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.
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