Sunday . . .

F Brett Connolly of the Prince George Cougars has been bothered for a lot of this season by a hip injury. That injury resurfaced Saturday during a 3-2 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops. Jason Peters of the Prince George Citizen has the story right here.
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Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News has a good read on the Sabres defenceman who is becoming known as The Big Easy. That piece is right here. Yes, it’s Tyler Myers.
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LW Johnny Lazo of the Tri-City Americans has three hat tricks in his WHL career, which is into its third season. After his first one, he played 82 games before notching No. 2 in a 7-0 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops on Friday night. Then, on Saturday night, he did it again, scoring three times in a 5-1 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna. . . . The Americans are 10-1 against B.C. Division teams. . . . Lazo will go for three in a row on Wednesday against the visiting Prince George Cougars, who meet the Chiefs in Spokane on Tuesday.
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A scoring change has added an assist to the totals of Calgary Hitmen F Brandon Kozun. Originally credited with two goals and two assists, the online scoresheet now shows Kozun with two goals and three assists, a single-game career high for him. That increases his WHL-leading points total to 61, eight more than Regina Pats F Jordan Eberle. . . . The Hitmen are off until Friday when they meet the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook.
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The Globe and Mail has a story right here on happenings at a minor hockey tournament. Happenings? Some people saw the inside of a jail cell.
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And after reading this piece in the Toronto Star, you’ll be wondering if it’s open season on referees and linesmen in that part of our world.
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And now to prepare you for the week ahead, here’s a little something from Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle.
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SUNDAY:
In Chilliwack, G Braden Gamble stopped 25 shots in his first WHL start as the Bruins blanked the Vancouver Giants, 4-0. . . . G Lucas Gore, the Bruins’ starter, wasn’t dressed due to a shoulder injury. . . . Gamble joined the Bruins last week from the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons after G Mark Friesen was dealt to the Swift Current Broncos. . . . C Kevin Sundher’s goal, at 4:44 of the second period, stood up as the winner. . . . The Bruins (13-15-1-4) had lost their last two games and four of their last five. . . . The Giants (19-11-1-2) are 3-2-0-0 versus the Bruins this season and 28-3-1-1 against the Bruins since they entered the league. . . . The Bruins were 3-for-14 on the PP, scoring each of their last three goals with the man advantage. . . . The Giants were 0-for-6 on the PP. . . . Chilliwack F Ryan Howse scored his 25th goal of the season, but was stymied on a first-period penalty shot. . . . G Mark Segal stopped 33 shots for Vancouver. . . . Attendance was 3,194. . . . This was the third time this season the Giants have been blanked. . . . The teams staged one of those multiple-fight situations at 19:40 of the third period. . . . Vancouver still is without F Milan Kytnar (shoulder). . . . D Brandon Manning (groin) returned to the Bruins’ lineup after missing two games. . . . With Gore out, the Bruins brought in Cole Holowenko from the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials to back up Gamble.
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In Portland, C Mitch Wahl had two goals in regulation time and another in the shootout as the Spokane Chiefs got past the Winterhawks, 5-4. . . . The Chiefs (18-8-2-0), who have won four straight, also got a shootout goal from F Kyle Beach, who had two assists in regulation. . . . F Chris Francis scored three times for Portland (19-12-0-1), giving him 15, and added another in the shootout. . . . It was Francis’s second three-goal game of the season. He also had three in a 4-3 shootout victory over the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds on Nov. 7. . . . F Brad Ross also got his 15th goal for the Winterhawks. . . . Francis and Ross scored 39 seconds apart midway in the third to give the hosts a 4-3 lead. . . . Spokane forced OT when F Mitch Holmberg scored his second goal of the season at 15:11. . . . Attendance in the Rose Garden was 3,660. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie set up three goals. . . . Their first loser point of the season allowed the Winterhawks, who had won three in row, to remain third in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Chiefs. . . . Portland F Nino Niederreiter had one assist. He has nine points over his last four games.
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In Regina, F Jordan Eberle had two goals and two assists as the Pats dumped the Prince Albert Raiders, 4-1. . . . Eberle leads the WHL — and all of the CHL, for that matter — in goals, with 28. He is second in the WHL in points, with 57. . . . F Jordan Weal also scored twice for Regina (16-14-3-0), which had lost two in a row. Weal has 16 goals. . . . Regina was 3-for-5 on the PP; the Raiders were 0-for-4. . . . Attendance was 3,828. . . . The Raiders (17-14-1-2) had won five of six. . . . This was the fifth of six meetings between these teams. They will finish up the season series on March 6 in Regina. The Pats hold a 3-1-1-0 edge. . . . Regina was without D Brandon Davidson, who suffered a sprained MCL in a 6-4 loss to the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday. He could miss a month. . . . The Pats are at home to the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday and then will play nine in a row away from home as the Canadian national junior team sets up shop in Regina and then the World Junior Championship takes over Saskatchewan.