . . . The Kamloops line of Alex Rodgers between Ivan Rohac and Juuso Puustinen had nine points. . . . Kelowna G Torrie Jung was slated to start but tweaked his back in the pregame warmup and was replaced by Kris Westblom. . . .
In Prince George, G Ian Curtis picked up his first victory with his new team as the Cougars scored a 5-2 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks. . . . Curtis, who was acquired from the Swift Current Broncos at the trade deadline, made 33 saves. . . . The Cougars (14-29-1-0) halted a six-game losing streak. . . . The Winter Hawks (8-35-0-1) have lost four in a row. . . . Curtis, who started a 5-2 loss to the visiting Kelowna Rockets on Saturday, started back-to-back games for the first time in his WHL career. . . . Portland F Tyler Swystun, who refused to play for the Cougars after being a first-round bantam draft pick in 2003, was booed by the fans. “I thought (the fans in Prince George) would've forgotten about me by now, so I didn't expect that,” Swystun, 19, told Jim Swanson of the Prince George Citizen. Swystun originally went to the U of Michigan, then left to join the Medicine Hat Tigers. They dealt him to Portland. . . . Prince George F Dana Tyrell had a career-high four assists. . . . It was a snowy night in P.G., and attendance was announced at 2,302, the smallest crowd to attend a Cougars game in that city.