Sunday . . .

The Brandon Sun has unveiled the list of finalists for the prestigious Krug Crawford Memorial Award, which is presented annually by the newspaper to the “western Manitoban who best exemplifies sporting excellence throughout the year.” . . . F Brayden Schenn of the Brandon Wheat Kings is one of the 16 finalists. . . . Schenn actually won the award for 2008, making him the third member of the Wheat Kings to win the award over the previous four years. . . . Schenn is the only hockey player to be nominated for the 2009 award. . . . The winner will be revealed Saturday.
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Veteran WHL linesman Chris de Haan had to turn down his IIHF assignment to work the World Junior Championship following an illness in his family. Apparently, things are fine now, but with what his family had been through he didn’t want to be away for two weeks at Christmas.
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MEMO TO THE WHL: It’s time to explain to your referees exactly what constitutes an instigating penalty. . . . When Player A delivers a clean check on Player B and gets set upon by a teammate of Player B, well, that should be worthy of an instigating call to the teammate. . . . It happened twice in Sunday’s game between the Prince George Cougars and Kamloops Blazers, and it apparently happened once in the game between the Calgary Hitmen and Kootenay Ice. . . . It has been happening with more and more regularity, just as it has in the NHL. . . . So please, Mr. WHL, put a stop to it before it becomes an epidemic.
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SUNDAY:
In Spokane, the Portland Winterhawks scored three third-period goals and beat the Chiefs, 5-4. . . . Spokane took a 4-2 lead into the third period only to have Portland win it on goals from F Ryan Johansen, F Jacob Berglund and F Stefan Schneier, the latter winning it at 16:12 with his seventh of the season. . . . D Corbin Baldwin scored his first career goal for the Chiefs to give them the 4-2 lead. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 36 shots. . . . Portland G Ian Curtis stopped 29 shots. . . . The season series is 3-3 with the road team having won all six games. . . . In fact, Portland went 4-0 in Spokane for the first time in franchise history. . . . The Chiefs (21-11-3-0) lost for the fourth time in five games. . . . The Winter Hawks (23-15-0-1) had lost their pervious two games. . . . Attendance was 7,476. . . . The game ended in a line brawl -- ka-ching! -- involving all players on the ice. . . . The teams meet again Tuesday in Portland.
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In Everett, the Tri-City Americans scored the game’s last five goals and beat the Silvertips, 6-3. . . . Everett F Tyler Maxwell scored three times in the first period giving his mates a 3-1 lead. . . . Maxwell, who scored twice on the PP, has 23 goals this season. . . . The Americans came back with three second-period goals and two in the third. . . . F Neal Prokop scored twice for Tri-City, while F Brooks Macek had a goal and two assists. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley, coming off back-to-back shutouts, stopped 33 shots. He was backed up by Russian Alexander Pechurski, who joined the Ams over the Christmas break. . . . Everett G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 27 shots. . . . The Americans (27-9-0-0) have won five in a row, outscoring the opposition 26-7 in the process. . . . Everett (19-14-2-1) had won three of five. . . . Everett, which went into the game with its PP in an 0-for-22 drought, was 2-for-2 with the man advantage. . . . Attendance was 5,712. . . . The Americans’ Winnipeg contingent -- all 10 of them -- spent Saturday night in an airport in Denver after a flight to Pasco, Wash., was cancelled due to the horrid weather in the upper midwest. More travel problems Sunday meant they didn’t arrive in Vancouver until 1 p.m. They ended up traveling to Everett by fan, but the start time was pushed back an hour to accommodate their late arrival.
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In Kamloops, the Blazers scored three second-period PP goals and went on to
beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-1. . . . F Tyler Shattock, who had gone eight games without a goal, scored twice for the Blazers (15-17-2-3), who were 4-for-9 on the PP. . . . Shattock has 18 goals this season. . . . The Blazers got a goal and two assists from F Jimmy Bubnick. . . . Kamloops G Kurtis Mucha stopped 14 shots, including just one in the third period. . . . Mucha lost his shutout bid when F Greg Fraser beat him on a first-period PP. . . . Attendance was 4,977. . . . The Cougars (7-27-1-1) had F Clarke Breitkreuz, 18, in their lineup. He had two assists in 20 games last season with the Regina Pats and has been with the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. He had 24 points, including eight goals, and 36 penalty minutes in 31 games with Yorkton. . . . This was the third straight game between these teams -- the Blazers won two of them -- and featured five fights. . . . The teams will meet again in Prince George on Jan. 2 and 3.
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In Kelowna, D Kevin Connauton scored twice to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 7-3 victory over the Rockets. . . . Connauton leads WHL defencemen with 17 goals. . . . He also had an assist. . . . The Giants (23-12-1-2) led this one 3-0 after one period. . . . The Rockets (18-19-1-0) cut the deficit to one, with PP goals by D Tyson Barrie and F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan late in the second period. . . . The Giants scored four times in the third period, including F Greg Lamoureux’s first of the season and F Brett Lyon’s second. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 18 shots, while Kelowna’s Adam Brown turned aside six of nine before leaving for Mark Guggenberger at 12:46 of the first period. Guggenberger stopped 24 of 28. . . . Vancouver was 3-for-6 on the PP; Kelowna, which has lost three in a row, was 2-for-5. . . . Attendance was 6,253. . . . The Rockets, already without F Lucas Bloodoff (knee), F Evan Bloodoff (knee) and F Kyle St. Denis (concussion), had three players injured during the game. F Geordie Wudrick (shoulder), F Codey Ito (undisclosed) and D Collin Bowman (knee) all were taken to hospital
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In Cranbrook, B.C., the Kootenay Ice opened up a 3-0 second-period lead and
went on to a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . F Jesse Ismond scored the game’s first goal, his eighth, at 1:14 of the opening period. F Matt Fraser and D Brayden McNabb added second-period goals. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews stopped 34 shots, losing his shutout bid when F Del Cowan scored at 17:45 of the third period. . . . Calgary G Michael Snider stopped 23 shots. . . . Calgary was 0-for-9 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-for-8. . . . The Ice (20-15-1-2) has won four in row. . . . The Hitmen are 26-10-1-1. . . . Attendance was 3,289. . . . G Calvin Zemek, who plays midget AA in Cranbrook, backed up Snider after Chase Komistek didn’t make the trip with the Hitmen.
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In Medicine Hat, F Bretton Cameron scored twice as the Tigers beat the Regina Pats, 5-2. . . . Cameron has 28 goals on the season. . . . F Matt Strueby opened the scoring, getting Regina on the board at 7:12 of the first period. . . . Cameron then scored twice, at 11:36 of the first and 9:47 of the second. . . . The Tigers put it away with goals from D Scott McKay, his second, and F Kevin King, his 12th. . . . Cameron added an assist on F Linden Vey’s empty-netter. . . . Medicine Hat D Jace Coyle had one assist and was plus-4. . . . The Tigers (23-11-2-4) won for the seventh time in eight games. . . . The teams combined for 92 penalty minutes, 59 to Regina, which was hit with three instigating penalties. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . The Pats (16-21-3-0) lost their seventh straight game. . . . Regina’s defence is without Brandon Davidson (knee), Colten Teubert (Team Canada, World Junior Championship), and Myles Bell and Tyler Borstmayer, both of whom are at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . D Cody Carlson, whom the Pats acquired from the Tigers earlier this season, returned from a knee injury suffered Dec. 11 against Medicine Hat. . . . The Pats also have added two affiliates -- D Landon Peel, 15, from the midget AAA Southwest Cougars in Manitoba, and Tyler Pavkovich, 16, from the junior B Abbotsford, B.C., Pilots. Peel was a third-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, while the Pats got Pavkovich in the ninth round in 2008.
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In Red Deer, G Darcy Kuemper stopped 25 shots as the Rebels got past the
Lethbridge Hurricanes, 1-0. . . . F Jordie Deagle’s second goal of the season, at 9:51 of the third period, was all the offence Kuemper would need. . . . It was Kuemper’s first shutout of the season and the fourth of his career. . . . In Red Deer’s last game before the break, G Kraymer Barnstable blanked the Edmonton Oil Kings, 2-0. . . . Lethbridge G Brandon Anderson stopped 28 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,816. . . . The Rebels (19-15-0-2) remain without F Landon Ferraro (knee), who is back skating and may return this week. . . . Lethbridge, which has been blanked three times, slipped to 10-21-3-1. The Hurricanes thought they had scored in the third period but video review ruled the puck entered the goal after the net had been knocked off its moorings. . . . D Adam Henry, 15, was in the Hurricanes’ lineup. He was a third-round selection in the 2009 bantam draft.
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In Kent, Wash., D Brandon Manning scored two PP goals, the second one at 1:23 of OT, as the Chilliwack Bruins beat the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent, 3-2. . . . Manning scored at 15:04 of the first period, then drew an assist on F Travis Belohrad’s second goal of the season at 15:47 of the third period. That goal forced OT. . . . F Kevin Sundher drew two assists for Chilliwack (16-17-1-5). . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore turned aside 18 shots. Seattle’s Calvin Pickard stopped 48. . . . The Bruins were 2-for-7 on the PP; the Thunderbirds (13-19-2-4) were 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 3,801.