The stuff has hit the fan in Portland where the owners of the Winter Hawks lowered the boom on the front office staff on Monday. The list of the dearly departed includes Liz Tillinghast, the finance director; Dave Taylor, director of ticket operations; and, Tracy Breon, the administrative assistant and receptionist. . . . This is clearly a cost-cutting move as the Winter Hawks, with their season having ended, no longer have cash coming into their operation. . . . There is comment here . . . Judging by all the fan chatter, someone, perhaps WHL commissioner Ron Robison, has a lot of work ahead of them if Winter Hawks fans are to be placated and brought back on board. Then, again, maybe too much damage has been done. . . . Either way, someone needs to hold a news conference, offer up some explanations and at least attempt to clear the air. . . .
The latest on the WHL auditing the Portland operation, as reported by the Tribune's Jason Vondersmith, is right here.
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If you are a subscriber to Shaw TV or Star Choice, you will be treated to the series between the Calgary Hitmen and Swift Current Broncos once the second round of playoffs begins later this week. Even though the Hitmen are the higher seed the series will open in Swift Current on Friday and Saturday. It will follow a 2-3-1-1 format because the Hitmen have been bumped from the Pengrowth Saddledome by the Juno Awards — those are the Canadian Grammys, eh. . . . Game 3 will be played in Calgary on April 8, but no dates have been set for the remainder of the series. . . .
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It’s Game 7 in Seattle on Tuesday with the Thunderbirds and Kelowna Rockets in a deadheat, at 3-3. . . . Seattle won Game 5 at home, 6-2, on Thursday before falling 4-3 in overtime in Kelowna on Saturday. . . . Kelowna has played in four previous Game 7s, suffering first-round losses to the Spokane Chiefs in 1993 and 1998, and losing to the Everett Silvertips in the 2005 Western Conference final. In 2005, Kelowna beat Seattle in a 2005 conference semifinal. . . . The series hasn’t been without its controversies. Kelowna RW Brady Leavold was hit with a late elbowing penalty in Game 6 and Seattle scored on the PP to force OT. “The league thinks it was a bad call,” Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and GM, told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “(Leavold’s) hands were down; they weren’t up. In my mind, that’s kinda the way the whole series has gone. Strange things have happened, but credit to the kids for playing through it.” . . . And there was a hit by Kelowna D Tyler Myers on Seattle D Thomas Hickey, also in Game 6. Hickey ended up on his back and the visor on his helmet apparently was broken, but no penalty was assessed. “It could have been charging, perhaps elbowing, perhaps high-sticking,” Seattle head coach Rob Sumner told Potenteau. “There was contact made to Hickey’s head, and I know this has been a hard-fought, physical series, but it was clearly a blow to the head. We’re lucky Hickey wasn’t seriously hurt on the play. The force made to his head, it’s tough to overlook.” . . . Seattle is 2-2 in Game 7s, having lost to Portland (2006) and Kelowna (2005) and having beaten Portland (2002) and Prince George (1999). . . . This series’ top pointmen are Kelowna C Colin Long, who has 11 points, nine of them assists; Seattle F Ian McKenzie, with nine points, including three goals; and, Hickey, who has a goal and eight helpers. . . . Leavold and Seattle’s David Richard have five goals apiece. . . . Seattle is 10-for-30 on the PP; Kelowna is 10-for-36. Overall, Seattle has outscored Kelowna, 18-16. . . . The referees will be veterans Derek Herman and Andy Thiessen. . . . Tuesday’s winner opens against the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Friday night.
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JUST NOTES: Calgary F T.J. Galiardi is the Boston Pizza WHL player of the week after totaling 10 points, including eight assists, in four playoff games. He also was plus-7. . . . The WHL nominee as CHL goaltender of the week is Dustin Tokarski of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . C Zach Hamill of the Everett Silvertips is joining the AHL’s Providence Bruins. Hamill was selected by the Boston Bruins with the eighth overall pick in the NHL’s 2007 draft after winning the WHL’s 2006-07 scoring championship. He signed with the Bruins last summer. . . .
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NHL Central Scouting is holding meetings in Toronto to settle on its final predraft ratings. . . . There is an interesting read right here on the start to those meetings.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Portland and the Three Amigos
This story, written by Dean (Scooter) Vrooman a couple of summers ago, originally was going to be Chapter 1 in a book on the Portland Winter Hawks. However, the project fell apart in midstream. I stumbled on it the other night while looking around my archives. Perhaps there are some fans out there who will enjoy it. . . . For your reading pleasure, here then is the story of Portland’s Three Amigos and how the Winter Hawks ended up in the Rose City. . . .
PORTLAND’S THREE AMIGOS
Written by DEAN (SCOOTER) VROOMAN
Edited by Gregg Drinnan
It was the summer of 1975 and Brian Shaw, Ken Hodge and Innes Mackie were unemployed. With nothing but time on their hands, they decided to go duck hunting in Stettler, Alta.
Shaw and Hodge had been fired by ‘Wild’ Bill Hunter, who owned the World Hockey Association’s Edmonton Oilers and the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. Mackie had just returned from Kimberley, B.C., where he had turned down a job offer at a mine. The offer Mackie had received included a chance to play a little hockey on the side.
Shaw was in the process of putting together a group of investors to buy the Oil Kings from Hunter. Shaw would run the show. Hodge would coach. Mackie would be the trainer. They didn’t know it at the time but they were embarking on a 20-year relationship — relationships of hockey, business and friendship.
The Three Amigos became inseparable until Shaw passed away in the summer of 1994.
On this day in Stettler, the three men, who would become the three original members of the Winter Hawks’ front office, were solidifying the mutual respect and trust needed. The ducks weren't flying that day, at least not in the Stettler area, so the three erstwhile hunters headed for a local bar to shoot a little pool. Everyone was having fun, too, until a cowboy in a black hat came over and started yipping at Hodge for monopolizing the pool table. After an unflattering comment from Hodge regarding the cowboy’s hat, feathers started to fly — and it had nothing to do with ducks.
"He started to take his jean jacket off and when it got about half way down each arm, I smoked him," Hodge remembers. "It's Saturday night and the place is full. There were five of us — and two of them bailed out. Brian, who was always quick with the wit, was not ready to handle this type of negotiation. So that left Innes and I — and, needless to say, we had our hands full. There were probably eight of them involved by now. The pool cues are getting broken, I'm getting thumped in the back of the head and Innes got jumped. Finally, we hear sirens and red lights. The three of us were never so happy to see the RCMP."
That incident was neither the first nor the last for friendships that would last more than 20 years.
When he was 16 years of age, Hodge earned a job as a defenceman with the Jasper Place Mohawks — a high-profile team in Edmonton. Coincidentally, the general manager and head coach was Shaw, who was working in the first of what would be many dual roles. It didn't take Shaw long to earn his reputation as a slick team manager.
"The team was the talk of the town," Hodge says. "People in Edmonton were very envious. Brian started out with just one bantam team and ended up with the first true feeder system in the Edmonton area when he expanded to midgets and junior. The Jasper Place Mohawks were first class all the way. They paid all their bills, wore flashy uniforms and won lots of hockey games."
Hodge was one of four players from Jasper Place chosen by Shaw to play the next season with the Moose Jaw Canucks of the newly formed Western Canada Hockey League. Shaw was the general manager and head coach and Hodge was a key defenceman.
Other than the Canucks, the WCHL featured the Oil Kings, Estevan Bruins, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, Weyburn Red Wings and Calgary Buffaloes. Moose Jaw finished fourth in a 56-game regular season, 16 points behind the first-place Oil Kings, but went on to win league’s first championship trophy by beating the Oil Kings — the Canucks won that series 3-2 with four games tied — and then Regina, winning the best-of-seven final, 4-1.
It was the pivotal season of Hodge’s career. In a regular-season game against Regina, Hodge was struck in an eye by a high stick. In the playoffs, he again was hit in the same eye. After a series of operations during the summer, doctors told him that they would know by early 1968 if his eye would ever recover.
On Nov. 15, 1967, Hodge received a call from Gordon Fashaway inviting him to Portland to play for the Buckaroos of the professional Western Hockey League. Hodge was excited about the offer and pushed the doctors for an answer. Unfortunately, the answer he received wasn’t the one he had hoped to hear. Hodge's playing career was over.
The next season, Shaw moved on to the St. Catharines Black Hawks of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. While Hodge was helping with training camp, he accepted an offer to coach the Sorel Eparviers of the Quebec Junior A Hockey League.
Hodge, at 21 likely the youngest head coach in the history of Canadian junior hockey, had quite a debut season. Sorel put up a 33-16-1 regular-season record and went all the way to the Eastern Canadian best-of-five final where it lost 3-1 to the Montreal Jr. Canadiens, who would go on to win the Memorial Cup. It’s worth noting that the Jr. Canadiens played in the OJHL, where they ousted Shaw’s Black Hawks from the best-of-seven championship final in five games.
Hodge’s impressive season in Sorel opened up an opportunity for him to coach in the International Hockey League, with a team in Flint, Mich. He would spend four seasons in Flint.
Meanwhile, Shaw returned to Edmonton where he coached the Oil Kings, winning the WCHL’s 1971-72 title in his first season. That put the Oil Kings into what was the first Memorial Cup to be decided in a tournament format — this one also featured the Peterborough Petes and Cornwall Royals, but no host team — in Ottawa. The Oil Kings were eliminated with a 5-0 loss to Cornwall during which Edmonton defenceman Keith Mackie, Innes’s brother, was struck in an eye by a deflected puck and suffered a torn iris. For the record, Cornwall edged Peterborough 2-1 in the final.
The next season, Hunter, the Oilers’ general manager who was most impressed with Shaw's championship season with the Oil Kings, offered him the head-coaching job with the WHA team. When Shaw accepted, Hunter hired Hodge to coach the Oil Kings.
"I jumped at the opportunity because the Oil Kings were a very prestigious team," Hodge remembers. "I wanted to get on with my career in hockey and I saw too many people stagnating in Flint."
As it turned out, Hodge made the wrong move at the wrong time. He got caught in a rebuilding program with the Oil Kings. Much of the talent from the previous season graduated and Hunter gave Hodge a little over a year to win. He didn't, so Hunter fired him.
Meanwhile, Shaw's Oilers got off to an amazing start — winning 18 straight games. Unfortunately for Shaw, the team was playing over its head and it didn't take long for reality to set in. Hunter enjoyed the winning streak and wanted it to continue. When the wins stopped coming, Hunter, never know for his patience or for a willingness to avoid headlines, fired Shaw.
Two months later, brought Shaw, Hodge and Mackie to a pool room in Stettler.
Eventually, Shaw's group bought the Oil Kings from Hunter and 16 games into the 1975-76 WCHL season the three amigos became the WCHL club’s new management team. Shaw was the general manager, Hodge the head coach and Mackie the trainer.
However, things weren’t all coming up roses. Shaw's one year at the helm of the Oil Kings was less than successful. Edmonton hockey fans weren’t in any hurry to go to the old Memorial Gardens to watch the Oil Kings when they could watch the WHA’s Oilers in the brand new Northlands Coliseum.
"Brian and I felt we knew more about the game than anyone else," Hodge says. "We thought we would be able to turn the Edmonton Oil Kings into the premier franchise in the Western Hockey League and a very profitable venture. We found out very quickly that we weren't as smart as we thought we were. We thought we could compete with a major league team on a minor league budget, but we lost more money than any of us could afford to lose.”
Mackie had played on Shaw’s and Hodge's Oil Kings and, contrary to what you might have guessed, the relationship didn't begin on the best of terms. When Mackie was an 18-year-old defenceman playing for Shaw in Edmonton, he had been asked to go to Crosstown Motors, an Oil Kings sponsor, and pick up a new car for Shaw.
"Innes and Brian probably came to an understanding after Innes smacked up two of Brian's brand new cars," Hodge says with a laugh. "One of the accidents was just one of those things, but the other was pretty funny. Innes went to Crosstown Motors, picked up Brian's big Dodge, and only had to cross one busy two-way street. Smack! He couldn't have been more than 40 feet out of the parking lot when he's done and it's tow truck city."
As a player, Mackie quit the Oil Kings early in the 1973-74 season after being taken out of a game by Hodge.
"It's all water under the bridge now," Mackie says. "When I was 18, I played for Brian as a fifth or sixth defenceman. At that time they only used four defencemen and sometimes three. I wasn't getting very much ice time and I wasn't going to go through the same thing when I was 19. So, Hodgie sat me out one game and that was it. Goodbye.“
"Innes and I didn't see eye to eye as coach and player," Hodge agrees. "But I always enjoyed Innes as a person. His brother Keith and I were golfing buddies and Innes was the little brother who always tagged along."
Even through their trials and tribulations, Hodge had enough respect for Mackie to make him the Oil Kings trainer.
Since then, Mackie has always been more than just a trainer. He looks for statistics, quotes and any other information he can find out about every player in the league. One of his attributes is a near photographic memory, and Hodge and Shaw came to depend on that over the years. If there is ever a question about a player, Mackie is the first person asked.
"Innes sometimes confirmed my feelings about hockey players," Hodge says. "He has always been a very knowledgeable hockey person. Innes helped Brian and I on some of our decisions on who we would keep and who we would release or trade. He also had input on people from other teams that might help our franchise if we traded for them. The early years of the Winter Hawks was basically built through trades. Most of our trades were very positive for us and Innes had a role in many of them.”
Mackie also scours the rule book on the long bus rides. He knows the rules inside and out — and has a knack for memorizing them, no matter how obscure.
Mackie earned the nickname ‘Eagle Eye’ for his ability to spot illegal curves in the blades of opponents' hockey sticks. Players with illegal sticks were sent to the penalty box with minor penalties and several Portland victories were been earned as the result of subsequent power plays. In 18 seasons, he was wrong about one stick — and he still claims that the referee didn’t measure that one properly.
"When the game is on, I watch things differently," Mackie points out. "I watch what's happening behind the play, on the other team's bench, and away from the puck. If I see something the coaches don't, I can help out once in awhile. Sometimes, I can relay information to the coaches if an opposing player misses a shift, or a guy is hurt."
All three of the amigos were involved in the move from Edmonton to Portland.
Originally, Shaw went to Vancouver to meet with Nat Bailey, who owned the Mounties of baseball’s Pacific Coast League. Bailey wanted to get involved in hockey and was going to underwrite all the costs of moving the Oil Kings to Vancouver. Bailey also was prepared to give Shaw plenty of working capital to get started. This dream move never happened, however, because the New Westminster Bruins, a nearby WCHL franchise, blocked the move.
At the time, Hodge wanted to move to Spokane. Shaw, though, wanted to check out Portland and arranged a meeting with Dick Reynolds, the general manager of Memorial Coliseum.
"I didn't have any idea where Portland was," Mackie says. "I had to get a map. All I knew was that the Edmonton Oil Kings were in the Western Canadian Hockey League — and Portland wasn't in Canada."
Shaw’s meeting with Reynolds and the Coliseum staff was very positive and soon the Oil Kings were to become the Portland Winter Hawks.
"It was one of the best decisions that Brian made," Hodge recalls. "At that time, we both had an equal vote. So, it was one vote for Spokane and one vote for Portland. Brian decided his vote was bigger than mine and he won."
The first three seasons were very difficult in Portland.
In spite of good, competitive teams, large crowds in 10,400-seat Memorial Coliseum were a rarity. The team was losing money and several of the original investors from Edmonton pulled out when the going got tough. But Shaw, Hodge and Mackie never doubted the potential of the Portland hockey market. The three amigos hung in there and waited for Portland fans to discover the excitement of junior hockey.
"We raised our level of communication — and we communicated without a lot of words," Hodge says. "We had a very good understanding of one another — and we went through some very difficult times in our early years in Portland. There were times when we didn't know if we had enough money to bring the bus home. We had a good, solid relationship. Relationships are built on trust — and we trusted one another."
That trust was only broken one time and that was in the early days of the Winter Hawks. On an off-night in Lethbridge during the 1977-78 season, Mackie went out to do the team laundry and ended up having a couple of beers with several players.
"At the time, I was about the same age as the players — and I had known them as friends and even played hockey with some of them,” Mackie recalls. “I should have been smart enough to know there is a fine line between being a staff member and getting too close to the players."
"I had to fire him," Hodge says. "I really didn't have any options there. I was told to do it because somebody else (Shaw) didn't want to. I can't remember if he was fired for two hours, four hours or a half-a-day, but during this other person's cooling-off period, I convinced him to rehire Innes. Eventually, that other person did the rehiring."
They stuck together in other times of strife, too. From 1987 to 1991, the Hawks had terrible teams — missing the playoffs three of four seasons. This did not set well with Portland fans who had become accustomed to the winning tradition established by the Buckaroos and the early seasons of the Winter Hawks. Hodge became an easy target for the fans. It even came to the point where petitions were being circulated among the Coliseum crowd to have him terminated as coach. Publicly, though, Shaw took most of the criticism for the Hawks' poor on-ice record and deflected as much blame as he could away from Hodge.
"I appreciated what Brian did, but I didn't really feel it was necessary," Hodge says. "My record spoke for itself through the good seasons and Brian knew a coaching change might have injected some short term life into the team, but it would not solve the problem long term.
"We didn't have a very good product on the ice. We had some very good people that were not necessarily very good athletes. Some of the problems with the product were Brian's fault and some were my fault. Brian did take a lot of the heat."
Shaw's passing in 1994 was clearly an emotional time for Hodge and Mackie. The three amigos had been through it all together. The highs and lows. The good times and the bad. They always stuck together even though many times they agreed to disagree.
"It's very obvious to anyone who has worked in this office or is in any way connected with the Portland Winter Hawks that Brian's sense of loyalty was tremendous," Hodge notes. "His sense of loyalty was unwavering and nothing got in the way. Not dollars. Not wins. Nothing gets in front of loyalty."
This is a sense of loyalty that has been ingrained from standing up for one another in a Stettler pool room to building a hockey franchise. Very few have achieved what these amigos have.
PORTLAND’S THREE AMIGOS
Written by DEAN (SCOOTER) VROOMAN
Edited by Gregg Drinnan
It was the summer of 1975 and Brian Shaw, Ken Hodge and Innes Mackie were unemployed. With nothing but time on their hands, they decided to go duck hunting in Stettler, Alta.
Shaw and Hodge had been fired by ‘Wild’ Bill Hunter, who owned the World Hockey Association’s Edmonton Oilers and the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. Mackie had just returned from Kimberley, B.C., where he had turned down a job offer at a mine. The offer Mackie had received included a chance to play a little hockey on the side.
Shaw was in the process of putting together a group of investors to buy the Oil Kings from Hunter. Shaw would run the show. Hodge would coach. Mackie would be the trainer. They didn’t know it at the time but they were embarking on a 20-year relationship — relationships of hockey, business and friendship.
The Three Amigos became inseparable until Shaw passed away in the summer of 1994.
On this day in Stettler, the three men, who would become the three original members of the Winter Hawks’ front office, were solidifying the mutual respect and trust needed. The ducks weren't flying that day, at least not in the Stettler area, so the three erstwhile hunters headed for a local bar to shoot a little pool. Everyone was having fun, too, until a cowboy in a black hat came over and started yipping at Hodge for monopolizing the pool table. After an unflattering comment from Hodge regarding the cowboy’s hat, feathers started to fly — and it had nothing to do with ducks.
"He started to take his jean jacket off and when it got about half way down each arm, I smoked him," Hodge remembers. "It's Saturday night and the place is full. There were five of us — and two of them bailed out. Brian, who was always quick with the wit, was not ready to handle this type of negotiation. So that left Innes and I — and, needless to say, we had our hands full. There were probably eight of them involved by now. The pool cues are getting broken, I'm getting thumped in the back of the head and Innes got jumped. Finally, we hear sirens and red lights. The three of us were never so happy to see the RCMP."
That incident was neither the first nor the last for friendships that would last more than 20 years.
When he was 16 years of age, Hodge earned a job as a defenceman with the Jasper Place Mohawks — a high-profile team in Edmonton. Coincidentally, the general manager and head coach was Shaw, who was working in the first of what would be many dual roles. It didn't take Shaw long to earn his reputation as a slick team manager.
"The team was the talk of the town," Hodge says. "People in Edmonton were very envious. Brian started out with just one bantam team and ended up with the first true feeder system in the Edmonton area when he expanded to midgets and junior. The Jasper Place Mohawks were first class all the way. They paid all their bills, wore flashy uniforms and won lots of hockey games."
Hodge was one of four players from Jasper Place chosen by Shaw to play the next season with the Moose Jaw Canucks of the newly formed Western Canada Hockey League. Shaw was the general manager and head coach and Hodge was a key defenceman.
Other than the Canucks, the WCHL featured the Oil Kings, Estevan Bruins, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, Weyburn Red Wings and Calgary Buffaloes. Moose Jaw finished fourth in a 56-game regular season, 16 points behind the first-place Oil Kings, but went on to win league’s first championship trophy by beating the Oil Kings — the Canucks won that series 3-2 with four games tied — and then Regina, winning the best-of-seven final, 4-1.
It was the pivotal season of Hodge’s career. In a regular-season game against Regina, Hodge was struck in an eye by a high stick. In the playoffs, he again was hit in the same eye. After a series of operations during the summer, doctors told him that they would know by early 1968 if his eye would ever recover.
On Nov. 15, 1967, Hodge received a call from Gordon Fashaway inviting him to Portland to play for the Buckaroos of the professional Western Hockey League. Hodge was excited about the offer and pushed the doctors for an answer. Unfortunately, the answer he received wasn’t the one he had hoped to hear. Hodge's playing career was over.
The next season, Shaw moved on to the St. Catharines Black Hawks of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. While Hodge was helping with training camp, he accepted an offer to coach the Sorel Eparviers of the Quebec Junior A Hockey League.
Hodge, at 21 likely the youngest head coach in the history of Canadian junior hockey, had quite a debut season. Sorel put up a 33-16-1 regular-season record and went all the way to the Eastern Canadian best-of-five final where it lost 3-1 to the Montreal Jr. Canadiens, who would go on to win the Memorial Cup. It’s worth noting that the Jr. Canadiens played in the OJHL, where they ousted Shaw’s Black Hawks from the best-of-seven championship final in five games.
Hodge’s impressive season in Sorel opened up an opportunity for him to coach in the International Hockey League, with a team in Flint, Mich. He would spend four seasons in Flint.
Meanwhile, Shaw returned to Edmonton where he coached the Oil Kings, winning the WCHL’s 1971-72 title in his first season. That put the Oil Kings into what was the first Memorial Cup to be decided in a tournament format — this one also featured the Peterborough Petes and Cornwall Royals, but no host team — in Ottawa. The Oil Kings were eliminated with a 5-0 loss to Cornwall during which Edmonton defenceman Keith Mackie, Innes’s brother, was struck in an eye by a deflected puck and suffered a torn iris. For the record, Cornwall edged Peterborough 2-1 in the final.
The next season, Hunter, the Oilers’ general manager who was most impressed with Shaw's championship season with the Oil Kings, offered him the head-coaching job with the WHA team. When Shaw accepted, Hunter hired Hodge to coach the Oil Kings.
"I jumped at the opportunity because the Oil Kings were a very prestigious team," Hodge remembers. "I wanted to get on with my career in hockey and I saw too many people stagnating in Flint."
As it turned out, Hodge made the wrong move at the wrong time. He got caught in a rebuilding program with the Oil Kings. Much of the talent from the previous season graduated and Hunter gave Hodge a little over a year to win. He didn't, so Hunter fired him.
Meanwhile, Shaw's Oilers got off to an amazing start — winning 18 straight games. Unfortunately for Shaw, the team was playing over its head and it didn't take long for reality to set in. Hunter enjoyed the winning streak and wanted it to continue. When the wins stopped coming, Hunter, never know for his patience or for a willingness to avoid headlines, fired Shaw.
Two months later, brought Shaw, Hodge and Mackie to a pool room in Stettler.
Eventually, Shaw's group bought the Oil Kings from Hunter and 16 games into the 1975-76 WCHL season the three amigos became the WCHL club’s new management team. Shaw was the general manager, Hodge the head coach and Mackie the trainer.
However, things weren’t all coming up roses. Shaw's one year at the helm of the Oil Kings was less than successful. Edmonton hockey fans weren’t in any hurry to go to the old Memorial Gardens to watch the Oil Kings when they could watch the WHA’s Oilers in the brand new Northlands Coliseum.
"Brian and I felt we knew more about the game than anyone else," Hodge says. "We thought we would be able to turn the Edmonton Oil Kings into the premier franchise in the Western Hockey League and a very profitable venture. We found out very quickly that we weren't as smart as we thought we were. We thought we could compete with a major league team on a minor league budget, but we lost more money than any of us could afford to lose.”
Mackie had played on Shaw’s and Hodge's Oil Kings and, contrary to what you might have guessed, the relationship didn't begin on the best of terms. When Mackie was an 18-year-old defenceman playing for Shaw in Edmonton, he had been asked to go to Crosstown Motors, an Oil Kings sponsor, and pick up a new car for Shaw.
"Innes and Brian probably came to an understanding after Innes smacked up two of Brian's brand new cars," Hodge says with a laugh. "One of the accidents was just one of those things, but the other was pretty funny. Innes went to Crosstown Motors, picked up Brian's big Dodge, and only had to cross one busy two-way street. Smack! He couldn't have been more than 40 feet out of the parking lot when he's done and it's tow truck city."
As a player, Mackie quit the Oil Kings early in the 1973-74 season after being taken out of a game by Hodge.
"It's all water under the bridge now," Mackie says. "When I was 18, I played for Brian as a fifth or sixth defenceman. At that time they only used four defencemen and sometimes three. I wasn't getting very much ice time and I wasn't going to go through the same thing when I was 19. So, Hodgie sat me out one game and that was it. Goodbye.“
"Innes and I didn't see eye to eye as coach and player," Hodge agrees. "But I always enjoyed Innes as a person. His brother Keith and I were golfing buddies and Innes was the little brother who always tagged along."
Even through their trials and tribulations, Hodge had enough respect for Mackie to make him the Oil Kings trainer.
Since then, Mackie has always been more than just a trainer. He looks for statistics, quotes and any other information he can find out about every player in the league. One of his attributes is a near photographic memory, and Hodge and Shaw came to depend on that over the years. If there is ever a question about a player, Mackie is the first person asked.
"Innes sometimes confirmed my feelings about hockey players," Hodge says. "He has always been a very knowledgeable hockey person. Innes helped Brian and I on some of our decisions on who we would keep and who we would release or trade. He also had input on people from other teams that might help our franchise if we traded for them. The early years of the Winter Hawks was basically built through trades. Most of our trades were very positive for us and Innes had a role in many of them.”
Mackie also scours the rule book on the long bus rides. He knows the rules inside and out — and has a knack for memorizing them, no matter how obscure.
Mackie earned the nickname ‘Eagle Eye’ for his ability to spot illegal curves in the blades of opponents' hockey sticks. Players with illegal sticks were sent to the penalty box with minor penalties and several Portland victories were been earned as the result of subsequent power plays. In 18 seasons, he was wrong about one stick — and he still claims that the referee didn’t measure that one properly.
"When the game is on, I watch things differently," Mackie points out. "I watch what's happening behind the play, on the other team's bench, and away from the puck. If I see something the coaches don't, I can help out once in awhile. Sometimes, I can relay information to the coaches if an opposing player misses a shift, or a guy is hurt."
All three of the amigos were involved in the move from Edmonton to Portland.
Originally, Shaw went to Vancouver to meet with Nat Bailey, who owned the Mounties of baseball’s Pacific Coast League. Bailey wanted to get involved in hockey and was going to underwrite all the costs of moving the Oil Kings to Vancouver. Bailey also was prepared to give Shaw plenty of working capital to get started. This dream move never happened, however, because the New Westminster Bruins, a nearby WCHL franchise, blocked the move.
At the time, Hodge wanted to move to Spokane. Shaw, though, wanted to check out Portland and arranged a meeting with Dick Reynolds, the general manager of Memorial Coliseum.
"I didn't have any idea where Portland was," Mackie says. "I had to get a map. All I knew was that the Edmonton Oil Kings were in the Western Canadian Hockey League — and Portland wasn't in Canada."
Shaw’s meeting with Reynolds and the Coliseum staff was very positive and soon the Oil Kings were to become the Portland Winter Hawks.
"It was one of the best decisions that Brian made," Hodge recalls. "At that time, we both had an equal vote. So, it was one vote for Spokane and one vote for Portland. Brian decided his vote was bigger than mine and he won."
The first three seasons were very difficult in Portland.
In spite of good, competitive teams, large crowds in 10,400-seat Memorial Coliseum were a rarity. The team was losing money and several of the original investors from Edmonton pulled out when the going got tough. But Shaw, Hodge and Mackie never doubted the potential of the Portland hockey market. The three amigos hung in there and waited for Portland fans to discover the excitement of junior hockey.
"We raised our level of communication — and we communicated without a lot of words," Hodge says. "We had a very good understanding of one another — and we went through some very difficult times in our early years in Portland. There were times when we didn't know if we had enough money to bring the bus home. We had a good, solid relationship. Relationships are built on trust — and we trusted one another."
That trust was only broken one time and that was in the early days of the Winter Hawks. On an off-night in Lethbridge during the 1977-78 season, Mackie went out to do the team laundry and ended up having a couple of beers with several players.
"At the time, I was about the same age as the players — and I had known them as friends and even played hockey with some of them,” Mackie recalls. “I should have been smart enough to know there is a fine line between being a staff member and getting too close to the players."
"I had to fire him," Hodge says. "I really didn't have any options there. I was told to do it because somebody else (Shaw) didn't want to. I can't remember if he was fired for two hours, four hours or a half-a-day, but during this other person's cooling-off period, I convinced him to rehire Innes. Eventually, that other person did the rehiring."
They stuck together in other times of strife, too. From 1987 to 1991, the Hawks had terrible teams — missing the playoffs three of four seasons. This did not set well with Portland fans who had become accustomed to the winning tradition established by the Buckaroos and the early seasons of the Winter Hawks. Hodge became an easy target for the fans. It even came to the point where petitions were being circulated among the Coliseum crowd to have him terminated as coach. Publicly, though, Shaw took most of the criticism for the Hawks' poor on-ice record and deflected as much blame as he could away from Hodge.
"I appreciated what Brian did, but I didn't really feel it was necessary," Hodge says. "My record spoke for itself through the good seasons and Brian knew a coaching change might have injected some short term life into the team, but it would not solve the problem long term.
"We didn't have a very good product on the ice. We had some very good people that were not necessarily very good athletes. Some of the problems with the product were Brian's fault and some were my fault. Brian did take a lot of the heat."
Shaw's passing in 1994 was clearly an emotional time for Hodge and Mackie. The three amigos had been through it all together. The highs and lows. The good times and the bad. They always stuck together even though many times they agreed to disagree.
"It's very obvious to anyone who has worked in this office or is in any way connected with the Portland Winter Hawks that Brian's sense of loyalty was tremendous," Hodge notes. "His sense of loyalty was unwavering and nothing got in the way. Not dollars. Not wins. Nothing gets in front of loyalty."
This is a sense of loyalty that has been ingrained from standing up for one another in a Stettler pool room to building a hockey franchise. Very few have achieved what these amigos have.
—30—
Sunday notes and highlights . . .
F Jon Kalinski of the Minnesota State Mavericks has signed with the NHL‚s Philadelphia Flyers. Kalinski, from Bonnyville, Alta., was a sixth-round pick in the 2007 NHL draft. Kalinski played three seasons with the Mankato-based Mavericks. He is the older brother of Kamloops Blazers C Devon Kalinski. . . .
————————
The WHL is idle until Tuesday night when the Kelowna Rockets are in Seattle to meet the Thunderbirds in Game 7 of their first-round series. It is the only one of the eight opening series to go the distance. . . . The winner gets the Tri-City Americans in the next round. . . . Game time at the Key Arena is 7:05 p.m. . . . Kelowna is 1-1 in Games 7s this decade. That includes a 2-1 victory over Seattle in 2005. . . . The Thunderbirds are 1-2 in Game 7s since 2000. . . .
————————
Don’t be looking for a coaching change with the Regina Pats, who finished atop the Eastern Division, earned the Eastern Conference’s second seed, and then bowed out in the first round. . . . Regina general manager Brent Parker told the Regina Leader-Post’s Greg Harder that head coach Curtis Hunt, who has a year left on his contract, isn’t going anywhere. “I have no issue with the job Curtis has done,” Parker said. “I think it has been a good relationship that he and I have shared. I have a lot of confidence in the guys downstairs. Curtis has had a lot of other commitments (with the national junior team the last two years). I think it’ll be nice to have him around for the full season.” . . . Yes, but will Parker, who is annually surrounded by rumours regarding his possible departure, hang around? “I don’t wanna make those kind of decisions right now,” he told Harder. “I’m not (leaning) one way or the other. I don’t think now is the time to be thinking about it because it just opens up to making decisions based too much on emotion.” . . .
————————
SUNDAY NIGHT IN THE WHL:
In Moose Jaw, F Ryan White’s third-period goal gave Calgary a 3-1 lead and the Hitmen went on to a 4-2 victory over the Warriors. . . . Calgary won the series 4-2 and will meet the Swift Broncos in the second round. . . . The Hitmen won three times in the Crushed Can during this series. . . . Moose Jaw F Jordan Knackstedt pulled his side to within one with a PP score but the Hitmen put it away on Kyle Bortis’s shorthanded empty-netter. . . . With the score tied 1-1, Moose Jaw captain Riley Holzapfel twice had shots hit goal posts. . . . Attendance was 2,337. . . .
———
In Lethbridge, G Juha Metsola stopped 22 shots to lead the Hurricanes to a 4-0 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Hurricanes won the series 4-2 and will meet the Kootenay Ice in the second round. That series is to open Friday in Lethbridge. . . . Lethbridge F Craig Orfino got the winner just 2:32 into the first period. . . . D Luca Sbisa had a goal, his third of the series, and an assist. . . . Brandon G Joe Caligiuri stopped 30 shots. . . . The Hurricanes won the first three games of the series, before Brandon won twice to force a sixth game. . . . Lethbridge hadn’t won a playoff series since the spring of 1997. In the interim, it had lost six times in the first round and on four occasions didn’t qualify for the playoffs. . . . Attendance was 3,949.
————————
The WHL is idle until Tuesday night when the Kelowna Rockets are in Seattle to meet the Thunderbirds in Game 7 of their first-round series. It is the only one of the eight opening series to go the distance. . . . The winner gets the Tri-City Americans in the next round. . . . Game time at the Key Arena is 7:05 p.m. . . . Kelowna is 1-1 in Games 7s this decade. That includes a 2-1 victory over Seattle in 2005. . . . The Thunderbirds are 1-2 in Game 7s since 2000. . . .
————————
Don’t be looking for a coaching change with the Regina Pats, who finished atop the Eastern Division, earned the Eastern Conference’s second seed, and then bowed out in the first round. . . . Regina general manager Brent Parker told the Regina Leader-Post’s Greg Harder that head coach Curtis Hunt, who has a year left on his contract, isn’t going anywhere. “I have no issue with the job Curtis has done,” Parker said. “I think it has been a good relationship that he and I have shared. I have a lot of confidence in the guys downstairs. Curtis has had a lot of other commitments (with the national junior team the last two years). I think it’ll be nice to have him around for the full season.” . . . Yes, but will Parker, who is annually surrounded by rumours regarding his possible departure, hang around? “I don’t wanna make those kind of decisions right now,” he told Harder. “I’m not (leaning) one way or the other. I don’t think now is the time to be thinking about it because it just opens up to making decisions based too much on emotion.” . . .
————————
SUNDAY NIGHT IN THE WHL:
In Moose Jaw, F Ryan White’s third-period goal gave Calgary a 3-1 lead and the Hitmen went on to a 4-2 victory over the Warriors. . . . Calgary won the series 4-2 and will meet the Swift Broncos in the second round. . . . The Hitmen won three times in the Crushed Can during this series. . . . Moose Jaw F Jordan Knackstedt pulled his side to within one with a PP score but the Hitmen put it away on Kyle Bortis’s shorthanded empty-netter. . . . With the score tied 1-1, Moose Jaw captain Riley Holzapfel twice had shots hit goal posts. . . . Attendance was 2,337. . . .
———
In Lethbridge, G Juha Metsola stopped 22 shots to lead the Hurricanes to a 4-0 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Hurricanes won the series 4-2 and will meet the Kootenay Ice in the second round. That series is to open Friday in Lethbridge. . . . Lethbridge F Craig Orfino got the winner just 2:32 into the first period. . . . D Luca Sbisa had a goal, his third of the series, and an assist. . . . Brandon G Joe Caligiuri stopped 30 shots. . . . The Hurricanes won the first three games of the series, before Brandon won twice to force a sixth game. . . . Lethbridge hadn’t won a playoff series since the spring of 1997. In the interim, it had lost six times in the first round and on four occasions didn’t qualify for the playoffs. . . . Attendance was 3,949.
Keeping Score
From The Daily News of Saturday, March 29, 2008 . . .
Art (Golden Boy) Aragon, a boxer of note in the 1950s, died earlier this
week, which prompted Los Angeles Times reader Nick Beck to e-mail the
newspaper: “After listening to Lyndon Johnson’s State of the Union speech —
in which the president declared the famous ‘War on Poverty’ — Art fired off
a telegram to the White House: ‘I surrender.’ ” . . . From Ian Hamilton of
the Regina Leader-Post: “A jogger in South Shields, England, suffered an
injured ankle recently when he was hit with a frozen Mars bar that had been
thrown at him from a passing vehicle. News of the attack drew Snickers from
those in the non-jogging community. . . . Police have suspects in the
incident — a gang called the Three Musketeers that’s led by a shady
character named Mr. Big and his moll, Sweet Marie.” . . . What’s home-ice
advantage in the WHL playoffs? On Tuesday night, six of the seven games were
won by the visiting team.
ESPN.com’s NCAA men’s basketball bracket contest drew 3.65 million entries.
Not one entry picked the outcomes of the first round’s 32 games correctly.
The best was 30-for-32, which still is pretty good. “On the obverse,” notes
The Sports Curmudgeon, “there was an entry that picked every one of the
first 32 games incorrectly. And if you think about it, that is as difficult
a feat as picking all of the games correctly.” . . . Chris Harry, in the
Orlando Sentinel: “(The Dallas Cowboys are) interested in Pacman (Jones);
they traded for Tank Johnson last year. Is a front-office post for O.J.
next?” . . . Jean-Jacques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News has warned the
Cowboys against signing Jones. “You can’t trust him. How could you?”
reasoned Taylor. “We have 44 strip clubs in Dallas. Another 14 in Fort
Worth. And eight more in Arlington. You don’t have enough security to
prevent him from ‘making it rain’ in Dallas-Fort Worth. Even if you did, he
could fly down to Houston on his off day and find 45 more strip clubs. Or
head to Austin, which has 14 strip clubs. Or San Antonio, which has 20
topless joints.”
New York Islanders defenceman Rob Davison beat Toronto Maple Leafs
goaltender Vesa Toskala with a 180-footer the other night. The two used to
play together in San Jose, which is why Davison said: “I always used to
practise shooting long on him.” . . . Pitcher Clay Buchholz of the Boston
Red Sox and Erica Ellyson, a pitcher for Penthouse, are an item. “It doesn’t
surprise me any,” his father, Skip, told a Boston radio show. “Last year up
in Boston, he was dating a Victoria’s Secret model, so he’s moving up the
ladder. . . . I mean, he’s got pretty good taste.” To which Elliott Harris
of the Chicago Sun-Times added: “Not to mention a heckuva ladder.” . . . Is
it just me or are there more and more people out there with an urge to take
a photo during Tiger Woods’ backswing?
If you are into wagering, you may want to place a bob or two of your own
money, as opposed to your mother-in-law’s, on who will be the next general
manager of the Kamloops Blazers. Your choices are: 1. Santa Claus; 2. Easter
Bunny; 3. Craig Bonner; 4. Ogopogo; 5. Scooby-Doo. . . . Dwight Perry, in
the Seattle Times: “Q: If a baseball player’s brief stint in the major
leagues is known as ‘a cup of coffee,’ what do you call 21-loss Coppin
State’s two-hour stay in the NCAA tournament? A: Coppin a feel.’’ . . .
Someone asked Stanford men’s basketball player Taj Finger what the best
taunt is that he has heard. His response: “My favourite was at Cal. A guy
yelled, ‘Finger, you’re more like a thumb.’ ” . . . Do you get the feeling
that Barry Bonds’ phone is going to go dead before it rings?
Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “German billiards champion
Axel Buescher has been suspended after testing positive for an agent that
masks a performance-enhancing drug. Officials became suspicious when
Buescher broke a rack and four of the balls went yard.” . . . Chris Foster,
in the Los Angeles Times: “China is considering banning live television
broadcasts from Tiananmen Square during the Beijing Olympics, apparently
concerned about possible protests during the Games. Memo to China: When was
the last time NBC showed an Olympic event live?” . . . I don’t know what it
means but since the end of the Blazers’ season, this newspaper has received
half-a-dozen notes and e-mails about Digger’s demise; we have received zero
notes and e-mails about the state of the hockey team.
The QMJHL is getting some great exposure from that brawl that involved the
Roy Gang and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. The video was even available off the
home page of the Los Angeles Times sports section. You absolutely can’t buy
that kind of advertising. QMJHL commish Gilles Courteau must be awfully
proud but you can bet the NCAA hockey people are a whole lot happier than he
is. . . . Tony Kornheiser and the Miami Herald’s Dan Le Batard also had a
good time kicking around the Roy Gang and the QMJHL on PTI on Tuesday. . . .
It turns out that Atlanta Thrashers winger Mark Recchi was a double loser
Wednesday when the Kamloops Blazers were swept from a first-round playoff
series by the Tri-City Americans. Recchi, one of the Blazers’ owners, and
Washington Capitals goaltender Olie Kolzig, who owns a piece of the
Americans, had a small bet on the series. “The loser has to have an
interview done praising the other team as well as having to wear the other
team’s jersey during that interview and then sign a jersey and hand it to
the other team,” Kolzig told the Washington Times.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Tim Buss, the Cubs’ strength coach, found
his 1995 Nissan Sentra in tough shape the other day. Somebody had used bats
and balls to beat it to a pulp. “I figured (Jon) Lieber, (Kerry) Wood
immediately, (Ryan) Dempster . . .,” Buss told the Trib. “Then I realized it
was every pitcher we have.” Buss pointed out that it actually was his wife’s
vehicle. “It’s a shame,” Buss said. “What kind of person would do something
like that? It really just shocks me. I’m sure she’ll understand.” Shortly
thereafter, Dempster took Buss deep into the parking lot where he was given
the keys to a new Nissan Xterra SUV. . . . Mike Bianchi, in the Orlando
Sentinel: “Did you see where Mary Ann from Gilligan’s Island was caught with
marijuana in her car a few days ago? Coming soon: The Professor is arrested
for making HGH out of coconut shells and bamboo husks.”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
Art (Golden Boy) Aragon, a boxer of note in the 1950s, died earlier this
week, which prompted Los Angeles Times reader Nick Beck to e-mail the
newspaper: “After listening to Lyndon Johnson’s State of the Union speech —
in which the president declared the famous ‘War on Poverty’ — Art fired off
a telegram to the White House: ‘I surrender.’ ” . . . From Ian Hamilton of
the Regina Leader-Post: “A jogger in South Shields, England, suffered an
injured ankle recently when he was hit with a frozen Mars bar that had been
thrown at him from a passing vehicle. News of the attack drew Snickers from
those in the non-jogging community. . . . Police have suspects in the
incident — a gang called the Three Musketeers that’s led by a shady
character named Mr. Big and his moll, Sweet Marie.” . . . What’s home-ice
advantage in the WHL playoffs? On Tuesday night, six of the seven games were
won by the visiting team.
ESPN.com’s NCAA men’s basketball bracket contest drew 3.65 million entries.
Not one entry picked the outcomes of the first round’s 32 games correctly.
The best was 30-for-32, which still is pretty good. “On the obverse,” notes
The Sports Curmudgeon, “there was an entry that picked every one of the
first 32 games incorrectly. And if you think about it, that is as difficult
a feat as picking all of the games correctly.” . . . Chris Harry, in the
Orlando Sentinel: “(The Dallas Cowboys are) interested in Pacman (Jones);
they traded for Tank Johnson last year. Is a front-office post for O.J.
next?” . . . Jean-Jacques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News has warned the
Cowboys against signing Jones. “You can’t trust him. How could you?”
reasoned Taylor. “We have 44 strip clubs in Dallas. Another 14 in Fort
Worth. And eight more in Arlington. You don’t have enough security to
prevent him from ‘making it rain’ in Dallas-Fort Worth. Even if you did, he
could fly down to Houston on his off day and find 45 more strip clubs. Or
head to Austin, which has 14 strip clubs. Or San Antonio, which has 20
topless joints.”
New York Islanders defenceman Rob Davison beat Toronto Maple Leafs
goaltender Vesa Toskala with a 180-footer the other night. The two used to
play together in San Jose, which is why Davison said: “I always used to
practise shooting long on him.” . . . Pitcher Clay Buchholz of the Boston
Red Sox and Erica Ellyson, a pitcher for Penthouse, are an item. “It doesn’t
surprise me any,” his father, Skip, told a Boston radio show. “Last year up
in Boston, he was dating a Victoria’s Secret model, so he’s moving up the
ladder. . . . I mean, he’s got pretty good taste.” To which Elliott Harris
of the Chicago Sun-Times added: “Not to mention a heckuva ladder.” . . . Is
it just me or are there more and more people out there with an urge to take
a photo during Tiger Woods’ backswing?
If you are into wagering, you may want to place a bob or two of your own
money, as opposed to your mother-in-law’s, on who will be the next general
manager of the Kamloops Blazers. Your choices are: 1. Santa Claus; 2. Easter
Bunny; 3. Craig Bonner; 4. Ogopogo; 5. Scooby-Doo. . . . Dwight Perry, in
the Seattle Times: “Q: If a baseball player’s brief stint in the major
leagues is known as ‘a cup of coffee,’ what do you call 21-loss Coppin
State’s two-hour stay in the NCAA tournament? A: Coppin a feel.’’ . . .
Someone asked Stanford men’s basketball player Taj Finger what the best
taunt is that he has heard. His response: “My favourite was at Cal. A guy
yelled, ‘Finger, you’re more like a thumb.’ ” . . . Do you get the feeling
that Barry Bonds’ phone is going to go dead before it rings?
Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “German billiards champion
Axel Buescher has been suspended after testing positive for an agent that
masks a performance-enhancing drug. Officials became suspicious when
Buescher broke a rack and four of the balls went yard.” . . . Chris Foster,
in the Los Angeles Times: “China is considering banning live television
broadcasts from Tiananmen Square during the Beijing Olympics, apparently
concerned about possible protests during the Games. Memo to China: When was
the last time NBC showed an Olympic event live?” . . . I don’t know what it
means but since the end of the Blazers’ season, this newspaper has received
half-a-dozen notes and e-mails about Digger’s demise; we have received zero
notes and e-mails about the state of the hockey team.
The QMJHL is getting some great exposure from that brawl that involved the
Roy Gang and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. The video was even available off the
home page of the Los Angeles Times sports section. You absolutely can’t buy
that kind of advertising. QMJHL commish Gilles Courteau must be awfully
proud but you can bet the NCAA hockey people are a whole lot happier than he
is. . . . Tony Kornheiser and the Miami Herald’s Dan Le Batard also had a
good time kicking around the Roy Gang and the QMJHL on PTI on Tuesday. . . .
It turns out that Atlanta Thrashers winger Mark Recchi was a double loser
Wednesday when the Kamloops Blazers were swept from a first-round playoff
series by the Tri-City Americans. Recchi, one of the Blazers’ owners, and
Washington Capitals goaltender Olie Kolzig, who owns a piece of the
Americans, had a small bet on the series. “The loser has to have an
interview done praising the other team as well as having to wear the other
team’s jersey during that interview and then sign a jersey and hand it to
the other team,” Kolzig told the Washington Times.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Tim Buss, the Cubs’ strength coach, found
his 1995 Nissan Sentra in tough shape the other day. Somebody had used bats
and balls to beat it to a pulp. “I figured (Jon) Lieber, (Kerry) Wood
immediately, (Ryan) Dempster . . .,” Buss told the Trib. “Then I realized it
was every pitcher we have.” Buss pointed out that it actually was his wife’s
vehicle. “It’s a shame,” Buss said. “What kind of person would do something
like that? It really just shocks me. I’m sure she’ll understand.” Shortly
thereafter, Dempster took Buss deep into the parking lot where he was given
the keys to a new Nissan Xterra SUV. . . . Mike Bianchi, in the Orlando
Sentinel: “Did you see where Mary Ann from Gilligan’s Island was caught with
marijuana in her car a few days ago? Coming soon: The Professor is arrested
for making HGH out of coconut shells and bamboo husks.”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
Saturday is over . . .
Here’s a note scalped from Jeff Bromley’s blog Ice Chips (the link is over there on the left). This involves the just-completed series between the Kootenay Ice and Medicine Hat Tigers:
“The Radio Wars going on between the two cities has gotten comical. After Drive morning show host Steve Russell phone Medicine Hat area golf courses looking for tee-times for the Tigers on Wednesday morning a Hat radio station personality phoned the Drive this morning saying that he was Ice forward Dustin Sylvester and that he had missed the bus to Medicine Hat. The Drive went on the air asking if someone could give Sylvester a ride to Medicine Hat. At 8 a.m., Ice players received text messages on their cell phones asking if Sylvester was really not with the team. Sylvester was obviously with the team and went on to score a goal and an assist, garnering first star honours.”
--------
LW Myles Stoesz, who had WHL stints with the Spokane Chiefs, Chilliwack Bruins and Regina Pats, added 68 penalty minutes to his stats Friday night as his Gwinnett Gladiators dropped a 4-1 decision to the host Florida Everblades. . . . Stoesz went into the third period with nine minutes, from two minors and a fighting major. And then the stuff hit the fan. At 4:48 if the third period, he got hit with instigating and roughing minors and one fighting major. There also was a misconduct for continuing an alercation. Add to that four – count’ em, four – game misconducts. . . . In the end, it totals 68 minutes. . . . Stoesz came out of that game with 63-game totals of four goals, two assists and 308 penalty minutes. . . . He also was minus-19. . . .
--------
An interesting situation is developing in the Western Conference as the Vancouver Giants prepare to meet the Spokane Chiefs in a best-of-seven second-round series. Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith billets with Tracy Rutherford, who just happens to be the mother of Spokane F David Rutherford, whose career actually began with the Giants. “I’ve been told he’ll be the guy standing in front of me on the power play. If I give him a shot, I’ll probably hear about it (from Tracy),” a laughing Sexsmith told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province. “It’ll be weird to play them, but we definitely knew it was a possibility. When I came back from Christmas break, he had written, ‘See you in the playoffs,’ on the wipe board on his door. Now, it’s all coming together. With this series, we’ll see if he gets his room back.” . . . Ewen reports that Vancouver D Jon Blum and two Spokane forwards, Mitch Wahl and Ryan Letts, are boyhood pals from California. . . . The Giants and Chiefs haven’t met since Nov. 3. The Giants won 2-1 in a shootout that night in Spokane. On Oct. 21, the Chiefs won 2-0 in Vancouver. . . .
--------
F Mark Santorelli of the Chilliwack Bruins is expected to sign an NHL deal with the Nashville Predators early next week. Santorelli, who won the WHL scoring championship on the regular season’s last day, was selected by the Predators with the 199th pick of the 2007 draft. . . .
--------
SATURDAY NIGHT IN THE WHL:
In Swift Current, the Broncos scored three goals in the game’s first 7:17 and went on to beat the Regina Pats, 5-2. . . . The Broncos won the series, 4-2. . . . Swift Current scored three times on its first six shots, sending Regina starter Linden Rowat to the bench. Levi Nelson (2:12), Dale Weise (4:20) and Geordie Wudrick (7:17, PP) did the early damage. . . . The Broncos outshot Regina 18-5 in the first period and 33-30 on the night. . . . Attendance was a jam-packed 2,865. . . . Regina cut the Broncos’ lead to 3-2 on two PP goals from F Ryan DePape, the second one at 3:43 of the third. . . . The Broncos put it away on empty-netters by F Dale Weise and F Keegan Dansereau. . . . The skeptics and nattering nabobs of negativity will be sniping at Regina GM Brent Parker for the moves he made leading up to the trade deadline in acquiring the likes of D Ryan Bender, D Victor Bartley and RW J.D. Watt. But, hey, Parker thought he saw an opportunity and went for it. And isn’t that what this is all about? . . .
---
Friday, March 28, 2008
Friday's notes, quotes and anecdotes. . .
The Saskatoon Blades have announced that C Colton Gillies has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild, who selected him 16th overall in the NHL's 2007 draft. The contract kicks in next season. In the meantime, Gillies, 19, is on a tryout agreement with the AHL's Houston Aeros. . . . Next season, Gillies, who had 47 points in 58 games with Saskatoon, will either play for the Wild or the Blades; he will still be too young to be assigned to the minors. . . . In case WHL players wonder how important the stretch run us, consider that Gillies got a contract after totaling 16 points in the last 11 games for a team that wasn’t going to make the playoffs. . . . The Wild doesn’t seem likely to sign Saskatoon LW Ondrej Fiala, 20. He was the 40th overall pick in the 2006 NHL draft. . . .
————————
The Chilliwack Bruins have announced that D Nick Holden, 20, has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. Holden, an undrafted free agent, was the Bruins’ captain. He has used up his WHL eligibility. This season, he had 60 points, including 22 goals. He led WHL defencemen in goals. Holden is to report to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch next week. . . .
————————
Two members of the Kamloops Blazers are joining AHL teams. D Nick Ross, a first-round pick of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes in 2007, will report to the San Antonio Rampage. Ross was with the Regina Pats when he was drafted. . . . RW Brady Calla is off to join the Rochester Americans. Calla was a third-round pick by the Florida Panthers in 2006 when he was with the Everett Silvertips. . . .
————————
The folks at Shaw report that they have three Game 7s on their radar — one on Monday (Brandon at Lethbridge) and two on Tuesday (Kootenay at Medicine Hat and Moose Jaw at Calgary). . . . I am hoping for Game 7 in Calgary. That game would be played in the Calgary Corral, a facility that contains more history than you can imagine. . . . Shaw also will pick up another series when the second round begins April 4. . . .
————————
THE MacBETH REPORT: Garth MacBeth, who watches the European scene on our behalf, reports that former Kamloops D Micki DuPont and former Regina C Josh Holden have signed one-year contracts with Zug in the Swiss National League A. . . . DuPont had 43 points, including 10 goals, in 65 games with Peoria (AHL) this season. . . . Holden played for Langnau in the Swiss National League A this season, finishing second in league scoring with 43 points, including 26 goals, in 48 games. . . . Zug will be coached by current Finnish national team head coach (and former AHL coach) Doug Shedden.
And there’s more on the Jere Karalahti case. “The prosecution has filed a criminal complaint against Pentti Matikainen, the former GM and managing director of Karalahti’s old club (HIFK Helsinki) and former national team head coach,” MacBeth reports. “Police have been ordered to investigate whether or not HIFK money has been used for financing of Karalahti’s drug deals. Matikainen was called as a witness in Karalahti’s trial and denies having lied in his testimony.”
————————
C Jacob Dietrich’s professional career is off to quite a start with the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings. You can read about it here. . . .
————————
When the Seattle Thunderbirds meet host Kelowna in Game 6 tonight, the Rockets will be without LW James McEwan, their captain, who has been suspended for one game. McEwan initiated contact with Seattle G Riku Helenius at the final buzzer of the Thunderbirds’ 6-2 victory on Thursday. “I don’t agree with it. Maybe they were just trying to send a message to
me,” McEwan told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “But I don’t know; all I did really was give him a push. I don’t think it’s worth one game, especially when there’s a lot on the line. It’s going to be pretty tough sitting and watching; it’s a must-win, and I have confidence that we’re going to win it, but I want to be there battling, too. “I don’t think it’s (worth a) one-game (suspension). It was a push, to say the least, and I think he embellished it quite a bit.” . . . Seattle takes a 3-2 lead into Saturday’s game. . . . A seventh game, if needed, would be played Tuesday in Seattle. . . . Potenteau points out that prior to Thursday’s loss Kelowna had won six straight playoff games in Key Arena. . . .
————————
FRIDAY NIGHT IN THE WHL:
The Brandon Wheat Kings and Lethbridge Hurricanes are headed back to Alberta to decide their first-round series. D Matt McCue, a trade-deadline acquisition from the Chilliwack Bruins, scored his first goal of the series at 6:48 of OT to give Brandon a 4-3 victory. This series, in which Lethbridge won the first two games, is following a 2-3-2 format, so goes back to Lethbridge for Game 6 on Sunday. A seventh game, if needed, will be played on Monday. . . . Lethbridge D Luca Sbisa forced OT with a goal at 19:33 of the third period. . . . Lethbridge had a 35-26 edge in shots. . . . Attendance was 3,800. . . . Only once in WHL history has a team won a series after losing the first three games. In the spring of 1996, the Spokane Chiefs rebounded from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Portland Winter Hawks. The Chiefs won Game 7 at home, meaning the Wheat Kings are trying to become the first team in WHL history to rally from a 3-0 deficit by winning the last two on the road. . . .
———
The defending-champion Medicine Hat Tigers bowed out of the playoffs, thanks to a 3-1 home-ice loss to the Kootenay Ice, which won the series, 4-1. . . . The Ice got off to a winning start on first-period goals from F Dustin Sylvester (shorthanded) and Tylan Stephens. . . . Attendance was 3,788. . . . LW Kevin Undershute, who was traded by Medicine Hat to the Portland Winter Hawks and then had his final WHL season ended by a shoulder injury, was keeping stats for the Tigers. . . .
———
The visiting Moose Jaw Warriors staved off elimination with a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . F Jason Bast scored three times for the Warriors, the last one into an empty net. . . . Bast got the Warriors rolling with two PP goals 68 seconds part in the first period as the Hitmen took five straight minors. . . . F Riley Holzapfel had three assists for the Warriors, who got 43 saves from G Joey Perricone. . . . The Warriors were 3-for-7 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-6. . . . Attendance was 8,949. . . . Calgary holds a 3-2 lead with Game 6 in Moose Jaw on Sunday. . . . The Hitmen are 5-0 in Moose Jaw this season. . . . A seventh game, if needed, would be played in the Calgary Corral on Tuesday. . . .
———
The Swift Current Broncos broke a 3-3 tie with three third-period goals as they beat the Pats in Regina, 6-3. . . . The Broncos hold a 3-2 lead with Game 6 in Swift Current on Saturday . . . . If needed, a seventh game would be played Tuesday in Regina. . . . Broncos F Levi Nelson scored at 10:22 and 12:36 of the third period to give the visitors a 5-3 lead. . . . Swift Current was 1-for-6 on the PP; the Pats were 1-for-10 and surrendered two shorthanded goals. . . . Broncos D Michael Wilson returned after missing three game with a concussion. . . . Regina F Brett Leffler returned from the three-game suspension he received for a Game 1 hit on Wilson. . . . Attendance was 6,137. . . . Swift Current lost F Erik Felde early in the third period. He left on a stretcher with an apparent knee injury after blocking a shot by Regina C Tim Kraus. . . .
———
In Everett, C Mitch Wahl’s goal at 12:21 of OT gave the Spokane Chiefs a 3-2 victory over the Silvertips and a sweep of their first-round series. . . . Spokane outscored Everett 16-6 in the four games. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski made 33 saves. . . . Everett sat G Leland Irving and went with rookie Shayne Barrie, who made 32 saves. . . . Everett D Jon Harty forced OT with a PP goal at 19:05 of the third period. . . . Everett lost its last five games of the regular season so finished up with nine straight losses. . . . The Chiefs will meet the Vancouver Giants in the second round. Spokane will have home-ice advantage as teams are reseeded by regular-season points for the second round. . . . The Western Conference’s other semifinal will feature the Tri-City Americans against Seattle or Kelowna. . . . The Spokane-Vancouver seasons opens with Games 1 and 2 in Spokane on April 4 and April 6. Games 3, 4 and, if needed, 5 will be played in Vancouver on April 9, 11 and 12. Games 6 and 7 would be played in Spokane on April 14 and 15.
————————
The Chilliwack Bruins have announced that D Nick Holden, 20, has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. Holden, an undrafted free agent, was the Bruins’ captain. He has used up his WHL eligibility. This season, he had 60 points, including 22 goals. He led WHL defencemen in goals. Holden is to report to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch next week. . . .
————————
Two members of the Kamloops Blazers are joining AHL teams. D Nick Ross, a first-round pick of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes in 2007, will report to the San Antonio Rampage. Ross was with the Regina Pats when he was drafted. . . . RW Brady Calla is off to join the Rochester Americans. Calla was a third-round pick by the Florida Panthers in 2006 when he was with the Everett Silvertips. . . .
————————
The folks at Shaw report that they have three Game 7s on their radar — one on Monday (Brandon at Lethbridge) and two on Tuesday (Kootenay at Medicine Hat and Moose Jaw at Calgary). . . . I am hoping for Game 7 in Calgary. That game would be played in the Calgary Corral, a facility that contains more history than you can imagine. . . . Shaw also will pick up another series when the second round begins April 4. . . .
————————
THE MacBETH REPORT: Garth MacBeth, who watches the European scene on our behalf, reports that former Kamloops D Micki DuPont and former Regina C Josh Holden have signed one-year contracts with Zug in the Swiss National League A. . . . DuPont had 43 points, including 10 goals, in 65 games with Peoria (AHL) this season. . . . Holden played for Langnau in the Swiss National League A this season, finishing second in league scoring with 43 points, including 26 goals, in 48 games. . . . Zug will be coached by current Finnish national team head coach (and former AHL coach) Doug Shedden.
And there’s more on the Jere Karalahti case. “The prosecution has filed a criminal complaint against Pentti Matikainen, the former GM and managing director of Karalahti’s old club (HIFK Helsinki) and former national team head coach,” MacBeth reports. “Police have been ordered to investigate whether or not HIFK money has been used for financing of Karalahti’s drug deals. Matikainen was called as a witness in Karalahti’s trial and denies having lied in his testimony.”
————————
C Jacob Dietrich’s professional career is off to quite a start with the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings. You can read about it here. . . .
————————
When the Seattle Thunderbirds meet host Kelowna in Game 6 tonight, the Rockets will be without LW James McEwan, their captain, who has been suspended for one game. McEwan initiated contact with Seattle G Riku Helenius at the final buzzer of the Thunderbirds’ 6-2 victory on Thursday. “I don’t agree with it. Maybe they were just trying to send a message to
me,” McEwan told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “But I don’t know; all I did really was give him a push. I don’t think it’s worth one game, especially when there’s a lot on the line. It’s going to be pretty tough sitting and watching; it’s a must-win, and I have confidence that we’re going to win it, but I want to be there battling, too. “I don’t think it’s (worth a) one-game (suspension). It was a push, to say the least, and I think he embellished it quite a bit.” . . . Seattle takes a 3-2 lead into Saturday’s game. . . . A seventh game, if needed, would be played Tuesday in Seattle. . . . Potenteau points out that prior to Thursday’s loss Kelowna had won six straight playoff games in Key Arena. . . .
————————
FRIDAY NIGHT IN THE WHL:
The Brandon Wheat Kings and Lethbridge Hurricanes are headed back to Alberta to decide their first-round series. D Matt McCue, a trade-deadline acquisition from the Chilliwack Bruins, scored his first goal of the series at 6:48 of OT to give Brandon a 4-3 victory. This series, in which Lethbridge won the first two games, is following a 2-3-2 format, so goes back to Lethbridge for Game 6 on Sunday. A seventh game, if needed, will be played on Monday. . . . Lethbridge D Luca Sbisa forced OT with a goal at 19:33 of the third period. . . . Lethbridge had a 35-26 edge in shots. . . . Attendance was 3,800. . . . Only once in WHL history has a team won a series after losing the first three games. In the spring of 1996, the Spokane Chiefs rebounded from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Portland Winter Hawks. The Chiefs won Game 7 at home, meaning the Wheat Kings are trying to become the first team in WHL history to rally from a 3-0 deficit by winning the last two on the road. . . .
———
The defending-champion Medicine Hat Tigers bowed out of the playoffs, thanks to a 3-1 home-ice loss to the Kootenay Ice, which won the series, 4-1. . . . The Ice got off to a winning start on first-period goals from F Dustin Sylvester (shorthanded) and Tylan Stephens. . . . Attendance was 3,788. . . . LW Kevin Undershute, who was traded by Medicine Hat to the Portland Winter Hawks and then had his final WHL season ended by a shoulder injury, was keeping stats for the Tigers. . . .
———
The visiting Moose Jaw Warriors staved off elimination with a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . F Jason Bast scored three times for the Warriors, the last one into an empty net. . . . Bast got the Warriors rolling with two PP goals 68 seconds part in the first period as the Hitmen took five straight minors. . . . F Riley Holzapfel had three assists for the Warriors, who got 43 saves from G Joey Perricone. . . . The Warriors were 3-for-7 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-6. . . . Attendance was 8,949. . . . Calgary holds a 3-2 lead with Game 6 in Moose Jaw on Sunday. . . . The Hitmen are 5-0 in Moose Jaw this season. . . . A seventh game, if needed, would be played in the Calgary Corral on Tuesday. . . .
———
The Swift Current Broncos broke a 3-3 tie with three third-period goals as they beat the Pats in Regina, 6-3. . . . The Broncos hold a 3-2 lead with Game 6 in Swift Current on Saturday . . . . If needed, a seventh game would be played Tuesday in Regina. . . . Broncos F Levi Nelson scored at 10:22 and 12:36 of the third period to give the visitors a 5-3 lead. . . . Swift Current was 1-for-6 on the PP; the Pats were 1-for-10 and surrendered two shorthanded goals. . . . Broncos D Michael Wilson returned after missing three game with a concussion. . . . Regina F Brett Leffler returned from the three-game suspension he received for a Game 1 hit on Wilson. . . . Attendance was 6,137. . . . Swift Current lost F Erik Felde early in the third period. He left on a stretcher with an apparent knee injury after blocking a shot by Regina C Tim Kraus. . . .
———
In Everett, C Mitch Wahl’s goal at 12:21 of OT gave the Spokane Chiefs a 3-2 victory over the Silvertips and a sweep of their first-round series. . . . Spokane outscored Everett 16-6 in the four games. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski made 33 saves. . . . Everett sat G Leland Irving and went with rookie Shayne Barrie, who made 32 saves. . . . Everett D Jon Harty forced OT with a PP goal at 19:05 of the third period. . . . Everett lost its last five games of the regular season so finished up with nine straight losses. . . . The Chiefs will meet the Vancouver Giants in the second round. Spokane will have home-ice advantage as teams are reseeded by regular-season points for the second round. . . . The Western Conference’s other semifinal will feature the Tri-City Americans against Seattle or Kelowna. . . . The Spokane-Vancouver seasons opens with Games 1 and 2 in Spokane on April 4 and April 6. Games 3, 4 and, if needed, 5 will be played in Vancouver on April 9, 11 and 12. Games 6 and 7 would be played in Spokane on April 14 and 15.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Some Thursday notes . . .
C Brandon Sutter of the Red Deer Rebels has signed a three-year entry-level deal with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. They selected him in the first round of the 2007 NHL draft. Sutter, 19, had 49 points with the Rebels this season. He will join the AHL’s Albany River Rats this week. At the NHL level. Sutter will get US$787,500 per season. The number falls to $65,000 if he’s in the minors. . . . Brandon, who got a $262,500 signing bonus, is the son of Brent Sutter, who owns the Rebels and is the head coach of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. . . .
————————
RW Spencer Machacek, the captain of the Vancouver Giants, has signed a three-year entry level deal with the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers. They selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2007 draft. . . . No terms yet. . . . Machacek has had a huge season with the Giants, getting career hights in goals (33), assists (45) and points (78) in 70 games. . . . He had three goals and an assist in the Giants’ opening-round sweep of the Chilliwack Bruins. . . .
————————
It appears that things are really heating up in the series between the Kelowna Rockets and Seattle Thunderbirds. The T-birds hold a 3-2 edge after a 6-2 victory on home ice Thursday night. At game’s end, Kelowna LW James McEwan, who began his career with the Thunderbirds, tackled Seattle G Riku Helenius, prompting something of a scuffle. “It was just one of their guys trying to give his team a spark,” Seattle D Thomas Hickey told Jim Riley of the Seattle Times. "It was a classless move and I don't think they gained anything out of it. We have bigger and better things to worry about than one of their guys making a play like that." . . . McEwan was given a double minor. . . . Helenius, who was beaten by Brady Leavold just 22 seconds into the first period, finished with 25 saves. . . . F Bud Holloway had two goals for Seattle, while Hickey contributed three assists. . . . Kelowna G Kris Westblom, making his fifth straight start, was replaced by Torrie Jung at 12:51 of the first period after being beaten three times on eight shots. . . . Attendance was 3,369. . . . Seattle, which lost the first two games at home and now has won three in row, can wrap it up Saturday in Kelowna. . . . Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier reports seeing this sign in the stands in Seattle: Colin Joe illegally downloads.
————————
RW Spencer Machacek, the captain of the Vancouver Giants, has signed a three-year entry level deal with the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers. They selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2007 draft. . . . No terms yet. . . . Machacek has had a huge season with the Giants, getting career hights in goals (33), assists (45) and points (78) in 70 games. . . . He had three goals and an assist in the Giants’ opening-round sweep of the Chilliwack Bruins. . . .
————————
It appears that things are really heating up in the series between the Kelowna Rockets and Seattle Thunderbirds. The T-birds hold a 3-2 edge after a 6-2 victory on home ice Thursday night. At game’s end, Kelowna LW James McEwan, who began his career with the Thunderbirds, tackled Seattle G Riku Helenius, prompting something of a scuffle. “It was just one of their guys trying to give his team a spark,” Seattle D Thomas Hickey told Jim Riley of the Seattle Times. "It was a classless move and I don't think they gained anything out of it. We have bigger and better things to worry about than one of their guys making a play like that." . . . McEwan was given a double minor. . . . Helenius, who was beaten by Brady Leavold just 22 seconds into the first period, finished with 25 saves. . . . F Bud Holloway had two goals for Seattle, while Hickey contributed three assists. . . . Kelowna G Kris Westblom, making his fifth straight start, was replaced by Torrie Jung at 12:51 of the first period after being beaten three times on eight shots. . . . Attendance was 3,369. . . . Seattle, which lost the first two games at home and now has won three in row, can wrap it up Saturday in Kelowna. . . . Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier reports seeing this sign in the stands in Seattle: Colin Joe illegally downloads.
End of an ugly season
From The Daily News of Friday, March 28, 2008 . . .
It was the evening of Jan. 7.
Not yet 72 hours had passed since the Kamloops Blazers, under new ownership
for less than three months, had traded away their three longest-serving
players who also happened to be their three best players.
Earl Seitz, CFJC-TV’s venerable sports director, was ready to open his
evening sportscast. He was seated at the news desk, facing a camera, and as
the show went to air the graphic behind him showed a Blazers logo
super-imposed over a sinking ship. It was a big ship, but it was going down,
nonetheless.
If you are looking for one moment or one thing that symbolizes the
just-completed WHL season in these parts, well, that was it.
Because there can be no doubt — the Blazers’ 2007-08 season sank like a
stone.
It ended mercifully Wednesday evening, the Tri-City Americans quietly
sweeping aside Kamloops with a 6-2 victory in front of the smallest playoff
gathering in the history of the Blazers’ home arena.
Somehow, these Blazers managed to lose 18 of their last 19 games — that
would be losing streaks of 10 and eight interrupted by one victory.
It wasn’t pretty.
But, then, nothing about this season was pretty.
This was an ugly, ugly season, the ugliest in franchise history, uglier even
than season No. 1, 1981-82, when the Junior Oilers went 18-53-1 and were
swept from the playoffs by the Portland Winter Hawks.
It was hard to watch this latest edition of the Blazers and not feel a whole
lot of sympathy for the players who were left on the roster after the
January trade deadline. The survivors had watched two coaches leave, general
manager and head coach Dean Clark, the man responsible for the recruitment
or acquisition of every player on the roster through early November, having
been fired in November and assistant coach Andrew Milne having followed him
out the door in December.
And then, on Jan. 4, the team’s three best players were traded away.
“It was tough,” right-winger Juuso Puustinen said quietly after Wednesday’s
loss. “I’ve never been involved with a coaching change during the year. It
was hard.”
It got harder. Puustinen played for Finland at the World Junior Championship
and when he returned he found that defencemen Victor Bartley and Ryan Bender
and centre Brock Nixon had been traded. Management has said all three asked
to be traded. And give management some credit for moving them to contenders,
Bartley and Bender to the Regina Pats and Nixon to the Calgary Hitmen.
But . . .
“All my friends got traded . . . and I got new friends,” Puustinen said. “It
was a tough season.”
All the turmoil meant that players were taken outside of their comfort zones
and put into positions with which they weren’t familiar and, in many
instances, in which they couldn’t succeed.
Nothing is more important on a junior hockey team than the understanding and
acceptance of roles. With all the changes and then all the losing, there was
too much confusion to sort out roles.
Which isn’t to mean that the players quit trying or that the losing didn’t
hurt.
“We maybe underestimated the season the kids had,” offered interim head
coach Greg Hawgood. “It was a tough season on them, with having a new coach
and different people and trades and what have you. At the end of the day,
they’re still 16- and 20-year-old kids.
“We want to treat them like men but we forget that they’re boys sometime.”
Hawgood, like so many of his players, was faced with a huge learning curve.
Despite having no coaching experience at any level of hockey, he was hired
to replace Clark, who is the 10th winningest coach in WHL history. Hawgood’s
record, including playoffs, is 21-36-1-1.
He will be on the coaching staff next season; he just won’t be the head guy.
“I’ll be a part of this team . . . in some capacity,” he said. “I haven’t
really worried about it. From all indications I will be on the bench, I’m
just not sure what end.
“There’s going to obviously be some changes to get the work ethic and the
things that are necessary for this team to succeed.”
Yes, we are headed into yet another summer of change. But while the last two
summers in these parts have been all about to sell or not to sell, now it’s
all about restructuring and hiring and changing the culture.
The winds of change began blowing immediately after Wednesday’s game with
the news that Digger, the long-time mascot who has been so popular with the
younger set, won’t be back for another season, at least not in present form.
This is just the first in what no doubt will be a veritable blizzard of
moves.
Barring the unexpected, Craig Bonner, the assistant GM/assistant head coach
with the Vancouver Giants, will be the Blazers’ next general manager. A head
coach will be hired. The scouting department will be given a thorough going
over. Someone will be put in charge of the business side of the operation.
There will be lots going on, especially behind the scenes.
The attendance at this week’s two playoff games — 2,895 and 2,570 — tells
you there is much work to be done.
It all makes one wonder, though, just how much damage has really been done
and if some of the fans who have been lost are lost forever.
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
It was the evening of Jan. 7.
Not yet 72 hours had passed since the Kamloops Blazers, under new ownership
for less than three months, had traded away their three longest-serving
players who also happened to be their three best players.
Earl Seitz, CFJC-TV’s venerable sports director, was ready to open his
evening sportscast. He was seated at the news desk, facing a camera, and as
the show went to air the graphic behind him showed a Blazers logo
super-imposed over a sinking ship. It was a big ship, but it was going down,
nonetheless.
If you are looking for one moment or one thing that symbolizes the
just-completed WHL season in these parts, well, that was it.
Because there can be no doubt — the Blazers’ 2007-08 season sank like a
stone.
It ended mercifully Wednesday evening, the Tri-City Americans quietly
sweeping aside Kamloops with a 6-2 victory in front of the smallest playoff
gathering in the history of the Blazers’ home arena.
Somehow, these Blazers managed to lose 18 of their last 19 games — that
would be losing streaks of 10 and eight interrupted by one victory.
It wasn’t pretty.
But, then, nothing about this season was pretty.
This was an ugly, ugly season, the ugliest in franchise history, uglier even
than season No. 1, 1981-82, when the Junior Oilers went 18-53-1 and were
swept from the playoffs by the Portland Winter Hawks.
It was hard to watch this latest edition of the Blazers and not feel a whole
lot of sympathy for the players who were left on the roster after the
January trade deadline. The survivors had watched two coaches leave, general
manager and head coach Dean Clark, the man responsible for the recruitment
or acquisition of every player on the roster through early November, having
been fired in November and assistant coach Andrew Milne having followed him
out the door in December.
And then, on Jan. 4, the team’s three best players were traded away.
“It was tough,” right-winger Juuso Puustinen said quietly after Wednesday’s
loss. “I’ve never been involved with a coaching change during the year. It
was hard.”
It got harder. Puustinen played for Finland at the World Junior Championship
and when he returned he found that defencemen Victor Bartley and Ryan Bender
and centre Brock Nixon had been traded. Management has said all three asked
to be traded. And give management some credit for moving them to contenders,
Bartley and Bender to the Regina Pats and Nixon to the Calgary Hitmen.
But . . .
“All my friends got traded . . . and I got new friends,” Puustinen said. “It
was a tough season.”
All the turmoil meant that players were taken outside of their comfort zones
and put into positions with which they weren’t familiar and, in many
instances, in which they couldn’t succeed.
Nothing is more important on a junior hockey team than the understanding and
acceptance of roles. With all the changes and then all the losing, there was
too much confusion to sort out roles.
Which isn’t to mean that the players quit trying or that the losing didn’t
hurt.
“We maybe underestimated the season the kids had,” offered interim head
coach Greg Hawgood. “It was a tough season on them, with having a new coach
and different people and trades and what have you. At the end of the day,
they’re still 16- and 20-year-old kids.
“We want to treat them like men but we forget that they’re boys sometime.”
Hawgood, like so many of his players, was faced with a huge learning curve.
Despite having no coaching experience at any level of hockey, he was hired
to replace Clark, who is the 10th winningest coach in WHL history. Hawgood’s
record, including playoffs, is 21-36-1-1.
He will be on the coaching staff next season; he just won’t be the head guy.
“I’ll be a part of this team . . . in some capacity,” he said. “I haven’t
really worried about it. From all indications I will be on the bench, I’m
just not sure what end.
“There’s going to obviously be some changes to get the work ethic and the
things that are necessary for this team to succeed.”
Yes, we are headed into yet another summer of change. But while the last two
summers in these parts have been all about to sell or not to sell, now it’s
all about restructuring and hiring and changing the culture.
The winds of change began blowing immediately after Wednesday’s game with
the news that Digger, the long-time mascot who has been so popular with the
younger set, won’t be back for another season, at least not in present form.
This is just the first in what no doubt will be a veritable blizzard of
moves.
Barring the unexpected, Craig Bonner, the assistant GM/assistant head coach
with the Vancouver Giants, will be the Blazers’ next general manager. A head
coach will be hired. The scouting department will be given a thorough going
over. Someone will be put in charge of the business side of the operation.
There will be lots going on, especially behind the scenes.
The attendance at this week’s two playoff games — 2,895 and 2,570 — tells
you there is much work to be done.
It all makes one wonder, though, just how much damage has really been done
and if some of the fans who have been lost are lost forever.
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
Digger's done
From The Daily News of Friday, March 28, 2008 . . .
The Kamloops Blazers’ season had hardly ended Wednesday night when an
incoming e-mail brought the news.
“I was just at the hockey game,” read the message, “and found out some
disturbing news. Digger is retiring . . . so many kids are sad thanks to
this.”
The e-mail was signed: “Bummed out mom comforting a very upset child.”
Dave Chyzowski, the Blazers’ director of marketing, confirmed the news
Thursday afternoon. Digger, the WHL team’s long-time mascot, is done; at
least, this version of Digger is finished.
“I don’t know if he’s getting disappointed that he’s not able to be as
visible and active as he used to be, or what,” Chyzowski said, pointing out
that Perry Coutts (aka Digger) isn’t as young as he used to be. “He has told
me a couple of times he can’t do it anymore, he’s disgruntled about this and
that.”
Coutts couldn’t be reached for comment prior to last night’s press-time.
Chyzowski confirmed that the team hopes to recognize Digger in some fashion
early next season.
“We want to try to say, ‘We understand that you’re not going to be doing it
anymore. You know what, we want to recognize you here,’ “ Chyzowski said.
“We’re going to figure something out here in the next few weeks. We want to
recognize him and thank him for all he’s done. He’s been around for like 20
years.”
Chyzowski said he and majority owner Tom Gaglardi discussed the matter of
recognition yesterday morning.
“We’ve got to do something to recognize him and we’re going to do that,”
Chyzowski said. “I think we might do something where he drops the puck at
the first game next season, comes out and says goodbye to everybody.
“I’m going to sit down with him and see what we can do.”
Chyzowski added that there will be a mascot of some sort in place when the
2008-09 season opens.
“The part of Digger that everybody raved about was how visible he was,”
Chyzowski said. “It’s not easy going up and down those stairs and I’m only
37. He’s in his 50s. I think the biggest thing is to get some youth in
there, to get somebody who is young and enthusiastic like he was.
“It’s going to be tough to replace him because he is a Blazer at heart. You
can’t just find that, especially nowadays.”
Chyzowski said he wouldn’t be surprised if management chooses to have its
next mascot follow in Diggers paw prints.
“I think in all fairness to Digger, the costume . . . I think we should keep
Digger the dog and maybe modify it a little bit,” Chyzowski said.
One thing, however, is for certain — there will be a mascot.
“Absolutely,” Chyzowski said.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
The Kamloops Blazers’ season had hardly ended Wednesday night when an
incoming e-mail brought the news.
“I was just at the hockey game,” read the message, “and found out some
disturbing news. Digger is retiring . . . so many kids are sad thanks to
this.”
The e-mail was signed: “Bummed out mom comforting a very upset child.”
Dave Chyzowski, the Blazers’ director of marketing, confirmed the news
Thursday afternoon. Digger, the WHL team’s long-time mascot, is done; at
least, this version of Digger is finished.
“I don’t know if he’s getting disappointed that he’s not able to be as
visible and active as he used to be, or what,” Chyzowski said, pointing out
that Perry Coutts (aka Digger) isn’t as young as he used to be. “He has told
me a couple of times he can’t do it anymore, he’s disgruntled about this and
that.”
Coutts couldn’t be reached for comment prior to last night’s press-time.
Chyzowski confirmed that the team hopes to recognize Digger in some fashion
early next season.
“We want to try to say, ‘We understand that you’re not going to be doing it
anymore. You know what, we want to recognize you here,’ “ Chyzowski said.
“We’re going to figure something out here in the next few weeks. We want to
recognize him and thank him for all he’s done. He’s been around for like 20
years.”
Chyzowski said he and majority owner Tom Gaglardi discussed the matter of
recognition yesterday morning.
“We’ve got to do something to recognize him and we’re going to do that,”
Chyzowski said. “I think we might do something where he drops the puck at
the first game next season, comes out and says goodbye to everybody.
“I’m going to sit down with him and see what we can do.”
Chyzowski added that there will be a mascot of some sort in place when the
2008-09 season opens.
“The part of Digger that everybody raved about was how visible he was,”
Chyzowski said. “It’s not easy going up and down those stairs and I’m only
37. He’s in his 50s. I think the biggest thing is to get some youth in
there, to get somebody who is young and enthusiastic like he was.
“It’s going to be tough to replace him because he is a Blazer at heart. You
can’t just find that, especially nowadays.”
Chyzowski said he wouldn’t be surprised if management chooses to have its
next mascot follow in Diggers paw prints.
“I think in all fairness to Digger, the costume . . . I think we should keep
Digger the dog and maybe modify it a little bit,” Chyzowski said.
One thing, however, is for certain — there will be a mascot.
“Absolutely,” Chyzowski said.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Americans eliminate Blazers
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
A WHL season that began with such promise for the Kamloops Blazers came to
an end with barely a whimper Wednesday night at Interior Savings Centre.
The Tri-City Americans, the No. 1 seed going into these playoffs, skated to
a 6-2 victory over the Blazers who, had the teams been stacked according to
regular-season points, would have been the No. 16 seed.
The victory gave the Americans, who have won their last nine games, a sweep
of the best-of-seven first-round series. It also marks the first time the
Americans have advanced past the first round since the spring of 2004 and
was the first time in five postseason meetings that they have ousted the
Blazers.
Tri-City, which outscored the Blazers 20-7 in the four games, is likely to
meet either the Seattle Thunderbirds or Kelowna Rockets in the second round.
That series is 2-2 going into Game 5 in Seattle tonight.
The Blazers, who won 40 games during the 2006-07 regular season, were
expected to be one of the Western Conference’s top teams this time around.
But it turned out to be a season of turmoil and change, which was quite
evident on the ice.
This was the Blazers’ 18th loss in their last 19 games; they won only once
after beating the visiting Rockets 2-1 in a Feb. 8 shootout.
The series loss also continues an ugly postseason trend. Kamloops now has
lost in the first round in its last eight playoff appearances. Since
reaching the WHL’s 1999 championship final, where it fell in five games to
the Calgary Hitmen, Kamloops is 5-32 in playoff games.
The Americans jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by foot
soldiers Brett Plouffe and Drew Hoff. Not even two glorious saves by
Kamloops goaltender Justin Leclerc on Tri-City winger Shaun Vey at 12:13 of
the period could provide the home boys with a spark.
They finally found some life when right-winger Juuso Puustinen scored at
6:50 of the second period, and wingers Shayne Wiebe and Tyler Shattock followed
that up with a bruising shift.
However, Kamloops wasn’t able to score again until midway in the third
period, by which time the visitors had put three more pucks past goaltender
Justin Leclerc.
Radek Meidl, with two, Blair Macaulay and Lane Werbowski had third-periods
goals for the Americans, with Ivan Rohac counting the Blazers’ last goal.
“They’re a good hockey club,” Kamloops winger Brady Calla said, clutching a
right elbow that may need surgery. “It’s what we expected from them.”
However, the Blazers showed enough at times in this series to leave them
wondering.
“At the end of the day,” Calla said, “the way we looked at it we never
played a full 60 minutes.”
In Game 1, he said, “we had a great first and the second and third were bad.
In the second game, the first and second were good. Same thing here (in Game
3). A great first and second . . .
“It comes down to learning for our organization, our coaches, our players.
We can only get better from the mistakes we made. We’ve got a long offseason
to think about it but, in the end, I think it makes us all stronger people.”
The Americans headed for home after the game. They will rest and heal the
bumps and bruises as they prepare for the next series.
“They worked hard,” Tri-City right-winger Taylor Procyshen said of the
Blazers. “It wasn’t easy by any means. They gave their best out there. They
worked hard and our goalie came up big for us.”
Tri-City goaltender Chet Pickard picked up the victory, with some late
relief from Kyle Birch. Pickard won all four games in the series and was 7-0
against the Blazers this season.
Leclerc stopped 35 shots as his mates were outshot, 41-18.
“I’m sad and disappointed,” Puustinen said. “We battled hard, probably the
hardest of all season. If we would have played like this the whole season it
would have made us better. It was too little, too late.
“It’s done now. We can’t do anything about it.”
JUST NOTES: Referees Tyler Johnson and Ryan Thompson gave the Blazers nine
of 17 minors. . . . The Blazers were 2-for-5 on the power play; the
Americans were 0-for-6. . . . In the four games, the Blazers were 4-for-20,
with the Americans 4-for-30. . . . Attendance was announced at 2,570, the
smallest playoff crowd in the facility’s history. . . . Tri-City C Jason
Reese took a puck in the mouth in the second period and needed three
stitches after a tooth punctured a lip. . . . Tri-City D Mitch McColm, 18,
sat out with a one-game suspension after he incurred a double spearing minor
at the end of Tuesday’s game. McColm speared Kamloops D Nick Ross, whom the
Americans maintain slashed Pickard during their postgame celebration. . . .
Terry Bangen, the Americans’ director of player personnel, was in the house.
He spent a few seasons on the Blazers’ coaching staff — under Ken Hitchcock,
Tom Renney and Don Hay — and was part of three Memorial Cup winners.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
Daily News Sports Editor
A WHL season that began with such promise for the Kamloops Blazers came to
an end with barely a whimper Wednesday night at Interior Savings Centre.
The Tri-City Americans, the No. 1 seed going into these playoffs, skated to
a 6-2 victory over the Blazers who, had the teams been stacked according to
regular-season points, would have been the No. 16 seed.
The victory gave the Americans, who have won their last nine games, a sweep
of the best-of-seven first-round series. It also marks the first time the
Americans have advanced past the first round since the spring of 2004 and
was the first time in five postseason meetings that they have ousted the
Blazers.
Tri-City, which outscored the Blazers 20-7 in the four games, is likely to
meet either the Seattle Thunderbirds or Kelowna Rockets in the second round.
That series is 2-2 going into Game 5 in Seattle tonight.
The Blazers, who won 40 games during the 2006-07 regular season, were
expected to be one of the Western Conference’s top teams this time around.
But it turned out to be a season of turmoil and change, which was quite
evident on the ice.
This was the Blazers’ 18th loss in their last 19 games; they won only once
after beating the visiting Rockets 2-1 in a Feb. 8 shootout.
The series loss also continues an ugly postseason trend. Kamloops now has
lost in the first round in its last eight playoff appearances. Since
reaching the WHL’s 1999 championship final, where it fell in five games to
the Calgary Hitmen, Kamloops is 5-32 in playoff games.
The Americans jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by foot
soldiers Brett Plouffe and Drew Hoff. Not even two glorious saves by
Kamloops goaltender Justin Leclerc on Tri-City winger Shaun Vey at 12:13 of
the period could provide the home boys with a spark.
They finally found some life when right-winger Juuso Puustinen scored at
6:50 of the second period, and wingers Shayne Wiebe and Tyler Shattock followed
that up with a bruising shift.
However, Kamloops wasn’t able to score again until midway in the third
period, by which time the visitors had put three more pucks past goaltender
Justin Leclerc.
Radek Meidl, with two, Blair Macaulay and Lane Werbowski had third-periods
goals for the Americans, with Ivan Rohac counting the Blazers’ last goal.
“They’re a good hockey club,” Kamloops winger Brady Calla said, clutching a
right elbow that may need surgery. “It’s what we expected from them.”
However, the Blazers showed enough at times in this series to leave them
wondering.
“At the end of the day,” Calla said, “the way we looked at it we never
played a full 60 minutes.”
In Game 1, he said, “we had a great first and the second and third were bad.
In the second game, the first and second were good. Same thing here (in Game
3). A great first and second . . .
“It comes down to learning for our organization, our coaches, our players.
We can only get better from the mistakes we made. We’ve got a long offseason
to think about it but, in the end, I think it makes us all stronger people.”
The Americans headed for home after the game. They will rest and heal the
bumps and bruises as they prepare for the next series.
“They worked hard,” Tri-City right-winger Taylor Procyshen said of the
Blazers. “It wasn’t easy by any means. They gave their best out there. They
worked hard and our goalie came up big for us.”
Tri-City goaltender Chet Pickard picked up the victory, with some late
relief from Kyle Birch. Pickard won all four games in the series and was 7-0
against the Blazers this season.
Leclerc stopped 35 shots as his mates were outshot, 41-18.
“I’m sad and disappointed,” Puustinen said. “We battled hard, probably the
hardest of all season. If we would have played like this the whole season it
would have made us better. It was too little, too late.
“It’s done now. We can’t do anything about it.”
JUST NOTES: Referees Tyler Johnson and Ryan Thompson gave the Blazers nine
of 17 minors. . . . The Blazers were 2-for-5 on the power play; the
Americans were 0-for-6. . . . In the four games, the Blazers were 4-for-20,
with the Americans 4-for-30. . . . Attendance was announced at 2,570, the
smallest playoff crowd in the facility’s history. . . . Tri-City C Jason
Reese took a puck in the mouth in the second period and needed three
stitches after a tooth punctured a lip. . . . Tri-City D Mitch McColm, 18,
sat out with a one-game suspension after he incurred a double spearing minor
at the end of Tuesday’s game. McColm speared Kamloops D Nick Ross, whom the
Americans maintain slashed Pickard during their postgame celebration. . . .
Terry Bangen, the Americans’ director of player personnel, was in the house.
He spent a few seasons on the Blazers’ coaching staff — under Ken Hitchcock,
Tom Renney and Don Hay — and was part of three Memorial Cup winners.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
Gaglardi looks down Blazers' road
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Tom Gaglardi, the president and majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, says
the franchise will model itself after the Vancouver Giants, who are the
defending Memorial Cup champions.
“The model we’re going to have is full separation between business and
hockey,” Gaglardi explained Wednesday. “It’s the Giants model, the way the
Giants run their club. I believe that’s the best thing for our ownership.”
Gaglardi, a Vancouver-based businessman, will head up the organization, with
the other four owners — ex-Blazers players Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Mark
Recchi and Darryl Sydor — being involved on the hockey side.
“The model would be that the head of hockey reports to me and the head of
business reports to me, as well,” Gaglardi said a couple of hours before the
Blazers took to the ice in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series with
the Tri-City Americans. “These will be people with full autonomy and full
responsibility. I won’ t be active day to day but I will be there for those
people. I envision talking to them on most days but the decisions will be
made here.”
Gaglardi orginally had planned on hiring a president and having that person
oversee the entire operation. He has since changed his mind.
“To put a president in place (and be) responsible for hockey won’t work for
our ownership group because our ownership group wants to have a direct line
with the hockey GM,” Gaglardi explained. “That’s where they can really add
the most value.
“(Business) isn’t their expertise. They certainly will be here to help sell
tickets, to promote, make appearances and things. They want be be involved
in mentoring the players and summer workouts. . . .”
Gaglardi presently is focused on the business side of the operation.
“It’s time to restructure things here,” he said. “People are going to be
taking different roles. It could be that on the business side we don’t bring
anybody new in. It could be just a total shift.
“I think we have good people here and we can do the job with them with some
restructuring.”
Gaglardi went so far as to state the head of the business side may already
be working here.
“It could be internal,” Gaglardi said. “I don’t know if that’s the way it’s
going to be but I could see it happening. There’s some pretty capable people
here.”
While change occurs in the office, Gaglardi and the other owners are
prepared to hire a general manager, but they have to wait.
“I’m tied up right now waiting for teams to be knocked out so I can talk to
the guys we want to talk to,” Gaglardi said. “Our ownership has a very short
list of guys and there’s a guy at the top of the list we want to talk to.”
That person is believed to be Craig Bonner, a former Blazers defenceman and
assistant coach, who now is the Giants’ assistant GM/assistant coach.
“Once I get the GM put in place I’m out of hockey,” Gaglardi said. “The GM
will assess the coaching department and the scouting department. We are
going to build from the top down.”
Gaglardi also said that interim head coach Greg Hawgood and Shane Zulyniak,
the assistant GM/assistant coach, “will be with this organization next
season. They may be in different roles but they will be in the
organization.”
Hawgood and Zulyniak both are under contract for next season.
“Both of those guys are welcome to interview for the head-coaching
position,” Gaglardi said, adding that part-time assistant Steve Gainey and
goaltending coach Steve Passmore also are likely to return.
“I don’t think there’s any question that Gainey is back; I think it’s likely
that Passmore’s back,” Gaglardi said. “But those no longer will be my
decisions.”
Throughout a 30-minute conversation, Gaglardi stressed that this ownership
group is determined to change the culture here.
“This organization hasn’t sold . . . ever,” he said. “It never sold. We
could sell you tickets if you called us, but other than that . . .
“This isn’t one year. What you’ve seen happen on the ice and what you’ve
seen happen with attendance has nothing to do with this season. It’s the
last nine seasons.
“And this season has done nothing to turn it around.”
But fans shouldn’t expect a whole lot of change in terms of the game-night
package.
“We’re going to fix our hockey program,” Gaglardi said. “Everybody says your
intermission package, your entertainment value. . . . I heard that when I
got here and I have really studied it hard. I’ve now been to nine other
arenas this season . . . I don’t see anybody outdoing us.
“It’s about eighth on my list of things to do.”
However, the Blazers have ordered a giant slingshot and a set of giant
bowling pins that will be part of next season’s package.
“You’re not going to win every year . . . but as a Kamloops Blazers fan,”
Gaglardi stated, “you should expect the team to come out and play hard. We
haven’t done that this season. That’s all hockey program and culture . . .
that’s all it is.
“This Blazers organization has accepted mediocrity. The message Kamloops
needs to understand is that these five owners won’t accept it anymore. It’s
not going to be tolerated.
“It wasn’t tolerated when they were players; it won’t be tolerated here.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
Daily News Sports Editor
Tom Gaglardi, the president and majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, says
the franchise will model itself after the Vancouver Giants, who are the
defending Memorial Cup champions.
“The model we’re going to have is full separation between business and
hockey,” Gaglardi explained Wednesday. “It’s the Giants model, the way the
Giants run their club. I believe that’s the best thing for our ownership.”
Gaglardi, a Vancouver-based businessman, will head up the organization, with
the other four owners — ex-Blazers players Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Mark
Recchi and Darryl Sydor — being involved on the hockey side.
“The model would be that the head of hockey reports to me and the head of
business reports to me, as well,” Gaglardi said a couple of hours before the
Blazers took to the ice in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series with
the Tri-City Americans. “These will be people with full autonomy and full
responsibility. I won’ t be active day to day but I will be there for those
people. I envision talking to them on most days but the decisions will be
made here.”
Gaglardi orginally had planned on hiring a president and having that person
oversee the entire operation. He has since changed his mind.
“To put a president in place (and be) responsible for hockey won’t work for
our ownership group because our ownership group wants to have a direct line
with the hockey GM,” Gaglardi explained. “That’s where they can really add
the most value.
“(Business) isn’t their expertise. They certainly will be here to help sell
tickets, to promote, make appearances and things. They want be be involved
in mentoring the players and summer workouts. . . .”
Gaglardi presently is focused on the business side of the operation.
“It’s time to restructure things here,” he said. “People are going to be
taking different roles. It could be that on the business side we don’t bring
anybody new in. It could be just a total shift.
“I think we have good people here and we can do the job with them with some
restructuring.”
Gaglardi went so far as to state the head of the business side may already
be working here.
“It could be internal,” Gaglardi said. “I don’t know if that’s the way it’s
going to be but I could see it happening. There’s some pretty capable people
here.”
While change occurs in the office, Gaglardi and the other owners are
prepared to hire a general manager, but they have to wait.
“I’m tied up right now waiting for teams to be knocked out so I can talk to
the guys we want to talk to,” Gaglardi said. “Our ownership has a very short
list of guys and there’s a guy at the top of the list we want to talk to.”
That person is believed to be Craig Bonner, a former Blazers defenceman and
assistant coach, who now is the Giants’ assistant GM/assistant coach.
“Once I get the GM put in place I’m out of hockey,” Gaglardi said. “The GM
will assess the coaching department and the scouting department. We are
going to build from the top down.”
Gaglardi also said that interim head coach Greg Hawgood and Shane Zulyniak,
the assistant GM/assistant coach, “will be with this organization next
season. They may be in different roles but they will be in the
organization.”
Hawgood and Zulyniak both are under contract for next season.
“Both of those guys are welcome to interview for the head-coaching
position,” Gaglardi said, adding that part-time assistant Steve Gainey and
goaltending coach Steve Passmore also are likely to return.
“I don’t think there’s any question that Gainey is back; I think it’s likely
that Passmore’s back,” Gaglardi said. “But those no longer will be my
decisions.”
Throughout a 30-minute conversation, Gaglardi stressed that this ownership
group is determined to change the culture here.
“This organization hasn’t sold . . . ever,” he said. “It never sold. We
could sell you tickets if you called us, but other than that . . .
“This isn’t one year. What you’ve seen happen on the ice and what you’ve
seen happen with attendance has nothing to do with this season. It’s the
last nine seasons.
“And this season has done nothing to turn it around.”
But fans shouldn’t expect a whole lot of change in terms of the game-night
package.
“We’re going to fix our hockey program,” Gaglardi said. “Everybody says your
intermission package, your entertainment value. . . . I heard that when I
got here and I have really studied it hard. I’ve now been to nine other
arenas this season . . . I don’t see anybody outdoing us.
“It’s about eighth on my list of things to do.”
However, the Blazers have ordered a giant slingshot and a set of giant
bowling pins that will be part of next season’s package.
“You’re not going to win every year . . . but as a Kamloops Blazers fan,”
Gaglardi stated, “you should expect the team to come out and play hard. We
haven’t done that this season. That’s all hockey program and culture . . .
that’s all it is.
“This Blazers organization has accepted mediocrity. The message Kamloops
needs to understand is that these five owners won’t accept it anymore. It’s
not going to be tolerated.
“It wasn’t tolerated when they were players; it won’t be tolerated here.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday odds and ends. . . .
So where do all the fans go for the first round of WHL playoffs? There were 2,888 fans in Brandon on Tuesday night, with the Wheat Kings losing 4-3 to the Lethbridge Hurricanes to go down 3-0. It was the smallest playoff crowd in the Wheat City since 1999. Ticket sales for Wednesday’s fourth game were at 2,400 on Tuesday. The Wheat Kings averaged 4,123 fans per game in the regular season. . . . The Kelowna Rockets had their consecutive sell-out streak halted at 186 games Monday when 5,108 fans showed up for Game 3 against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Attendance at Game 4 on Tuesday was 5,186. . . . Earlier, the Medicine Hat Tigers had a sellout streak of more than 250 games broken when they opened at home against the Kootenay Ice before 3,903 fans. . . . The Kamloops Blazers, who averaged 4,533 fans per game during the regular season, drew 2,895 fans for Game 3 with the Tri-City Americans on Tuesday night. That is the smallest playoff crowd in Blazers franchise history. The second-smallest crowd (4,070) showed up on March 23, 2004, to watch the Vancouver Giants beat the Blazers 2-1.
--------
If you’re a fan of the Spokane Chiefs, note that their radio broadcasts are moving to 1510 KGA effective with tonight’s game against the Silvertips in Everett. The broadcasts will remain their forr the remainder of this year’s playoffs. The broadcasts have been on KJRB 790 The Fan. Why the move? The new home of the broadcasts, 1510 KGA, booms out at 50,000 watts. . . .
--------
THE MacBETH REPORT: The Vienna Capitals have re-signed former Red Deer F Sean Selmser. He had 36 points, including 13 goals, and 34 PMs in 47 games with the Capitals this season. He has played the past six seasons in Austria and played for Austria at the 2006 World Division 1 championship. . . . Former Regina Pats C Brett Lysak has signed a one-year contract with Esbjerg in the top Danish league. Lysak played for Odense in the same league this season, totaling 53 points, including 24 goals, and 109 PMs in 44 games. . . . Garth MacBeth, our man who watches the European scene with a keen eye, sends this note: The sentence to Jere Karalahti was not probation but a 20-month suspended sentence. He was convicted of “complicity in an aggravated drug crime” for supplying members of the Bandidos motorcycle club with 10,000 euros at the request of one of his friends. The friend got 10½ years in prison and two other defendants got jail time of just over 10 years. Both the prosecution and Karalahti plan to appeal. The prosecution wanted at least six years in prison; Karalahti thinks he is innocent. In addition, the prosecution thinks Karalahti was an actual perpetrator and not just an accomplice.
--------
Sunday, March 23, 2008
The view from Kennewick
KENNEWICK, Wash. — Bob Tory, the general manager of the WHL's Tri-City
Americans, was standing in the Toyota Center watching the Kamloops Blazers
go through a morning skate.
As Tory stood there, he was approached by a man clutching a brown envelope
in one hand. The fan obviously had stopped by the team's office to pick up
his playoff tickets.
"I've been waiting 20 years for this," said the man, whose full beard
suggested he may have been waiting longer than that. "I owe you a lot. You
have no idea how much this means to me."
The fan's eyes actually began to well up as he shook hands with Tory.
The man then dug into one hip pocket and pulled out what obviously is one of
his real treasures — a puck featuring an Americans' logo with the autograph
of former captain Greg Spenrath on it. The puck, it turned out, was from
Spenrath's final game with the Americans in the spring of 1990.
The fan then turned to Tory and said: "I owe you $20 and it's a bet I'm
happy to pay off."
With that, the fan dug into another pocket, pulled out $20 and gave it to
Tory.
Tory, it seems, had bet the season-ticket holder, whose name he couldn't
recall, that the Americans would finish atop the U.S. Division.
As the fan walked away, he looked back and repeated: "That's one bet I don't
mind paying off. I've waited 20 years for this!"
Prior to this season, the Americans, who are in their 20th season here, had
never won even one banner. There are no WHL pennants of any shape or form
hanging from the rafters here. Geez, even the Fever, which plays in some
kind of indoor pro football league, has two championship banners blowing in
the air-conditioned wind currents.
It's no wonder the bearded fan was quick to make that bet with Tory prior to
the season. The fan likely thought it was money in his bank.
But then came March 15. That was the night the Americans beat the visiting
Spokane Chiefs 2-1 to clinch first place in the U.S. Division, first place
in the Western Conference and first place in the WHL's overall standings.
One victory. Three banners. And a fan paying off a bet.
Tory, who has been nominated as the WHL's executive of the year, deserves
all the accolades, too. Because it wasn't that long ago when this franchise
was on life support.
It had gone through owners like Heather Mills goes through lawyers.
After the last bunch, including NHL big-wigs Brian Burke and Glen Sather,
bought an expansion franchise in Chilliwack rather than hang around these
parts any longer, Tory found some local money and brought in two NHLers, Stu
Barnes and Olaf Kolzig, both of them former Americans.
They took control on April 22, 2005. Actually, they took over that day; Tory
is the one who took control.
He is the guy at the wheel. And he has done a bang-up job.
But when your franchise has been on life-support you know how fine the line
is between success and failure.
It's why you even have staff members watching the obits in the local
newspaper.
David Nelson's mother, Pherne, was a fan from Day 1 through her death
earlier this season.
"When she could no longer drive," David wrote in a letter to the Tri-City
Herald, "my wife and I shuttled her to every home game enduring her tales of
'those dirty refs' on the drive home.
"She passed away at the age of 91. I mentioned her hockey enthusiasm in her
obituary and was surprised to receive a signed card of condolences from
Americans' staff and players.
"Prior to her passing, she once said, 'If I should die, and if there's
anything I can do from above to help the Americans have their best season
ever, I will.' "
The Americans organization has worked extremely hard to connect with its
fans, and if one weekend in this area is any indication, it has managed to
find a raucous fan base that really enjoys itself at games.
The effort put in by Tory and Co. is paying off in other ways, too.
As David Nelson closed his letter to The Herald:
"Pherne E. Nelson spoke to me in a dream the other night, saying she wanted
to relay a message to the Tri City Americans and staff. I believe it was:
'You're welcome!' "
Yes, if you're a WHL team having to play the Americans, you should be aware
that there just might be more to their season than meets the eye.
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca .
Americans, was standing in the Toyota Center watching the Kamloops Blazers
go through a morning skate.
As Tory stood there, he was approached by a man clutching a brown envelope
in one hand. The fan obviously had stopped by the team's office to pick up
his playoff tickets.
"I've been waiting 20 years for this," said the man, whose full beard
suggested he may have been waiting longer than that. "I owe you a lot. You
have no idea how much this means to me."
The fan's eyes actually began to well up as he shook hands with Tory.
The man then dug into one hip pocket and pulled out what obviously is one of
his real treasures — a puck featuring an Americans' logo with the autograph
of former captain Greg Spenrath on it. The puck, it turned out, was from
Spenrath's final game with the Americans in the spring of 1990.
The fan then turned to Tory and said: "I owe you $20 and it's a bet I'm
happy to pay off."
With that, the fan dug into another pocket, pulled out $20 and gave it to
Tory.
Tory, it seems, had bet the season-ticket holder, whose name he couldn't
recall, that the Americans would finish atop the U.S. Division.
As the fan walked away, he looked back and repeated: "That's one bet I don't
mind paying off. I've waited 20 years for this!"
Prior to this season, the Americans, who are in their 20th season here, had
never won even one banner. There are no WHL pennants of any shape or form
hanging from the rafters here. Geez, even the Fever, which plays in some
kind of indoor pro football league, has two championship banners blowing in
the air-conditioned wind currents.
It's no wonder the bearded fan was quick to make that bet with Tory prior to
the season. The fan likely thought it was money in his bank.
But then came March 15. That was the night the Americans beat the visiting
Spokane Chiefs 2-1 to clinch first place in the U.S. Division, first place
in the Western Conference and first place in the WHL's overall standings.
One victory. Three banners. And a fan paying off a bet.
Tory, who has been nominated as the WHL's executive of the year, deserves
all the accolades, too. Because it wasn't that long ago when this franchise
was on life support.
It had gone through owners like Heather Mills goes through lawyers.
After the last bunch, including NHL big-wigs Brian Burke and Glen Sather,
bought an expansion franchise in Chilliwack rather than hang around these
parts any longer, Tory found some local money and brought in two NHLers, Stu
Barnes and Olaf Kolzig, both of them former Americans.
They took control on April 22, 2005. Actually, they took over that day; Tory
is the one who took control.
He is the guy at the wheel. And he has done a bang-up job.
But when your franchise has been on life-support you know how fine the line
is between success and failure.
It's why you even have staff members watching the obits in the local
newspaper.
David Nelson's mother, Pherne, was a fan from Day 1 through her death
earlier this season.
"When she could no longer drive," David wrote in a letter to the Tri-City
Herald, "my wife and I shuttled her to every home game enduring her tales of
'those dirty refs' on the drive home.
"She passed away at the age of 91. I mentioned her hockey enthusiasm in her
obituary and was surprised to receive a signed card of condolences from
Americans' staff and players.
"Prior to her passing, she once said, 'If I should die, and if there's
anything I can do from above to help the Americans have their best season
ever, I will.' "
The Americans organization has worked extremely hard to connect with its
fans, and if one weekend in this area is any indication, it has managed to
find a raucous fan base that really enjoys itself at games.
The effort put in by Tory and Co. is paying off in other ways, too.
As David Nelson closed his letter to The Herald:
"Pherne E. Nelson spoke to me in a dream the other night, saying she wanted
to relay a message to the Tri City Americans and staff. I believe it was:
'You're welcome!' "
Yes, if you're a WHL team having to play the Americans, you should be aware
that there just might be more to their season than meets the eye.
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsne
Blazers vs. Americans: Some notes . . .
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
KENNEWICK, Wash. — Colton Yellow Horn knows this is it. And he doesn¹t want
to blow the opportunity.
"It's my last chance," the Tri-City Americans left winger said late Saturday
night. "Every game is more important than the last one. Trying to become a
professional hockey player . . . every game matters."
Yellow Horn, who led the WHL with 48 goals this season and finished third in
the scoring race, with 97 points, has five points through two games of the
first round of the WHL playoffs.
He had a goal and an assist Friday as the Americans opened a best-of-seven
WHL playoff series with a 6-1 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers,
then had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 triumph Saturday.
Yellow Horn, a 20-year-old from Brocket, Alta., went into this playoff
spring with nine points in 17 previous playoff games but has never been out
of the first round. He is completing his second season with the Americans
after three with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
"Five years," he said. "It's finally coming to an end. It's hard to believe,
but I don't want it to end too soon."
Yellow Horn, who loves to shoot the puck and is often the triggerman on the
power play, either from the high slot or off a faceoff dot, plays on a line
with centre Kruise Reddick and right-winger Taylor Procyshen.
They have been checked quite well by the Kamloops trio of Shayne Wiebe,
Scott Wasden and Brady Calla, but still have managed to accumulate eight
points in the two games.
"I want to put up some good numbers but at the same time just keep the puck
out of your net and be a plus player in the playoffs," Yellow Horn said.
"Err on the defensive side, not the offensive side. You have to be a two-way
player to make the next level, so. . ."
p p p
The last five minutes of the third period of Friday's Game 1 included
Kamloops interim head coach Greg Hawgood enjoying a dialogue with some fans
behind his club's bench — there were four security guards in the area during
Game 2 — and Tri-City head coach Don Nachbaur chatting in that direction,
too.
"I just didn't like the way the end of the game happened," Nachbaur said.
The Blazers took 61 of 110 penalty minutes.
"But if they want to give us 10 power plays every game, we'll take them."
Tri-City, which had the WHL's second-best PP unit in the regular season, had
10 man-advantage opportunities in Game 1 and eight in Game 2.
p p p
Nachbaur just might have some supporters in Interior Savings Centre for
Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
It turns out that Nachbaur, who generally is considered to be from Prince
George, actually lived in Kamloops for three or four years.
Nachbaur said he took Grades 4-7 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, while his
brother, Andy, went to St. Ann¹s.
Their father, who died earlier this season in Prince George, was in
construction, so the family did a lot of moving.
Nachbaur was born in Dawson Creek but also lived in Surrey and Prince
George.
He still has family in Kamloops and expects to see them this week.
p p p
Kamloops C Alex Rodgers (flu) was held out of both games and, in fact,
didn't make the trip south. He missed the regular-season's last three games after being on the receiving end of a particularly hard check from Spokane Chiefs D Justin Falk on March 12.
Daily News Sports Editor
KENNEWICK, Wash. — Colton Yellow Horn knows this is it. And he doesn¹t want
to blow the opportunity.
"It's my last chance," the Tri-City Americans left winger said late Saturday
night. "Every game is more important than the last one. Trying to become a
professional hockey player . . . every game matters."
Yellow Horn, who led the WHL with 48 goals this season and finished third in
the scoring race, with 97 points, has five points through two games of the
first round of the WHL playoffs.
He had a goal and an assist Friday as the Americans opened a best-of-seven
WHL playoff series with a 6-1 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers,
then had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 triumph Saturday.
Yellow Horn, a 20-year-old from Brocket, Alta., went into this playoff
spring with nine points in 17 previous playoff games but has never been out
of the first round. He is completing his second season with the Americans
after three with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
"Five years," he said. "It's finally coming to an end. It's hard to believe,
but I don't want it to end too soon."
Yellow Horn, who loves to shoot the puck and is often the triggerman on the
power play, either from the high slot or off a faceoff dot, plays on a line
with centre Kruise Reddick and right-winger Taylor Procyshen.
They have been checked quite well by the Kamloops trio of Shayne Wiebe,
Scott Wasden and Brady Calla, but still have managed to accumulate eight
points in the two games.
"I want to put up some good numbers but at the same time just keep the puck
out of your net and be a plus player in the playoffs," Yellow Horn said.
"Err on the defensive side, not the offensive side. You have to be a two-way
player to make the next level, so. . ."
p p p
The last five minutes of the third period of Friday's Game 1 included
Kamloops interim head coach Greg Hawgood enjoying a dialogue with some fans
behind his club's bench — there were four security guards in the area during
Game 2 — and Tri-City head coach Don Nachbaur chatting in that direction,
too.
"I just didn't like the way the end of the game happened," Nachbaur said.
The Blazers took 61 of 110 penalty minutes.
"But if they want to give us 10 power plays every game, we'll take them."
Tri-City, which had the WHL's second-best PP unit in the regular season, had
10 man-advantage opportunities in Game 1 and eight in Game 2.
p p p
Nachbaur just might have some supporters in Interior Savings Centre for
Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
It turns out that Nachbaur, who generally is considered to be from Prince
George, actually lived in Kamloops for three or four years.
Nachbaur said he took Grades 4-7 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, while his
brother, Andy, went to St. Ann¹s.
Their father, who died earlier this season in Prince George, was in
construction, so the family did a lot of moving.
Nachbaur was born in Dawson Creek but also lived in Surrey and Prince
George.
He still has family in Kamloops and expects to see them this week.
p p p
Kamloops C Alex Rodgers (flu) was held out of both games and, in fact,
didn't make the trip south. He missed the regular-season's last three games after being on the receiving end of a particularly hard check from Spokane Chiefs D Justin Falk on March 12.
The Blazers are hopeful that Rodgers, who had 45 points in 68 games, will be
ready for Game 3 on Tuesday.
p p p
There was something of a minor controversy before the series began.
The Americans wanted to use a third set of jerseys in Game 2. The jerseys
are dark, which meant they asked the Blazers to bring their whites with
them.
It turns out the Blazers had sent their whites for repairs and the jerseys
weren't quite ready.
But negotiations took place. The Blazers asked for a couple of things — they
wanted one gate at the visitors' bench repaired and some work done in the
visitors' dressing room, including the addition of a heater.
All of which got done before the series started.
And so it came to pass that the Americans wore their third jerseys in Game 2
and the Blazers wore their whites.
p p p
The Americans' fans were up in arms early in the second period Saturday when
Wiebe, racing a defenceman into the Tri-City zone, ended up falling and
taking out Americans G Chet Pickard in a nasty collision.
The fans screamed for a penalty but Kevin Muench, the WHL's director of
officiating, agreed that Wiebe had caught an edge and that there was no
intent to run into Pickard.
SERIES CHATTER: Tom Gaglardi, the Blazers' majority owner, flew in from
Vancouver on Friday and took in both games. . . . There were a handful of
NHL scouts at Game 1. "Tell Shattock to have a good game," one scout was
heard to say to Kamloops interim head coach Greg Hawgood, in reference to RW
Tyler Shattock, who is eligible for the NHL's 2008 draft. . . . WHL
commmissioner Ron Robison presented Tri-City captain T.J. Fast with the
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy prior to Game 1. The trophy goes to the WHL's
regular-season champion.
gdrinnan@kamloopsne
Americans take two from Blazers
BY GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
KENNEWICK, Wash. — The Kamloops Blazers headed for home late Saturday night
down 2-0 in a best-of-seven WHL playoff series and searching for positives
before facing the Tri-City Americans twice at Interior Savings Centre.
The Americans, the No. 1 seed in these playoffs, posted a 4-1 victory
Saturday, after beating the Blazers 6-1 on Friday, and now have won seven
straight games.
The Blazers, meanwhile, have lost 16 of their last 17 games.
Games 3 and 4 are to be played Tuesday and Wednesday. Game time both days is
7 p.m.
"Our first period might have been better than (Friday)," Kamloops interim
head coach Greg Hawgood said. "We did some good things like making sure we
got the puck out and making their (defencemen) chase it down."
But, Hawgood pointed out, his club also did just enough "to lose our
momentum and give it back to them."
"Just the penalties we take, they seem to feed off that," Hawgood said.
"Their better players are on the ice more in outmanned situations, which
they're very good at. The more we can play 5-on-5 the better it is for us."
The Americans were 1-for-8 on the power play Saturday, after a 3-for-10
night on Friday. The Blazers are 1-for-8 in the two games.
"Good first period. Not bad second period. Penalty trouble," summed up
Kamloops winger Mark Hall. "We know we can compete with them. No question.
"Penalties were a big problem. We have to figure that out and go from
there."
The problem with taking penalties against Tri-City is that it allows for
left-winger Colton Yellow Horn to get even more ice time. The Blazers line
of Shayne Wiebe, Scott Wasden and Brady Calla has done an admirable job
against Yellow Horn, Kruise Reddick and Taylor Procyshen in even-strength
situations.
Yellow Horn had a goal and two helpers Saturday, getting his goal into an
empty net and adding assists on a key power-play score by defenceman Eric
Mestery and a funny bouncer by Procyshen.
"Great . . . unbelieveable," Calla said of the defensive work against that
line. "Look at their goal (Saturday). It went off three guys in front and
got whacked in. We¹ve done a great job so far.
"On the negative side, I think we can capitalize on some of their risky
offensive plays."
The Blazers had two 2-on-1 breaks in Friday's first period and didn't score.
They had chances again Saturday, but struggled to beat goaltender Chet
Pickard, who now has 48 victories on the season, including his first two
playoff triumphs.
"You know it's not going to be easy to score on this guy," Hawgood said of
Pickard, who has stopped 51 of 53 shots in the two games. "You have to shoot
it through the back of the net almost to make sure it goes in."
At the other end, Justin Leclerc has played just as well in making 71 saves
over two games.
Left-winger Ivan Rohac gave Kamloops a 1-0 lead at 7:28 of Saturday's first
period and at one point the Blazers held an 11-5 edge in shots. However, the
Americans began to take over in the second period, much as they did Friday,
and outshot the visitors 29-11 over the last 40 minutes.
"It was a real good effort in the first. It was great," Calla said. "The
start of the second was real good also. But, then again, we got away from
the game plan a bit and opened the window for them a bit offensively."
The Blazers took three minor penalties in the second period¹s first nine
minutes, the second one leading to a lengthy 5-on-3 for the home side. The
same thing happened again in the third period. Although the Blazers didn't
give up a goal on either opportunity, they allowed the Americans to gain
even more momentum.
Right-winger Shaun Vey got the eventual game-winner at 13:29 of the second
period off a backdoor play at the Kamloops crease, with Procyshen and
Yellowhorn concluding the scoring in the third.
In Friday's opener, the Blazers played a simple first period and even had a
pair of 2-on-1 breaks, Devon Kalinski and Calla coming up empty while
shorthanded, and Rohac and Juuso Puustinen failing to score a short time
later.
But the Blazers got in trouble early in the second period and the tide
turned in a hurry.
Right-winger Radek Meidl scored 1:15 into the second, Procyshen struck on
the power play at 2:38, with defenceman Nick Ross in stir, and school was
out.
Defenceman Tyler Schmidt and Yellow Horn upped the lead to 4-0 before the
period was over, and centre Jason Reese made it 5-0 with Ross in the penalty
box again at 12:57 of the third.
Defenceman Mike Gauthier scored the Blazers' lone goal, beating Pickard with a
quick shot from high in the slot at 17:56 of the third period.
Tri-City winger Johnny Lazo finished the scoring with his club's third
power-play goal.
"We had two good starts," Calla said. "Our physical play has been great. Our
penalty kill was better (Saturday) and the power play got a goal.
Systematically, we had a great start. We know the system can work but again
we have to put 60 minutes together."
They get their next chance Tuesday in front of a home crowd.
"It wasn't our best game," offered Tri-City head coach Don Nachbaur after
Game 2, as he, too, searched for positives. "But we still head up to
Kamloops with a 2-0 lead. But we know we have to be better. You can't play
that way and expect to win up there.
"But on the other side of the coin I thought they played hard. They put us
in some situations that were uncomfortable and we didn't react very well.
But we stuck with it and only gave up one goal, so that's a positive."
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
Daily News Sports Editor
KENNEWICK, Wash. — The Kamloops Blazers headed for home late Saturday night
down 2-0 in a best-of-seven WHL playoff series and searching for positives
before facing the Tri-City Americans twice at Interior Savings Centre.
The Americans, the No. 1 seed in these playoffs, posted a 4-1 victory
Saturday, after beating the Blazers 6-1 on Friday, and now have won seven
straight games.
The Blazers, meanwhile, have lost 16 of their last 17 games.
Games 3 and 4 are to be played Tuesday and Wednesday. Game time both days is
7 p.m.
"Our first period might have been better than (Friday)," Kamloops interim
head coach Greg Hawgood said. "We did some good things like making sure we
got the puck out and making their (defencemen) chase it down."
But, Hawgood pointed out, his club also did just enough "to lose our
momentum and give it back to them."
"Just the penalties we take, they seem to feed off that," Hawgood said.
"Their better players are on the ice more in outmanned situations, which
they're very good at. The more we can play 5-on-5 the better it is for us."
The Americans were 1-for-8 on the power play Saturday, after a 3-for-10
night on Friday. The Blazers are 1-for-8 in the two games.
"Good first period. Not bad second period. Penalty trouble," summed up
Kamloops winger Mark Hall. "We know we can compete with them. No question.
"Penalties were a big problem. We have to figure that out and go from
there."
The problem with taking penalties against Tri-City is that it allows for
left-winger Colton Yellow Horn to get even more ice time. The Blazers line
of Shayne Wiebe, Scott Wasden and Brady Calla has done an admirable job
against Yellow Horn, Kruise Reddick and Taylor Procyshen in even-strength
situations.
Yellow Horn had a goal and two helpers Saturday, getting his goal into an
empty net and adding assists on a key power-play score by defenceman Eric
Mestery and a funny bouncer by Procyshen.
"Great . . . unbelieveable," Calla said of the defensive work against that
line. "Look at their goal (Saturday). It went off three guys in front and
got whacked in. We¹ve done a great job so far.
"On the negative side, I think we can capitalize on some of their risky
offensive plays."
The Blazers had two 2-on-1 breaks in Friday's first period and didn't score.
They had chances again Saturday, but struggled to beat goaltender Chet
Pickard, who now has 48 victories on the season, including his first two
playoff triumphs.
"You know it's not going to be easy to score on this guy," Hawgood said of
Pickard, who has stopped 51 of 53 shots in the two games. "You have to shoot
it through the back of the net almost to make sure it goes in."
At the other end, Justin Leclerc has played just as well in making 71 saves
over two games.
Left-winger Ivan Rohac gave Kamloops a 1-0 lead at 7:28 of Saturday's first
period and at one point the Blazers held an 11-5 edge in shots. However, the
Americans began to take over in the second period, much as they did Friday,
and outshot the visitors 29-11 over the last 40 minutes.
"It was a real good effort in the first. It was great," Calla said. "The
start of the second was real good also. But, then again, we got away from
the game plan a bit and opened the window for them a bit offensively."
The Blazers took three minor penalties in the second period¹s first nine
minutes, the second one leading to a lengthy 5-on-3 for the home side. The
same thing happened again in the third period. Although the Blazers didn't
give up a goal on either opportunity, they allowed the Americans to gain
even more momentum.
Right-winger Shaun Vey got the eventual game-winner at 13:29 of the second
period off a backdoor play at the Kamloops crease, with Procyshen and
Yellowhorn concluding the scoring in the third.
In Friday's opener, the Blazers played a simple first period and even had a
pair of 2-on-1 breaks, Devon Kalinski and Calla coming up empty while
shorthanded, and Rohac and Juuso Puustinen failing to score a short time
later.
But the Blazers got in trouble early in the second period and the tide
turned in a hurry.
Right-winger Radek Meidl scored 1:15 into the second, Procyshen struck on
the power play at 2:38, with defenceman Nick Ross in stir, and school was
out.
Defenceman Tyler Schmidt and Yellow Horn upped the lead to 4-0 before the
period was over, and centre Jason Reese made it 5-0 with Ross in the penalty
box again at 12:57 of the third.
Defenceman Mike Gauthier scored the Blazers' lone goal, beating Pickard with a
quick shot from high in the slot at 17:56 of the third period.
Tri-City winger Johnny Lazo finished the scoring with his club's third
power-play goal.
"We had two good starts," Calla said. "Our physical play has been great. Our
penalty kill was better (Saturday) and the power play got a goal.
Systematically, we had a great start. We know the system can work but again
we have to put 60 minutes together."
They get their next chance Tuesday in front of a home crowd.
"It wasn't our best game," offered Tri-City head coach Don Nachbaur after
Game 2, as he, too, searched for positives. "But we still head up to
Kamloops with a 2-0 lead. But we know we have to be better. You can't play
that way and expect to win up there.
"But on the other side of the coin I thought they played hard. They put us
in some situations that were uncomfortable and we didn't react very well.
But we stuck with it and only gave up one goal, so that's a positive."
gdrinnan@kamloopsne
Greetings from Kennewick
Sorry but the blog is on hold for a day or three. . . . Was involved in a car accident in Kennewick, Wash., on Saturday afternoon. No injuries, but severely damaged car. . . . Busy with all that follows an accident that occurs when you are from out of country. . . .
Taking Note
From The Daily News of Saturday, March 22, 2008 . . .
You knew that a minor league baseball team would try to make some hay off
Eliot Spitzer, the scandalized former governor of New York. The Macon Music
of the independent South Coast League has scheduled Eliot Spitzer Night for
June 13. Spitzer has been invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch,
anyone named Eliot, Spitzer or Kristen will get in for $1 off regular
admission, and one lucky fan will win a “one-night stand” at the Mayflower
Hotel in Washington, D.C. . . . Kristen, of course, is the first name of the
young lady who apparently entertained Spitzer in the Mayflower. . . .
ESPN.com’s Gene Wojciechowski, on Chicago Cubs owner Sam Zell pondering the
selling of stadium naming rights: "Renaming Wrigley (Field) would be like
the Vatican's signing off on the Tostitos Sistine Chapel." . . . Mark
Kriegel, over at FoxSports.com: “Been reading up on Brett Favre’s life and
times. Seems he once needed 13 Vicodins to get through the Espy’s. Big deal.
I need that much just to watch it on TV.”
Jay Mariotti, in the Chicago Sun-Times: “The problem with DePaul basketball
isn’t that the team went 11-19, failed to make the Big East tournament and
hasn’t reached the NCAA tournament since Jerry Wainwright became coach. The
problem with DePaul basketball is that no one cares enough about DePaul
basketball to be mad. DePaul has DeParted from the Chicago sports scene.” .
. . That growling you here is the ghost of Ray Meyer on the prowl. . . . The
men’s basketball team at Northwestern, a Chicago school, is in its eighth
season with Bill Carmody as head coach. The team plays in the Big Ten, where
it is 3-31 of late. It also, as Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti
pointed out, has yet to play in the NCAA tournament, which is 70 years old.
The headline on Mariotti’s column: Pull the plug on Carmody Central.
Ken Shamrock, an MMA fighter who calls himself The World‚s Most Dangerous
Man, lasted 74 seconds in Cage Rage 25 in London the other night. As Chris
Foster of the Los Angeles Times put it: "Makes you wonder what they call the
guy who beat him." . . . The Kelowna Rockets held Fan Appreciation Night at
their last regular-season home game the other night. Among the bootie given
away: an ATV, four GPS units and four 42-inch plasma TV sets. Which is why
when it comes to fan support the Rockets are the standard in the WHL these
days. . . . After Billy Crystal got into an exhibition game with the New
York Yankees, Dan Daly of the Washington Times wrote: “Billy Crystal, the
most famous Yankees fan this side of Rudy Giuliani, got to bat for his
favorite team the other day in an exhibition game against the Pirates.
Unfortunately, he was robbed of a hit on an incredible diving catch by Jack
Palance.” . . . And then there was the Miami Herald’s Greg Cote, who put it
this way: “Comedian Billy Crystal, 60, struck out in his only at-bat with
the Yankees, after referring to himself as ‘the DH — Designated Hebrew,’ and
saying he feared he might ‘test positive for Maalox.’ I wish he had gotten a
long-term contract for the quotes alone.” . . . Best wishes to Katie Gleddie
as she recovers from that horrendous accident of the other day. There's a
whole lot of people pulling for you, kid.
Pal Nagy broke into a home in Budapest, Hungary, only to discover that
Olympic fencer Virgine Ujlaky lived there and was practising at the time.
Blade to neck, she pinned him to the wall and called the cops. According to
Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post, Nagy was heard to utter: “Curses,
foiled again.” . . . Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times added: “Guess he
won’t be fencing any stolen goods from this house.” . . . If you are
wondering why the officials didn’t blow the play dead prior to the Vancouver
Giants scoring the winning goal against the Blazers on Saturday, it’s
because linesman Nick Swaine was in position and was yelling to referee Andy
Thiessen to let him know that the puck was loose. The Blazers and their fans
may not have liked it but the officials handled it perfectly. . . . Two
nights later, Swaine was the referee as the Kamloops Storm went into the
fifth OT period before beating the Revelstoke Grizzlies 1-0 on Austin
(Johnny B.) Goode’s goal.
Elliott Harris, in the Chicago Sun-Times: “Major League Baseball
commissioner Bud Selig’s salary for the fiscal year ending Oct. 31, 2006,
was $15.06 million, the Sports Business Journal reports. Which buys an awful
lot of sand to stick your head into when you feel like it. It also is a
figure greater than the Florida Marlins’ 2006 payroll. Maybe the players
association can try to institute a rule that the commissioner cannot be paid
more than the lowest team’s payroll.” . . . The first Major League Baseball
game to be played in China ended in a 3-3 tie between the San Diego Padres
and Los Angeles Dodgers. Does that define MLB’s Selig Era, or what? . . .
Ken Reardon, the Montreal Canadiens’ Hockey Hall of Famer who died last
weekend, played the 1937-38 season with the Blue River Rebels of the B.C.
junior league. . . . In those days, Reardon’s sister was reputed to be a
better play than he was.
Former tennis great Martina Navratilova is no fan of Maria Sharapova’s
grunting. As Navratilova told Asashi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper: "They
aren't lifting 300 pounds, they're hitting a tennis ball." . . . The next
time you bump into Howie Reimer, the morning man over at Country 103, ask
him about his introduction to Charlie Daniels during a recent excursion to
Nashville. . . . NASCAR driver Kyle Busch won a race the other day and
pocketed $175,575. Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg explained: "So, after paying
for 500 miles of gas at 180 mph, Busch owes them $725." . . . Cam
Hutchinson, in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “Three famous number nines: 3.
Bobby Hull; 2. Gordie Howe; 1. Eliot Spitzer.” . . . Two weeks ago, NASCAR
drivers, led by Tony Stewart, were quite outspoken about the poor
performance of the Goodyear tires they were using. “No athlete,” wrote Pete
McEntegart of SI.com, “has been so upset about his rubber’s performance
since Travis Henry.”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
You knew that a minor league baseball team would try to make some hay off
Eliot Spitzer, the scandalized former governor of New York. The Macon Music
of the independent South Coast League has scheduled Eliot Spitzer Night for
June 13. Spitzer has been invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch,
anyone named Eliot, Spitzer or Kristen will get in for $1 off regular
admission, and one lucky fan will win a “one-night stand” at the Mayflower
Hotel in Washington, D.C. . . . Kristen, of course, is the first name of the
young lady who apparently entertained Spitzer in the Mayflower. . . .
ESPN.com’s Gene Wojciechowski, on Chicago Cubs owner Sam Zell pondering the
selling of stadium naming rights: "Renaming Wrigley (Field) would be like
the Vatican's signing off on the Tostitos Sistine Chapel." . . . Mark
Kriegel, over at FoxSports.com: “Been reading up on Brett Favre’s life and
times. Seems he once needed 13 Vicodins to get through the Espy’s. Big deal.
I need that much just to watch it on TV.”
Jay Mariotti, in the Chicago Sun-Times: “The problem with DePaul basketball
isn’t that the team went 11-19, failed to make the Big East tournament and
hasn’t reached the NCAA tournament since Jerry Wainwright became coach. The
problem with DePaul basketball is that no one cares enough about DePaul
basketball to be mad. DePaul has DeParted from the Chicago sports scene.” .
. . That growling you here is the ghost of Ray Meyer on the prowl. . . . The
men’s basketball team at Northwestern, a Chicago school, is in its eighth
season with Bill Carmody as head coach. The team plays in the Big Ten, where
it is 3-31 of late. It also, as Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti
pointed out, has yet to play in the NCAA tournament, which is 70 years old.
The headline on Mariotti’s column: Pull the plug on Carmody Central.
Ken Shamrock, an MMA fighter who calls himself The World‚s Most Dangerous
Man, lasted 74 seconds in Cage Rage 25 in London the other night. As Chris
Foster of the Los Angeles Times put it: "Makes you wonder what they call the
guy who beat him." . . . The Kelowna Rockets held Fan Appreciation Night at
their last regular-season home game the other night. Among the bootie given
away: an ATV, four GPS units and four 42-inch plasma TV sets. Which is why
when it comes to fan support the Rockets are the standard in the WHL these
days. . . . After Billy Crystal got into an exhibition game with the New
York Yankees, Dan Daly of the Washington Times wrote: “Billy Crystal, the
most famous Yankees fan this side of Rudy Giuliani, got to bat for his
favorite team the other day in an exhibition game against the Pirates.
Unfortunately, he was robbed of a hit on an incredible diving catch by Jack
Palance.” . . . And then there was the Miami Herald’s Greg Cote, who put it
this way: “Comedian Billy Crystal, 60, struck out in his only at-bat with
the Yankees, after referring to himself as ‘the DH — Designated Hebrew,’ and
saying he feared he might ‘test positive for Maalox.’ I wish he had gotten a
long-term contract for the quotes alone.” . . . Best wishes to Katie Gleddie
as she recovers from that horrendous accident of the other day. There's a
whole lot of people pulling for you, kid.
Pal Nagy broke into a home in Budapest, Hungary, only to discover that
Olympic fencer Virgine Ujlaky lived there and was practising at the time.
Blade to neck, she pinned him to the wall and called the cops. According to
Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post, Nagy was heard to utter: “Curses,
foiled again.” . . . Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times added: “Guess he
won’t be fencing any stolen goods from this house.” . . . If you are
wondering why the officials didn’t blow the play dead prior to the Vancouver
Giants scoring the winning goal against the Blazers on Saturday, it’s
because linesman Nick Swaine was in position and was yelling to referee Andy
Thiessen to let him know that the puck was loose. The Blazers and their fans
may not have liked it but the officials handled it perfectly. . . . Two
nights later, Swaine was the referee as the Kamloops Storm went into the
fifth OT period before beating the Revelstoke Grizzlies 1-0 on Austin
(Johnny B.) Goode’s goal.
Elliott Harris, in the Chicago Sun-Times: “Major League Baseball
commissioner Bud Selig’s salary for the fiscal year ending Oct. 31, 2006,
was $15.06 million, the Sports Business Journal reports. Which buys an awful
lot of sand to stick your head into when you feel like it. It also is a
figure greater than the Florida Marlins’ 2006 payroll. Maybe the players
association can try to institute a rule that the commissioner cannot be paid
more than the lowest team’s payroll.” . . . The first Major League Baseball
game to be played in China ended in a 3-3 tie between the San Diego Padres
and Los Angeles Dodgers. Does that define MLB’s Selig Era, or what? . . .
Ken Reardon, the Montreal Canadiens’ Hockey Hall of Famer who died last
weekend, played the 1937-38 season with the Blue River Rebels of the B.C.
junior league. . . . In those days, Reardon’s sister was reputed to be a
better play than he was.
Former tennis great Martina Navratilova is no fan of Maria Sharapova’s
grunting. As Navratilova told Asashi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper: "They
aren't lifting 300 pounds, they're hitting a tennis ball." . . . The next
time you bump into Howie Reimer, the morning man over at Country 103, ask
him about his introduction to Charlie Daniels during a recent excursion to
Nashville. . . . NASCAR driver Kyle Busch won a race the other day and
pocketed $175,575. Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg explained: "So, after paying
for 500 miles of gas at 180 mph, Busch owes them $725." . . . Cam
Hutchinson, in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “Three famous number nines: 3.
Bobby Hull; 2. Gordie Howe; 1. Eliot Spitzer.” . . . Two weeks ago, NASCAR
drivers, led by Tony Stewart, were quite outspoken about the poor
performance of the Goodyear tires they were using. “No athlete,” wrote Pete
McEntegart of SI.com, “has been so upset about his rubber’s performance
since Travis Henry.”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Friday's package. . .
WHL commissioner Ron Robison opened the playoffs in Kennewick, Wash., on Friday where he presented the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy to the regular-season champion Tri-City Americans. Robison will be in Vancouver on Saturday for Game 2 between the Giants and Chilliwack Chiefs. . . . Add C Jacob Dietrich to the list of WHLers who have moved on to the pro game. Dietrich, who played out his eligibility with the Portland Winter Hawks, has joined the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings. . . . The WHL has had a new playoff logo designed in honour of Ed Chynoweth, the former president and present chairman of the board of governors. The WHL’s playoff championship trophy was named the Ed Chynoweth Cup in his honour during last spring’s Memorial Cup. The logo also is being turned into a decal and once they are ready will go on players’ helmets. This is a wonderful tribute to Chynoweth who is battling health problems. Here’s hoping that as each player looks at that logo for the first time he comes to understand how much Chynoweth has meant to the WHL.
————————
While in Kennewick on Friday, Robison provided me with an update on the Portland situation.
“We’re in constant contact,” Robison said, referring to his relationship with the Winter Hawks’ ownership group. “We are doing a review of their entire operation and hope to have that completed by mid-April.”
Robison said he is determined to get “things turned around” in Portland.
As he pointed out, it was the Winter Hawks who annually seemed to lead the WHL in attendance before the Calgary Hitmen developed such a following.
“We’re confident the (Portland) market is strong,” Robison said.
————————
FRIDAY IN THE WHL:
The first games are over. All series resume Saturday in the same venues, with the exception of the series between the Calgary Hitmen and Moose Jaw Warriors. With the Calgary Flames playing at home Saturday night, the Hitmen and Warriors will resume hostilities Sunday afternoon in the Pengrowth Saddledome. . .
———
In Vancouver, the defending Memorial Cup-champion Giants opened defence of their championship with a 2-1 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Giants are 32-9 going back to the start of the 2006 playoffs. . . . The Giants took out the Bruins in five games last season and won eight of 10 games between the teams this season. . . . RW Michal Repik had a goal and an assist for the Giants. He got the game’s first goal at 16:10 of the first period. . . . Vancouver captain Spencer Machacek made it 2-0 on the PP at 12:34 of the second. . . . Chilliwack F Oscar Moller got that PP goal back at 1:49 of the third. . . . Chilliwack G Mark Friesen stopped 31 shots. . . . Vancouver’s Tyson Sexsmith stopped 23 shots. . . . Chilliwack was 1-for-3 on the PP; the Giants were 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 8,076. . . .
———
In Kennewick, Wash., the Americans celebrated their first regular-season championship by opening with a 6-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Americans, who have bowed out in the first round each of the last three seasons, broke a scoreless tie with four second-period goals, the first from RW Radek Meidl at 1:14. . . . LW Colton Yellow Horn, who led the WHL with 48 regular-season goals, scored twice for the Americans and added an assist. . . . Tri-City was 3-for-10 on the PP; the Blazers, who took 61 of 110 penalty minutes, were 0-for-4. . . . The Americans have won their last six games. . . . Kamloops has one victory in its last 16 games. . . . F Shaun Vey had three assists for the Americans. . . . Attendance was 3,676. . . . This one ended with Tri-City head coach Don Nachbaur exchanging greetings with Kamloops interim head coach Greg Hawgood. After both coaches made postgame radio appearances, Hawgood tried to initiate a conversation with Nachbaur but the Tri-City boss didn’t seem overly interested in listening. . . . “I just didn’t like the way the end of the game happened,” Nachbaur said. “I’ve been on the other side of the scoreboard too so I know how he felt.” . . . Hawgood also appeared to exchange pleasantries with some fans near game’s end. However, when asked about it at game’s end, he said: “No. No, I wasn’t.” . . . Kamloops C Alex Rodgers (flu) didn’t make the trip south. . . .
———
In Spokane, LW Drayson Bowman scored two goals to lead the Chiefs to a 5-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Chiefs, who were 26-7-0-3 at home during the regular season, didn’t disappoint 4,732 fans in Game 1. . . . Everett has lost its last six games. . . . The Chiefs were 4-for-8 on the PP; the Silvertips were 1-for-3. . . . Spokane scored its first three PP goals in a 5:18 span of the first period to go up 3-0. . . . In the regular season, the Chiefs’ PP was 4-for-45 against Everett. . . . Spokane got 26 saves from G Dustin Tokarski. . . . Everett G Leland Irving was beaten four times on 19 shots before Shaye Barrie took over early in the second period. . . . Everett D Taylor Ellington returned after missing 21 games with a broken foot. . . .
———
In Seattle, RW Brady Leavold’s PP goal at 7:21 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie as the Kelowna Rockets got past the Thunderbirds, 3-2. . . . Leavold pulled the Rockets into a 2-2 tie at 19:46 of the second period. . . . Kelowna C Colin Long, who lost the scoring title by one point on the last day of the regular season, drew three assists for Kelowna. . . . D Tyson Barrie, the fine 16-year-old who runs the Kelowna PP, drew two assists as the Rockets went 2-for-5 with the man advantage. . . . Seattle was 2-for-4 on the PP. . . . G Kris Westblom got the start and made 27 saves for Kelowna, four more than Seattle’s Riku Helenius. . . . Attendace was 3,002. . . . Kelowna has won five straight postseason games in Seattle. . . .
———
In Calgary, D Ryan Gillen scored on the home team’s first shot and the Hitmen went on to a 5-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Hitmen won four of five in the season series. . . . D Paul Postma scored 52 seconds after Gillen and the Hitmen were rolling with a 2-0 lead before the game was four minutes old. . . . Gillen had two goals in the regular season. . . . Moose Jaw G Joey Perricone stopped 33 shots. . . . Postma also had two assists. . . . Calgary G Dan Spence stopped 18 shots. . . . With the Flames at home Saturday night, Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. . . . Attendance was 8,713. . . .
———
In Regina, the Pats had their physical and defensive games in gear as they scored a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Regina is 9-2-1-0 in its last 12 games. . . . Attendance was 5,945. . . . On the game’s first shift, Regina RW Brett Leffler checked Swift Current D Michael Wilson behind one net. Wilson was helped off and didn’t return. . . . Regina’s Colten Teubert and Swift Current’s Zack Smith exchanged first-period goals. . . . C Tim Kraus got the winner on a Regina PP at 5:16 of the second period. . . . Swift Current G Travis Yonkman was sharp, with 33 saves. . . . Regina G Linden Rowat stopped 19 shots. . . Regina was 2-for-7 on the PP; Swift Current, minus Wilson, who runs their PP, was 0-for-7. . . .
———
In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes got power-play goals from F Dwight King and F Zach Boychuk just over a minute part in the third period to beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2. . . . F Tyler Dittmer had given Brandon the lead at 3:12 of the third period. . . . Lethbridge got 27 saves from G Juha Metsola in his first playoff appearance. . . . The Hurricanes were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 0-for-5. . . . Attendance was 4,123. . . . Brandon G Joe Caligiuri was outstanding in a 22-save effort. . . . Brandon D Chad Erb returned after missing 12 games with a broken wrist. . .
———
In Medicine Hat, C Ben Maxwell scored twice, the last one into an empty net, as the Kootenay Ice opened with a 5-2 victory over the Tigers. . . . This is the first time these teams have met in the playoffs. . . . Attendance was 3,903, 103 under capacity (4,006), ending a streak of 228 consecutive sellouts (regular season and playoffs) for the Tigers. . . . F Steve Da Silva got the Ice started with a goal 2:49 of the first period. . . . The visitors led 3-1 after the first period. . . . D Chad Greenan and F Dustin Sylvester each drew two assists for the Ice. . . . The Ice won the regular series with the Tigers, 4-2, and was 2-1 in The Hat. . . . Kootenay was 2-for-2 on the PP; the Tigers were 1-for-4.
————————
While in Kennewick on Friday, Robison provided me with an update on the Portland situation.
“We’re in constant contact,” Robison said, referring to his relationship with the Winter Hawks’ ownership group. “We are doing a review of their entire operation and hope to have that completed by mid-April.”
Robison said he is determined to get “things turned around” in Portland.
As he pointed out, it was the Winter Hawks who annually seemed to lead the WHL in attendance before the Calgary Hitmen developed such a following.
“We’re confident the (Portland) market is strong,” Robison said.
————————
FRIDAY IN THE WHL:
The first games are over. All series resume Saturday in the same venues, with the exception of the series between the Calgary Hitmen and Moose Jaw Warriors. With the Calgary Flames playing at home Saturday night, the Hitmen and Warriors will resume hostilities Sunday afternoon in the Pengrowth Saddledome. . .
———
In Vancouver, the defending Memorial Cup-champion Giants opened defence of their championship with a 2-1 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Giants are 32-9 going back to the start of the 2006 playoffs. . . . The Giants took out the Bruins in five games last season and won eight of 10 games between the teams this season. . . . RW Michal Repik had a goal and an assist for the Giants. He got the game’s first goal at 16:10 of the first period. . . . Vancouver captain Spencer Machacek made it 2-0 on the PP at 12:34 of the second. . . . Chilliwack F Oscar Moller got that PP goal back at 1:49 of the third. . . . Chilliwack G Mark Friesen stopped 31 shots. . . . Vancouver’s Tyson Sexsmith stopped 23 shots. . . . Chilliwack was 1-for-3 on the PP; the Giants were 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 8,076. . . .
———
In Kennewick, Wash., the Americans celebrated their first regular-season championship by opening with a 6-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Americans, who have bowed out in the first round each of the last three seasons, broke a scoreless tie with four second-period goals, the first from RW Radek Meidl at 1:14. . . . LW Colton Yellow Horn, who led the WHL with 48 regular-season goals, scored twice for the Americans and added an assist. . . . Tri-City was 3-for-10 on the PP; the Blazers, who took 61 of 110 penalty minutes, were 0-for-4. . . . The Americans have won their last six games. . . . Kamloops has one victory in its last 16 games. . . . F Shaun Vey had three assists for the Americans. . . . Attendance was 3,676. . . . This one ended with Tri-City head coach Don Nachbaur exchanging greetings with Kamloops interim head coach Greg Hawgood. After both coaches made postgame radio appearances, Hawgood tried to initiate a conversation with Nachbaur but the Tri-City boss didn’t seem overly interested in listening. . . . “I just didn’t like the way the end of the game happened,” Nachbaur said. “I’ve been on the other side of the scoreboard too so I know how he felt.” . . . Hawgood also appeared to exchange pleasantries with some fans near game’s end. However, when asked about it at game’s end, he said: “No. No, I wasn’t.” . . . Kamloops C Alex Rodgers (flu) didn’t make the trip south. . . .
———
In Spokane, LW Drayson Bowman scored two goals to lead the Chiefs to a 5-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Chiefs, who were 26-7-0-3 at home during the regular season, didn’t disappoint 4,732 fans in Game 1. . . . Everett has lost its last six games. . . . The Chiefs were 4-for-8 on the PP; the Silvertips were 1-for-3. . . . Spokane scored its first three PP goals in a 5:18 span of the first period to go up 3-0. . . . In the regular season, the Chiefs’ PP was 4-for-45 against Everett. . . . Spokane got 26 saves from G Dustin Tokarski. . . . Everett G Leland Irving was beaten four times on 19 shots before Shaye Barrie took over early in the second period. . . . Everett D Taylor Ellington returned after missing 21 games with a broken foot. . . .
———
In Seattle, RW Brady Leavold’s PP goal at 7:21 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie as the Kelowna Rockets got past the Thunderbirds, 3-2. . . . Leavold pulled the Rockets into a 2-2 tie at 19:46 of the second period. . . . Kelowna C Colin Long, who lost the scoring title by one point on the last day of the regular season, drew three assists for Kelowna. . . . D Tyson Barrie, the fine 16-year-old who runs the Kelowna PP, drew two assists as the Rockets went 2-for-5 with the man advantage. . . . Seattle was 2-for-4 on the PP. . . . G Kris Westblom got the start and made 27 saves for Kelowna, four more than Seattle’s Riku Helenius. . . . Attendace was 3,002. . . . Kelowna has won five straight postseason games in Seattle. . . .
———
In Calgary, D Ryan Gillen scored on the home team’s first shot and the Hitmen went on to a 5-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Hitmen won four of five in the season series. . . . D Paul Postma scored 52 seconds after Gillen and the Hitmen were rolling with a 2-0 lead before the game was four minutes old. . . . Gillen had two goals in the regular season. . . . Moose Jaw G Joey Perricone stopped 33 shots. . . . Postma also had two assists. . . . Calgary G Dan Spence stopped 18 shots. . . . With the Flames at home Saturday night, Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. . . . Attendance was 8,713. . . .
———
In Regina, the Pats had their physical and defensive games in gear as they scored a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Regina is 9-2-1-0 in its last 12 games. . . . Attendance was 5,945. . . . On the game’s first shift, Regina RW Brett Leffler checked Swift Current D Michael Wilson behind one net. Wilson was helped off and didn’t return. . . . Regina’s Colten Teubert and Swift Current’s Zack Smith exchanged first-period goals. . . . C Tim Kraus got the winner on a Regina PP at 5:16 of the second period. . . . Swift Current G Travis Yonkman was sharp, with 33 saves. . . . Regina G Linden Rowat stopped 19 shots. . . Regina was 2-for-7 on the PP; Swift Current, minus Wilson, who runs their PP, was 0-for-7. . . .
———
In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes got power-play goals from F Dwight King and F Zach Boychuk just over a minute part in the third period to beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2. . . . F Tyler Dittmer had given Brandon the lead at 3:12 of the third period. . . . Lethbridge got 27 saves from G Juha Metsola in his first playoff appearance. . . . The Hurricanes were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 0-for-5. . . . Attendance was 4,123. . . . Brandon G Joe Caligiuri was outstanding in a 22-save effort. . . . Brandon D Chad Erb returned after missing 12 games with a broken wrist. . .
———
In Medicine Hat, C Ben Maxwell scored twice, the last one into an empty net, as the Kootenay Ice opened with a 5-2 victory over the Tigers. . . . This is the first time these teams have met in the playoffs. . . . Attendance was 3,903, 103 under capacity (4,006), ending a streak of 228 consecutive sellouts (regular season and playoffs) for the Tigers. . . . F Steve Da Silva got the Ice started with a goal 2:49 of the first period. . . . The visitors led 3-1 after the first period. . . . D Chad Greenan and F Dustin Sylvester each drew two assists for the Ice. . . . The Ice won the regular series with the Tigers, 4-2, and was 2-1 in The Hat. . . . Kootenay was 2-for-2 on the PP; the Tigers were 1-for-4.
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