Granted, the WHL season is only at or near the quarter-pole, but the Chilliwack Bruins appear well on the way to playing the style of hockey demanded by veteran Marc Habscheid, who is in his first season as their general manager and head coach.
“We’re starting to (gain some consistency),” Habscheid said after his club flattened the Blazers 7-1 in Kamloops on Friday night. “By no means are we getting the parade route ready or anything like that. But we’re getting better and that’s what we talk about all the time. Baby steps . . .trying to get more consistent and doing the little things that matter. I thought we did that tonight.”
The Bruins opened this season by losing five of their first six games and nine of their first 12, although they did get three loser points in the last seven games of that stretch.
“Confidence is a key thing and when you’re 1-5 it’s tough with the confidence part.” Habscheid said. “But the guys hung in there. We just wanted to remain true and remain consistent and improve every day and the guys have done that.
“We’ve still got a long ways to go but we’re getting there.”
The Bruins went into Friday’s game on a high, having beaten red-hot Tri-City 5-2 on Wednesday night, ending the Americans’ nine-game winning streak in the process.
“We’ve been competitive over the last little while and we were really looking to put a couple of games together,” defenceman Mitch McColm, the Bruins‘ captain, said after the victory in Kamloops lifted the Bruins' record to 6-6-1-3. “We played well . . . we played really well tonight.”
That they did. And it was because they looked after the little things. They got pucks deep and caused a lot of problems behind the Kamloops goal line. They got pucks to the net and created a lot of traffic in that area. They won a lot of faceoffs and the wingers did an excellent job of creating interference in the process, allowing teammates to get to loose pucks.
“Marc has done a great job of giving us structure,” said McColm, who shook off a huge hit from Kamloops winger Tyler Shattock and ended up as the game’s first star. “We just have to play within that and work and compete. We aren’t the most skilled team; we’re not the most gifted. It’s about working and competing.”
McColm, who went to the bench after the hit, admitted after the game that he had a sore chest but shrugged it off, saying the victory was “awesome” and helped it feel better.
Of beating the Blazers, McColm, who opened the scoring with his first goal this season, said: “They’re a good team. They put you on your heels and that’s when you have to go back to your structure; there’s safety in that structure.”
He also said it’s important that players “work, don’t panic” when things don’t go right.
“Some guys haven’t always had winning records, but I think it comes with time and experience and playing in different situations,” he said. “You don’t panic. You don’t let things escalate or snowball when something doesn’t go right. You take a deep breath and go to the next shift.”
McColm said a big part of the Bruins’ early season has involved learning and exercising patience.
“It’s a process,” he explained. “You just can’t get beaten down by that process. You can’t get worn down. It’s a long season. There are going to be highs. there are going to be lows. You just have to keep an even keel.
“You can’t get frustrated. You just have to work hard and demand a lot of yourself and your teammates.”
Three of those teammates are centre Kevin Sundher and wingers Dylen McKinlay and Jamie Crooks, who would seem to have found some chemistry as linemates.
Sundher, from Surrey, B.C., had a goal and an assist Friday night and now has 18 points in 16 games, after a freshman season in which he totalled 39 points in 67 games. While he was minus-22 last season, he is plus-4 in the early going this season.
McKinlay, who is from Langley, B.C., had 10 points, including three goals, in 55 games last season. This time around, he already has 11 points, nine of them goals, and is plus-4 in 16 games.
Crooks, who is from Vermilion, Alta., spent last season putting up big numbers -- 71 points in 33 games -- with the midget AAA Lloydminster Bobcats. He was pointless in six games with the Saskatoon Blades when Habscheid acquired him in exchange for enforcer Randy McNaught, 19. With the Bruins, Crooks has seven points, and he’s plus-5, in 10 games.
“They’ve had that (chemistry),” Habscheid said of the trio. “They’re all the same age (17). They seem to get along off the ice.
“On the ice, they’re three really different players. McKinlay is kind of a small area, along-the-boards type of player. Around the net, Sundher is dynamic. He’s great in open ice. Crooks is kind of a nifty type of player. He‘s crafty.”
In fact, Habscheid said Crooks reminds him of Brian Varga, who played for the Regina Pats and Medicine Hat Tigers (1978-82). All Varga did was win the 1980-81 WHL scoring title with 160 points in 68 games for the Pats.
“He reminds me of Brian Varga . . . same style,” Habscheid said.
The Bruins and their fans can only hope that Crooks can play with the same consistency as Varga, who finished his WHL career with 426 points in 272 games.
The Bruins, by the way, are scheduled for an afternoon game today (Halloween Saturday) against the visiting Calgary Hitmen.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT: F Marc Brown (Spokane, Prince Albert, 1996-99) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Alleghe (Italy Serie A). He had five goals and two assists in 13 games with Graz (Austria Erste Bank Liga) and one assist in two games with Langenthal (Swiss NL B) last season.
———
A book involving the history of the Regina Pats was launched Thursday in the Queen City. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has that story right here.
———
This press release, issued Friday, pretty much says it all:
“The Swift Current Broncos have parted ways with 17 year old forward Dane Muench.
“The decision is a mutual one between the organization and Muench, citing personal reasons. At this point it is undetermined where or if Muench will continue to play hockey.”
Actually, it doesn’t say a whole lot, does it?
———
The Central league’s Texas Brahmas have signed F James Hiebert (Swift Current, 1998-2003), who played the last six seasons with the Laredo Bucks.
———
FRIDAY:
In Prince Albert, the Raiders got out to a 4-0 lead as they beat the Regina Pats, 4-1. . . . F Igor Revenko scored his 11th goal of the season for the Raiders, who led 1-0 and 2-0 at the breaks and then got the first two goals of the third period. . . . It was Regina’s third game in Prince Albert already this season. The Pats won’t visit that city again this season. . . . Prince Albert G Garrett Zemlak stopped 41 shots. He lost his shutout bid late in the third period, ending his shutout streak at 135:20. . . . Attendance was 2,055. . . . The Raiders (9-8-0-0) have won four in a row overall and six in a row at home. . . . Raiders F Mark McNeill, the fifth overall pick in the 2008 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal. . . . The Pats (6-9-2-0) are fifth and last in the East Division. . . . Among Regina’s scratches were F Graham Hood and D Myles Bell, both of whom have the flu.
———
In Kelowna, F Kyle Beach returned home and picked up two points to lead the Spokane Chiefs to a 4-3 victory over the Rockets. . . . Beach, who is from Kelowna, had two goals and an assist. . . . C Tyler Johnson had Spokane’s other two goals. . . . The Chiefs are 6-5-1-0. . . . D Tyson Barrie scored both goals for Kelowna (8-7-1-0), which was coming off a 4-1 victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Wednesday. . . . G Michael Tadjdeh stopped 31 shots for the Chiefs. . . . Attendance was 6,123.
———
In Kamloops, the Chilliwack Bruins got goals from seven players as they dismantled the Blazers, 7-1. . . . Kamloops (8-8-2-0) was playing its first game under interim head coach Scott Ferguson, the assistant who replaced the fired Barry Smith on Monday. . . . The Blazers have lost six in a row. . . . The Bruins (6-6-1-3) lost starting G Lucas Gore to an apparent left arm injury midway through the second period. GM/head coach Marc Habscheid seemed to think Gore would be fine. . . . Attendance was 4,261.
———
In Prince George, G Hudson Stremmel stopped 34 shots in his first WHL appearance but it wasn’t enough as his Cougars fell 3-2 to the Tri-City Americans. . . . F Jordan Messier scored the winner on the PP with 15.5 seconds left in the third period. . . . The Cougars (3-11-0-0) had tied the game at 7:49 of the third on a PP goal by D Dallas Jackson. . . . But it was Jackson who was off for high-sticking when Messier scored his seventh goal of the season. . . . Attendance was 1,946. . . . The Americans (12-3-0-0) have won seven straight games over the Cougars. . . . Stremmel, an 18-year-old from Reno, Nevada, left Colorado College last weekend and joined the Cougars earlier this week. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley stopped 25 shots. He has played all of the Americans’ games this season.
———
In Cranbrook, F Dustin Sylvester’s PP goal at 17:47 of the third period broke a 1-1 tie as the Kootenay Ice edged the Brandon Wheat Kings, 2-1. . . . The Wheat Kings (9-7-0-2) are 3-2-0-1 on a seven-game swing that wraps up Saturday in Lethbridge. . . . The Ice got its other goal from the Ice (6-11-0-0). Kootenay now has beaten Brandon twice this season. . . . Kootenay G Todd Mathews stopped 29 shots, including shorthanded breakaways by F Jay Fehr and F Matt Calvert. . . . Brandon GM/head coach Kelly McCrimmon told the Brandon Sun’s Rob Henderson that a whistle should have preceded what turned into the winning goal. “On the entry into the zone the puck went up in the air and a Kootenay player high-sticked the puck and it wasn’t called,” McCrimmon said. . . . Attendance was 2,400.
———
In Red Deer, F Josh Cowen scored two goals 18 seconds apart just past the midway point of the first period to get the Rebels started to a 4-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . F Willie Coetzee had a goal, his ninth, and two assists for Red Deer (8-8-0-0), which welcomed back F Landon Ferraro, who had one assist. He had missed 10 games with a knee injury. . . . One week earlier, the Tigers, playing at home, beat the Rebels, 9-2. . . . Cowen, playing on a line with Coetzee and freshman Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, has five goals this season. . . . Coetzee is riding an 11-game point streak and his 29 points this season have him just a point back of WHL scoring leader Brandon Kozun of the Calgary Hitmen. . . . With the Red Wings in Calgary on Saturday, Detroit executives Steve Yzerman and Ken Holland were in Red Deer as the NHL team holds the rights to Ferraro and Coetzee. . . . The Tigers (8-6-2-2) held a 17-2 edge in shots in the third period but could only beat G Darcy Kuemper once. He finished with 44 saves. . . . Attendance was 4,413.
———
In Moose Jaw, the Warriors erased a 3-2 deficit with five straight goals and beat the Swift Current Broncos, 7-3. . . . The Warriors (11-5-0-0) got a goal and two assists from each of F Quinton Howden and D Ryan Stanton, and two goals from F Brendan Rowinski, who has 10 scores this season. . . . F Cody Eakin, who has a WHL-high 17 goals, scored twice for the Broncos (9-7-0-2), who are 0-6-0-1 on the road. . . . Swift Current G Morgan Clark sat out this one with the flu. He was on the bench but couldn’t play, so G Alexandre Simard went the distance. . . . The Warriors were without F Cody Smuk, F Riley Reinbolt and D Dylan McIlrath with the flu. . . . After the game, Moose Jaw head coach Dave Hunchak and six Moose Jaw players had their heads shaved at centre ice. It all was part of a cancer fund-raiser that raised more than $9,000. . . . Attendance was 2,361.
———
In Lethbridge, the Seattle Thunderbirds won for the first time on the road this season, beating the Hurricanes, 4-3. . . . The Thunderbirds, 4-10-0-2 overall, now are 1-6-0-1 away from home. . . . Seattle got its first goal, from F Jonathan Parker, just 20 seconds into the first period. The Hurricanes (5-10-2-0) lost G Linden Rowat with an injury to his right leg on the play and left the game. . . . Rowat is expected to be off the leg over the weekend and will be re-assessed early next week. . . . Brandon Anderson finished up for Lethbridge. He made 21 saves. . . . Seattle G Kyle Jarhaus, making his first start this season, stopped 35 shots. . . . Seattle, which got a goal and two assists from F Brendan Rouse, took a 4-1 lead into the third period. . . . Lethbridge F Mitch Maxwell scored once and added an assist in the third period as the Hurricanes got to within one. . . . Attendance was 3,244. . . . According to the Thunderbirds, they scratched six players with the flu and had several players experience flu-like symptoms during the game.
———
In Saskatoon, the Blades got goals from five players as they beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . On Tuesday, the Blades had goals from seven different players in a 7-2 victory over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Blades captain Derek Hulak figured in the game’s first three goals, scoring once and setting up two others, as the home side took a 3-0 lead into the third period. . . . Edmonton (7-9-0-2) got to within one in the third period before Saskatoon put it away with two late goals. . . . F Walker Wintoneak also had a goal and two helpers for Saskatoon. . . . Attendance was 4,414. . . . Saskatoon (11-3-0-2) has won five in a row at home. . . . Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that the Blades line of Hulak, Wintoneak and Gaelan Patterson has been together for 10 games and has 54 points over t hat stretch.
———
In Vancouver, G Martin Jones stopped 33 shots as the Calgary Hitmen blanked the Giants, 2-0. . . . The shutout was the first of the season for Jones and the ninth of his career. . . . Calgary (13-4-0-0) leads the Eastern Conference by two points over Saskatoon. . . . The Giants (10-4-1-2) are the second seed in the Western Conference, a point behind the Tri-City Americans. However, the Portland Winterhawks (12-5-0-0), who were idle Friday, are tied with the Americans, with 24 points. Tri-City, however, has a better winning percentage (.800) than the Winterhawks (.706). . . . Calgary got goals from F Brandon Kozun, shorthanded, at 11:39 of the first period and F Ian Schultz, an empty-netter at 19:25 of the third. . . . Vancouver G Jamie Tucker made 20 saves. . . . Attendance was 7,634.
———
A book involving the history of the Regina Pats was launched Thursday in the Queen City. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has that story right here.
———
This press release, issued Friday, pretty much says it all:
“The Swift Current Broncos have parted ways with 17 year old forward Dane Muench.
“The decision is a mutual one between the organization and Muench, citing personal reasons. At this point it is undetermined where or if Muench will continue to play hockey.”
Actually, it doesn’t say a whole lot, does it?
———
The Central league’s Texas Brahmas have signed F James Hiebert (Swift Current, 1998-2003), who played the last six seasons with the Laredo Bucks.
———
FRIDAY:
In Prince Albert, the Raiders got out to a 4-0 lead as they beat the Regina Pats, 4-1. . . . F Igor Revenko scored his 11th goal of the season for the Raiders, who led 1-0 and 2-0 at the breaks and then got the first two goals of the third period. . . . It was Regina’s third game in Prince Albert already this season. The Pats won’t visit that city again this season. . . . Prince Albert G Garrett Zemlak stopped 41 shots. He lost his shutout bid late in the third period, ending his shutout streak at 135:20. . . . Attendance was 2,055. . . . The Raiders (9-8-0-0) have won four in a row overall and six in a row at home. . . . Raiders F Mark McNeill, the fifth overall pick in the 2008 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal. . . . The Pats (6-9-2-0) are fifth and last in the East Division. . . . Among Regina’s scratches were F Graham Hood and D Myles Bell, both of whom have the flu.
———
In Kelowna, F Kyle Beach returned home and picked up two points to lead the Spokane Chiefs to a 4-3 victory over the Rockets. . . . Beach, who is from Kelowna, had two goals and an assist. . . . C Tyler Johnson had Spokane’s other two goals. . . . The Chiefs are 6-5-1-0. . . . D Tyson Barrie scored both goals for Kelowna (8-7-1-0), which was coming off a 4-1 victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Wednesday. . . . G Michael Tadjdeh stopped 31 shots for the Chiefs. . . . Attendance was 6,123.
———
In Kamloops, the Chilliwack Bruins got goals from seven players as they dismantled the Blazers, 7-1. . . . Kamloops (8-8-2-0) was playing its first game under interim head coach Scott Ferguson, the assistant who replaced the fired Barry Smith on Monday. . . . The Blazers have lost six in a row. . . . The Bruins (6-6-1-3) lost starting G Lucas Gore to an apparent left arm injury midway through the second period. GM/head coach Marc Habscheid seemed to think Gore would be fine. . . . Attendance was 4,261.
———
In Prince George, G Hudson Stremmel stopped 34 shots in his first WHL appearance but it wasn’t enough as his Cougars fell 3-2 to the Tri-City Americans. . . . F Jordan Messier scored the winner on the PP with 15.5 seconds left in the third period. . . . The Cougars (3-11-0-0) had tied the game at 7:49 of the third on a PP goal by D Dallas Jackson. . . . But it was Jackson who was off for high-sticking when Messier scored his seventh goal of the season. . . . Attendance was 1,946. . . . The Americans (12-3-0-0) have won seven straight games over the Cougars. . . . Stremmel, an 18-year-old from Reno, Nevada, left Colorado College last weekend and joined the Cougars earlier this week. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley stopped 25 shots. He has played all of the Americans’ games this season.
———
In Cranbrook, F Dustin Sylvester’s PP goal at 17:47 of the third period broke a 1-1 tie as the Kootenay Ice edged the Brandon Wheat Kings, 2-1. . . . The Wheat Kings (9-7-0-2) are 3-2-0-1 on a seven-game swing that wraps up Saturday in Lethbridge. . . . The Ice got its other goal from the Ice (6-11-0-0). Kootenay now has beaten Brandon twice this season. . . . Kootenay G Todd Mathews stopped 29 shots, including shorthanded breakaways by F Jay Fehr and F Matt Calvert. . . . Brandon GM/head coach Kelly McCrimmon told the Brandon Sun’s Rob Henderson that a whistle should have preceded what turned into the winning goal. “On the entry into the zone the puck went up in the air and a Kootenay player high-sticked the puck and it wasn’t called,” McCrimmon said. . . . Attendance was 2,400.
———
In Red Deer, F Josh Cowen scored two goals 18 seconds apart just past the midway point of the first period to get the Rebels started to a 4-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . F Willie Coetzee had a goal, his ninth, and two assists for Red Deer (8-8-0-0), which welcomed back F Landon Ferraro, who had one assist. He had missed 10 games with a knee injury. . . . One week earlier, the Tigers, playing at home, beat the Rebels, 9-2. . . . Cowen, playing on a line with Coetzee and freshman Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, has five goals this season. . . . Coetzee is riding an 11-game point streak and his 29 points this season have him just a point back of WHL scoring leader Brandon Kozun of the Calgary Hitmen. . . . With the Red Wings in Calgary on Saturday, Detroit executives Steve Yzerman and Ken Holland were in Red Deer as the NHL team holds the rights to Ferraro and Coetzee. . . . The Tigers (8-6-2-2) held a 17-2 edge in shots in the third period but could only beat G Darcy Kuemper once. He finished with 44 saves. . . . Attendance was 4,413.
———
In Moose Jaw, the Warriors erased a 3-2 deficit with five straight goals and beat the Swift Current Broncos, 7-3. . . . The Warriors (11-5-0-0) got a goal and two assists from each of F Quinton Howden and D Ryan Stanton, and two goals from F Brendan Rowinski, who has 10 scores this season. . . . F Cody Eakin, who has a WHL-high 17 goals, scored twice for the Broncos (9-7-0-2), who are 0-6-0-1 on the road. . . . Swift Current G Morgan Clark sat out this one with the flu. He was on the bench but couldn’t play, so G Alexandre Simard went the distance. . . . The Warriors were without F Cody Smuk, F Riley Reinbolt and D Dylan McIlrath with the flu. . . . After the game, Moose Jaw head coach Dave Hunchak and six Moose Jaw players had their heads shaved at centre ice. It all was part of a cancer fund-raiser that raised more than $9,000. . . . Attendance was 2,361.
———
In Lethbridge, the Seattle Thunderbirds won for the first time on the road this season, beating the Hurricanes, 4-3. . . . The Thunderbirds, 4-10-0-2 overall, now are 1-6-0-1 away from home. . . . Seattle got its first goal, from F Jonathan Parker, just 20 seconds into the first period. The Hurricanes (5-10-2-0) lost G Linden Rowat with an injury to his right leg on the play and left the game. . . . Rowat is expected to be off the leg over the weekend and will be re-assessed early next week. . . . Brandon Anderson finished up for Lethbridge. He made 21 saves. . . . Seattle G Kyle Jarhaus, making his first start this season, stopped 35 shots. . . . Seattle, which got a goal and two assists from F Brendan Rouse, took a 4-1 lead into the third period. . . . Lethbridge F Mitch Maxwell scored once and added an assist in the third period as the Hurricanes got to within one. . . . Attendance was 3,244. . . . According to the Thunderbirds, they scratched six players with the flu and had several players experience flu-like symptoms during the game.
———
In Saskatoon, the Blades got goals from five players as they beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . On Tuesday, the Blades had goals from seven different players in a 7-2 victory over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Blades captain Derek Hulak figured in the game’s first three goals, scoring once and setting up two others, as the home side took a 3-0 lead into the third period. . . . Edmonton (7-9-0-2) got to within one in the third period before Saskatoon put it away with two late goals. . . . F Walker Wintoneak also had a goal and two helpers for Saskatoon. . . . Attendance was 4,414. . . . Saskatoon (11-3-0-2) has won five in a row at home. . . . Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that the Blades line of Hulak, Wintoneak and Gaelan Patterson has been together for 10 games and has 54 points over t hat stretch.
———
In Vancouver, G Martin Jones stopped 33 shots as the Calgary Hitmen blanked the Giants, 2-0. . . . The shutout was the first of the season for Jones and the ninth of his career. . . . Calgary (13-4-0-0) leads the Eastern Conference by two points over Saskatoon. . . . The Giants (10-4-1-2) are the second seed in the Western Conference, a point behind the Tri-City Americans. However, the Portland Winterhawks (12-5-0-0), who were idle Friday, are tied with the Americans, with 24 points. Tri-City, however, has a better winning percentage (.800) than the Winterhawks (.706). . . . Calgary got goals from F Brandon Kozun, shorthanded, at 11:39 of the first period and F Ian Schultz, an empty-netter at 19:25 of the third. . . . Vancouver G Jamie Tucker made 20 saves. . . . Attendance was 7,634.
Night of poor decisions for Blazers
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Just past the midpoint of the second period of Friday’s WHL game at Interior Savings Centre, Chilliwack defenceman Tyler Stahl, his Bruins leading 4-1, checked Kamloops Blazers centre Dylan Willick.
It was a clean hit near the Bruins’ bench, but drew the ire of Kamloops forward Brendan Ranford, who ran at Stahl and instigated a scrap. While Stahl received a fighting major, Ranford, with his team already short-staffed, earned 17 minutes.
Just 20 seconds later, the Bruins notched their second-power play goal of the game and they were well on their way to a 7-1 victory in front of 4,261 fans, some of whom were dressed up, on this Halloween eve, as empty seats.
The Blazers (8-8-2-0) had been 3-0-0-0 versus the Bruins (6-6-1-3). However, this visit turned out not to be the remedy for what now is a six-game losing streak. And the road ahead isn’t any easier as the Tri-City Americans, with the WHL’s best winning percentage (12-3-0-0, .800), come calling Tuesday.
While Ranford’s decision was the poorest made by a Kamloops player on this night, Scott Ferguson, the club’s interim head coach, wasn’t about to criticize one of his players, at least not publicly.
“He was trying to spark the guys and get in there on that fight,” said Ferguson, who replaced the fired Barry Smith on Monday. “Right or wrong, I like to see guys sticking up for each other.”
The difference, Ferguson continued, was that his club wasn’t doing the little things.
“We weren’t coming back to the front of the net and protecting it with all five guys,” he said. “We weren’t chipping pucks out at our blue line. We weren’t getting it deep at their (blue line). Guys just got away from a simple . . . game plan.”
Ferguson and assistant coach Geoff Smith had hoped to implement a strong forechecking game. But that never really happened.
“We weren’t getting pucks deep so we weren’t getting in on the forecheck to create those loose pucks,” he said. “When we did it, I thought we were pretty good at it. But for right now the group is a fragile crew. We have to pull them together and get them pushing in the right direction.”
It also didn’t help that the Blazers fell behind early, with Bruins defenceman Mitch McColm scoring 3:54 into the game, and trailed 3-0 after the first period.
When the second period began, Ferguson replaced starter Jon Groenheyde, who stopped 13 shots, with Justin Leclerc.
“It wasn’t a knock on Jonny. He wasn’t getting a whole lot of help,” Ferguson said. “They scored all three goals from right in front of the net. You have to get five guys in front to help him out.”
At the same time, credit has to be given to Chilliwack, a team that opened this season with nine losses — including two in shootouts and one in overtime — in its first 12 games. Under Marc Habscheid, the veteran who is in his first season there as general manager and head coach, the Bruins exercised patience, made some roster moves and now have 16 points in as many games. They are just one point behind the fifth-place Kelowna Rockets and two back of the Blazers in the Western Conference.
“That was awesome,” said McColm, whose squad beat the visiting Americans 5-2 on Wednesday. “We played well . . . we played really well. And it was nice to score early and get the ball rolling.”
McColm was quick to credit Habscheid.
“Marc has done a great job of giving us structure and we just have to play within that and work and compete,” McColm said. “We’re not the most skilled team, we’re not the most gifted, so it’s about working and competing.”
Roman Horak, David Robinson, Kevin Sundher, Ryan Howse, Tim Traber and Dylen McKinlay also scored for the Bruins. For Traber, a Quesnel kid, it was his first WHL goal.
Kamloops got its goal from Slovakian freshman Matej Bene. That, too, was his first WHL score. But not even that could give the Blazers much of a lift.
While it’s true that the Blazers were without two of their top forwards in C.J. Stretch, who is serving a WHL suspension, and Shayne Wiebe (collarbone) that alone shouldn’t account for a six-goal deficit.
“They were hanging their heads every time something didn’t go right,” Ferguson said. “We have to get away from that. Obviously, we have a lot more work to do.
“We were hoping it would get turned around right away, but realistically we know there’s still a ways to go yet.”
JUST NOTES: Chilliwack G Lucas Gore, who is from Kamloops, left at 9:53 of the second period with an apparent injury to his left arm. Habscheid didn’t seem to think it was serious. . . . Mark Friesen replaced Gore and stopped all 17 shots he faced. . . . Kamloops RW Tyler Shattock had an 11-game point streak end. He had 13 points over that span. . . . D Max Mowat, a 16-year-old from Coldstream, made his WHL debut with the Blazers. Mowat, a list player, had nine points in eight games with the Okanagan Rockets.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
Just past the midpoint of the second period of Friday’s WHL game at Interior Savings Centre, Chilliwack defenceman Tyler Stahl, his Bruins leading 4-1, checked Kamloops Blazers centre Dylan Willick.
It was a clean hit near the Bruins’ bench, but drew the ire of Kamloops forward Brendan Ranford, who ran at Stahl and instigated a scrap. While Stahl received a fighting major, Ranford, with his team already short-staffed, earned 17 minutes.
Just 20 seconds later, the Bruins notched their second-power play goal of the game and they were well on their way to a 7-1 victory in front of 4,261 fans, some of whom were dressed up, on this Halloween eve, as empty seats.
The Blazers (8-8-2-0) had been 3-0-0-0 versus the Bruins (6-6-1-3). However, this visit turned out not to be the remedy for what now is a six-game losing streak. And the road ahead isn’t any easier as the Tri-City Americans, with the WHL’s best winning percentage (12-3-0-0, .800), come calling Tuesday.
While Ranford’s decision was the poorest made by a Kamloops player on this night, Scott Ferguson, the club’s interim head coach, wasn’t about to criticize one of his players, at least not publicly.
“He was trying to spark the guys and get in there on that fight,” said Ferguson, who replaced the fired Barry Smith on Monday. “Right or wrong, I like to see guys sticking up for each other.”
The difference, Ferguson continued, was that his club wasn’t doing the little things.
“We weren’t coming back to the front of the net and protecting it with all five guys,” he said. “We weren’t chipping pucks out at our blue line. We weren’t getting it deep at their (blue line). Guys just got away from a simple . . . game plan.”
Ferguson and assistant coach Geoff Smith had hoped to implement a strong forechecking game. But that never really happened.
“We weren’t getting pucks deep so we weren’t getting in on the forecheck to create those loose pucks,” he said. “When we did it, I thought we were pretty good at it. But for right now the group is a fragile crew. We have to pull them together and get them pushing in the right direction.”
It also didn’t help that the Blazers fell behind early, with Bruins defenceman Mitch McColm scoring 3:54 into the game, and trailed 3-0 after the first period.
When the second period began, Ferguson replaced starter Jon Groenheyde, who stopped 13 shots, with Justin Leclerc.
“It wasn’t a knock on Jonny. He wasn’t getting a whole lot of help,” Ferguson said. “They scored all three goals from right in front of the net. You have to get five guys in front to help him out.”
At the same time, credit has to be given to Chilliwack, a team that opened this season with nine losses — including two in shootouts and one in overtime — in its first 12 games. Under Marc Habscheid, the veteran who is in his first season there as general manager and head coach, the Bruins exercised patience, made some roster moves and now have 16 points in as many games. They are just one point behind the fifth-place Kelowna Rockets and two back of the Blazers in the Western Conference.
“That was awesome,” said McColm, whose squad beat the visiting Americans 5-2 on Wednesday. “We played well . . . we played really well. And it was nice to score early and get the ball rolling.”
McColm was quick to credit Habscheid.
“Marc has done a great job of giving us structure and we just have to play within that and work and compete,” McColm said. “We’re not the most skilled team, we’re not the most gifted, so it’s about working and competing.”
Roman Horak, David Robinson, Kevin Sundher, Ryan Howse, Tim Traber and Dylen McKinlay also scored for the Bruins. For Traber, a Quesnel kid, it was his first WHL goal.
Kamloops got its goal from Slovakian freshman Matej Bene. That, too, was his first WHL score. But not even that could give the Blazers much of a lift.
While it’s true that the Blazers were without two of their top forwards in C.J. Stretch, who is serving a WHL suspension, and Shayne Wiebe (collarbone) that alone shouldn’t account for a six-goal deficit.
“They were hanging their heads every time something didn’t go right,” Ferguson said. “We have to get away from that. Obviously, we have a lot more work to do.
“We were hoping it would get turned around right away, but realistically we know there’s still a ways to go yet.”
JUST NOTES: Chilliwack G Lucas Gore, who is from Kamloops, left at 9:53 of the second period with an apparent injury to his left arm. Habscheid didn’t seem to think it was serious. . . . Mark Friesen replaced Gore and stopped all 17 shots he faced. . . . Kamloops RW Tyler Shattock had an 11-game point streak end. He had 13 points over that span. . . . D Max Mowat, a 16-year-old from Coldstream, made his WHL debut with the Blazers. Mowat, a list player, had nine points in eight games with the Okanagan Rockets.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Friday, October 30, 2009
Ferguson era about to begin
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Scott Ferguson era, as brief or as long as it may turn out to be, begins tonight.
Ferguson, who was named the interim head coach of the Kamloops Blazers when head coach Barry Smith was fired Monday, will run the WHL team’s bench for the first time tonight as it meets the Chilliwack Bruins at Interior Savings Centre. Game time is 7 o’clock.
“My first game last season as an assistant coach I was nervous and I’m sure it’s going to be the same (tonight),” Ferguson said. “It’s exciting. But I’ve been in pressure situations before in my life and this will be no different. There will be a few nerves. But when you have a week to prepare like we did, I think that helps . . . it’s more of a nervous excitement.”
The Blazers are 8-7-2-0 and fourth in the Western Conference, but are coming off an East Division swing on which they went 1-5, losing the last five games. According to general manager Craig Bonner, who witnessed all six games, it wasn’t so much that they lost but how they lost that cost Smith his job.
In the five losses, the Blazers were outshot, in order, 43-15, 37-14, 40-25, 57-24 and 49-25. They were outscored 24-9.
Bonner didn’t see that trend ending any time soon and also was concerned by what he saw as a lack of emotion by the players.
Those are things that Ferguson and assistant coach Geoff Smith began working to correct Tuesday.
Ferguson said that first thing he and assistant coach Geoff Smith had to do was establish “a love of the game again.”
Ferguson feels that has been accomplished, pointing out that “guys are coming in and they’re hooting and hollering, they’re talking, they’re excited. Before, there was no spark. They weren’t enjoying coming to the rink.”
Ferguson also feels that he and Smith worked the players hard this week in preparation for what will be the first game in a six-game homestand.
“They’ve practised hard the last three days,” said Ferguson, adding that the coaches took the players “back to the basic systems stuff, hard on the forecheck, stop, hard to the defensive zone, stop.
“They were working hard but they had smiles on their faces and a sparkle in their eyes.”
Smith was a proponent of playing man-to-man defence and, judging from the new regime’s first few practices, those days are over. The Blazers also are expected to exhibit more of a forechecking game than they have in recent games and also are expected to pursue the puck following turnovers with a lot more passion than they have of late and to work at providing better puck support.
“I think you’ll see a bit more of a hard-working group, a blue-collar group,” captain Tyler Shattock said. “We’ll go out there and do what we have to do to win games. No more 50 shots against . . . we’ll clean that up.”
Ferguson said he is hopeful that fans tonight will notice a difference.
“Hopefully, they see right away that our systems are in place and we’ve got guys getting to their spots early and quickly . . . that they’ve got a team that is excited,” he said.
Fans also will notice another change, as the players now will be allowed to skate past their bench and exchange high fives after goals, something that had been prohibited.
“When we score a goal we’re flying by the bench,” Ferguson said. “We’re going to try and generate that excitement that we’re happy to score a goal. We want them to be excited to score goals; we want the fans to get excited that we’ve scored.
“Hopefully the fans are going to see a team that is rejuvenated and energized and ready to play old style Blazers hockey.”
JUST NOTES: The last time the Blazers changed coaches in midstream was two years ago when Greg Hawgood replaced Dean Clark. The Blazers opened 7-1 under Hawgood before finishing up 14-31-1-1. . . . Bonner won’t be at tonight’s game as he is in Blackfalds, Alta., scouting the inaugural Western Canada U-16 Challenge Cup, a four-team tournament featuring the west’s top prospects that opened Thursday and runs through Sunday. . . . The Blazers have three prospects — their top three picks in the 2009 bantam draft — in the tournament. D Brady Gaudet of Carlyle and F Logan McVeigh of Kenaston are playing for Team Saskatchewan, while G Troy Trombley of Sherwood Park is with Team Alberta.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
The Scott Ferguson era, as brief or as long as it may turn out to be, begins tonight.
Ferguson, who was named the interim head coach of the Kamloops Blazers when head coach Barry Smith was fired Monday, will run the WHL team’s bench for the first time tonight as it meets the Chilliwack Bruins at Interior Savings Centre. Game time is 7 o’clock.
“My first game last season as an assistant coach I was nervous and I’m sure it’s going to be the same (tonight),” Ferguson said. “It’s exciting. But I’ve been in pressure situations before in my life and this will be no different. There will be a few nerves. But when you have a week to prepare like we did, I think that helps . . . it’s more of a nervous excitement.”
The Blazers are 8-7-2-0 and fourth in the Western Conference, but are coming off an East Division swing on which they went 1-5, losing the last five games. According to general manager Craig Bonner, who witnessed all six games, it wasn’t so much that they lost but how they lost that cost Smith his job.
In the five losses, the Blazers were outshot, in order, 43-15, 37-14, 40-25, 57-24 and 49-25. They were outscored 24-9.
Bonner didn’t see that trend ending any time soon and also was concerned by what he saw as a lack of emotion by the players.
Those are things that Ferguson and assistant coach Geoff Smith began working to correct Tuesday.
Ferguson said that first thing he and assistant coach Geoff Smith had to do was establish “a love of the game again.”
Ferguson feels that has been accomplished, pointing out that “guys are coming in and they’re hooting and hollering, they’re talking, they’re excited. Before, there was no spark. They weren’t enjoying coming to the rink.”
Ferguson also feels that he and Smith worked the players hard this week in preparation for what will be the first game in a six-game homestand.
“They’ve practised hard the last three days,” said Ferguson, adding that the coaches took the players “back to the basic systems stuff, hard on the forecheck, stop, hard to the defensive zone, stop.
“They were working hard but they had smiles on their faces and a sparkle in their eyes.”
Smith was a proponent of playing man-to-man defence and, judging from the new regime’s first few practices, those days are over. The Blazers also are expected to exhibit more of a forechecking game than they have in recent games and also are expected to pursue the puck following turnovers with a lot more passion than they have of late and to work at providing better puck support.
“I think you’ll see a bit more of a hard-working group, a blue-collar group,” captain Tyler Shattock said. “We’ll go out there and do what we have to do to win games. No more 50 shots against . . . we’ll clean that up.”
Ferguson said he is hopeful that fans tonight will notice a difference.
“Hopefully, they see right away that our systems are in place and we’ve got guys getting to their spots early and quickly . . . that they’ve got a team that is excited,” he said.
Fans also will notice another change, as the players now will be allowed to skate past their bench and exchange high fives after goals, something that had been prohibited.
“When we score a goal we’re flying by the bench,” Ferguson said. “We’re going to try and generate that excitement that we’re happy to score a goal. We want them to be excited to score goals; we want the fans to get excited that we’ve scored.
“Hopefully the fans are going to see a team that is rejuvenated and energized and ready to play old style Blazers hockey.”
JUST NOTES: The last time the Blazers changed coaches in midstream was two years ago when Greg Hawgood replaced Dean Clark. The Blazers opened 7-1 under Hawgood before finishing up 14-31-1-1. . . . Bonner won’t be at tonight’s game as he is in Blackfalds, Alta., scouting the inaugural Western Canada U-16 Challenge Cup, a four-team tournament featuring the west’s top prospects that opened Thursday and runs through Sunday. . . . The Blazers have three prospects — their top three picks in the 2009 bantam draft — in the tournament. D Brady Gaudet of Carlyle and F Logan McVeigh of Kenaston are playing for Team Saskatchewan, while G Troy Trombley of Sherwood Park is with Team Alberta.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Shattock excited for date with Russians
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Tyler Shattock, the captain of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, reached one of his goals Thursday.
Shattock, a 19-year-old right winger from Salmon Arm, was selected to play for Team WHL against a touring Russian side in the finale of the six-game Subway Super Series in Kelowna on Nov. 26. The teams also will play in Victoria on Nov. 25.
The date with the Russians shouldn’t cause Shattock to miss any games as he should be able to return in time to play the visiting Kootenay Ice on Nov. 27.
“That was one of my goals at the start of the season,” said Shattock after practice Thursday at Interior Savings Centre. “I wanted to play in that game. I want to show Team Canada what I’ve got.”
Shattock, who has missed the Blazers’ last two games with a charley horse, sees this opportunity as a stepping stone that hopefully will lead to Canada’s national junior team.
“Hopefully I will play well (in Kelowna) and get an invite to camp,” he said, in reference to the Team Canada selection camp that will be held early in December. “Any Canadian kid dreams about playing in the World Junior Championship in Canada.”
The 2010 tournament will be held in Saskatchewan, centred in Regina and Saskatoon, from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5.
Shattock, who says his leg “is about 95 per cent,” is the only one of six injured Blazers who is expected to play tonight against the visiting Chilliwack Bruins. He leads the Blazers in scoring, with 20 points in 15 games.
Centre Dalibor Bortnak (spleen) was injured Aug. 25 in training camp. He is skating but remains out indefinitely.
Centre Colin Smith (broken arm), who was hurt Aug. 26, has returned to practice. He is scheduled to play his first game Nov. 6 against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings.
Forward Ryan Hanes (concussion), who was injured Oct. 12 against the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers, remains out indefinitely but saw some progress this week when he was able to ride a stationary bike without suffering a headache.
Left-winger Shayne Wiebe, who suffered a collarbone injury on Oct. 16 in Prince Albert, is practising but, in part because he is a physical player, is doubtful tonight.
Defenceman Linden Saip, who injured his left knee Oct. 17 in Saskatoon in the last game of a six-game road trip, didn’t practise yesterday. He is listed as day-to-day but is doubtful for tonight.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
Tyler Shattock, the captain of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, reached one of his goals Thursday.
Shattock, a 19-year-old right winger from Salmon Arm, was selected to play for Team WHL against a touring Russian side in the finale of the six-game Subway Super Series in Kelowna on Nov. 26. The teams also will play in Victoria on Nov. 25.
The date with the Russians shouldn’t cause Shattock to miss any games as he should be able to return in time to play the visiting Kootenay Ice on Nov. 27.
“That was one of my goals at the start of the season,” said Shattock after practice Thursday at Interior Savings Centre. “I wanted to play in that game. I want to show Team Canada what I’ve got.”
Shattock, who has missed the Blazers’ last two games with a charley horse, sees this opportunity as a stepping stone that hopefully will lead to Canada’s national junior team.
“Hopefully I will play well (in Kelowna) and get an invite to camp,” he said, in reference to the Team Canada selection camp that will be held early in December. “Any Canadian kid dreams about playing in the World Junior Championship in Canada.”
The 2010 tournament will be held in Saskatchewan, centred in Regina and Saskatoon, from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5.
Shattock, who says his leg “is about 95 per cent,” is the only one of six injured Blazers who is expected to play tonight against the visiting Chilliwack Bruins. He leads the Blazers in scoring, with 20 points in 15 games.
Centre Dalibor Bortnak (spleen) was injured Aug. 25 in training camp. He is skating but remains out indefinitely.
Centre Colin Smith (broken arm), who was hurt Aug. 26, has returned to practice. He is scheduled to play his first game Nov. 6 against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings.
Forward Ryan Hanes (concussion), who was injured Oct. 12 against the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers, remains out indefinitely but saw some progress this week when he was able to ride a stationary bike without suffering a headache.
Left-winger Shayne Wiebe, who suffered a collarbone injury on Oct. 16 in Prince Albert, is practising but, in part because he is a physical player, is doubtful tonight.
Defenceman Linden Saip, who injured his left knee Oct. 17 in Saskatoon in the last game of a six-game road trip, didn’t practise yesterday. He is listed as day-to-day but is doubtful for tonight.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Thursday . . .
If you’re looking for results and statistics from the Western Canada U-16 Challenge Cup that runs through Sunday in Blackfalds, Alta., please visit the WHL website. Cory Flett, the WHL’s director of communications, is filing nightly reports.
———
The OHL’s Barrie Colts are preparing to bid on the 2011 Memorial Cup tournament, and city hall is behind the bid in a big way. The Barrie Advance has that story right here.
———
Whenever all-star or select teams are named, you can bet that there will be selections or omissions that will raise an eyebrow or two. In the case of the two WHL teams that will play in the Subway Super Series, there were 21 forwards named but none was named Jordan Weal. The Regina Pats star has 19 points, including nine goals, in 16 games. “I just got a call from my dad saying that I wasn’t on it,” Weal, 17, told John MacNeil of the Prince Albert Daily Herald. “It definitely sucks when you don’t make teams like that, but I’ve just got to not worry about it and use it as motivation to go out there and work even harder.” . . . Weal will attempt to take out his frustrations on the Raiders in Prince Albert on Friday night.
———
The Everett Silvertips have added LW Scott MacDonald, 18, to their roster. He had been with the BCHL’s Westside Warriors for whom he had 20 points in 15 games. Last season, he had 12 points in 63 games with the Chilliwack Bruins.
———
Here’s a look at some of what’s ahead Friday:
In Lethbridge, D Luca Sbisa is scheduled to be in the Hurricanes’ lineup as they play host to the Seattle Thunderbirds. Sbisa was returned to the Hurricanes this week by the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Sbisa didn’t get to Lethbridge in time to practise Thursday. . . . The Thunderbirds have an unwanted visitor — a flu bug — in their dressing room as various players have been fighting the illness.
In Kamloops, the Blazers play their first game with interim head coach Scott Ferguson running the bench as they meet the Chilliwack Bruins. Ferguson, who had been an assistant coach, gained the new title Monday when Barry Smith was fired.
In Vancouver, two of the WHL’s top teams meet when the Giants play host to the Calgary Hitmen. Calgary (12-4-0-0) leads the Eastern Conference by two points over the Saskatoon Blades (10-3-0-2), while the Giants (10-3-1-2) are a point in arrears of the Portland Winterhawks (12-5-0-0). Yes, those Portland Winterhawks. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that Giants head coach Don Hay is contemplating moving the recently acquired Milan Kytnar into the middle between Lance Bouma and Brendan Gallagher. . . . By the way, the Winterhawks are off until Saturday when they visit the Spokane Chiefs.
The Tri-City Americans (11-3-0-0), with the WHL’s best winning percentage (.786), are in Prince George for a Friday/Saturday doubleheader with the Cougars (3-10-0-0).
In Saskatoon, the Blades, with the WHL’s best GAA (2.24), begin a stretch of seven games in nine nights by entertaining the Edmonton Oil Kings (7-8-0-2). The Blades will complete their weekend by playing the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Saturday and the Broncos in Swift Current on Sunday. Saskatoon F Randy McNaught will miss the three weekend games as he completes a five-game WHL suspension.
In Kelowna, the Rockets (8-6-1-0) will play host to the Spokane Chiefs (5-5-1-0). The Rockets hope to have F Brandon McMillan back in their lineup. He has been out with a broken toe.
In Cranbrook, the Brandon Wheat Kings play Game 6 in a seven-game road trip when they meet the Kootenay Ice. The Wheat Kings (9-6-0-2) went 3-1-0-1 in a swing through the U.S. Division. They wind up the trip Saturday in Lethbridge. . . . The Ice (5-11-0-0) has lost four straight and is just 2-8-0-0 in its last 10. With G Nathan Lieuwen (concussion) out indefinitely, the Ice will go with Todd Mathews and use Tory Caldwell of the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters as the backup.
In Prince Albert, the Raiders will play host to the Regina Pats for the third time this season. That’s right. It’s only Oct. 30 and the Pats already will have played three games in Prince Albert. The Pats (6-8-2-0) won 9-3 on Sept. 30; the Raiders (8-8-0-0) won 3-2 in OT on Oct. 20. . . . The Raiders have yet to visit Regina this season.
———
The ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors plan on honouring the memory of the King of Pop on Friday night by wearing special jerseys. Get a sneak peek right here.
———
The Carman, Man., Beavers have a new head coach and the Carman Valley Leader has the story right here. . . . Why do I mention that here? Because I once played against the Beavers — that was a long, long time ago — and the collegiate principal in Carman for many years was old friend Frank McKinnon, one of hockey’s real good guys. . . . You’re right. Carman also is the hometown of former NHL goaltender Ed Belfour.
———
The Anchorage Daily News has a story right here on the local ECHL team’s decision to sign former WHL F Moises Gutierrez.
———
The OHL’s Barrie Colts are preparing to bid on the 2011 Memorial Cup tournament, and city hall is behind the bid in a big way. The Barrie Advance has that story right here.
———
Whenever all-star or select teams are named, you can bet that there will be selections or omissions that will raise an eyebrow or two. In the case of the two WHL teams that will play in the Subway Super Series, there were 21 forwards named but none was named Jordan Weal. The Regina Pats star has 19 points, including nine goals, in 16 games. “I just got a call from my dad saying that I wasn’t on it,” Weal, 17, told John MacNeil of the Prince Albert Daily Herald. “It definitely sucks when you don’t make teams like that, but I’ve just got to not worry about it and use it as motivation to go out there and work even harder.” . . . Weal will attempt to take out his frustrations on the Raiders in Prince Albert on Friday night.
———
The Everett Silvertips have added LW Scott MacDonald, 18, to their roster. He had been with the BCHL’s Westside Warriors for whom he had 20 points in 15 games. Last season, he had 12 points in 63 games with the Chilliwack Bruins.
———
Here’s a look at some of what’s ahead Friday:
In Lethbridge, D Luca Sbisa is scheduled to be in the Hurricanes’ lineup as they play host to the Seattle Thunderbirds. Sbisa was returned to the Hurricanes this week by the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Sbisa didn’t get to Lethbridge in time to practise Thursday. . . . The Thunderbirds have an unwanted visitor — a flu bug — in their dressing room as various players have been fighting the illness.
In Kamloops, the Blazers play their first game with interim head coach Scott Ferguson running the bench as they meet the Chilliwack Bruins. Ferguson, who had been an assistant coach, gained the new title Monday when Barry Smith was fired.
In Vancouver, two of the WHL’s top teams meet when the Giants play host to the Calgary Hitmen. Calgary (12-4-0-0) leads the Eastern Conference by two points over the Saskatoon Blades (10-3-0-2), while the Giants (10-3-1-2) are a point in arrears of the Portland Winterhawks (12-5-0-0). Yes, those Portland Winterhawks. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that Giants head coach Don Hay is contemplating moving the recently acquired Milan Kytnar into the middle between Lance Bouma and Brendan Gallagher. . . . By the way, the Winterhawks are off until Saturday when they visit the Spokane Chiefs.
The Tri-City Americans (11-3-0-0), with the WHL’s best winning percentage (.786), are in Prince George for a Friday/Saturday doubleheader with the Cougars (3-10-0-0).
In Saskatoon, the Blades, with the WHL’s best GAA (2.24), begin a stretch of seven games in nine nights by entertaining the Edmonton Oil Kings (7-8-0-2). The Blades will complete their weekend by playing the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Saturday and the Broncos in Swift Current on Sunday. Saskatoon F Randy McNaught will miss the three weekend games as he completes a five-game WHL suspension.
In Kelowna, the Rockets (8-6-1-0) will play host to the Spokane Chiefs (5-5-1-0). The Rockets hope to have F Brandon McMillan back in their lineup. He has been out with a broken toe.
In Cranbrook, the Brandon Wheat Kings play Game 6 in a seven-game road trip when they meet the Kootenay Ice. The Wheat Kings (9-6-0-2) went 3-1-0-1 in a swing through the U.S. Division. They wind up the trip Saturday in Lethbridge. . . . The Ice (5-11-0-0) has lost four straight and is just 2-8-0-0 in its last 10. With G Nathan Lieuwen (concussion) out indefinitely, the Ice will go with Todd Mathews and use Tory Caldwell of the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters as the backup.
In Prince Albert, the Raiders will play host to the Regina Pats for the third time this season. That’s right. It’s only Oct. 30 and the Pats already will have played three games in Prince Albert. The Pats (6-8-2-0) won 9-3 on Sept. 30; the Raiders (8-8-0-0) won 3-2 in OT on Oct. 20. . . . The Raiders have yet to visit Regina this season.
———
The ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors plan on honouring the memory of the King of Pop on Friday night by wearing special jerseys. Get a sneak peek right here.
———
The Carman, Man., Beavers have a new head coach and the Carman Valley Leader has the story right here. . . . Why do I mention that here? Because I once played against the Beavers — that was a long, long time ago — and the collegiate principal in Carman for many years was old friend Frank McKinnon, one of hockey’s real good guys. . . . You’re right. Carman also is the hometown of former NHL goaltender Ed Belfour.
———
The Anchorage Daily News has a story right here on the local ECHL team’s decision to sign former WHL F Moises Gutierrez.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Mondays with Murray . . . on Thursday night
Having been a bit hit-and-miss lately, I have been remiss in not posting Mondays with Murray. So even though this isn’t Monday, we’re back with Mondays with Murray. . . . If you’re not familiar with this project, it is in memory of the late, great Jim Murray, who was one of the last legendary figures of sports writing’s golden era. His memory is kept alive through the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation, which provides financial help to aspiring journalists. If you were to zip on over to its website (www.jimmurrayfoundation.com) and make a donation, you would receive a book of his columns. I happen to have had that book in my collection for some time now and it is a classic. . . . Anyway, here is a column that appeared in the Los Angeles Times in June of 1986, with a more recent intro from The Associated Press . . .
Mondays with Murray
Sunday, October 4, 2009 ~ Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes in the first half Sunday, tying Fran Tarkenton for third on the NFL's career list with 342. The three-time MVP tied Tarkenton's mark with an audible and a nifty throw to rookie Austin Collie for a 21-yard score with 3 seconds left in the first half. That gave Indy a 21-3 lead.
Fran Tarkenton was a 3rd round NFL Draft pick #29 in 1961. He played for the Minnesota Vikings 1961-1966, the NY Giants 1967-1971, and back to the Vikings 1972-1978. He was also a commentator on Monday Night Football and a co-host of That's Incredible!.
JUNE, 3, 1986, SPORTS
Copyright 1986/THE TIMES MIR ROR COMPANY
JIM MURRAY
Nobody Ever Had Him In His Pocket
They called him frantic Francis. They couldn't keep him in the pocket, not two generations of coaches, not relays of 250-pound defensive ends, blitzing linebackers, not life itself. He gave elusivity a new dimension.
The eyes give him away. He's not physically prepossessing at 5 feet 11 inches and 190 pounds, but the eyes are the eyes of a forest creature on the prowl for food and on the lookout for enemies. Or of a guy with his own deck looking for suckers. They are survivors' eyes, wary inquisitive, quick.
This is the look of a guy asked to go through Indian territory at night with only a map and a canteen, which is a fair description of his life in the NFL. You can tell that every sense is alert. He looks like a guy who never sleeps and rarely stands still.
He is football's equivalent of Bugs Bunny. His whole career was a Saturday afternoon serial. He made "The Perils of Pauline" look like "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm."
In the NFL, the suspense is supposed to be whether anybody can catch the ball. With Francis, the suspense was whether he would ever throw it. He ran for more yards than any quarterback who ever lived. And that was only the ones beyond the line of scrimmage. If you counted the yards behind, he has more than any running back who ever lived.
He wasn't fast. He didn't have the strongest arm. He tended to dart, duck, twist and squirm. "Hit ’em where they ain't" was baseball player Wee Willie Keeler's motto. Francis threw it where they weren't.
By any yardstick you want to use, Francis Asbury Tarkenton was the best quarterback pro football ever had. He threw for more touchdowns, 342, more yards, 47,003, and more completions, 3,686, than any other quarterback. He took his team to three Super Bowls in four years. He ran for 30 touchdowns and 3,669 yards.
Which makes you wonder why Fran Tarkenton didn't get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame until this year, three years after his initial eligibility. He threw for 52 more touchdowns than any quarterback, had nearly 1,000 more completions and almost 7,000 more yards. You would think the Hall of Fame would have come to him.
The rap against Fran Tarkenton has always been that he threw short passes, that his completions were just complicated handoffs. The spuriousness of this argument can be seen in the yards rolled up, four to 20 miles more than other Hall of Fame quarterbacks like John Unitas, Sonny Jurgensen or Roger Staubach.
Tarkenton rebuts the charge. "In the first place, the long ball is the easiest to throw," he says. "The Hail Mary is a test of luck, not skill. It's like putting a note in a bottle and launching it over the side. If the arm were all there were to quarterbacking, a guy named Rudy Bukich was the greatest quarterback who ever played. He could throw the ball overseas."
Tarkenton also says that his scrambles were actually artful geometric patterns. They looked on paper like a chart of a Rube Goldberg invention. Player A takes ball to Point B where he bumps into Defensive End C and reverses his field to Point D where water is dripped into hole which makes Linebacker E slip and allows Player A to duck under arm (F) and release ball (G) into air when it skids off helmet (H) of Cornerback I into waiting arms of Tight End J, who falls over Safety K into end zone for touchdown.
"I was never out of control back there," Tarkenton says.
"You see, what the drop-back quarterbacks would do, they would peel back 20 yards or roll right 15 yards, then they would throw to a wide-out who had gone down the field 15 yards and then ran an 'out to the left sideline. So what you're talking about is a 50- or 60-yard pass to make 10 or 15 yards.
“I would scramble to a prepared position. I would never release a ball 30 or 35 yards behind the line of scrimmage. My purpose in scrambling was two-fold: tire out the pass rushers and psych out the secondary.
“So the theory gained credence: If Tarkenton has to scramble and run, he must not be a very good passer. If you can punch, why box? One time, the Green Bay Packers decided, 'OK, we won't rush him.' They stopped their pass rush. I picked them apart. The next time, they came in with their ears laid back and growling again.
“A quarterback is a passer, not a thrower. Fernando Valenzuela doesn't need a 100 m.p.h. fastball. Putting the ball where you want it is more important than putting it in orbit."
No one was any better at putting the ball where he wanted it than not-so-frantic Francis.
The world still can't keep him in the pocket. Tarkenton was through town the other day, and he still manages to go through a hotel lobby as if it were stacked with Deacon Joneses, who used to say he trained for a game against Tarkenton by locking himself in a roomful of mosquitoes and turning out the lights. You find Tarkenton by looking for the nearest cloud of dust.
He looks at an interviewer as if he were deciding whether a down-and-out, a simple swing pass or a quarterback sneak were called for. His television career — "That's Incredible" and "Monday Night Football" — behind him, he is now concentrating on his advertising and motivational business, Tarkenton Production Group.
"We deal in telling company executives how to be executives," he said. "We tell them you cannot ignore good behavior and only attend to the bad behavior, which is the way most people seem to run their businesses — and lives."
Tarkenton should know. He spent 17 years listening to the negatives — "He can't do that. He can't run around outside the cup like that" — to the point where it took the Hall of Fame three years to realize he was their shiniest ornament.
They probably figured they couldn't keep him in one place long enough and didn't want to plan an induction where they have to chase the honoree down the street to enroll him. If he had a football, they'd never catch him.
Reprinted with permission by the Los Angeles Times
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | P.O. Box 995 | La Quinta | CA | 92247
Mondays with Murray
Sunday, October 4, 2009 ~ Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes in the first half Sunday, tying Fran Tarkenton for third on the NFL's career list with 342. The three-time MVP tied Tarkenton's mark with an audible and a nifty throw to rookie Austin Collie for a 21-yard score with 3 seconds left in the first half. That gave Indy a 21-3 lead.
Fran Tarkenton was a 3rd round NFL Draft pick #29 in 1961. He played for the Minnesota Vikings 1961-1966, the NY Giants 1967-1971, and back to the Vikings 1972-1978. He was also a commentator on Monday Night Football and a co-host of That's Incredible!.
JUNE, 3, 1986, SPORTS
Copyright 1986/THE TIMES MIR ROR COMPANY
JIM MURRAY
Nobody Ever Had Him In His Pocket
They called him frantic Francis. They couldn't keep him in the pocket, not two generations of coaches, not relays of 250-pound defensive ends, blitzing linebackers, not life itself. He gave elusivity a new dimension.
The eyes give him away. He's not physically prepossessing at 5 feet 11 inches and 190 pounds, but the eyes are the eyes of a forest creature on the prowl for food and on the lookout for enemies. Or of a guy with his own deck looking for suckers. They are survivors' eyes, wary inquisitive, quick.
This is the look of a guy asked to go through Indian territory at night with only a map and a canteen, which is a fair description of his life in the NFL. You can tell that every sense is alert. He looks like a guy who never sleeps and rarely stands still.
He is football's equivalent of Bugs Bunny. His whole career was a Saturday afternoon serial. He made "The Perils of Pauline" look like "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm."
In the NFL, the suspense is supposed to be whether anybody can catch the ball. With Francis, the suspense was whether he would ever throw it. He ran for more yards than any quarterback who ever lived. And that was only the ones beyond the line of scrimmage. If you counted the yards behind, he has more than any running back who ever lived.
He wasn't fast. He didn't have the strongest arm. He tended to dart, duck, twist and squirm. "Hit ’em where they ain't" was baseball player Wee Willie Keeler's motto. Francis threw it where they weren't.
By any yardstick you want to use, Francis Asbury Tarkenton was the best quarterback pro football ever had. He threw for more touchdowns, 342, more yards, 47,003, and more completions, 3,686, than any other quarterback. He took his team to three Super Bowls in four years. He ran for 30 touchdowns and 3,669 yards.
Which makes you wonder why Fran Tarkenton didn't get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame until this year, three years after his initial eligibility. He threw for 52 more touchdowns than any quarterback, had nearly 1,000 more completions and almost 7,000 more yards. You would think the Hall of Fame would have come to him.
The rap against Fran Tarkenton has always been that he threw short passes, that his completions were just complicated handoffs. The spuriousness of this argument can be seen in the yards rolled up, four to 20 miles more than other Hall of Fame quarterbacks like John Unitas, Sonny Jurgensen or Roger Staubach.
Tarkenton rebuts the charge. "In the first place, the long ball is the easiest to throw," he says. "The Hail Mary is a test of luck, not skill. It's like putting a note in a bottle and launching it over the side. If the arm were all there were to quarterbacking, a guy named Rudy Bukich was the greatest quarterback who ever played. He could throw the ball overseas."
Tarkenton also says that his scrambles were actually artful geometric patterns. They looked on paper like a chart of a Rube Goldberg invention. Player A takes ball to Point B where he bumps into Defensive End C and reverses his field to Point D where water is dripped into hole which makes Linebacker E slip and allows Player A to duck under arm (F) and release ball (G) into air when it skids off helmet (H) of Cornerback I into waiting arms of Tight End J, who falls over Safety K into end zone for touchdown.
"I was never out of control back there," Tarkenton says.
"You see, what the drop-back quarterbacks would do, they would peel back 20 yards or roll right 15 yards, then they would throw to a wide-out who had gone down the field 15 yards and then ran an 'out to the left sideline. So what you're talking about is a 50- or 60-yard pass to make 10 or 15 yards.
“I would scramble to a prepared position. I would never release a ball 30 or 35 yards behind the line of scrimmage. My purpose in scrambling was two-fold: tire out the pass rushers and psych out the secondary.
“So the theory gained credence: If Tarkenton has to scramble and run, he must not be a very good passer. If you can punch, why box? One time, the Green Bay Packers decided, 'OK, we won't rush him.' They stopped their pass rush. I picked them apart. The next time, they came in with their ears laid back and growling again.
“A quarterback is a passer, not a thrower. Fernando Valenzuela doesn't need a 100 m.p.h. fastball. Putting the ball where you want it is more important than putting it in orbit."
No one was any better at putting the ball where he wanted it than not-so-frantic Francis.
The world still can't keep him in the pocket. Tarkenton was through town the other day, and he still manages to go through a hotel lobby as if it were stacked with Deacon Joneses, who used to say he trained for a game against Tarkenton by locking himself in a roomful of mosquitoes and turning out the lights. You find Tarkenton by looking for the nearest cloud of dust.
He looks at an interviewer as if he were deciding whether a down-and-out, a simple swing pass or a quarterback sneak were called for. His television career — "That's Incredible" and "Monday Night Football" — behind him, he is now concentrating on his advertising and motivational business, Tarkenton Production Group.
"We deal in telling company executives how to be executives," he said. "We tell them you cannot ignore good behavior and only attend to the bad behavior, which is the way most people seem to run their businesses — and lives."
Tarkenton should know. He spent 17 years listening to the negatives — "He can't do that. He can't run around outside the cup like that" — to the point where it took the Hall of Fame three years to realize he was their shiniest ornament.
They probably figured they couldn't keep him in one place long enough and didn't want to plan an induction where they have to chase the honoree down the street to enroll him. If he had a football, they'd never catch him.
Reprinted with permission by the Los Angeles Times
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | P.O. Box 995 | La Quinta | CA | 92247
A milestone . . . and more
Hey, how about that! This blog got up and running during the summer of 2007 and this morning it went over one million visits. As of 11:30 a.m. Pacific, the count was 1,000,378. . . . If you're wondering about page views, that figure was at 1,255,132.
Thanks to all who spent part of their day here.
---
The Portland Winterhawks are stumping for a makeover for the Memorial Coliseum, a move that would cut attendance to around 7,000. The Portland Tribune has that story right here.
---
Wondering who will play for the WHL against a touring Russian side in the Subway Super Series? The rosters are right here.
Thanks to all who spent part of their day here.
---
The Portland Winterhawks are stumping for a makeover for the Memorial Coliseum, a move that would cut attendance to around 7,000. The Portland Tribune has that story right here.
---
Wondering who will play for the WHL against a touring Russian side in the Subway Super Series? The rosters are right here.
Wednesday's stuff . . .
It doesn’t sound as though Tom Hicks is in a big hurry to sell the NHL’s Dallas Stars to Portland Winterhawks owner Bill Gallacher or anyone else. That story is right here, and you might want to pay particular attention to Gallacher’s non-denial denial.
---
The Portland Winterhawks have assigned F Taylor Peters, 17, to the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. Peters, a fourth-round selection in the 2007 WHL bantam draft, got into three games with Portland this season. He has 10 points in 78 WHL games over three seasons.
---
F Moises Gutierrez (Kamloops, Everett, 2002-07) has signed to play with the ECHL’s Anchorage Aces. Gutierrez is from Anchorage. He was a sixth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL’s 2004 draft. Gutierrez, 23, will make his debut with the Aces on Friday when they open a three-game set with the visiting Idaho Steelheads. . . . Last season, he had 23 points in 37 games with the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals and was pointless in two games with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators.
---
F Keegan Dansereau, who led the Swift Current Broncos in goals, assists and points last season, has been reassigned from the AHL’s Binghamton Senators to the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals. He had 81 points, including 37 goals, for the Broncos last season. . . . With Dansereau on his way to Elmira, the Jackals dealt F Colton Yellow Horn (Lethbridge, Tri-City, 2003-08) to the Stockton Thunder for D Neil Petruic. . . . Yellow Horn, 22, is expected to debut with the Thunder on Friday in Victoria against the Salmon Kings.
---
The NHL’s Anaheim Ducks have signed free-agent F Kyle Calder (Regina, Kamloops, 1995-99) to a one-year contract. He will report to the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors. He attended the Ducks’ training camp on a tryout deal but was released on Sept. 26. Calder, 30, played last season with the Los Angeles Kings.
---
The Regina Pats will take part in a Thursday news conference at which the book Junior Hockey’s Royal Franchise: The Regina Pats will be released. The book was written by long-time fan and hockey historian Ron (Scoreboard) Johnston and former Regina Leader-Post sports writer Darrell Davis. . . . The book now is available in Regina at The Neutral Zone, Costco, Wal-Mart and major book stores.
---
It appears that the Luca Sbisa saga is over, at least for now. The 19-year-old defenceman was reassigned to the Lethbridge Hurricanes by the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks last weekend, but there was speculation as to whether he would ever show up there. Now he is expected to arrive in Lethbridge on Thursday night and should play Friday against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Sbisa, who was born in Italy but has played for Switzerland on the international stage, returns with 47 NHL games under his belt, eight of them this season with the Ducks, the rest last season with the Philadelphia Flyers. He moved from the Flyers to the Ducks, along with F Joffrey Lupul, for D Chris Pronger in a deal made in the offseason. The Flyers had selected him 19th overall in the NHL‘s 2008 draft. . . . Sbisa has played 80 regular-season with the Hurricanes and has 48 points. In 30 playoff games, he has 18 points.
---
Former WHL D Jesse Dudas (Lethbridge, Prince George, Swift Current, 2003-09) has signed with the IHL’s Bloomington Prairie Thunder. Dudas, 21, was a sixth-round selection by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL’s 2006 draft.
---
The Subway Super Series is coming to Victoria and Kelowna, and the WHL this morning (Thursday) is scheduled to announce the names of the players who will represent it. The announcement is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Pacific. Team WHL will play a touring Russian side in Victoria on Nov. 25, and in Kelowna on Nov. 26.
---
The Central league’s Colorado Eagles have signed F Jason Deleurme (Tacoma- Kelowna, 1993-98). Deleurme is into his 12th season as a pro, with most of that having been played in Europe.
---
With Roberto Luongo (ribs) injured, the Vancouver Canucks recalled G Cory Schneider from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. The Moose then signed G Rejean Beauchemin (Prince Albert, 2002-05) to a tryout deal. He had been with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads.
---
WEDNESDAY:
In Prince Albert, G Garrett Zemlak stopped 39 shots to lead the Raiders to a 6-0 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . It was Zemlak’s first shutout of the season, his first with the Raiders and the second of his career. His first career shutout came on Jan. 9, 2008, when, while with the Saskatoon Blades, he blanked the Rebels 2-0 in Red Deer. He made 21 saves that night. . . . F Jordan Hickmott, who played two seasons with the Tigers, had two goals for the Raiders (8-8-0-0), giving him nine. He was the Tigers’ first-round pick in the 2005 bantam draft. . . . F Brandon Herrod had a goal and two assists for Prince Albert, his second straight three-point game. . . . Attendance was 1,821. . . . The Raiders have won five in a row on home ice. . . . And how did the Raiders celebrate the victory? They got their seasonal flu shots. . . . The Tigers (8-5-2-2), having lost 7-2 in Saskatoon on Tuesday, have been outscored 13-2 in their last two games.
---
In Edmonton, D Mark Pysyk had a goal and two assists and was plus-4 as the Oil Kings dropped the Seattle Thunderbirds, 7-1. . . . Pysyk was playing in his second game since missing seven with a concussion. . . . F Clayton Cumiskey also had a goal and two helpers for Edmonton (7-8-0-2), with F Brett Breitkreuz scoring twice and F Brett Raedeke getting three assists. . . . Cumiskey had missed the previous 15 games with a concussion. . . . Edmonton G Torrie Jung stopped 24 shots. He lost his shutout at 8:20 of the first period when F Brendan Rouse scored his first WHL goal. . . . Seattle fell to 3-10-0-2. . . . Attendance was 3,274.
---
In Cranbrook, the Everett Silvertips broke open a scoreless game with three second-period goals and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . F Shane Harper scored twice for Everett (7-4-0-0), getting the first goal at 11:05 of the second period and adding an empty-netter, his seventh goal this season, at 18:54 of the third. . . . Everett got late second-period PP goals from D Rasmus Rissanen at 19:12 and F Chris Langkow, at 19:59. . . . The Ice slipped to 5-11-0-0. . . . Everett was 2-for-5 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-for-4. . . . Attendance was 2,402. . . . With G Nathan Lieuwen (concussion) out indefinitely, Ice G Todd Mathews stopped 20 shots, six fewer than Everett’s Thomas Heemskerk. Heemskerk began last season with the Ice, but asked for a trade and ended up in Everett.
---
In Chilliwack, G Lucas Gore stopped 44 Shots as the Bruins dropped the Tri-City Americans, 5-2. . . . The Bruins (5-6-1-3) broke a 2-2 tie with third-period goals by F Roman Horak (1:25) and F Dylen McKinley (3:36). . . . F Jordan Messier had both Tri-City goals. . . . The game marked the return of Tri-City head coach Jim Hiller to Chilliwack. He was the Bruins’ head coach for their first three seasons, before being fired in the spring. . . . The Americans (11-3-0-0) went into the game having won nine in a row, one shy of the franchise’s single-season record. . . . Tri-City had been 12-1 against the Bruins over the previous three sesaons. . . . Attendance was 2,954.
---
In Kelowna, F Stepan Novotny scored two first-period PP goals to spark the Rockets to a 4-1 victory over the Hitmen. . . . The game, which was intense, emotional and chippy, was a rematch of last season’s WHL championship final, which the Rockets won in six games. . . . Calgary had won its last five games. . . . Novotny, who also had an assist, has 12 goals this season. . . . D Tyson Barrie assisted on both Novotny goals. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped Calgary sniper Joel Broda on a penalty shot at 5:15 of the first period. Novotny opened the scoring just 36 seconds later. . . . Brown finished up with 35 saves, while Calgary’s Martin Jones, who now is 6-1-0-0, stopped 32 shots. . . . The Rockets are 8-6-1-0, while the Hitmen are 12-4-0-0. . . . Attendance was 6,084. . . . Broda scored for Calgary at 9:09 of the third period, but by that time Kelowna held a 3-0 edge. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-8 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-5. . . . Prior to the game, the Rockets named F Lucas Bloodoff as their captain. Which must mean they aren’t expecting to get D Tyler Myers back from the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Maybe they’ll get D Luke Schenn back from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The sophomore played 12:55 last night in Dallas; the other 11 defencemen dressed for this one all played more than did Schenn did.
---
In Spokane, the Brandon Wheat Kings erased a 3-1 first-period deficit with three straight goals and beat the Chiefs, 5-4. . . . After F Scott Glennie scored just 25 seconds into the game, the Chiefs (5-5-1-0) struck for three goals, two of them from F Kyle Beach, before the end of the first period. . . . But Brandon (9-6-0-2) scored twice in the second to tie it. . . . F Brayden Schenn gave Brandon its first lead at 13:01 of the third period. . . . Beach completed his hat trick at 14:20 of the third. He has eight goals this season. . . . Schenn then got the winner, his seventh goal this season, just 22 seconds later. . . . F Jay Fehr scored his 10th goal for Brandon in the second period. . . . Brandon went into the game with an 0-9-1 record in Memorial Arena. However, Brandon won two games in Spokane in the 1996 WHL final, a series it won in five games. . . . Attendance was 3,509. . . . Spokane C Mitch Wahl had two assists, the first one his 200th point with the Chiefs. He is the 21st Spokane player to reach that plateau. . . . F Paul Van de Velde, acquired Tuesday by Brandon from the Everett Silvertips, was in the Wheat Kings’ lineup. . . . The Wheat Kings, on a seven-game trip, went 3-1-0-1 in the U.S. Division. Brandon plays in Cranbrook on Friday and Lethbridge on Saturday before heading for home.
---
The Portland Winterhawks have assigned F Taylor Peters, 17, to the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. Peters, a fourth-round selection in the 2007 WHL bantam draft, got into three games with Portland this season. He has 10 points in 78 WHL games over three seasons.
---
F Moises Gutierrez (Kamloops, Everett, 2002-07) has signed to play with the ECHL’s Anchorage Aces. Gutierrez is from Anchorage. He was a sixth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL’s 2004 draft. Gutierrez, 23, will make his debut with the Aces on Friday when they open a three-game set with the visiting Idaho Steelheads. . . . Last season, he had 23 points in 37 games with the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals and was pointless in two games with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators.
---
F Keegan Dansereau, who led the Swift Current Broncos in goals, assists and points last season, has been reassigned from the AHL’s Binghamton Senators to the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals. He had 81 points, including 37 goals, for the Broncos last season. . . . With Dansereau on his way to Elmira, the Jackals dealt F Colton Yellow Horn (Lethbridge, Tri-City, 2003-08) to the Stockton Thunder for D Neil Petruic. . . . Yellow Horn, 22, is expected to debut with the Thunder on Friday in Victoria against the Salmon Kings.
---
The NHL’s Anaheim Ducks have signed free-agent F Kyle Calder (Regina, Kamloops, 1995-99) to a one-year contract. He will report to the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors. He attended the Ducks’ training camp on a tryout deal but was released on Sept. 26. Calder, 30, played last season with the Los Angeles Kings.
---
The Regina Pats will take part in a Thursday news conference at which the book Junior Hockey’s Royal Franchise: The Regina Pats will be released. The book was written by long-time fan and hockey historian Ron (Scoreboard) Johnston and former Regina Leader-Post sports writer Darrell Davis. . . . The book now is available in Regina at The Neutral Zone, Costco, Wal-Mart and major book stores.
---
It appears that the Luca Sbisa saga is over, at least for now. The 19-year-old defenceman was reassigned to the Lethbridge Hurricanes by the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks last weekend, but there was speculation as to whether he would ever show up there. Now he is expected to arrive in Lethbridge on Thursday night and should play Friday against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Sbisa, who was born in Italy but has played for Switzerland on the international stage, returns with 47 NHL games under his belt, eight of them this season with the Ducks, the rest last season with the Philadelphia Flyers. He moved from the Flyers to the Ducks, along with F Joffrey Lupul, for D Chris Pronger in a deal made in the offseason. The Flyers had selected him 19th overall in the NHL‘s 2008 draft. . . . Sbisa has played 80 regular-season with the Hurricanes and has 48 points. In 30 playoff games, he has 18 points.
---
Former WHL D Jesse Dudas (Lethbridge, Prince George, Swift Current, 2003-09) has signed with the IHL’s Bloomington Prairie Thunder. Dudas, 21, was a sixth-round selection by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL’s 2006 draft.
---
The Subway Super Series is coming to Victoria and Kelowna, and the WHL this morning (Thursday) is scheduled to announce the names of the players who will represent it. The announcement is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Pacific. Team WHL will play a touring Russian side in Victoria on Nov. 25, and in Kelowna on Nov. 26.
---
The Central league’s Colorado Eagles have signed F Jason Deleurme (Tacoma- Kelowna, 1993-98). Deleurme is into his 12th season as a pro, with most of that having been played in Europe.
---
With Roberto Luongo (ribs) injured, the Vancouver Canucks recalled G Cory Schneider from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. The Moose then signed G Rejean Beauchemin (Prince Albert, 2002-05) to a tryout deal. He had been with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads.
---
WEDNESDAY:
In Prince Albert, G Garrett Zemlak stopped 39 shots to lead the Raiders to a 6-0 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . It was Zemlak’s first shutout of the season, his first with the Raiders and the second of his career. His first career shutout came on Jan. 9, 2008, when, while with the Saskatoon Blades, he blanked the Rebels 2-0 in Red Deer. He made 21 saves that night. . . . F Jordan Hickmott, who played two seasons with the Tigers, had two goals for the Raiders (8-8-0-0), giving him nine. He was the Tigers’ first-round pick in the 2005 bantam draft. . . . F Brandon Herrod had a goal and two assists for Prince Albert, his second straight three-point game. . . . Attendance was 1,821. . . . The Raiders have won five in a row on home ice. . . . And how did the Raiders celebrate the victory? They got their seasonal flu shots. . . . The Tigers (8-5-2-2), having lost 7-2 in Saskatoon on Tuesday, have been outscored 13-2 in their last two games.
---
In Edmonton, D Mark Pysyk had a goal and two assists and was plus-4 as the Oil Kings dropped the Seattle Thunderbirds, 7-1. . . . Pysyk was playing in his second game since missing seven with a concussion. . . . F Clayton Cumiskey also had a goal and two helpers for Edmonton (7-8-0-2), with F Brett Breitkreuz scoring twice and F Brett Raedeke getting three assists. . . . Cumiskey had missed the previous 15 games with a concussion. . . . Edmonton G Torrie Jung stopped 24 shots. He lost his shutout at 8:20 of the first period when F Brendan Rouse scored his first WHL goal. . . . Seattle fell to 3-10-0-2. . . . Attendance was 3,274.
---
In Cranbrook, the Everett Silvertips broke open a scoreless game with three second-period goals and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . F Shane Harper scored twice for Everett (7-4-0-0), getting the first goal at 11:05 of the second period and adding an empty-netter, his seventh goal this season, at 18:54 of the third. . . . Everett got late second-period PP goals from D Rasmus Rissanen at 19:12 and F Chris Langkow, at 19:59. . . . The Ice slipped to 5-11-0-0. . . . Everett was 2-for-5 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-for-4. . . . Attendance was 2,402. . . . With G Nathan Lieuwen (concussion) out indefinitely, Ice G Todd Mathews stopped 20 shots, six fewer than Everett’s Thomas Heemskerk. Heemskerk began last season with the Ice, but asked for a trade and ended up in Everett.
---
In Chilliwack, G Lucas Gore stopped 44 Shots as the Bruins dropped the Tri-City Americans, 5-2. . . . The Bruins (5-6-1-3) broke a 2-2 tie with third-period goals by F Roman Horak (1:25) and F Dylen McKinley (3:36). . . . F Jordan Messier had both Tri-City goals. . . . The game marked the return of Tri-City head coach Jim Hiller to Chilliwack. He was the Bruins’ head coach for their first three seasons, before being fired in the spring. . . . The Americans (11-3-0-0) went into the game having won nine in a row, one shy of the franchise’s single-season record. . . . Tri-City had been 12-1 against the Bruins over the previous three sesaons. . . . Attendance was 2,954.
---
In Kelowna, F Stepan Novotny scored two first-period PP goals to spark the Rockets to a 4-1 victory over the Hitmen. . . . The game, which was intense, emotional and chippy, was a rematch of last season’s WHL championship final, which the Rockets won in six games. . . . Calgary had won its last five games. . . . Novotny, who also had an assist, has 12 goals this season. . . . D Tyson Barrie assisted on both Novotny goals. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped Calgary sniper Joel Broda on a penalty shot at 5:15 of the first period. Novotny opened the scoring just 36 seconds later. . . . Brown finished up with 35 saves, while Calgary’s Martin Jones, who now is 6-1-0-0, stopped 32 shots. . . . The Rockets are 8-6-1-0, while the Hitmen are 12-4-0-0. . . . Attendance was 6,084. . . . Broda scored for Calgary at 9:09 of the third period, but by that time Kelowna held a 3-0 edge. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-8 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-5. . . . Prior to the game, the Rockets named F Lucas Bloodoff as their captain. Which must mean they aren’t expecting to get D Tyler Myers back from the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Maybe they’ll get D Luke Schenn back from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The sophomore played 12:55 last night in Dallas; the other 11 defencemen dressed for this one all played more than did Schenn did.
---
In Spokane, the Brandon Wheat Kings erased a 3-1 first-period deficit with three straight goals and beat the Chiefs, 5-4. . . . After F Scott Glennie scored just 25 seconds into the game, the Chiefs (5-5-1-0) struck for three goals, two of them from F Kyle Beach, before the end of the first period. . . . But Brandon (9-6-0-2) scored twice in the second to tie it. . . . F Brayden Schenn gave Brandon its first lead at 13:01 of the third period. . . . Beach completed his hat trick at 14:20 of the third. He has eight goals this season. . . . Schenn then got the winner, his seventh goal this season, just 22 seconds later. . . . F Jay Fehr scored his 10th goal for Brandon in the second period. . . . Brandon went into the game with an 0-9-1 record in Memorial Arena. However, Brandon won two games in Spokane in the 1996 WHL final, a series it won in five games. . . . Attendance was 3,509. . . . Spokane C Mitch Wahl had two assists, the first one his 200th point with the Chiefs. He is the 21st Spokane player to reach that plateau. . . . F Paul Van de Velde, acquired Tuesday by Brandon from the Everett Silvertips, was in the Wheat Kings’ lineup. . . . The Wheat Kings, on a seven-game trip, went 3-1-0-1 in the U.S. Division. Brandon plays in Cranbrook on Friday and Lethbridge on Saturday before heading for home.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Priestner retires
G James Priestner, 18, has chosen to retire and has left the Prince George Cougars. Priestner was a second-round selection by the Kamloops Blazers in the 2006 bantam draft. He later was dealt to the Brandon Wheat Kings and then was traded to the Cougars late in August. . . . Two weeks ago, Priestner told Dean Clark, the Cougars’ head coach who drafted Priestner while he was running the Blazers, about his plans. The Cougars went looking for a goaltender and came up with Hudson Stremmel, 18, a native of Reno, Nevada, who left the Colorado College Tigers on Saturday and now is in Prince George. . . . “My heart wasn’t in hockey any more,” said Priestner, who was 2-8 with a 4.76 GAA this season for the 3-10 Cougars. “I’m going to university in January and going to go traveling and stuff. It’s just a decision I had to make for myself . . . it was a long time coming.” . . . A source familiar with the situation said the goaltender actually “wanted to quit all last summer, too . . . This didn’t have much to do with Prince George losing so much but his heart hasn’t been in it for at least a year.” . . . The Cougars acquired Priestner and a conditional 2011 fifth-round bantam pick from Brandon for a 2011 third-round pick and the rights to D Aaron Ness, 19. . . . Prince George is left with two goaltenders -- Prince George native Alex Wright, 19, who won his first WHL start Saturday, and Stremmel. . . . The Cougars are at home for a Friday/Saturday doubleheader with the Tri-City Americans.
Tuesday . . .
A huge apology to F Cass Mappin of the Vancouver Giants. You may have read here earlier in the week that he had been a healthy scratch in a weekend game. It turns out that Mappin was quite ill and I’m now told that he may have the H1N1 virus. . . . Vancouver F Tod Kennedy also is down with the flu, although the team isn’t certain on the strain.
---
The Regina Pats’ players and staff received their regular flu shots on Tuesday, and all will get H1N1 vaccinations when they become available at some point in November. Pats GM Brent Parker told Greg Harder that none of his players has contracted H1N1 and that the team is taking all kinds of precautions, as are, you can bet, all of the other WHL teams.
---
F Zach Franko, a second-round selection by the Kelowna Rockets, has committed to attend Bemidji State and play for the Beavers. Franko, 16, is in his first season with the MJHL’s Winnipeg South Blues. Franko was in training camp with the Rockets, but chose to go home and keep open his options. "Not everyone makes it to the NHL, ultimately that's my goal, but you need something to fall back on," Franko told the Winnipeg Sun. "I'm getting my education paid for, so it couldn't be better. It was tough when Bemidji offered me the scholarship, but ultimately it came down to my decision and I have no regrets." He expects to play in the MJHL at least through next season.
---
Brent Sapergia, the president and general manager of the ECHL’s Louisiana IceGators, is going behind the bench. With the IceGators off to an 0-3 start, the team says Sapergia “will temporarily replace Ron Handy as head coach.” . . . Handy has been reassigned “to concentrate on community relations and off-ice operations.” Sapergia is a former WHLer (Saskatoon, Portland, 1979-81).
---
You can add F Cody Ito, 17, to the Kelowna Rockets’ list of walking wounded. That list now numbers seven. Ito (chest) is likely to be out for a week. F Brandon McMillan (toe) and F Lucas Bloodoff (knee) are close to returning. However, four other players aren’t close to being ready. F Max Adolph (ankle) will sit for another three weeks or so. F Evan Bloodoff (knee) won’t play for four or five months. G Mark Guggenberger (sports hernia surgery) is out for another month. D Kyle Verdino (knee) is listed as week-to-week. . . . The Rockets (7-6-0-1) are at home to the Eastern Conference-leading Calgary Hitmen (12-3-0-0) on Wednesday night. Calgary has won five in a row. . . . Last spring, the Rockets took out the Hitmen in six games to win the WHL championship. Game 6 was played in Kelowna.
---
A source in Lethbridge says that D Luca Sbisa, 19, having been told by the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks that he was being returned to the WHL, was all set to rejoin the Lethbridge Hurricanes and had, in fact, already contacted his former billet. But that was before Andre Rufner, Sbisa’s agent, became involved and now is believed to be trying to arrange a trade between the Hurricanes and a Western Conference team. . . . The wildcard in all of this, however, may be that Rich Preston, Lethbridge’s GM/head coach, and Anaheim GM Bob Murray are long-time friends. . . . You have to think Sbisa could do a lot worse than go back to Lethbridge, play 30 minutes a game and get his game back in gear. After all, the Ducks are concerned about his development and nothing helps that like lots of ice time and playing in all situations. . . . You can bet that Western Conference general managers are paying close attention. As Vancouver GM Scott Bonner told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province: ““If he was available, I’m sure every team in the league would inquire, but I know I haven’t got a call about him and I know that Rich Preston is pretty excited about getting him back. If it was us, we would keep the player. We would tell the player to come back and play for us and I think Rich will take the same stance.”
---
On Wednesday, the WHL’s most interesting matchup has the Tri-City Americans in Chilliwack to play the Bruins. The Americans (11-2-0-0) are coached by Jim Hiller, who was fired by the Bruins after last season and replaced Don Nachbaur in Tri-City. Nachbaur left to take over as head coach of the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. The Bruins’ lineup includes D Mitch McColm, 20, who was a fan favourite in Kennewick, Wash., while he was with the Americans. . . . “I’m not uneasy,“ Hiller, who coached the Bruins for three seasons, told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “The game isn’t about me. I’m emotionally invested in some of the players, but it’s important we stay focused and play like we have been.” . . . The Americans have won nine straight games. Fowler reports that the Americans are 12-1 against the Bruins (4-6-2-3) over the last three seasons, including 6-0 in Chilliwack. . . . The Americans are expected to start G Drew Owsley, who, like the team, is 11-2-0-0 and has won nine in a row. The franchise record for consecutive victories, according to Fowler, is 10 and is shared by Chet Pickard (2007-08) and Mark Dawkins (1991-92). . . . The Americans are without F Sergei Drozd, who has joined the Belarussian team at the junior A World Hockey Challenge in Summerside, P.E.I., from Sunday through Nov. 8.
---
The Prince George Cougars have confirmed that G Hudson Stremmel, 18, has joined them and been added to their roster. Stremmel, a native of Reno, Nevada, had been with the NCAA Division 1 Colorado College Tigers after playing last season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel. Stremmel was selected in the sixth round of the 2006 bantam draft by the Chilliwack Bruins but never played for them.
---
The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings have signed F Jay Henderson to a one-year deal. Henderson (Red Deer, Edmonton Ice, 1994-98) played last season with Innsbruck EV in Austria, where he had 32 points and 104 penalty minutes in 50 games.
---
For the latest on former Kamloops Blazers captain Jared Aulin, who is into a comeback with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, check this right here.
---
Some former WHL goaltenders were in the news Tuesday. . . . Anton Khudobin (Saskatoon, 2005-06) was recalled by the Minnesota Wild from the AHL’s Houston Aeros after Josh Harding (Regina, Brandon, 2001-04) was unable to practice because of soreness in his legs. . . . The Aeros signed Brett Jaeger (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Saskatoon, 2001-03) to a tryout deal to fill the spot on the roster. . . . The Colordo Avalanche, with Peter Budaj having contacted the H1N1 virus, recalled Tyler Weiman (Tri-City, 2000-04) to backup the red-hot Craig Anderson.
---
The Brandon Wheat Kings have acquired F Paul Van de Velde, 19, from the Everett Silvertips for a conditional ninth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. Van de Velde, who is pointless in 10 games with Everett this season, was reassigned earlier this week to the MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines. He is from Mariapolis, Man., a small community about 90 minutes southeast of Brandon and was teammates in midget AAA with Wheat Kings players Darren Bestland, Aaron Lewadniuk and Jay Fehr. Van de Velde is to join the Wheat Kings on Wednesday in Spokane. . . . Brandon lost F Paul Ciarelli (shoulder) to an injury in practice on Monday.
---
There is interesting news out of the Western States Hockey League where the Idaho Junior Steelheads, a team owned by former WHL executive John Olver (his last name is spelled incorrectly in the story on the link), got in a spot of trouble for doffing their duds during practice. That story is right here.
---
TUESDAY:
In Red Deer, F Willie Coetzee scored the only goal of the shootout as the Rebels edged the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-3. . . . Coetzee had two assists in regulation time to run his point streak to 10 games. . . . The Rebels (7-8-0-0) got two goals from F Nathan Green, who forced OT when he scored on the PP at 18:46 of the third period. . . . D Adam Borejko, a recent acquisition from the Kelowna Rockets, scored his first goal of the season for Red Deer. . . . The Rebels took a 2-0 lead into the second period, only to have Seattle score three times in less than seven minutes, with F Jonathan Parker’s sixth goal at 14:55 giving the visitors a 3-2 lead. . . . Seattle (3-9-0-2) was 0-for-5 on the PP; the home side was 1-for-8. . . . Attendance was 4,108. . . . Coetzee was the first shooter in the circus. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 39 shots, nine more than Red Deer‘s Kraymer Barnstable.
---
In Saskatoon, D Stefan Elliott set up three goals as the Blades dropped the Medicine Hat Tigers, 7-2. . . . D Sam Klassen added a goal and two assists for the Blades, who had four defencemen -- Klassen, Elliott, Teigan Zahn and Jyri Niemi -- each go plus-3. . . . The Blades (10-3-0-2) were 0-for-3 on the PP; the Tigers (8-4-2-2) were 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 3,635. . . . Medicine Hat F Bretton Cameron scored twice, giving him 14 goals in 16 games. Last season, he scored 11 times in 46 games; the season before that, he had 11 goals in 59 games. . . . Saskatoon had a 48-27 edge in shots and drove Medicine Hat starter Tyler Bunz to the bench five minutes into the second period with its fourth goal. . . . Red Deer D Tomas Kundratek (flu) was back after being out for a week.
---
In Portland, F Chris Francis scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Winterhawks a 5-4 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Brandon forced OT by erasing a 4-1 deficit with two late second-period goals, both from F Jay Fehr, and an early third-period PP score by F Brayden Schenn. . . . Francis, now 2-for-7 in shootout attempts, shot second for Portland (12-5-0-0). . . . D Troy Rutkowski scored twice for Portland. . . . G Kurtis Mucha stopped F Matt Calvert, Brandon’s third shooter, to preserve the victory. . . . Brandon outshot Portland 13-3 in the third period. Calvert rang a shot off a post midway through the period with the score at 4-4. . . . Attendance was 1,523. . . . Portland G Ian Curtis left the game at 18:32 of the first period with a shoulder injury. He had stopped all 10 shots he faced. . . . Calvert was stopped by Mucha on a shorthanded breakaway in OT. . . . Portland F Nino Niederreiter had his 10-game point streak snapped. He had 12 points over that span. . . . It was one year ago this week that Bill Gallacher and his team took over the Winterhawks’ operation.
---
The Regina Pats’ players and staff received their regular flu shots on Tuesday, and all will get H1N1 vaccinations when they become available at some point in November. Pats GM Brent Parker told Greg Harder that none of his players has contracted H1N1 and that the team is taking all kinds of precautions, as are, you can bet, all of the other WHL teams.
---
F Zach Franko, a second-round selection by the Kelowna Rockets, has committed to attend Bemidji State and play for the Beavers. Franko, 16, is in his first season with the MJHL’s Winnipeg South Blues. Franko was in training camp with the Rockets, but chose to go home and keep open his options. "Not everyone makes it to the NHL, ultimately that's my goal, but you need something to fall back on," Franko told the Winnipeg Sun. "I'm getting my education paid for, so it couldn't be better. It was tough when Bemidji offered me the scholarship, but ultimately it came down to my decision and I have no regrets." He expects to play in the MJHL at least through next season.
---
Brent Sapergia, the president and general manager of the ECHL’s Louisiana IceGators, is going behind the bench. With the IceGators off to an 0-3 start, the team says Sapergia “will temporarily replace Ron Handy as head coach.” . . . Handy has been reassigned “to concentrate on community relations and off-ice operations.” Sapergia is a former WHLer (Saskatoon, Portland, 1979-81).
---
You can add F Cody Ito, 17, to the Kelowna Rockets’ list of walking wounded. That list now numbers seven. Ito (chest) is likely to be out for a week. F Brandon McMillan (toe) and F Lucas Bloodoff (knee) are close to returning. However, four other players aren’t close to being ready. F Max Adolph (ankle) will sit for another three weeks or so. F Evan Bloodoff (knee) won’t play for four or five months. G Mark Guggenberger (sports hernia surgery) is out for another month. D Kyle Verdino (knee) is listed as week-to-week. . . . The Rockets (7-6-0-1) are at home to the Eastern Conference-leading Calgary Hitmen (12-3-0-0) on Wednesday night. Calgary has won five in a row. . . . Last spring, the Rockets took out the Hitmen in six games to win the WHL championship. Game 6 was played in Kelowna.
---
A source in Lethbridge says that D Luca Sbisa, 19, having been told by the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks that he was being returned to the WHL, was all set to rejoin the Lethbridge Hurricanes and had, in fact, already contacted his former billet. But that was before Andre Rufner, Sbisa’s agent, became involved and now is believed to be trying to arrange a trade between the Hurricanes and a Western Conference team. . . . The wildcard in all of this, however, may be that Rich Preston, Lethbridge’s GM/head coach, and Anaheim GM Bob Murray are long-time friends. . . . You have to think Sbisa could do a lot worse than go back to Lethbridge, play 30 minutes a game and get his game back in gear. After all, the Ducks are concerned about his development and nothing helps that like lots of ice time and playing in all situations. . . . You can bet that Western Conference general managers are paying close attention. As Vancouver GM Scott Bonner told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province: ““If he was available, I’m sure every team in the league would inquire, but I know I haven’t got a call about him and I know that Rich Preston is pretty excited about getting him back. If it was us, we would keep the player. We would tell the player to come back and play for us and I think Rich will take the same stance.”
---
On Wednesday, the WHL’s most interesting matchup has the Tri-City Americans in Chilliwack to play the Bruins. The Americans (11-2-0-0) are coached by Jim Hiller, who was fired by the Bruins after last season and replaced Don Nachbaur in Tri-City. Nachbaur left to take over as head coach of the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. The Bruins’ lineup includes D Mitch McColm, 20, who was a fan favourite in Kennewick, Wash., while he was with the Americans. . . . “I’m not uneasy,“ Hiller, who coached the Bruins for three seasons, told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “The game isn’t about me. I’m emotionally invested in some of the players, but it’s important we stay focused and play like we have been.” . . . The Americans have won nine straight games. Fowler reports that the Americans are 12-1 against the Bruins (4-6-2-3) over the last three seasons, including 6-0 in Chilliwack. . . . The Americans are expected to start G Drew Owsley, who, like the team, is 11-2-0-0 and has won nine in a row. The franchise record for consecutive victories, according to Fowler, is 10 and is shared by Chet Pickard (2007-08) and Mark Dawkins (1991-92). . . . The Americans are without F Sergei Drozd, who has joined the Belarussian team at the junior A World Hockey Challenge in Summerside, P.E.I., from Sunday through Nov. 8.
---
The Prince George Cougars have confirmed that G Hudson Stremmel, 18, has joined them and been added to their roster. Stremmel, a native of Reno, Nevada, had been with the NCAA Division 1 Colorado College Tigers after playing last season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel. Stremmel was selected in the sixth round of the 2006 bantam draft by the Chilliwack Bruins but never played for them.
---
The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings have signed F Jay Henderson to a one-year deal. Henderson (Red Deer, Edmonton Ice, 1994-98) played last season with Innsbruck EV in Austria, where he had 32 points and 104 penalty minutes in 50 games.
---
For the latest on former Kamloops Blazers captain Jared Aulin, who is into a comeback with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, check this right here.
---
Some former WHL goaltenders were in the news Tuesday. . . . Anton Khudobin (Saskatoon, 2005-06) was recalled by the Minnesota Wild from the AHL’s Houston Aeros after Josh Harding (Regina, Brandon, 2001-04) was unable to practice because of soreness in his legs. . . . The Aeros signed Brett Jaeger (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Saskatoon, 2001-03) to a tryout deal to fill the spot on the roster. . . . The Colordo Avalanche, with Peter Budaj having contacted the H1N1 virus, recalled Tyler Weiman (Tri-City, 2000-04) to backup the red-hot Craig Anderson.
---
The Brandon Wheat Kings have acquired F Paul Van de Velde, 19, from the Everett Silvertips for a conditional ninth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. Van de Velde, who is pointless in 10 games with Everett this season, was reassigned earlier this week to the MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines. He is from Mariapolis, Man., a small community about 90 minutes southeast of Brandon and was teammates in midget AAA with Wheat Kings players Darren Bestland, Aaron Lewadniuk and Jay Fehr. Van de Velde is to join the Wheat Kings on Wednesday in Spokane. . . . Brandon lost F Paul Ciarelli (shoulder) to an injury in practice on Monday.
---
There is interesting news out of the Western States Hockey League where the Idaho Junior Steelheads, a team owned by former WHL executive John Olver (his last name is spelled incorrectly in the story on the link), got in a spot of trouble for doffing their duds during practice. That story is right here.
---
TUESDAY:
In Red Deer, F Willie Coetzee scored the only goal of the shootout as the Rebels edged the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-3. . . . Coetzee had two assists in regulation time to run his point streak to 10 games. . . . The Rebels (7-8-0-0) got two goals from F Nathan Green, who forced OT when he scored on the PP at 18:46 of the third period. . . . D Adam Borejko, a recent acquisition from the Kelowna Rockets, scored his first goal of the season for Red Deer. . . . The Rebels took a 2-0 lead into the second period, only to have Seattle score three times in less than seven minutes, with F Jonathan Parker’s sixth goal at 14:55 giving the visitors a 3-2 lead. . . . Seattle (3-9-0-2) was 0-for-5 on the PP; the home side was 1-for-8. . . . Attendance was 4,108. . . . Coetzee was the first shooter in the circus. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 39 shots, nine more than Red Deer‘s Kraymer Barnstable.
---
In Saskatoon, D Stefan Elliott set up three goals as the Blades dropped the Medicine Hat Tigers, 7-2. . . . D Sam Klassen added a goal and two assists for the Blades, who had four defencemen -- Klassen, Elliott, Teigan Zahn and Jyri Niemi -- each go plus-3. . . . The Blades (10-3-0-2) were 0-for-3 on the PP; the Tigers (8-4-2-2) were 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 3,635. . . . Medicine Hat F Bretton Cameron scored twice, giving him 14 goals in 16 games. Last season, he scored 11 times in 46 games; the season before that, he had 11 goals in 59 games. . . . Saskatoon had a 48-27 edge in shots and drove Medicine Hat starter Tyler Bunz to the bench five minutes into the second period with its fourth goal. . . . Red Deer D Tomas Kundratek (flu) was back after being out for a week.
---
In Portland, F Chris Francis scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Winterhawks a 5-4 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Brandon forced OT by erasing a 4-1 deficit with two late second-period goals, both from F Jay Fehr, and an early third-period PP score by F Brayden Schenn. . . . Francis, now 2-for-7 in shootout attempts, shot second for Portland (12-5-0-0). . . . D Troy Rutkowski scored twice for Portland. . . . G Kurtis Mucha stopped F Matt Calvert, Brandon’s third shooter, to preserve the victory. . . . Brandon outshot Portland 13-3 in the third period. Calvert rang a shot off a post midway through the period with the score at 4-4. . . . Attendance was 1,523. . . . Portland G Ian Curtis left the game at 18:32 of the first period with a shoulder injury. He had stopped all 10 shots he faced. . . . Calvert was stopped by Mucha on a shorthanded breakaway in OT. . . . Portland F Nino Niederreiter had his 10-game point streak snapped. He had 12 points over that span. . . . It was one year ago this week that Bill Gallacher and his team took over the Winterhawks’ operation.
Monday, October 26, 2009
More Monday stuff . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT: F Aki Seitsonen (Prince Albert, 2003-06) has been loaned to LeKi Lempäälä (Finland Mestis) by HPK Hämeenlinna (FInland SM-Liiga). He has no points in seven games with HPK this season. . . . F James Wright (Moose Jaw, 2002-04) has been released by the Slough Jets (England Premier). He had four goals and six assists in 12 games with the Jets this season.
---
The Prince Albert Raiders have released RW Ryan Kowalski, 18, who was pointless in four games this season. He suffered a concussion in training camp and apparently has yet to make a complete recovery. . . . According to the Raiders, Kowalski “is returning to his home in Abbotsford, B.C., where he plans to prepare to apply to RCMP School in Regina next fall.” . . . Kowalski, who was in his third WHL season, was acquired by the Raiders from the Prince George Cougars on Jan. 6 for F Robbie Ciolfi. . . . The Raiders are carrying 23 players, including 13 forwards and eight defencemen.
---
The Spokane Chiefs have reassigned G Chase Martin to the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks. Martin, 17, was 0-1-0-0 with a 3.61 GAA in two appearances with the Chiefs this season. His departure leaves the Chiefs with 26 players, including goaltenders James Reid, who turns 19 on Dec. 15, and Michael Tadjdeh, 18.
---
D Nick Bell of the Red Deer Rebels will be out at least three months after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured ankle. Bell, 19, was injured when he was hit by the puck during a 6-3 loss to the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Oct. 20. . . . The Rebels may get F Landon Ferraro (knee) back this weekend. Ferraro, who has played in five games this season, skated Monday for a third straight day.
---
Over at Coming Down the Pipe, Dean Millard has reported that G Hudson Stremmel, an 18-year-old from Reno, Nev., has left the Colorado College Tigers.
Stremmel’s WHL rights belong to the Prince George Cougars. A source in that organization told me Monday night that Stremmel is headed for the Cougars.
Stremmel played last season for the USHL’s Chicago Steel, putting up a 3.18 GAA and a .895 save percentage in 35 games. . . . Should Stremmel land in P.G., he would join James Priestner, 18, and Alex Wright, 19, as the goaltenders.
---
F Randy McNaught of the Saskatoon Blades drew a five-game suspension for the elbowing major and game misconduct he incurred in a game against the Broncos in Swift Current on Friday. McNaught elbowed D Jordan Evans, who was left with a concussion and is out indefinitely. . . . The Broncos also are without D Eric Doyle, who ended up with a concussion after taking an unpenalized hit from C C.J. Stretch of the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday. Stretch later drew a four-game suspension under supplemental discipline.
---
D Luca Sbisa isn’t yet in Lethbridge and it seems the Hurricanes aren’t 100 per cent certain they’ll be getting him back. Word out of Lethbridge on Monday night was that Sbisa’s agent, Andre Rufner, isn’t certain that Lethbridge is the best place for his client and that he wants to explore all the options before the 19-year-old defenceman, who has been reassigned by the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, reports to the Hurricanes. . . . Sbisa was pointless in eight games, was minus-1 and was averaging
---
The Everett Silvertips have assigned LW Paul Van de Velde, 19, to the MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines. Van de Velde was a third-round selection by the Kamloops Blazers in the 2005 bantam draft but never stuck with the Blazers. He played for the Silvertips last season but this season was seeing fourth-line playing time and was pointless in 10 games. Last season, he had 13 points in 52 games.
---
F Andy Smith, who was released by the Chilliwack Bruins earlier in the season as they got down to three 20-year-olds, has been traded away by the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. Smith was dealt to the SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds for some cash.
---
Over at Ice Chips, Jeff Bromley is reporting that Kootenay Ice G Nathan Lieuwen (concussion) is out indefinitely. He apparently was injured Friday during a 5-1 loss to the visiting Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Ice next plays Wednesday when the Everett Silvertips, including former Kootenay G Thomas Heemskerk, visit Cranbrook.
---
A friend sent an email early Monday pointing out that “Hamilton is trailing Toronto by only one point in the NHL standings.” That was before the Leafs won 6-3 in Anaheim Monday night. That, of course, means that Hamilton now is three points in arrears.
---
The Prince Albert Raiders have released RW Ryan Kowalski, 18, who was pointless in four games this season. He suffered a concussion in training camp and apparently has yet to make a complete recovery. . . . According to the Raiders, Kowalski “is returning to his home in Abbotsford, B.C., where he plans to prepare to apply to RCMP School in Regina next fall.” . . . Kowalski, who was in his third WHL season, was acquired by the Raiders from the Prince George Cougars on Jan. 6 for F Robbie Ciolfi. . . . The Raiders are carrying 23 players, including 13 forwards and eight defencemen.
---
The Spokane Chiefs have reassigned G Chase Martin to the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks. Martin, 17, was 0-1-0-0 with a 3.61 GAA in two appearances with the Chiefs this season. His departure leaves the Chiefs with 26 players, including goaltenders James Reid, who turns 19 on Dec. 15, and Michael Tadjdeh, 18.
---
D Nick Bell of the Red Deer Rebels will be out at least three months after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured ankle. Bell, 19, was injured when he was hit by the puck during a 6-3 loss to the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Oct. 20. . . . The Rebels may get F Landon Ferraro (knee) back this weekend. Ferraro, who has played in five games this season, skated Monday for a third straight day.
---
Over at Coming Down the Pipe, Dean Millard has reported that G Hudson Stremmel, an 18-year-old from Reno, Nev., has left the Colorado College Tigers.
Stremmel’s WHL rights belong to the Prince George Cougars. A source in that organization told me Monday night that Stremmel is headed for the Cougars.
Stremmel played last season for the USHL’s Chicago Steel, putting up a 3.18 GAA and a .895 save percentage in 35 games. . . . Should Stremmel land in P.G., he would join James Priestner, 18, and Alex Wright, 19, as the goaltenders.
---
F Randy McNaught of the Saskatoon Blades drew a five-game suspension for the elbowing major and game misconduct he incurred in a game against the Broncos in Swift Current on Friday. McNaught elbowed D Jordan Evans, who was left with a concussion and is out indefinitely. . . . The Broncos also are without D Eric Doyle, who ended up with a concussion after taking an unpenalized hit from C C.J. Stretch of the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday. Stretch later drew a four-game suspension under supplemental discipline.
---
D Luca Sbisa isn’t yet in Lethbridge and it seems the Hurricanes aren’t 100 per cent certain they’ll be getting him back. Word out of Lethbridge on Monday night was that Sbisa’s agent, Andre Rufner, isn’t certain that Lethbridge is the best place for his client and that he wants to explore all the options before the 19-year-old defenceman, who has been reassigned by the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, reports to the Hurricanes. . . . Sbisa was pointless in eight games, was minus-1 and was averaging
---
The Everett Silvertips have assigned LW Paul Van de Velde, 19, to the MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines. Van de Velde was a third-round selection by the Kamloops Blazers in the 2005 bantam draft but never stuck with the Blazers. He played for the Silvertips last season but this season was seeing fourth-line playing time and was pointless in 10 games. Last season, he had 13 points in 52 games.
---
F Andy Smith, who was released by the Chilliwack Bruins earlier in the season as they got down to three 20-year-olds, has been traded away by the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. Smith was dealt to the SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds for some cash.
---
Over at Ice Chips, Jeff Bromley is reporting that Kootenay Ice G Nathan Lieuwen (concussion) is out indefinitely. He apparently was injured Friday during a 5-1 loss to the visiting Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Ice next plays Wednesday when the Everett Silvertips, including former Kootenay G Thomas Heemskerk, visit Cranbrook.
---
A friend sent an email early Monday pointing out that “Hamilton is trailing Toronto by only one point in the NHL standings.” That was before the Leafs won 6-3 in Anaheim Monday night. That, of course, means that Hamilton now is three points in arrears.
Blazers drop Smith, turn to Ferguson
By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
The Kamloops Blazers players were shocked about the dismissal of head coach Barry Smith, but agreed that a change was necessary if they hope to get their WHL season back on track.
Craig Bonner, the Blazers’ vice-president and general manager, fired Smith on Monday, a day after returning from an East Division road swing on which Kamloops was 1-5. The Blazers, who were 7-1-2-0 on Oct. 10, now are 8-7-2-0 after losing six of their last seven games.
Scott Ferguson, who was in his second season as assistant coach, has been named the interim head coach, while Geoff Smith, who was working as a part-time assistant, has been given “an enhanced role.”
For goaltender Justin Leclerc, news of the firing was a shock, but he feels it was necessary to get the Blazers rolling again.
“I was surprised it was the coach,” said Leclerc, who has faced more shots (444) than any other WHL goaltender this season. “Having said that, I really trust Craig Bonner, and his decision. I think this will be the best thing for the team moving forward.”
Barry Smith, a 48-year-old native of Stambaugh, Mich., was hired on July 3, 2008, in what was Bonner’s first move as the Blazers’ GM.
Smith, a former Vancouver Canucks assistant coach, signed a three-year contract that had a club option for a fourth year. He guided the team to a 33-33-2-4 record in 2008-09. That left the team sixth in the Western Conference, but Kamloops was swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Kelowna Rockets.
Bonner said Smith’s dismissal had a lot to do with how the Blazers were playing lately — Kamloops had been outshot in each of its previous seven games, and was allowing 44 shots per game.
“I don’t think myself or the ownership is satisfied with being an average team — we expect more of ourselves and more of the team,” said Bonner, who watched all six games on the East Division swing. “We didn’t see enough improvement and emotion and aggressiveness in our game and it became more and more evident that something had to be done.”
The Blazers will have a chance to get back on track at home — they play their next six games at Interior Savings Centre, starting Friday against the Chilliwack Bruins.
Ferguson, a 36-year-old Camrose, Alta., native, played parts of four seasons with the Blazers (1990-94) before going on to a 14-year professional career, during which he played 218 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Minnesota Wild.
For the short-term, he is hoping to keep the players’ minds on hockey.
“Right now, players and the staff, we have to refocus here and get things going in the right direction,” said Ferguson, who will be working as a head coach for the first time. “We have to be accountable, but we have to refocus and get this thing turned around.”
And that’s the feeling of most of the Blazers players — they say the club has enough talent to make some noise this season, it just needs to start playing better.
“No one in this organization wants to be an average team,” said captain Tyler Shattock, a 19-year-old Salmon Arm native. “We want to be an upper-echelon team, and I think to the players, this gives us a vote of confidence that (management) believes in us.”
"It obviously wasn't working defensively," Boston Bruins winger Mark Recchi, one of the team's five owners, told The Daily News. "You hate to have to do it, but (Bonner) and (the owners) felt it was the only way we were going to get better.
"We have a good team . . . and mediocrity doesn't cut it now!"
Bonner said Ferguson will have the chance to run the team for a while. There aren’t many available coaches in Western Canada at this time — former Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach Michael Dyck, who is helping coach the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns, might be the only one.
“There are going to be some people coming out of the woodwork who are going to going to start to apply,” Bonner said. “I think it’s my job to look at all of that.”
Ferguson is the seventh former Kamloops player to become head coach of the Blazers — Marc Habscheid, Don Hay, Dean Evason, Mark Ferner, Dean Clark and Greg Hawgood all are former Kamloops juniors who moved on to coach the team. Bonner also is a former Blazers player.
The promotion of Ferguson means all five head coaches in the B.C. Division have direct ties to the Blazers — Habscheid (Chilliwack), Hay (Vancouver) and Clark (Prince George) are former Blazers head coaches, while Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska is a former player.
The players are hoping that the change will propel the team back to the win column, where it spent the first three weeks of the season.
“I think we have the players to do it,” Leclerc said. “I think it’s just a matter of getting everyone on the same page, getting everyone motivated and executing.”
mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca
By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
Scott Ferguson spent his first day as interim head coach of the Kamloops Blazers trying to keep his players’ minds on hockey.
His second day promises to be a lot more difficult.
Ferguson, a second-year assistant coach, was promoted after general manager Craig Bonner dismissed head coach Barry Smith on Monday. Smith, 48, had been the Blazers’ head coach since July 2008.
Kamloops started the season 7-1-2-0, but now is 8-7-2-0 after losing six of seven.
Ferguson’s first job was to keep his players thinking about the on-ice part of their jobs.
“We’re just trying to get them refocused on what they have to do and then get them ready for (today) and get ready for work,” he said.
Geoff Smith, who had been working part-time as an assistant coach the last two seasons, has been given a greater role, Bonner said. Smith had been watching the first period of games from the press box — giving him an eye-in-the-sky view so he could report to the team what changes might be needed — before joining the team on the bench for the last two periods. He now will spend all three periods on the bench, assisting Ferguson on the defensive end.
The Blazers, whose next game is a home contest Friday against the Chilliwack Bruins, didn’t practise Monday, giving Ferguson some time to work on a plan to fix the Blazers, who have been outshot 309-168 in their last seven games.
Ferguson pointed to the forecheck as an area of concern.
“We’re going to look at all areas, forechecking, neutral zone, defensive zone — obviously there’s a lot of work to be done,” Ferguson said. “We don’t want to be giving up 60 shots a night like we have been, and I think part of that stems from the forecheck.”
Ferguson said he won’t be making any drastic changes to the forecheck — or any of the Blazers’ systems; he just wants his players to pay more attention and get to the puck quicker.
“We want to try to get back to the old, traditional Blazer hockey where we get to the forecheck quick, get on the body, create turnovers and forecheck the heck out of them to get pucks to the net and try to get some goals,” he said.
Ferguson does have ample opportunity to practise with the team — Kamloops is at home for the next two weeks, playing six games at Interior Savings Centre during that stretch.
Ferguson will be working hard in preparation before his first game as head coach.
“It’s nice to have these next three or four days to get things fine-tuned and get the forecheck going and all that, the systems in place,” he said. “It’s nice to be home — the fans are hopefully going to be excited to see us back here, trying to get these guys back to having a solid work ethic, night in and night out, and giving the fans something to cheer about.”
mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca
Daily News Sports Reporter
The Kamloops Blazers players were shocked about the dismissal of head coach Barry Smith, but agreed that a change was necessary if they hope to get their WHL season back on track.
Craig Bonner, the Blazers’ vice-president and general manager, fired Smith on Monday, a day after returning from an East Division road swing on which Kamloops was 1-5. The Blazers, who were 7-1-2-0 on Oct. 10, now are 8-7-2-0 after losing six of their last seven games.
Scott Ferguson, who was in his second season as assistant coach, has been named the interim head coach, while Geoff Smith, who was working as a part-time assistant, has been given “an enhanced role.”
For goaltender Justin Leclerc, news of the firing was a shock, but he feels it was necessary to get the Blazers rolling again.
“I was surprised it was the coach,” said Leclerc, who has faced more shots (444) than any other WHL goaltender this season. “Having said that, I really trust Craig Bonner, and his decision. I think this will be the best thing for the team moving forward.”
Barry Smith, a 48-year-old native of Stambaugh, Mich., was hired on July 3, 2008, in what was Bonner’s first move as the Blazers’ GM.
Smith, a former Vancouver Canucks assistant coach, signed a three-year contract that had a club option for a fourth year. He guided the team to a 33-33-2-4 record in 2008-09. That left the team sixth in the Western Conference, but Kamloops was swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Kelowna Rockets.
Bonner said Smith’s dismissal had a lot to do with how the Blazers were playing lately — Kamloops had been outshot in each of its previous seven games, and was allowing 44 shots per game.
“I don’t think myself or the ownership is satisfied with being an average team — we expect more of ourselves and more of the team,” said Bonner, who watched all six games on the East Division swing. “We didn’t see enough improvement and emotion and aggressiveness in our game and it became more and more evident that something had to be done.”
The Blazers will have a chance to get back on track at home — they play their next six games at Interior Savings Centre, starting Friday against the Chilliwack Bruins.
Ferguson, a 36-year-old Camrose, Alta., native, played parts of four seasons with the Blazers (1990-94) before going on to a 14-year professional career, during which he played 218 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Minnesota Wild.
For the short-term, he is hoping to keep the players’ minds on hockey.
“Right now, players and the staff, we have to refocus here and get things going in the right direction,” said Ferguson, who will be working as a head coach for the first time. “We have to be accountable, but we have to refocus and get this thing turned around.”
And that’s the feeling of most of the Blazers players — they say the club has enough talent to make some noise this season, it just needs to start playing better.
“No one in this organization wants to be an average team,” said captain Tyler Shattock, a 19-year-old Salmon Arm native. “We want to be an upper-echelon team, and I think to the players, this gives us a vote of confidence that (management) believes in us.”
"It obviously wasn't working defensively," Boston Bruins winger Mark Recchi, one of the team's five owners, told The Daily News. "You hate to have to do it, but (Bonner) and (the owners) felt it was the only way we were going to get better.
"We have a good team . . . and mediocrity doesn't cut it now!"
Bonner said Ferguson will have the chance to run the team for a while. There aren’t many available coaches in Western Canada at this time — former Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach Michael Dyck, who is helping coach the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns, might be the only one.
“There are going to be some people coming out of the woodwork who are going to going to start to apply,” Bonner said. “I think it’s my job to look at all of that.”
Ferguson is the seventh former Kamloops player to become head coach of the Blazers — Marc Habscheid, Don Hay, Dean Evason, Mark Ferner, Dean Clark and Greg Hawgood all are former Kamloops juniors who moved on to coach the team. Bonner also is a former Blazers player.
The promotion of Ferguson means all five head coaches in the B.C. Division have direct ties to the Blazers — Habscheid (Chilliwack), Hay (Vancouver) and Clark (Prince George) are former Blazers head coaches, while Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska is a former player.
The players are hoping that the change will propel the team back to the win column, where it spent the first three weeks of the season.
“I think we have the players to do it,” Leclerc said. “I think it’s just a matter of getting everyone on the same page, getting everyone motivated and executing.”
mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca
By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
Scott Ferguson spent his first day as interim head coach of the Kamloops Blazers trying to keep his players’ minds on hockey.
His second day promises to be a lot more difficult.
Ferguson, a second-year assistant coach, was promoted after general manager Craig Bonner dismissed head coach Barry Smith on Monday. Smith, 48, had been the Blazers’ head coach since July 2008.
Kamloops started the season 7-1-2-0, but now is 8-7-2-0 after losing six of seven.
Ferguson’s first job was to keep his players thinking about the on-ice part of their jobs.
“We’re just trying to get them refocused on what they have to do and then get them ready for (today) and get ready for work,” he said.
Geoff Smith, who had been working part-time as an assistant coach the last two seasons, has been given a greater role, Bonner said. Smith had been watching the first period of games from the press box — giving him an eye-in-the-sky view so he could report to the team what changes might be needed — before joining the team on the bench for the last two periods. He now will spend all three periods on the bench, assisting Ferguson on the defensive end.
The Blazers, whose next game is a home contest Friday against the Chilliwack Bruins, didn’t practise Monday, giving Ferguson some time to work on a plan to fix the Blazers, who have been outshot 309-168 in their last seven games.
Ferguson pointed to the forecheck as an area of concern.
“We’re going to look at all areas, forechecking, neutral zone, defensive zone — obviously there’s a lot of work to be done,” Ferguson said. “We don’t want to be giving up 60 shots a night like we have been, and I think part of that stems from the forecheck.”
Ferguson said he won’t be making any drastic changes to the forecheck — or any of the Blazers’ systems; he just wants his players to pay more attention and get to the puck quicker.
“We want to try to get back to the old, traditional Blazer hockey where we get to the forecheck quick, get on the body, create turnovers and forecheck the heck out of them to get pucks to the net and try to get some goals,” he said.
Ferguson does have ample opportunity to practise with the team — Kamloops is at home for the next two weeks, playing six games at Interior Savings Centre during that stretch.
Ferguson will be working hard in preparation before his first game as head coach.
“It’s nice to have these next three or four days to get things fine-tuned and get the forecheck going and all that, the systems in place,” he said. “It’s nice to be home — the fans are hopefully going to be excited to see us back here, trying to get these guys back to having a solid work ethic, night in and night out, and giving the fans something to cheer about.”
mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca
More on the Blazers . . .
The Kamloops Blazers became the first WHL team to make a coaching change when they relieved Barry Smith of his duties on Monday morning.
Craig Bonner, the Blazers’ vice-president and general manager, went into the office Monday morning at 7:30 and told Smith that a change was being made.
Scott Ferguson, in his second season as an assistant coach, was promoted to interim head coach. Geoff Smith, the club’s other assistant coach, will become more involved with the team after being in something of a part-time role.
Ferguson and Geoff Smith, who is not related to Barry, are former NHL defencemen. Ferguson (1990-94) and Smith (1988-89) both played for the Blazers, as did Bonner (1988-93).
The Blazers returned home Sunday from an East Division swing in which they went 1-5. They opened by beating the Pats in overtime in Regina and then lost five in a row. But, Bonner said, it wasn’t the losses, so much as the way the Blazers lost. They weren’t aggressive, there was little emotion and they continued their habit of giving up far too many shots.
This was a case of a head coach who tried to fit the players into a system, rather than fit a system to the players. The Blazers spent far too much time playing in their zone and gave up far too many shots, something Smith, on most nights, sloughed off, saying that while the team was giving up shots it wasn’t surrendering many quality chances.
It was laughable earlier in the season when the Blazers suddenly surfaced at No. 7 in the CHL rankings, a move that was followed a week later by a jump to No. 5. But then they were whipped 12-5 by the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Oct. 12, followed by their six-game road swing.
The Blazers’ present ownership group -- majority owner Tom Gaglardi and NHLers Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor -- now has made three coaching changes since taking over the franchise in October 2007.
On Nov. 7, 2007, the owners dumped Dean Clark, who was the GM and head coach, and replaced him with Greg Hawgood, a former NHL defenceman who had played for the Blazers. Hawgood, who didn’t have any coaching experience when he was hired, was dropped over the summer of 2008, which is when Smith was hired. (Hawgood now is in his first season as head coach of the junior B Kamloops Storm.)
When Clark was dumped, he had the remainder of 2007-08 and 2008-09 left on his contract, while Hawgood had a year left on his deal when he was dropped.
When the Blazers signed Smith to a deal, on July 3, 2008, they gave him three years with a club option for a fourth season. So he had this season and next left on the deal.
When the Blazers hired Smith, they were hiring the guy who was actually No. 5 on their list. Originally, they tried to hire Marc Habscheid, a former Blazers player and coach, who was between jobs. When that didn’t work out, they attempted to bring in Don Nachbaur, who had one year left on his contract as head coach of the Tri-City Americans. That didn’t work out, either.
Also considered was Eric Thurston, the head coach of the U of Alberta Golden Bears, who submitted a resume and later took his name out of consideration, and Brad Berry, who had been on the staff of the U of North Dakota Fighting Sioux and now is an assistant coach with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
In the end, Bonner said, Smith interviewed well and came highly recommended after having been on the Vancouver Canucks’ staff for six seasons.
In speaking with Bonner on Monday morning, it seems that he is quite content to let Ferguson take the coaching reins and run with them. That could be because the GM has at least some confidence in Ferguson, who has no head-coaching experience. Or it could be because the field of available candidates is rather slim, what with it not even being the first of November.
You can bet Bonner is hoping that Ferguson has at least some success and that he can get the Blazers to the spring without a complete implosion. That would allow Bonner time to explore his options, which would include removing ‘interim’ from Ferguson’s title or seeing who would be available in the off-season.
In the meantime, Ferguson will run his first practice as a head coach on Tuesday. The Chilliwack Bruins visit Kamloops on Friday and you can bet they will find a Blazers team that is eager to play more of the game in their offensive zone than they have been.
---
The Blazers franchise began as the Junior Oilers and played its first season in the WHL in 1981-82. During that season, a midseason coaching was made, with Ron Harris replacing Lyle Moffat.
The organization then played through 20 straight seasons without even once making a midseason change.
Now, over the last seven-plus seasons, the Blazers have made a midseason change on five occasions. One of those, with Mark Ferner taking over from Troy Mick, occurred between the end of the 2002-03 regular season and the start of the playoffs. Mick had to step aside for health reasons.
---
Every team in the B.C. Division now has a head coach with ties to the Blazers.
Dean Clark, the head coach of the Prince George Cougars, played and coached in Kamloops, as did Marc Habscheid, now the GM and head coach of the Chilliwack Bruins.
Don Hay, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants, is a former Blazers coach -- he also played junior for the WHL’s Kamloops Chiefs in the 1970s.
Kelowna Rockets head coach Ryan Huska played for the Blazers and, in fact, won three Memorial Cups with them.
And now there is Scott Ferguson, the Blazers’ interim head coach, who also is a former player.
---
This from Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province:
How bad have the Kamloops Blazers been defensively so far this season? Somebody made this crack in the press box at the Vancouver Giants-Kelowna Rockets game Sunday night: "The Blazers aren't even playing tonight and they've still already given up 22 shots on goal."
Craig Bonner, the Blazers’ vice-president and general manager, went into the office Monday morning at 7:30 and told Smith that a change was being made.
Scott Ferguson, in his second season as an assistant coach, was promoted to interim head coach. Geoff Smith, the club’s other assistant coach, will become more involved with the team after being in something of a part-time role.
Ferguson and Geoff Smith, who is not related to Barry, are former NHL defencemen. Ferguson (1990-94) and Smith (1988-89) both played for the Blazers, as did Bonner (1988-93).
The Blazers returned home Sunday from an East Division swing in which they went 1-5. They opened by beating the Pats in overtime in Regina and then lost five in a row. But, Bonner said, it wasn’t the losses, so much as the way the Blazers lost. They weren’t aggressive, there was little emotion and they continued their habit of giving up far too many shots.
This was a case of a head coach who tried to fit the players into a system, rather than fit a system to the players. The Blazers spent far too much time playing in their zone and gave up far too many shots, something Smith, on most nights, sloughed off, saying that while the team was giving up shots it wasn’t surrendering many quality chances.
It was laughable earlier in the season when the Blazers suddenly surfaced at No. 7 in the CHL rankings, a move that was followed a week later by a jump to No. 5. But then they were whipped 12-5 by the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Oct. 12, followed by their six-game road swing.
The Blazers’ present ownership group -- majority owner Tom Gaglardi and NHLers Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor -- now has made three coaching changes since taking over the franchise in October 2007.
On Nov. 7, 2007, the owners dumped Dean Clark, who was the GM and head coach, and replaced him with Greg Hawgood, a former NHL defenceman who had played for the Blazers. Hawgood, who didn’t have any coaching experience when he was hired, was dropped over the summer of 2008, which is when Smith was hired. (Hawgood now is in his first season as head coach of the junior B Kamloops Storm.)
When Clark was dumped, he had the remainder of 2007-08 and 2008-09 left on his contract, while Hawgood had a year left on his deal when he was dropped.
When the Blazers signed Smith to a deal, on July 3, 2008, they gave him three years with a club option for a fourth season. So he had this season and next left on the deal.
When the Blazers hired Smith, they were hiring the guy who was actually No. 5 on their list. Originally, they tried to hire Marc Habscheid, a former Blazers player and coach, who was between jobs. When that didn’t work out, they attempted to bring in Don Nachbaur, who had one year left on his contract as head coach of the Tri-City Americans. That didn’t work out, either.
Also considered was Eric Thurston, the head coach of the U of Alberta Golden Bears, who submitted a resume and later took his name out of consideration, and Brad Berry, who had been on the staff of the U of North Dakota Fighting Sioux and now is an assistant coach with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
In the end, Bonner said, Smith interviewed well and came highly recommended after having been on the Vancouver Canucks’ staff for six seasons.
In speaking with Bonner on Monday morning, it seems that he is quite content to let Ferguson take the coaching reins and run with them. That could be because the GM has at least some confidence in Ferguson, who has no head-coaching experience. Or it could be because the field of available candidates is rather slim, what with it not even being the first of November.
You can bet Bonner is hoping that Ferguson has at least some success and that he can get the Blazers to the spring without a complete implosion. That would allow Bonner time to explore his options, which would include removing ‘interim’ from Ferguson’s title or seeing who would be available in the off-season.
In the meantime, Ferguson will run his first practice as a head coach on Tuesday. The Chilliwack Bruins visit Kamloops on Friday and you can bet they will find a Blazers team that is eager to play more of the game in their offensive zone than they have been.
---
The Blazers franchise began as the Junior Oilers and played its first season in the WHL in 1981-82. During that season, a midseason coaching was made, with Ron Harris replacing Lyle Moffat.
The organization then played through 20 straight seasons without even once making a midseason change.
Now, over the last seven-plus seasons, the Blazers have made a midseason change on five occasions. One of those, with Mark Ferner taking over from Troy Mick, occurred between the end of the 2002-03 regular season and the start of the playoffs. Mick had to step aside for health reasons.
---
Every team in the B.C. Division now has a head coach with ties to the Blazers.
Dean Clark, the head coach of the Prince George Cougars, played and coached in Kamloops, as did Marc Habscheid, now the GM and head coach of the Chilliwack Bruins.
Don Hay, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants, is a former Blazers coach -- he also played junior for the WHL’s Kamloops Chiefs in the 1970s.
Kelowna Rockets head coach Ryan Huska played for the Blazers and, in fact, won three Memorial Cups with them.
And now there is Scott Ferguson, the Blazers’ interim head coach, who also is a former player.
---
This from Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province:
How bad have the Kamloops Blazers been defensively so far this season? Somebody made this crack in the press box at the Vancouver Giants-Kelowna Rockets game Sunday night: "The Blazers aren't even playing tonight and they've still already given up 22 shots on goal."
Blazers make a change
A press release issued by the Kamloops Blazers on Monday morning:
Kamloops, BC - Craig Bonner, Vice President and General Manager of the Kamloops Blazers Hockey Club, has announced that the Club has dismissed Barry Smith as Head Coach.
"Our results this year are not acceptable," Bonner said. “We will not tolerate being an average team at this stage. I particularly disliked our structure and the direction our team was headed, along with the lack of emotion we have shown of late. Since I saw little to suggest that the team was trying to make the adjustments necessary to turn our play around, we had little option but to make a change."
Bonner added, “We want an aggressive type of play. We want an emotional and hard-working team. We want a team that is not standing on their heels.”
Assistant Coach Scott Ferguson will assume the position of Interim Head Coach until further notice. Geoff Smith will remain as an Assistant Coach in a more enhanced role.
The Blazers organization would like to thank Barry for his efforts and wish him every success with his future.
Kamloops, BC - Craig Bonner, Vice President and General Manager of the Kamloops Blazers Hockey Club, has announced that the Club has dismissed Barry Smith as Head Coach.
"Our results this year are not acceptable," Bonner said. “We will not tolerate being an average team at this stage. I particularly disliked our structure and the direction our team was headed, along with the lack of emotion we have shown of late. Since I saw little to suggest that the team was trying to make the adjustments necessary to turn our play around, we had little option but to make a change."
Bonner added, “We want an aggressive type of play. We want an emotional and hard-working team. We want a team that is not standing on their heels.”
Assistant Coach Scott Ferguson will assume the position of Interim Head Coach until further notice. Geoff Smith will remain as an Assistant Coach in a more enhanced role.
The Blazers organization would like to thank Barry for his efforts and wish him every success with his future.
Sunday . . .
You may have read here recently in The MacBeth Report that former Brandon Wheat Kings G Glen Hanlon had been dismissed as head coach of Dinamo Minsk, a Belarussian entry in the Continental Hockey League. Hanlon also is head coach of the Belarussian national team and, at the time, it was uncertain whether he would stay on. Well, a source told me Sunday that Hanlon will stay on as national team coach.
---
Historically, a team has been considered to be at or over .500 if it earned at least one point for each game it has played. In other words, a team that has played 20 games is over .500 if it has 20 or more points. By that standard, the WHL goes into this week with 13 of its 22 teams at .500 or better, and with four more teams within two points of being at .500. . . . The NHL, meanwhile, has 22 of its 30 teams playing .500 hockey. . . . Ain’t life grand when there are loser points to throw around?
---
The more I think about it the more I dislike the idea of Hockey Canada having the national junior team wear green jerseys in two games at the World Junior Championship in honour of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The WJC, of course, will be played in Saskatchewan this time around. . . . Does this promotion mean that the WJC organizers are having trouble selling tickets to the 2010 event? Or is this just another cash grab that is needed to feed the Hockey Canada money cow? . . . Whatever, it’s a sad day when such a promotion is deemed necessary for an event that has always been able to stand on its own two feet. . . . But, hey, it all got Hockey Canada some space on Deadspin, and maybe that was the objective all along. Check it out right here.
---
The Prince George Cougars split a home-ice weekend doubleheader with the Chilliwack Bruins and they did it without F Brett Connolly, the reigning CHL rookie of the year. Connolly has been out with a hip injury and is likely to be out for at least two more weeks. That means he’ll miss this weekend’s visit by the Tri-City Americans, who will be in Prince George for games Friday and Saturday.
---
The Red Deer Rebels continue to be without F Landon Ferraro (knee) and D Alex Petrovic (ankle), although both are back skating. Neither will play Tuesday against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. The Rebels are hopeful that Ferraro will play on the weekend -- Red Deer is at home to Medicine Hat on Friday and Everett on Saturday -- but Petrovic is expected to watch for another two weeks.
---
Fred Rinne of the Edmonton Sun has a great read right here about Shane Lehman, a player with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints who can no longer play the game he loves but is thankful to be alive.
---
SUNDAY:
In Calgary, D Michael Stone scored a PP goal at 10:29 of the third period to give the Hitmen a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The goal was Stone’s sixth of the season. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 33 shots, while Calgary’s Martin Jones, in his third game back from a high ankle sprain, turned aside 11. . . . Jones, 6-0 this season, won his 78th career victory to pass Dan Spence and become the winningest goaltender in Hitmen franchise history. . . . Calgary (12-3-0-0) took a 1-0 lead on F Tyler Fiddler’s goal at 4:24 of the first period. . . . Seattle F Prab Rai tied in on the PP at 6:43 of the second. . . . Fiddler had four goals in 66 games prior to this season. He has 10 in 15 games this season. . . . Al Murray, Hockey Canada’s chief scout, was in attendance. . . . Calgary has won five straight. . . . Attendance was 7,656. . . . The Hitmen, winners of five straight, are off until Wednesday when they meet the Rockets in Kelowna in the season’s first rematch of last season’s finalists.
---
In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes scored the third period’s only three goals and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-4. . . . Moose Jaw led 4-2 going into the third after goals by F Spencer Edwards and F Brendan Rowinski broke a 2-2 tie. . . . The Hurricanes, who opened the season 0-8, now are 5-9-2-0. . . . Lethbridge is about to get D Luca Sbisa back from the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Sbisa, 19, opened last season with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, who selected him 19th overall in the 2008 draft. He was returned to Lethbridge in February. His rights were dealt to Anaheim and he has been there since the NHL season opened. . . . The Warriors are 10-5-0-0. . . . F Carter Ashton’s second goal of the game, his ninth, cut into the Warriors’ lead and F Austin Fyten tied it at 10:14. . . . F Carter Bancks got the winner, his seventh goal this season, at 12:30. . . . Lethbridge G Linden Rowat stopped 28 shots to improve to 4-2-2-0. . . . Attendance was 2,747. . . . With the victory, Lethbridge moved out of the Eastern Conference cellar and into a tie for 10th with the Red Deer Rebels, two points ahead of the Kootenay Ice. . . . Sbisa, a 6-foot-2, 204-pounder from Italy, was pointless in eight games with the Ducks. . . . Sbisa’s arrival will leave the Hurricanes with three import players, one over the limit. Czech F Radim Valchar, acquired earlier this season from the Portland Winterhawks, is expected to be the odd-man out; the Hurricanes are trying to move him. He has five points in 11 games with Lethbridge.
---
In Vancouver, the Giants blew a 2-0 first-period lead and then came from behind to edge the Kelowna Rockets, 5-4. . . . The Giants (10-3-1-2), who coughed up a 3-0 lead and lost 4-3 in OT in Kelowna on Friday, tied Sunday’s game on a goal by F J.T. Barnett, his 11th, and then won it when F Brendan Gallagher scored from a scramble at 16:38 of the third. . . . The Rockets (7-6-1-0) got a goal and two assists from D Tyson Barrie. . . . Kelowna G Chad Ketting came up with 31 saves in his first WHL start. . . . G Jamie Tucker stopped 26 shots for the Giants.
---
In Regina, the Pats scored a 5-2 victory over the Broncos to avoid a weekend sweep. . . . The Broncos had beaten Regina 2-1 in Swift Current on Saturday. . . . Regina had lost three in a row, each by one goal. . . . Regina got a goal and two assists from F Jordan Eberle and two goals from F Graham Hood. . . . Eberle has 12 goals. . . . F Hampus Gustafsson scored his first WHL goal for Regina. . . . F Cody Eakin scored both Swift Current goals. After scoring six times in three weekend games, he leads the WHL with 15 goals. . . . Attendance was 3,806. . . . The Broncos (9-6-0-1), who are 9-1-0-0 at home, are 0-5-0-1 on the road. . . . Swift Current, playing its fourth game in five nights, dressed five defencemen, three of them freshmen. The Broncos have two defencemen, Eric Doyle and Jordan Evans, out with concussions. . . Attendance was 3,806.
---
Historically, a team has been considered to be at or over .500 if it earned at least one point for each game it has played. In other words, a team that has played 20 games is over .500 if it has 20 or more points. By that standard, the WHL goes into this week with 13 of its 22 teams at .500 or better, and with four more teams within two points of being at .500. . . . The NHL, meanwhile, has 22 of its 30 teams playing .500 hockey. . . . Ain’t life grand when there are loser points to throw around?
---
The more I think about it the more I dislike the idea of Hockey Canada having the national junior team wear green jerseys in two games at the World Junior Championship in honour of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The WJC, of course, will be played in Saskatchewan this time around. . . . Does this promotion mean that the WJC organizers are having trouble selling tickets to the 2010 event? Or is this just another cash grab that is needed to feed the Hockey Canada money cow? . . . Whatever, it’s a sad day when such a promotion is deemed necessary for an event that has always been able to stand on its own two feet. . . . But, hey, it all got Hockey Canada some space on Deadspin, and maybe that was the objective all along. Check it out right here.
---
The Prince George Cougars split a home-ice weekend doubleheader with the Chilliwack Bruins and they did it without F Brett Connolly, the reigning CHL rookie of the year. Connolly has been out with a hip injury and is likely to be out for at least two more weeks. That means he’ll miss this weekend’s visit by the Tri-City Americans, who will be in Prince George for games Friday and Saturday.
---
The Red Deer Rebels continue to be without F Landon Ferraro (knee) and D Alex Petrovic (ankle), although both are back skating. Neither will play Tuesday against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. The Rebels are hopeful that Ferraro will play on the weekend -- Red Deer is at home to Medicine Hat on Friday and Everett on Saturday -- but Petrovic is expected to watch for another two weeks.
---
Fred Rinne of the Edmonton Sun has a great read right here about Shane Lehman, a player with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints who can no longer play the game he loves but is thankful to be alive.
---
SUNDAY:
In Calgary, D Michael Stone scored a PP goal at 10:29 of the third period to give the Hitmen a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The goal was Stone’s sixth of the season. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 33 shots, while Calgary’s Martin Jones, in his third game back from a high ankle sprain, turned aside 11. . . . Jones, 6-0 this season, won his 78th career victory to pass Dan Spence and become the winningest goaltender in Hitmen franchise history. . . . Calgary (12-3-0-0) took a 1-0 lead on F Tyler Fiddler’s goal at 4:24 of the first period. . . . Seattle F Prab Rai tied in on the PP at 6:43 of the second. . . . Fiddler had four goals in 66 games prior to this season. He has 10 in 15 games this season. . . . Al Murray, Hockey Canada’s chief scout, was in attendance. . . . Calgary has won five straight. . . . Attendance was 7,656. . . . The Hitmen, winners of five straight, are off until Wednesday when they meet the Rockets in Kelowna in the season’s first rematch of last season’s finalists.
---
In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes scored the third period’s only three goals and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-4. . . . Moose Jaw led 4-2 going into the third after goals by F Spencer Edwards and F Brendan Rowinski broke a 2-2 tie. . . . The Hurricanes, who opened the season 0-8, now are 5-9-2-0. . . . Lethbridge is about to get D Luca Sbisa back from the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Sbisa, 19, opened last season with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, who selected him 19th overall in the 2008 draft. He was returned to Lethbridge in February. His rights were dealt to Anaheim and he has been there since the NHL season opened. . . . The Warriors are 10-5-0-0. . . . F Carter Ashton’s second goal of the game, his ninth, cut into the Warriors’ lead and F Austin Fyten tied it at 10:14. . . . F Carter Bancks got the winner, his seventh goal this season, at 12:30. . . . Lethbridge G Linden Rowat stopped 28 shots to improve to 4-2-2-0. . . . Attendance was 2,747. . . . With the victory, Lethbridge moved out of the Eastern Conference cellar and into a tie for 10th with the Red Deer Rebels, two points ahead of the Kootenay Ice. . . . Sbisa, a 6-foot-2, 204-pounder from Italy, was pointless in eight games with the Ducks. . . . Sbisa’s arrival will leave the Hurricanes with three import players, one over the limit. Czech F Radim Valchar, acquired earlier this season from the Portland Winterhawks, is expected to be the odd-man out; the Hurricanes are trying to move him. He has five points in 11 games with Lethbridge.
---
In Vancouver, the Giants blew a 2-0 first-period lead and then came from behind to edge the Kelowna Rockets, 5-4. . . . The Giants (10-3-1-2), who coughed up a 3-0 lead and lost 4-3 in OT in Kelowna on Friday, tied Sunday’s game on a goal by F J.T. Barnett, his 11th, and then won it when F Brendan Gallagher scored from a scramble at 16:38 of the third. . . . The Rockets (7-6-1-0) got a goal and two assists from D Tyson Barrie. . . . Kelowna G Chad Ketting came up with 31 saves in his first WHL start. . . . G Jamie Tucker stopped 26 shots for the Giants.
---
In Regina, the Pats scored a 5-2 victory over the Broncos to avoid a weekend sweep. . . . The Broncos had beaten Regina 2-1 in Swift Current on Saturday. . . . Regina had lost three in a row, each by one goal. . . . Regina got a goal and two assists from F Jordan Eberle and two goals from F Graham Hood. . . . Eberle has 12 goals. . . . F Hampus Gustafsson scored his first WHL goal for Regina. . . . F Cody Eakin scored both Swift Current goals. After scoring six times in three weekend games, he leads the WHL with 15 goals. . . . Attendance was 3,806. . . . The Broncos (9-6-0-1), who are 9-1-0-0 at home, are 0-5-0-1 on the road. . . . Swift Current, playing its fourth game in five nights, dressed five defencemen, three of them freshmen. The Broncos have two defencemen, Eric Doyle and Jordan Evans, out with concussions. . . Attendance was 3,806.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Saturday . . .
Pierre LeBrun of espn.com has news of a WHL owner who may be interested in moving up to the NHL. Yes, that would be Bill Gallacher, who owns the Portland Winterhawks. . . . I was told during the summer of 2008 that the NHL had wanted Gallacher to take at least a piece of the Nashville Predators but that he turned it down. I also was told that at one time there was at least some interest in the St. Louis Blues. . . . Anyway, LeBrun’s piece is right here.
---
During the 2010 World Junior Championship, Team Canada will wear green jerseys in one tournament game. It also will wear the jerseys in one exhibition game. According to Hockey Canada, it’s all in honour of “Saskatchewan’s love affair with the CFL’s Roughriders and as a salute to the province.” The tournament is being played in Saskatchewan, with most of the games in Regina and Saskatoon. . . . Of course, the greenies will be available should you want to purchase one, and game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off at eBay.ca, with details to come. . . . The 1991 tournament also was held in Saskatchewan. . . . While it’s nice that Hockey Canada is honouring a football team that boasts such incredible popularity, why not salute the Regina Pats, the oldest junior team in the country, or the Saskatoon Blades, the only team in the WHL that has been in the league since Day 1? The Pats and Blades both have contributed players to teams that have played in the WJC. Can’t think of any Roughriders who made the grade, although former offensive lineman Bob Poley once played for the Pats.
---
The ESPN show E:60 will air a piece on Theo Fleury that also will include an interview with Sheldon Kennedy. That show will air Tuesday and there’s more right here.
---
SATURDAY:
In Saskatoon, the Blades got a goal and an assist from F Walker Wintoneak as they dropped the Kamloops Blazers, 4-1. . . . Kamloops opened a six-game East Division swing with a 5-4 OT victory over the Pats in Regina on Oct. 16, but then lost five straight. . . . The Blazers (8-7-2-0) were without C Colin Smith (arm), C Dalibor Bortnak (spleen), C C.J. Stretch (WHL suspension), RW Tyler Shattuck (charley horse), F Ryan Hanes (concussion) and LW Shayne Wiebe (upper body). As well, D Linden Saip (knee) went down as Wintoneak scored a PP goal at 8:50 of the first period. . . . Kamloops dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum, and had three defencemen -- Giffen Nyren between Tyler Hansen and Josh Caron -- on one forward line. . . . The Blades (9-3-0-2) were 3-for-7 on the PP. . . . Kamloops G Justin Leclerc, who is from Saskatoon, stopped 45 shots. . . . The Blades had a 22-6 edge in shots in the first period. . . . Attendance was 5,717. . . . Saskatoon G Stephen Stanford stopped 23 shots, losing his shutout when F Jake Trask, who is from ’Toontown, capitalized on a strange bounce. . . . The Blades were without F Randy McNaught, who has been suspended for an elbowing major he picked up Friday in Swift Current. The length of the suspension has yet to be determined.
---
In Everett, the Brandon Wheat Kings scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Silvertips, 5-2. . . . F Jay Fehr scored 43 seconds into the third period to pull Brandon (8-6-0-1) even and F Matt Calvert got his ninth of the season, shorthanded, at 8:43, to give the visitors the lead. . . . Everett went into the game having outscored its opposition 18-5 in third periods. . . . Fehr added a second goal, on the PP, at 14:59. He has seven goals this season. . . . F Scott Glennie added an empty-netter at 19:53. . . . Fehr is on a nine-game point streak, with 11 ponts over that span. . . . Everett (6-4-0-0) got 29 saves from G Kent Simpson, while Brandon’s Andrew Hayes made 24 saves. . . . Everett C Chris Langkow (upper body) was scratched after the warmup. He was injured Friday in Vancouver. . . . Brandon is 2-1-0-0 on a seven-game swing that continues Tuesday in Portland against the Winterhawks. This one promises to be good, what with Portland at 11-5-0-0 and having won three straight.
---
In Kelowna, F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan scored in overtime as the Rockets got past the Vancouver Giants, 4-3. . . . The Rockets (7-5-1-0) actually trailed 3-0 halfway through the second period before roaring back. . . . F J.T. Barnett scored his 10th goal of the season for the Giants (9-3-1-2). . . . The Rockets, who had lost three straight, got second-period goals from Cody Chikie and Antoine Corbin, his first, and tied it on Stepan Novotny’s 10th at 0:40 of the third. . . . Callahan won it at 1:29 of OT, scoring his fourth of the season from a scramble. . . . D Tyson Barrie had two assists for Kelowna. . . . The teams meet again Sunday, this time in Vancouver. . . . Among the Giants scratches was F Cass Mappin, who was acquired earlier in the month from the Red Deer Rebels for F Andrej Kudrna. Earlier in the week, Vancouver head coach Don Hay had expressed concern about Mappin’s work ethic.
---
In Spokane, the Tri-City Americans scored twice in the game’s last 6:05 and beat the Chiefs, 4-3. . . . After F Tyler Johnson gave the home side a 3-2 lead with a penalty shot score at 2:52 of the third, F Brooks Macek pulled the Americans even on the PP at 13:55. . . . Sophomore F Spencer Asuchak, with his second goal this season, got the winner at 14:36. . . . Belarussian F Sergei Drozd had a goal and two assists for the Americans. . . . Attendance was 8,735. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley stopped 29 shots in running his record to 11-2-0-0. Owsley, 18, is quickly becoming one of the great stories of the season’s first half. After playing in 755 minutes over 17 games all of last season, he has played in 775 minutes covering 13 games this season, with a 2.32 GAA and a .918 save percentage. . . . The Americans, at 11-2-0-0, have won nine in a row, one shy of the franchise record set in 1991-92. The Americans next play Tuesday in Chilliwack. . . . The Chiefs are 5-4-1-0.
---
In Prince George, the Cougars coughed up a two-goal lead before recovering to beat the Chilliwack Bruins 5-4 in a shootout. . . . The Bruins (4-6-1-3) have points in seven of their last eight games (3-1-1-3). . . . Attendance was 2,017. . . . Prince George D Dallas Jackson, playing just his second game after recovering from a should injury suffered in training camp, tied the game 4-4 at 18:54 of the third period with G Alex Wright on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Wright, a Prince Georgian making his first WHL start, stopped 34 Shots, including five in OT. He also stopped all four shooters he faced in the circus. . . . The Bruins have lost three shootouts this season and have yet to score even one goal. . . . F Nick Buonassisi, the Cougars’ fourth shooter, won the game. . . . The Cougars are 3-10-0-0. . . . The Bruins’ next game is Wednesday at home against the Tri-City Americans. The Americans, the hottest thing on ice these days, are coached by Jim Hiller, who was fired by the Bruins after last season. . . . The Bruins were without D Jesse Craig (knee) and lost D Zach Habscheid to injury on Saturday.
---
In Edmonton, F Tristan King had two goals and two assists to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 7-1 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . F Linden Vey added a goal and three assists, while F Emerson Etem had a goal and two helpers. . . . The Tigers (8-3-2-2) were 4-for-9 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 0-for-5. . . . F Josh Koper, an Edmonton native acquired earlier in the week from Medicine Hat, scored for the Oil Kings. . . . Medicine Hat scored four first-period goals -- two on the PP, one shorthanded and one at even strength. . . . The Oil Kings (6-8-0-2) have lost four straight. . . . "That's the worst performance I've seen in the two and a half years that I've been here," Edmonton head coach Steve Pleau said on the team’s website. "That's unacceptable from every stand point. We were out-played, out-competed, out-coached, out-everythinged."
---
In Cranbrook, F Dylan Hood scored a PP goal late in the second period and the Moose Jaw Warriors went on to a 1-0 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . G Jeff Bosch stopped 18 shots for his first shutout of the season and the third of his career. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews, who played 33 games with the Warriors over the last two seasons, stopped 34 shots. . . . Hood has five goals this season. . . . Attendance was 2,477. . . . The Warriors, 10-4-0-0, have won five in a row. They are first in the East Division and are just two points behind the Eastern Conference-leading Calgary Hitmen (11-3-0-0). . . . The Hitmen are at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon; the Warriors meet the Hurricanes in Lethbridge on Sunday evening.
---
In Swift Current, F Cody Eakin’s 13th goal of the season gave the Broncos a 2-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Eakin scored with 17 seconds left in the third period. . . . F Michael Stickland of the Broncos and F Jordan Eberle of the Pats had traded first-period goals. . . . Swift Current G Morgan Clark stopped 30 shots, while Regina’s Damien Ketlo turned aside 37. . . . The Broncos (9-5-0-1) have won three in a row. . . . Regina is 5-8-2-0. . . . The teams meet again Sunday night in Regina.
---
During the 2010 World Junior Championship, Team Canada will wear green jerseys in one tournament game. It also will wear the jerseys in one exhibition game. According to Hockey Canada, it’s all in honour of “Saskatchewan’s love affair with the CFL’s Roughriders and as a salute to the province.” The tournament is being played in Saskatchewan, with most of the games in Regina and Saskatoon. . . . Of course, the greenies will be available should you want to purchase one, and game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off at eBay.ca, with details to come. . . . The 1991 tournament also was held in Saskatchewan. . . . While it’s nice that Hockey Canada is honouring a football team that boasts such incredible popularity, why not salute the Regina Pats, the oldest junior team in the country, or the Saskatoon Blades, the only team in the WHL that has been in the league since Day 1? The Pats and Blades both have contributed players to teams that have played in the WJC. Can’t think of any Roughriders who made the grade, although former offensive lineman Bob Poley once played for the Pats.
---
The ESPN show E:60 will air a piece on Theo Fleury that also will include an interview with Sheldon Kennedy. That show will air Tuesday and there’s more right here.
---
SATURDAY:
In Saskatoon, the Blades got a goal and an assist from F Walker Wintoneak as they dropped the Kamloops Blazers, 4-1. . . . Kamloops opened a six-game East Division swing with a 5-4 OT victory over the Pats in Regina on Oct. 16, but then lost five straight. . . . The Blazers (8-7-2-0) were without C Colin Smith (arm), C Dalibor Bortnak (spleen), C C.J. Stretch (WHL suspension), RW Tyler Shattuck (charley horse), F Ryan Hanes (concussion) and LW Shayne Wiebe (upper body). As well, D Linden Saip (knee) went down as Wintoneak scored a PP goal at 8:50 of the first period. . . . Kamloops dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum, and had three defencemen -- Giffen Nyren between Tyler Hansen and Josh Caron -- on one forward line. . . . The Blades (9-3-0-2) were 3-for-7 on the PP. . . . Kamloops G Justin Leclerc, who is from Saskatoon, stopped 45 shots. . . . The Blades had a 22-6 edge in shots in the first period. . . . Attendance was 5,717. . . . Saskatoon G Stephen Stanford stopped 23 shots, losing his shutout when F Jake Trask, who is from ’Toontown, capitalized on a strange bounce. . . . The Blades were without F Randy McNaught, who has been suspended for an elbowing major he picked up Friday in Swift Current. The length of the suspension has yet to be determined.
---
In Everett, the Brandon Wheat Kings scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Silvertips, 5-2. . . . F Jay Fehr scored 43 seconds into the third period to pull Brandon (8-6-0-1) even and F Matt Calvert got his ninth of the season, shorthanded, at 8:43, to give the visitors the lead. . . . Everett went into the game having outscored its opposition 18-5 in third periods. . . . Fehr added a second goal, on the PP, at 14:59. He has seven goals this season. . . . F Scott Glennie added an empty-netter at 19:53. . . . Fehr is on a nine-game point streak, with 11 ponts over that span. . . . Everett (6-4-0-0) got 29 saves from G Kent Simpson, while Brandon’s Andrew Hayes made 24 saves. . . . Everett C Chris Langkow (upper body) was scratched after the warmup. He was injured Friday in Vancouver. . . . Brandon is 2-1-0-0 on a seven-game swing that continues Tuesday in Portland against the Winterhawks. This one promises to be good, what with Portland at 11-5-0-0 and having won three straight.
---
In Kelowna, F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan scored in overtime as the Rockets got past the Vancouver Giants, 4-3. . . . The Rockets (7-5-1-0) actually trailed 3-0 halfway through the second period before roaring back. . . . F J.T. Barnett scored his 10th goal of the season for the Giants (9-3-1-2). . . . The Rockets, who had lost three straight, got second-period goals from Cody Chikie and Antoine Corbin, his first, and tied it on Stepan Novotny’s 10th at 0:40 of the third. . . . Callahan won it at 1:29 of OT, scoring his fourth of the season from a scramble. . . . D Tyson Barrie had two assists for Kelowna. . . . The teams meet again Sunday, this time in Vancouver. . . . Among the Giants scratches was F Cass Mappin, who was acquired earlier in the month from the Red Deer Rebels for F Andrej Kudrna. Earlier in the week, Vancouver head coach Don Hay had expressed concern about Mappin’s work ethic.
---
In Spokane, the Tri-City Americans scored twice in the game’s last 6:05 and beat the Chiefs, 4-3. . . . After F Tyler Johnson gave the home side a 3-2 lead with a penalty shot score at 2:52 of the third, F Brooks Macek pulled the Americans even on the PP at 13:55. . . . Sophomore F Spencer Asuchak, with his second goal this season, got the winner at 14:36. . . . Belarussian F Sergei Drozd had a goal and two assists for the Americans. . . . Attendance was 8,735. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley stopped 29 shots in running his record to 11-2-0-0. Owsley, 18, is quickly becoming one of the great stories of the season’s first half. After playing in 755 minutes over 17 games all of last season, he has played in 775 minutes covering 13 games this season, with a 2.32 GAA and a .918 save percentage. . . . The Americans, at 11-2-0-0, have won nine in a row, one shy of the franchise record set in 1991-92. The Americans next play Tuesday in Chilliwack. . . . The Chiefs are 5-4-1-0.
---
In Prince George, the Cougars coughed up a two-goal lead before recovering to beat the Chilliwack Bruins 5-4 in a shootout. . . . The Bruins (4-6-1-3) have points in seven of their last eight games (3-1-1-3). . . . Attendance was 2,017. . . . Prince George D Dallas Jackson, playing just his second game after recovering from a should injury suffered in training camp, tied the game 4-4 at 18:54 of the third period with G Alex Wright on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Wright, a Prince Georgian making his first WHL start, stopped 34 Shots, including five in OT. He also stopped all four shooters he faced in the circus. . . . The Bruins have lost three shootouts this season and have yet to score even one goal. . . . F Nick Buonassisi, the Cougars’ fourth shooter, won the game. . . . The Cougars are 3-10-0-0. . . . The Bruins’ next game is Wednesday at home against the Tri-City Americans. The Americans, the hottest thing on ice these days, are coached by Jim Hiller, who was fired by the Bruins after last season. . . . The Bruins were without D Jesse Craig (knee) and lost D Zach Habscheid to injury on Saturday.
---
In Edmonton, F Tristan King had two goals and two assists to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 7-1 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . F Linden Vey added a goal and three assists, while F Emerson Etem had a goal and two helpers. . . . The Tigers (8-3-2-2) were 4-for-9 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 0-for-5. . . . F Josh Koper, an Edmonton native acquired earlier in the week from Medicine Hat, scored for the Oil Kings. . . . Medicine Hat scored four first-period goals -- two on the PP, one shorthanded and one at even strength. . . . The Oil Kings (6-8-0-2) have lost four straight. . . . "That's the worst performance I've seen in the two and a half years that I've been here," Edmonton head coach Steve Pleau said on the team’s website. "That's unacceptable from every stand point. We were out-played, out-competed, out-coached, out-everythinged."
---
In Cranbrook, F Dylan Hood scored a PP goal late in the second period and the Moose Jaw Warriors went on to a 1-0 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . G Jeff Bosch stopped 18 shots for his first shutout of the season and the third of his career. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews, who played 33 games with the Warriors over the last two seasons, stopped 34 shots. . . . Hood has five goals this season. . . . Attendance was 2,477. . . . The Warriors, 10-4-0-0, have won five in a row. They are first in the East Division and are just two points behind the Eastern Conference-leading Calgary Hitmen (11-3-0-0). . . . The Hitmen are at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon; the Warriors meet the Hurricanes in Lethbridge on Sunday evening.
---
In Swift Current, F Cody Eakin’s 13th goal of the season gave the Broncos a 2-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Eakin scored with 17 seconds left in the third period. . . . F Michael Stickland of the Broncos and F Jordan Eberle of the Pats had traded first-period goals. . . . Swift Current G Morgan Clark stopped 30 shots, while Regina’s Damien Ketlo turned aside 37. . . . The Broncos (9-5-0-1) have won three in a row. . . . Regina is 5-8-2-0. . . . The teams meet again Sunday night in Regina.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Friday . . .
The Spokane Chiefs have dropped F Mike Betz, 17, from their roster. He had gotten into just one game this season. . . . Betz was the 12th overall pick in the 2007 bantam draft. . . . He is at home in Summerland, B.C., awaiting reassignment. . . . The Chiefs now are carrying 27 players, including two injured 20-year-olds -- F Ryan Letts (foot) and D Jared Spurgeon (shoulder) -- who have yet to play this season. Both are believed to be at least three weeks away from playing.
---
If you’ve been following the debate this week on whether Quebec hockey players have been snubbed by Hockey Canada when it comes to picking the national junior team, here’s some good reading right here.
---
FRIDAY:
In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans made it eight straight home-ice regular-season victories over Kelowna as they beat the Rockets, 5-1. . . . The Americans also have won eight straight games and now are 10-2-0-0 and the proud owners of the WHL’s top winning percentage (.833). . . . Attendance was 4,125. . . . G Drew Owsley, who has started all 12 games this season for the Ams, had 31 saves. This was the third time he has beaten the Rockets this season. . . The Americans are 6-0-0-0 at home and are the only team in the league not have lost at least once on home ice. . . . Tri-City visit’s the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday. . . . The Rockets (6-5-1-0), who are at home to Vancouver tonight, have lost three in a row. . . . Kelowna D Tyson Barrie (knee, shoulder) returned to the Rockets’ lineup. He had missed eight games since being injured on Sept. 25.
---
In Vancouver, F Brendan Gallagher scored two PP goals to help the Giants double the Everett Silvertips, 4-2. . . . Attendance was 7,318. . . . Everett (6-3-0-0) had beaten Vancouver (9-3-0-2) twice this season, including once in a shootout. . . . Vancouver led this one 2-0 after the second period, with Everett twice closing to within a goal before an empty-netter by F James Henry sealed the deal. . . . Three former Giants -- D Mark Fistic (Dallas), D Cody Franson (Nashville) and F James Wright -- each scored his first career NHL goal on Thursday night.
---
In Kent, Wash., G Jacob De Serres came up with 28 saves as the Brandon Wheat Kings dumped the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent, 4-1. . . . The Wheat Kings acquired De Serres last week from Seattle, for whom he was 0-3 this season. Yes, he was chosen as the game‘s first star. . . . Brandon (7-6-0-1) got two goals from F Matt Calvert, one on the PP and the other, his eighth this season, into an empty net. . . . Brandon is 1-1 on a seven-game road trip. . . . Attendance was 3,066. . . . "This game really meant a lot to me," De Serres told Jim Riley in a story for the Seattle Times. "Other than the championship I won in midget, this is the second best win I've ever had." . . . Seattle slipped to 3-8-0-1.
---
In Swift Current, F Cody Eakin celebrated his NHL contract by scoring three times to lead the Broncos to a 6-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Eakin signed a three-year deal with the Washington Capitals earlier in the week. He now has 12 goals this season. . . . Two of his goals on Friday came shorthanded. . . . Broncos G Morgan Clark stopped 37 shots. . . . The Broncos, who have won eight of nine at home, are 8-5-1-0, while the Blades, who had a six-game winning streak snapped, are 8-3-0-2. . . . Attendance was 2,141. . . . Saskatoon and the idle Moose Jaw Warriors (9-4-0-0) are tied atop the East Division, one point ahead of the Broncos. . . . Swift Current D Derek Claffey was pointless but still was plus-4.
---
In Edmonton, the Calgary Hitmen scored five PP goals and beat the Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . Calgary was 5-for-6 with the man advantage. . . . The Hitmen now are 24-for-67 on the PP, which works out to 35.8 per cent. . . . The Oil Kings were 0-for-3 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 5,427. . . . Edmonton got two goals and an assist from F Joel Broda and a goal and two helpers from F Brandon Kozun.
---
In Prince Albert, the Raiders got off 57 shots en route to a 5-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . It was the Raiders’ second straight victory, a season high, while Kamloops fell to 1-4 on a six-game East Division swing that wraps up in Saskatoon on Saturday. . . . The Blazers were without F Tyler Shattuck (charley horse) and F C.J. Stretch (WHL suspension). . . . F Brandon Herrod and F Igor Revenko each scored twice for the Raiders (7-8-0-0). . . . Revenko has 10 goals this season. . . . Attendance was 2,455. . . . F Justin Maylan had three assists for the Raiders. . . . Kamloops G Justin Leclerc stopped 52 shots. . . . The Blazers are 8-6-2-0.
---
In Medicine Hat, the Tigers roared past the Red Deer Rebels, 9-2. . . . F Bretton Cameron, F Emerson Etem and F Matt MacKay each scored twice for the winners, who are 7-3-2-2. . . . The Rebels are 6-8-0-0. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had a goal and three assists. . . . Etem, a 17-year-old freshman, and Cameron, 20, each has 11 goals.
---
In Cranbrook, the Portland Winterhawks dumped the Kootenay Ice 5-1 to finish a six-game Central Division swing at 4-2-0-0. . . . That was Portland’s longest road trip of this season. . . . The Winterhawks have won three in a row and are 11-5. They lead the U.S. Division by two points over the Tri-City Americans, who have played four fewer games. . . . Attendance was 2,567. . . . F Luke Walker scored twice for Portland, giving him 10 this season. . . . Portland F Nino Niederreitter had an assist to run his point streak to 10 games. He has 12 points, including five goals, over that stretch. . . . Portland didn’t win its 11th game last season until Jan. 3.
---
In Prince George, G Lucas Gore stopped 32 shots to lead the Chilliwack Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . Attendance was 2,202. . . . F Ryan Howse, a Prince George native, opened the scoring for the Bruins at 3:50 of the first period on the PP. . . . The Cougars tied the game 2-2 when D Kurt Torbohm, who was acquired from Kamloops earlier in the season, scored on a PP late in the second period. That was Torbohm’s first career goal and came in his 111th game. . . . The Bruins won it on third-period goals by F Roman Horak, at 15:20, and F Kevin Sundher, into an empty net.
---
If you’ve been following the debate this week on whether Quebec hockey players have been snubbed by Hockey Canada when it comes to picking the national junior team, here’s some good reading right here.
---
FRIDAY:
In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans made it eight straight home-ice regular-season victories over Kelowna as they beat the Rockets, 5-1. . . . The Americans also have won eight straight games and now are 10-2-0-0 and the proud owners of the WHL’s top winning percentage (.833). . . . Attendance was 4,125. . . . G Drew Owsley, who has started all 12 games this season for the Ams, had 31 saves. This was the third time he has beaten the Rockets this season. . . The Americans are 6-0-0-0 at home and are the only team in the league not have lost at least once on home ice. . . . Tri-City visit’s the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday. . . . The Rockets (6-5-1-0), who are at home to Vancouver tonight, have lost three in a row. . . . Kelowna D Tyson Barrie (knee, shoulder) returned to the Rockets’ lineup. He had missed eight games since being injured on Sept. 25.
---
In Vancouver, F Brendan Gallagher scored two PP goals to help the Giants double the Everett Silvertips, 4-2. . . . Attendance was 7,318. . . . Everett (6-3-0-0) had beaten Vancouver (9-3-0-2) twice this season, including once in a shootout. . . . Vancouver led this one 2-0 after the second period, with Everett twice closing to within a goal before an empty-netter by F James Henry sealed the deal. . . . Three former Giants -- D Mark Fistic (Dallas), D Cody Franson (Nashville) and F James Wright -- each scored his first career NHL goal on Thursday night.
---
In Kent, Wash., G Jacob De Serres came up with 28 saves as the Brandon Wheat Kings dumped the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent, 4-1. . . . The Wheat Kings acquired De Serres last week from Seattle, for whom he was 0-3 this season. Yes, he was chosen as the game‘s first star. . . . Brandon (7-6-0-1) got two goals from F Matt Calvert, one on the PP and the other, his eighth this season, into an empty net. . . . Brandon is 1-1 on a seven-game road trip. . . . Attendance was 3,066. . . . "This game really meant a lot to me," De Serres told Jim Riley in a story for the Seattle Times. "Other than the championship I won in midget, this is the second best win I've ever had." . . . Seattle slipped to 3-8-0-1.
---
In Swift Current, F Cody Eakin celebrated his NHL contract by scoring three times to lead the Broncos to a 6-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Eakin signed a three-year deal with the Washington Capitals earlier in the week. He now has 12 goals this season. . . . Two of his goals on Friday came shorthanded. . . . Broncos G Morgan Clark stopped 37 shots. . . . The Broncos, who have won eight of nine at home, are 8-5-1-0, while the Blades, who had a six-game winning streak snapped, are 8-3-0-2. . . . Attendance was 2,141. . . . Saskatoon and the idle Moose Jaw Warriors (9-4-0-0) are tied atop the East Division, one point ahead of the Broncos. . . . Swift Current D Derek Claffey was pointless but still was plus-4.
---
In Edmonton, the Calgary Hitmen scored five PP goals and beat the Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . Calgary was 5-for-6 with the man advantage. . . . The Hitmen now are 24-for-67 on the PP, which works out to 35.8 per cent. . . . The Oil Kings were 0-for-3 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 5,427. . . . Edmonton got two goals and an assist from F Joel Broda and a goal and two helpers from F Brandon Kozun.
---
In Prince Albert, the Raiders got off 57 shots en route to a 5-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . It was the Raiders’ second straight victory, a season high, while Kamloops fell to 1-4 on a six-game East Division swing that wraps up in Saskatoon on Saturday. . . . The Blazers were without F Tyler Shattuck (charley horse) and F C.J. Stretch (WHL suspension). . . . F Brandon Herrod and F Igor Revenko each scored twice for the Raiders (7-8-0-0). . . . Revenko has 10 goals this season. . . . Attendance was 2,455. . . . F Justin Maylan had three assists for the Raiders. . . . Kamloops G Justin Leclerc stopped 52 shots. . . . The Blazers are 8-6-2-0.
---
In Medicine Hat, the Tigers roared past the Red Deer Rebels, 9-2. . . . F Bretton Cameron, F Emerson Etem and F Matt MacKay each scored twice for the winners, who are 7-3-2-2. . . . The Rebels are 6-8-0-0. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had a goal and three assists. . . . Etem, a 17-year-old freshman, and Cameron, 20, each has 11 goals.
---
In Cranbrook, the Portland Winterhawks dumped the Kootenay Ice 5-1 to finish a six-game Central Division swing at 4-2-0-0. . . . That was Portland’s longest road trip of this season. . . . The Winterhawks have won three in a row and are 11-5. They lead the U.S. Division by two points over the Tri-City Americans, who have played four fewer games. . . . Attendance was 2,567. . . . F Luke Walker scored twice for Portland, giving him 10 this season. . . . Portland F Nino Niederreitter had an assist to run his point streak to 10 games. He has 12 points, including five goals, over that stretch. . . . Portland didn’t win its 11th game last season until Jan. 3.
---
In Prince George, G Lucas Gore stopped 32 shots to lead the Chilliwack Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . Attendance was 2,202. . . . F Ryan Howse, a Prince George native, opened the scoring for the Bruins at 3:50 of the first period on the PP. . . . The Cougars tied the game 2-2 when D Kurt Torbohm, who was acquired from Kamloops earlier in the season, scored on a PP late in the second period. That was Torbohm’s first career goal and came in his 111th game. . . . The Bruins won it on third-period goals by F Roman Horak, at 15:20, and F Kevin Sundher, into an empty net.
Posts
