Saturday . . .

No doubt you have heard the phrase ‘Gordie Howe hat trick.’ But did you know that Howe only had two Gordie Howe hat tricks during his legendary career? In fact, you might be surprised to learn that Howe only had 22 fights during his NHL career and, GOLLY GEE!!!!, one of them was with Howie Meeker. Anyway, surf on over to Jeff Marek’s blog at cbc.ca and give this a read. It is well worth it, and it's right here.
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You may have heard the legend of Tom Martin, the WHL player who once was traded for a bus. But perhaps you don’t believe it. Well, you can read all about it right here.
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Over in the QMJHL, the league has suspended Baie-Comeau Drakkar assistant coach Stéphane Hains indefinitely for throwing a water bottle in the direction of an on-ice official. The fun occurred during the third period of Friday’s game against the Rimouski Océanic. The Drakkar also received an automatic $1,000 fine for the incident. . . . Wait, there’s more. . . . According to a QMJHL press release: “Moreover, the organization received a second automatic $1,000 fine following goaltenders coach Steve Ahern's conduct, who also threw objects on the ice in the third period albeit not in the direction of any on-ice officials. The decision was rendered after reviewing the videotape of the incident and consulting all concerned parties.” . . . Darn cameras are everywhere these days, aren’t they?
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SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Vancouver, C Evander Kane ran his point streak to 15 games as the Giants beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 4-3 to give Don Hay his 400th head-coaching victory. . . . He is the ninth coach in WHL history to reach that milestone. . . . The Giants (12-0-0-3) have won five in a row and remain the only team in the Canadian Hockey League not to have lost in regulation time. . . . Brandon (10-6-1-0) had won its last two games and seven of its last nine. It went 3-2 on its B.C. Division swing. . . . Kane had a goal and an assist. . . . Hay showed up for the post-game gathering with the media wearing the hardhat that Giants players award to the hardest-working player after each game. . . . With Kane and Brandon F Brayden Schenn playing, more than 30 NHL scouts were on hand.
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In Kelowna, LW Jamie Benn continued his glorious season as his three goals led the Rockets to a 4-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Rockets (11-7-0-0) have won five of six. . . . The Hurricanes (9-8-0-0) have lost four of five and went 1-2 on a brief foray into the B.C. Division. Lethbridge doesn’t play again until Nov. 8 when it is in Calgary. . . . Benn now has a WHL-leading 17 goals. . . . Lethbridge led 2-0 after one period and 3-2 late in the second period. . . . C Cody Almond tied the game late in the second period and Benn won it with an unassisted goal midway in the third. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 19 shots and now is 6-0 in his freshman season. . . . F Carter Bancks had a goal and two assists for Lethbridge. . . . The Rockets had D Tysen Dowzak back in their lineup after the 20-year-old was reassigned by the NHL’s New York Rangers late in the week.
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In Everett, F Craig McCallum scored twice to lead the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 3-1 victory over the Silvertips. . . . Edmonton (8-9-1-1) has won three of four. . . . The Silvertips (8-7-1-0) had won their last two and five of seven. They also had a seven-game home-ice winning streak come to an end. . . . McCallum has five goals this season. . . . Edmonton G Torrie Jung stopped 30 shots and now is 3-0-0-1 since being acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Jung has given up only six goals in four games. . . . The Oil Kings were 2-for-7 on the PP; the Silvertips were 0-for-3.
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In Prince Albert, LW James Dobrowolski broke a 1-1 tie late in the second period as the Raiders dumped the Red Deer Rebels, 2-1. . . . The Raiders (11-9-0-0) have won six in a row at home. . . . The Rebels slipped to 6-9-0-5. . . . F Willie Coetzee got his ninth of the season for Red Deer, forging a 1-1 tie after F Justin Bernhardt has scored his eighth for the home side. . . . Red Deer was only 1-for-8 on the PP; the Raiders were 1-for-5.
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In Prince George, F Brett Connolly, one of the WHL’s top young guns, enjoyed his first WHL three-goal game as the Cougars whipped the Kamloops Blazers, 7-2. . . . The Cougars (8-9-0-1) had lost six in a row. . . . The Blazers (8-9-0-2) had won four straight. . . . In winning four in a row, Kamloops had allowed 27, 28, 28 and 29 shots. In this one, they gave up 51. . . . It was the first time this season Kamloops gave up seven goals. . . . The Cougars led 3-0 after the first period – they held an 18-5 edge in shots – but the visitors closed to 3-2 early in the third. . . . Captain Dana Tyrell had a goal and three assists and D Cameron Cepek had four helpers for the Cougars.
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In Saskatoon, RW Jordan Eberle scored three times and set up another as the Regina Pats dumped the Blades, 6-2. . . . The Pats (10-5-1-3) have won four of their last five. . . . The Blades (12-6-1-0) had won three of four. . . . Figure out this one: The Blades are 9-1-0-0 on the road and 3-5-1-0 at home. . . . D Stefan Elliott had a goal and an assist for the Blades and now has 15 points in 19 games. . . . The Blades had beaten the Pats 8-1 in Regina on Oct. 21. . . . Saskatoon is without forwards Curtis Hamilton (knee), Travis Toomey (collarbone) and Adam Chorneyko (finger). . . . Lorne Molleken, the Blades' GM/head coach, has 382 WHL victories.
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In Spokane, the Chiefs scored three PP goals as they beat the Kootenay Ice, 5-1. . . . Spokane (10-3-0-3) had lost three of four. . . . The Ice (10-7-2-3) had won its last two. . . . F Levko Koper scored three times for Spokane – he has a team-high 11 on the season after scoring 12 all of last season – and C Mitch Wahl had the other two goals. . . . Koper also leads the Chiefs with 20 points. . . . The Chiefs scored the game’s first four goals. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski stopped 34 shots, including a first-period penalty shot by Ice F Steele Boomer.
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Johnny Lazo’s third goal of the night, at 2:32 of OT, gave the Tri-City Americans a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Americans (11-5-0-1) had lost three in a row. The victory allowed them to keep pace with the Spokane Chiefs atop the U.S. Division. . . . The Thunderbirds (4-11-0-1) are 2-9-1-1 on the road. . . . The Americans led this one 4-0 after the first period, thanks to two goals by Lazo, one by F Brooks Macek and another by F Jason Reese. . . . The hat trick was the first of Lazo’s WHL’s career. He has seven goals this sason. . . . The winner came with Seattle F Greg Scott in stir for goaltender interference. . . . Seattle tied it on two second-period goals, from F Jeremy Boyer and D Thomas Hickey, and a pair of third-period scores by C Jim O’Brien. . . . D Sena Acolatse drew assists on Seattle’s last three goals. . . . Reese had two assists, while D Brett Plouffe was in on the Ams’ first three goals. . . . Tri-City G Chet Pickard won the battle of the Pickard brothers. He stopped 36 saves, while Calvin turned aside 27 for Seattle. The brothers have gone head-to-head twice this season and Chet is 2-0. . . . The victory was No. 394 for Tri-City head coach Don Nachbaur.
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In Swift Current, the Broncos scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 3-1. . . . The Broncos (13-5-0-0) have won four in a row. . . . The Warriors (5-10-0-1) have lost five straight. They also have lost six in a row on the road.