Sunday's serving . . .

If you journey on over to Jeff Bromley’s blog (the link is over there on the left), you will find the results of a Best of the East poll, as conducted by Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Brandon Wheat Kings. The poll appeared in the Brandon Sun’s community weekly newspaper. . . . The part of Luebke’s story that hit me between the eyes was this: “In total, 19 of a possible 30 ballots (three per team) were returned. Six teams took time to complete all three ballots requested while one team chose not to participate. Four other teams returned a portion of the ballots requested and one team asked their broadcaster to submit their ballot.” . . . What is wrong with some of the teams in the WHL? Annie Fowler, who compiles the Tri-City Herald’s Best of the West poll, also had problems getting ballots back from teams. . . . The WHL’s 22 teams — every single one of them — should be thrilled that media people would take enough interest in their league to organize these polls, which can be awfully time-consuming. At least, the teams should be thrilled enough that folks in every organization should be able to find time to fill out every available ballot. . . . But, then, maybe the WHL and its teams aren’t interested in the publicity these polls generate, not to mention the chatter that always seems to follow them. . . .

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SUNDAY IN THE WHL:
In Regina, F J.D. Watt scored one goal and set up another as the Pats dumped the Calgary Hitmen, 3-1. . . . Regina (40-21-4-2) has won 40 games for the second time in three seasons. The Pats lead the East Division by four points over the idle Brandon Wheat Kings and are the Eastern Conference’s second seed. . . . The Hitmen (44-18-1-4) lead the conference. . . . D Logan Pyett got his 19th goal of the season for Regina. . . . Calgary had a 38-18 edge in shots but Regina G Linden Rowat was stellar. . . . The Hitmen were 0-for-7 on the PP; Regina was 0-for-5. . . . Regina went 3-1 against Calgary this season. . . .

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In Portland, F Lucas Bloodoff’s PP goal 41 seconds into the second period stood up as the winner as the Kelowna Rockets edged the Winter Hawks, 2-1. . . . The Rockets (35-23-2-6) moved back into fifth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Everett Silvertips and one behind the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Winter Hawks (9-53-2-1) lost their 20th straight game (0-18-2-0). . . . F Kyle St. Denis gave Kelowna a 1-0 lead in the first period. . . . F Tristan King scored for Portland at 18:11 of the third period. . . . Kelowna outshot Portland, 37-17. . . . The Rockets remain without LW Jamie Benn (ankle). . . . Kelowna D Tysen Dowzak and C Myles MacRae, veterans who were healthy scratches Saturday, were back in the lineup in Portland. . . . Kelowna finished 4-0 against Portland this season . . .

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In Swift Current, Jason Bast and Jordan Knackstedt scored in the circus to give the Moose Jaw Warriors a 2-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . The Warriors (34-18-6-7) and Broncos (37-22-1-6) are tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Brandon. . . . F Keegan Dansereau counted for the Broncos in the shootout but that wasn’t enough. . . . Moose Jaw G Todd Mathews stopped 36 shots through OT. . . . Broncos G Travis Yonkman made 39 saves. . . . Swift Current F David Stieler forced OT with his 21st goal of the season at 17:28 of the third period. . . . LW Terrance Delaronde, with his career-best 14th goal, scored for Moose Jaw in the first period. . . . The Warriors took five of six points from Swift Current, the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Calgary over the weekend. . . . Moose Jaw and Swift Current have met six times this season and they’ve gone to OT on five occasions. This was the first time Moose Jaw has won. . . . This was Moose Jaw’s 22nd appearance in OT, tying the WHL record set by the Seattle Thunderbirds last season.