Thursday, February 28, 2008

Thursday notes . . .

The Prince George Cougars will take to the ice for their 1,000th regular-season game in the northern B.C. city Friday night when they play host to the Vancouver Giants. . . . And there’s a real treat at the Prince George Citizen site where Sports Editor Jim Swanson has done a bang-up job. He filled two pages of Friday’s paper with statistics and stories, all dealing with the first 999 games. . . . The lead story is here, and if you tour around the site you’ll find other stories, including one by Glen Dufresne, the original radio voice of the Cougars, and lots of stats. . . .
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It looks like former WHL sniper Len Barrie is part of the Oren Koules group that is in the process of purchasing the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. It has long been speculated that Barrie, the father of Kelowna Rockets D Tyson Barrie and the owner of the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies, would be involved should the WHL end up going back to Victoria. Anyway, here is a story in today’s Globe and Mail on Barrie and his involvement (or non-involvement) with Koules. . . .
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F Adam Basford will make his WHL debut with the Vancouver Giants this weeekend in Prince George. The Giants and Cougars will play a Friday-Saturday doubleheader. Basford joined the Giants earlier this month after leaving the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, who had suspended him over off-ice issues. . . . Basford, who had 54 points in 49 games with Surrey, was selected by the Cougars in the sixth round of the 2004 bantam draft. He was in training camp with the Cougars on three occasions but left when the team wouldn’t guarantee him a roster spot. . . . Vancouver F James Wright will return to the lineup after missing 11 games with mononucleosis. . . . Vancouver F Garry Nunn (shoulder) won’t play. . . . Vancouver clinched its third straight B.C. Division pennant Wednesday when the Kelowna Rockets fell 5-2 to the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Cougars know that if they lose one point or if Kamloops picks up one point, the Blazers will clinch the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . .
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The Blazers, meanwhile, take a seven-game losing streak (0-6-1-0) into a game in Prince Albert against the Raiders. The Blazers last lost seven in a row last season when they put together a 0-6-0-1 stretch from Feb. 14 -28. The franchise record is 12, something that happened twice (0-12-0-0 and 0-10-0-2, the latter figure is OTL) in 1981-82 when the team was known as the Junior Oilers. . . . In 1996-97 and 1988-89, the Blazers had nine-game winless skids, going 0-7-1-1 both times (which would be W, L, T and OTL). . . . The Blazers also are the owners of perhaps the most bizarre seven-game winless streak in WHL history — in 2003-04, they went 0-1-6-0 (yes, one loss and six ties) over a seven-game stretch. . . . Coincidentally, five of those ties came on a swing through the East Division. . . . The Blazers go into tonight having lost the first four games on their East Division trip. Kamloops, which wraps up the swing on Saturday in Saskatoon against the Blades, has never gone pointless on an East Division trip, although it came close in 1996-97 when it came home having lost five times in regulation and once in OT, meaning it earned one loser point. . . . The only seasons in which the Blazers failed to win at least one game in the East Division were the afore-mentioned 2003-04 (one loss and five ties) and 1996-97 with the five regulation losses and an OTL. . . . Kamloops goes into the weekend needing one point to clinch the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . .
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The Kelowna Rockets may get their captain, LW James McEwan, back in their lineup when they meet the Thunderbirds in Seattle on Saturday night. McEwan has missed 25 games since suffering a horribly cut wrist during a scrap with Vancouver RW Garet Hunt. . . . Meanwhile, contrary to earlier reports, the Rockets won’t have LW Jamie Benn back this weekend. He has been out with an ankle injury since Jan. 26. . . .
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The Red Deer Rebels may have forwards Landon Ferraro (ribs) and Brandon Sutter (flu) back Friday against the visiting Tri-City Americans. But F Cass Mappin (shoulder) won’t play Friday or Saturday when the Edmonton Oil Kings come calling. . . . The Rebels still are without G James Reimer who missed a lot of December and February with a wonky ankle. But the cast is about to come off the ankle and he may play again this season. . . . The Red Deer Advocate reports that D Joel Kot, 17, will have a CAT scan on his spine this weekend. Kot’s season was ended by a back injury 20 games into this season. “We’re hoping he’ll be able to play next season,” Rebels head coach Brian Sutter told the Advocate. “He’s having a CAT scan on his spine this weekend, then it will be decided if the injury is healing or, at the very worst, if he’ll need surgery.”

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Wednesday is over . . .

The Regina Pats, celebrating their 90th anniversary season, are preparing to honour three men who gave a lot of themselves to hockey. Lorne Davis, Graham Tuer and Bob Turner, three of my all-time favourite people from the 17 years I spent in Regina, will be saluted as the Pats play host to the Chilliwack Bruins on Friday night. A banner containing their names will go into the Brandt Centre rafters, where the names of Clark Gillies, Bill Hicke, Brad Hornung, Ed Staniowski, Dennis Sobchuk and Doug Wickenheiser already hang. Davis, who died on Dec. 20, and Turner, who died on Dec. 5, 2005, and Tuer will be the first inductees as builders. Davis and Turner both coached the Pats, while Tuer was the club’s director of player personnel and assistant GM in the early 1990s, and has long been involved with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. He is the father of former Pats defenceman Al Tuer, who now scouts for the NHL’s Calgary Flames. . . .
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The CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top 10 for Week 22 of the 2007-08 season, as selected by a panel of NHL scouts (rank, team, record, last week, weeks in ranking):
1. Kitchener Rangers (47-9-1-2) 1 20
2. Tri-City Americans (44-14-2-2) 2 22
3. Spokane Chiefs (43-14-1-5) 3 17
4. Belleville Bulls (41-12-4-2) 5 9
5. Vancouver Giants (43-13-2-6) 6 19
6. Calgary Hitmen (43-17-1-3) 4 18
7. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (42-18-2-1) 7 17
8. Baie Comeau Drakkar (40-16-2-4) 8 15
9. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (39-15-2-4) 9 21
10. Gatineau Olympiques (38-18-4-2) 10 8
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JUST NOTES: Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that Giants F Garry Nunn (upper body injury) won’t play in a Friday-Saturday doubleheader against the Cougars in Prince George. Nunn didn’t practice Wednesday. He was injured in a 3-1 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday. . . . Nunn’s injury may clear the way for F Adam Basford, who recently joined the Giants from the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, to make his WHL debut. . . . Vancouver C James Wright, who has missed 11 games with mononucleosis, skated Wednesday. . . . If you’re wondering what happened to former WHLers like Ray Schultz and Darryl LaPlante, check out this story from Wednesday’s Red Deer Advocate. Sounds like the folks in Red Deer are in for a treat. . . .
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The Manitoba Junior Hockey League all-star teams, as selected by coaches:
First Team
Goaltender - Gavin McHale (Portage Terriers)
Defenceman - Jason Gray (Winnipeg South Blues)
Defenceman - Brock Turner (Waywayseecappo Wolverines)
Forward - Bryan Kauk (Dauphin Kings)
Forward - Matthew Gingera (Winnipeg Saints)
Forward - Jeremy Dawes (Portage Terriers)
Second Team
Goaltender - Alan Armour (Selkirk Steelers)
Defenceman - A.J. Spiller (Portage Terriers)
Defenceman - Drew Ellement (Winnipeg South Blues)
Forward - Russ Payne (Selkirk Steelers)
Forward - Sean Collins (Waywayseecappo Wolverines)
Forward - Adam Pleskach (Selkirk Steelers)
Rookie Team
Goaltender - Mathew Shenher (Selkirk Steelers)
Defenceman - Scott Macaulay (Winnipeg Saints)
Defenceman - Steven Shamanski (Dauphin Kings)
Forward - Stephan Vigier (Swan Valley Stampeders)
Forward - Eli Halcrow (Beausejour Blades)
Forward - Nick Lazorko (Winkler Flyers)
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WEDNESDAY IN THE WHL:
In Regina, the Pats scored two late power-play goals and beat the Kamloops Blazers, 3-2. . . . The Pats (38-21-4-2) had lost two straight and four of their last five. They also had lost three of four at home. . . . The victory lifted the Pats four points clear of the Brandon Wheat Kings and Swift Current Broncos atop the East Division. . . . The Blazers (26-34-2-2) have lost seven straight, which is believed to be the franchise’s longest losing streak since 1981-82. That season, as the Junior Oilers, the team twice went through 12-game losing streaks. . . . Kamloops is eighth in the Western Conference and needs one point to clinch a playoff spot. . . . D Victor Bartley, who was dealt to the Pats by Kamloops on Jan. 4, scored the winner on the PP at 18:16 of the third period. . . . Regina F Rudolf Cerveny tied it on the PP with 2:47 left in the third period. . . . Regina finished 2-for-13 on the power play. . . . In the four games on its East Division swing, Kamloops has given up nine PP goals on 43 opportunities. . . . At the same time, the Blazers are 4-for-17 on the PP. . . . Also in those four games, Kamloops has been outshot, 169-100. . . . Leading 2-1, Kamloops had a chance to go up 3-1 in the third period but Regina G Linden Rowat stymied F Kenton Dulle on a penalty shot. . . . Regina had a 41-19 edge in shots. Kamloops G James Priestner, making his first start since Feb. 1, was superb. He had been bothered by a sore hamstring. . . . Regina LW Josh Elder suffered a knee injury in the first period. He will be re-examined Thursday but could miss a couple of weeks. . . .
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The Pats were without D Logan Pyett, who served a one-game WHL suspension after being convicted of flipping the bird towards an official following a 4-2 loss to the Blades in Saskatoon on Saturday. Pyett and the Pats deny the gesture; both referees say they saw it. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post covered it like this on his blog: The Pats have maintained Pyett's innocence and were hoping to send video to the league that supported their claim, but to no avail. "I gave Regina as much time as I could on it to see if they had any video evidence that could prove whether the gesture occurred or not," said WHL vice-president Richard Doerksen. "I spoke with Logan. He denied making the gesture. We had two referees on that game and they both saw the gesture. Logan denied the gesture. I don't want to call either side (for) not providing the truth on it so normally if we have video footage that will solve it for us. Unfortunately we had no video footage. Regina did try to come up with some, but could not find (evidence) that showed it one way or the other. Consequently we had to use the referees' report to make the decision."
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In Brandon, the Wheat Kings erased a 3-0 deficit and went on to dump the Chilliwack Bruins, 6-3. . . . The Wheat Kings (37-22-2-2) moved into a tie with the Swift Current Broncos for sixth spot in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Bruins (26-30-4-4) have lost the first four games of an East Division swing. . . . Chilliwack scored three times in the first period, with two of those coming from C Oscar Moller. He has seven goals in his last five games and 36 on the season. . . . Brandon got goals 25 seconds apart from Jay Fehr and Matt Calvert to get the comeback started. . . . F Scott Glennie had a goal and three helpers for Brandon. . . . In all, Brandon scored six goals in under 21 minutes for the victory. . . . D Theran Yeo (ankle) was back in Brandon’s lineup. He missed 12 games before playing in his 200th regular-season WHL game. . . .
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In Edmonton, G Chet Pickard stopped 30 shots to win his 39th game as the Tri-City Americans beat the Oil Kings, 5-1. . .. . The Americans (45-14-2-4) are in a three-way tie for first place overall, along with the Spokane Chiefs and idle Vancouver Giants. . . . The Oil Kings (20-32-4-7) have two wins in their last 10 games. . . . Pickard leads the WHL in victories. He has one more than Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith. . . . Tri-City LW Colton Yellow scored his WHL-leading 46th goal and added an assist as he ran his point streak to 12 games. . . .
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In Kelowna, F Judd Blackwater had two goals and a helper to help the Spokane Chiefs to a 5-2 victory over the Rockets. . . . The Chiefs (44-14-1-5) have won five of their last six games. They lead the WHL in road victories (22-7-1-2) and are 4-0 against Kelowna this season. . . . The Rockets (34-22-2-6) are fifth in the Western Conference. . . . Kelowna C Colin Long extended his point streak to eight games with a goal. He leads the WHl with 93 points, three more than Chilliwack LW Mark Santorelli. . . . The Rockets hope to get LW Jamie Benn (ankle) and his 29 goals back on the weekend. He last played Jan. 26. Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Rockets, points out that the Rockets 14-5-0-3 when Benn scores. They are 4-7-0-1 since he got injured. . . . The Rockets are in Seattle and Portland over the weekend. . . .
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In Cranbrook, F Steve Da Silva had a five-point night as the Kootenay Ice dumped the Medicine Hat Tigers, 6-4. . . . Da Silva scored four times and set up another. He has 83 points and is fourth in the points derby, 10 points out of the lead. . . . The Ice (38-20-5-2) has won five of six and is 4-2 against the Tigers this season.. Kootneay is fourth in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Medicine Hat and four behind the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Tigers (37-20-5-2) had a four-game winning streak snapped. . . . F Dustin Sylvester drew five assists for the Ice, who got a goal and three assists from F Armand Jacquement. . . . Jacquement, an 18-year-old from Switzerland, had 29 points as a rookie last season. This season, he has career highs in goals (24), assists (22) and points (47). . . . C Daine Todd scored three times for Medicine Hat, giving him 24 on the season. . . .
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In Prince Albert, G Juha Metsola made 26 saves to help the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 4-0 victory over the Raiders. . . . The Hurricanes (41-17-2-3) have won three in a row and are third in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the first-place Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Raiders (23-36-3-2) had won two in a row. . . . F Zach Boychuk had one assist. He has 20 points in his last 11 games. . . . Lethbridge went 4-0 versus Prince Albert. . . . Metsola, an 18-year-old from Finland, has three shutouts in his rookie season.

The worst of times. . . .

No one does numbers like Alan Caldwell over at Small Thoughts at Large which is why I make his blog one of frequent stops. . . . I have been wondering just where this season’s edition of the Portland Winter Hawks ranks in terms of the poorest teams in WHL history. Alan attempts to answer that question with what follows (yes, I lifted it but you should visit there to see all kinds of great numbers):


“In the all-time annals of the WHL, where do this year’s and last year's Hawks rank among the worst teams? Not just in terms of wins and losses, but in how badly they lose? To figure this out, I took all the standings going back to 1978-79 and calculated how many goals each team scored each season for every goal they gave up. A team with a value of 2, for example, scored twice as many as it gave up. Using that stat, the 10 worst WHL teams of the last 30 years are:
89-90 Victoria Cougars: 221GF, 565GA = 0.391
79-80 Great Falls Americans: 73GF, 186GA = 0.392
83-84 Winnipeg Warriors: 239GF, 580GA = 0.412
07-08 Portland Winter Hawks: 112GF, 260GA = 0.431
90-91 Victoria Cougars: 201GF, 437GA = 0.46
06-07 Portland Winter Hawks: 146GF, 316GA = 0.462
03-04 Saskatoon Blades: 140GF, 279GA = 0.502
81-82 Spokane Flyers: 102GF, 196GA = 0.52
04-05 Regina Pats: 154GF, 285GA = 0.54
01-02 Vancouver Giants: 198GF, 365GA = 0.542
The 79-80 Americans and 81-82 Flyers are asterisk teams since they both folded mid-season. And the 01-02 Giants were an expansion team so can be cut some slack for being bad.
But you can see that this season's Portland team (so far) is fourth-worst, with last season's being sixth-worst.”


The last sentence makes this truly frightening for Winter Hawks fans. In the last two seasons, this franchise has laid down two of the ugliest seasons in WHL history. It is going to be interesting to see whether the organization as it is presently constituted is able to come back from this and, if so, how long it will take for it to become respectable again. If you look at the other teams on the list, only Saskatoon and Regina were able to follow up those horrific seasons with immediate success, the Blades improving to 37 victories (they went from 40 victories in 2002-03 to 7 to 37 to 41) and the Pats going from 12 to 40 to 36. The Giants, who won 13 games in their first season, followed that up with 26. . . . Putting two terrible seasons together back-to-back surely indicates the amount of work that needs to be done in Portland.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Tuesday notes . . .

The weekly WHL poll released Tuesday by the Western Major Junior Hockey Writers’ Association (with current ranking, previous ranking in parentheses, team, first-place votes and total points):
1. (2) Vancouver Giants (8) 344; 2. (1) Tri-City Americans (8) 342; 3. (4) Spokane Chiefs 318; 4. (3) Calgary Hitmen 307; 5. (5) Lethbridge Hurricanes 289; 6. (7) Kootenay Ice 262; 7. (12) Seattle Thunderbirds 240; 8. (6) Regina Pats 239; 9. (8) Medicine Hat Tigers 230; 10. (11) Brandon Wheat Kings 201;
T11. (10) Swift Current Broncos 191; T11. (9) Kelowna Rockets 191; 13. (13) Moose Jaw Warriors 169; 14. (14) Everett Silvertips 149; 15. (15) Chilliwack Bruins 126; 16. (16) Kamloops Blazers 97; 17. (18) Saskatoon Blades 95; 18. (17) Edmonton Oil Kings 83; ;19. (19) Prince Albert Raiders 78; 20. (20) Red Deer Rebels 48;
21. (21) Prince George Cougars 32; 22. (22) Portland Winter Hawks 16.
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Former WHL G Gavin McHale has been named the MJHL’s top goaltender after putting up a 2.58 GAA in 43 games with the Portage Terriers. The 6-foot-7 McHale, 20, led the MJHL with a .928 save percentage as he put up a 27-11 record. . . . McHale, a native of Winnipeg, has played for the Seattle Thunderbirds and Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . .
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C Jim O’Brien of the Seattle Thunderbirds is the CHL player of the week for the period ending Feb. 24. He had eight points, including six assists, as the Thunderbirds won three times. . . . O’Brien, 19, is from Maplewood, Minn. The Ottawa Senators selected him with the 29th pick of the 2007 NHL draft. He is the first Seattle player to be named CHL player of the week this season. . . .
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Jim Swanson, the sports editor of the Prince George Citizen, has an enlightening look at Edmonton Oil Kings assistant coach Rocky Thompson in Wednesday’s paper. You should check it out because it isn’t what you might expect. . . . That story is right here. . . .
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TUESDAY IN THE WHL:
In Swift Current, C Levi Nelson scored three times as the Broncos whipped the Kamloops Blazers, 7-4. . . . The Broncos (36-22-1-5) went in having lost three of their last five games. They now are within two points of the East Division-leading Regina Pats. . . . The Broncos won 2-1 in Kamloops on Oct. 5. . . . The Blazers (26-33-2-2) have lost six straight and 10 of 12, including three in a row on this East Division swing. They are eighth in the Western Conference and need just one point to clinch a playoff spot. . . . C Levi Nelson scored three times for the Broncos, giving him 22 this season. C Zack Smith got his 20th — the Broncos have six 20-goal men. . . . The Broncos were 3-for-10 on the PP. Kamloops has given up 30 power-play opportunities over its last three games. . . . Kamloops also has surrendered 128 shots over the last three games. . . . Swift Current took a 5-0 lead into the third period. . . . The Blazers, who had 12 shots through two periods, fired 18 at G Travis Yonkman in the third. . . . Kamloops starter Justin Leclerc stopped 27 of 32 shots before James Priestner took over for the third period. Priestner, in his first appearance since Feb. 1, stopped eight of 10 shots. Priestner, who didn’t dress for the first two games of the trip because of a sore hamstring, is expected to start Wednesday in Regina. . . . The Broncos, who dressed just 18 players, two under the maximum, were without D Jesse Dudas (knee), RW Dale Weise (shoulder), RW Mike Brown, D Derek Claffey and LW Jan Dalecky. The latter three all have concussions. . . . The Blazers visit Regina tonight in the first meeting between the teams since they got together on a four-defenceman trade on Jan. 4. Kamloops sent Ryan Bender, 20, and Victor Bartley, 19, to Regina for D Spencer Fraipont, 19, D Nick Ross, 18, and a fourth-round draft pick. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Sean Ringrose’s goal at 14:59 of the third period stood up as the winner as the Tigers dumped the Red Deer Rebels, 3-1. . . . The Tigers (37-19-5-2) have won four in a row and are tied for fourth with the idle Kootenay Ice in the Eastern Conference. The Tigers visit the Ice in Cranbrook on Wednesday. . . . Medicine Hat is 5-0 versus Red Deer this season. . . . The Rebels (17-40-4-3) have lost 40 games for the second time in three seasons. . . . The Tigers held a 33-12 edge in shots. . . . Red Deer was without C Brandon Sutter (flu) and F Landon Ferraro (ribs). . . .

In Moose Jaw, F Jason Bast’s two goals helped the Warriors double the Chiliwack Bruins, 4-2. . . . The Warriors (32-18-6-6) are tied for seventh with the idle Brandon Wheat Kings in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Bruins (26-29-4-4) have lost three straight to start an East Division swing. . . . Bast has 28 goals this season. . . . Moose Jaw captain Riley Holzapfel returned from a five-game absence due to an abdominal strain and had a goal and an assist. . . . Chilliwack held a 16-3 edge in shots in the third period but was outscored 2-1. . . . Chilliwack was 2-for-10 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 2-for-7. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Zach Boychuk scored three times to lead the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 7-4 victory over the Blades. . . . Lethbridge (40-17-2-3), which has won five straight, has won 40 games for the first time since 1996-97. . . . The Hurricanes are 4-0 against the Blades and have outscored them 23-9. . . . The Blades (24-34-3-4) had a three-game winning streak snapped. They also had won five straight at home. . . . Saskatoon led 4-1 in the second period before Boychuk took over to run his total to 29 goals this season. . . . D Jyri Niemi had one of Saskatoon’s goals. He has scored four times in his last three games. . . . Lethbridge was 3-for-6 on the PP; the Blades were 2-for-7.

More from Portland. . . .

So . . . you are part of a small group that owns a hockey team that already employs a general manager. . . . But you are going to retool your organization. At least, that’s what you are telling everyone. . . . You are under pressure from the league in which you play to replace the director of hockey operations and that happens to be, uhh, yourself. . . . Apparently, you have decided to start the reconstruction of your organization in the general manager’s office. . . . The first part of the plan, it seems, is to reassign the present general manager and bring in a new one. . . . Which is all fine and good. Hey, it's your team. . . . But, gee, don’t you talk to the present GM about your plans to shuffle the deck chairs before talking to the media about it? . . . There’s a story in today’s Portland Tribune, written by Jason Vondersmith, with ownership spelling out the future, a future that seems to include less of Ken Hodge, the team's long-time GM. . . . Except that – you guess it! – it doesn’t seem that anyone has seen fit to discuss the plan with Hodge. . . . That story is right here. . . . And if you're like me you're thinking things are going to get worse in Portland before they get any better . . .

Monday, February 25, 2008

Monday's musings . . .

Be sure to enjoy NHL trade deadline day. Rest assured that more hot air will blow out of the Toronto sports networks on Tuesday than on any other day of the year. . . .

D Riley LaForge, the son of Edmonton Oil Kings governor Patrick LaForge, has made a commitment to Brown University in Providence, R.I. LaForge, 18, is expected to join Brown in the fall and play for the Bears. The Medicine Hat Tigers selected LaForge with the 59th pick of the 2004 bantam draft but dropped him from their list in 2006. He presently is with the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. . . .

The Moose Jaw Warriors, who snapped a six-game losing skein with a 4-2 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers on Saturday, are preparing to welcome back team captain Riley Holzapfel. He has missed five games with an abdominal strain but is expected to play Tuesday against the visiting Chilliwack Bruins. . . .

D Theran Yeo (ankle) has missed 12 games but was on the ice Monday with the Brandon Wheat Kings. He didn’t take part in any contact, however. . . . Brandon LW Daniel Bartek (leg) didn’t practise Monday but should play Wednesday against the visiting Chilliwack Bruins. . . .

We close a quiet Monday with a note from blog.oregonlive.com/tailgate/ . . . A reader named Jerry sent an email to the blog:
"How about a game between the Winter Hawks and the OSU Beavers? Then maybe someone could end their long slumps."
Blogger Ryan White added:
“The Winter Hawks have lost 18 games in a row.
“Oregon State has lost 17 games in a row.
“I think this is a great idea. But they can't play hockey or basketball . . . because clearly they've proven they can't play hockey or basketball.
“Here's what we do. We bring Oregon State up here to Portland, let the Winter Hawks pick their top 15, since they've got numbers, let the coaches set up the rosters and let them loose on Pirate Mini-Golf . . . Ryder Cup style.
“Someone has to win. Unless they tie.”
In which case, it says here, it would go to a shootout.

Keeping Score

From The Daily News of Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008. . . .

Pitcher Livan Hernandez, now with the Minnesota Twins, is a Cuban exile who isn’t paying much attention to this talk about the retirement of Cuban president Fidel Castro. “Next week, he’ll say, ‘I’m back,’ ” Hernandez said. “One day they say, ‘Fidel die,’ and everybody celebrating. The next day he comes on TV: ‘Hey, hi!’ That’s why I don’t listen.” . . . Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “The new Yankee Stadium, under construction, will have corporate meeting rooms and many plush amenities. Says Yankees’ CEO Lonn Trost, ‘We tried to reflect a five-star hotel and put a ballfield in the middle.’ So there will be mints on the bases, and a bellman will assist Alex Rodriguez with his emotional baggage.” . . . In all of the sporting world, is there anything more useless, not to mention more boring, than curling’s Page playoff game between the teams that finish first and second in the round-robin?
Quarterback Nate Montana will be a walk-on at Notre Dame. His father also went to Notre Dame, as do his two older sisters. Yes, his father is Joe Montana. . . . The dancers at Rick’s Cabaret in Manhattan have gotten into the post-Super Bowl spirit and are providing the New York Giants players with complimentary lap dances. “They’ve spent a fortune in here,” one of the girls told the New York Daily News. “It’s the least we can do to show our appreciation.” . . . Headline at Fark.com: “Vancouver Olympics needs 25,000 volunteers: 100 to take tickets and the rest to collect urine samples.” . . . So are we tired of that workopolis.com TV ad looking for Olympic volunteers yet? . . . And are they looking for volunteer volunteers or paid volunteers?
So there was Bob Knight, the retired basketball coach, on The Tonight Show last week, alongside Larry the Cable Guy and Jay Leno. And Knight was wearing a referee’s shirt. “When did you start working at Foot Locker?” the Cable Guy asked. Knight replied: “I was trying to decide what would I like to do, something easy. There are fat guys that referee, there are slow guys that referee, some of them don’t see well, and a lot of them don’t even know what the hell the rules are, so what better job could you have than being a referee?” To which Leno pointed out: “It’s dangerous. You could get hit with a chair.” . . . It was perhaps my favourite day of the year Wednesday as I got to hand over the spoils from your Christmas Cheer Fund. Gay Klietzke of the Kamloops Hospice Association, Michelle Walker of the Y Women’s Emergency Shelter and Tim Larose of the New Life Mission dropped by for a visit and were most appreciative as they left with their cheques. All told, they split $44,724.34, which is what you folks donated during the festive season. In six seasons, you have come through with $198,271.98. Take a bow as you sip your morning coffee.
Cam Hutchinson, of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “Valentine’s Day was so difficult for me. Should I get her roses, or chocolate, or an injection of human growth hormone?” . . . Mike Bianchi, in the Orlando Sentinel: “Let’s see now, Brian McNamee injected HGH into everybody around Roger Clemens — his teammates, his best friend (Andy Pettitte), his wife — but we’re supposed to believe Clemens never used the stuff? Puh-leeze. Three biggest lies ever told: (3) No, honey, you don’t look fat in that dress, (2) I swear officer, I’ve only had two beers, (1) Roger Clemens: ‘I have never used steroids or HGH.’ ” . . . One more from Bianchi: “Dick Vitale has encouraged South Carolina to pursue none other than Bob Knight to replace the outgoing Dave Odom as its basketball coach. Good Lord, I know Dickie V. had surgery to remove some polyps in his throat, but did doctors remove his brain, too?”
Dan Daly, in the Washington Times: “So I’m watching the Tournament Formerly Known As The Bing Crosby Pro-Am on the Golf Channel, and I’m thinking: Maybe that’s what the NFL should do to spruce up the Pro Bowl — let celebrities play. Who, after all, wouldn’t tune in to see Shawne Merriman blindside Kenny G?” . . . Former Kamloops Blazers captain Jared Aulin is making enough noise with the U of Calgary Dinosaurs — he has been named to Canada West’s first all-star team — that some NHL teams have been taking a look. The key, however, isn’t that scouts have been watching him, it is that he has heard from player agent Don Meehan. . . . Reid Jorgensen, another former Blazers captain, isn’t doing too badly with the Dinos. He made Canada West’s all-rookie team.
Greg Cote, in the Miami Herald: “The Tampa Bay Lightning has been bought by Los Angeles movie and TV producer Oren Koules. Cannot confirm he plans to turn the team (29th of 30 NHL teams in points) into a sitcom.” . . . If you’re a WHL fan you may recall that Koules, who is at least partially responsible for the Saw line of horror flicks, had something of a scary major junior career that featured stints with the Portland Winter Hawks, Great Falls Americans, Medicine Hat Tigers, Spokane Flyers, Calgary Wranglers and Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Gotta love it when Bill Maher appears on HBO and comes up with some “new rules,” one of which he said, while viewers saw a Roger Clemens mugshot, was: “You can’t deny you did steroids if your head is wider than it is tall.” . . . And then there’s NBC’s Jay Leno who said, after talking about a survey that revealed 11 per cent of businessmen prefer golf to sex, “The other 89 per cent said they prefer to have sex with a woman whose husband was out playing golf.”
Forward Wally Szczerbiak, then of the Seattle SuperSonics, loves the movie Gladiator and has told the Tacoma News Tribune that a son his wife is expecting will be named Maximus. Tony Augusty of the Detroit News responded with: “That’s Maximus Szczerbiak, as in, ‘Maximus got beatimus upimus at schoolimus againimus becausimus of his stupidus nameimus.’ “ . . . Joe Biddle of The Tennessean wonders: “Why is it you don’t see many athletes arrested before midnight?” . . . Elliott Harris, in the Chicago Sun-Times: “Former Cubs crusher Sammy Sosa and San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds appear to be battling for the same position in spring training. You know: left out.”

Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Sunday's highlights. . . .

SUNDAY IN THE WHL:

In Vancouver, C Colin Long scored in the circus to give the Kelowna Rockets a 3-2 victory over the Giants in the night’s lone WHL game. . . . The Rockets (34-21-2-6) are fifth in the Western Conference, a point behind the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Giants (43-13-2-6) are atop the overall standings, two points ahead of the Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans and four ahead of the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Attendance was 14,279, the largest crowd this season in Pacific Coliseum. . . . The Giants, now 24-5-2-1 at home, are 2-6 in shootouts. . . . Kelowna G Kris Westblom stopped 35 shots and then added three more saves in the circus. . . . Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith stopped 20 shots. . . . Had the Giants won, they would have clinched first place in the B.C. Division for a third straight season. . . . The Giants are on a real roll. This was their eighth game in 12 nights and they picked up at least a point in every one of them. . . . Kelowna C Cody Almond put his side up 2-1 midway through the third period, only to have F Mitch Czibere tie it 11 seconds later. . . . That was Czibere’s first goal in 20 games. . . . Long picked up an assist in regulation time. He leads the WHL with 92 points, two more than Chilliwack Bruins LW Mark Santorelli. . . . Vancouver was without F Lance Bouma. He incurred a kneeing major in Saturday’s 3-1 victory in Kelowna and was suspended by the WHL for one game. . . . Vancouver F Garry Nunn left early with an undisclosed injury. . . . Former WHLer Oren Koules, now a movie producer (he’s responsible for, among others, the Saw movies), was in the crowd. Koules is in the process of buying the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. According to Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province, Koules was with former WHL sniper Len Barrie, whose son, Tyson, is a rookie defenceman with the Rockets. Len also owns the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies.

Saturday's stuff. . . .

There was a special moment during the first period of Saturday’s WHL game in Saskatoon. . . . Jack Brodsky, the man who runs the Blades, saluted Doug McConachie, who retired earlier this month after a lengthy run as the sports editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. . . . McConachie, who was born with silver hair rather than a silver spoon, spent 45 years in the newspaper business and was a contributing member of the Western Major Junior Hockey Writers Association. . . . He leaves the business knowing that he never lost a game. . . . He also leaves holding the world record for: Most ski junkets, one winter, for a sports editor from the flatlands. . . . Here’s hoping McDoug, as he is affectionately known, enjoys a long and healthy retirement. . . .

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Former WHLer Bryan Kauk will win the Mike Ridley Trophy as the MJHL’s leading scorer and also has been named the winner of the Steve (Boomer) Hawrysh Award as the league;s most valuable player. The late Steve Hawrysh, who was one of the game’s good guys, was a major push behind the MJHL and the Dauphin Kings so it is somehow fitting that Kauk, a left winger with the Kings, would be named the MVP. With four nights left in the regular season, the Kings have scored 230 goals this season and Kauk, 20, has been in on 126 of them. Kauk has an 18-point lead over F Matthew Gingera of the Winnipeg Saints, who have one game remaining. . . . Kauk leads the MJHL with 78 assists; Gingera leads in goals (65). . . . Former WHL goaltender Gavin McHale of the Portage Terriers also was nominated for the MVP award. . . . Voting for the award was done by the MJHL’s 11 head coaches. . . .

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SATURDAY IN THE WHL:

In Saskatoon, the Blades struck four times on the power play en route to a 4-2 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . C Colton Gillies and D Jyri Niemi each scored twice for the Blades, who were 4-for-7 on the PP. . . . The Pats were 0-for-4 with the man advantage. . . . Gillies has 19 goals; Niemi has 12. . . . The Blades (24-33-3-4) are 7-3-0-2 in their last 12 games; however, they won’t make the playoffs. . . . The Pats (37-21-4-2) continue to lead the East Division so are the Eastern Conference’s second see. . . . Regina scored the game’s first goal when C Kirt Hill got his 11th just 53 seconds into the first period. . . . Saskatoon D Sam Klassen had three assists. . . . Regina D Logan Pyett will be hearing from the WHL office after incurring a gross misconduct sometime after the end of the game. . . . The game didn’t feature any of histrionics of the last couple of meetings between these teams. Which doesn’t mean there wasn’t some conversation. . . . Saskatoon C Mike Reich, who was involved in some of the goings-on earlier, watched this one from the press box. . . . “We had a couple of games in a row where there were some melees,” Regina assistant coach Terry Perkins told Corey Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, “but that’s in the past. Probably not having Mike Reich on the ice (helped avoid a repeat). He seems to want to get things started all the time — I guess because he can’t do anything else right out there.” . . . To which Saskatoon GM/head coach Lorne Molleken responded: “Mike Reich, in every game that we’ve played the Regina Pats, has done a tremendous job. It’s funny that (Perkins) would make a comment like that because I know (Pats head coach) Curtis (Hunt) wouldn’t. We played against Mike Reich when he was a Regina Pat and he was a pain in the ass to play against. For their assistant coach to make a comment like that, it goes in this ear and right out the other ear. It was a mutual agreement between myself and the league that (Reich) wouldn’t play (Saturday) so that Terry Perkins wouldn’t get upset.” . . . Too bad these teams won’t meet again until next season. . . .

In Moose Jaw, the Warriors scored the game’s first three goals and went on to beat the Kamloops Blazers, 4-2. . . . Moose Jaw (31-18-6-6) snapped a six-game losing streak. The Warriors are eighth in the Eastern Conference. . . . Kamloops, two games into an East Division swing, has lost five in a row and only has two victories in its last 10 games (2-7-1-0). . . . The Warriors were 2-for-12 on the PP; the Blazers were 2-for-7. . . . In its first two stops on this trip, Kamloops has given up 20 power-play opportunities. . . . Moose Jaw held a 45-29 edge in shots. . . . LW Terrance Delaronde, who was dealt by Kamloops to Moose Jaw last summer, got his 12th goal at 11:54 of the second period, on the PP, and it stood up as the winner. . . . D Nick Ross had a goal and an assist for Kamloops, which is eighth in the Western Conference. . . .

In Brandon, the Kootenay Ice jumped out to a 4-0 lead by midway through the second period and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . The Ice (37-20-5-2) is 8-2-1-1 in its last 12 games and fourth in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Wheat Kings (36-22-2-2) are tied for sixth in the conference with the idle Swift Current Broncos. . . . RW Arnaud Jacquement scored the game’s first two goals, giving him 24 on the season. . . . Ice C Steve Da Silva set up his club’s first three goals. . . . C Brayden Schenn, 16, got his 25th goal of the season for Brandon. . . . The Ice outshot its hosts, 44-34. . . . Kootenay finished a three-game foray into the East Division with five of a possible six points. . . . Brandon D Dan Boyle (shoulder) was back after a three-game absence. . . .

In Prince Albert, G Steven Stanford stopped 33 shots to lead the Raiders to a 4-3 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Raiders (23-35-3-2) have won two in a row and are tied with Edmonton for 10th in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Bruins (26-28-4-4) are seventh in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the Kamloops. . . . Chilliwack led this one 2-0 in the first period and 3-1 in the second before the home team scored the game’s last four goals. . . . RW Justin Bernhardt and RW Matt Robertson each had a goal and two assists for the Raiders, while C Ryan McDonald had two goals, giving him 24. . . . Robertson has 25 goals; Bernhardt has 24. . . . Chilliwack LW Mark Santorelli had a goal and an assist. He remains second in the WHL points race but now trails Kelowna Rockets C Colin Long by just one point – 91-90. . . .

In Kelowna, Vancouver captain Spencer Machacek had a goal and two helpers as the Giants dumped the Rockets, 3-1. . . . The two teams meet in Vancouver in the WHL’s only Sunday. . . . The Giants (43-13-2-5) moved into first place in the WHL’s overall standings, a point ahead of the Tri-City Americans and Spokane Chiefs and three points up on the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Vancouver has won six in a row and is 10-1-1-0 in its last 12 outings. . . . The Rockets, with three victories in their last 12 games, are fifth in the Western Conference, three points behind Seattle and a point ahead of Everett. . . . Vancouver, which is 33-0-0-0 when leading after two periods, took a 3-1 lead into the third. . . . Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith put up his 38th victory of the season with 17 saves. . . .

In Seattle, the Thunderbirds beat Portland 6-2, their 10th victory over the Winter Hawks this season. . . . D Scott Jackson, who has played in 316 regular-season games, was honoured by the Thunderbirds and responded by scoring a goal to break a 1-1 tie. He is fifth on the franchise’s games-played list. . . . Seattle (35-20-5-2) has 16 victories in its last 20 games and has moved to fourth in the Western Conference, three points ahead of Kelowna. . . . The Winter Hawks (9-52-1-1) have lost 17 in a row. . . . F Taylor Peters, the 68th pick in the 2007 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal in his third game with Portland. . . . Seattle LW Jan Eberle, in his second game after missing 17 with a concussion, notched his sixth goal of the season. . . . Portland G Kurtis Mucha stopped 51 shots, while Seattle’s Jacob DeSerres, who is quietly having a fine season behind Riku Helenius, stopped 24 shots. . . . Attendance was 8,369. . . .

In Calgary, D Jerrid Sauer had a goal and two assists to help the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 4-2 victory over the Hitmen. . . . Medicine Hat (36-19-5-2) is fifth in the Eastern Conference, but just two points behind Kootenay and four in arrears of Lethbridge. . . . The Hitmen (43-17-1-3) remain atop the conference and are seven points ahead of Lethbridge in the Central Division. . . . F Brennan Bosch’s PP goal at 5:03 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie. . . . The Tigers wrapped it up on C Daine Todd’s empty-netter. . . . This was Medicine Hat’s first victory over Calgary in five clashes this season. The Hitmen went into this one having outscored the Tigers 17-4 in those four victories. . . . Attendance was 15,005. . . .

In Red Deer, F Zach Boychuk scored in the circus to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 4-3 victory over the Rebels. . . . The Hurricanes (39-17-2-3) are third in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Kootenay. . . . Lethbridge F Mitch Fadden forced the OT with his 30th goal of the season, at 18:40 of the third period. . . . D Luke Egener got his first of the season for the Rebels. He gave the Rebels a 3-2 lead with a PP goal at 11:57 of the third period. . . . Red Deer G Morgan Clark stopped 35 shots through OT. . . . Lethbridge G Juha Metsola made 17 saves and added three more in the circus. . . .

In Spokane, the Chiefs struck for the game’s first four goals and went on to beat the Tri-City Americans, 6-3. . . . Spokane (43-14-1-5) moved into a tie with Tri-City for first in the U.S. Division. They are one point behind the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Giants. . . . Tri-City had won four straight games in Spokane. . . . C David Rutherford had two goals for Spokane, while C Mitch Wahl scored once and set up two others. . . . G Dustin Tokarski stopped 29 shots for the Chiefs. . . . Attendance was 10,366. . . . The Chiefs and Americans have to play each other three more times. . . . Tri-City, which has lost three in a row, has 10 games remaining; Spokane has nine. . . . The Chiefs were without C Justin McCrae (knee). He has missed two games since being injured Wednesday in a 2-1 loss to Everett.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Friday's stuff . . .

LW Kevin Undershute, the subject of so many medically related rumours out of Portland, has told the Medicine Hat News that he won’t be undergoing surgery. Undershute, who was traded from the Medicine Hat Tigers to the Winter Hawks on Sept. 28 for a 2008 fourth-round bantam draft pick, played in 18 games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. Undershute saw a specialist in Calgary earlier this week and has decided to undertake a rigorous rehabilitation program rather than undergo surgery. He is likely to play Canadian university hockey in the fall and use his WHL education money. . . . “I don’t know what would have happened if I had needed (surgery),” Undershute told Collin Gallant of The News. “But (the Winter Hawks) wanted me to come up here for a second opinion. They didn’t really talk about (payment) too much.” . . . Undershute summed up the Portland situation: “It’s a been a real mess.” . . . With the WHL pretty much abuzz because of rumours of unpaid bills and inadequate medical treatment for players in Portland, Undershute met earlier this week with Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president hockey. . . . Gallant also reported that Portland D Lee Morrow, 17, had shoulder surgery last week. “(The Winter Hawks) have been excellent to us, it’s all been taken care of,” Dale Morrow, Lee’s father, told Gallant from the family home in Ponoka, Alta.

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F Ty Rattie, who may be the first player taken in the 2008 bantam draft, has won the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League’s scoring title, with 131 points, including 75 goals, for the Airdrie Xtreme. Three teammates – Jason Swyripa (107), Michael Winther (62) and Nils Moser (61) – finished second, third and fourth in the South Division scoring race. Rattie is 6-foot-0 and 160 pounds. . . . Winther is a 1994-born player; the others are 1993s. . . . F Colin Smith (5-foot-8, 135 pounds) of Lehigh Inland (CAC) won the North Division title with 106 points, 70 of them assists, in 33 games. He is a 1993. . . .

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C Brendan Ranford, taken 15th overall by the Kamloops Blazers in the 2007 bantam draft, won the Alberta Midget Hockey League scoring title, with 79 points, including 33 goals, in 35 games. Ranford, a nephew of former NHL goaltender Bill Ranford, was a first-year midget player with Gregg Distributors (CAC). . . . F Jordan Kochan, a teammate of Ranford’s, finished second, with 72 points. The Prince Albert Raiders took Kochan with the 173rd pick of the 2006 draft. . . . F Killian Hutt of the Knights of Columbus Pats was third, with 66 points. The Medicine Hat Tigers used the 126th pick in 2006 on Hutt. . . . F Burke Gallimore of Gregg Distributors wound up fifth, with 56 points. He was selected 23rd overall in 2006 by the Spokane Chiefs but was dealt to the Saskatoon Blades in January as part of a deal that had C Justin McCrae go the other way. . . .

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FRIDAY IN THE WHL:

In Lethbridge, the Red Deer Rebels got out to a 2-0 lead and hung on for a 2-1 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Rebels (17-39-4-2), who won’t make the playoffs, snapped a five-game losing streak. . . . The Hurricanes (38-17-2-3) had won three in a row. They are third in the Eastern Conference but are just two points ahead of Kootenay. . . . C Brandon Sutter, with his 24th, gave the visitors a 1-0 lead on the PP at 6:36 of the second period and C Cody Gross, with his seventh, made it 2-0 about six minutes later. . . . Lethbridge F Zach Boychuk got his 26th at 2:28 of the third period. . . . Red Deer G Morgan Clark stopped 35 shots, while Lethbridge’s Mike Maniago stopped 20. . . .

In Moose Jaw, C Ben Maxwell’s seventh goal, at 3:59 of OT, gave the Kootenay Ice a 4-3 victory over the Warriors. . . . Moose Jaw (30-18-6-6) has lost six in a row but still clinched the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot, thanks to the loser point. . . . The Ice (36-20-5-2) is 7-2-1-1 in its last 11 games and is fourth in the conference. . . . Maxwell finished with two goals. . . . The Warriors held a 2-0 lead in the first period before the Ice tied it. Moose Jaw also led 3-2 when F Jordan Knackstedt scored his 26th just 32 seocnds into the third period. . . . F Steele Boomer’s 10th goal, on the PP at 5:56, forced extra time. . . . The Ice was 3-for-5 on the PP. . . .

In Prince Albert, D Ryan White’s third goal of the season, at 1:14 of OT, gave the Raiders a 4-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The Raiders (22-35-3-2) are 11th in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Pats (37-20-4-2) went into the final meeting of the season with the Raiders with a 5-1 edge. . . . Regina leads the East Division by four points over the Swift Current Broncos and Brandon Wheat Kings, and, as such, is the conference’s second seed. . . . The Pats held a 3-1 lead eight minutes into the third period. . . . Former Regina C Justin Bernhardt, with his 23rd, on a PP at 8:23 of the third and RW Brandon Herrod, with his sixth, at 13:07, tied it 3-3. . . . That is a career high in goals for Bernhardt. . . . Regina was 0-for-1 on the PP; P.A. was 1-for-4. . . . Raiders G Steven Stanford stopped 28 shots, 13 more than Regina’s Linden Rowat. . . . Is it not somewhat amazing that these teams hadn’t met since Oct. 27? And yet this was the seventh game between the teams this season. That’s right. They played six times before October was over. . . . The Pats continue to use Damien Ketlo, 16, to back up Rowat as Jeff Bosch is out with a groin injury. . . .

In Prince George, G Alex Archibald stopped 29 shots to lead the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 5-0 victory over the Cougars. . . . The best the Cougars (17-42-1-3) can do is a tie for the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot, something that would force a one-game playoff. . . . The Oil Kings (20-31-4-7) snapped a three-game losing streak as they posted their second shutout on this tour of B.C. Dalyn Flette blanked the Blazers 4-0 in Kamloops a week earlier. . . . Archibald has three shutouts this season and nine in his career. . . . It was the 75th shutout in the league this season, the fifth-highest total in history. . . . The Cougars have been blanked four times. . . . F Brennan Sonne scored twice for Edmonton which led 4-0 after one period. . . . Prince George G Real Cyr faced 50 shots. . . .


In Saskatoon, C Chris Langkow’s 11th goal, at ?? of OT, gave the Blades a 4-3 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Blades (23-33-3-4) have nine games remaining and will play eight of them at home. . . . The Bruins (26-27-4-4) are seventh in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the Kamloops Blazers. . . . C Oscar Moller scored twice in a three-goal second period as the Bruins took a 3-1 lead. . . . Moller has 32 goals. . . . Saskatoon tied it on PP goals by Finnish D Jyri Niemi, his 10th, and RW Chris Duran, his 15th. . . . Niemi’s mother, Hannele, and brother Pete, 9, were in attendance. . . . Saskatoon held a 35-23 edge in shots. . . . The Blades were 2-for-5 on the PP; the Bruins were 1-for-8. . . . Saskatoon RW Walker Wintoneak (shoulder) returned after a 17-game absence. . . .

In Spokane, G Leland Irving made 34 saves to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 2-1 victory over the Chiefs. . . . The Silvertips (35-25-0-3) are sixth in the Western Conference, one point behind Kelowna and two in arrears of Seattle. . . . The Chiefs (42-14-1-5) had won 4-3 in a shootout in Everett on Wednesday. Spokane is two points behind the U.S. Division-leading Tri-City Americans, who were idle on Friday. . . . Spokane had a three-game winning skein snapped. . . . Everett got goals from F Jordan Mistelbacher, his ninth at 7:13 of the first period, and LW Lukas Vartovnik, his 10th at 9:07 of the third, before F Judd Blackwater scored a shorthanded goal for the Chiefs at 18:40 of the third. He has 24 goals this season. . . . Everett took the game’s first five minors; Spokane took the last three. . . . The Chiefs were without F Justin McCrae (knee). He is questionable for tonight’s visit by Tri-City. . . .

In Swift Current, F Tyler Ennis scored his 36th goal of the season at 1:32 of OT to give the Medicine Hat Tigers a 3-2 victory over the Broncos. . . . The Tigers (35-19-5-2) are fifth in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Broncos (35-22-1-5) had won 12 of their last 14 games. They are tied for sixth in the conference with Brandon, one point behind Medicine Hat. . . . The Tigers won the season series with Swift Current, 3-2. . . . The Tigers led 2-0 in the second period before the Broncos tied it on goals by C Matt Tassone at 13:55 of the second and C Levi Nelson just 50 seconds into the third. . . . Medicine Hat G Ryan Holfeld stopped 36 shots and gave his guys a chance. . . .

In Kelowna, RW David Richard had a goal and two assists as the Seattle Thunderbirds dumped the Rockets, 5-2. . . . The victory lifted the Thunderbirds (34-20-5-2) past the Rockets and into fourth in the Western Conference. . . . Seattle has won 15 of its last 19 games. . . . The Rockets (33-20-2-6), who trail Seattle by a point, have lost eight of 11. . . . Seattle D Benn Olson, perhaps the league’s most-improved player, had one assist and was plus-4. . . . The visitors took control of this one by breaking a 1-1 tie with three second-period goals, from LW Prab Rai, Richard and C Bud Holloway, his 31st. . . . Kelowna has won three of 12 games since LW Jamie Benn went down with an ankle injury. He is expected to be out at least another week. . . .


In Brandon, LW Andrew Clark had a goal and two assists to lead the Wheat Kings to a 5-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Wheat Kings (36-21-2-2) have won two straight and are tied with Swift Current for sixth in the Eastern Conference. They are a point behind Medicine Hat and three in arrears of Kootenay. . . . Kamloops (26-31-2-2) has lost four in a row and is eighth in the Western Conference, four points behind the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Wheat Kings led 2-0 before the game was five minutes old on goals by Clark, on a power play, and LW Daniel Bartek, on a penalty shot. . . . Brandon has scored the game’s first goal 38 times in 61 games. . . . Brandon outshot the visitors, 41-22, as Kamloops G Justin Leclerc was outstanding again. . . . The Wheat Kings were 2-for-8 on the PP; the Blazers were 1-for-4. . . . Brandon, already without its three 20-year-olds because of injury, now will have to get by without D Chad Erb, 19. The Brandon Sun is reporting that Erb has a broken wrist and is likely to miss between four and eight weeks. D Daryl Boyle (shoulder), D Theran Yeo (ankle) and LW Tyler Dittmer (broken finger) already are out. . . .


In Vancouver, D Brent Regner’s goal at 13:19 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie as the Giants beat the Portland Winter Hawks, 3-2. . . . The Giants (42-13-2-5) have won six of seven and are within two points of the Western Conference-leading Tri-City Americans. . . . Vancouver is 4-0 against Portland with a 22-7 edge in goals. . . . The Winter Hawks (9-51-1-1) have lost 17 in a row. . . . Portland took a 1-0 lead on C Jacob Dietrich’s 15th goal at 3:04 of the first period. . . . C Casey Pierro-Zabotel tied it with his 14th at 2:28 of the second. . . . F Luke Walker gave Portland a 2-1 lead with a shorthanded goal at 16:48 of the second. . . . D Jon Blum tied it for the Giants at 3:52 of the third to set the stage for Regner. . . . Portland G Jordan White stopped 52 shots. . . . Vancouver had 20-5 and 19-4 shot advantages over the last two periods. . . . Vancouver was 2-for-8 on the PP; Portland was 1-for-4. . . . The Winter Hawks were hit with six of the game’s last seven minors.

Friday, February 22, 2008

The Portland picture

Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune has a story on the situation with the Winter Hawks, including the take of ownership. The story, from Friday's paper, is right here. . . .

And the Oregonian's Boaz Herzog also has a story in Friday's paper. It's right here. . . .

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Thursday notes . . .

If you’ve been wondering how G Tyson Sexsmith and the Vancouver Giants are dealing with his being named the WHL’s most over-rated player in the Tri-City Herald’s Best of the West poll, you can find out right here. . . .

F Adam Basford, who has joined Vancouver after being suspended by the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, won’t be in the Giants’ lineup this weekend. The Giants signed Basford as an affiliate player (AP) in January so he can only play a maximum of five games until Surrey’s season is over, at which time he can play on a full-time basis. He had been suspended by Surrey for off-ice disciplinary reasons; that suspension has since been rescinded by the BCHL club. He had 54 points in 49 games with the Eagles. The Giants will have Kraymer Barnstable in goal Friday night when they are at home to the Portland Winter Hawks. . . .

With the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (aka the Canadian women’s curling championship) wrapping up Sunday in Regina, the Pats are preparing to conclude a six-game road trip. They’ll play the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday and the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday. The Pats, believe it or not, have lost nine times to the WHL’s poorer teams this season. . . . The Pats and Blades have fought their way through their last three meetings; this is the last time they will see each other this season. It is believed that Don King will drop the ceremonial first puck. . . .

The Kelowna Rockets, fourth in the Western Conference, hold a one-point lead over Seattle as the Thunderbirds visit the Little Apple on Friday. Kelowna gets back LW Lucas Bloodoff from a one-game WHL suspension. . . . LW James McEwan, Kelowna’s captain, has missed 21 games and remains out with a wrist injury. He suffered a bad skate cut on Dec. 29 and could return in two weeks. . . . The Rockets conclude their weekend by going home-and-home with the Vancouver Giants. They play Saturday in Kelowna and Sunday in Vancouver. . . .

D Carter Berg, the 26th pick in the 2007 bantam draft, may make his WHL debut with the Chilliwack Bruins in his hometown of Saskatoon on Friday night. The Bruins will play the Blades, whose roster includes D Mitch Berg, Carter’s older brother. . . . Carter plays for the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. . . .

D Paul Sohor is expected to make his WHL debut with the Everett Silvertips against the Chiefs in Spokane on Friday night. Sohor, the 98th pick in the 2006 bantam draft, plays for the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers. He has nine pints and 45 penalty minutes in 54 games. . . .

G Real Cyr of the Prince George Cougars has a heavy heart these days. Jim Swanson, the sports editor of the Prince George Citizen, has Cyr’s story right here. . . .

And, finally, Brad Rock of the Deseret Morning News has a great column on the state of our sports world. It’s right here.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Wednesday is over . . .

JUST NOTES: D Mark Schneider of the Kamloops Blazers, who is from Brandon, isn’t going to get to play in his hometown. The Blazers open a six-game road trip in Brandon on Friday but Schneider is out with a knee injury. He suffered an MCL injury in his right knee during a Monday practice and is out indefinitely. . . . The situation has Portland has claimed the blog of Winter Hawks’ play-by-play voice Andy Kemper. It’s linked from over there on the left and you should visit to read his reasoning. . . .

WEDNESDAY IN THE WHL:
In Vancouver, G Tyson Sexsmith stopped 23 shots as the Giants blanked the Edmonton Oil Kings, 7-0. . . . The Giants (41-13-2-5), who have won four straight, are 23-5-2-0 at home. They are three points behind the Western Conference-leading Tri-City Americans. . . . The Oil Kings (19-31-4-7) have lost three straight and seven of eight. . . . Sexsmith leads the WHL with eight shutouts. This was the 19th shutout of his career. That ties him with former Kelowna Rockets G Kelly Guard for fourth on the all-time list, behind Bryan Bridges (21), and Justin Pogge and Dustin Slade, each of whom put up 20. . . . Sexsmith, who set a franchise record for single-season victories (37), has recorded two straight shutouts since he was named the most over-rated player in the Tri-City Herald’s Best of the West survey. . . . “First of all, when those surveys come out, we don’t allow our players to vote on that question, we don’t believe in that,” Giants assistant coach Craig Bonner told the Vancouver Sun. “It’s a little bit of a popularity contest and some jealously comes to play. Tyson’s been asked about it, but he’s dealing with it the only way he can — by letting his play do his talking.” . . . RW Spencer Machacek had two goals and two assists, with D Jon Blum and RW Michel Repik adding a goal and two helpers apiece. . . . Vancouver held a 54-23 edge in shots on goal. . . . The Giants went 3-for-8 on the PP, as they scored on their first three man advantages. . . . The Giants were without RW Garet Hunt, who drew a two-game suspension for a kneeing major he incurred Sunday against Chilliwack. . . .

In Saskatoon, C Travis Toomey and LW Ondrej Fiala each had two goals to help the Blades to a 7-2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Blades (22-33-3-4) had lost two in a row. . . . The Raiders (21-35-3-2) had won their last two games and three of their last four. The loss eliminated them from playoff contention. . . . This game originally had been scheduled for Feb. 12 but was postponed after a conflict over arena availability. . . . Fiala scored twice with his father, Jiri, and brother, Lukas, in attendance. They are visiting from the Czech Republic. . . .

In Brandon, G Joe Caligiuri stopped 30 shots to lead the Wheat Kings to a 1-0 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . F Jay Fehr scored the game’s only goal, his 11th of the season, at 6:45 of the third period. . . . Moose Jaw G Joey Perricone turned aside 34 shots. . . . The Wheat Kings (35-21-2-2) had lost two in a row, but clinched an Eastern Conference playoff spot with the victory. They are seventh in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of Moose Jaw. . . . The Warriors (30-18-5-6) have lost five in a row. . . . Caligiuri has three shutouts this season. . . . Brandon was without its three 20-year-olds — D Daryl Boyle (ankle), LW Tyler Dittmer (broken finger) and D Theran Yeo (ankle). . . . Moose Jaw continues to play without C Riley Holzapfel (abdominal strain). . . . The star of the night, however, may have been Rick Johnston, a 46-year-old fan from Brandon. He won $10,000 in the second intermission by finding the range in the Brandon Sun Hit-the-Hole Shootout. . . . Moose Jaw LW Frazer McLaren served Game 3 of a three-game WHL suspension. . . .

In Everett, LW Ondrej Roman scored the winner in the circus as the Spokane Chiefs dumped the Silvertips, 4-3. . . . The Chiefs (42-13-1-5) have won three in a row and have closed within two points of the Western Conference-leading Tri-City Americans. Both teams have 11 games remaining. . . . The Silvertips (34-25-0-3) had a five-game winning streak snapped. They are sixth, two points behind Seattle. . . . The Silvertips will visit Spokane on Friday. . . . RW Shane Harper had two goals for Everett, while C Zach Hamill had a goal and two helpers. . . . Spokane led this one 3-1 at 3:03 of the second period, only to have Everett come back on PP goals by Hamill, at 14:40 of the second, and Harper, at 6:37 of the third. . . . Spokane was 1-for-4 on the PP; Everett was 3-for-5. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski stopped 31 shots through OT; Everett’s Leland Irving turned aside 38 shots. . . . Everett was without D Graham Potuer, who started serving a two-game suspension. He got hit under supplemental discipline for an unpenalized hit on Seattle D Steve Chaffin on Saturday. Chaffin is out with a concussion. . . . Everett still is without two veteran defencemen — Taylor Ellington (foot) and Mike Alexander (shoulder). . . .
__,_._,___
In Red Deer, D Victor Bartley’s two PP goals helped the Regina Pats to a 5-1 victory over the Rebels. . . . The Pats (37-20-3-2) had lost two in a row. . . . Regina leads the East Division — and is the Eastern Conference’s second seed — by four points over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Rebels (16-39-4-2) had been 3-0 against Regina this season. Red Deer has lost five straight. . . . Regina led 4-0 after 20 minutes. . . . Red Deer lost rookie F Landon Ferraro when he re-aggravated a rib injury in the second period. . . . Regina C Tim Kraus played in his 300th regular-season game. He celebrated with a goal and two assists. . . . C Scott Doucet, who was dealt by Red Deer to Regina earlier in the season, had two assists. . . . Attendance was announced as 5,712, although Red Deer Advocate sports editor Greg Meachem pointed out that “roughly half” of those fans “were not actually in attendance.” . . .

In Seattle, the Thunderbirds dumped the Prince George Cougars 6-1, a decision that allowed the idle Chilliwack Bruins to clinch a Western Conference playoff spot. . . . The Thunderbirds (33-20-5-2) are 21-5-3-2 at home. They have closed to within one point of the fourth-place Kelowna Rockets. The teams meet in Kelowna on Friday. . . . The Cougars (17-41-1-3) had a two-game winning streak end. . . . One more loss or a Kamloops victory and the Cougars officially will be eliminated from the playoff chase. . . . RW Prab Rai, who left the Cougars last season and eventually was dealt to the Thunderbirds, had two goals for Seattle. He has 13 this season. . . . RW Greg Scott also scored twice for the winners, giving him 30 on the season. . . . Prince George G Real Cyr stopped 26 saves as he played despite hearing of a death in his family prior to the game. . . .

In Swift Current, LW Erik Felde scored at 2:23 of OT to give the Broncos a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Broncos (35-22-0-5) had lost two of three going in. They have clinched a playoff spot and are sixth in the Eastern Conference. But they are only four points behind Regina, which, as East Division leaders, is the conference’s second seed. . . . The Ice (35-20-5-2) had won its last two games. . . . Felde has 23 goals this season, four of them winners. . . . The Ice, which is fourth in the conference, four points behind the Lethbridge Hurricanes, led 2-0 before the Broncos scored three straight goals . . . Ice C Steve Da Silva forced OT with a goal at 16:30 of the third period. . . . Kootenay G Kris Lazaruk stopped 37 shots, 10 more than Swift Current’s Travis Yonkman.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

WHL 'reviewing' situation in Portland

The situation in Portland regarding the Winter Hawks has become a full-blown crisis with which the WHL is dealing.

The Internet has been abuzz with rumours for the last few days as irate Portland fans vent their frustrations.

And now those rumours have surfaced on a blog (westerncollegehockey.blogspot.com) that deals primarily with NCAA hockey. If the WHL doesn’t address the situation in Portland, this could turn into a recruiting nightmare, if it hasn’t already.

WHL commissioner Ron Robison spent Tuesday traveling to Naples, Fla., site of an NHL general managers’ meeting where he will be involved in making a CHL-related presentation Wednesday. CHL president David Branch was to have made the presentation but wasn’t able to attend following the death of Windsor Spitfires captain Mickey Renaud on Monday.

Robison's day began with a meeting in Vancouver on Tuesday morning. I reached him by phone late Tuesday night. He had just arrived in Fort Myers, Fla., and was driving to Naples.

“We addressed some of (the Portland situation) at the governors’ meeting (in Calgary earlier this month) and there is more we have to review,” said Robison, who understandably had to be careful in choosing his words.

Asked if the WHL might wait until the end of the regular season to deal with this, Robison quickly replied: "It can’t wait. We’ll be into it right away.

“We’re reviewing it and we’ve got to make sure that from the standpoint of player treatment everything is as we expect it to be.”

A story in Tuesday’s Oregonian, which is right here, addresses the situation on the ice, but not the off-ice goings-on. The Winter Hawks, who have won only nine games this season, have the WHL’s poorest record – 9-50-1-1 – and won’t make the playoffs. This comes on the heels of last season’s 17-52-1-2 record. (You have to go back to 1989-90 when the Victoria Cougars went 5-65-2 to find a season comparable to what the Winter Hawks are having on the ice.)

The Winter Hawks are so banged up that they were able to dress only 14 skaters for Monday’s 4-1 loss to the visiting Prince George Cougars. That included D Daniel Johnston, who was the 104th pick in the 2007 bantam draft. He was dressed as the fourth defenceman but went down near the end of the second period with an injury and didn’t return.

Portland also will have LW Taylor Peters, another 15-year-old, in its lineup this weekend. The 68th pick in the 2007 draft, Peters plays with the major midget Greater Vancouver Canadians.

The biggest concern in Portland, however, has to be the rumblings concerning LW Kevin Undershute, 20, and the attention that either has, or hasn’t, been given to a shoulder injury that occurred in October.

According to westerncollegehockey.blogspot.com: “A rumor surfaced on a (message board), saying Portland refused to pay for surgery for one of its injured players. There are also rumors that Portland hasn't been able to pay their stick supplier, meaning players have had to buy sticks with money out of their own pocket. . . .

“The rumors of players not receiving proper medical treatment casts a dark shadow over the fact that Portland has been plagued by injuries this year.”

As for the stick situation, I have been told by someone close to the situation that the Winter Hawks “haven't paid (our stick supplier) in gawd knows how long so they stopped sending sticks, understandably.”

Meanwhile, I have been told by a reliable source that Undershute was to have had surgery in Portland on Feb. 6. However, that was cancelled and he and his family were told the procedure would need to be done in Canada. Undershute is scheduled to visit a specialist in Calgary on Feb. 29; however, that is only a preliminary visit and there is no date set for surgery.

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The WHL is addressing the situation and Robison was adamant that things are being dealt with now, rather than later.

The WHL also is getting a taste of the power of the Internet. This Portland situation has been festering for a long while now as fans, almost all of them under the cloak of anonymity provided by message boards, have questioned what has been going on in Portland. Some fans, however, have taken the bull by the horns and contacted the WHL office and Robison and, yes, they have used their names.

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D Ryan Aasman, the eighth overall pick in the 2007 bantam draft, has joined the Prince Albert Raiders for the rest of the season. He had been playing for the midget AAA Medicine Hat Big County Energy Tigers, whose season ended Sunday. He had 15 points and 24 penalty minutes with the Tigers. Aasman, who played two games for the Raiders earlier in the season, may play Wednesday against the Blades in Saskatoon. . . . It appears that the Vancouver Giants soon will have another BCHL refugee in their lineup. The BCHL’s Surrey Eagles had suspended F Adam Basford for inappropriate off-ice conduct. While he hasn’t been playing, he has been working out off the ice for the Giants for the last couple of weeks. Basford, 18, had 54 points in 49 games with Surrey. Originally, the Prince George Cougars selected him with the 104th pick of the 2004 bantam draft. . . . Basford will join F Casey Piero-Zabotel (Merritt Centennials) and F Garry Nunn (Victoria Grizzlies) as players who left BCHL teams to join the Giants during this season. . . .

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TUESDAY IN THE WHL:

In Calgary, the Hitmen struck four times on the power play en route to a 7-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The Hitmen (43-16-1-3) have won four of five and continue to lead the Eastern Conference. . . . Regina (36-20-3-2) leads the East Division and had been 2-0 against Calgary. . . . C Brandon Kozun led Calgary with a goal and three assists. . . . Kozun’s linemates also had big nights as Kyle Bortis had two goals and an assist and T.J. Galiardi scored once and set up two. . . . C Jordan Eberle scored Regina’s goal. He is tied for second in the WHL with 36 goals and has at least one goal in 11 of his last 17 games. . . .

In Chilliwack, the Bruins bested the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first meeting between the WHL’s two newest teams. . . . The Oil Kings are in their first season; the Bruins their second. . . . The Bruins (26-27-3-4) ended a three-game losing streak and moved three points ahead of the eighth-place Kamloops Blazers in the Western Conference. . . . The Oil Kings (19-30-4-7) led this one 2-0 in the second period. . . . RW Evan Pighin got the Bruins rolling with a 40-footer late in the second period. . . . LW Mark Santorelli tied it at 8:18 of the third period and C Oscar Moller got the winner at 12:43, his 30th goal of the season. . . . Former Bruins G Alex Archibald turned aside 25 shots, while the Bruins’ Marc Friesen stopped 36. . . . The Bruins now head out into the Prairies on a six-game swing through the East Division. They will be there at the same time as the Blazers. . . .

In Spokane, the Chiefs erased a third-period deficit and beat the Kelowna Rockets, 2-1. . . . The Chiefs (41-13-1-5) are 2-0 versus Kelowna. . . . The Rockets (33-19-2-6) have lost six straight on the road. . . . The Chiefs, now four points behind the Western Conference-leading Tri-City Americans, got third-period goals from C David Rutherford and LW Drayson Bowman to win it. . . . C Colin Long, the WHL scoring leader, scored for Kelowna midway through the first period. . . . Rutherford scored in the PP at 10:31 of the third and Bowman won it with 2:32 left in the period. Bowman has 36 goals, tying him for second in the WHL. . . . In an interesting move, Bowman and his younger brother, Kelowna D Collin, duked it out 10 seconds into the third period. Hmm, wonder if Mom was in attendance? . . . Spokane C Mitch Wahl served Game 2 of a two-game WHL suspension for a match penalty he incurred Friday.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Monday's musings . . .

If you are a WHL fan, you will be aware that the Tri-City Herald published the results of its 20th annual Best of the West on Sunday.
What you may not be aware of is that Don Hay, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants, is livid.
And you know what? He should be.
The subject of Hay’s ire is the fact that Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith was voted the Western Conference’s most over-rated player.
(Voting for this survey is done by players, management people and broacasters involved with the 10 teams in the Western Conference. According to the Herald, “33 ballots were returned, 11 fewer than last season.” Participants were asked not to vote for anyone in their own organizations. Each ballot asked respondents to rank the top four in each category, with points given on a 4-3-2-1 system. Players are ranked by percentage of points received.)
Sexsmith (43.8 per cent) was named the most over-rated player, ahead of Everett Silvertips G Leland Irving (35.4), Seattle Thunderbirds C Jim O’Brien (32.1), Kelowna Rockets D Tyson Myers (20.2), Tri-City Americans C Jason Reese (17.8) and Chilliwack Bruins LW Mark Santorelli (16.5).
All of which proves only that the time has come for the Herald to retire this category.
How anyone can make the claim that Sexsmith is over-rated is beyond the grasp of Hay’s ability to reason. And I am inclined to agree.
All Sexsmith did last season is take over the starting role with the Giants and backstop them to the Memorial Cup. Last season, as a 17-year-old, he went 31-12-2-6 with a 1.79 GAA and a .915 save percentage in the regular season, then went 14.7, 1.79, .914 in the playoffs. And then he went and won a Memorial Cup ring.
He accomplished all of this last season knowing that all the Doubting Thomases were saying the Giants were going to have to trade for a goaltender. A lot of people, myself included, were of the opinion that Sexsmith wouldn’t be able to carry the load after G Dustin Slade, 20, quit on the Giants, meaning GM Scott Bonner was going to have to trade for a veteran stopper. Sexsmith could have collapsed like a cheap suitcase on a wet Vancouver street. Instead, he stood tall, quieted the skeptics, and slid a ring onto his finger.
This season, Sexsmith is 36-10-2-5, 1.98, .908.
Under-rated a year ago? Without a doubt.
Over-rated now? Not a chance.
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You could also make a case that C Oscar Moller of the Chilliwack Bruins isn’t the player most valuable to his team. He won the category with 56 per cent of the points, but he hasn’t exactly been lighting it up as his Bruins struggle to stay ahead of the Kamloops Blazers in the race to stay out of eighth place in the conference.
Of course, voting took place in mid-January, before Moller’s stick had turned colder than a witch’s heart.
Tri-City LW Colton Yellow Horn finished third in the voting. He leads the WHL with 45 goals. His Americans have made a rather impressive charge to the top of the overall standings. Either he or Tri-City G Chet Pickard should have won this category. Pickard didn’t finish in the top six.
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It hard to argue with other categories, although there definitely is food for thought in some of them:
Best 16-year-old: D Tyson Barrie, Kelowna.
Best goaltender: Pickard.
Most valuable to team: Moller.
Toughest player: D Benn Olson, Seattle.
Best skater: D Thomas Hickey, Seattle.
Most accurate shot: Yellow Horn.
Top faceoff man: C Mario Bliznak, Vancouver.
Hardest shot: RW Dan Gendur, Everett.
Top referee: Andy Thiessen.
Best fans: Everett.
Top coach: Don Nachbaur, Tri-City.
Top executive: Scott Bonner, Vancouver.
Best stay-at-home defenceman: Luke Schenn, Kelowna.
Best overage player: Yellow Horn.
Top rookie: LW Jamie Benn, Kelowna.
Most irritating player: RW Garet Hunt, Vancouver.
Top defensive forward: Bliznak.
Most under-rated player: C Colin Long, Kelowna.
Most improved player: Long.
Best pro prospect: Moller.
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MONDAY MUSINGS: The Red Deer Rebels, having been doubled 8-4 by the visiting Kootenay Ice on Saturday, practised twice on Sunday and once on Monday. “Just a few reminders,” head coach Brian Sutter told the Red Deer Advocate. . . . Red Deer D Cullen Morin took more than 30 stitches in his chest after a goal-post collision; he also took a stick to the sternum. D Mike Scarborough (shoulder) also is questionable. The Rebels may add D Alex Petrovic, the 33rd pick in the 2007 bantam draft, now that his midget AAA team, the Edmonton Maple Leafs, has had its season come to an end. He played three games with the Rebels earlier in the season. . . . The status of the Brandon Wheat Kings’ three 20-year-olds is still up in the air. D Daryl Boyle (shoulder), C Tyler Dittmer (broken finger) and D Theran Yeo (ankle) likely will be sidelined when the team opens a six-game homestand Wednesday against the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . .
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MONDAY IN THE WHL:
In Portland, the Prince George Cougars skated to a 4-1 victory over the Winter Hawks in an afternoon game played on the Presidents’ Day holiday. . . . The Cougars (17-49-1-3) have won two in a row, both on the road. . . . The Winter Hawks (9-50-1-1) have lost 16 in a row and dressed just 14 skates because of injuries. . . . Prince George G Real Cyr stopped 40 shots. . . . Prince George F Parker Stanfield scored, giving him five goals over his last five games. He has 11 goals this season. . . . Prince George captain Greg Gardner got his 20th goal of the season.

Blazers, Clark settle; Kamloops adds goaltender

From The Daily News of Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008 . . .

Dean Clark’s association with the Kamloops Blazers is over.
Clark, who was fired Nov. 7 as the WHL team’s general manager and head
coach, has reached a financial settlement on his contract.
The Daily News learned Monday night that Clark reached agreement and signed
off on the deal on Friday.
Tom Gaglardi, the team’s majority owner, confirmed the settlement last
night.
“The Blazers wish Dean and his family every success with their future,”
Gaglardi wrote in an e-mail, “and thank him for his contribution to our
community.”
“I’m free and clear,” said Clark, who was signed through 2008-09. He chose
not to comment further.
Clark, the 10th winningest coach in WHL history, was in his fifth season
with the Blazers when he was fired the day after the Blazers dropped a 2-1
shootout decision to the visiting Red Deer Rebels. The Blazers’ record at
that time was 6-9-1-1.
Assistant coach Andrew Milne, whose also was signed through 2008-09, left
the club in December and later reached a financial settlement. He now is
coaching the AJHL’s Canmore Eagles.
Greg Hawgood was named the Blazers’ interim head coach on Nov. 8. The team
is 20-21-1-1 under him.
Kamloops holds down eighth place in the Western Conference as it leaves
tonight on a six-game swing through the East Division. The Blazers, who have
just four home games remaining in the regular season, will open the trip
Friday in Brandon against the Wheat Kings.
Goaltender Jon Groenheyde of the KIJHL’s Columbia Valley Rockies is to join
the Blazers on their road trip. They will pick him up tonight in Golden.
Groenheyde, who beat the visiting Tri-City Americans 3-2 on Jan. 4 in his
first and only WHL start to date, will replace backup James Priestner, who
will miss up to 10 days with a pulled hamstring. The hamstring was bothering
Priestner last week and he tweaked it further in the pregame skate prior to
Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the visiting Vancouver Giants.
The Blazers also may use centre Jake Trask of the midget AAA Saskatoon
Blazers during the swing. Trask, the 61st pick in the 2006 bantam draft, has
62 points, including 30 goals, in 40 games with the Blazers.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca

Getting Here From There: The Fall of the Kamloops Blazers

CHAPTER 8: Setting Off in a New Direction (Again)

With new owners having taken over the Kamloops Blazers in a deal that closed late on the afternoon of Oct. 25, 2007, anyone who was the least bit familiar with what had transpired expected change.

Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi, now the majority owner of the WHL franchise, had said the first order of business for he and his partners – ex-Blazers players Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor – would be to hire a president.

“An old guy who worked for our company for 40 years has a great line," said Gaglardi, who is president of Northland Properties. "He goes, 'I kind of feel like a mosquito at a nudist camp. I kind of know what to do, I just don' t know where to start.'

"That's how I feel. That's exactly how I feel. Every direction I look . . . there is lots to do. There's not any direction I look in that there isn't lots to do.

"But it's going to take some time."

The first thing to happen was a name change.

Since setting out with the intention of buying the franchise, the group had been known as River City Hockey Inc. The Daily News reported that once the deal closed the franchise’s official name would be Kamloops Blazers Hockey Club Inc.

"I didn't see any reason to keep the River City Hockey name,” Gaglardi said. “It is sort of like, who is River City Hockey? We're now the Blazers. We're not someone else."

The name change also spelled the end of the River City Hockey website, which had been in operation since early in the summer.

“There’s no reason to keep the website,” Gaglardi said. “We’re going to put pertinent information on the Blazers’ website. We’ll have one website – which, by the way, we’ll improve.”

At the same time, Gaglardi said he would own 50 per cent of the franchise, with Doan, Iginla, Recchi and Sydor each owning 12.5 per cent.

On Oct. 18, one week after the WHL’s board of governors approved the sale and a week before the deal closed, Gaglardi said there was no frontrunner for the position as Blazers president.

"No," he said. "There are a whole bunch of potentials. I've got some resumes and I'll certainly have people phone and recommend people. My guys have a couple of ideas. So we've got some options.”

Why have a president?

"I believe in a separation of the activities," Gaglardi explained. "So, ultimately, you have a boss in Kamloops . . . that is the president . . . and the hockey operations and business operations reporting to one person. The goal is to have one person, not two."

The president, Gaglardi said, would live and work in Kamloops.

"The business will be run in Kamloops on a day-to-day basis," he said. "Once we get the transaction closed we are going to be pursuing someone to come in and run the business end.”

At the time, Dean Clark, who carried the title of general manager and head coach, was running the Blazers organization. He would continue as the GM/head coach, Gaglardi said.

"When I talk about the president," Gaglardi said, "you still need a GM for the hockey operations. You have a GM, you have a coach – and it could be the same person. We don't have a problem fundamentally with a GM/coach. We have no problem with that.

“We just think that that person ought to be focused on the hockey business and (the business side) is something different than that. That's the model we plan to pursue.

"That leaves us obviously needing a person and that's what we're going to be chasing. Dean's got his role with the hockey club and that won't change."

Thirteen days after the deal closed, things changed.

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On Nov. 7, with the Blazers having fallen 2-1 in a shootout to the visiting Red Deer Rebels the previous night, Gaglardi convened a hastily called news conference in the Blazers’ board room and announced that Clark had been fired. Gaglardi, Doan, Iginla, Recchi and Sydor had owned the team for five games and had fired their first head coach. The Blazers were 6-9-1-1 and had lost four straight games when the axe fell.

Clark, a veteran WHL head coach, was signed through the 2008-09 season, as were assistant coaches Andrew Milne and Shane Zulyniak, who also carries the assistant GM’s title.

"We had an obligation to these players and their families," Gaglardi said. "They trust us to create an environment they can excel in. We take that obligation seriously. That was one of the key things we all discussed. We think that for the sake of these guys, to help them try to reach their potential, we need to make a change in leadership."

Gaglardi didn’t announce an immediate replacement, although it was reported on this blog the night of Clark’s firing – and in The Daily News the next day – that former Blazers defenceman Greg Hawgood would be the head coach. That was confirmed Nov. 8 when the Blazers announced that Hawgood, without any coaching experience at any level of hockey, would be the team’s interim head coach.

Gaglardi said the decision to fire Clark, who was in his fifth season with the organization, actually was made the morning of the game against Red Deer and that it was unanimous.

“We didn't expect to do this," Gaglardi said. "I meant it when I said that this is Dean's team this season."

Gaglardi also said that the Blazers would hire an interim director of hockey operations, who would handle many of what had been the general manager’s duties. The next day, however, Gaglardi said a director of hockey operations wouldn’t be hired and that those duties would be spread throughout the organization.

A few days later, Brian Fortin, a longtime Blazers scout, was named interim director of hockey operations. The Blazers pointed out in a release that he would oversee the scouting department and be the frontman in any trade discussions. In the organization’s structure, Fortin was installed above Gord Loiselle, the veteran director of player personnel who had been hired by Clark over the summer after leaving the Portland Winter Hawks.

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Aside from Gaglardi, only two members of the Blazers organization – Kirk Fraser, the radio voice of the Blazers, and Dennis Coates, the team’s alternate governor – attended the news conference at which Clark’s firing was announced.

Earlier, Radio NL, longtime holder of the Blazers’ broadcast rights, had reported that Coates, a lawyer with the Kamloops firm Mair Jensen Blair, would be named the Blazers’ chief executive officer, something he and Gaglardi vehemently denied.

Coates, who had been vacationing in Italy, said he had "no idea" where that idea came from and that "there is no basis to it at all."

A long-time director with the Kamloops Blazers Sports Society, Coates had served as the society's treasurer for the previous four years. Coates, who specializes in liquor licensing matters, has done work for Northland Properties, the Lower Mainland company of which Gaglardi is president. Northland Properties is the parent company of Sandman Hotels, Inns and Suites, Denny's and Moxie's restaurants, and the Shark Club Bar and Grill. Northland Properties also owns, among other things, a piece of the action in a huge resort development near Revelstoke.

Coates said he was more than willing "to help them with league stuff," adding that "I've got to think my partners wouldn't be too happy if I was going to leave. (The Blazers) need a business guy with a marketing background and that's not me."

Instead, Coates was named alternate governor.

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At the Nov. 7 news conference to announce Clark’s firing, Gaglardi stated that Zulyniak and Milne would be retained and "leaned on heavily, certainly during the transition period for the interim head coach."

That transition period didn’t last too long because the Blazers announced Dec. 13 that Milne had left the organization.

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Clark, meanwhile, was left to wonder what went wrong.

“I don't know," said Clark, the 10th winningest coach in WHL history. "If I had an answer, things would be different. Ultimately, the team didn't play well.

“We had the great preseason and everybody expected things to be better. There were a lot of one-goal games. . . . You score a goal here or there. . . . Confidence is a funny thing."

Asked if he felt relieved, disappointed or frustrated, Clark responded: "All of the above."

Was he surprised?

"No, not at all," he said.

Clark knew the writing was on the wall and had been since his name was linked with an attempt by Mike Priestner, the president of the Edmonton-based Mike Priestner Automotive Group, to purchase the Blazers over the summer. The first offer to purchase made by Priestner included a clause stating that should the bid be successful Clark would be the managing partner.

That clause was removed from a second offer to purchase but, as far as Clark’s future with the organization was concerned, the end was a matter of when not if. A four-game losing streak provided an early opportunity and the new owners took advantage of that.

It was time, they decided, to take the franchise in a new direction.

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Gaglardi stressed that the midseason changes were on an interim basis and that new management and coaching teams would be in place before another season arrived. Hawgood, Gaglardi said, wouldn’t be the head coach in 2008-09.

"Only because we're going to put new leadership into place this summer," Gaglardi said. "I am not going to make any coaching commitments past summertime. Ultimately the decision on a head coach and assistant coach will fall on the GM. That's the way I believe in running an organization."

Gaglardi said, however, that Hawgood likely would be on the coaching staff.

"I think Greg hopes to be on the staff past this summer and he probably will be," Gaglardi said. "But I don't know . . . it's all up in the air. It will depend who the new GM is and who the new GM brings in for a coach and who he wants for his assistants."

As for Hawgood, who was managing the Ice Box Arena in Kamloops prior to stepping in as the Blazers’ head coach, he said he had long wanted to coach.

"I wanted to (coach) when I retired," said Hawgood, a 39-year-old native of Edmonton whose number (4) has been retired by the Blazers. "There's a lot of good people out there so it's not the easiest thing to get your foot in the door. I wasn't really thinking about it but I kind of had it in the back of my mind and this opportunity came up."

Hawgood is the highest-scoring defenceman in WHL history, having put up 473 points in 310 games.

“There's no doubt our plan was to let Dean run the club this season," Gaglardi said, "and evaluate him and his staff in the summertime and decide if that was something we wanted to stay with or not. But our guys have a lot of confidence in Greg, that he'll bring something . . . maybe that old toughness that the Blazers need."

Some of that toughness disappeared when Milne, 29, departed. During his WHL playing career with the Spokane Chiefs, Swift Current Broncos and Medicine Hat Tigers, Milne had been an enforcer. He also had played for the AJHL’s St. Albert Saints when Clark was their head coach.

“Good morning. Andrew Milne has left the Kamloops Blazers effective immediately. No further comment will be made at this time.”

That was the extent of the press release issued by the Blazers to announce the departure of Milne, who had been immensely popular with the players.

"I'm not making a comment today," Gaglardi said when contacted by The Daily News.

Gaglardi, who refused to call Milne’s departure a firing, added that the position wouldn’t be filled immediately and likely wouldn’t be filled this season.

Milne, who later reached a financial settlement with the club, chose not to comment. Shortly after reaching that settlement, he joined the coaching staff of the AJHL’s Canmore Eagles.

Gaglardi did, however, give Zulyniak a vote of confidence.

"There's no changes with Shane," Gaglardi said. "He's doing a good job."

The coaching staff still included two part-time coaches in Larry Robinson of Kelowna, who handled the goaltenders, and Steve Gainey, who had played for the Blazers and who is the son of Montreal Canadiens’ GM Bob Gainey. Steve serves primarily as an eye in the sky at home games.

Asked if Gainey was in line for a full-time position, Gaglardi responded: "That remains to be seen but that is not part of this move."

Then, on Jan. 2, 2008, Robinson was gone, replaced by former Blazers’ goaltender Steve Passmore, who also is on the coaching staff of the junior B Kamloops Storm, a member of the Kootenay International junior league.

In the same press release that announced Passmore’s signing, Fortin was promoted to general manager. In less than two months, Fortin had gone from being listed among the team’s scouts in the WHL Guide all the way to the general manager’s office.

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Two days after that, there was more change as the club’s three longest-serving players – defenceman Ryan Bender, centre Brock Nixon and defenceman Victor Bartley – were traded. Moments after the Blazers had beaten the visiting Tri-City Americans on Jan. 4, the team was told that Bender and Bartley had been traded to the Regina Pats and that Nixon was being sent to the Calgary Hitmen.

Bender and Nixon, both 20, were in their fifth seasons in Kamloops; both had decided they had seen enough change and uncertainty and they asked to be traded. The 19-year-old Bartley, who was in his fourth season with the Blazers, didn’t ask for a move and was shocked to find out he had been dealt. None of the three had ever played for any team but the Blazers.

In exchange for Bender and Bartley, Kamloops got defencemen Nick Ross, 18, a first-round pick (30th overall) by the Phoenix Coyotes in the NHL’s 2007 draft, and Spencer Fraipont, 19, and a fourth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft.

For Nixon, the Blazers received centre Devon Kalinski, 17, and a 2008 second-round draft pick.

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When the deal to purchase the franchise was finalized, the Blazers were 5-6-1-0. Five games later, they were 6-9-1-1 and Clark was gone.

In the first eight games under Hawgood, the Blazers went 7-1-0-0. They followed that up by going 3-6-0-0, with the three victories coming against the Portland Winter Hawks, Prince Albert Raiders and Prince George Cougars, mediocre opposition to be sure.

And now, with the season winding down, they are 26-30-2-2. Attendance at home games is down five per cent over last season; in fact, only the abysmal Portland Winter Hawks have experienced a larger decrease.

The Blazers are certain to finish seventh or eighth in the Western Conference, something that will make them a first-round playoff opponent of the Spokane Chiefs, Tri-City Americans or Vancouver Giants.

Kamloops’ previous seven playoff appearances – and nine of the last 10 – all have resulted in first-round exits. There is little to indicate that might change this spring.

But while the team’s play was consistent only with its inconsistencies, one thing is certain – the franchise, under private ownership for the first time in 25 years, is headed in a new direction.

Again.

Which means it once again will be a busy hockey summer in the community once known as Little Montreal.

The winds of change will be blowing.

Again.

Fans can only hope the answers are blowing in the winds.


THE END (for now)

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