Helen Alex is the manager of the Los Angeles Jr. Kings midget AAA team. She also is the mother of Ray Macias, a defenceman who spent four seasons with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers.
Macias got the call Tuesday and is expected to make his NHL debut Wednesday night with the Colorado Avalanche, which is playing host to the Phoenix Coyotes.
His mother just happened to be in Pittsburgh on Tuesday with the Jr. Kings. The national midget AAA championship tournament runs there from Wednesday through Sunday and the Kings are hoping to become the first California team to win a U.S. title in that age group.
But what’s a Mom to do? Does she stay with her “boys” or does she travel to watch her son play? What do you think? Of course, she’s going to Denver.
“Oh my god,” Helen wrote in an email Tuesday night. “I am in Pittsburgh with my team at Nationals . . . I am leaving for Colorado tomorrow morning . . . to watch his game . . .”
The excitement she was feeling practically jumped off my computer screen.
You have to know something of her son’s history to appreciate exactly how much this means to Helen. Ray was a late-comer to the game of hockey. He was a late-developing child and there was a time when Helen wondered if he would ever speak.
He came to Kamloops as a timid 16-year-old with a shy smile, and it was fun watching him shed his shell and become more confident over his seasons with the Blazers. In his final season, he led all WHL defencemen in points (70) but was injured in the 70th game of the regular season. The Blazers won 40 games that season but without Macias in the playoffs were swept by the underdog Prince George Cougars, who won three times in OT.
Macias was recalled by the Avalanche from the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters with whom he had 18 points in 36 games. He also played eight games with the ECHL’s Johnstown Chiefs, picking up six points.
He was a fourth-round pick in the NHL’s 2005 draft.
———
F Brent Raedeke of the Edmonton Oil Kings has been assigned by the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Raedeke attended Detroit’s camp last fall as a free agent and ended up signing a three-year contract. He had 55 points with the Oil Kings in the regular season.
———
WARNING! WARNING!! . . . Backlund alert. . . . Update on Kelowna F Mikael Backlund somewhere in this report. . . . Proceed with caution.
———
TUESDAY’S PLAYOFF GAME:
In Swift Current, the Medicine Hat Tigers got two goals from F Zdenek Okal as they beat the Broncos, 4-1, to win Game 7 of the first-round series. . . . Okal opened the scoring at 1:29 of the first period, with F Michael Stickland getting that one back for the Broncos eight minutes later. . . . F Sean Ringrose scored what turned into the winner at 19:12. . . . Okal got his second goal, and fourth of the series, at 3:23 of the second period. . . . F Brennan Bosch added an empty-netter at 18:12 of the third period. . . . Medicine Hat G Ryan Holfeld stopped 39 shots. . . . Swift Current G Travis Yonkman blocked 17. . . . Attendance was 2,879.
———
It’s the Lethbridge Hurricanes at the Saskatoon Blades in Game 7 of the only first round series still alive. The game will be shown live on Shaw Cable. . . . If Lethbridge wins, the second round will feature the Hurricanes against the Calgary Hitmen, with the Brandon Wheat Kigns meeting Medicine Hat. . . . If Saskatoon wins, it’ll be Calgary against Medicine Hat and Brandon against Saskatoon. . . . And if you’re wondering who’s up next for the Shaw gang, don’t bet against it being the Western Conference series between the Spokane Chiefs and Vancouver Giants.
———
When the Chiefs and Giants open their second-round series on Friday night in Vancouver, it will be the second time in WHL history that the last two Memorial Cup champions will have met in the playoffs.
The Chiefs, who won the Memorial Cup last season, and the Giants, who won as the host team in 2007, also met in the second round a year ago. Spokane won that series in six games.
In 1993, the Kamloops Blazers, who won the Memorial Cup in 1992, and the Chiefs, who had won in 1991, met up in a best-of-five conference semifinal. The Blazers won the series in three games.
———
The other driver in the accident in which former WHL goaltender Mike Maniago was killed in late November has been charged. The story is right here.
———
Warren Henderson of the Kelowna Capital News reports that Rockets F Mikael Backlund may not be ready to play in the series opener with the host Tri-City Americans on Friday. “Backlund (lower body injury) remains questionable for the start of the second round on Friday,” Henderson writes. “Backlund was injured last Wednesday night in Game 4 against Kamloops.” . . . Kelowna F Kyle St. Denis (concussion) is listed as week-to-week.
———
If you were wondering, and you likely were, the Americans beat the Rockets twice — 5-2 and 4-1 — in Kennewick, Wash, during the regular season. In Kelowna, the Rockets won twice, 3-1 and 3-2.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tuesday . . . early
Anyone interested in a WHL expansion franchise or in relocating a present-day franchise will be interested to learn that the Wenatchee Wild, completing its first season in the North American league, is averaging, according to a source in the area, more than 2,700 fans per game. “The team has become very popular with the fans,” noted the source, “averaging more than 2,700 per game. The league stats have it at just over 2,600 but the difference is due to the fact the first two ‘home’ games happened at a tournament in Minnesota and drew only 1,200 each. The Wild averaged more than 3,000 for their last 10 games at home. The team ended the season 35-19-4, and went 18-3-2 down the stretch.”
The Wild will meet the Alaska Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs, with all games, due to travel costs, to be played in Wenatchee. The Avalanche play out of Wasilla. Yes, Sarah Palin’s son, Track, played for the Avalanche, as did Levi Johnson, the father of Bristol Palin’s child.
The Wild and Avalanche, who open Friday in Wenatchee, already have met 14 times this season, with the Wild holding a 10-3-1 edge.
And now, the source in Wenatchee reports, the NAHL “is looking for expansion locations here in the NW. It looked at Yakima and Bellingham.”
The source indicated there even are rumours of possible expansion to Dawson Creek, which is about a 900-mile drive from Wenatchee.
---
By the way, the Wichita Falls Wildcats, who are owned by Prince George Cougars owner Rick Brodsky, will face the Topeka RoadRunners in another NAHL first-round series. The RoadRunners held a 5-1-2 edge in the regular-season series.
---
Former WHL player and coach Dean Evason is an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals and is doing just fine. The blog Storming The Crease has a report right here.
---
F Mitch Fadden of the Tri-City Americans is the Boston Pizza CHL player of the week. Fadden, who is from Salmon Arm, B.C., had eight points in three victories over the Everett Silvertips last week. Fadden and the Americans open a second-round series at home against the Kelowna Rockets on Friday night. . . . Sorry, nothing new to report on Kelowna F Mikael Backlund.
---
Some interesting speculation in the Prince George Citizen, courtesy of sports editor Jim Swanson. . . . The most interesting piece of news has to do with Cougars owner Rick Brodsky and Marc Habscheid, who is available to coach, making a trip together to Las Vegas.
“Cougars owner and president Rick Brodsky recently spent time in Las Vegas with one Mr. Marc Habscheid,” Swanson writes, “meeting and discussing what it would take to revive a relationship that started more than 25 years ago when Habscheid, then a Saskatoon Blade, billeted at Brodsky’s house.
”Brodsky, asked about the meeting during last week’s home playoff games, indicated the two sides differed on the role Habscheid could play — he wants to return to coaching, but has designs on a larger say than he had while leading the Kelowna Rockets to that franchise’s best years. Ownership and final call in player personnel decisions are high on Habscheid’s list, and that is a difficult equation with the Cougars because Brodsky has never wavered from his stance that the team is not for sale, nor has he ever opened the door as much as a crack on suggestions Dallas Thompson is not the right man to be GM.”
The complete column is right here.
The Wild will meet the Alaska Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs, with all games, due to travel costs, to be played in Wenatchee. The Avalanche play out of Wasilla. Yes, Sarah Palin’s son, Track, played for the Avalanche, as did Levi Johnson, the father of Bristol Palin’s child.
The Wild and Avalanche, who open Friday in Wenatchee, already have met 14 times this season, with the Wild holding a 10-3-1 edge.
And now, the source in Wenatchee reports, the NAHL “is looking for expansion locations here in the NW. It looked at Yakima and Bellingham.”
The source indicated there even are rumours of possible expansion to Dawson Creek, which is about a 900-mile drive from Wenatchee.
---
By the way, the Wichita Falls Wildcats, who are owned by Prince George Cougars owner Rick Brodsky, will face the Topeka RoadRunners in another NAHL first-round series. The RoadRunners held a 5-1-2 edge in the regular-season series.
---
Former WHL player and coach Dean Evason is an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals and is doing just fine. The blog Storming The Crease has a report right here.
---
F Mitch Fadden of the Tri-City Americans is the Boston Pizza CHL player of the week. Fadden, who is from Salmon Arm, B.C., had eight points in three victories over the Everett Silvertips last week. Fadden and the Americans open a second-round series at home against the Kelowna Rockets on Friday night. . . . Sorry, nothing new to report on Kelowna F Mikael Backlund.
---
Some interesting speculation in the Prince George Citizen, courtesy of sports editor Jim Swanson. . . . The most interesting piece of news has to do with Cougars owner Rick Brodsky and Marc Habscheid, who is available to coach, making a trip together to Las Vegas.
“Cougars owner and president Rick Brodsky recently spent time in Las Vegas with one Mr. Marc Habscheid,” Swanson writes, “meeting and discussing what it would take to revive a relationship that started more than 25 years ago when Habscheid, then a Saskatoon Blade, billeted at Brodsky’s house.
”Brodsky, asked about the meeting during last week’s home playoff games, indicated the two sides differed on the role Habscheid could play — he wants to return to coaching, but has designs on a larger say than he had while leading the Kelowna Rockets to that franchise’s best years. Ownership and final call in player personnel decisions are high on Habscheid’s list, and that is a difficult equation with the Cougars because Brodsky has never wavered from his stance that the team is not for sale, nor has he ever opened the door as much as a crack on suggestions Dallas Thompson is not the right man to be GM.”
The complete column is right here.
Monday . . .
WARNING! WARNING!! WARNING!!
There is a Mikael Backlund mention somewhere down below. . . . .
———
We have our first Game 7 of these playoffs and it goes Tuesday night in Swift Current with the Broncos playing host to the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . And there will be another Game 7 Wednesday night in Saskatoon. . . . The Tigers will welcome back D Matt McCue, 20, from a two-game WHL suspension that was punishment for a hit that took Swift Current D Eric Doyle out of the series. Doyle provided the Broncos with 55 regular-season points from the back end. . . . The Broncos also are without F Keegan Dansereau, who led them in assists and points in the regular season, and F Matt Tassone, who was their top sniper. Dansereau was injured in Game 5, while Tassone (shoulders) hasn’t played since late in the regular season and won’t play again this season. . . . Dansereau had six points in the first five games of the series. . . . Here are the scores in the series to date:
Medicine Hat 2 at Swift Current 4
Medicine Hat 6 at Swift Current 2
Swift Current 5 at Medicine Hat 2
Swift Current 3 at Medicine Hat 5
Medicine Hat 3 at Swift Current 5
Swift Current 0 at Medicine Hat 3
———
MONDAY’S GAME:
In Lethbridge, F Josh Nicholls, 16, scored his first two playoff goals to help the Saskatoon Blades to a 5-1 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The series is tied 3-3, with Game 7 set for Saskatoon on Wednesday night. . . . Saskatoon G Braden Holtby stopped 26 shots, while Lethbridge’s Juha Metsola turned aside 29 shots. . . . Saskatoon D Jyri Niemi had four assists. . . . The Blades were 2-for-9 on the PP, getting the two goals in the third period when Lethbridge, down 2-1 after two periods, ran into penalty trouble. . . . Asked if he was concerned about his side’s late-game discipline, Lethbridge head coach Michael Dyck told Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “None. Concerns about thme officiating. I thought it was pretty one-sided at the end, but no concerns about our discipline.” . . . Lethbridge LW Carter Bancks (upper body) remains out. . . . Attendance was 3,730. Geez, did everyone stay home to watch on TV? . . . Here are the scores from the first six games:
Lethbridge 1 at Saskatoon 5
Lethbridge 5 at Saskatoon 2
Saskatoon 3 at Lethbridge 1
Saskatoon 1 at Lethbridge 2
Lethbridge 3 at Saskatoon 1
Saskatoon 5 at Lethbridge 1
———
F Mitch Fadden of the Tri-City Americans is the Boston Pizza WHL player of the week. He had eight points in three games as the Americans ousted the Everett Silvertips. . . . Tri-City’s Chet Pickard is the WHL nominee as the ADT CHL goaltender of the week. He was 3-0 with a 1.33 GAA and a .949 save percentage.
———
The Brandon Wheat Kings have added RW Jordan DePape, 16, to their roster. DePape spent the season with the MJHL‚s Winnipeg Saints, who lost a semifinal series to the Selkirk Steelers. DePape, the MJHL’s rookie of the year, had 85 points with the Saints, tops among WHL freshmen. The Wheat Kings selected him with the 61st pick of the 2007 bantam draft. He practiced with the Wheat Kings on Monday.
———
D Taylor Ellington of the Everett Silvertips will be joining the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Ellington, 20, who has signed with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, should arrive in Winnipeg on Wednesday. He had 32 points in 69 games with Everett. The Canucks selected him in the second round, 33rd overall, of the NHL’s 2007 draft. . . . D Thomas Hickey and C Jim O’Brien of the Seattle Thunderbirds are off to the pro ranks. Hickey will join the Manchester Monarchs, the Los Angeles’ Kings’ AHL affiliate, while O’Brien is joining the Binghamton Senators, the AHL farm club of the Ottawa Senators. Hickey was taken by Los Angeles with the fourth pick of the 2007 NHL draft. O’Brien was grabbed by Ottawa with the 29th pick in that same draft.
———
Everett C Byron Froese has been selected to play for Canada at the IIHF World U-18 championship in Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn., April 9-19. Froese, from Winkler, Man., had 57 points in his freshman season with Everett. . . . Hockey Canada won’t announce the roster until after the Saskatoon Blades and Lethbridge Hurricanes have completed their first-round series. That series will conclude Wednesday when Game 7 is played in Saskatoon.
———
Sorry that there isn’t any news on Kelowna Rockets F Mikael Backlund today. However, Kelowna C Cody Almond has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. . . . Almond was selected by the Wild in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2007 draft. “We were negotiating for the last two or three weeks, and the team made it official just recently,” Almond told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “It’s an awesome feeling (to be signed). I knew a week or so ago, so I was really excited. It took a little pressure off me, and it allowed me to focus on playing hard and trying to win with Kelowna.” . . . WHOA! This just in on Backlund: He didn’t skate with his teammates at practice on Monday. “It’s a lower-body thing with him, and it’s just a matter of us really not pushing him too hard right now,” Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska told Potenteau.
———
The ECHL lost three more teams Monday, bringing the total of defunct franchises to five since the start of this season. The Fresno Falcons and Augusta Lynx started this season, but didn’t finish. On Monday came word that the Dayton Bombers, Mississippi Sea Wolves and Phoenix Roadrunners have suspended operations and won’t be in play next season. . . . At the same time, the ECHL revealed that the Toledo Walleye will begin play next season in the US$105-million Lucas County Arena right in downtown Toledo, Ohio. . . . The ECHL is left with 19 teams. As recently as 2004-05, it was a 29-team league. . . . Did you know: The Walleye mascot will be known as, uhh, Wally.
———
The OHL’s Sarnia Sting fired general manager Alan Millar on Monday and gave head coach Dave MacQueen a three-year contract extension. MacQueen now is serving as interim GM. The Sting, 35-26-4-3 in the regular season, lost a first-round playoff series to the Plymouth Whalers in five games, losing the last game 8-1. . . . The QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs have fired GM/head coach Jacques Beaulieu, who had been in place through three seasons. The Sea Dogs, who were swept by Cape Breton from a first-round series, were 95-111 under him, with an 8-10 playoff record. He went into the 2008-09 season having won the Marcel Filion Award as the league’s GM of the year.
There is a Mikael Backlund mention somewhere down below. . . . .
———
We have our first Game 7 of these playoffs and it goes Tuesday night in Swift Current with the Broncos playing host to the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . And there will be another Game 7 Wednesday night in Saskatoon. . . . The Tigers will welcome back D Matt McCue, 20, from a two-game WHL suspension that was punishment for a hit that took Swift Current D Eric Doyle out of the series. Doyle provided the Broncos with 55 regular-season points from the back end. . . . The Broncos also are without F Keegan Dansereau, who led them in assists and points in the regular season, and F Matt Tassone, who was their top sniper. Dansereau was injured in Game 5, while Tassone (shoulders) hasn’t played since late in the regular season and won’t play again this season. . . . Dansereau had six points in the first five games of the series. . . . Here are the scores in the series to date:
Medicine Hat 2 at Swift Current 4
Medicine Hat 6 at Swift Current 2
Swift Current 5 at Medicine Hat 2
Swift Current 3 at Medicine Hat 5
Medicine Hat 3 at Swift Current 5
Swift Current 0 at Medicine Hat 3
———
MONDAY’S GAME:
In Lethbridge, F Josh Nicholls, 16, scored his first two playoff goals to help the Saskatoon Blades to a 5-1 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The series is tied 3-3, with Game 7 set for Saskatoon on Wednesday night. . . . Saskatoon G Braden Holtby stopped 26 shots, while Lethbridge’s Juha Metsola turned aside 29 shots. . . . Saskatoon D Jyri Niemi had four assists. . . . The Blades were 2-for-9 on the PP, getting the two goals in the third period when Lethbridge, down 2-1 after two periods, ran into penalty trouble. . . . Asked if he was concerned about his side’s late-game discipline, Lethbridge head coach Michael Dyck told Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “None. Concerns about thme officiating. I thought it was pretty one-sided at the end, but no concerns about our discipline.” . . . Lethbridge LW Carter Bancks (upper body) remains out. . . . Attendance was 3,730. Geez, did everyone stay home to watch on TV? . . . Here are the scores from the first six games:
Lethbridge 1 at Saskatoon 5
Lethbridge 5 at Saskatoon 2
Saskatoon 3 at Lethbridge 1
Saskatoon 1 at Lethbridge 2
Lethbridge 3 at Saskatoon 1
Saskatoon 5 at Lethbridge 1
———
F Mitch Fadden of the Tri-City Americans is the Boston Pizza WHL player of the week. He had eight points in three games as the Americans ousted the Everett Silvertips. . . . Tri-City’s Chet Pickard is the WHL nominee as the ADT CHL goaltender of the week. He was 3-0 with a 1.33 GAA and a .949 save percentage.
———
The Brandon Wheat Kings have added RW Jordan DePape, 16, to their roster. DePape spent the season with the MJHL‚s Winnipeg Saints, who lost a semifinal series to the Selkirk Steelers. DePape, the MJHL’s rookie of the year, had 85 points with the Saints, tops among WHL freshmen. The Wheat Kings selected him with the 61st pick of the 2007 bantam draft. He practiced with the Wheat Kings on Monday.
———
D Taylor Ellington of the Everett Silvertips will be joining the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Ellington, 20, who has signed with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, should arrive in Winnipeg on Wednesday. He had 32 points in 69 games with Everett. The Canucks selected him in the second round, 33rd overall, of the NHL’s 2007 draft. . . . D Thomas Hickey and C Jim O’Brien of the Seattle Thunderbirds are off to the pro ranks. Hickey will join the Manchester Monarchs, the Los Angeles’ Kings’ AHL affiliate, while O’Brien is joining the Binghamton Senators, the AHL farm club of the Ottawa Senators. Hickey was taken by Los Angeles with the fourth pick of the 2007 NHL draft. O’Brien was grabbed by Ottawa with the 29th pick in that same draft.
———
Everett C Byron Froese has been selected to play for Canada at the IIHF World U-18 championship in Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn., April 9-19. Froese, from Winkler, Man., had 57 points in his freshman season with Everett. . . . Hockey Canada won’t announce the roster until after the Saskatoon Blades and Lethbridge Hurricanes have completed their first-round series. That series will conclude Wednesday when Game 7 is played in Saskatoon.
———
Sorry that there isn’t any news on Kelowna Rockets F Mikael Backlund today. However, Kelowna C Cody Almond has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. . . . Almond was selected by the Wild in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2007 draft. “We were negotiating for the last two or three weeks, and the team made it official just recently,” Almond told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “It’s an awesome feeling (to be signed). I knew a week or so ago, so I was really excited. It took a little pressure off me, and it allowed me to focus on playing hard and trying to win with Kelowna.” . . . WHOA! This just in on Backlund: He didn’t skate with his teammates at practice on Monday. “It’s a lower-body thing with him, and it’s just a matter of us really not pushing him too hard right now,” Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska told Potenteau.
———
The ECHL lost three more teams Monday, bringing the total of defunct franchises to five since the start of this season. The Fresno Falcons and Augusta Lynx started this season, but didn’t finish. On Monday came word that the Dayton Bombers, Mississippi Sea Wolves and Phoenix Roadrunners have suspended operations and won’t be in play next season. . . . At the same time, the ECHL revealed that the Toledo Walleye will begin play next season in the US$105-million Lucas County Arena right in downtown Toledo, Ohio. . . . The ECHL is left with 19 teams. As recently as 2004-05, it was a 29-team league. . . . Did you know: The Walleye mascot will be known as, uhh, Wally.
———
The OHL’s Sarnia Sting fired general manager Alan Millar on Monday and gave head coach Dave MacQueen a three-year contract extension. MacQueen now is serving as interim GM. The Sting, 35-26-4-3 in the regular season, lost a first-round playoff series to the Plymouth Whalers in five games, losing the last game 8-1. . . . The QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs have fired GM/head coach Jacques Beaulieu, who had been in place through three seasons. The Sea Dogs, who were swept by Cape Breton from a first-round series, were 95-111 under him, with an 8-10 playoff record. He went into the 2008-09 season having won the Marcel Filion Award as the league’s GM of the year.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday . . .
So, how did you spend your Sunday night? The Vancouver Giants, at the
invitation of minority owner Michael Buble, were at the Juno Awards. (To the
American readers, that would be like Canada¹s Grammy Awards.) . . . D Mike
Reddington of the Spokane Chiefs, who missed the last three games of the
regular season and all five first-round games against the Seattle
Thunderbirds with some kind of bug, now is listed as day-to-day. . . . F
Spencer Asuchak of the Tri-City Americans is waiting for the swelling to go
down in his left knee before he will know how long he¹ll be out. But the
betting is that he is gone for at least a month, longer if surgery is
needed. He didn¹t have an MRI in Everett, where he was injured on Friday
night, but did have X-rays.
<<<
SUNDAY¹S GAME: Just one game and the Medicine Hat Tigers won, meaning they
have taken the Swift Current Broncos to Game 7. . . . One game Monday, too,
with the Lethbridge Hurricanes at home against the Saskatoon Blades. The
Hurricanes hold a 3-2 series lead.
<<<
In Medicine Hat, F Brennan Bosch scored two goals to led the Tigers to a 3-0
victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The series is 3-3 with Game 7
in Swift Current on Tuesday night. . . . G Ryan H olfeld stopped 22 shots
for his first career playoff shutout. . . . Swift Current G Travis Yonkman
stopped 18 shots. . . . After a scoreless first period, the Tigers got
second-period PP goals, from Bosch (2:55) and F Zdenek Okal (15:29). . . .
Bosch added his fourth of the series at 7:02 of the third. . . . F Tyler
Ennis had two assists, as did F Sean Ringrose. . . . The Broncos are without
F Keegan Dansereau, who led them in regular-season points; F Matt Tassone,
who led them in goals; and, D Eric Doyle, one of the WHL¹s highest-scoring
defencemen. Doyle and Dansereau were injured during this series; Tassone has
been out with shoulder difficulties that require surgery. . . . Medicine Hat
D Matt McCue completed his two-game suspension for the hit on Doyle in Game
4. . . . Attendance was 4,006.
invitation of minority owner Michael Buble, were at the Juno Awards. (To the
American readers, that would be like Canada¹s Grammy Awards.) . . . D Mike
Reddington of the Spokane Chiefs, who missed the last three games of the
regular season and all five first-round games against the Seattle
Thunderbirds with some kind of bug, now is listed as day-to-day. . . . F
Spencer Asuchak of the Tri-City Americans is waiting for the swelling to go
down in his left knee before he will know how long he¹ll be out. But the
betting is that he is gone for at least a month, longer if surgery is
needed. He didn¹t have an MRI in Everett, where he was injured on Friday
night, but did have X-rays.
<<<
SUNDAY¹S GAME: Just one game and the Medicine Hat Tigers won, meaning they
have taken the Swift Current Broncos to Game 7. . . . One game Monday, too,
with the Lethbridge Hurricanes at home against the Saskatoon Blades. The
Hurricanes hold a 3-2 series lead.
<<<
In Medicine Hat, F Brennan Bosch scored two goals to led the Tigers to a 3-0
victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The series is 3-3 with Game 7
in Swift Current on Tuesday night. . . . G Ryan H olfeld stopped 22 shots
for his first career playoff shutout. . . . Swift Current G Travis Yonkman
stopped 18 shots. . . . After a scoreless first period, the Tigers got
second-period PP goals, from Bosch (2:55) and F Zdenek Okal (15:29). . . .
Bosch added his fourth of the series at 7:02 of the third. . . . F Tyler
Ennis had two assists, as did F Sean Ringrose. . . . The Broncos are without
F Keegan Dansereau, who led them in regular-season points; F Matt Tassone,
who led them in goals; and, D Eric Doyle, one of the WHL¹s highest-scoring
defencemen. Doyle and Dansereau were injured during this series; Tassone has
been out with shoulder difficulties that require surgery. . . . Medicine Hat
D Matt McCue completed his two-game suspension for the hit on Doyle in Game
4. . . . Attendance was 4,006.
Keeping Score
Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: “People around the Red Sox think David Ortiz needs to pipe down about how he doesn't have enough protection behind him in the Red Sox batting order, because it makes Big Papi sound too much like Big Baby.” . . . One more from Lupica: “Madonna probably wishes A-Rod looked at her the way he looks at himself.” . . . Does it mean anything that the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs will finish this season with more victories than the NBA’s Toronto Raptors? . . . Gary Player, one of the PGA’s all-time great players, is 73 now. And, as he told Golf Digest, “I hit it so short now I can hear the ball land.”
The Mandai Memorials, a Japanese team, had a few ringers in the lineup this week at the 21st annual Victoria Playmakers’ tournament on the Island. Carl Anderson, John Dahl, Gordon Genshorek, George Konrad, Norio Sakaki, Mike Seigel and Keith Wallace all suited up with the Memorials. . . . Who knows? Maybe they’ll hear from one of those Asian League teams and a few stars will have been born. . . . Which brings us to former Blazers sniper Greg Evtushevski. Chevy, who retired from the pro game seven years ago, spent the last week of February at the Wayne Gretzky Fantasy Camp in Phoenix. Now 43 and the operator of Chevy’s Source For Sports in Kelowna, Evtushevski scored 12 goals in four games and was named MVP. Among those on the three teams were Russ Courtnall, Theo Fleury, Ulf Samuelsson and The Great One. No word on whether the Gretzky camp will retire Chevy’s number.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressed NFL meetings in Dana Point, Calif., this week. Before wrapping up, she said: “I’m prepared to answer questions on Russia, on the Middle East . . . and why no one should ever run a prevent defence.” . . . Ain’t that the truth. . . . If you were paying attention to the KIJHL playoffs, you should know that the Kamloops Storm’s opposition in the championship final was the Nelson Leafs. They are the Leafs. Period. Not the Maple Leafs. . . . If you weren’t able to take time to listen to the play-by-play of a Nelson home game, let’s just say you didn’t miss much. The opener of the KIJHL final on Sunday was highlighted by one of the talking clowns referring to Storm defenceman Justin Palazzo as a “meathead.” Obviously, the yakkers are Archie Bunker fans. Too bad someone didn’t stifle them.
Tyson Gillies, a Kamloops product, cut his teeth playing hockey. But he is hearing impaired and the bodychecking kept dislodging his hearing aids. So he turned to baseball. Now, writes Larry Larue of the Tacoma NewsTribune, “Gillies, 20, is one of the better prospects in the Seattle Mariners minor league system. The scouting evaluation? Plus-plus speed. Plus-arm. Excellent bat control. Excellent fundamental player.” Last season, at Class A Everett, Gillies hit .313 with 22 steals and a .439 on-base percentage. This spring, he has even gotten into some Cactus League games with the big club. . . . Through Thursday, Gillies was 10-for-32 (.313), with three doubles, a triple and four RBI. . . . All of which means, Gillies will be playing somewhere higher than Class A this season. . . . When the baseball season opens, Marco Scutaro is expected to be the Toronto Blue Jays’ starting shortstop. That will make six different opening-day shortstops during the J.P. Ricciardi regime. As Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times noted: “So when they say short stop in Toronto, they're not kidding.”
When you think about what the Kamloops Blazers accomplished under general manager Bob Brown — four WHL championships in six seasons and three Memorial Cup titles in four seasons — you realize that the WHL made a wonderful decision to honour him with its Governors Award. . . . It also drives home just exactly how far this franchise has fallen — and how far it has to go before it’s competitive again. . . . The NFL has instituted a rule that will prohibit pass rushers who are on the ground from lunging at a quarterback's legs, and many observers feel it came to pass because of the season-ending injury to Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. As Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch put it: "Because the Patriots raised the issue, the NFL finally recognized it as a problem. Funny how that works, isn‚t it? If Bill Belichick insisted that the league replace footballs with hams for 2009, Roger Goodell would have just one question: 'Boneless or bone in?' "
Dan Daly, in the Washington Times: “Florida State’s Bobby Bowden is none too happy about the prospect of giving up 14 victories because of an academic-cheating scandal involving some of his footballers. ‘It just seems like they’re killing a flea with a hammer,’ he says. To which I reply: Yeah, kinda like FSU 76, Tulsa 14 (1985), or FSU 70, Tulane 7 (1992).” . . . Saul Phillips, the men’s basketball coach at North Dakota State, got his team into the NCAA tournament. It was a first for the school and was big, big news. As he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Usually when Fargo makes it on TV it's on The Weather Channel.” . . . T.O. gets cut by the Dallas Cowboys and ends up with the Buffalo Bills, who will open Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots. A coincidence? Not likely. . . . Headline at Sportspickle.com: "U.S. baseball team defects to Cuba."
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca and gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
The Mandai Memorials, a Japanese team, had a few ringers in the lineup this week at the 21st annual Victoria Playmakers’ tournament on the Island. Carl Anderson, John Dahl, Gordon Genshorek, George Konrad, Norio Sakaki, Mike Seigel and Keith Wallace all suited up with the Memorials. . . . Who knows? Maybe they’ll hear from one of those Asian League teams and a few stars will have been born. . . . Which brings us to former Blazers sniper Greg Evtushevski. Chevy, who retired from the pro game seven years ago, spent the last week of February at the Wayne Gretzky Fantasy Camp in Phoenix. Now 43 and the operator of Chevy’s Source For Sports in Kelowna, Evtushevski scored 12 goals in four games and was named MVP. Among those on the three teams were Russ Courtnall, Theo Fleury, Ulf Samuelsson and The Great One. No word on whether the Gretzky camp will retire Chevy’s number.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressed NFL meetings in Dana Point, Calif., this week. Before wrapping up, she said: “I’m prepared to answer questions on Russia, on the Middle East . . . and why no one should ever run a prevent defence.” . . . Ain’t that the truth. . . . If you were paying attention to the KIJHL playoffs, you should know that the Kamloops Storm’s opposition in the championship final was the Nelson Leafs. They are the Leafs. Period. Not the Maple Leafs. . . . If you weren’t able to take time to listen to the play-by-play of a Nelson home game, let’s just say you didn’t miss much. The opener of the KIJHL final on Sunday was highlighted by one of the talking clowns referring to Storm defenceman Justin Palazzo as a “meathead.” Obviously, the yakkers are Archie Bunker fans. Too bad someone didn’t stifle them.
Tyson Gillies, a Kamloops product, cut his teeth playing hockey. But he is hearing impaired and the bodychecking kept dislodging his hearing aids. So he turned to baseball. Now, writes Larry Larue of the Tacoma NewsTribune, “Gillies, 20, is one of the better prospects in the Seattle Mariners minor league system. The scouting evaluation? Plus-plus speed. Plus-arm. Excellent bat control. Excellent fundamental player.” Last season, at Class A Everett, Gillies hit .313 with 22 steals and a .439 on-base percentage. This spring, he has even gotten into some Cactus League games with the big club. . . . Through Thursday, Gillies was 10-for-32 (.313), with three doubles, a triple and four RBI. . . . All of which means, Gillies will be playing somewhere higher than Class A this season. . . . When the baseball season opens, Marco Scutaro is expected to be the Toronto Blue Jays’ starting shortstop. That will make six different opening-day shortstops during the J.P. Ricciardi regime. As Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times noted: “So when they say short stop in Toronto, they're not kidding.”
When you think about what the Kamloops Blazers accomplished under general manager Bob Brown — four WHL championships in six seasons and three Memorial Cup titles in four seasons — you realize that the WHL made a wonderful decision to honour him with its Governors Award. . . . It also drives home just exactly how far this franchise has fallen — and how far it has to go before it’s competitive again. . . . The NFL has instituted a rule that will prohibit pass rushers who are on the ground from lunging at a quarterback's legs, and many observers feel it came to pass because of the season-ending injury to Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. As Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch put it: "Because the Patriots raised the issue, the NFL finally recognized it as a problem. Funny how that works, isn‚t it? If Bill Belichick insisted that the league replace footballs with hams for 2009, Roger Goodell would have just one question: 'Boneless or bone in?' "
Dan Daly, in the Washington Times: “Florida State’s Bobby Bowden is none too happy about the prospect of giving up 14 victories because of an academic-cheating scandal involving some of his footballers. ‘It just seems like they’re killing a flea with a hammer,’ he says. To which I reply: Yeah, kinda like FSU 76, Tulsa 14 (1985), or FSU 70, Tulane 7 (1992).” . . . Saul Phillips, the men’s basketball coach at North Dakota State, got his team into the NCAA tournament. It was a first for the school and was big, big news. As he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Usually when Fargo makes it on TV it's on The Weather Channel.” . . . T.O. gets cut by the Dallas Cowboys and ends up with the Buffalo Bills, who will open Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots. A coincidence? Not likely. . . . Headline at Sportspickle.com: "U.S. baseball team defects to Cuba."
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca and gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
Saturday . . .
The Portland Winter Hawks, who have been playing in Memorial Coliseum since 1976, could be without a home as early as January. And yet it seems that no one is talking to them about the situation. Yes, that’s Aretha Franklin singing in the background. Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune has the story right here.
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Some injury notes. . . . The Swift Current Broncos lost RW Keegan Dansereau in Friday’s 5-3 home-ice victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. He left in the second period, had one shift in the third and packed it in. He has a suspected lower body injury and his status for Sunday’s game isn’t known. . . . It also isn’t known whether Swift Current D Eric Doyle will play. He missed Game 5 after taking a hit from Medicine Hat D Matt McCue early in Game 4. McCue will sit out the second-game of a two-game suspension for the hit on Sunday. . . . The Broncos take a 3-2 lead into Sunday’s game in The Hat. . . . F Mikael Backlund of the Kelowna Rockets missed some time after being injured March 13 during a game in Kamloops. It was speculated that he had a concussion. He returned during the Rockets’ four-game sweep of the Blazers but was hurt again in Game 4. He now has the dreaded lower body injury. The Rockets, however, are enjoying some time off as they await their next opponent so Backlund has time to heal.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES: Two more teams had their seasons come to an end. The Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds bowed out, beaten in five games by the Tri-City Americans and Spokane Chiefs, respectively. The former wasn’t a surprise; the fact the latter series lasted only five games could be construed as something of a surprise. . . . The second-round matchups in the Western Conference will have the Vancouver Giants meeting Spokane and Tri-City facing the Kelowna Rockets. Those series will open Friday in Vancouver and in Kennewick, Wash. . . . This leaves just two first-round series still alive – Saskatoon-Lethbridge and Swift Current-Medicine Hat. The Hurricanes are at home Monday and hold a 3-2 edge on the Blades. The Broncos take a 3-2 series lead into Medicine Hat on Sunday.
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In Saskatoon, the Hurricanes got a goal and an assist from F Zach Boychuk as they beat the Blades 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. . . . They’ll play Game 6 in Lethbridge on Monday. . . . Boychuk broke a 1-1 tie with a shorthanded goal at 19:55 of the second period. It was his sixth goal of the series. . . . Lethbridge G Juha Metsola stopped 31 shots, three more than Saskatoon’s Braden Holtby. . . . Lethbridge was 0-for-7 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-for-5. . . . Attendance was 7,480.
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In Spokane, LW Drayson Bowman had two goals as the Chiefs dumped Seattle 5-3 and won the series, 4-1. . . . Bowman’s second goal, into an empty net, was his fifth of the series. . . . C Mitch Wahl had a goal and two helpers for the Chiefs, who are the defending WHL and Memorial Cup champions. . . . The Chiefs got the game’s first two goals, in the second period, and never trailed after that. . . . F Greg Scott had three assists for the Thunderbirds. . . . Attendance was 5,810. . . . Both goaltenders, Dustin Tokarski of Spokane and Calvin Pickard of Seattle, stopped 31 shots. . . . Seattle head coach Rob Sumner was ejected at 14:31 of the third period, right after Wahl scored a PP goal to give Spokane a 4-2 lead. The Chiefs were on the PP because Seattle had been hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct minor. . . . Spokane was 1-for-5 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 2-for-7.
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Mitch Fadden drew three assists to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 6-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Americans won the series, 4-1. . . . Fadden had nine points in the five games. . . . F Jordan Messier scored his first two WHL playoff goals for the Americans, who scored twice in each period and led 6-0 before F Kellan Tochkin scored on the PP for Everett. . . . F Jason Reese had his series-high fourth goal for the Americans. . . . The Silvertips were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Americans were 2-for-2. . . . Tri-City G Chet Pickard stopped 26 shots; Everett’s Thomas Heemskerk stopped 33. . . . Attendance was 4,646.
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Some injury notes. . . . The Swift Current Broncos lost RW Keegan Dansereau in Friday’s 5-3 home-ice victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. He left in the second period, had one shift in the third and packed it in. He has a suspected lower body injury and his status for Sunday’s game isn’t known. . . . It also isn’t known whether Swift Current D Eric Doyle will play. He missed Game 5 after taking a hit from Medicine Hat D Matt McCue early in Game 4. McCue will sit out the second-game of a two-game suspension for the hit on Sunday. . . . The Broncos take a 3-2 lead into Sunday’s game in The Hat. . . . F Mikael Backlund of the Kelowna Rockets missed some time after being injured March 13 during a game in Kamloops. It was speculated that he had a concussion. He returned during the Rockets’ four-game sweep of the Blazers but was hurt again in Game 4. He now has the dreaded lower body injury. The Rockets, however, are enjoying some time off as they await their next opponent so Backlund has time to heal.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES: Two more teams had their seasons come to an end. The Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds bowed out, beaten in five games by the Tri-City Americans and Spokane Chiefs, respectively. The former wasn’t a surprise; the fact the latter series lasted only five games could be construed as something of a surprise. . . . The second-round matchups in the Western Conference will have the Vancouver Giants meeting Spokane and Tri-City facing the Kelowna Rockets. Those series will open Friday in Vancouver and in Kennewick, Wash. . . . This leaves just two first-round series still alive – Saskatoon-Lethbridge and Swift Current-Medicine Hat. The Hurricanes are at home Monday and hold a 3-2 edge on the Blades. The Broncos take a 3-2 series lead into Medicine Hat on Sunday.
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In Saskatoon, the Hurricanes got a goal and an assist from F Zach Boychuk as they beat the Blades 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. . . . They’ll play Game 6 in Lethbridge on Monday. . . . Boychuk broke a 1-1 tie with a shorthanded goal at 19:55 of the second period. It was his sixth goal of the series. . . . Lethbridge G Juha Metsola stopped 31 shots, three more than Saskatoon’s Braden Holtby. . . . Lethbridge was 0-for-7 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-for-5. . . . Attendance was 7,480.
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In Spokane, LW Drayson Bowman had two goals as the Chiefs dumped Seattle 5-3 and won the series, 4-1. . . . Bowman’s second goal, into an empty net, was his fifth of the series. . . . C Mitch Wahl had a goal and two helpers for the Chiefs, who are the defending WHL and Memorial Cup champions. . . . The Chiefs got the game’s first two goals, in the second period, and never trailed after that. . . . F Greg Scott had three assists for the Thunderbirds. . . . Attendance was 5,810. . . . Both goaltenders, Dustin Tokarski of Spokane and Calvin Pickard of Seattle, stopped 31 shots. . . . Seattle head coach Rob Sumner was ejected at 14:31 of the third period, right after Wahl scored a PP goal to give Spokane a 4-2 lead. The Chiefs were on the PP because Seattle had been hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct minor. . . . Spokane was 1-for-5 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 2-for-7.
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Mitch Fadden drew three assists to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 6-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Americans won the series, 4-1. . . . Fadden had nine points in the five games. . . . F Jordan Messier scored his first two WHL playoff goals for the Americans, who scored twice in each period and led 6-0 before F Kellan Tochkin scored on the PP for Everett. . . . F Jason Reese had his series-high fourth goal for the Americans. . . . The Silvertips were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Americans were 2-for-2. . . . Tri-City G Chet Pickard stopped 26 shots; Everett’s Thomas Heemskerk stopped 33. . . . Attendance was 4,646.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Asuchak update
F Spencer Asuchak, who left the Tri-City Americans’ 4-1 victory over the Silvertips in Everett on a stretcher Friday night, will be out indefinitely with what the team is calling a lower body injury. Asuchak was injured with 2:29 left in the third period when he fell awkwardly into the boards while finishing a check. Both teams’ trainers and the medical people on hand took precautionary measures because Asuchak felt a tingling in his legs. He will be out indefinitely.
Friday . . .
The Medicine Hat Tigers were without D Matt McCue for Game 5 against the Swift Current Broncos and the 20-year-old will miss Game 6 in Medicine Hat on Sunday, as well. He was suspended for two games by the WHL under supplemental discipline for a hit on Swift Current D Eric Doyle early in Game 4 on Wednesday in Medicine Hat. There wasn’t a penalty called on the play. Doyle left the game and didn’t return. The Broncos asked for the supplemental discipline and the WHL agreed. “I think it was more of a forearm, but it was certainly dealt with as a blow to the head which caused an injury to an opponent,” Richard Doerksen, who as the WHL’s vice-president hockey handles discipline, told the Medicine Hat News. “(Cutting down on hits to the head) has been a real area of emphasis for our league for a couple of years now.” . . . Doyle didn’t play in Game 5 on Friday night.
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Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that the Senators are leaning towards keeping Cory Clouston on as the NHL team’s head coach. According to Garrioch, GM Bryan Murray likely will talk with owner Eugene Melnyk sometime in the next two or three weeks. Clouston, a former Kootenay Ice head coach, replaced Craig Hartsburg as the Senators’ head coach on Feb. 2. Ottawa is 15-7-3 since Clouston took over. . . . Clouston had been the head coach of Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators. He has another season left on his AHL contract.
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JUST NOTES: If you’re interested, the Kamloops Blazers drew 157,511 to their home games, an average of 4,375 fans per game. On the road, they played before 186,876 fans, an average of 5,196. Combine it all and the Blazers played in front of 344,387 fans, an aveage of 4,783 per game. . . . The Blazers were the only team not to post a regular-season shutout. It was the first time since the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons, the franchise’s first in the league, that Kamloops didn’t record at least one shutout. . . . Overall, WHL goaltenders put up 92 regular-season shutouts, the fifth-highest total in WHL history, behind 2004-05 (141), 2006-07 (120), 2003-04 (107) and 2005-06 (103). . . . The Brandon Wheat Kings, who got past the Kootenay Ice in four games in the first round, will open the second round on the road. That’s because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair will be in their home rink, Westman Place. And the Wheaties can’t play out of the MTS Centre in Winnipeg because the AHL’s Manitoba Moose have home games scheduled. . . . Two former WHLers were named to the Atlantic University Sport Hockey Conference all-rookie team. F Chris Bruton, who captained the Memorial Cup-champion Spokane Chiefs last season, had 29 points for the Acadia Axemen. G Kris Westblom, who played for the Kelowna Rockets, put up a 2.74 GAA in 16 games with the Axemen.
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FRIDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES: There were two of them and they were good ones. . . .
In Swift Current, F Cody Eakin scored three times as the Broncos beat the Medicine Hat Tigers 5-3 to take a 3-2 lead in that series. . . . Game 6 goes Sunday in Medicine Hat. . . . The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the game was six minutes old on goals from F Bretton Cameron and F Tyler Ennis, with his eighth of the series. . . . The Broncos got two goals from Eakin before the period ended. . . . F Sean Ringrose gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead at 4:48 of the second period, only to have D Joel Rogers tie it for the Broncos at 18:44 of the period. . . . Eakin finished filling his hat into an empty net. These were his first three goals of the series. . . . F Dillon Wagner broke the tie at 6:14 of the third. . . . F Geordie Wudrick and F Michael Stickland each had two assists for the Broncos. . . . D Mark Isherwood set up two goals for the Tigers. . . . Swift Current had a 46-37 edge in shots. . . . Attendance was 2,710.
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In Everett, the Tri-City Americans broke a 1-1 tie with three third-period goals as they beat the Silvertips, 4-1. . . . The Americans lead the series 3-1. They’ll play Game 5 on Saturday night in Kennewick, Wash. . . . D Tyler Schmidt broke the 1-1 tie at 12:50 of the third period and F Mitch Fadden added insurance just 36 seconds later. . . . When Fadden, who also had two assists, scored, the Ams had a 51-20 edge in shots. . . . F Jason Reese scored a PP goal later in the third period for Tri-City. He drew assists on each of the other two third-period goals. . . . F Daniel Bartek got Everett on the board on the PP at 10:39 of the first period. . . . F Johnny Lazo pulled the Americans even at 3:52 of the second. They needed video review before the goal was awarded. . . . Everett G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 51 shots. . . . Tri-City G Chet Pickard made 23 saves. . . . Everett was without F Kellan Tochkin (upper body). . . . The Americans lost F Spencer Asuchak with 2:29 left in the third period. He was injured when he went awkwardly into the boards while finishing a check. Asuchak, who signaled to the bench that he was in difficulty as soon as he went down, was fitted with a neck support and taken from the ice on a stretcher. He was taken to hospital for evaluation. . . Attendance was 4,164.
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Three games are scheduled for Saturday night. . . . Tri-City is at home with a 3-1 lead on Everett. . . . The Spokane Chiefs play at home with a 3-1 lead on the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Lethbridge Hurricanes meet the Blades in Saskatoon in a series that is 2-2. Game 6 is scheduled for Monday in Lethbridge.
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Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that the Senators are leaning towards keeping Cory Clouston on as the NHL team’s head coach. According to Garrioch, GM Bryan Murray likely will talk with owner Eugene Melnyk sometime in the next two or three weeks. Clouston, a former Kootenay Ice head coach, replaced Craig Hartsburg as the Senators’ head coach on Feb. 2. Ottawa is 15-7-3 since Clouston took over. . . . Clouston had been the head coach of Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators. He has another season left on his AHL contract.
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JUST NOTES: If you’re interested, the Kamloops Blazers drew 157,511 to their home games, an average of 4,375 fans per game. On the road, they played before 186,876 fans, an average of 5,196. Combine it all and the Blazers played in front of 344,387 fans, an aveage of 4,783 per game. . . . The Blazers were the only team not to post a regular-season shutout. It was the first time since the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons, the franchise’s first in the league, that Kamloops didn’t record at least one shutout. . . . Overall, WHL goaltenders put up 92 regular-season shutouts, the fifth-highest total in WHL history, behind 2004-05 (141), 2006-07 (120), 2003-04 (107) and 2005-06 (103). . . . The Brandon Wheat Kings, who got past the Kootenay Ice in four games in the first round, will open the second round on the road. That’s because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair will be in their home rink, Westman Place. And the Wheaties can’t play out of the MTS Centre in Winnipeg because the AHL’s Manitoba Moose have home games scheduled. . . . Two former WHLers were named to the Atlantic University Sport Hockey Conference all-rookie team. F Chris Bruton, who captained the Memorial Cup-champion Spokane Chiefs last season, had 29 points for the Acadia Axemen. G Kris Westblom, who played for the Kelowna Rockets, put up a 2.74 GAA in 16 games with the Axemen.
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FRIDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES: There were two of them and they were good ones. . . .
In Swift Current, F Cody Eakin scored three times as the Broncos beat the Medicine Hat Tigers 5-3 to take a 3-2 lead in that series. . . . Game 6 goes Sunday in Medicine Hat. . . . The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the game was six minutes old on goals from F Bretton Cameron and F Tyler Ennis, with his eighth of the series. . . . The Broncos got two goals from Eakin before the period ended. . . . F Sean Ringrose gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead at 4:48 of the second period, only to have D Joel Rogers tie it for the Broncos at 18:44 of the period. . . . Eakin finished filling his hat into an empty net. These were his first three goals of the series. . . . F Dillon Wagner broke the tie at 6:14 of the third. . . . F Geordie Wudrick and F Michael Stickland each had two assists for the Broncos. . . . D Mark Isherwood set up two goals for the Tigers. . . . Swift Current had a 46-37 edge in shots. . . . Attendance was 2,710.
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In Everett, the Tri-City Americans broke a 1-1 tie with three third-period goals as they beat the Silvertips, 4-1. . . . The Americans lead the series 3-1. They’ll play Game 5 on Saturday night in Kennewick, Wash. . . . D Tyler Schmidt broke the 1-1 tie at 12:50 of the third period and F Mitch Fadden added insurance just 36 seconds later. . . . When Fadden, who also had two assists, scored, the Ams had a 51-20 edge in shots. . . . F Jason Reese scored a PP goal later in the third period for Tri-City. He drew assists on each of the other two third-period goals. . . . F Daniel Bartek got Everett on the board on the PP at 10:39 of the first period. . . . F Johnny Lazo pulled the Americans even at 3:52 of the second. They needed video review before the goal was awarded. . . . Everett G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 51 shots. . . . Tri-City G Chet Pickard made 23 saves. . . . Everett was without F Kellan Tochkin (upper body). . . . The Americans lost F Spencer Asuchak with 2:29 left in the third period. He was injured when he went awkwardly into the boards while finishing a check. Asuchak, who signaled to the bench that he was in difficulty as soon as he went down, was fitted with a neck support and taken from the ice on a stretcher. He was taken to hospital for evaluation. . . Attendance was 4,164.
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Three games are scheduled for Saturday night. . . . Tri-City is at home with a 3-1 lead on Everett. . . . The Spokane Chiefs play at home with a 3-1 lead on the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Lethbridge Hurricanes meet the Blades in Saskatoon in a series that is 2-2. Game 6 is scheduled for Monday in Lethbridge.
Friday, March 27, 2009
A slow Thursday . . .
An interesting story in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix about how a missed offside call had something of an impact on Game 4 of the series between the Blades and Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday night. Cory Wolfe of the StarPhoenix has that story right here.
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JUST NOTES: D Dalton Thrower, the 30th pick in the 2008 bantam draft, has joined the Saskatoon Blades. Thrower is playing for the Vancouver-Northwest Giants, who won the B.C. major midget league. It isn’t likely that Thrower, 15, will get into the lineup but he’ll get a taste of the WHL before returning to the Giants, who will meet the as-yet-undeclared Alberta champion in the B.C.-Alberta regional midget AAA final. That series will be played at the Burnaby Winter Club on April 3 (7 p.m.), April 4 (7 p.m.), and, if necessary, April 5 (2 p.m.). The winner goes on to the TELUS Cup national tournament Selkirk, April 20-26.
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JUST NOTES: D Dalton Thrower, the 30th pick in the 2008 bantam draft, has joined the Saskatoon Blades. Thrower is playing for the Vancouver-Northwest Giants, who won the B.C. major midget league. It isn’t likely that Thrower, 15, will get into the lineup but he’ll get a taste of the WHL before returning to the Giants, who will meet the as-yet-undeclared Alberta champion in the B.C.-Alberta regional midget AAA final. That series will be played at the Burnaby Winter Club on April 3 (7 p.m.), April 4 (7 p.m.), and, if necessary, April 5 (2 p.m.). The winner goes on to the TELUS Cup national tournament Selkirk, April 20-26.
Bonner, Smith sticking to game plan
Craig Bonner could only shrug his shoulders and move on . . . to Dauphin.
Bonner is finishing up his first year as general manager of the WHL’s
Kamloops Blazers, a team whose season came to an inglorious end on Wednesday
when it was beaten 5-3 by the visiting Kelowna Rockets.
That victory gave the Rockets a sweep of the first-round playoff series and,
really, it wasn’t that close. This also was the 13th straight victory by the
Rockets over the Blazers this season, with seven of those coming right in
the home boys’ lair, Interior Savings Centre.
Bonner knew when he took over as general manager of the team with which he
won the 1992 Memorial Cup title that he had his work cut out for him. This
season has shown him that he is going to need a bigger shovel.
But he is nothing if not a realist. And what he witnessed this season didn’t
surprise him in the least.
“I felt it was really important to make the playoffs with a young team
because it was important for the players to experience the playoffs and the
highs and lows,” Bonner said Thursday afternoon from the warm confines of
Winnipeg International Airport. “Hopefully the way things went leaves a
bitter taste.”
Before leaving on his latest scouting trek, this one to a bantam tournament
in Dauphin, which is a couple of hours north of Brandon and is the hometown
of former Flin Flon Bombers forward Wayne Hawrysh, Bonner was able to
conduct player interviews. He did some late Wednesday night, the others
yesterday morning.
“I was happy to hear guys weren’t satisfied, that they were bitter about the
end,” he said.
When he took over the job, Bonner said it was going to be a marathon. What
he witnessed this season hasn’t caused him to rethink the plan.
“When you get into the season, it’s hard to be patient because we’re all
competitive . . . and we want to win right away,” he said. “But you have to
step back and evaluate.”
Bonner has been to the top of the hill as a player and as an assistant
GM/assistant coach. He has two Memorial Cup rings, the most recent from two
springs ago when he was with the Vancouver Giants. He knows what it takes to
win it all. He knows, too, that the team he found when he got here had
alarmingly few of the necessary ingredients.
Meanwhile, Barry Smith, the freshman head coach of the Blazers, was true to
form when it had ended.
Ever the optimist, ever the head coach who sometimes is blinded by the
competitive flame that burns so intensely, when it was all over Smith was
talking about bounces.
As in, his Blazers didn’t get enough of them.
He referenced a play from Game 4 in which Kelowna defenceman Tyson Barrie,
with the Blazers leading 3-2, shot wide from the point and forward Ian Duval
banged home the rebound at 8:21 of the second period.
“Pucks go their way. Barrie shoots the puck wide; the puck comes right back
out on the back door. Bang!” Smith said. “When the puck bounces . . .
whatever . . . their skill guys got the pucks . . . when they got the bounce,
it went to the 50-goal scorer and they buried them.
“We’d get the bounce and it’s in between our legs instead of on our sticks.
But that’s about playing hard and doing the right thing. You create those
bounces.
“The bounces went their way because they work hard and they get some
bounces. . . . You create your luck; you create your bounces by working hard
and they did that.”
This season was about more than bounces, though.
It was about an organization with a new general manager, a new head coach
and two new assistant coaches, Scott Ferguson and Geoff Smith — none of whom
had experience in their new roles.
It was about a head coach who came to the Blazers after a few seasons as an
assistant coach with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. He had to make the
adjustment from dealing with men to working with teenagers. And he had to
learn how to run his own bench, something he hadn’t done in more than 10
seasons.
Yes, he made mistakes. He struggled to find playing time for backup
goaltender Jon Groenheyde. He didn’t always make good use of his timeouts.
He was still trying to find consistent line combinations when the season
ended. And, like so many inexperienced head coaches, he spent too much time
and energy trying to work the game officials.
He stood there late Wednesday and admitted that the season was all about
learning.
“We have to use this as a tool to learn where we’re going,” he said. “We’re
a young team and made some strides . . .but obviously there’s a lot more to
go . . . a lot farther to go.”
There were positives, too. No one dedicated more time and energy to the
cause and, in doing so, Smith showed the organization what it is going to
take to get out of these doldrums. He brought structure to a team that was
in a state of disarray after the wasted season that was 2007-08.
He took a team that had won 27 games and drove it to 33 victories. For that
alone, he should get some coach-of-the-year votes.
More than anything else, though, he brought a fierce desire to compete to an
organization that has taken a lot of lumps over the last 10 years. And he
stood there Wednesday night, his team having been beaten 13 straight times
by the despised and strutting rivals to the south, and he let it be known
that he was ready to let Kelowna try for 14. Any time. Any place.
“We didn’t really play our best. I didn’t think we did,” Smith said, before
begrudgingly admitting that “yeah, they’re a good team.”
You got the feeling that he was ready to open training camp in the morning.
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca and gdrinnan.blogspot.com.
Bonner is finishing up his first year as general manager of the WHL’s
Kamloops Blazers, a team whose season came to an inglorious end on Wednesday
when it was beaten 5-3 by the visiting Kelowna Rockets.
That victory gave the Rockets a sweep of the first-round playoff series and,
really, it wasn’t that close. This also was the 13th straight victory by the
Rockets over the Blazers this season, with seven of those coming right in
the home boys’ lair, Interior Savings Centre.
Bonner knew when he took over as general manager of the team with which he
won the 1992 Memorial Cup title that he had his work cut out for him. This
season has shown him that he is going to need a bigger shovel.
But he is nothing if not a realist. And what he witnessed this season didn’t
surprise him in the least.
“I felt it was really important to make the playoffs with a young team
because it was important for the players to experience the playoffs and the
highs and lows,” Bonner said Thursday afternoon from the warm confines of
Winnipeg International Airport. “Hopefully the way things went leaves a
bitter taste.”
Before leaving on his latest scouting trek, this one to a bantam tournament
in Dauphin, which is a couple of hours north of Brandon and is the hometown
of former Flin Flon Bombers forward Wayne Hawrysh, Bonner was able to
conduct player interviews. He did some late Wednesday night, the others
yesterday morning.
“I was happy to hear guys weren’t satisfied, that they were bitter about the
end,” he said.
When he took over the job, Bonner said it was going to be a marathon. What
he witnessed this season hasn’t caused him to rethink the plan.
“When you get into the season, it’s hard to be patient because we’re all
competitive . . . and we want to win right away,” he said. “But you have to
step back and evaluate.”
Bonner has been to the top of the hill as a player and as an assistant
GM/assistant coach. He has two Memorial Cup rings, the most recent from two
springs ago when he was with the Vancouver Giants. He knows what it takes to
win it all. He knows, too, that the team he found when he got here had
alarmingly few of the necessary ingredients.
Meanwhile, Barry Smith, the freshman head coach of the Blazers, was true to
form when it had ended.
Ever the optimist, ever the head coach who sometimes is blinded by the
competitive flame that burns so intensely, when it was all over Smith was
talking about bounces.
As in, his Blazers didn’t get enough of them.
He referenced a play from Game 4 in which Kelowna defenceman Tyson Barrie,
with the Blazers leading 3-2, shot wide from the point and forward Ian Duval
banged home the rebound at 8:21 of the second period.
“Pucks go their way. Barrie shoots the puck wide; the puck comes right back
out on the back door. Bang!” Smith said. “When the puck bounces . . .
whatever . . . their skill guys got the pucks . . . when they got the bounce,
it went to the 50-goal scorer and they buried them.
“We’d get the bounce and it’s in between our legs instead of on our sticks.
But that’s about playing hard and doing the right thing. You create those
bounces.
“The bounces went their way because they work hard and they get some
bounces. . . . You create your luck; you create your bounces by working hard
and they did that.”
This season was about more than bounces, though.
It was about an organization with a new general manager, a new head coach
and two new assistant coaches, Scott Ferguson and Geoff Smith — none of whom
had experience in their new roles.
It was about a head coach who came to the Blazers after a few seasons as an
assistant coach with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. He had to make the
adjustment from dealing with men to working with teenagers. And he had to
learn how to run his own bench, something he hadn’t done in more than 10
seasons.
Yes, he made mistakes. He struggled to find playing time for backup
goaltender Jon Groenheyde. He didn’t always make good use of his timeouts.
He was still trying to find consistent line combinations when the season
ended. And, like so many inexperienced head coaches, he spent too much time
and energy trying to work the game officials.
He stood there late Wednesday and admitted that the season was all about
learning.
“We have to use this as a tool to learn where we’re going,” he said. “We’re
a young team and made some strides . . .but obviously there’s a lot more to
go . . . a lot farther to go.”
There were positives, too. No one dedicated more time and energy to the
cause and, in doing so, Smith showed the organization what it is going to
take to get out of these doldrums. He brought structure to a team that was
in a state of disarray after the wasted season that was 2007-08.
He took a team that had won 27 games and drove it to 33 victories. For that
alone, he should get some coach-of-the-year votes.
More than anything else, though, he brought a fierce desire to compete to an
organization that has taken a lot of lumps over the last 10 years. And he
stood there Wednesday night, his team having been beaten 13 straight times
by the despised and strutting rivals to the south, and he let it be known
that he was ready to let Kelowna try for 14. Any time. Any place.
“We didn’t really play our best. I didn’t think we did,” Smith said, before
begrudgingly admitting that “yeah, they’re a good team.”
You got the feeling that he was ready to open training camp in the morning.
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca and gdrinnan.blogspot.com.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Rockets take care of Blazers
Colin Smith of the Kamloops Blazers backhands the puck past Kelowna Rockets goaltender Mark Guggenberger during WHL playoff action in Kamloops on Wednesday night. The goal, which gave Kamloops a 1-0 lead, was Smith's first WHL goal. Smith, 15, was the seventh overall selection in the 2008 bantam draft. (PHOTO BY DOYLE POTENTEAU/Kelowna Daily Courier)
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Recent radio commercials touting Kamloops Blazers’ games have informed folks
that “IT’S A NEW ERA!”
Unfortunately for Blazers fans, the new era had a definite old-era odour to
it as their favourites were swept from the first round of the WHL playoffs —
again — on Wednesday night at Interior Savings Centre.
The Kelowna Rockets did the honours this time, scoring three goals in a 6:11
span of the second period and going on to beat the Blazers 5-3 in front of
4,890 fans.
It was an outcome that has become far too familiar to the Blazers and their
fans over the last 10 seasons.
It was the Blazers’ 15th consecutive playoff loss. They last won a playoff
game on March 29, 2005, when a goal by centre Kevin Hayman at 18:57 of the
third period gave them a 3-2 victory — and a 2-1 series lead — over the
Kootenay Ice. The Blazers lost the next three games, and the series.
They have since been swept in three straight first-round series, the last
two under the new ownership group.
In fact, since appearing in the 1999 WHL championship final — they won the
first game and then lost four in a row to the Calgary Hitmen — the Blazers
are 5-36 in losing nine first-round series in 10 seasons.
The other season? They didn’t make the playoffs.
To say this Blazers’ season resembled something of a roller-coaster really
doesn’t do it justice. It was for more inconsistent than that.
Consider the Blazers’ special teams.
Kamloops, which struggled to play with discipline all season, pulled off a
regular-season double-double of sorts by receiving and giving up more
power-play opportunities than any other team. Its power play was ranked
eighth, at 21 per cent, and its penalty killing was 18th, at 76.9.
So what happens against the Rockets? The power play dries up early — it was
2-for-15 through three games although it was 2-for-3 last night — and its
penalty killers shut down the fifth-ranked Kelowna PP, holding it to four
goals in 33 opportunities and scoring three shorthanded goals.
However, the Rockets, who are 25-5-1-3 since the Jan. 10 trade deadline,
were the far superior team 5-on-5. In fact, the Blazers scored eight goals
in the series and only the first one — by centre Scott Wasden at 10:48 of
the first period of Game 1 — came 5-on-5.
The Rockets, meanwhile, scored 17 times, with 13 of them coming 5-on-5.
“We didn’t really play our best . . . I didn’t think we did,” Kamloops head
coach Barry Smith said. “Yeah, they’re a good team. We had to do the right
things to make it competitive and do those things. I don’t think we did all
the time. That’s disappointing in the end.
“We made some strides . . . but obviously there’s a lot further way to go.”
Left-winger Jamie Benn scored once and set up three other goals to lead the
Rockets, who trailed 2-1 and 3-2 in the second period.
But after Kamloops veteran Kenton Dulle scored his club’s third goal, and
its third shorthanded goal in three games, the Rockets ran off three
straight — by Ian Duval, Tyson Barrie and Stepan Novotny — to win going
away.
Kelowna defenceman Tyler Myers, the best player on the ice in this series,
had the Rockets’ other goal.
Centres Colin Smith, with his first WHL goal, and C.J. Stretch had the
Blazers’ other goals.
This was the Rockets’ 13th straight victory over the Blazers this season,
with seven of them coming right in River City.
“I think I haven’t played awesome games every time against this team,” said
Blazers goaltender Justin Leclerc, who made 38 saves, “but I think I’ve
played some good ones. We couldn’t capitalize on those and we couldn’t
capitalize . . . I don’t know . . . we weren’t getting bounces . . . I don’t
know.
“I don’t know what to say. You can break the numbers down any way you want.
At the end of the day we’re 0-13 so . . . ”
JUST NOTES: Referees Dan Cowley and Steve Papp, who had a rough first two
periods, gave the Blazers 11 of 18 minors. . . . After the post-game
handshakes, the Blazers gathered at centre ice and saluted the fans with
raised sticks. . . . The Blazers finished this season by playing six
straight games against the Rockets. Kelowna won all six, outscoring the
Blazers, 30-13, and outshooting them, 242-131. . . . Kelowna goaltender Mark
Guggenberger, who was acquired from the Swift Current Broncos at the trade
deadline in January, has won his last 12 starts and 17 of his last 20. . . .
Benn ran his playoff point streak to 11. He has 21 points in those games and
has at least one point in every WHL playoff game in which he has appeared. .
. . Kelowna C Colin Long had his nine-game playoff point streak end in Game
3. . . . Rockets F Kyle St. Denis (concussion) has missed his club’s last 17
games and now is listed as being out indefinitely.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Bonner doesn't like this feeling
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Craig Bonner has experienced something of an unfamiliar feeling over the
last few days and he hasn’t particularly enjoyed it.
Bonner, in his first season as general manager of the WHL’s Kamloops
Blazers, spent the previous six seasons on the coaching staff of the
Vancouver Giants. In those six seasons, he helped the Giants post 45 playoff
victories. They won one WHL championship series, lost another, and appeared
in two Memorial Cups, winning it all in 2007 as the host team.
Which is why he doesn’t think much of what his Blazers have done, or haven’t
done, against the Kelowna Rockets in the first round of this spring’s
playoffs. And now he is hoping that the returning Blazers will learn from
what has transpired, much the way the Giants did after losing a 2005
first-round series in six games to the Rockets.
“I hope we have some success against Kelowna in these playoffs, but,
regardless, we have to learn from it and have a sour taste by not getting
where you want to go,” Bonner told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily
Courier prior to Game 3 on Tuesday. “That (2005) series could have gone
either way, but what made us better the next season is that we weren’t
satisfied with that. We wanted to prove that we could take the next step,
and, obviously, we did.”
The taste of that loss to Kelowna hung around like a bad cold, Bonner said.
“That summer, a lot of guys were eager and couldn’t wait to get back to
training camp with something to prove,” Bonner said. “It drives me nuts
when people tell us ‘You played hard’ or ‘Good job.’
“We’re in this sport because we’re all competitive and I don’t like to be
satisfied with teams that put in just a good effort; eventually you have
to step up and become the team that wins, and wins on a consistent basis
and isn’t satisfied with being close.”
“The bottom line is we play this game to win.”
p p p
Bonner didn’t see the first two games of the series as he was in Regina at
the Sask First bantam tournament. He will spend most of this weekend in
Dauphin, Man., watching yet another bantam tournament.
p p p
The Blazers have been running a poll on their website: How many games will
the Blazers’ series with the Rockets go?
There had been 817 responses by Tuesday at 4:45 p.m. Of those, 53.2 per cent
said four games, 22.2 said five, 14.9 said six and 9.7 picked seven.
By Wednesday, at 5:30 p.m., there had been 945 responses, and the
percentages, in order, were 55.0, 21.2, 13.8 and 10.1.
The poll didn’t ask those interested which team they thought might win the
series.
p p p
On the side of the Rockets’ bus are the words: The 2008-2009 WHL season is
dedicated to the memory of Ed Chynoweth.
Yes, the Rockets, under the direction of president and general manager Bruce
Hamilton, dedicated this season before it began to the memory of Chynoweth,
the former WHL president, chairman of the board and majority owner of the
Kootenay Ice who died of cancer in April.
“This isn’t a league thing,” Hamilton said. “This is my thing . . . our
thing.
“He was my best friend.”
p p p
When the Blazers opened the scoring in Game 4 on Wednesday night, it may
have provided a glimpse of the future.
Centre Colin Smith, the Blazers’ first pick in the 2008 bantam draft, got
the goal, his first in the WHL, on assists from wingers Brendan Ranford, the
team’s first pick in 2007, and Jimmy Bubnick, who was Kamloops’ first pick
in 2006.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
Craig Bonner has experienced something of an unfamiliar feeling over the
last few days and he hasn’t particularly enjoyed it.
Bonner, in his first season as general manager of the WHL’s Kamloops
Blazers, spent the previous six seasons on the coaching staff of the
Vancouver Giants. In those six seasons, he helped the Giants post 45 playoff
victories. They won one WHL championship series, lost another, and appeared
in two Memorial Cups, winning it all in 2007 as the host team.
Which is why he doesn’t think much of what his Blazers have done, or haven’t
done, against the Kelowna Rockets in the first round of this spring’s
playoffs. And now he is hoping that the returning Blazers will learn from
what has transpired, much the way the Giants did after losing a 2005
first-round series in six games to the Rockets.
“I hope we have some success against Kelowna in these playoffs, but,
regardless, we have to learn from it and have a sour taste by not getting
where you want to go,” Bonner told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily
Courier prior to Game 3 on Tuesday. “That (2005) series could have gone
either way, but what made us better the next season is that we weren’t
satisfied with that. We wanted to prove that we could take the next step,
and, obviously, we did.”
The taste of that loss to Kelowna hung around like a bad cold, Bonner said.
“That summer, a lot of guys were eager and couldn’t wait to get back to
training camp with something to prove,” Bonner said. “It drives me nuts
when people tell us ‘You played hard’ or ‘Good job.’
“We’re in this sport because we’re all competitive and I don’t like to be
satisfied with teams that put in just a good effort; eventually you have
to step up and become the team that wins, and wins on a consistent basis
and isn’t satisfied with being close.”
“The bottom line is we play this game to win.”
p p p
Bonner didn’t see the first two games of the series as he was in Regina at
the Sask First bantam tournament. He will spend most of this weekend in
Dauphin, Man., watching yet another bantam tournament.
p p p
The Blazers have been running a poll on their website: How many games will
the Blazers’ series with the Rockets go?
There had been 817 responses by Tuesday at 4:45 p.m. Of those, 53.2 per cent
said four games, 22.2 said five, 14.9 said six and 9.7 picked seven.
By Wednesday, at 5:30 p.m., there had been 945 responses, and the
percentages, in order, were 55.0, 21.2, 13.8 and 10.1.
The poll didn’t ask those interested which team they thought might win the
series.
p p p
On the side of the Rockets’ bus are the words: The 2008-2009 WHL season is
dedicated to the memory of Ed Chynoweth.
Yes, the Rockets, under the direction of president and general manager Bruce
Hamilton, dedicated this season before it began to the memory of Chynoweth,
the former WHL president, chairman of the board and majority owner of the
Kootenay Ice who died of cancer in April.
“This isn’t a league thing,” Hamilton said. “This is my thing . . . our
thing.
“He was my best friend.”
p p p
When the Blazers opened the scoring in Game 4 on Wednesday night, it may
have provided a glimpse of the future.
Centre Colin Smith, the Blazers’ first pick in the 2008 bantam draft, got
the goal, his first in the WHL, on assists from wingers Brendan Ranford, the
team’s first pick in 2007, and Jimmy Bubnick, who was Kamloops’ first pick
in 2006.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Wednesday's stuff . . .
Question of the night: Isn’t it about time that the WHL did away with its goal judges?
Why?
Because what purpose do they serve?
Case in point . . .
Late in the first period of a playoff game in Kamloops on Wednesday night, Kelowna LW Jamie Benn split the defence and went in alone on Blazers G Justin Leclerc. Benn tried to squeeze the puck through Leclerc’s pads and the disc disappeared. Goal judge Fred Persello turned on the red light.
Neither referee signaled a goal.
So . . . what happened?
Steve Papp was the referee in the neutral zone, so he wasn’t any help. Dan Cowley, the other referee, was out of position, over along the right-side wall. So he was in trouble.
The four officials huddled behind the Kamloops goal and ultimately signaled for video review. But not once did any of the four on-ice officials even acknowledge Persello’s presence or the fact he had turned on the goal light.
That being the case . . . why is he there?
If goal judges are going to be ignored perhaps teams should start treating those two spots as priority seating and sell tickets to them. Maybe there could be some kind of promotion involving seats in a red-light district. Hey, it’s just a thought.
In the end, video review awarded the goal to Benn, which pulled the Rockets into a 1-1 tie in a game they would go on to win 5-3.
———
F Garry Nunn of the Vancouver Giants sat out a second straight game for disciplinary reasons Wednesday night in Prince George. No one is saying what Nunn did, just that the 27-goal man broke a team rule.
“I want to make sure there are consequences for his actions,” head coach Don Hay told Ian Walker of the Vancouver Sun before the fourth game of the Giants’ series with the Cougars. “He let his teammates down, he let the coaching staff down and, obviously, he let himself down. It's a decision he'll regret. We try to get across to guys life is all about making the right decisions.”
Nunn had a goal and three assists in the first two games of the series.
Unfortunately, with the team not willing to say what it was Nunn did, fans are free to speculate.
———
A note from Graham Kendrick of the Portland Winter Hawks:
“Former Portland Winter Hawks defenceman Michael Sauer made his NHL debut with the New York Rangers on Tuesday night and, in doing so, became the 100th former Winter Hawk to go on to play in the NHL.
“Sauer, called up by the Rangers on Monday, played for the Winter Hawks from 2004–07 and registered 56 points in 124 games before being traded to the Medicine Hat Tigers during 2006-07. He was drafted by the Rangers in the second round, 40th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.”
———
Former Kootenay Ice star forward Steven Da Silva of the U of Saskatchewan Huskies was named the CIS's rookie of the year on Wednesday night. A freshman, Da Silva led Canada West with 41 points this season. He became the first freshman in Canada West history to be named the conference's MVP. . . . Former WHLer Eric Thurston of the Alberta Golden Bears was selected as the CIS's hockey coach of the year. He is in his fourth season with the Golden
Bears, who are the top seed at the CIS championship tournament. Last summer, Thurston was an early candidate for the then-vacant head-coaching position with the Kamloops Blazers but he withdrew his name from consideration. . . . The CIS national tournament begins Thursday in Thunder Bay.
———
WEDNESDAY’S PLAYOFFS: The seasons ended four teams as four series ended in sweeps. The Calgary Hitmen, Brandon Wheat Kings, Vancouver Giants and Kelowna Rockets all moved on, while the Edmonton Oil Kings, Kootenay Ice, Prince George Cougars and Kamloops Blazers are done. . . .
———
In Kent, Wash., F Ondrej Roman scored 10 minutes into the second period to break a 2-2 tie as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 3-2. . . . The Chiefs lead the series 3-1. . . . Game 5 is Saturday in Spokane. It originally was scheduled for Friday but was moved to Saturday to avoid a conflict with an NCAA basketball game featuring the Spokane-based Gonzaga Bulldogs and North Carolina Tarheels in Memphis. . . . The teams were tied 2-2 going into the second period. . . . Roman’s goal came on the PP. . . . The Chiefs were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 0-for-3. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski stopped 28 shots. Seattle’s Calvin Pickard stopped 33. . . . Attendance was 2,872. . . . The Chiefs won Game 3, 5-1, in Kent on Tuesday. Spokane got a lift in that one with the return of D Trevor Glass, 20, and F Ryan Letts, 19. Glass, who came back to play in his 60th WHL playoff game, hadn’t played since suffering a shoulder injury in Kamloops on Feb. 25. He drew assists on two PP goals Tuesday and assisted on one in Game 3. Letts was serving a 10-game WHL suspension.
———
In Lethbridge, F Zach Boychuk scored two third-period goals to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 in Saskatoon on Saturday and Game 6 in Lethbridge on Monday. . . . F Gaelan Patterson gave the Blades a 1-0 lead at 16:38 of the first period. . . . Boychuk, who has five of his side’s none goals in the four games, tied it at 3:08 of the third period and won it at 10:57. . . . F Colton Sceviour and F Dwight King drew assists on both Lethbridge goals. . . . Lethbridge G Juha Metsola had 22 saves, as did Saskatoon G Braden Holtby. . . . Saskatoon was 0-for-4 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-for-1. . . . Attendance was 2,912. . . . Lethbridge F Carter Bancks (upper body) sat out a second straight game.
———
In Cranbrook, F Brayden Schenn’s goal at 17:20 of the third period gave the Brandon Wheat Kings a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Wheat Kings won the series, 4-0. . . . Brandon led 2-0 after one period and 3-1 at 4:39 of the third period. . . . But Ice captain Andrew Bailey, a 20-year-old in his final game, scored two PP goals — at 7:47 and 12:04 — to tie the score and set the stage for Schenn to score his fourth goal of the series. . . . Brandon got 28 saves from G Andrew Hayes. The Ice’s Todd Mathews stopped 22 shots. . . . Brandon F Matt Calvert, who opened the scoring in the first period, was stopped on a penalty shot at 19:55 of the second period. . . . Attendance was 2,443.
———
In Medicine Hat, F Tyler Ennis scored three times, giving him seven in four games, as the Tigers beat the Swift Current Broncos, 5-3. . . . The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 in Swift Current on Friday and Game 6 in Medicine Hat on Sunday. . . . Ennis scored two first-period goals as the Tigers erased a 1-0 deficit and took a 3-1 lead into the second. . . . The teams split two goals in the second as Ennis completed the hat trick with the game’s key goal, a shorthanded effort at 19:44. . . . F Bretton Cameron added his first two playoff goals for the Tigers. . . . F Taylor Vause got his fourth goal of the series for the Broncos, on the PP at 11:04 of the third. . . . The Broncos were 3-for-5 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-2. . . . Swift Current is 8-for-22 on the PP in the four games. . . . Attendance was 3,962. . . . Swift Current D Eric Doyle left early in the first period after taking a crushing hit from Medicine Hat D Matt McCue. Doyle had to be helped to the dressing room. His status for Game 5 isn’t known.
———
In Prince George, F Lance Bouma scored twice, the second breaking a 2-2 tie in the second period, as the Vancouver Giants beat the Cougars, 3-2. . . . Vancouver won the series, 4-0. . . . The Cougars had a 3-2 lead in the first period when Vancouver D Jon Blum tied it on the PP at 15:23. . . . Bouma’s second goal, at 6:16 of the second, stood up as the winner. It, too, came via the PP. . . . Bouma turned 19 on Wednesday. . . . Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith stopped 26 shots; Prince George G Kevin Armstrong turned aside 45. . . . Attendance was 2,594. . . . Pat Quinn, one of the Giants’ minority owners, was in the house. . . . The Giants also scratched F Adam Basford, due to a death in his family. . . . Cougars C Brett Connolly, the first 16-year-old since Patrick Marleau (Seattle, 1995-96) to score 30 goals in the WHL, didn’t get a goal in the four games. He had two assists. . . . A note from Prince George Citizen sports editor Jim Swanson: “Alas, the upset didn’t happen, and the Cougars are now into a long off-season that will bring a new head coach and, once again, speculation about the long-term future of the franchise following another winter of declining attendance. Owner Rick Brodsky, who was in the building for both home games, has said the team will be here next season but has refused to put that stamp on anything beyond that.”
———
In Edmonton, the Calgary Hitmen scored a 4-1 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Calgary won the series, 4-0. . . . Calgary, which finished atop the WHL’s overall standings, scored two goals in each of the last two periods. . . . There was an interesting scrap just 1:16 into this one as Oil Kings F Brett Breitkreuz got into it with Calgary D Alex Plante. The Oil Kings are owned by the Edmonton Oilers, who hold Plante’s NHL rights. . . . The Oil Kings opened the scoring when Brent Raedeke scored on a first-period PP. . . . F Kris Foucault, a trade deadline acquisition from the Kootenay Ice, scored twice for the Hitmen, giving him four in the series. . . . Calgary put it away early in the third when F Kyle Bortis and F Brandon Kozun scored 33 seconds apart. . . . Edmonton G Torrie Jung stopped 39 shots, while Calgary G Martin Jones turned aside 19 shots. . . . Attendance was 6,387.
———
In Kamloops, LW Jamie Benn had a goal and three assists to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-3 victory over the Blazers. . . . The Rockets won the series, 4-0. . . . The Blazers held 2-1 and 3-2 leads as the teams exchanged goals into the second period. . . . But the Rockets scored the game’s last three goals. . . . Gord McGarva, who works alongside play-by-play man Regan Bartel on Kelowna broadcasts, during the first period of the game: “C.J. Stretch bumped into Ryley Grantham after that last whistle. It's interesting how he waits until the linesman's there to do that. Maybe he should do it without a linesman — he might need a C.J. Stretcher.”
———
In Everett, the Tri-City Americans led 2-0 and 4-1 at the intermissions as they doubled the Silvertips, 4-2. . . . The Americans lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 in Everett on Friday. . . . F Jason Reese and F Mitch Fadden each had a goal and an assist for Tri-City, which got 26 stops from G Chet Pickard. . . . It was Pickard’s 13th playoff victory, breaking the franchise record that had been held by Brian Boucher. . . . Everett G Thomas Heemskerk turned aside 27 shots. . . . Everett F Tyler Maxwell scored his fifth goal of the series in the third period. . . . The Americans were 2-for-4 on the PP; the Silvertips were 0-for-6. . . . Attendance was 3,114.
Why?
Because what purpose do they serve?
Case in point . . .
Late in the first period of a playoff game in Kamloops on Wednesday night, Kelowna LW Jamie Benn split the defence and went in alone on Blazers G Justin Leclerc. Benn tried to squeeze the puck through Leclerc’s pads and the disc disappeared. Goal judge Fred Persello turned on the red light.
Neither referee signaled a goal.
So . . . what happened?
Steve Papp was the referee in the neutral zone, so he wasn’t any help. Dan Cowley, the other referee, was out of position, over along the right-side wall. So he was in trouble.
The four officials huddled behind the Kamloops goal and ultimately signaled for video review. But not once did any of the four on-ice officials even acknowledge Persello’s presence or the fact he had turned on the goal light.
That being the case . . . why is he there?
If goal judges are going to be ignored perhaps teams should start treating those two spots as priority seating and sell tickets to them. Maybe there could be some kind of promotion involving seats in a red-light district. Hey, it’s just a thought.
In the end, video review awarded the goal to Benn, which pulled the Rockets into a 1-1 tie in a game they would go on to win 5-3.
———
F Garry Nunn of the Vancouver Giants sat out a second straight game for disciplinary reasons Wednesday night in Prince George. No one is saying what Nunn did, just that the 27-goal man broke a team rule.
“I want to make sure there are consequences for his actions,” head coach Don Hay told Ian Walker of the Vancouver Sun before the fourth game of the Giants’ series with the Cougars. “He let his teammates down, he let the coaching staff down and, obviously, he let himself down. It's a decision he'll regret. We try to get across to guys life is all about making the right decisions.”
Nunn had a goal and three assists in the first two games of the series.
Unfortunately, with the team not willing to say what it was Nunn did, fans are free to speculate.
———
A note from Graham Kendrick of the Portland Winter Hawks:
“Former Portland Winter Hawks defenceman Michael Sauer made his NHL debut with the New York Rangers on Tuesday night and, in doing so, became the 100th former Winter Hawk to go on to play in the NHL.
“Sauer, called up by the Rangers on Monday, played for the Winter Hawks from 2004–07 and registered 56 points in 124 games before being traded to the Medicine Hat Tigers during 2006-07. He was drafted by the Rangers in the second round, 40th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.”
———
Former Kootenay Ice star forward Steven Da Silva of the U of Saskatchewan Huskies was named the CIS's rookie of the year on Wednesday night. A freshman, Da Silva led Canada West with 41 points this season. He became the first freshman in Canada West history to be named the conference's MVP. . . . Former WHLer Eric Thurston of the Alberta Golden Bears was selected as the CIS's hockey coach of the year. He is in his fourth season with the Golden
Bears, who are the top seed at the CIS championship tournament. Last summer, Thurston was an early candidate for the then-vacant head-coaching position with the Kamloops Blazers but he withdrew his name from consideration. . . . The CIS national tournament begins Thursday in Thunder Bay.
———
WEDNESDAY’S PLAYOFFS: The seasons ended four teams as four series ended in sweeps. The Calgary Hitmen, Brandon Wheat Kings, Vancouver Giants and Kelowna Rockets all moved on, while the Edmonton Oil Kings, Kootenay Ice, Prince George Cougars and Kamloops Blazers are done. . . .
———
In Kent, Wash., F Ondrej Roman scored 10 minutes into the second period to break a 2-2 tie as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 3-2. . . . The Chiefs lead the series 3-1. . . . Game 5 is Saturday in Spokane. It originally was scheduled for Friday but was moved to Saturday to avoid a conflict with an NCAA basketball game featuring the Spokane-based Gonzaga Bulldogs and North Carolina Tarheels in Memphis. . . . The teams were tied 2-2 going into the second period. . . . Roman’s goal came on the PP. . . . The Chiefs were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 0-for-3. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski stopped 28 shots. Seattle’s Calvin Pickard stopped 33. . . . Attendance was 2,872. . . . The Chiefs won Game 3, 5-1, in Kent on Tuesday. Spokane got a lift in that one with the return of D Trevor Glass, 20, and F Ryan Letts, 19. Glass, who came back to play in his 60th WHL playoff game, hadn’t played since suffering a shoulder injury in Kamloops on Feb. 25. He drew assists on two PP goals Tuesday and assisted on one in Game 3. Letts was serving a 10-game WHL suspension.
———
In Lethbridge, F Zach Boychuk scored two third-period goals to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 in Saskatoon on Saturday and Game 6 in Lethbridge on Monday. . . . F Gaelan Patterson gave the Blades a 1-0 lead at 16:38 of the first period. . . . Boychuk, who has five of his side’s none goals in the four games, tied it at 3:08 of the third period and won it at 10:57. . . . F Colton Sceviour and F Dwight King drew assists on both Lethbridge goals. . . . Lethbridge G Juha Metsola had 22 saves, as did Saskatoon G Braden Holtby. . . . Saskatoon was 0-for-4 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-for-1. . . . Attendance was 2,912. . . . Lethbridge F Carter Bancks (upper body) sat out a second straight game.
———
In Cranbrook, F Brayden Schenn’s goal at 17:20 of the third period gave the Brandon Wheat Kings a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Wheat Kings won the series, 4-0. . . . Brandon led 2-0 after one period and 3-1 at 4:39 of the third period. . . . But Ice captain Andrew Bailey, a 20-year-old in his final game, scored two PP goals — at 7:47 and 12:04 — to tie the score and set the stage for Schenn to score his fourth goal of the series. . . . Brandon got 28 saves from G Andrew Hayes. The Ice’s Todd Mathews stopped 22 shots. . . . Brandon F Matt Calvert, who opened the scoring in the first period, was stopped on a penalty shot at 19:55 of the second period. . . . Attendance was 2,443.
———
In Medicine Hat, F Tyler Ennis scored three times, giving him seven in four games, as the Tigers beat the Swift Current Broncos, 5-3. . . . The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 in Swift Current on Friday and Game 6 in Medicine Hat on Sunday. . . . Ennis scored two first-period goals as the Tigers erased a 1-0 deficit and took a 3-1 lead into the second. . . . The teams split two goals in the second as Ennis completed the hat trick with the game’s key goal, a shorthanded effort at 19:44. . . . F Bretton Cameron added his first two playoff goals for the Tigers. . . . F Taylor Vause got his fourth goal of the series for the Broncos, on the PP at 11:04 of the third. . . . The Broncos were 3-for-5 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-2. . . . Swift Current is 8-for-22 on the PP in the four games. . . . Attendance was 3,962. . . . Swift Current D Eric Doyle left early in the first period after taking a crushing hit from Medicine Hat D Matt McCue. Doyle had to be helped to the dressing room. His status for Game 5 isn’t known.
———
In Prince George, F Lance Bouma scored twice, the second breaking a 2-2 tie in the second period, as the Vancouver Giants beat the Cougars, 3-2. . . . Vancouver won the series, 4-0. . . . The Cougars had a 3-2 lead in the first period when Vancouver D Jon Blum tied it on the PP at 15:23. . . . Bouma’s second goal, at 6:16 of the second, stood up as the winner. It, too, came via the PP. . . . Bouma turned 19 on Wednesday. . . . Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith stopped 26 shots; Prince George G Kevin Armstrong turned aside 45. . . . Attendance was 2,594. . . . Pat Quinn, one of the Giants’ minority owners, was in the house. . . . The Giants also scratched F Adam Basford, due to a death in his family. . . . Cougars C Brett Connolly, the first 16-year-old since Patrick Marleau (Seattle, 1995-96) to score 30 goals in the WHL, didn’t get a goal in the four games. He had two assists. . . . A note from Prince George Citizen sports editor Jim Swanson: “Alas, the upset didn’t happen, and the Cougars are now into a long off-season that will bring a new head coach and, once again, speculation about the long-term future of the franchise following another winter of declining attendance. Owner Rick Brodsky, who was in the building for both home games, has said the team will be here next season but has refused to put that stamp on anything beyond that.”
———
In Edmonton, the Calgary Hitmen scored a 4-1 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Calgary won the series, 4-0. . . . Calgary, which finished atop the WHL’s overall standings, scored two goals in each of the last two periods. . . . There was an interesting scrap just 1:16 into this one as Oil Kings F Brett Breitkreuz got into it with Calgary D Alex Plante. The Oil Kings are owned by the Edmonton Oilers, who hold Plante’s NHL rights. . . . The Oil Kings opened the scoring when Brent Raedeke scored on a first-period PP. . . . F Kris Foucault, a trade deadline acquisition from the Kootenay Ice, scored twice for the Hitmen, giving him four in the series. . . . Calgary put it away early in the third when F Kyle Bortis and F Brandon Kozun scored 33 seconds apart. . . . Edmonton G Torrie Jung stopped 39 shots, while Calgary G Martin Jones turned aside 19 shots. . . . Attendance was 6,387.
———
In Kamloops, LW Jamie Benn had a goal and three assists to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-3 victory over the Blazers. . . . The Rockets won the series, 4-0. . . . The Blazers held 2-1 and 3-2 leads as the teams exchanged goals into the second period. . . . But the Rockets scored the game’s last three goals. . . . Gord McGarva, who works alongside play-by-play man Regan Bartel on Kelowna broadcasts, during the first period of the game: “C.J. Stretch bumped into Ryley Grantham after that last whistle. It's interesting how he waits until the linesman's there to do that. Maybe he should do it without a linesman — he might need a C.J. Stretcher.”
———
In Everett, the Tri-City Americans led 2-0 and 4-1 at the intermissions as they doubled the Silvertips, 4-2. . . . The Americans lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 in Everett on Friday. . . . F Jason Reese and F Mitch Fadden each had a goal and an assist for Tri-City, which got 26 stops from G Chet Pickard. . . . It was Pickard’s 13th playoff victory, breaking the franchise record that had been held by Brian Boucher. . . . Everett G Thomas Heemskerk turned aside 27 shots. . . . Everett F Tyler Maxwell scored his fifth goal of the series in the third period. . . . The Americans were 2-for-4 on the PP; the Silvertips were 0-for-6. . . . Attendance was 3,114.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wednesday . . . early
The WHL is experiencing those first-round attendance blues again and nothing signifies that better than a press release issued Wednesday morning by the Medicine Hat Tigers who announce attendance of 4,006 at every single regular-season game but weren’t sold out Tuesday night. . . .
“Medicine Hat, AB - Tickets for tonight's game four versus Swift Current Broncos are still available at the Tiger's box office in The Arena.
Tickets can be purchased in person at The Arena or by calling the Tiger's Ticket Hotline at 403-527-8406.
Adults $20
Youth $16
Child $12
Swift Current leads the best of seven quarter final series two games to one with game 5 slated for Swift Current on Friday night.”
---
In Cranbrook, meanwhile, the Kootenay Ice drew 2,344 fans to Game 3 of its series with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Jeff Bromley of the Kootenay NewsAdvertiser reports that “was the second-smallest playoff crowd since the club moved to the Rec Plex in 2000, beating only Game 3 of the first round of the 2004 playoffs when the Ice was swept by the Kelowna Rockets.”
---
G Martin Jones of the Calgary Hitmen is the ADT CHL goaltender of the week, the third time this season he has won the award. He was 2-0-0-0 with a shutout, a GAA of 0.50 and a .978 save percentage last week.
“Medicine Hat, AB - Tickets for tonight's game four versus Swift Current Broncos are still available at the Tiger's box office in The Arena.
Tickets can be purchased in person at The Arena or by calling the Tiger's Ticket Hotline at 403-527-8406.
Adults $20
Youth $16
Child $12
Swift Current leads the best of seven quarter final series two games to one with game 5 slated for Swift Current on Friday night.”
---
In Cranbrook, meanwhile, the Kootenay Ice drew 2,344 fans to Game 3 of its series with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Jeff Bromley of the Kootenay NewsAdvertiser reports that “was the second-smallest playoff crowd since the club moved to the Rec Plex in 2000, beating only Game 3 of the first round of the 2004 playoffs when the Ice was swept by the Kelowna Rockets.”
---
G Martin Jones of the Calgary Hitmen is the ADT CHL goaltender of the week, the third time this season he has won the award. He was 2-0-0-0 with a shutout, a GAA of 0.50 and a .978 save percentage last week.
Photo from Tuesday
A photo from Tuesday's game in Kamloops, courtesy of Doyle Potenteau, who covers the Kelowna Rockets for the Kelowna Daily Courier. . . . Kamloops Blazers goalie Justin Leclerc stops a shot from Kelowna forward Mikael Backlund, right, while Blazers defenceman Giffen Nyren tries to defend during WHL playoff action in Kamloops on Tuesday night. . . . It was Backlund's first game since being injured March 13 during a regular-season game in Kamloops. The nature of his injury was never disclosed but it's believed he suffered a concussion. He was flying on Tuesday night and made a nifty play to set up the winning goal in overtime. . . . The Rockets won the game 3-2 and lead the first-round best-of-seven series 3-0 with Game 4 in Kamloops on Wednesday night.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Tuesday . . .
Eric Welsh of the Chilliwack Progress reports that “ticket sales in Chilliwack decreased approximately 13 per cent, one of
the bigger dips in the league. But almost everyone saw a drop,
including the Vancouver Giants, who went 57-10-2-3 on the ice, but
dipped around eight per cent at the gate.” . . . The Bruins, who averaged 4,073 fans per game this season, will focus more on marketing in Chilliwack and less in other areas of the Lower Mainland. Of course, the Bruins, who didn’t make the playoffs and have fired general manager Darrell May and head coach Jim Hiller, are gearing up for a season in which they will face competition from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and perhaps the arrival of the Calgary Flames’ AHL affiliate in Abbotsford. . . . The Bruins, though, aren’t standing still. Their season-ticket renewal program doesn’t require deposits — although, yes, the bill will come due at some point in time. There also is a 10-month payment available. And, most important of all, as governor/interim GM Darryl Porter told Welsh: “The other big thing is we’ve rolled all our prices back to what they were in the first year. When you factor in that we include the first round of the playoffs, our prices are significantly less than some of the other teams in our conference. I think we’re very similar to what the Kamloops Blazers are in pricing.”
———
F Brandon Kozun of the Calgary Hitmen left Monday’s 4-1 victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton with an apparent leg injury. Of course, no one was talking after the game so there isn’t any word on Kozun’s status for Game 4 of the series on Wednesday. Kozun finished second in the WHL scoring race, with 108 points.
———
The Swift Current Broncos have announced that their attendance averaged 2,287 during the regular season, a 9.3 per cent increase over last season when the average was 2,092. According to the Broncos, “Only Saskatoon had a higher percentage increase” this season. Over the last two seasons, Swift Current’s attendance has jumped 20.4 per cent, the highest such figure in the WHL. Their attendance has moved from 1,899 per game in 2006-07 to 2,287, an increase of 388 fans per game.
———
It turns out that the QMJHL’s Lewiston MAINEiacs are going anywhere. There has been speculation that the QMJHL’s only U.S.-based franchise would relocate before another season gets here, but the team has announced it plans on staying in the Maine community on a long-term basis. The MAINEiacs say they plan on operating “an aggressive three-year business plan is being developed to make the team financially viable, and firmly plant the franchise in Lewiston for many years to come. The plan is based on reconnecting with the business community, more team community involvement, front-office reconstruction, and a strong connection with the Lewiston and Auburn youth hockey associations.” . . . In the last while, the Maineiacs had contemplated a move to Boisbriand, Que., or Fredericton, N.B. The former was shot down when the Montreal Junior wouldn’t approve the transfer, saying that a franchise there would infringe on its market. According to the Lewiston Sun Journal, negotiations to move to Fredericton fell apart last week.
———
TUESDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES: It’s worth noting that there were six games played and the visiting team won all six games, with three of them decided in OT. . . .
In Cranbrook, F Matt Calvert scored at 2:55 of OT to give the Brandon Wheat Kings a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Wheat Kings lead the series 3-0 and can wrap it up Wednesday night in Cranbrook. . . . Calvert had two goals in the game. . . . It was the first OT goal of Calvert’s WHL career. . . . Brandon D Colby Robak left after the first period and didn’t return. He may have a concussion. . . . F Tylan Stephens tied it 3-3 for the Ice with a PP goal at 9:52 of the third period. . . . Attendance was 2,344.
———
In Prince George, Vancouver F Craig Cunningham scored at 16:44 of OT to give the Giants a 3-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . Vancouver leads the series 3-0 and can finish it Wednesday night in Prince George. . . . The Giants had outscored the Cougars 17-3 in winning the first two games in Vancouver. . . . Attendance was 2,384. . . . The Giants scratched F Garry Nunn after he broke an undisclosed team rule. . . . The Cougars were 0-for-7 on the PP, with two of those coming in OT. . . . Prince George G Kevin Armstrong made 49 saves.
———
In Kent, Wash., the Spokane Chiefs scored two shorthanded goals and two more on the PP to beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-1. . . . The Chiefs hold a 2-1 lead with Game 4 in Kent on Wednesday. . . . The Thunderbirds scored the game’s first goal — it was the first WHL goal for freshman F Colin Jacobs of Coppell, Texas — but then gave up five in a row. . . . Jacobs was the 67th pick in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski stopped 32 shots. . . . The Chiefs were 2-for-2 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 0-for-6. . . . Attendance was 3,050.
———
In Kamloops, Kelowna C Cody Almond scored twice, including the winner in OT, as the Rockets beat the Blazers, 3-2. . . . Kelowna leads the series 3-0 and can finish it Wednesday night in Kamloops. . . . Almond scored with 2.9 seconds left in the third period to force OT and then took a pass from F Mikael Backlund — he was behind the Kamloops net and fed the pass back against the flow — and tucked it into the open side at ?? of OT for the winner.
———
In Medicine Hat, the Swift Current Broncos scored the game’s first three goals and went on to beat the Tigers, 5-2. . . . The Broncos hold a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 in The Hat on Wednesday. . . . Attendance was 3,995, rather than the usual sellout of 4,006. . . . F Justin Dowling scored twice for the Broncos, who had a 37-28 edge in shots, including 17-9 in the first period. . . . Swift Current G Travis Yonkman stopped Medicine Hat F Colton Grant on a third-period penalty shot. . . . The Broncos got a goal and three helpers from F Michael Stickland. . . . Swift Current was 2-for-7 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-for-3.
———
In Lethbridge, the Saskatoon Blades scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Hurricanes, 3-1. . . . Saskatoon leads the series 2-1 with Game 4 in Lethbridge on Wednesday. . . . Lethbridge F Austin Fyten had the game’s first goal, on the PP, at 5:24 of the PP. . . . The Blades, who won a WHL-leading 28 road games, got second-period goals from F Milan Kytnar and captain Derek Hulak and added a third-period score from F Adam Chorneyko. . . . The Hurricanes outshot the Blades, 28-19. . . . Saskatoon was 1-for-3 on the PP; Lethbridge was 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 3,089.
the bigger dips in the league. But almost everyone saw a drop,
including the Vancouver Giants, who went 57-10-2-3 on the ice, but
dipped around eight per cent at the gate.” . . . The Bruins, who averaged 4,073 fans per game this season, will focus more on marketing in Chilliwack and less in other areas of the Lower Mainland. Of course, the Bruins, who didn’t make the playoffs and have fired general manager Darrell May and head coach Jim Hiller, are gearing up for a season in which they will face competition from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and perhaps the arrival of the Calgary Flames’ AHL affiliate in Abbotsford. . . . The Bruins, though, aren’t standing still. Their season-ticket renewal program doesn’t require deposits — although, yes, the bill will come due at some point in time. There also is a 10-month payment available. And, most important of all, as governor/interim GM Darryl Porter told Welsh: “The other big thing is we’ve rolled all our prices back to what they were in the first year. When you factor in that we include the first round of the playoffs, our prices are significantly less than some of the other teams in our conference. I think we’re very similar to what the Kamloops Blazers are in pricing.”
———
F Brandon Kozun of the Calgary Hitmen left Monday’s 4-1 victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton with an apparent leg injury. Of course, no one was talking after the game so there isn’t any word on Kozun’s status for Game 4 of the series on Wednesday. Kozun finished second in the WHL scoring race, with 108 points.
———
The Swift Current Broncos have announced that their attendance averaged 2,287 during the regular season, a 9.3 per cent increase over last season when the average was 2,092. According to the Broncos, “Only Saskatoon had a higher percentage increase” this season. Over the last two seasons, Swift Current’s attendance has jumped 20.4 per cent, the highest such figure in the WHL. Their attendance has moved from 1,899 per game in 2006-07 to 2,287, an increase of 388 fans per game.
———
It turns out that the QMJHL’s Lewiston MAINEiacs are going anywhere. There has been speculation that the QMJHL’s only U.S.-based franchise would relocate before another season gets here, but the team has announced it plans on staying in the Maine community on a long-term basis. The MAINEiacs say they plan on operating “an aggressive three-year business plan is being developed to make the team financially viable, and firmly plant the franchise in Lewiston for many years to come. The plan is based on reconnecting with the business community, more team community involvement, front-office reconstruction, and a strong connection with the Lewiston and Auburn youth hockey associations.” . . . In the last while, the Maineiacs had contemplated a move to Boisbriand, Que., or Fredericton, N.B. The former was shot down when the Montreal Junior wouldn’t approve the transfer, saying that a franchise there would infringe on its market. According to the Lewiston Sun Journal, negotiations to move to Fredericton fell apart last week.
———
TUESDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES: It’s worth noting that there were six games played and the visiting team won all six games, with three of them decided in OT. . . .
In Cranbrook, F Matt Calvert scored at 2:55 of OT to give the Brandon Wheat Kings a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Wheat Kings lead the series 3-0 and can wrap it up Wednesday night in Cranbrook. . . . Calvert had two goals in the game. . . . It was the first OT goal of Calvert’s WHL career. . . . Brandon D Colby Robak left after the first period and didn’t return. He may have a concussion. . . . F Tylan Stephens tied it 3-3 for the Ice with a PP goal at 9:52 of the third period. . . . Attendance was 2,344.
———
In Prince George, Vancouver F Craig Cunningham scored at 16:44 of OT to give the Giants a 3-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . Vancouver leads the series 3-0 and can finish it Wednesday night in Prince George. . . . The Giants had outscored the Cougars 17-3 in winning the first two games in Vancouver. . . . Attendance was 2,384. . . . The Giants scratched F Garry Nunn after he broke an undisclosed team rule. . . . The Cougars were 0-for-7 on the PP, with two of those coming in OT. . . . Prince George G Kevin Armstrong made 49 saves.
———
In Kent, Wash., the Spokane Chiefs scored two shorthanded goals and two more on the PP to beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-1. . . . The Chiefs hold a 2-1 lead with Game 4 in Kent on Wednesday. . . . The Thunderbirds scored the game’s first goal — it was the first WHL goal for freshman F Colin Jacobs of Coppell, Texas — but then gave up five in a row. . . . Jacobs was the 67th pick in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski stopped 32 shots. . . . The Chiefs were 2-for-2 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 0-for-6. . . . Attendance was 3,050.
———
In Kamloops, Kelowna C Cody Almond scored twice, including the winner in OT, as the Rockets beat the Blazers, 3-2. . . . Kelowna leads the series 3-0 and can finish it Wednesday night in Kamloops. . . . Almond scored with 2.9 seconds left in the third period to force OT and then took a pass from F Mikael Backlund — he was behind the Kamloops net and fed the pass back against the flow — and tucked it into the open side at ?? of OT for the winner.
———
In Medicine Hat, the Swift Current Broncos scored the game’s first three goals and went on to beat the Tigers, 5-2. . . . The Broncos hold a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 in The Hat on Wednesday. . . . Attendance was 3,995, rather than the usual sellout of 4,006. . . . F Justin Dowling scored twice for the Broncos, who had a 37-28 edge in shots, including 17-9 in the first period. . . . Swift Current G Travis Yonkman stopped Medicine Hat F Colton Grant on a third-period penalty shot. . . . The Broncos got a goal and three helpers from F Michael Stickland. . . . Swift Current was 2-for-7 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-for-3.
———
In Lethbridge, the Saskatoon Blades scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Hurricanes, 3-1. . . . Saskatoon leads the series 2-1 with Game 4 in Lethbridge on Wednesday. . . . Lethbridge F Austin Fyten had the game’s first goal, on the PP, at 5:24 of the PP. . . . The Blades, who won a WHL-leading 28 road games, got second-period goals from F Milan Kytnar and captain Derek Hulak and added a third-period score from F Adam Chorneyko. . . . The Hurricanes outshot the Blades, 28-19. . . . Saskatoon was 1-for-3 on the PP; Lethbridge was 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 3,089.
Almond drives Blazers nuts
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
So that’s what it’s like to set your picnic blanket on a hill that belongs
to red ants.
Goaltender Justin Leclerc of the Kamloops Blazers must have had that feeling
Tuesday night as the red-bedecked Kelowna Rockets came at him in waves . . .
in waves . . . in waves.
In the end, time ran out on Leclerc and the Blazers as Kelowna Rockets
centre Cody Almond found himself in the right place — not once, but twice —
and pulled his club’s butt out of the campfire with two key goals that
provided the visitors with a 3-2 overtime victory before 4,677 fans at
Interior Savings Centre.
The Rockets, who now have beaten the Blazers 12 straight times this WHL
season, lead the best-of-seven first-round series, 3-0. Kelowna gets its
first opportunity to end Kamloops’ season tonight at The ATM. Game time is 7
o’clock.
The Rockets outshot the Blazers 39-18 in this one — it was 33-11 through
three periods — and likely had that many attempts blocked or deflected into
the mesh. This was hockey rope-a-dope at its best, except that the Blazers
fell 2.9 seconds short of a knockout.
That’s how much time was left in the third period when Almond, who is the
hardest-working of the Rockets just about every night, got the puck over the
Kamloops goal line during a frantic scramble.
The relief the heavily favoured Rockets felt at having tied the game could
be felt throughout the building.
The Blazers were mere seconds from winning this one when Kelowna defenceman
Tyler Myers made a determined rush, lugging the puck from his zone into the
Kamloops zone. Kelowna winger Lucas Bloodoff, who played like a junkyard
dog, dug it out. Linemate Ian Duval centred it to Almond and, just like
that, it was 2-2.
“That’s what Myers does. He’s got great speed . . . he’s great at breaking
the puck out,” said Almond, a 33-goal man in the regular season. “And give
credit to Lucas Bloodoff. He backchecked, stole the puck from a guy, fired
it down low, Duval poked it to me in the slot and I had an empty net.”
The Blazers, who had more shots (7) in overtime than they had in the first
two periods combined (6), had their chances in overtime, the best coming
seven minutes in when forward Jake Trask cut across in front of goaltender
Mark Guggenberger but wasn’t able to beat him.
And then, at 12:41, Kelowna winger Mikael Backlund slipped a pass back
against the flow from behind the Kamloops net and Almond again was Johnny on
the spot.
“It was a great pass by Backlund,” Almond said. “I was yelling at him. He
came around the boards and put it through his legs to me and I just banked
it off the goalie and in . . . kind of caught people out of position.”
And just like that the team that had trailed 2-0 with six minutes left to
play in the third period had a stranglehold on the series.
It was through no fault of Leclerc, the 19-year-old who is finishing up his
second season with the Blazers.
“He played a a great game,” Almond said of Leclerc, who has yet to record
his first shutout with the Blazers. “You have to give him credit. He’s an
outstanding goaltender but it just wasn’t quite enough tonight.”
Centre Seth Compton gave Kamloops a 1-0 lead at 9:30 of the first period,
beating Guggenberger to finish a 2-on-1 break with winger Kenton Dulle.
Defenceman Giffen Nyren upped the lead to 2-0 at 11:16 of the third period
and some fans likely were making plans for Game 5 in Kelowna on Friday
night.
But Kelowna sniper Jamie Benn, a 46-goal man in the regular season, got his
guys on the board, beating Leclerc from the slot at 14:05.
Cue the comeback.
“We were prepared to play,” Kamloops head coach Barry Smith said. “I don’t
think we’re ever not prepared to play. It’s not like guys are saying, ‘Let’s
not come out and play.’ We came out and we played.”
The Blazers started OK but then ran into penalties — they took five in a row
in the last 11 minutes of the first period. The Rockets didn’t score — in
fact, they had trouble mustering shots — but they did get some momentum.
“We had to kill a lot of penalties but we did a great job of that,” Smith
said. “We battled hard and did what we had to do.”
On this night, they just needed to do it for three more seconds.
JUST NOTES: The Daily News three stars were: 1. Leclerc; 2. Almond; 3.
Myers. . . . Referees Trevor Hanson and Graham Skilliter put their whistles
away late, but still managed to dole out 13 power plays, eight to Kelowna. .
. . The Rockets, who were 0-for-8, now are 2-for-25 in the series. The
Blazers were 1-for-5 and are 2-for-15. . . . NHL scouts representing the
Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks,
Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers and Phoenix Coyotes were in the house
last night. . . . The Blazers are asking fans to bring nonperishable food
items or cash donations to tonight’s game to benefit the Kamloops Food Bank.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.comBy GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
So that’s what it’s like to set your picnic blanket on a hill that belongs
to red ants.
Goaltender Justin Leclerc of the Kamloops Blazers must have had that feeling
Tuesday night as the red-bedecked Kelowna Rockets came at him in waves . . .
in waves . . . in waves.
In the end, time ran out on Leclerc and the Blazers as Kelowna Rockets
centre Cody Almond found himself in the right place — not once, but twice —
and pulled his club’s butt out of the campfire with two key goals that
provided the visitors with a 3-2 overtime victory before 4,677 fans at
Interior Savings Centre.
The Rockets, who now have beaten the Blazers 12 straight times this WHL
season, lead the best-of-seven first-round series, 3-0. Kelowna gets its
first opportunity to end Kamloops’ season tonight at The ATM. Game time is 7
o’clock.
The Rockets outshot the Blazers 39-18 in this one — it was 33-11 through
three periods — and likely had that many attempts blocked or deflected into
the mesh. This was hockey rope-a-dope at its best, except that the Blazers
fell 2.9 seconds short of a knockout.
That’s how much time was left in the third period when Almond, who is the
hardest-working of the Rockets just about every night, got the puck over the
Kamloops goal line during a frantic scramble.
The relief the heavily favoured Rockets felt at having tied the game could
be felt throughout the building.
The Blazers were mere seconds from winning this one when Kelowna defenceman
Tyler Myers made a determined rush, lugging the puck from his zone into the
Kamloops zone. Kelowna winger Lucas Bloodoff, who played like a junkyard
dog, dug it out. Linemate Ian Duval centred it to Almond and, just like
that, it was 2-2.
“That’s what Myers does. He’s got great speed . . . he’s great at breaking
the puck out,” said Almond, a 33-goal man in the regular season. “And give
credit to Lucas Bloodoff. He backchecked, stole the puck from a guy, fired
it down low, Duval poked it to me in the slot and I had an empty net.”
The Blazers, who had more shots (7) in overtime than they had in the first
two periods combined (6), had their chances in overtime, the best coming
seven minutes in when forward Jake Trask cut across in front of goaltender
Mark Guggenberger but wasn’t able to beat him.
And then, at 12:41, Kelowna winger Mikael Backlund slipped a pass back
against the flow from behind the Kamloops net and Almond again was Johnny on
the spot.
“It was a great pass by Backlund,” Almond said. “I was yelling at him. He
came around the boards and put it through his legs to me and I just banked
it off the goalie and in . . . kind of caught people out of position.”
And just like that the team that had trailed 2-0 with six minutes left to
play in the third period had a stranglehold on the series.
It was through no fault of Leclerc, the 19-year-old who is finishing up his
second season with the Blazers.
“He played a a great game,” Almond said of Leclerc, who has yet to record
his first shutout with the Blazers. “You have to give him credit. He’s an
outstanding goaltender but it just wasn’t quite enough tonight.”
Centre Seth Compton gave Kamloops a 1-0 lead at 9:30 of the first period,
beating Guggenberger to finish a 2-on-1 break with winger Kenton Dulle.
Defenceman Giffen Nyren upped the lead to 2-0 at 11:16 of the third period
and some fans likely were making plans for Game 5 in Kelowna on Friday
night.
But Kelowna sniper Jamie Benn, a 46-goal man in the regular season, got his
guys on the board, beating Leclerc from the slot at 14:05.
Cue the comeback.
“We were prepared to play,” Kamloops head coach Barry Smith said. “I don’t
think we’re ever not prepared to play. It’s not like guys are saying, ‘Let’s
not come out and play.’ We came out and we played.”
The Blazers started OK but then ran into penalties — they took five in a row
in the last 11 minutes of the first period. The Rockets didn’t score — in
fact, they had trouble mustering shots — but they did get some momentum.
“We had to kill a lot of penalties but we did a great job of that,” Smith
said. “We battled hard and did what we had to do.”
On this night, they just needed to do it for three more seconds.
JUST NOTES: The Daily News three stars were: 1. Leclerc; 2. Almond; 3.
Myers. . . . Referees Trevor Hanson and Graham Skilliter put their whistles
away late, but still managed to dole out 13 power plays, eight to Kelowna. .
. . The Rockets, who were 0-for-8, now are 2-for-25 in the series. The
Blazers were 1-for-5 and are 2-for-15. . . . NHL scouts representing the
Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks,
Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers and Phoenix Coyotes were in the house
last night. . . . The Blazers are asking fans to bring nonperishable food
items or cash donations to tonight’s game to benefit the Kamloops Food Bank.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
So that’s what it’s like to set your picnic blanket on a hill that belongs
to red ants.
Goaltender Justin Leclerc of the Kamloops Blazers must have had that feeling
Tuesday night as the red-bedecked Kelowna Rockets came at him in waves . . .
in waves . . . in waves.
In the end, time ran out on Leclerc and the Blazers as Kelowna Rockets
centre Cody Almond found himself in the right place — not once, but twice —
and pulled his club’s butt out of the campfire with two key goals that
provided the visitors with a 3-2 overtime victory before 4,677 fans at
Interior Savings Centre.
The Rockets, who now have beaten the Blazers 12 straight times this WHL
season, lead the best-of-seven first-round series, 3-0. Kelowna gets its
first opportunity to end Kamloops’ season tonight at The ATM. Game time is 7
o’clock.
The Rockets outshot the Blazers 39-18 in this one — it was 33-11 through
three periods — and likely had that many attempts blocked or deflected into
the mesh. This was hockey rope-a-dope at its best, except that the Blazers
fell 2.9 seconds short of a knockout.
That’s how much time was left in the third period when Almond, who is the
hardest-working of the Rockets just about every night, got the puck over the
Kamloops goal line during a frantic scramble.
The relief the heavily favoured Rockets felt at having tied the game could
be felt throughout the building.
The Blazers were mere seconds from winning this one when Kelowna defenceman
Tyler Myers made a determined rush, lugging the puck from his zone into the
Kamloops zone. Kelowna winger Lucas Bloodoff, who played like a junkyard
dog, dug it out. Linemate Ian Duval centred it to Almond and, just like
that, it was 2-2.
“That’s what Myers does. He’s got great speed . . . he’s great at breaking
the puck out,” said Almond, a 33-goal man in the regular season. “And give
credit to Lucas Bloodoff. He backchecked, stole the puck from a guy, fired
it down low, Duval poked it to me in the slot and I had an empty net.”
The Blazers, who had more shots (7) in overtime than they had in the first
two periods combined (6), had their chances in overtime, the best coming
seven minutes in when forward Jake Trask cut across in front of goaltender
Mark Guggenberger but wasn’t able to beat him.
And then, at 12:41, Kelowna winger Mikael Backlund slipped a pass back
against the flow from behind the Kamloops net and Almond again was Johnny on
the spot.
“It was a great pass by Backlund,” Almond said. “I was yelling at him. He
came around the boards and put it through his legs to me and I just banked
it off the goalie and in . . . kind of caught people out of position.”
And just like that the team that had trailed 2-0 with six minutes left to
play in the third period had a stranglehold on the series.
It was through no fault of Leclerc, the 19-year-old who is finishing up his
second season with the Blazers.
“He played a a great game,” Almond said of Leclerc, who has yet to record
his first shutout with the Blazers. “You have to give him credit. He’s an
outstanding goaltender but it just wasn’t quite enough tonight.”
Centre Seth Compton gave Kamloops a 1-0 lead at 9:30 of the first period,
beating Guggenberger to finish a 2-on-1 break with winger Kenton Dulle.
Defenceman Giffen Nyren upped the lead to 2-0 at 11:16 of the third period
and some fans likely were making plans for Game 5 in Kelowna on Friday
night.
But Kelowna sniper Jamie Benn, a 46-goal man in the regular season, got his
guys on the board, beating Leclerc from the slot at 14:05.
Cue the comeback.
“We were prepared to play,” Kamloops head coach Barry Smith said. “I don’t
think we’re ever not prepared to play. It’s not like guys are saying, ‘Let’s
not come out and play.’ We came out and we played.”
The Blazers started OK but then ran into penalties — they took five in a row
in the last 11 minutes of the first period. The Rockets didn’t score — in
fact, they had trouble mustering shots — but they did get some momentum.
“We had to kill a lot of penalties but we did a great job of that,” Smith
said. “We battled hard and did what we had to do.”
On this night, they just needed to do it for three more seconds.
JUST NOTES: The Daily News three stars were: 1. Leclerc; 2. Almond; 3.
Myers. . . . Referees Trevor Hanson and Graham Skilliter put their whistles
away late, but still managed to dole out 13 power plays, eight to Kelowna. .
. . The Rockets, who were 0-for-8, now are 2-for-25 in the series. The
Blazers were 1-for-5 and are 2-for-15. . . . NHL scouts representing the
Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks,
Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers and Phoenix Coyotes were in the house
last night. . . . The Blazers are asking fans to bring nonperishable food
items or cash donations to tonight’s game to benefit the Kamloops Food Bank.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.comBy GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
So that’s what it’s like to set your picnic blanket on a hill that belongs
to red ants.
Goaltender Justin Leclerc of the Kamloops Blazers must have had that feeling
Tuesday night as the red-bedecked Kelowna Rockets came at him in waves . . .
in waves . . . in waves.
In the end, time ran out on Leclerc and the Blazers as Kelowna Rockets
centre Cody Almond found himself in the right place — not once, but twice —
and pulled his club’s butt out of the campfire with two key goals that
provided the visitors with a 3-2 overtime victory before 4,677 fans at
Interior Savings Centre.
The Rockets, who now have beaten the Blazers 12 straight times this WHL
season, lead the best-of-seven first-round series, 3-0. Kelowna gets its
first opportunity to end Kamloops’ season tonight at The ATM. Game time is 7
o’clock.
The Rockets outshot the Blazers 39-18 in this one — it was 33-11 through
three periods — and likely had that many attempts blocked or deflected into
the mesh. This was hockey rope-a-dope at its best, except that the Blazers
fell 2.9 seconds short of a knockout.
That’s how much time was left in the third period when Almond, who is the
hardest-working of the Rockets just about every night, got the puck over the
Kamloops goal line during a frantic scramble.
The relief the heavily favoured Rockets felt at having tied the game could
be felt throughout the building.
The Blazers were mere seconds from winning this one when Kelowna defenceman
Tyler Myers made a determined rush, lugging the puck from his zone into the
Kamloops zone. Kelowna winger Lucas Bloodoff, who played like a junkyard
dog, dug it out. Linemate Ian Duval centred it to Almond and, just like
that, it was 2-2.
“That’s what Myers does. He’s got great speed . . . he’s great at breaking
the puck out,” said Almond, a 33-goal man in the regular season. “And give
credit to Lucas Bloodoff. He backchecked, stole the puck from a guy, fired
it down low, Duval poked it to me in the slot and I had an empty net.”
The Blazers, who had more shots (7) in overtime than they had in the first
two periods combined (6), had their chances in overtime, the best coming
seven minutes in when forward Jake Trask cut across in front of goaltender
Mark Guggenberger but wasn’t able to beat him.
And then, at 12:41, Kelowna winger Mikael Backlund slipped a pass back
against the flow from behind the Kamloops net and Almond again was Johnny on
the spot.
“It was a great pass by Backlund,” Almond said. “I was yelling at him. He
came around the boards and put it through his legs to me and I just banked
it off the goalie and in . . . kind of caught people out of position.”
And just like that the team that had trailed 2-0 with six minutes left to
play in the third period had a stranglehold on the series.
It was through no fault of Leclerc, the 19-year-old who is finishing up his
second season with the Blazers.
“He played a a great game,” Almond said of Leclerc, who has yet to record
his first shutout with the Blazers. “You have to give him credit. He’s an
outstanding goaltender but it just wasn’t quite enough tonight.”
Centre Seth Compton gave Kamloops a 1-0 lead at 9:30 of the first period,
beating Guggenberger to finish a 2-on-1 break with winger Kenton Dulle.
Defenceman Giffen Nyren upped the lead to 2-0 at 11:16 of the third period
and some fans likely were making plans for Game 5 in Kelowna on Friday
night.
But Kelowna sniper Jamie Benn, a 46-goal man in the regular season, got his
guys on the board, beating Leclerc from the slot at 14:05.
Cue the comeback.
“We were prepared to play,” Kamloops head coach Barry Smith said. “I don’t
think we’re ever not prepared to play. It’s not like guys are saying, ‘Let’s
not come out and play.’ We came out and we played.”
The Blazers started OK but then ran into penalties — they took five in a row
in the last 11 minutes of the first period. The Rockets didn’t score — in
fact, they had trouble mustering shots — but they did get some momentum.
“We had to kill a lot of penalties but we did a great job of that,” Smith
said. “We battled hard and did what we had to do.”
On this night, they just needed to do it for three more seconds.
JUST NOTES: The Daily News three stars were: 1. Leclerc; 2. Almond; 3.
Myers. . . . Referees Trevor Hanson and Graham Skilliter put their whistles
away late, but still managed to dole out 13 power plays, eight to Kelowna. .
. . The Rockets, who were 0-for-8, now are 2-for-25 in the series. The
Blazers were 1-for-5 and are 2-for-15. . . . NHL scouts representing the
Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks,
Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers and Phoenix Coyotes were in the house
last night. . . . The Blazers are asking fans to bring nonperishable food
items or cash donations to tonight’s game to benefit the Kamloops Food Bank.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
WHL honours ex-Blazers GM
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The numbers are astounding.
For a six-season stretch — 1989-90 through 1994-95 — the Kamloops Blazers
won four WHL championships. They won three Memorial Cup titles in the last
four seasons of that run.
During those six regular seasons, they had a record of 301-111-20, which
works out to an almost unfathomable .720 winning percentage.
In those six springs, they played in 99 playoff games, winning 66 of them.
Yes, when the going got tough they won at a .667 clip.
Bob Brown, the architect of those seasons, was honoured Tuesday night as the
WHL presented the Blazers’ former general manager with its prestigious
Governors Award. He is the first person with any ties to the Blazers to be
so honoured.
WHL commissioner Ron Robison informed Brown of the honour on Monday. Dr. Bob
Smillie, a longtime Blazers’ board member and team supporter, and Bruce
Hamilton, the Kelowna Rockets’ president and the chairman of the WHL’s board
of governors, presented Brown with the award last night, prior to the
Blazers’ playoff game at Interior Savings Centre.
“It was a nice phone call. I never had an inkling,” Brown said. “I felt
really honoured when Ron phoned me. Any time you are recognized by your
peers . . . it’s something special, for sure.”
This award is the highest honour that can be bestowed on an individual by
the WHL’s board of governors and goes, to quote a WHL release, “to
individuals who, through their outstanding service as a builder of the
league and achievements in the game, have contributed to the growth and
development of the WHL.”
Brown spent nine seasons (1986-95) as the Blazers’ general manager, during
which time the team also won seven division titles. He was inexplicably
fired by team president Colin Day on June 5, 1995, just two weeks after the
Blazers had won their third Memorial Cup by beating the Detroit Jr. Red
Wings 8-2 in then-Riverside Coliseum.
“Maybe I was blessed to leave when I did,” Brown said. “I think I was. It
has worked out well for me financially and all, so . . .”
Brown, in his seventh season as a scout for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, and
his wife, Janet, live on the Lower Mainland with their son Sam, 3 1/2. Brown
and Janet, a reporter with radio station CKNW, met in Kamloops while she was
with Radio NL.
“She was covering the turning of the sod for the coliseum,” Brown said.
“That’s where she saw me. We got talking down the road . . . it was like
about a nine-year relationship before we got married.”
Last night, Brown was back in Kamloops for the second time this month.
Already a Blazer Legend, he helped induct Stu MacGregor into the select club
on March 6. MacGregor succeeded Brown as the Blazers’ general manager and
now, as the Oilers’ head scout, is Brown’s boss.
Brown added that it “was great to see” Zac Boyer, who was inducted as a
player on March 6. Boyer, of course, scored the game-winning goal late in
the 1992 Memorial Cup final.
That championship, Brown said, was the highlight of his tenure here.
“Easily . . . easily,” he said. “No doubt about it.”
The two Memorial Cup titles that followed were sweet but couldn’t top the
first one.
“We had the stigma as the only team that had been in it from the west and
had never won it,” Brown said.
Earlier this year, Brown learned that he will be inducted into the B.C.
Hockey Hall of Fame in Penticton on July 25.
“Both (honours were) unexpected,” he said. “The first one, the hall of fame,
I was humbled. To be mentioned with some of those people who are already in
there . . .”
Brown may be feeling somewhat humbled but the numbers show that he belongs
there.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
The numbers are astounding.
For a six-season stretch — 1989-90 through 1994-95 — the Kamloops Blazers
won four WHL championships. They won three Memorial Cup titles in the last
four seasons of that run.
During those six regular seasons, they had a record of 301-111-20, which
works out to an almost unfathomable .720 winning percentage.
In those six springs, they played in 99 playoff games, winning 66 of them.
Yes, when the going got tough they won at a .667 clip.
Bob Brown, the architect of those seasons, was honoured Tuesday night as the
WHL presented the Blazers’ former general manager with its prestigious
Governors Award. He is the first person with any ties to the Blazers to be
so honoured.
WHL commissioner Ron Robison informed Brown of the honour on Monday. Dr. Bob
Smillie, a longtime Blazers’ board member and team supporter, and Bruce
Hamilton, the Kelowna Rockets’ president and the chairman of the WHL’s board
of governors, presented Brown with the award last night, prior to the
Blazers’ playoff game at Interior Savings Centre.
“It was a nice phone call. I never had an inkling,” Brown said. “I felt
really honoured when Ron phoned me. Any time you are recognized by your
peers . . . it’s something special, for sure.”
This award is the highest honour that can be bestowed on an individual by
the WHL’s board of governors and goes, to quote a WHL release, “to
individuals who, through their outstanding service as a builder of the
league and achievements in the game, have contributed to the growth and
development of the WHL.”
Brown spent nine seasons (1986-95) as the Blazers’ general manager, during
which time the team also won seven division titles. He was inexplicably
fired by team president Colin Day on June 5, 1995, just two weeks after the
Blazers had won their third Memorial Cup by beating the Detroit Jr. Red
Wings 8-2 in then-Riverside Coliseum.
“Maybe I was blessed to leave when I did,” Brown said. “I think I was. It
has worked out well for me financially and all, so . . .”
Brown, in his seventh season as a scout for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, and
his wife, Janet, live on the Lower Mainland with their son Sam, 3 1/2. Brown
and Janet, a reporter with radio station CKNW, met in Kamloops while she was
with Radio NL.
“She was covering the turning of the sod for the coliseum,” Brown said.
“That’s where she saw me. We got talking down the road . . . it was like
about a nine-year relationship before we got married.”
Last night, Brown was back in Kamloops for the second time this month.
Already a Blazer Legend, he helped induct Stu MacGregor into the select club
on March 6. MacGregor succeeded Brown as the Blazers’ general manager and
now, as the Oilers’ head scout, is Brown’s boss.
Brown added that it “was great to see” Zac Boyer, who was inducted as a
player on March 6. Boyer, of course, scored the game-winning goal late in
the 1992 Memorial Cup final.
That championship, Brown said, was the highlight of his tenure here.
“Easily . . . easily,” he said. “No doubt about it.”
The two Memorial Cup titles that followed were sweet but couldn’t top the
first one.
“We had the stigma as the only team that had been in it from the west and
had never won it,” Brown said.
Earlier this year, Brown learned that he will be inducted into the B.C.
Hockey Hall of Fame in Penticton on July 25.
“Both (honours were) unexpected,” he said. “The first one, the hall of fame,
I was humbled. To be mentioned with some of those people who are already in
there . . .”
Brown may be feeling somewhat humbled but the numbers show that he belongs
there.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Monday, March 23, 2009
Monday . . .
In Monday’s lone playoff game, G Torrie Jung put on another show but, once again, it wasn’t enough as his Edmonton Oil Kings fell 4-1 to the visiting Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Hitmen, who finished atop the overall standings, hold a 3-0 edge in the series and can complete a sweep Wednesday in Edmonton. . . . Jung, who stopped 54 shots in a 2-1 OT loss in Calgary on Sunday, stopped 41 in this one. . . . Jung kept Calgary off the board until D Alex Plante beat him through traffic at 19:59 of the first period. . . . Joel Broda, Brandon Kozun and Chase Schaber also scored for Calgary. . . . Robin Soudek had Edmonton’s goal. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones stopped 20 shots.
———
Bob Brown, who won three Memorial Cups in a four-year period with the Kamloops Blazers, has been named as a recipient of the 2008-09 WHL Governors Award.
The award is presented annually, according to the WHL, “to individuals who, through their outstanding service as a builder of the league and achievements in the game, have contributed to the growth and development of the WHL.”
Brown will be honoured prior to Tuesday’s WHL playoff game between the Kelowna Rockets and Blazers in Kamloops.
Brown spent nine seasons as the Blazers’ general manager, winning four WHL championships and three Memorial Cups before being fired by then-Blazers president Colin Day.
Brown later worked for the Tri-City Americans and Vancouver Giants. He now is in his seventh season as a scout for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.
“Bob Brown will always be regarded as one of the most successful general managers in WHL history,” WHL commissioner Ron Robison said in a statement. “Bob was responsible for building a dynasty in the 1990s with the Kamloops Blazers and his record of three Memorial Cup championships in four seasons may never be matched again in the WHL.”
The WHL Governors Award, first awarded in 2004-05, is the highest honour bestowed upon an individual by the league's board of governors.
Previous recipients were Bill Hunter, Scotty Munro and Jim Piggott (2007-08); Bob Cornell (2006-07); Jack McLeod (2005-06); and Pat Ginnell, Ernie McLean, Bill Hicke and Del Wilson (2004-05).
Brown also will be inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame later this summer in Penticton.
———
If you’re looking to read a story on a young athlete who is working his way towards the big leagues, check this story out right here.
———
The Tri-City Americans have added Innes Mackie to their training staff for the duration of this season.
Mackie spent 31 years as the trainer for the Portland Winter Hawks. He was released earlier this season when the Winter Hawks underwent an ownership change.
With the Americans, Mackie will assist athletic trainer Kevin Heise with all aspects of his job, with particular emphasis on the team's equipment. Mackie is scheduled to join the Americans before Game 3 of their first-round playoff series with the Silvertips in Everett on Wednesday.
———
There has been a scheduling change involving Game 5 of the series between the Spokane Chiefs and Seattle Thunderbirds.
The game, originally to have been played Friday in Spokane, now will take place on Saturday, 7 p.m., at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.
The reason for the change? The Chiefs don’t want to go head-to-head with the Gonzaga Bulldogs’ men’s basketball team which has advanced to the Sweet 16 and will play North Carolina in Memphis on Friday.
Games 3 and 4 of the Spokane-Seattle series, which is tied 1-1, are to be played Tuesday and Wednesday at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash.
———
JUST NOTES: D Travis Ehrhardt of the Portland Winter Hawks has joined the AHL’s Winnipeg-based Manitoba Moose. . . . The Kelowna Rockets may have F Mikael Backlund back in their lineup Tuesday night for the first time since he suffered a suspected concussion during a game in Kamloops on March 13. The Rockets have never disclosed details of Backlund’s injury. They take a 2-0 series lead into Tuesday’s game against the Blazers in Kamloops. . . . As if the Brandon Wheat Kings’ trek to Cranbrook wasn’t long enough, the team was forced by icy roads and big rigs to be moved from blocking the Trans-Canada Highway east of Swift Current. It all meant what most times would be a 14-hour trek took more than 20 hours. The Wheat Kings have a 2-0 series lead on the Kootenay Ice with Games 3 and 4 in Cranbrook on Tuesday and Thursday.
———
Bob Brown, who won three Memorial Cups in a four-year period with the Kamloops Blazers, has been named as a recipient of the 2008-09 WHL Governors Award.
The award is presented annually, according to the WHL, “to individuals who, through their outstanding service as a builder of the league and achievements in the game, have contributed to the growth and development of the WHL.”
Brown will be honoured prior to Tuesday’s WHL playoff game between the Kelowna Rockets and Blazers in Kamloops.
Brown spent nine seasons as the Blazers’ general manager, winning four WHL championships and three Memorial Cups before being fired by then-Blazers president Colin Day.
Brown later worked for the Tri-City Americans and Vancouver Giants. He now is in his seventh season as a scout for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.
“Bob Brown will always be regarded as one of the most successful general managers in WHL history,” WHL commissioner Ron Robison said in a statement. “Bob was responsible for building a dynasty in the 1990s with the Kamloops Blazers and his record of three Memorial Cup championships in four seasons may never be matched again in the WHL.”
The WHL Governors Award, first awarded in 2004-05, is the highest honour bestowed upon an individual by the league's board of governors.
Previous recipients were Bill Hunter, Scotty Munro and Jim Piggott (2007-08); Bob Cornell (2006-07); Jack McLeod (2005-06); and Pat Ginnell, Ernie McLean, Bill Hicke and Del Wilson (2004-05).
Brown also will be inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame later this summer in Penticton.
———
If you’re looking to read a story on a young athlete who is working his way towards the big leagues, check this story out right here.
———
The Tri-City Americans have added Innes Mackie to their training staff for the duration of this season.
Mackie spent 31 years as the trainer for the Portland Winter Hawks. He was released earlier this season when the Winter Hawks underwent an ownership change.
With the Americans, Mackie will assist athletic trainer Kevin Heise with all aspects of his job, with particular emphasis on the team's equipment. Mackie is scheduled to join the Americans before Game 3 of their first-round playoff series with the Silvertips in Everett on Wednesday.
———
There has been a scheduling change involving Game 5 of the series between the Spokane Chiefs and Seattle Thunderbirds.
The game, originally to have been played Friday in Spokane, now will take place on Saturday, 7 p.m., at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.
The reason for the change? The Chiefs don’t want to go head-to-head with the Gonzaga Bulldogs’ men’s basketball team which has advanced to the Sweet 16 and will play North Carolina in Memphis on Friday.
Games 3 and 4 of the Spokane-Seattle series, which is tied 1-1, are to be played Tuesday and Wednesday at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash.
———
JUST NOTES: D Travis Ehrhardt of the Portland Winter Hawks has joined the AHL’s Winnipeg-based Manitoba Moose. . . . The Kelowna Rockets may have F Mikael Backlund back in their lineup Tuesday night for the first time since he suffered a suspected concussion during a game in Kamloops on March 13. The Rockets have never disclosed details of Backlund’s injury. They take a 2-0 series lead into Tuesday’s game against the Blazers in Kamloops. . . . As if the Brandon Wheat Kings’ trek to Cranbrook wasn’t long enough, the team was forced by icy roads and big rigs to be moved from blocking the Trans-Canada Highway east of Swift Current. It all meant what most times would be a 14-hour trek took more than 20 hours. The Wheat Kings have a 2-0 series lead on the Kootenay Ice with Games 3 and 4 in Cranbrook on Tuesday and Thursday.
Blazers know what awaits them
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The task facing the Kamloops Blazers is formidable. But the players know
what they have to do.
“We have to do what they did to us at home,” Kamloops right-winger Tyler
Shattock said. “We have to win two at home. We’re confident we can win at
home.”
The Blazers go into tonight’s WHL playoff game — Interior Savings Centre, 7
o’clock — in something of a hole. Not only do they trail Kelowna 2-0 in the
best-of-seven series, but the Rockets have beaten them 11 straight times
this season. Five of those 11 victories came right in The ATM, where the
Rockets seem to make themselves right at home — eggs over easy; raspberry
jam on the toast is fine.
“We have to harness what we do at the start of the games,” Shattock said.
“We can’t fall off like we have in the last two games.”
In each of the first two games of this series, which Kelowna won 4-2 and 6-1
on Friday and Saturday nights in Prospera Place, the Blazers held an edge in
play in the early going, only to fade when the Rockets found their legs and
began to push back.
“It was more of us just not doing what made us successful at the start of
the games,” Shattock said. “I mean, we were outshooting them (10-1) at one
point (Saturday night). Then we got into penalty trouble and that’s what
happens.”
The Blazers may have played their best 10 minutes of the 11 games against
the Rockets to start Saturday’s game. And only Kelowna goaltender Mark
Guggenberger kept the visitors from a two- or three-goal lead.
“It’s frustrating,” Shattock said of the lack of rewards for their solid
early play, “but we have to realize that sometimes goaltenders are going to
be good and you have to keep putting more pucks on him and eventually
they’re going to go by him.
“He hasn’t played a lot of playoff games so we have to keep getting shots on
him and hopefully he cracks here.”
Guggenberger, a sophomore acquired from the Swift Current Broncos in
January, hadn’t played in a WHL playoff game prior to Friday. Now he is 2-0
and gunning for a third victory tonight.
The Blazers had two wonderful chances on an early first-period power play
Saturday. First, left-winger Shayne Wiebe found himself in too tight to do
anything with a backhand attempt. Then, following a strange bounce off the
end boards, right-winger Jimmy Bubnick was robbed by Guggenberger who dove
across the crease and took away a goal with the paddle of his stick.
“It’s good to get the momentum like that,” echoed Kamloops defenceman Kurt
Torbohm, “and not to score is tough. . . . we can’t lay off and get
frustrated. We have to keep going. It is frustrating but we have to keep
going.”
While the Blazers will be looking forward to playing at home, where they
were 19-14-2-1, the Rockets are 19-14-1-2 on the road. And when it comes to
playing the Blazers, they are rather confident.
“We have to feel confident but we know they’re a good team over there,”
Kelowna defenceman Brandon McMillan said after Saturday’s game. “We have to
go in there with the same mindset we had here and outwork them and outplay
them. But it’s going to be tough and we all know that in here.
“We hoped to win two in our building. But they’re playing us tough and we
have to keep battling hard.”
Kelowna centre Colin Long blamed his side’s two slow starts on “a little bit
of nerves.”
“It took us the first 10 minutes to get going,” he said, adding that he
doesn’t think the Rockets can afford to start slowly on the road.
“I don’t think so. In here we may have gotten away with it a couple of
times, but it something that know we have to change.”
JUST NOTES: When Kamloops D Josh Caron and Kelowna F Lucas Bloodoff duked it
out Saturday, it was their second fight of the season. They also scrapped on
Feb. in Kelowna. . . . In their last 23 games, the Rockets have limited the
oppostion to two goals or fewer on 19 occasions. . . . Kelowna F Mikael
Backlund, who hasn't played since suffering a suspected concussion in
Kamloops on March 13, practised Monday and may play tonight. “Mikael looked
good on the ice (Monday) and it’s in our plans to have him in the lineup
(tonight),” Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska told the Kelowna Daily Courier. .
. . Backlund is likely to play the right side with centre Cody Almond and
Ian Duval, while centre Colin Long plays between Jamie Benn and a rotating
right winger.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
The task facing the Kamloops Blazers is formidable. But the players know
what they have to do.
“We have to do what they did to us at home,” Kamloops right-winger Tyler
Shattock said. “We have to win two at home. We’re confident we can win at
home.”
The Blazers go into tonight’s WHL playoff game — Interior Savings Centre, 7
o’clock — in something of a hole. Not only do they trail Kelowna 2-0 in the
best-of-seven series, but the Rockets have beaten them 11 straight times
this season. Five of those 11 victories came right in The ATM, where the
Rockets seem to make themselves right at home — eggs over easy; raspberry
jam on the toast is fine.
“We have to harness what we do at the start of the games,” Shattock said.
“We can’t fall off like we have in the last two games.”
In each of the first two games of this series, which Kelowna won 4-2 and 6-1
on Friday and Saturday nights in Prospera Place, the Blazers held an edge in
play in the early going, only to fade when the Rockets found their legs and
began to push back.
“It was more of us just not doing what made us successful at the start of
the games,” Shattock said. “I mean, we were outshooting them (10-1) at one
point (Saturday night). Then we got into penalty trouble and that’s what
happens.”
The Blazers may have played their best 10 minutes of the 11 games against
the Rockets to start Saturday’s game. And only Kelowna goaltender Mark
Guggenberger kept the visitors from a two- or three-goal lead.
“It’s frustrating,” Shattock said of the lack of rewards for their solid
early play, “but we have to realize that sometimes goaltenders are going to
be good and you have to keep putting more pucks on him and eventually
they’re going to go by him.
“He hasn’t played a lot of playoff games so we have to keep getting shots on
him and hopefully he cracks here.”
Guggenberger, a sophomore acquired from the Swift Current Broncos in
January, hadn’t played in a WHL playoff game prior to Friday. Now he is 2-0
and gunning for a third victory tonight.
The Blazers had two wonderful chances on an early first-period power play
Saturday. First, left-winger Shayne Wiebe found himself in too tight to do
anything with a backhand attempt. Then, following a strange bounce off the
end boards, right-winger Jimmy Bubnick was robbed by Guggenberger who dove
across the crease and took away a goal with the paddle of his stick.
“It’s good to get the momentum like that,” echoed Kamloops defenceman Kurt
Torbohm, “and not to score is tough. . . . we can’t lay off and get
frustrated. We have to keep going. It is frustrating but we have to keep
going.”
While the Blazers will be looking forward to playing at home, where they
were 19-14-2-1, the Rockets are 19-14-1-2 on the road. And when it comes to
playing the Blazers, they are rather confident.
“We have to feel confident but we know they’re a good team over there,”
Kelowna defenceman Brandon McMillan said after Saturday’s game. “We have to
go in there with the same mindset we had here and outwork them and outplay
them. But it’s going to be tough and we all know that in here.
“We hoped to win two in our building. But they’re playing us tough and we
have to keep battling hard.”
Kelowna centre Colin Long blamed his side’s two slow starts on “a little bit
of nerves.”
“It took us the first 10 minutes to get going,” he said, adding that he
doesn’t think the Rockets can afford to start slowly on the road.
“I don’t think so. In here we may have gotten away with it a couple of
times, but it something that know we have to change.”
JUST NOTES: When Kamloops D Josh Caron and Kelowna F Lucas Bloodoff duked it
out Saturday, it was their second fight of the season. They also scrapped on
Feb. in Kelowna. . . . In their last 23 games, the Rockets have limited the
oppostion to two goals or fewer on 19 occasions. . . . Kelowna F Mikael
Backlund, who hasn't played since suffering a suspected concussion in
Kamloops on March 13, practised Monday and may play tonight. “Mikael looked
good on the ice (Monday) and it’s in our plans to have him in the lineup
(tonight),” Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska told the Kelowna Daily Courier. .
. . Backlund is likely to play the right side with centre Cody Almond and
Ian Duval, while centre Colin Long plays between Jamie Benn and a rotating
right winger.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
McMillan is Rockets' Mr. Versatile
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Brandon McMillan paused and looked at his questioner.
Then he laughed.
“What do you put on your income tax?” he had just been asked. “Forward or
defenceman?”
“I don’t know,” the native of Delta, who turned 19 on Sunday, said with
another chuckle. “Both, I guess.”
Perhaps he should consider “saviour.”
Because he has been nothing short of that for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets over
the last two months.
Unable to land a defenceman prior to the Jan. 10 trade deadline, the
Rockets’ braintrust took McMillan, a speedy left winger by trade, and moved
him back to the blue line, a position he said he hadn’t played regularly
since his first season of bantam.
“I did a little trial run just before Christmas, played about three games,”
he said. “They said I would be moving back and forth and then it became
permanent.
“It’s something I’ve handled and I’m just trying to take it one game at a
time, play my best and help out the team.”
He certainly has done all of that. He set up two goals Saturday as the
Rockets dumped the visiting Kamloops Blazers 5-1 to take a 2-0 lead in their
first-round best-of-seven playoff series. Games 3 and 4 go tonight and
Wednesday at Interior Savings Centre.
“He’s flying out there,” Kelowna centre Colin Long said. “It’s nice knowing
he’s a guy who can break the puck out of there and provide some offence.”
McMillan followed a 12-point freshman season by putting up 41 points in 71
games last season and then was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the third
round of the NHL’s 2008 draft. This season, he had 49 points in 71 games.
Given his druthers, McMillan would prefer to be a forward because “you’re in
on the forecheck and you get more opportunities to score.”
For now, though, he is quite content to patrol the defensive zone.
“I’m just trying to play strong and eat up some minutes from the other top
four guys,” he said. “I’m trying to use my speed as an asset and keep it
simple.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
Daily News Sports Editor
Brandon McMillan paused and looked at his questioner.
Then he laughed.
“What do you put on your income tax?” he had just been asked. “Forward or
defenceman?”
“I don’t know,” the native of Delta, who turned 19 on Sunday, said with
another chuckle. “Both, I guess.”
Perhaps he should consider “saviour.”
Because he has been nothing short of that for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets over
the last two months.
Unable to land a defenceman prior to the Jan. 10 trade deadline, the
Rockets’ braintrust took McMillan, a speedy left winger by trade, and moved
him back to the blue line, a position he said he hadn’t played regularly
since his first season of bantam.
“I did a little trial run just before Christmas, played about three games,”
he said. “They said I would be moving back and forth and then it became
permanent.
“It’s something I’ve handled and I’m just trying to take it one game at a
time, play my best and help out the team.”
He certainly has done all of that. He set up two goals Saturday as the
Rockets dumped the visiting Kamloops Blazers 5-1 to take a 2-0 lead in their
first-round best-of-seven playoff series. Games 3 and 4 go tonight and
Wednesday at Interior Savings Centre.
“He’s flying out there,” Kelowna centre Colin Long said. “It’s nice knowing
he’s a guy who can break the puck out of there and provide some offence.”
McMillan followed a 12-point freshman season by putting up 41 points in 71
games last season and then was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the third
round of the NHL’s 2008 draft. This season, he had 49 points in 71 games.
Given his druthers, McMillan would prefer to be a forward because “you’re in
on the forecheck and you get more opportunities to score.”
For now, though, he is quite content to patrol the defensive zone.
“I’m just trying to play strong and eat up some minutes from the other top
four guys,” he said. “I’m trying to use my speed as an asset and keep it
simple.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
Monday . . . early
The Tri-City Americans have added D Zach Yuen, who turned 16 on March 3, to their roster. He was the 22nd pick of the 2008 draft and spent this season with the Greater Vancouver Canadians of the B.C. major midget league. He had 22 points, including six goals, and 56 penalty minutes in 35 games.
---
RW Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. They selected him 22nd overall in the 2008 NHL draft. He has 204 points, including 1005 goals, in three seasons with the Pats. He had 74 points, 35 of them goals, in 61 games this season. He also shone for Canada at the World Junior Championship.
---
F Matt Lowry of the Brandon Wheat Kings is the Boston Pizza WHL player of the week. He had a goal and four assists as the Wheat Kings opened with two home-ice victories over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Martin Jones of the Calgary Hitmen is the WHL’s nominee as the ADT CHL goaltender of the week. He went 2-0 with a 0.50 GAA and a .987 save percentage as Calgary beat the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first two games of their series.
---
RW Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. They selected him 22nd overall in the 2008 NHL draft. He has 204 points, including 1005 goals, in three seasons with the Pats. He had 74 points, 35 of them goals, in 61 games this season. He also shone for Canada at the World Junior Championship.
---
F Matt Lowry of the Brandon Wheat Kings is the Boston Pizza WHL player of the week. He had a goal and four assists as the Wheat Kings opened with two home-ice victories over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Martin Jones of the Calgary Hitmen is the WHL’s nominee as the ADT CHL goaltender of the week. He went 2-0 with a 0.50 GAA and a .987 save percentage as Calgary beat the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first two games of their series.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sunday . . .
The WHL will re-examine its playoff format at its annual meeting in June in Vancouver.
Which doesn’t mean the format will change. It only means that there will be some discussion about it.
At present, the WHL’s 22 teams are split among four divisions for regular-season play. But that doesn’t mean a thing when it comes to sorting out playoff positions, all of which depend on where teams finish in the two conferences.
After playing 72 games — and conference schedules are unbalanced — teams are seeded within their conferences with the top eight advancing to the playoffs. In the first round, its No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6, and No. 4 vs. No. 5.
(The WHL changed this format after the 2006-07 season, going from a divisional playoff format — four teams in each division qualified and teams played in their divisions in the first round — to the present conference-based format.
(At the time, teams were trying to find a solution to poor attendance for first-round playoff games. It was felt in some corners that perhaps fans were tired of watching divisional rivals and that going to a conference-based format would add some variety to everybody’s lives. Check the turnstile counts and see how that went.)
The problem with this conference-based format is that the WHL runs the risk of ending up with a first-round series between teams that are anything but geographical rivals, like, say, the Brandon Wheat Kings and Kootenay Ice.
As sports editor James Shewaga pointed out in Saturday’s Brandon Sun:
“The Brandon Wheat Kings battled through 72 games to post their best record in 13 years and earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the WHL playoffs.
“Their reward? By far the worst travel schedule of any of the league’s top eight teams in the opening round.”
Shewaga reports that it’s a 2,600-kilometre round trip between Brandon and Cranbrook. Meanwhile, the Medicine Hat Tigers and Swift Current Broncos, two other first-round combatants, are separated by 225 kilometres, while the Calgary Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings are faced with 300-km road trips.
“For all the supposed benefits of using a one-through-eight conference playoff system over battling in your own division first,” Shewaga wrote, “there is something horribly wrong with any format that forces a team from Manitoba to face a team from B.C. in the first round of the playoffs.”
And, furthermore, it seems that WHL commissioner Ron Robison agrees with Shewaga.
“You are bang on,” Robison told Shewaga. “Your point is well taken. It’s been a source of real debate.”
Robison, it should be pointed out, is a fan of divisional play, which fosters divisional rivalries. (Of course, check out the Western Conference this time around because the way things worked out there are only divisional matchups in the first round.)
This whole playoff thing, I’m thinking, is one of those problems for which there isn’t a perfect solution. The WHL, however, is prepared to spend more time talking about it.
“We’ve had lots of debate on this over the years and quite frankly I
would say the league is very split on it,” Robison told Shewaga. “Having said that, we will be debating the future playoff format at this year’s (annual) meeting in June.”
That meeting, by the way, will take place in Vancouver, rather than Calgary, where the head office is located and where it usually is held. This all is part of the WHL’s plan to move some of its events around.
For example, this year’s awards luncheon and the bantam draft will be held in Edmonton, April 29 and 30.
———
SUNDAY:
In Calgary, Edmonton G Torrie Jung stopped 54 shots but it wasn’t quite enough as his Oil Kings lost, 2-1, in OT to the Hitmen. . . . F Carson McMillan scored the winner at 9:04 of OT. . . . The Hitmen hold a 2-0 edge in the series which continues in Edmonton with games on Monday, Wednesday and, if necessary, Friday. . . . McMillan scored the winner when he tipped in out of midair a point shot by D Paul Postma. . . . The Hitmen had nine shots in OT. . . . Edmonton F Shayne Neigum scored a PP goal at 7:07 of the second period. . . . Calgary wasn’t able to pull even until 15:42 of the third when F Kris Foucault scored. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones stopped 24 shots.
Which doesn’t mean the format will change. It only means that there will be some discussion about it.
At present, the WHL’s 22 teams are split among four divisions for regular-season play. But that doesn’t mean a thing when it comes to sorting out playoff positions, all of which depend on where teams finish in the two conferences.
After playing 72 games — and conference schedules are unbalanced — teams are seeded within their conferences with the top eight advancing to the playoffs. In the first round, its No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6, and No. 4 vs. No. 5.
(The WHL changed this format after the 2006-07 season, going from a divisional playoff format — four teams in each division qualified and teams played in their divisions in the first round — to the present conference-based format.
(At the time, teams were trying to find a solution to poor attendance for first-round playoff games. It was felt in some corners that perhaps fans were tired of watching divisional rivals and that going to a conference-based format would add some variety to everybody’s lives. Check the turnstile counts and see how that went.)
The problem with this conference-based format is that the WHL runs the risk of ending up with a first-round series between teams that are anything but geographical rivals, like, say, the Brandon Wheat Kings and Kootenay Ice.
As sports editor James Shewaga pointed out in Saturday’s Brandon Sun:
“The Brandon Wheat Kings battled through 72 games to post their best record in 13 years and earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the WHL playoffs.
“Their reward? By far the worst travel schedule of any of the league’s top eight teams in the opening round.”
Shewaga reports that it’s a 2,600-kilometre round trip between Brandon and Cranbrook. Meanwhile, the Medicine Hat Tigers and Swift Current Broncos, two other first-round combatants, are separated by 225 kilometres, while the Calgary Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings are faced with 300-km road trips.
“For all the supposed benefits of using a one-through-eight conference playoff system over battling in your own division first,” Shewaga wrote, “there is something horribly wrong with any format that forces a team from Manitoba to face a team from B.C. in the first round of the playoffs.”
And, furthermore, it seems that WHL commissioner Ron Robison agrees with Shewaga.
“You are bang on,” Robison told Shewaga. “Your point is well taken. It’s been a source of real debate.”
Robison, it should be pointed out, is a fan of divisional play, which fosters divisional rivalries. (Of course, check out the Western Conference this time around because the way things worked out there are only divisional matchups in the first round.)
This whole playoff thing, I’m thinking, is one of those problems for which there isn’t a perfect solution. The WHL, however, is prepared to spend more time talking about it.
“We’ve had lots of debate on this over the years and quite frankly I
would say the league is very split on it,” Robison told Shewaga. “Having said that, we will be debating the future playoff format at this year’s (annual) meeting in June.”
That meeting, by the way, will take place in Vancouver, rather than Calgary, where the head office is located and where it usually is held. This all is part of the WHL’s plan to move some of its events around.
For example, this year’s awards luncheon and the bantam draft will be held in Edmonton, April 29 and 30.
———
SUNDAY:
In Calgary, Edmonton G Torrie Jung stopped 54 shots but it wasn’t quite enough as his Oil Kings lost, 2-1, in OT to the Hitmen. . . . F Carson McMillan scored the winner at 9:04 of OT. . . . The Hitmen hold a 2-0 edge in the series which continues in Edmonton with games on Monday, Wednesday and, if necessary, Friday. . . . McMillan scored the winner when he tipped in out of midair a point shot by D Paul Postma. . . . The Hitmen had nine shots in OT. . . . Edmonton F Shayne Neigum scored a PP goal at 7:07 of the second period. . . . Calgary wasn’t able to pull even until 15:42 of the third when F Kris Foucault scored. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones stopped 24 shots.
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