Dave Sheldon, the Vancouver Giants’ director of broadcasting and media relations, and their voice on AM650, always is able to dig up some interesting stats and facts for his weekly Monday release.Here’s what came out this time around:
Evander Kane now has a point in every game this season. His 17-game points streak is the longest in the WHL this season; Kane has 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points during his extended points run. . . . The longest streak in the WHL last season belonged to Colton Yellow-Horn of the Tri-City Americans, who scored points in 22 consecutive games. The longest streak to start last season belonged to Giants defenceman Jonathon Blum, who scored in his first 11. . . . Jeff Nelson of the 1990-91 Prince Albert Raiders holds the all-time record, with points in an amazing 56 consecutive games.
The Giants played their first 17 games in 49 days. . . . the fewest number of games so far by any WHL team. The Giants will play their next 17 games in just 35 days, which will take them to the Christmas Break on Dec. 16.
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Keep in mind that Kane extended his streak with an assist Tuesday afternoon, although the Giants lost 3-2 to the Bruins in Chilliwack. That was Vancouver’s first regulation loss this season. . . . That leaves the QMJHL’s Moncton Screaming Eagles, at 17-0-2-0, as the last team in major junior hockey not have lost in regulation time. . . . The Giants went into Tuesday with a 17-0-1-1 regular-season record against the Bruins. Including playoffs, Vancouver was 25-1-1-1 versus Chilliwack. . . . The Giants lost D Mike Berube, 20, to a broken arm in that game. Berube is expected to be gone for up to eight weeks. With Berube out, the Giants are expected to recall D Simon Witt, 16, from the junior B Grandview Steelers. Witt had been assigned to the Steelers last week when D Curtis Kulchar returned from a knee injury. . . . F Andy Smith, acquired Monday from the Prince Albert Raiders, scored the Bruins' first two goals on Tuesay.
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Tyson Sexsmith of the Vancouver Giants is the ADT CHL goaltender of the week. He went 1-0-0-0 last week, beating the Cougars 5-0 in Prince George. It was the 22nd shutout of his career and that’s a WHL record. It came in Sexsmith’s 138th regular-season game. He had been sharing the record with Bryan Bridges (Kootenay/Seattle, 2001-06) who played 213 games played and Leland Irving (Everett, 2003-08), who played 195 games. Sexsmith, 19, was a third-round pick by the San Jose Sharks in the NHL’s 2007 draft. That was his second shutout this season.
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Having acquired veteran G Jeff Bosch, 18, from the Regina Pats on Monday, the Moose Jaw Warriors have assigned G Todd Mathews to the SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds. In 33 games with the Warriors, Matthews was 12-12-0-2. This season, in 13 games, he was 3-7-0-1 with a 4.88 GAA and a .854 save percentage. He’s an 18-year-old from Covina, Calif. . . . Devin Dubyk, 17, remains the Warriors’ backup goaltender. . . . The Pats dealt Bosch to the Warriors for C Neal Prokop, 18. Greg Harder of The Leader-Post reports that this was the first player-for-player deal between the teams in Regina GM Brent Parker’s 14 years with the Pats. “I don’t envision us making yearly deals or anything of that nature,” Parker told Harder, “but it was something out of need for both teams. It just happened to be that all the stars kind of aligned and we ended up as dance partners, if you will.” . . . According to Harder, “Parker’s only previous dealing with Moose Jaw came in 2002-03 when he sent Ryan Annesley down the Trans-Canada Highway for a draft pick. The Warriors’ GM at that time was Curtis Hunt, who would become Regina’s head coach two years later.”
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The OHL’s Plymouth Whalers have made a coaching change. Former NHL goaltender Greg Stefan has resigned and now is a special assignment coach for the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. Mike Vellucci, the Whalers’ president and GM, now is the head coach. Again. He already is the winningest head coach in the franchise’s history. Stefan had been head coach since Dec. 11 when Vellucci was promoted within Compuware’s hockey organization. The Whalers are 6-11-2-0, which is good for fifth in their division and 10th in their conference.
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Some notes from Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune pertaining to the Winter Hawks’ 7-5 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers on Sunday (Kamloops had a 5-2 lead with 10 minutes left in the third period in that one): The Winter Hawks hadn't scored more than four goals in a game since March 2, 2007, when they beat the Everett Silvertips, 5-2. . . . The Winter Hawks hadn't scored six goals in a game since Oct. 27, 2006, when they beat Kamloops 6-3. . . . The Winter Hawks hadn't scored more than six goals in a game since an 8-3 victory against Spokane on Nov. 23, 2005. . . . The Winter Hawks, now 3-2 under their new regime, are prepping for a 3-in-3 weekend. They are at home to the Prince George Cougars on Friday and the Tri-City Americans on Saturday, before visiting the Vancouver Giants on Sunday. . . . The Blazers, who skated after arriving home Monday morning at 4:45, are at home to the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday and the Chilliwack Bruins on Sunday.