THE MacBETH REPORT: D Greg Kuznik (Seattle, 1995-98) and G Norm Maracle (Saskatoon, 1991-94) have been released by Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, plays in Austria Erste Bank Liga) for financial reasons. Kuznik had five goals and 13 assists in 37 games; Maracle had a 3.58 GAA and a .901 save percentage in 25 games this season. . . . F David Hruska (Red Deer, 1995-96) has signed with Chomutov (Czech Republic 2.Liga) for the rest of this season. He had seven goals and six assists in 35 games for Slavia Prague (Czech Republic Extraliga) this season.
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The MJHL’s Winnipeg Saints have acquired the junior A rights to former Blazers G Justin Leclerc, 20. The Saints dealt former WHL F Cody Gross, 20, and future considerations to the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires for Leclerc and futures. Leclerc was in his third season with the Blazers when he was released on Nov. 22. He cleared WHL waivers on Nov. 25. . . . Gross, who has played in the WHL with Prince Albert, Regina, Red Deer and Calgary, had 17 points in 16 games with the Saints. . . . In order to make the deal, Melville acquired Leclerc’s rights from the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves for F Aaron Decorby, 20.
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The Tri-City Americans unclogged their goaltending situation Wednesday by trading Brett Martyniuk to the Regina Pats for an undisclosed conditional draft pick. Martyniuk, 18, was one of three goaltenders on the Americans’ roster last season, along with Chet Pickard and Drew Owsley. This season, he fell in behind Owsley and then slid to third on the depth chart with the arrival of Alex Pechurskiy from Russia over the Christmas season. . . . This season, Martyniuk had gotten into only seven games. He was 1-1-0-0 with a 2.73 GAA and a .860 save percentage. He was the Manitoba major midget league’s goaltender of the year for 2007-08 when he was with the Winnipeg Thrashers. . . . The Pats have lost G Damien Ketlo to a shoulder injury, so Martyniuk will back up Dawson Guhle. Ketlo could be gone for another four weeks. . . . Martyniuk will join the Pats in Cranbrook, B.C., for their Thursday night game with the Kootenay Ice. . . . Martyniuk is a second cousin to Ray Martyniuk, who played goal for the Flin Flon Bombers (1967-70).
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D Luca Sbisa of the Lethbridge Hurricanes will play in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Sbisa, 19, has been named to Switzerland’s hockey team. Sbisa presently is playing for Switzerland in the World Junior Championship in Saskatchewan. He began this season with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, who acquired his rights over the summer from the Philadelphia Flyers.
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F Dan Iwanski of the Everett Silvertips won’t play Thursday night against the visiting Saskatoon Blades. He suffered a knee injury during Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to the host Tri-City Americans and the extent of the injury isn’t yet known. . . . The Silvertips have brought in F Tyler Giebel, who was a second-round selection in the 2008 bantam draft. He has 36 points in 27 games with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians.
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Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun wonders if there are too many blowouts at the World Junior Championship. That piece is right here.
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A linesman who was working a junior C game in Ontario was in critical condition in hospital Wednesday after getting his neck slashed by a skate. The Toronto Star story is right here.
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WEDNESDAY:
In Vancouver, F James Dobrowolski scored twice as the Prince George Cougars stunned the Giants, 4-1. . . . F Nick Buonassisi added a goal and two assists for the Cougars (8-28-1-1), who are 3-17-1-1 on the road. . . . Cougars F Alex Rodgers assisted on his club’s second and third goals. . . . The Giants (24-13-1-2) had won their last two games. They are 16-10-0-0 at home. . . . Prince George G Hudson Stremmel stopped 30 shots. . . . Vancouver was without F Lance Bouma (ill), while F Craig Cunningham, its leading scorer, missed parts of the game after being hit in the face with a puck and losing five teeth. . . . Attendance was 8,023. . . . The Giants had beaten the Cougars in 13 straight regular-season games. . . . G Mark Segal stopped 24 shots for Vancouver.
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In Lethbridge, F Mitch Maxwell scored his 17th goal of the season in OT to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Tigers actually led this game 2-0 before it was six minutes old on goals by F Matt MacKay, his 15th, and F Emerson Etem, his 28th. . . . Lethbridge (12-21-3-1) forced OT on goals by F Austin Fyten, his 13th, at 3:20 of the second and F Mark Reners, his third, at 12:46 of the third. . . . The Tigers are 4-1-1-0 against Lethbridge this season. . . . The Tigers (23-11-3-4) lost D Mark Isherwood (shoulder) in the second period. . . . Attendance was 3,991. . . . D Austin Bourhis, 17, has joined the Tigers. Bourhis, who has 15 points in 35 games with the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers, once was on the Edmonton Oil Kings’ protected list.
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In Prince Albert, the Moose Jaw Warriors scored two second-period goals and beat the Raiders, 2-1. . . . F Craig McCallum gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead at 5:37 of the first period. . . . Moose Jaw F Jason Bast tied the score at 1:45 of the second and D Dylan McIlrath got what proved to be the winner at 19:02. It was his second goal of the season. . . . Bast drew an assist on the winner. . . . Bast and McCallum each has 18 goals. . . . Moose Jaw G Jeff Bosch stopped 39 shots, while Prince Albert’s Garrett Zemlak turned aside 24. . . . The Warriors (19-15-1-2) beat the visiting Raiders 6-3 on Tuesday. . . . The Raiders (20-18-1-2) have lost three in a row. . . . Attendance was 2,135.
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In Red Deer, the Rebels scored three times in the second period as they beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-2. . . . Red Deer was 2-for-4 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 0-for-6. . . . Brandon led 1-0 after one period on a goal by F Shayne Wiebe, his 16th. . . . Red Deer took control in the second on goals from Lane Scheidl, Willie Coetzee and John Persson. . . . F Mark Raedeke, acquired earlier in the day from the Edmonton Oil Kings, scored Brandon’s second goal, his 18th of the season. . . . F Andrej Kudrna iced it for Red Deer with his 17th goal at 19:07. . . . G Darcy Kuemper stopped 25 shots for Red Deer (20-15-0-3), while Jacob De Serres turned aside 27 for Brandon (25-13-0-2). . . . Attendance was 4,612.
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In Kent, Wash., the visiting Saskatoon Blades built up a 4-0 lead and hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Blades (25-7-1-3) opened the scoring with two PP goals just 28 seconds apart early in the first period. . . . The Blades were 3-for-7 on the PP. . . . D Stefan Elliot scored his 12th goal and added an assist for Saskatoon. . . . F Chance Lund scored twice, giving him three this season, for Seattle. . . . F Prab Rai got his 23rd of the season for Seattle. . . . The Thunderbirds (13-20-2-4) have lost three straight. . . . Attendance was 3,001. . . . F Branden Troock, Seattle’s first pick in the 2009 draft, made his WHL debut and picked up an assist.
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In Kelowna, F Dalibor Bortnak scored seven seconds into the first period and the Kamloops Blazers went on to beat the Rockets, 4-1. . . . Kamloops D Josh Caron dumped the puck around the boards and into the Kelowna zone off the opening faceoff. Kelowna G Mark Guggenberger went behind the net to play the puck, which took a funny bounce and went in front of the net where Bortnak tapped it home. . . . The Rockets (18-20-1-0), who have seven regulars out with injuries, have lost four in a row. . . . F Ryan Hanes, who is from Kamloops, scored his first WHL goal for the Blazers (16-18-2-3). It came in his 24th game over two seasons. . . . Last season, the Blazers were 0-8-0-1 against the Rockets; this season they are 3-1-0-0. . . . Kamloops G Kurtis Mucha stopped 27 shots, one fewer than Guggenberger. . . . Attendance was 6,268.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
WHL website down
A note from Cory Flett, the WHL's director of communications:
As you may be aware the WHL website has been down this evening. This is due to a power outage at a building in Toronto that houses the WHL website servers.
A building electrician who was completing routine maintenance shorted out the buildings' ground wire and ended up in the hospital. Due to the injury, emergency response crews and investigators will not power up the building until a complete inspection is conducted by the Ministry of Labour.
This outage also affects the OHL, AHL and ECHL websites.
As you may be aware the WHL website has been down this evening. This is due to a power outage at a building in Toronto that houses the WHL website servers.
A building electrician who was completing routine maintenance shorted out the buildings' ground wire and ended up in the hospital. Due to the injury, emergency response crews and investigators will not power up the building until a complete inspection is conducted by the Ministry of Labour.
This outage also affects the OHL, AHL and ECHL websites.
Wheat Kings add more experience
Playing host to the Memorial Cup can make hockey people act out of character. There was more proof of that Wednesday morning as Kelly McCrimmon, the owner, GM and head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, dealt youth for experience.
The Wheat Kings, the host team for the 2010 Memorial Cup, acquired C Brent Raedeke, a 19-year-old from Regina, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for RW Klarc Wilson, a 16-year-old Edmonton native.
The Oil Kings also get a conditional third-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. It could be that pick is conditional on Raedeke playing in Brandon as a 20-year-old.
Raedeke, in his third WHL season, came out of the Christmas break with 31 points in 39 games. He has 117 points and 202 penalty minutes in 181 regular-season games, and is the Oil Kings' all-time scoring leader.
He was an eighth-round pick by the Regina Pats in the 2005 bantam draft and has signed as a free agent with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.
He is expected to play for the Wheat Kings tonight (Wednesday) in Red Deer against the Rebels.
Wilson was the 10th overall pick in the 2008 bantam draft. He has two assists in 18 games with Brandon.
This is the second trade of this nature for McCrimmon in the last couple of weeks. On Dec. 13, he dealt F Jordan DePape, 17, to the Kamloops Blazers for LW Shayne Wiebe, 19. DePape was the MJHL’s rookie of the year last season with the Winnipeg Saints.
The WHL trade deadline is Jan. 10 ( 3 p.m., Mountain time).
The Wheat Kings, the host team for the 2010 Memorial Cup, acquired C Brent Raedeke, a 19-year-old from Regina, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for RW Klarc Wilson, a 16-year-old Edmonton native.
The Oil Kings also get a conditional third-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. It could be that pick is conditional on Raedeke playing in Brandon as a 20-year-old.
Raedeke, in his third WHL season, came out of the Christmas break with 31 points in 39 games. He has 117 points and 202 penalty minutes in 181 regular-season games, and is the Oil Kings' all-time scoring leader.
He was an eighth-round pick by the Regina Pats in the 2005 bantam draft and has signed as a free agent with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.
He is expected to play for the Wheat Kings tonight (Wednesday) in Red Deer against the Rebels.
Wilson was the 10th overall pick in the 2008 bantam draft. He has two assists in 18 games with Brandon.
This is the second trade of this nature for McCrimmon in the last couple of weeks. On Dec. 13, he dealt F Jordan DePape, 17, to the Kamloops Blazers for LW Shayne Wiebe, 19. DePape was the MJHL’s rookie of the year last season with the Winnipeg Saints.
The WHL trade deadline is Jan. 10 ( 3 p.m., Mountain time).
Brandon, Edmonton swing deal
The Brandon Wheat Kings have acquired C Brent Raedeke, 19, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for RW Klarc Wilson, 16.
More later . . .
More later . . .
Tuesday . . .
One small trade from Monday as the Prince Albert Raiders dealt F Brendan Persley to Chilliwack for a 13th-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. Persley,a 16-year-old from Kelowna, was an eighth-round pick in the 2008 draft. He has 25 points in 18 games with the junior B Penticton Lakers of the Kootenay International junior league. . . . This is the second such deal this season between the Raiders and Bruins. Earlier, the Raiders sent the rights to F Cole Penner, the fourth overall pick in the 2006 draft, to the Bruins for a 12th-round pick in the 2010 draft.
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The Prince Albert Raiders would love to have Czech D Tomas Voracek, 19, rejoin them. But it doesn’t sound as though that is likely to happen. Voracek spent 2007-08 with the Raiders but left two games into the following season to be with his ailing mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer and was at home in Ostrava. She died earlier this month. Voraceck, who now is with the Czech team at the World Junior Championship, told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that he would love to return to the WHL but that he is under contract to a men’s team, HC Vitkovice of the Czech Extraliga. “I’ve been in touch with the coach of the Raiders but I still have a contract back home so I don’t think it’s possible to get back in here,” Voracek told Harder. “I would like to get back in here but I made the men’s team back home so I want to play there probably.”
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G Todd Ford (Swift Current, Prince George, Vancouver, 2000-04) has been recalled by the AHL’s Texas Stars from the ECHL’s Carolina Stingrays. Ford, 26, was 16-6-1 with a 2.88 GAA and a .910 save percentage with the Stingrays. He was first in the ECHL in wins, saves and minutes played.
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Vancouver D Kevin Connauton is one goal shy of a franchise record as the Giants prepare to play host to the Prince George Cougars on Wednesday night. Connauton, the Giants’ triggerman from the point on the PP, has 17 goals. The franchise record of 18 goals in a season by a defenceman was set by Jon Blum in 2007-08. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that Connauton attempted 17 shots, and had nine shots on goal, during Monday’s 6-3 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers. He didn’t score, but he ended up with three assists. . . . Connauton leads WHL defencemen in goals and points (42).
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Click on the link right here and scroll down to No. 5 to see what Scott Burnside of espn.com thinks of the World Junior Championship. Despite the TSN hype, more and more people seem to be feeling the way Burnside does.
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Bruce Hamilton, the president and GM of the Kelowna Rockets, once had the hardest shot in the WHL. That’s what one actor claims. You can read about it right here.
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G Ian Curtis of the Portland Winterhawks has unveiled a new look to his mask. And there is an interesting story behind it all. That story is right here. . . . Interestingly, G Kurtis Mucha, whom the Winterhawks dealt to the Kamloops Blazers in November, continues to wear his old Portland gear. You don’t suppose he is waiting to see if anything happens by Jan. 10, do you?
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The Kamloops Blazers will have F Brendan Ranford available when they meet the Rockets in Kelowna on Wednesday night. Kamloops GM Craig Bonner confirmed Tuesday night that Ranford wouldn’t be suspended by the WHL for a charging major he incurred during Monday’s 6-3 loss to the Giants in Vancouver.
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The Saskatoon Blades, who are about to begin a U.S. Division tour, have added three players to their roster -- F Ryan Olsen of Delta, B.C., D Darren Dietz of Medicine Hat and D Zane Morin of Meadow Lake, Sask. . . . Olsen, the 20th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft, will join the Blades from the major midget Greater Vancouver Canadians. He has 28 points in 25 games. . . . Dietz, a list player, players for the midget AAA Lethbridge Y’s Men’s Titans. He had 11 points and 54 penalty mintues in 21 games through Dec. 11. . . . Morin, an eighth-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft, has 14 points in 27 games with the midget AAA Beardy’s Blackhawks. . . . The Blades open the swing Wednesday against the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent.
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TUESDAY:
In Calgary, F Tyler Fiddler’s shorthanded goal in the third period stood up as the winner as the Hitmen edged the Regina Pats, 4-3. . . . The Htimen (27-10-1-1) had lost two in a row. They are 3-0 against the Pats and have outscored Regina 12-4. . . . The Pats (16-22-3-0) have lost eight in a row. . . . Fiddler’s goal, at 3:22 of the third period, gave Calgary a 4-2 lead. . . . Fiddler has 19 goals. He had three goals in 64 games last season. . . F Matt Strueby had two goals for Regina. He has 25 goals on the season. . . . Attendance was 8,845.
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In Chilliwack, F Ryan Howse tied a franchise record to help the Bruins to a 6-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Howse scored his 29th goal of the season on the PP at 12:20 of the first period. It was his 71st goal with the Bruins and he now shares the franchise goal-scoring record with Oscar Moller. . . . Howse’s goal also moved him into a tie for the WHL goal-scoring lead. He and F Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats have 29 apiece. . . . D Brandon Manning drew four assists for the Bruins, including one on each of three first-period goals. . . . The Bruins were 3-for-6 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-for-4. . . . The Bruins (17-17-1-5) have won four of their last five games. . . . The Cougars (7-28-1-1) have lost four of five. . . . F Steven Hodges, Chilliwack’s first pick, ninth overall, in the 2009 bantam draft, made his WHL debut and earned an assist on his club’s last goal. . . . Hodges plays for the major midget Fraser Valley Bruins. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 14 shots. . . . It was the second time in two games that the Cougars managed just 15 shots. They also did that in a 6-1 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops on Sunday. . . . Attendance was 3,174.
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In Edmonton, F Carter Bancks’ shootout goal gave the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 2-1 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Bancks, the Hurricanes’ third shooter, was the only skater to score in the shootout. . . . The Hurricanes (11-21-3-1) snapped a four-game losing streak. . . . The Oil Kings are 10-20-4-5. . . . Lethbridge took a 1-0 lead on F Brent Henke’s sixth goal, on the PP, at 12:43 of the second. . . . The Oil Kings tied it when D Mark Pysyk got his seventh, also on the PP, at 17:33 of the third. . . . Lethbridge G Brandon Anderson stopped 29 shots, while Edmonton’s Torrie Jung turned aside 26. . . . Attendance was 4,104. . . . Lethbridge was without F Max Ross (broken fibula), F Ryan Moser (groin) and F Neil Tarnasky (ill), so dressed F Adam Henry, a third-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, and F Jordan Baillie, a sixth-round pick in 2008.
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In Cranbrook, B.C., F Max Reinhart and F Dustin Sylvester had shootout goals as the Kootenay Ice dropped the Red Deer Rebels, 5-4. . . . The Rebels, down 4-2, forced OT with a goal by F John Persson at 19:11 of the second period and another by F Landon Ferraro at 16:33 of the third. . . . Ferraro, returning from a lengthy absence thanks to a knee problem, scored twice. He has six goals. . . . He and F Willie Coetzee were stymied in the shootout, though. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews stopped 25 shots. . . . Red Deer started G Kraymer Barnstable, who stopped 10 of 13 shots and left after Ice D Jagger Dirk scored his first WHL goal at 6:22 of the second period for a 3-1 lead. . . . Darcy Kuemper came on to stop 13 of 14. . . . Sylvester also had two assists. . . . Red Deer D Colin Archer drew assists on his club’s last two goals. Coetzee also had two helpers. . . . The Ice (21-15-1-2) has won five in a row. . . . The Rebels (19-15-0-3) had won their previous two games. . . . Attendance was 2,811.
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In Moose Jaw, F Thomas Frazee scored twice to lead the Warriors to a 6-3 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Frazee has 11 goals for the Warriors (18-15-1-2), who have won just three of their last 13 games. . . . The Warriors led 2-0 and 4-1 at the breaks, but the Raiders (20-17-1-2) cut the deficit to one with early third-period goals from F Brandon Herrod (0:23) and D Jordan Rowley (1:05). . . . Frazee put it away with a PP goal at 12:24. . . . Moose Jaw F Jason Bast, who had missed 12 games recovering from facial injuries, had two assists in his first game back. . . . The Raiders were without D Ryan Button (flu). The did have F Mark Mackenzie, a list player, in the lineup. He plays for the junior B Chase, B.C., Chiefs. . . . Attendance was 2,354. . . . There’s a rematch Wednesday in P.A. . . . The Raiders are without F Igor Revenko, who has a stress fracture in his jaw that is about three weeks old. He is likely to sit for about 10 days. Despite the injury, Revenko, who has 39 points in 33 games, played for Belarus in the Group B World Junior Championship in Poland a couple of weeks ago.
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In Portland, F Ryan Johansen broke a 3-3 tie at 17:47 of the third period and the Winterhawks hung on to beat the Spokane Chiefs, 4-3. . . . It was the first time in seven games between the teams that the home team had won. Portland (24-15-0-1) holds a 5-2 edge in the series, having won four times in Spokane. . . . The game, scheduled for a 7 p.m. start, got underway around 8:50 as the Chiefs and on-ice officials ran into weather and traffic-related problems in getting to the game. . . . Jason Nissen was scheduled to be the referee but wasn’t able to get there, so Brian Fortin, a veteran Portland-based linesman, made his debut as a WHL referee. . . . Johansen scored twice and also had an assist. He has 14 goals this season. . . . F Oliver Gabriel scored his first goal of the season in his ninth game. He has missed a lot of time with injuries. . . . F Brad Ross had his 18th goal and three assists for Portland, which led 3-1 after two. . . . F Blake Gal, with his sixth, and F Kyle Beach, with his second of the game and 26th of the season, pulled Spokane even. Beach’s goal came at 11:16 of the third. . . . The Chiefs (21-12-0-3) have lost four in a row. . . . Portland G Ian Curtis stopped 30 shots, while Spokane’s James Reid turned aside 37. . . . Attendance was 4,333 although perhaps 1,000 people made it through the weather.
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In Kennewick, Wash., Russian G Alex Pechurskiy stopped 28 shots in his WHL debut as the Tri-City Americans beat the visiting Everett Silvertips, 1-0. . . . Pechurskiy, from Magnitogorsk, Russia, was selected by the Americans in the CHL’s 2009 import draft. He had planned on playing in the Continental Hockey League this season but found himself getting little playing time. He and the Americans were able to arrange for his international release and he joined them during the Christmas break. . . . F Johnny Lazo scored the game’s only goal, on the PP at 19:58 of the second period. It was his 22nd goal of the season. . . . This was Tri-City’s WHL-high sixth shutout of the season -- Drew Owsley has four and Brett Martyniuk has one. . . . The Americans have put up shutouts in three of their last four games. . . . Everett has been blanked a WHL-leading five times. . . . Everett G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 39 shots. . . . The Americans (28-9-0-0) have won six in a row and are tied for first overall with the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Silvertips, who lost 6-3 to the visiting Ams on Sunday, are 19-15-2-1. . . . Attendance was 4,399.
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The Prince Albert Raiders would love to have Czech D Tomas Voracek, 19, rejoin them. But it doesn’t sound as though that is likely to happen. Voracek spent 2007-08 with the Raiders but left two games into the following season to be with his ailing mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer and was at home in Ostrava. She died earlier this month. Voraceck, who now is with the Czech team at the World Junior Championship, told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that he would love to return to the WHL but that he is under contract to a men’s team, HC Vitkovice of the Czech Extraliga. “I’ve been in touch with the coach of the Raiders but I still have a contract back home so I don’t think it’s possible to get back in here,” Voracek told Harder. “I would like to get back in here but I made the men’s team back home so I want to play there probably.”
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G Todd Ford (Swift Current, Prince George, Vancouver, 2000-04) has been recalled by the AHL’s Texas Stars from the ECHL’s Carolina Stingrays. Ford, 26, was 16-6-1 with a 2.88 GAA and a .910 save percentage with the Stingrays. He was first in the ECHL in wins, saves and minutes played.
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Vancouver D Kevin Connauton is one goal shy of a franchise record as the Giants prepare to play host to the Prince George Cougars on Wednesday night. Connauton, the Giants’ triggerman from the point on the PP, has 17 goals. The franchise record of 18 goals in a season by a defenceman was set by Jon Blum in 2007-08. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that Connauton attempted 17 shots, and had nine shots on goal, during Monday’s 6-3 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers. He didn’t score, but he ended up with three assists. . . . Connauton leads WHL defencemen in goals and points (42).
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Click on the link right here and scroll down to No. 5 to see what Scott Burnside of espn.com thinks of the World Junior Championship. Despite the TSN hype, more and more people seem to be feeling the way Burnside does.
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Bruce Hamilton, the president and GM of the Kelowna Rockets, once had the hardest shot in the WHL. That’s what one actor claims. You can read about it right here.
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G Ian Curtis of the Portland Winterhawks has unveiled a new look to his mask. And there is an interesting story behind it all. That story is right here. . . . Interestingly, G Kurtis Mucha, whom the Winterhawks dealt to the Kamloops Blazers in November, continues to wear his old Portland gear. You don’t suppose he is waiting to see if anything happens by Jan. 10, do you?
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The Kamloops Blazers will have F Brendan Ranford available when they meet the Rockets in Kelowna on Wednesday night. Kamloops GM Craig Bonner confirmed Tuesday night that Ranford wouldn’t be suspended by the WHL for a charging major he incurred during Monday’s 6-3 loss to the Giants in Vancouver.
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The Saskatoon Blades, who are about to begin a U.S. Division tour, have added three players to their roster -- F Ryan Olsen of Delta, B.C., D Darren Dietz of Medicine Hat and D Zane Morin of Meadow Lake, Sask. . . . Olsen, the 20th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft, will join the Blades from the major midget Greater Vancouver Canadians. He has 28 points in 25 games. . . . Dietz, a list player, players for the midget AAA Lethbridge Y’s Men’s Titans. He had 11 points and 54 penalty mintues in 21 games through Dec. 11. . . . Morin, an eighth-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft, has 14 points in 27 games with the midget AAA Beardy’s Blackhawks. . . . The Blades open the swing Wednesday against the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent.
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TUESDAY:
In Calgary, F Tyler Fiddler’s shorthanded goal in the third period stood up as the winner as the Hitmen edged the Regina Pats, 4-3. . . . The Htimen (27-10-1-1) had lost two in a row. They are 3-0 against the Pats and have outscored Regina 12-4. . . . The Pats (16-22-3-0) have lost eight in a row. . . . Fiddler’s goal, at 3:22 of the third period, gave Calgary a 4-2 lead. . . . Fiddler has 19 goals. He had three goals in 64 games last season. . . F Matt Strueby had two goals for Regina. He has 25 goals on the season. . . . Attendance was 8,845.
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In Chilliwack, F Ryan Howse tied a franchise record to help the Bruins to a 6-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Howse scored his 29th goal of the season on the PP at 12:20 of the first period. It was his 71st goal with the Bruins and he now shares the franchise goal-scoring record with Oscar Moller. . . . Howse’s goal also moved him into a tie for the WHL goal-scoring lead. He and F Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats have 29 apiece. . . . D Brandon Manning drew four assists for the Bruins, including one on each of three first-period goals. . . . The Bruins were 3-for-6 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-for-4. . . . The Bruins (17-17-1-5) have won four of their last five games. . . . The Cougars (7-28-1-1) have lost four of five. . . . F Steven Hodges, Chilliwack’s first pick, ninth overall, in the 2009 bantam draft, made his WHL debut and earned an assist on his club’s last goal. . . . Hodges plays for the major midget Fraser Valley Bruins. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 14 shots. . . . It was the second time in two games that the Cougars managed just 15 shots. They also did that in a 6-1 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops on Sunday. . . . Attendance was 3,174.
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In Edmonton, F Carter Bancks’ shootout goal gave the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 2-1 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Bancks, the Hurricanes’ third shooter, was the only skater to score in the shootout. . . . The Hurricanes (11-21-3-1) snapped a four-game losing streak. . . . The Oil Kings are 10-20-4-5. . . . Lethbridge took a 1-0 lead on F Brent Henke’s sixth goal, on the PP, at 12:43 of the second. . . . The Oil Kings tied it when D Mark Pysyk got his seventh, also on the PP, at 17:33 of the third. . . . Lethbridge G Brandon Anderson stopped 29 shots, while Edmonton’s Torrie Jung turned aside 26. . . . Attendance was 4,104. . . . Lethbridge was without F Max Ross (broken fibula), F Ryan Moser (groin) and F Neil Tarnasky (ill), so dressed F Adam Henry, a third-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, and F Jordan Baillie, a sixth-round pick in 2008.
---
In Cranbrook, B.C., F Max Reinhart and F Dustin Sylvester had shootout goals as the Kootenay Ice dropped the Red Deer Rebels, 5-4. . . . The Rebels, down 4-2, forced OT with a goal by F John Persson at 19:11 of the second period and another by F Landon Ferraro at 16:33 of the third. . . . Ferraro, returning from a lengthy absence thanks to a knee problem, scored twice. He has six goals. . . . He and F Willie Coetzee were stymied in the shootout, though. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews stopped 25 shots. . . . Red Deer started G Kraymer Barnstable, who stopped 10 of 13 shots and left after Ice D Jagger Dirk scored his first WHL goal at 6:22 of the second period for a 3-1 lead. . . . Darcy Kuemper came on to stop 13 of 14. . . . Sylvester also had two assists. . . . Red Deer D Colin Archer drew assists on his club’s last two goals. Coetzee also had two helpers. . . . The Ice (21-15-1-2) has won five in a row. . . . The Rebels (19-15-0-3) had won their previous two games. . . . Attendance was 2,811.
---
In Moose Jaw, F Thomas Frazee scored twice to lead the Warriors to a 6-3 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Frazee has 11 goals for the Warriors (18-15-1-2), who have won just three of their last 13 games. . . . The Warriors led 2-0 and 4-1 at the breaks, but the Raiders (20-17-1-2) cut the deficit to one with early third-period goals from F Brandon Herrod (0:23) and D Jordan Rowley (1:05). . . . Frazee put it away with a PP goal at 12:24. . . . Moose Jaw F Jason Bast, who had missed 12 games recovering from facial injuries, had two assists in his first game back. . . . The Raiders were without D Ryan Button (flu). The did have F Mark Mackenzie, a list player, in the lineup. He plays for the junior B Chase, B.C., Chiefs. . . . Attendance was 2,354. . . . There’s a rematch Wednesday in P.A. . . . The Raiders are without F Igor Revenko, who has a stress fracture in his jaw that is about three weeks old. He is likely to sit for about 10 days. Despite the injury, Revenko, who has 39 points in 33 games, played for Belarus in the Group B World Junior Championship in Poland a couple of weeks ago.
---
In Portland, F Ryan Johansen broke a 3-3 tie at 17:47 of the third period and the Winterhawks hung on to beat the Spokane Chiefs, 4-3. . . . It was the first time in seven games between the teams that the home team had won. Portland (24-15-0-1) holds a 5-2 edge in the series, having won four times in Spokane. . . . The game, scheduled for a 7 p.m. start, got underway around 8:50 as the Chiefs and on-ice officials ran into weather and traffic-related problems in getting to the game. . . . Jason Nissen was scheduled to be the referee but wasn’t able to get there, so Brian Fortin, a veteran Portland-based linesman, made his debut as a WHL referee. . . . Johansen scored twice and also had an assist. He has 14 goals this season. . . . F Oliver Gabriel scored his first goal of the season in his ninth game. He has missed a lot of time with injuries. . . . F Brad Ross had his 18th goal and three assists for Portland, which led 3-1 after two. . . . F Blake Gal, with his sixth, and F Kyle Beach, with his second of the game and 26th of the season, pulled Spokane even. Beach’s goal came at 11:16 of the third. . . . The Chiefs (21-12-0-3) have lost four in a row. . . . Portland G Ian Curtis stopped 30 shots, while Spokane’s James Reid turned aside 37. . . . Attendance was 4,333 although perhaps 1,000 people made it through the weather.
---
In Kennewick, Wash., Russian G Alex Pechurskiy stopped 28 shots in his WHL debut as the Tri-City Americans beat the visiting Everett Silvertips, 1-0. . . . Pechurskiy, from Magnitogorsk, Russia, was selected by the Americans in the CHL’s 2009 import draft. He had planned on playing in the Continental Hockey League this season but found himself getting little playing time. He and the Americans were able to arrange for his international release and he joined them during the Christmas break. . . . F Johnny Lazo scored the game’s only goal, on the PP at 19:58 of the second period. It was his 22nd goal of the season. . . . This was Tri-City’s WHL-high sixth shutout of the season -- Drew Owsley has four and Brett Martyniuk has one. . . . The Americans have put up shutouts in three of their last four games. . . . Everett has been blanked a WHL-leading five times. . . . Everett G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 39 shots. . . . The Americans (28-9-0-0) have won six in a row and are tied for first overall with the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Silvertips, who lost 6-3 to the visiting Ams on Sunday, are 19-15-2-1. . . . Attendance was 4,399.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Recchi excited to play outdoors
OUTDOOR NHL CLASSICS:
Nov. 22, 2003, at Edmonton: Montreal Canadiens 4, Edmonton Oilers 3
(Commonwealth Stadium, 57,167). Temperature at faceoff: -18 C.
Jan. 1, 2008, at Orchard Park, N.Y.: Pittsburgh Penguins 2, Buffalo Sabres 1
(SO) (Ralph Wilson Stadium, 71,217). Temperature at faceoff: 0.6 C.
Jan. 1, 2009, at Chicago): Detroit Red Wings 6, Chicago Blackhawks 4
(Wrigley Field, 40,818). Temperature at faceoff: -0.1 C.
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It’s a couple of days after Christmas and the gifts all have been opened,
but Mark Recchi sounds like a youngster who hasn’t yet dug into his
presents.
“I can’t wait . . . can’t wait,” says Recchi, who will turn 42 on Feb. 1.
“It’s really so exciting.”
To say that Recchi, a forward with the Boston Bruins, is eager to get onto
the ice at Boston’s Fenway Park would be something of an understatement.
The Bruins are scheduled to meet the Philadelphia Flyers there in the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Friday at 10 a.m. (Pacific time). The game will be televised by CBC and NBC.
Recchi will skate on the pond at Fenway Park, the home of baseball’s
Boston Red Sox, for the first time Thursday when the Bruins are to hold a
practice.
“It’s going to be pretty unique to go in there . . . There’ll be some good
chills,” says Recchi, admitting that his memory bank was already leaking a
bit despite his attempts to stay focused on the games the Bruins had to
play before the weekend.
“All the days on the lakes and ponds . . . your friends building rinks. It
brings back everything,” he said.
Recchi, who grew up in Kamloops and owns a piece of the WHL’s Blazers, says there weren’t any outdoor rinks here on which he would play. But that hardly
cut into his ice time.
“There were ponds all over the place and there were lakes,” he says. “We’d
go to different lakes around the area and spend the day out there . . . fires and marshmallows and hockey.”
Still, when you think about it, Recchi and his teammates really are businessmen of a sort and they have some business to take care of prior to Friday.
“We’ve still got games to play before so we have to make sure we stay
focused,” he says.
The Bruins opened the post-Christmas schedule in Florida, beating the Panthers 2-1 on Sunday and losing 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. The Bruins are at home to the Atlanta Thrashers tonight.
One of the things that should help the Bruins prepare for Friday is that head coach Claude Julien and three players have outdoor experience.
Julien was the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, who took part in the Heritage Classic in Edmonton on Nov. 22, 2003. (Guy Charron, the Blazers’ head coach, was an assistant coach on Julien’s staff, while Kamloops assistant coach Scott Ferguson was a defenceman with the Oilers.)
Boston forwards Michael Ryder and Steve Begin played for the Canadiens in 2003, and Daniel Paille was with the Buffalo Sabres, the host team for the 2008 Winter Classic. None of the Flyers have played in any of the three previous
outdoor games.
The three Boston players have related to their teammates that things are
quite busy leading up to the game.
Overall, though, Recchi says, “They just said it’s really great.”
“But it’s going to be really hectic,” admits Recchi. “We have to get our
focus and keep it.”
Ferguson agrees that there will be a lot happening.
“The fans are excited. There is a lot of media talk,” Ferguson said. “You’re trying to focus on the games ahead of it. And that day there are a ton of distractions.”
In an attempt to maintain their focus, the Bruins will spend Thursday night in a hotel.
“It’s New Year’s Eve,” Recchi points out. “Everyone has family, everyone is doing
this . . . there can be a lot of distractions. So they’re trying to limit that, which is good.”
From a coaching perspective, Charron says, “You just hope that nobody gets hurt and that it’s a competitive game. Maybe both coaches will say, ‘Let’s get a point out of this and go home.’
“Leading up to it you’re hoping it’s an entertaining game and that each team gets a point.”
In the hours leading up to the game, the main concern is likely to be the weather.
Rain on Monday postponed the installation of the on-ice logos. A cooling trend is expected to take the temperature close to 0 C and keep it there through Friday, although there is more rain in the forecast.
(NHL.com reports: “According to weather.com, the average daily temperature on New Year's Day in Boston is -0.6 C. Boston's record-low for Jan. 1 is -19 C in 1918 and the record-high is 21 C in 1876. The most snow recorded on New Year's Day in Beantown is the eight inches that fell in 1938.”)
Recchi is hoping for at least a bit of snow during the game.
“I have to be honest with you. I think that would add to it,” Recchi says and there is more than a bit of little boy in his voice. “I’d kind of like that. I heard we are getting some stuff . . . that would be awesome; it would be great.”
In the meantime, Recchi is looking forward to Thursday when he gets to go
for a spin on the ice at Fenway Park. He says he may even take a quick look at the Green Monster that hovers over what is normally left field.
“In the practice the day before,” he says, “I want to see if I can whip one up there.”
CLASSIC NOTES: This will be the first Classic in which G Ty Conklin hasn’t
taken part. He played for Edmonton in 2003, Pittsburgh in 2008 and Detroit
in 2009. . . . There are 6,000 sheets of Armor Deck protecting the Fenway
Park playing field from 20,000 gallons of water and 350 gallons of paint. .
. . Icemaker Dan Craig uses 3,000 gallons of coolant to keep ice surface at
the ideal temperature of 22F. . . . The TV networks will use 65 cameras to bring the game into your living room. . . . On Jan. 8, the New Hampshire and Northeastern women’s teams will play at Fenway Park, followed by a men’s game between the archrival Boston College Eagles and Boston U Terriers.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Nov. 22, 2003, at Edmonton: Montreal Canadiens 4, Edmonton Oilers 3
(Commonwealth Stadium, 57,167). Temperature at faceoff: -18 C.
Jan. 1, 2008, at Orchard Park, N.Y.: Pittsburgh Penguins 2, Buffalo Sabres 1
(SO) (Ralph Wilson Stadium, 71,217). Temperature at faceoff: 0.6 C.
Jan. 1, 2009, at Chicago): Detroit Red Wings 6, Chicago Blackhawks 4
(Wrigley Field, 40,818). Temperature at faceoff: -0.1 C.
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It’s a couple of days after Christmas and the gifts all have been opened,
but Mark Recchi sounds like a youngster who hasn’t yet dug into his
presents.
“I can’t wait . . . can’t wait,” says Recchi, who will turn 42 on Feb. 1.
“It’s really so exciting.”
To say that Recchi, a forward with the Boston Bruins, is eager to get onto
the ice at Boston’s Fenway Park would be something of an understatement.
The Bruins are scheduled to meet the Philadelphia Flyers there in the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Friday at 10 a.m. (Pacific time). The game will be televised by CBC and NBC.
Recchi will skate on the pond at Fenway Park, the home of baseball’s
Boston Red Sox, for the first time Thursday when the Bruins are to hold a
practice.
“It’s going to be pretty unique to go in there . . . There’ll be some good
chills,” says Recchi, admitting that his memory bank was already leaking a
bit despite his attempts to stay focused on the games the Bruins had to
play before the weekend.
“All the days on the lakes and ponds . . . your friends building rinks. It
brings back everything,” he said.
Recchi, who grew up in Kamloops and owns a piece of the WHL’s Blazers, says there weren’t any outdoor rinks here on which he would play. But that hardly
cut into his ice time.
“There were ponds all over the place and there were lakes,” he says. “We’d
go to different lakes around the area and spend the day out there . . . fires and marshmallows and hockey.”
Still, when you think about it, Recchi and his teammates really are businessmen of a sort and they have some business to take care of prior to Friday.
“We’ve still got games to play before so we have to make sure we stay
focused,” he says.
The Bruins opened the post-Christmas schedule in Florida, beating the Panthers 2-1 on Sunday and losing 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. The Bruins are at home to the Atlanta Thrashers tonight
One of the things that should help the Bruins prepare for Friday is that head coach Claude Julien and three players have outdoor experience.
Julien was the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, who took part in the Heritage Classic in Edmonton on Nov. 22, 2003. (Guy Charron, the Blazers’ head coach, was an assistant coach on Julien’s staff, while Kamloops assistant coach Scott Ferguson was a defenceman with the Oilers.)
Boston forwards Michael Ryder and Steve Begin played for the Canadiens in 2003, and Daniel Paille was with the Buffalo Sabres, the host team for the 2008 Winter Classic. None of the Flyers have played in any of the three previous
outdoor games.
The three Boston players have related to their teammates that things are
quite busy leading up to the game.
Overall, though, Recchi says, “They just said it’s really great.”
“But it’s going to be really hectic,” admits Recchi. “We have to get our
focus and keep it.”
Ferguson agrees that there will be a lot happening.
“The fans are excited. There is a lot of media talk,” Ferguson said. “You’re trying to focus on the games ahead of it. And that day there are a ton of distractions.”
In an attempt to maintain their focus, the Bruins will spend Thursday night in a hotel.
“It’s New Year’s Eve,” Recchi points out. “Everyone has family, everyone is doing
this . . . there can be a lot of distractions. So they’re trying to limit that, which is good.”
From a coaching perspective, Charron says, “You just hope that nobody gets hurt and that it’s a competitive game. Maybe both coaches will say, ‘Let’s get a point out of this and go home.’
“Leading up to it you’re hoping it’s an entertaining game and that each team gets a point.”
In the hours leading up to the game, the main concern is likely to be the weather.
Rain on Monday postponed the installation of the on-ice logos. A cooling trend is expected to take the temperature close to 0 C and keep it there through Friday, although there is more rain in the forecast.
(NHL.com reports: “According to weather.com, the average daily temperature on New Year's Day in Boston is -0.6 C. Boston's record-low for Jan. 1 is -19 C in 1918 and the record-high is 21 C in 1876. The most snow recorded on New Year's Day in Beantown is the eight inches that fell in 1938.”)
Recchi is hoping for at least a bit of snow during the game.
“I have to be honest with you. I think that would add to it,” Recchi says and there is more than a bit of little boy in his voice. “I’d kind of like that. I heard we are getting some stuff . . . that would be awesome; it would be great.”
In the meantime, Recchi is looking forward to Thursday when he gets to go
for a spin on the ice at Fenway Park. He says he may even take a quick look at the Green Monster that hovers over what is normally left field.
“In the practice the day before,” he says, “I want to see if I can whip one up there.”
CLASSIC NOTES: This will be the first Classic in which G Ty Conklin hasn’t
taken part. He played for Edmonton in 2003, Pittsburgh in 2008 and Detroit
in 2009. . . . There are 6,000 sheets of Armor Deck protecting the Fenway
Park playing field from 20,000 gallons of water and 350 gallons of paint. .
. . Icemaker Dan Craig uses 3,000 gallons of coolant to keep ice surface at
the ideal temperature of 22F. . . . The TV networks will use 65 cameras to bring the game into your living room. . . . On Jan. 8, the New Hampshire and Northeastern women’s teams will play at Fenway Park, followed by a men’s game between the archrival Boston College Eagles and Boston U Terriers.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Charron, Ferguson remember Classic
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It was Nov. 22, 2003, when the visiting Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers met outdoors at Commonwealth Stadium.
“It was quite an experience,” says Guy Charron, now the head coach of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers but then an assistant coach with the Canadiens. “I remember how cold it was.”
Blazers assistant coach Scott Ferguson was a defencemen with the Oilers in that game.
“Ohhh, it was freezing,” Ferguson says. “It might have been the coldest two or three days of the whole winter. It was ridiculous, and then shortly after that it warmed up.”
How cold was it? It was -18 C at game time and the wind chill was somewhere below -30 C.
“It was very cold,” Charron says, and he digs his hands deeper in his pockets at the thought. “They had those heaters you see on football fields. We tried to stand in that direction but we knew it was more important for the players. Ironically, if the players were right against them they were too hot, so they would give you enough room to get the proper heat.“
Ferguson, whose club dropped a 4-3 decision to the Canadiens, remembers the heaters causing breathing difficulties.
“They had heaters and stuff on the bench,” he says. “But for whatever reason the air was so warm you couldn’t breathe. When you were on the bench, you had to lean over the boards in order to catch your breath.
“It was quite an ordeal. Everyone had balaclavas on.”
Charron especially remembers then-Montreal head coach Claude Julien toughing it out.
“There he was wearing just an overcoat,” Charron remembers, with a chuckle. “(Assistant coach) Rick Green and I would look at each other . . . I guess with the head coach the flow of the blood is warmer, I don’t know. We had thermal underwear and all the things that we needed to stay warm, but it was cold.”
Despite the weather, Charron feels the Classic should be here to stay.
“The biggest thing,” Charron says, “is the interest of the fans and that’s why it’s good. It would be different if you did it and nobody showed up.”
Looking back to that day at Commonwealth Stadium, home to the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos, Charron says: “Here we are on a small ice surface and you look around and it’s a capacity crowd in a football stadium. As long as the fans continue to support it . . . conditions aren’t always perfect but if you fill a stadium, why not?”
Ferguson said game day turned out to be a real circus, but, in the end, it all was worth it.
“It was a dog and pony show,” he says. “Just trying to get to the stadium . . . there were traffic jams. There were a lot of distractions for that one game. There was a lot going on.
“Looking back on it, I have a lot of good memories and am glad that I was a part of it. At the time, there were so many things, so many distractions, and you’re just trying to stay focused on the game.
“You look back at it now and it was a lot of fun to be part of it. The first outdoor game in the NHL . . .”
The game, as Ferguson remembers, was hardly a classic.
“The ice was terrible; it was really chippy,” he says. “It was snowy. It wasn’t a very good looking game. Guys would get the puck and you would chip it up the boards, chip it up the boards, try to get a shot on net. And the other team would do the same thing. There wasn’t a whole lot of passing going on. It was just like old-fashioned pond hockey.
“Still, it was a fun game to play in. I have good memories of it.”
Charron agrees.
“I have some very fond memories of it,” he says, “and, besides that, we won so that was even better.”
Ferguson, however, says the outcome easily could have been different.
“I scored . . . and they disallowed it,” he recalls. “I was choked. I scored and they disallowed the goal because they said there was goalie interference.
“I beg to differ.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
It was Nov. 22, 2003, when the visiting Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers met outdoors at Commonwealth Stadium.
“It was quite an experience,” says Guy Charron, now the head coach of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers but then an assistant coach with the Canadiens. “I remember how cold it was.”
Blazers assistant coach Scott Ferguson was a defencemen with the Oilers in that game.
“Ohhh, it was freezing,” Ferguson says. “It might have been the coldest two or three days of the whole winter. It was ridiculous, and then shortly after that it warmed up.”
How cold was it? It was -18 C at game time and the wind chill was somewhere below -30 C.
“It was very cold,” Charron says, and he digs his hands deeper in his pockets at the thought. “They had those heaters you see on football fields. We tried to stand in that direction but we knew it was more important for the players. Ironically, if the players were right against them they were too hot, so they would give you enough room to get the proper heat.“
Ferguson, whose club dropped a 4-3 decision to the Canadiens, remembers the heaters causing breathing difficulties.
“They had heaters and stuff on the bench,” he says. “But for whatever reason the air was so warm you couldn’t breathe. When you were on the bench, you had to lean over the boards in order to catch your breath.
“It was quite an ordeal. Everyone had balaclavas on.”
Charron especially remembers then-Montreal head coach Claude Julien toughing it out.
“There he was wearing just an overcoat,” Charron remembers, with a chuckle. “(Assistant coach) Rick Green and I would look at each other . . . I guess with the head coach the flow of the blood is warmer, I don’t know. We had thermal underwear and all the things that we needed to stay warm, but it was cold.”
Despite the weather, Charron feels the Classic should be here to stay.
“The biggest thing,” Charron says, “is the interest of the fans and that’s why it’s good. It would be different if you did it and nobody showed up.”
Looking back to that day at Commonwealth Stadium, home to the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos, Charron says: “Here we are on a small ice surface and you look around and it’s a capacity crowd in a football stadium. As long as the fans continue to support it . . . conditions aren’t always perfect but if you fill a stadium, why not?”
Ferguson said game day turned out to be a real circus, but, in the end, it all was worth it.
“It was a dog and pony show,” he says. “Just trying to get to the stadium . . . there were traffic jams. There were a lot of distractions for that one game. There was a lot going on.
“Looking back on it, I have a lot of good memories and am glad that I was a part of it. At the time, there were so many things, so many distractions, and you’re just trying to stay focused on the game.
“You look back at it now and it was a lot of fun to be part of it. The first outdoor game in the NHL . . .”
The game, as Ferguson remembers, was hardly a classic.
“The ice was terrible; it was really chippy,” he says. “It was snowy. It wasn’t a very good looking game. Guys would get the puck and you would chip it up the boards, chip it up the boards, try to get a shot on net. And the other team would do the same thing. There wasn’t a whole lot of passing going on. It was just like old-fashioned pond hockey.
“Still, it was a fun game to play in. I have good memories of it.”
Charron agrees.
“I have some very fond memories of it,” he says, “and, besides that, we won so that was even better.”
Ferguson, however, says the outcome easily could have been different.
“I scored . . . and they disallowed it,” he recalls. “I was choked. I scored and they disallowed the goal because they said there was goalie interference.
“I beg to differ.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Monday . . .
The Kelowna Rockets didn’t get any good news on Monday. Already with three veterans out with long-term injuries, the Rockets added four more players to the injury list, all of them injured in Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the visiting Vancouver Giants. D Collin Bowman (ankle), F Mitchell Chapman (fractured ribs), F Codey Ito (shoulder) and F Geordie Wudrick (separated shoulder) all are expected to miss anywhere from two to four weeks. . . . Bowman and F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan had been the only players to have gotten into each of the Rockets’ first 38 games. . . . “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and GM, told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “And these aren’t just nicks and bruises we’re dealing with.” . . . The Rockets already were without F Brandon McMillan, who is with the Canadian national junior team, and F Lucas Bloodoff (knee), F Evan Bloodoff (knee) and F Kyle St. Denis (concussion). . . . Historically, the Rockets have shied away from using 15-year-olds, but Hamilton said he will bring in D Colton Heffley of Swift Current and F Tyrell Goulbourne of Edmonton. Heffley was the 39th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft, while Goulbourne was taken with the 105th selection. . . . The Rockets are at home to the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday.
---
Whatever happened to Dwayne Norris, who a while back was a Canadian hero at the World Junior Championship? It turns out that he’s enjoying life in Germany and the St. John’s Telegram has the story right here.
---
The already hurting Regina Pats, who have lost seven straight games, are hurting some more. . . . They lost RW Killian Hutt to a concussion in a 5-2 loss to the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Monday night. . . . G Damien Ketlo (dislocated shoulder) will sit for another couple of weeks, as will C Dominick Favreau (knee), who is back skating. . . . The Pats meet the Hitmen in Calgary on Tuesday. . . . Regina had G Joel Danyluk, who has been with the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves, backing up started Dawson Guhle in Medicine Hat on Monday.
---
The Moose Jaw Warriors have brought in three players of their protected list. . . . D Morgan Rielly was the second overall selection in the 2009 bantam draft. He has 21 points in 24 games with a midget AAA team at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask. . . . D Joel Edmundson, 16, was a sixth-round pick in the 2008 draft who plays for the midget AAA Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . LW Danny Gayle, 17, has 24 points in 40 games with the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. . . . Moose Jaw will be without D Ryan Stanton for the immediate future as he is suspected of having mononucleosis. . . . F Jason Bast, who has missed 12 games with facial fractures that needed surgery to repair, may play Tuesday night. . . . The Warriors are at home Tuesday to the Prince Albert Raiders, the first of three straight games between these teams. They will play Wednesday in Prince Albert and back in the Crushed Can on Sunday.
---
The Spokane Chiefs have added D Reid Gow to their lineup. He was the 16th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft and is expected to play Tuesday against the Winterhawks in Portland. He has 18 points in 18 games with the midget AAA Southwest Cougars in Manitoba.
---
Shortly after the WHL’s Christmas trade freeze was lifted, the Everett Silvertips dealt RW Cameron Abney to the Edmonton Oil Kings for LW Clayton Cumiskey. . . . Cumiskey, from Abbotsford, B.C., has 51 points in 153 career regular-season WHL games. The 19-year-old has 12 points and 17 penalty minutes in 23 games this season and should play Tuesday in Kennewick, Wash., against the Tri-City Americans. . . . Abney, 18, is from Aldergrove, B.C. He has six points in 34 games this season and should play for the Oil Kings on Tuesday against the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. Abney was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the third round of the NHL’s 2009 draft. The Oilers own the Oil Kings.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent have brought in F Brandon Troock, the 12th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft, for a look. Troock, from Edmonton, watched them lose 3-2 in OT to the visiting Chilliwack Bruins on Sunday night.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have added RW Marc Mackenzie, 16, to their roster for their next four games. Mackenzie, from Kelowna, plays for the junior B Chase, B.C., Chiefs of the Kootenay International league. He has 13 points and 111 penalty minutes in 31 games with the Chiefs. He is to play Tuesday against the Warriors in Moose Jaw. . . . The Raiders are without F Mark McNeill and F Harrison Ruopp, both with Team West at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, F Igor Revenko (jaw) and F Andrew Herle (shoulder).
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MONDAY:
In Swift Current, G Mark Friesen stopped 32 shots to lead the Broncos to a 4-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . F Cody Eakin scored his 28th goal and added two assists for the winners, who got two goals from F Brad Hoban. . . . The Wheat Kings led 2-1 in the second period when Hoban tied it at 16:59 while on the PP. He then got the winner at 16:16 of the third. It was his 13th goal this season. . . . Eakin added an empty-netter. . . . Eakin, F Bretton Cameron of the Medicine Hat Tigers and F Ryan Howse of the Chilliwack Bruins are one goal behind F Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats, who leads the WHL. . . . Brandon G Andrew Hayes stopped 24 shots. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie returned after a three-game absence, two of them due to a concussion suffered at the national junior team’s selection camp. . . . Brandon F Matt Calvert had a 13-game point streak end. He had 21 points over that stretch. . . . Attendance was 2,284. . . . The Broncos (20-17-0-2) have won three straight and now are seventh in the Eastern Conference, a point ahead of the Red Deer Rebels and one behind the Kootenay Ice and Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Wheat Kings (25-12-0-2) are tied with Saskatoon for second, but the Blades hold four games in hand.
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In Vancouver, the Giants scored three times in the first period and went on to beat the Kamloops Blazers, 6-3. . . . D Kevin Connauton had three assists for the Giants (24-12-1-2). . . . RW Jimmy Bubnick had a goal and an assist for the Blazers (15-18-2-3) as he ran his point streak to seven games, while C C.J. Stretch had two assists and also has a seven-game point streak going. . . . F J.T. Barnett scored twice for Vancouver. He has 16 goals on the season. . . . The Giants led 5-0 after two periods, before giving up three third-period goals. . . . Vancouver G Jamie Tucker stopped 33 shots, one fewer than the Blazers’ Jon Groenheyde. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford earned a charging major and game misconduct in the second period for running Vancouver D Nolan Toigo over Tucker. . . . The Giants had F Milan Kytnar (shoulder) back in their lineup. He picked up his 100th regular-season point, an assist on Vancouver’s fifth goal. . . . Vancouver F Sebastian Svendsen was back after playing for his native Denmark in the IIHF U-20 World Division I championship in Megève and Saint-Gervais, France. He had five points in five games as the Danes lost 4-0 to Germany in the final. Germany won promotion to the World Junior Championship, which will be played next season in Buffalo. Last night, he got his fourth goal of the season, with five seconds left in the third period. . . . Attendance was 8,543. . . . For fans of the loser point, the Giants are 4-0-0-1 against Kamloops but the Blazers are 1-2-1-1 against Vancouver. That means that 13 points have been handed out from five games. All of which makes no sense. None.
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In closing, here is Ottawa Senators head coach Cory Clouston, the former head coach of the Kootenay Ice, in conversation with CanWest News Service:
"I don't know what the answer is to be honest. It's tough. We've had this for quite a while now, I know the fans enjoy the shootout and the overtime. It does play havoc with the standings, when teams are battling for playoff spots and you have these three point games, it makes it actually more difficult to judge who's playing well and who's not.
“A shootout, to me, is a tough way to win. We'll take it when we win, but if we lose, it's frustrating. It's like in soccer, you play a 90-minute full team sport and all of a sudden it's left to one-on-one, goaltender versus forward position."
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Whatever happened to Dwayne Norris, who a while back was a Canadian hero at the World Junior Championship? It turns out that he’s enjoying life in Germany and the St. John’s Telegram has the story right here.
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The already hurting Regina Pats, who have lost seven straight games, are hurting some more. . . . They lost RW Killian Hutt to a concussion in a 5-2 loss to the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Monday night. . . . G Damien Ketlo (dislocated shoulder) will sit for another couple of weeks, as will C Dominick Favreau (knee), who is back skating. . . . The Pats meet the Hitmen in Calgary on Tuesday. . . . Regina had G Joel Danyluk, who has been with the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves, backing up started Dawson Guhle in Medicine Hat on Monday.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have brought in three players of their protected list. . . . D Morgan Rielly was the second overall selection in the 2009 bantam draft. He has 21 points in 24 games with a midget AAA team at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask. . . . D Joel Edmundson, 16, was a sixth-round pick in the 2008 draft who plays for the midget AAA Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . LW Danny Gayle, 17, has 24 points in 40 games with the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. . . . Moose Jaw will be without D Ryan Stanton for the immediate future as he is suspected of having mononucleosis. . . . F Jason Bast, who has missed 12 games with facial fractures that needed surgery to repair, may play Tuesday night. . . . The Warriors are at home Tuesday to the Prince Albert Raiders, the first of three straight games between these teams. They will play Wednesday in Prince Albert and back in the Crushed Can on Sunday.
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The Spokane Chiefs have added D Reid Gow to their lineup. He was the 16th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft and is expected to play Tuesday against the Winterhawks in Portland. He has 18 points in 18 games with the midget AAA Southwest Cougars in Manitoba.
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Shortly after the WHL’s Christmas trade freeze was lifted, the Everett Silvertips dealt RW Cameron Abney to the Edmonton Oil Kings for LW Clayton Cumiskey. . . . Cumiskey, from Abbotsford, B.C., has 51 points in 153 career regular-season WHL games. The 19-year-old has 12 points and 17 penalty minutes in 23 games this season and should play Tuesday in Kennewick, Wash., against the Tri-City Americans. . . . Abney, 18, is from Aldergrove, B.C. He has six points in 34 games this season and should play for the Oil Kings on Tuesday against the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. Abney was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the third round of the NHL’s 2009 draft. The Oilers own the Oil Kings.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent have brought in F Brandon Troock, the 12th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft, for a look. Troock, from Edmonton, watched them lose 3-2 in OT to the visiting Chilliwack Bruins on Sunday night.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have added RW Marc Mackenzie, 16, to their roster for their next four games. Mackenzie, from Kelowna, plays for the junior B Chase, B.C., Chiefs of the Kootenay International league. He has 13 points and 111 penalty minutes in 31 games with the Chiefs. He is to play Tuesday against the Warriors in Moose Jaw. . . . The Raiders are without F Mark McNeill and F Harrison Ruopp, both with Team West at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, F Igor Revenko (jaw) and F Andrew Herle (shoulder).
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MONDAY:
In Swift Current, G Mark Friesen stopped 32 shots to lead the Broncos to a 4-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . F Cody Eakin scored his 28th goal and added two assists for the winners, who got two goals from F Brad Hoban. . . . The Wheat Kings led 2-1 in the second period when Hoban tied it at 16:59 while on the PP. He then got the winner at 16:16 of the third. It was his 13th goal this season. . . . Eakin added an empty-netter. . . . Eakin, F Bretton Cameron of the Medicine Hat Tigers and F Ryan Howse of the Chilliwack Bruins are one goal behind F Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats, who leads the WHL. . . . Brandon G Andrew Hayes stopped 24 shots. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie returned after a three-game absence, two of them due to a concussion suffered at the national junior team’s selection camp. . . . Brandon F Matt Calvert had a 13-game point streak end. He had 21 points over that stretch. . . . Attendance was 2,284. . . . The Broncos (20-17-0-2) have won three straight and now are seventh in the Eastern Conference, a point ahead of the Red Deer Rebels and one behind the Kootenay Ice and Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Wheat Kings (25-12-0-2) are tied with Saskatoon for second, but the Blades hold four games in hand.
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In Vancouver, the Giants scored three times in the first period and went on to beat the Kamloops Blazers, 6-3. . . . D Kevin Connauton had three assists for the Giants (24-12-1-2). . . . RW Jimmy Bubnick had a goal and an assist for the Blazers (15-18-2-3) as he ran his point streak to seven games, while C C.J. Stretch had two assists and also has a seven-game point streak going. . . . F J.T. Barnett scored twice for Vancouver. He has 16 goals on the season. . . . The Giants led 5-0 after two periods, before giving up three third-period goals. . . . Vancouver G Jamie Tucker stopped 33 shots, one fewer than the Blazers’ Jon Groenheyde. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford earned a charging major and game misconduct in the second period for running Vancouver D Nolan Toigo over Tucker. . . . The Giants had F Milan Kytnar (shoulder) back in their lineup. He picked up his 100th regular-season point, an assist on Vancouver’s fifth goal. . . . Vancouver F Sebastian Svendsen was back after playing for his native Denmark in the IIHF U-20 World Division I championship in Megève and Saint-Gervais, France. He had five points in five games as the Danes lost 4-0 to Germany in the final. Germany won promotion to the World Junior Championship, which will be played next season in Buffalo. Last night, he got his fourth goal of the season, with five seconds left in the third period. . . . Attendance was 8,543. . . . For fans of the loser point, the Giants are 4-0-0-1 against Kamloops but the Blazers are 1-2-1-1 against Vancouver. That means that 13 points have been handed out from five games. All of which makes no sense. None.
---
In closing, here is Ottawa Senators head coach Cory Clouston, the former head coach of the Kootenay Ice, in conversation with CanWest News Service:
"I don't know what the answer is to be honest. It's tough. We've had this for quite a while now, I know the fans enjoy the shootout and the overtime. It does play havoc with the standings, when teams are battling for playoff spots and you have these three point games, it makes it actually more difficult to judge who's playing well and who's not.
“A shootout, to me, is a tough way to win. We'll take it when we win, but if we lose, it's frustrating. It's like in soccer, you play a 90-minute full team sport and all of a sudden it's left to one-on-one, goaltender versus forward position."
Will Blazers seize the opportunity?
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
If the Kamloops Blazers are to make a move up the WHL’s Western Conference standings, the time would appear to be now.
But the Blazers are going to have to find a way to play with the big dogs if they are to make any noise.
The Blazers came out of the Christmas break in eighth place, at 14-17-2-3. Two games later, they are 15-18-2-3 and still in eighth, having beaten the visiting Prince George Cougars 6-1 on Sunday before falling 6-3 to the Giants in Vancouver on Monday.
The Giants (24-12-1-2), who are second in the conference behind the Tri-City Americans, are 16 points ahead of the Blazers, but Kamloops is just two points behind the Kelowna Rockets and three in arrears of the Chilliwack Bruins. Of course, the Seattle Thunderbirds are only three points behind the Blazers.
Kamloops now travels to Kelowna for a Wednesday night date with the injury-riddled Rockets before heading for Prince George and two more games with the Cougars, who have the WHL’s poorest record (7-27-1-1).
The Rockets, who lost four players to injury in Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the visiting Giants, have seven skaters on the injury list, all of them gone for at least two weeks.
Forwards Codey Ito (shoulder) and Geordie Wudrick (separated shoulder) and defencemen Collin Bowman (knee) Mitchell Chapman (fractured ribs) went down Sunday. They joined forwards Lucas Bloodoff (knee), Evan Bloodoff (knee) and Kyle St. Denis (concussion) on the injury list. As well, forward Brandon McMillan is with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and general manager, told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “And these aren’t just nicks and bruises we’re dealing with.”
The Rockets likely will have a pair of 2009 bantam draft picks, defenceman Colton Heffley of Swift Current and F Tyrell Goulbourne of Edmonton, in their lineup Wednesday. Heffley was the 39th overall pick, while Goulbourne was taken with the 105th selection.
The Blazers likely will be without forward Brendan Ranford in Kelowna, as he was ejected in the third period last night after running Vancouver defenceman Nolan Toigo into goaltender Jamie Tucker. Ranford was given a charging major and a game misconduct and almost certainly will be suspended for at least two games.
Kamloops fell behind 5-0 last night before making a bit of a run in the third period.
“The positive thing is that I saw some people who care tonight,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said on Radio NL’s post-game show. “We wanted to see tonight who really cared to play for the Blazers. We saw some indication tonight.
“From that perspective there was some positive that came out of it.”
The Giants opened up a 3-0 first-period lead, getting power-play goals from forwards Craig Cunningham and Mike Piluso, and an even-strength score from J.T. Barnett. Second-period goals by Barnett and Garry Nunn upped the lead to 5-0, before the Blazers got third-period goals by Jimmy Bubnick, Linden Saip and Bronson Maschmeyer. The Giants’ final goal came from Sebastian Svendsen with five seconds left to play.
Bubnick also added an assist as he ran his point streak to seven games. He has 12 points, including six goals, over that span.
The Blazers’ cause wasn’t helped by the fact that they took 54 of the game’s 83 minutes in penalties.
After getting the game’s first power play, just 59 seconds into the game, the Blazers gave the next seven to the Giants. Vancouver ended up going 2-for-11 with the man advantage, while the Blazers were 0-for-5.
Charron pointed out that the Blazers’ early penalties weren’t “from physical play or getting involved or saving an opportunity.” Rather, he said, “they’re penalties for clutching and grabbing . . . these are lazy penalties. And against a team like the Giants, you can’t afford to do that.”
Vancouver will play three more home games through Sunday and then, thanks to the Olympic Winter Games, will vacate Pacific Coliseum until March 12. Of the following 27 games, 21 will be played on the road, with six ‘home’ games scheduled for the 5,200-seat Langley Events Centre.
On Sunday, the Blazers, who were 4-for-9 on the power play, got two goals from right-winger Tyler Shattock, who had gone eight games without a goal, and a goal and two assists from Bubnick.
Forward Jake Trask added his 10th goal of the season, but his first since Oct. 24, with Dalibor Bortnak and Ranford also scoring.
Four of the Blazers’ last seven games have been against the Cougars, and it would seem these teams are starting to grate on each other. The game Sunday featured five fights, with Kamloops defenceman Josh Caron twice going with Cougars captain Art Bidlevskii and Ryan Funk, another Blazers defenceman, twice being challenged after delivering legal checks.
The teams will play again in Prince George on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
JUST NOTES: Blazers G Kurtis Mucha made 14 saves Sunday, including just one in the third period. . . . In Vancouver, G Jon Groenheyde stopped 34 shots. . . . Kamloops next is at home Jan. 5 against the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Cougars had F Clarke Breitkreuz, 18, in their lineup Sunday. He joined them from the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. . . . The Blazers had the same two scratches for both games. F JC Lipon (Team Western) and F Colin Smith (Team Pacific) are the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in the Timmins, Ont., area.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
If the Kamloops Blazers are to make a move up the WHL’s Western Conference standings, the time would appear to be now.
But the Blazers are going to have to find a way to play with the big dogs if they are to make any noise.
The Blazers came out of the Christmas break in eighth place, at 14-17-2-3. Two games later, they are 15-18-2-3 and still in eighth, having beaten the visiting Prince George Cougars 6-1 on Sunday before falling 6-3 to the Giants in Vancouver on Monday.
The Giants (24-12-1-2), who are second in the conference behind the Tri-City Americans, are 16 points ahead of the Blazers, but Kamloops is just two points behind the Kelowna Rockets and three in arrears of the Chilliwack Bruins. Of course, the Seattle Thunderbirds are only three points behind the Blazers.
Kamloops now travels to Kelowna for a Wednesday night date with the injury-riddled Rockets before heading for Prince George and two more games with the Cougars, who have the WHL’s poorest record (7-27-1-1).
The Rockets, who lost four players to injury in Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the visiting Giants, have seven skaters on the injury list, all of them gone for at least two weeks.
Forwards Codey Ito (shoulder) and Geordie Wudrick (separated shoulder) and defencemen Collin Bowman (knee) Mitchell Chapman (fractured ribs) went down Sunday. They joined forwards Lucas Bloodoff (knee), Evan Bloodoff (knee) and Kyle St. Denis (concussion) on the injury list. As well, forward Brandon McMillan is with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and general manager, told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “And these aren’t just nicks and bruises we’re dealing with.”
The Rockets likely will have a pair of 2009 bantam draft picks, defenceman Colton Heffley of Swift Current and F Tyrell Goulbourne of Edmonton, in their lineup Wednesday. Heffley was the 39th overall pick, while Goulbourne was taken with the 105th selection.
The Blazers likely will be without forward Brendan Ranford in Kelowna, as he was ejected in the third period last night after running Vancouver defenceman Nolan Toigo into goaltender Jamie Tucker. Ranford was given a charging major and a game misconduct and almost certainly will be suspended for at least two games.
Kamloops fell behind 5-0 last night before making a bit of a run in the third period.
“The positive thing is that I saw some people who care tonight,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said on Radio NL’s post-game show. “We wanted to see tonight who really cared to play for the Blazers. We saw some indication tonight.
“From that perspective there was some positive that came out of it.”
The Giants opened up a 3-0 first-period lead, getting power-play goals from forwards Craig Cunningham and Mike Piluso, and an even-strength score from J.T. Barnett. Second-period goals by Barnett and Garry Nunn upped the lead to 5-0, before the Blazers got third-period goals by Jimmy Bubnick, Linden Saip and Bronson Maschmeyer. The Giants’ final goal came from Sebastian Svendsen with five seconds left to play.
Bubnick also added an assist as he ran his point streak to seven games. He has 12 points, including six goals, over that span.
The Blazers’ cause wasn’t helped by the fact that they took 54 of the game’s 83 minutes in penalties.
After getting the game’s first power play, just 59 seconds into the game, the Blazers gave the next seven to the Giants. Vancouver ended up going 2-for-11 with the man advantage, while the Blazers were 0-for-5.
Charron pointed out that the Blazers’ early penalties weren’t “from physical play or getting involved or saving an opportunity.” Rather, he said, “they’re penalties for clutching and grabbing . . . these are lazy penalties. And against a team like the Giants, you can’t afford to do that.”
Vancouver will play three more home games through Sunday and then, thanks to the Olympic Winter Games, will vacate Pacific Coliseum until March 12. Of the following 27 games, 21 will be played on the road, with six ‘home’ games scheduled for the 5,200-seat Langley Events Centre.
On Sunday, the Blazers, who were 4-for-9 on the power play, got two goals from right-winger Tyler Shattock, who had gone eight games without a goal, and a goal and two assists from Bubnick.
Forward Jake Trask added his 10th goal of the season, but his first since Oct. 24, with Dalibor Bortnak and Ranford also scoring.
Four of the Blazers’ last seven games have been against the Cougars, and it would seem these teams are starting to grate on each other. The game Sunday featured five fights, with Kamloops defenceman Josh Caron twice going with Cougars captain Art Bidlevskii and Ryan Funk, another Blazers defenceman, twice being challenged after delivering legal checks.
The teams will play again in Prince George on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
JUST NOTES: Blazers G Kurtis Mucha made 14 saves Sunday, including just one in the third period. . . . In Vancouver, G Jon Groenheyde stopped 34 shots. . . . Kamloops next is at home Jan. 5 against the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Cougars had F Clarke Breitkreuz, 18, in their lineup Sunday. He joined them from the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. . . . The Blazers had the same two scratches for both games. F JC Lipon (Team Western) and F Colin Smith (Team Pacific) are the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in the Timmins, Ont., area.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday . . .
The Brandon Sun has unveiled the list of finalists for the prestigious Krug Crawford Memorial Award, which is presented annually by the newspaper to the “western Manitoban who best exemplifies sporting excellence throughout the year.” . . . F Brayden Schenn of the Brandon Wheat Kings is one of the 16 finalists. . . . Schenn actually won the award for 2008, making him the third member of the Wheat Kings to win the award over the previous four years. . . . Schenn is the only hockey player to be nominated for the 2009 award. . . . The winner will be revealed Saturday.
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Veteran WHL linesman Chris de Haan had to turn down his IIHF assignment to work the World Junior Championship following an illness in his family. Apparently, things are fine now, but with what his family had been through he didn’t want to be away for two weeks at Christmas.
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MEMO TO THE WHL: It’s time to explain to your referees exactly what constitutes an instigating penalty. . . . When Player A delivers a clean check on Player B and gets set upon by a teammate of Player B, well, that should be worthy of an instigating call to the teammate. . . . It happened twice in Sunday’s game between the Prince George Cougars and Kamloops Blazers, and it apparently happened once in the game between the Calgary Hitmen and Kootenay Ice. . . . It has been happening with more and more regularity, just as it has in the NHL. . . . So please, Mr. WHL, put a stop to it before it becomes an epidemic.
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SUNDAY:
In Spokane, the Portland Winterhawks scored three third-period goals and beat the Chiefs, 5-4. . . . Spokane took a 4-2 lead into the third period only to have Portland win it on goals from F Ryan Johansen, F Jacob Berglund and F Stefan Schneier, the latter winning it at 16:12 with his seventh of the season. . . . D Corbin Baldwin scored his first career goal for the Chiefs to give them the 4-2 lead. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 36 shots. . . . Portland G Ian Curtis stopped 29 shots. . . . The season series is 3-3 with the road team having won all six games. . . . In fact, Portland went 4-0 in Spokane for the first time in franchise history. . . . The Chiefs (21-11-3-0) lost for the fourth time in five games. . . . The Winter Hawks (23-15-0-1) had lost their pervious two games. . . . Attendance was 7,476. . . . The game ended in a line brawl -- ka-ching! -- involving all players on the ice. . . . The teams meet again Tuesday in Portland.
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In Everett, the Tri-City Americans scored the game’s last five goals and beat the Silvertips, 6-3. . . . Everett F Tyler Maxwell scored three times in the first period giving his mates a 3-1 lead. . . . Maxwell, who scored twice on the PP, has 23 goals this season. . . . The Americans came back with three second-period goals and two in the third. . . . F Neal Prokop scored twice for Tri-City, while F Brooks Macek had a goal and two assists. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley, coming off back-to-back shutouts, stopped 33 shots. He was backed up by Russian Alexander Pechurski, who joined the Ams over the Christmas break. . . . Everett G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 27 shots. . . . The Americans (27-9-0-0) have won five in a row, outscoring the opposition 26-7 in the process. . . . Everett (19-14-2-1) had won three of five. . . . Everett, which went into the game with its PP in an 0-for-22 drought, was 2-for-2 with the man advantage. . . . Attendance was 5,712. . . . The Americans’ Winnipeg contingent -- all 10 of them -- spent Saturday night in an airport in Denver after a flight to Pasco, Wash., was cancelled due to the horrid weather in the upper midwest. More travel problems Sunday meant they didn’t arrive in Vancouver until 1 p.m. They ended up traveling to Everett by fan, but the start time was pushed back an hour to accommodate their late arrival.
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In Kamloops, the Blazers scored three second-period PP goals and went on to
beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-1. . . . F Tyler Shattock, who had gone eight games without a goal, scored twice for the Blazers (15-17-2-3), who were 4-for-9 on the PP. . . . Shattock has 18 goals this season. . . . The Blazers got a goal and two assists from F Jimmy Bubnick. . . . Kamloops G Kurtis Mucha stopped 14 shots, including just one in the third period. . . . Mucha lost his shutout bid when F Greg Fraser beat him on a first-period PP. . . . Attendance was 4,977. . . . The Cougars (7-27-1-1) had F Clarke Breitkreuz, 18, in their lineup. He had two assists in 20 games last season with the Regina Pats and has been with the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. He had 24 points, including eight goals, and 36 penalty minutes in 31 games with Yorkton. . . . This was the third straight game between these teams -- the Blazers won two of them -- and featured five fights. . . . The teams will meet again in Prince George on Jan. 2 and 3.
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In Kelowna, D Kevin Connauton scored twice to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 7-3 victory over the Rockets. . . . Connauton leads WHL defencemen with 17 goals. . . . He also had an assist. . . . The Giants (23-12-1-2) led this one 3-0 after one period. . . . The Rockets (18-19-1-0) cut the deficit to one, with PP goals by D Tyson Barrie and F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan late in the second period. . . . The Giants scored four times in the third period, including F Greg Lamoureux’s first of the season and F Brett Lyon’s second. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 18 shots, while Kelowna’s Adam Brown turned aside six of nine before leaving for Mark Guggenberger at 12:46 of the first period. Guggenberger stopped 24 of 28. . . . Vancouver was 3-for-6 on the PP; Kelowna, which has lost three in a row, was 2-for-5. . . . Attendance was 6,253. . . . The Rockets, already without F Lucas Bloodoff (knee), F Evan Bloodoff (knee) and F Kyle St. Denis (concussion), had three players injured during the game. F Geordie Wudrick (shoulder), F Codey Ito (undisclosed) and D Collin Bowman (knee) all were taken to hospital
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In Cranbrook, B.C., the Kootenay Ice opened up a 3-0 second-period lead and
went on to a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . F Jesse Ismond scored the game’s first goal, his eighth, at 1:14 of the opening period. F Matt Fraser and D Brayden McNabb added second-period goals. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews stopped 34 shots, losing his shutout bid when F Del Cowan scored at 17:45 of the third period. . . . Calgary G Michael Snider stopped 23 shots. . . . Calgary was 0-for-9 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-for-8. . . . The Ice (20-15-1-2) has won four in row. . . . The Hitmen are 26-10-1-1. . . . Attendance was 3,289. . . . G Calvin Zemek, who plays midget AA in Cranbrook, backed up Snider after Chase Komistek didn’t make the trip with the Hitmen.
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In Medicine Hat, F Bretton Cameron scored twice as the Tigers beat the Regina Pats, 5-2. . . . Cameron has 28 goals on the season. . . . F Matt Strueby opened the scoring, getting Regina on the board at 7:12 of the first period. . . . Cameron then scored twice, at 11:36 of the first and 9:47 of the second. . . . The Tigers put it away with goals from D Scott McKay, his second, and F Kevin King, his 12th. . . . Cameron added an assist on F Linden Vey’s empty-netter. . . . Medicine Hat D Jace Coyle had one assist and was plus-4. . . . The Tigers (23-11-2-4) won for the seventh time in eight games. . . . The teams combined for 92 penalty minutes, 59 to Regina, which was hit with three instigating penalties. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . The Pats (16-21-3-0) lost their seventh straight game. . . . Regina’s defence is without Brandon Davidson (knee), Colten Teubert (Team Canada, World Junior Championship), and Myles Bell and Tyler Borstmayer, both of whom are at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . D Cody Carlson, whom the Pats acquired from the Tigers earlier this season, returned from a knee injury suffered Dec. 11 against Medicine Hat. . . . The Pats also have added two affiliates -- D Landon Peel, 15, from the midget AAA Southwest Cougars in Manitoba, and Tyler Pavkovich, 16, from the junior B Abbotsford, B.C., Pilots. Peel was a third-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, while the Pats got Pavkovich in the ninth round in 2008.
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In Red Deer, G Darcy Kuemper stopped 25 shots as the Rebels got past the
Lethbridge Hurricanes, 1-0. . . . F Jordie Deagle’s second goal of the season, at 9:51 of the third period, was all the offence Kuemper would need. . . . It was Kuemper’s first shutout of the season and the fourth of his career. . . . In Red Deer’s last game before the break, G Kraymer Barnstable blanked the Edmonton Oil Kings, 2-0. . . . Lethbridge G Brandon Anderson stopped 28 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,816. . . . The Rebels (19-15-0-2) remain without F Landon Ferraro (knee), who is back skating and may return this week. . . . Lethbridge, which has been blanked three times, slipped to 10-21-3-1. The Hurricanes thought they had scored in the third period but video review ruled the puck entered the goal after the net had been knocked off its moorings. . . . D Adam Henry, 15, was in the Hurricanes’ lineup. He was a third-round selection in the 2009 bantam draft.
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In Kent, Wash., D Brandon Manning scored two PP goals, the second one at 1:23 of OT, as the Chilliwack Bruins beat the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent, 3-2. . . . Manning scored at 15:04 of the first period, then drew an assist on F Travis Belohrad’s second goal of the season at 15:47 of the third period. That goal forced OT. . . . F Kevin Sundher drew two assists for Chilliwack (16-17-1-5). . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore turned aside 18 shots. Seattle’s Calvin Pickard stopped 48. . . . The Bruins were 2-for-7 on the PP; the Thunderbirds (13-19-2-4) were 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 3,801.
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Veteran WHL linesman Chris de Haan had to turn down his IIHF assignment to work the World Junior Championship following an illness in his family. Apparently, things are fine now, but with what his family had been through he didn’t want to be away for two weeks at Christmas.
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MEMO TO THE WHL: It’s time to explain to your referees exactly what constitutes an instigating penalty. . . . When Player A delivers a clean check on Player B and gets set upon by a teammate of Player B, well, that should be worthy of an instigating call to the teammate. . . . It happened twice in Sunday’s game between the Prince George Cougars and Kamloops Blazers, and it apparently happened once in the game between the Calgary Hitmen and Kootenay Ice. . . . It has been happening with more and more regularity, just as it has in the NHL. . . . So please, Mr. WHL, put a stop to it before it becomes an epidemic.
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SUNDAY:
In Spokane, the Portland Winterhawks scored three third-period goals and beat the Chiefs, 5-4. . . . Spokane took a 4-2 lead into the third period only to have Portland win it on goals from F Ryan Johansen, F Jacob Berglund and F Stefan Schneier, the latter winning it at 16:12 with his seventh of the season. . . . D Corbin Baldwin scored his first career goal for the Chiefs to give them the 4-2 lead. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 36 shots. . . . Portland G Ian Curtis stopped 29 shots. . . . The season series is 3-3 with the road team having won all six games. . . . In fact, Portland went 4-0 in Spokane for the first time in franchise history. . . . The Chiefs (21-11-3-0) lost for the fourth time in five games. . . . The Winter Hawks (23-15-0-1) had lost their pervious two games. . . . Attendance was 7,476. . . . The game ended in a line brawl -- ka-ching! -- involving all players on the ice. . . . The teams meet again Tuesday in Portland.
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In Everett, the Tri-City Americans scored the game’s last five goals and beat the Silvertips, 6-3. . . . Everett F Tyler Maxwell scored three times in the first period giving his mates a 3-1 lead. . . . Maxwell, who scored twice on the PP, has 23 goals this season. . . . The Americans came back with three second-period goals and two in the third. . . . F Neal Prokop scored twice for Tri-City, while F Brooks Macek had a goal and two assists. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley, coming off back-to-back shutouts, stopped 33 shots. He was backed up by Russian Alexander Pechurski, who joined the Ams over the Christmas break. . . . Everett G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 27 shots. . . . The Americans (27-9-0-0) have won five in a row, outscoring the opposition 26-7 in the process. . . . Everett (19-14-2-1) had won three of five. . . . Everett, which went into the game with its PP in an 0-for-22 drought, was 2-for-2 with the man advantage. . . . Attendance was 5,712. . . . The Americans’ Winnipeg contingent -- all 10 of them -- spent Saturday night in an airport in Denver after a flight to Pasco, Wash., was cancelled due to the horrid weather in the upper midwest. More travel problems Sunday meant they didn’t arrive in Vancouver until 1 p.m. They ended up traveling to Everett by fan, but the start time was pushed back an hour to accommodate their late arrival.
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In Kamloops, the Blazers scored three second-period PP goals and went on to
beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-1. . . . F Tyler Shattock, who had gone eight games without a goal, scored twice for the Blazers (15-17-2-3), who were 4-for-9 on the PP. . . . Shattock has 18 goals this season. . . . The Blazers got a goal and two assists from F Jimmy Bubnick. . . . Kamloops G Kurtis Mucha stopped 14 shots, including just one in the third period. . . . Mucha lost his shutout bid when F Greg Fraser beat him on a first-period PP. . . . Attendance was 4,977. . . . The Cougars (7-27-1-1) had F Clarke Breitkreuz, 18, in their lineup. He had two assists in 20 games last season with the Regina Pats and has been with the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. He had 24 points, including eight goals, and 36 penalty minutes in 31 games with Yorkton. . . . This was the third straight game between these teams -- the Blazers won two of them -- and featured five fights. . . . The teams will meet again in Prince George on Jan. 2 and 3.
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In Kelowna, D Kevin Connauton scored twice to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 7-3 victory over the Rockets. . . . Connauton leads WHL defencemen with 17 goals. . . . He also had an assist. . . . The Giants (23-12-1-2) led this one 3-0 after one period. . . . The Rockets (18-19-1-0) cut the deficit to one, with PP goals by D Tyson Barrie and F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan late in the second period. . . . The Giants scored four times in the third period, including F Greg Lamoureux’s first of the season and F Brett Lyon’s second. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 18 shots, while Kelowna’s Adam Brown turned aside six of nine before leaving for Mark Guggenberger at 12:46 of the first period. Guggenberger stopped 24 of 28. . . . Vancouver was 3-for-6 on the PP; Kelowna, which has lost three in a row, was 2-for-5. . . . Attendance was 6,253. . . . The Rockets, already without F Lucas Bloodoff (knee), F Evan Bloodoff (knee) and F Kyle St. Denis (concussion), had three players injured during the game. F Geordie Wudrick (shoulder), F Codey Ito (undisclosed) and D Collin Bowman (knee) all were taken to hospital
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In Cranbrook, B.C., the Kootenay Ice opened up a 3-0 second-period lead and
went on to a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . F Jesse Ismond scored the game’s first goal, his eighth, at 1:14 of the opening period. F Matt Fraser and D Brayden McNabb added second-period goals. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews stopped 34 shots, losing his shutout bid when F Del Cowan scored at 17:45 of the third period. . . . Calgary G Michael Snider stopped 23 shots. . . . Calgary was 0-for-9 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-for-8. . . . The Ice (20-15-1-2) has won four in row. . . . The Hitmen are 26-10-1-1. . . . Attendance was 3,289. . . . G Calvin Zemek, who plays midget AA in Cranbrook, backed up Snider after Chase Komistek didn’t make the trip with the Hitmen.
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In Medicine Hat, F Bretton Cameron scored twice as the Tigers beat the Regina Pats, 5-2. . . . Cameron has 28 goals on the season. . . . F Matt Strueby opened the scoring, getting Regina on the board at 7:12 of the first period. . . . Cameron then scored twice, at 11:36 of the first and 9:47 of the second. . . . The Tigers put it away with goals from D Scott McKay, his second, and F Kevin King, his 12th. . . . Cameron added an assist on F Linden Vey’s empty-netter. . . . Medicine Hat D Jace Coyle had one assist and was plus-4. . . . The Tigers (23-11-2-4) won for the seventh time in eight games. . . . The teams combined for 92 penalty minutes, 59 to Regina, which was hit with three instigating penalties. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . The Pats (16-21-3-0) lost their seventh straight game. . . . Regina’s defence is without Brandon Davidson (knee), Colten Teubert (Team Canada, World Junior Championship), and Myles Bell and Tyler Borstmayer, both of whom are at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . D Cody Carlson, whom the Pats acquired from the Tigers earlier this season, returned from a knee injury suffered Dec. 11 against Medicine Hat. . . . The Pats also have added two affiliates -- D Landon Peel, 15, from the midget AAA Southwest Cougars in Manitoba, and Tyler Pavkovich, 16, from the junior B Abbotsford, B.C., Pilots. Peel was a third-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, while the Pats got Pavkovich in the ninth round in 2008.
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In Red Deer, G Darcy Kuemper stopped 25 shots as the Rebels got past the
Lethbridge Hurricanes, 1-0. . . . F Jordie Deagle’s second goal of the season, at 9:51 of the third period, was all the offence Kuemper would need. . . . It was Kuemper’s first shutout of the season and the fourth of his career. . . . In Red Deer’s last game before the break, G Kraymer Barnstable blanked the Edmonton Oil Kings, 2-0. . . . Lethbridge G Brandon Anderson stopped 28 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,816. . . . The Rebels (19-15-0-2) remain without F Landon Ferraro (knee), who is back skating and may return this week. . . . Lethbridge, which has been blanked three times, slipped to 10-21-3-1. The Hurricanes thought they had scored in the third period but video review ruled the puck entered the goal after the net had been knocked off its moorings. . . . D Adam Henry, 15, was in the Hurricanes’ lineup. He was a third-round selection in the 2009 bantam draft.
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In Kent, Wash., D Brandon Manning scored two PP goals, the second one at 1:23 of OT, as the Chilliwack Bruins beat the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent, 3-2. . . . Manning scored at 15:04 of the first period, then drew an assist on F Travis Belohrad’s second goal of the season at 15:47 of the third period. That goal forced OT. . . . F Kevin Sundher drew two assists for Chilliwack (16-17-1-5). . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore turned aside 18 shots. Seattle’s Calvin Pickard stopped 48. . . . The Bruins were 2-for-7 on the PP; the Thunderbirds (13-19-2-4) were 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 3,801.
Saturday . . .
A veteran minor league player has been charged with murder. The Charlotte Observer has that story right here.
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F Mike Aviani, 16, has joined the Spokane Chiefs to help them fill out their roster into the New Year. Aviani, a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, has 30 points in 23 games with the junior B Grandview Steelers, who play in the Pacific International junior league. He will stay with the Chiefs through Jan. 5, and will play Sunday against the visiting Portland Winterhawks.
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The ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors have acquired RW Ryan Menei (Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, 2003-06) from the Johnstown Chiefs. Menei, a third-year pro, had 21 points, including 17 assists, in 24 games.
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Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald reports that the Tri-City Americans’ players who were on their way back from Winnipeg after the Christmas break ended up “stranded” in Denver on Saturday. . . . The Americans are to meet the Silvertips in Everett on Sunday. . . . According to Fowler, the first player to the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash., on Saturday, was Russian goaltender Alex Pechursky, who made the decision just before the break to leave his homeland and join the Americans. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley comes out of the Christmas break riding back-to-back shutouts. . . . The Americans, picked by some preseason prognosticators to miss the playoffs, are 26-9-0-0, which is only the best start in franchise history. They lead the Western Conference by five points over the Vancouver Giants.
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The Vancouver Giants will have D Luke Fenske in their lineup Sunday when they meet the Rockets in Kelowna. Fenske, 16, was in training camp with the Giants but was assigned to the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. He had 15 points in 37 games with the Bullodgs. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province points out that the Giants, who dealt D Mitch Spooner to the Regina Pats just before the break, “besides Spooner, Vancouver has dealt three other rearguards and also cut a WHL veteran blueliner since the start of training camp. They did lose five of their top six rearguards from last (season) to the pro ranks. It wouldn't be surprising to see them pick up another defenceman leading up to the Jan. 10 trade deadline, too.” . . . Ewen also points out that the Giants are about to play four home games over seven days, after which they won’t play in the Pacific Coliseum until March 12. They will play 27 games on the road, including ‘six’ home games at the 5,200-seat Langley Events Centre.
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The Everett Silvertips have added D Paul Bonar, an 18-year-old from Brandon, to their roster. He had three points in 44 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors last season and has been with the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders, who play out of Swan River, Man. He had 33 points in 36 games with the Stampeders. . . . The Silvertips also will have D Rasmus Rissanen, 18, back with them. He was a late cut from Finland’s world junior team.
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If you were wondering, the WHL’s Christmas trade moratorium runs through Sunday. Teams are able to start trading again on Monday at 12:01 a.m., Mountain time. . . . However, any players participating in the World Junior Championship or the U-17 World Hockey Challenge aren’t eligible to be dealt until after their particular event is over.
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The Kelowna Rockets will be without F Kyle St. Denis on Sunday when they meet the visiting Vancouver Giants. St. Denis suffered at least his second concussion of the season while the Rockets were on their East Division swing earlier this month.
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If you missed it, Regina Pats GM Brent Parker coughed up $500 for his comments after the Pats’ 3-1 loss to the Hitmen in Calgary on Dec. 18. Parker wasn’t impressed with the officiating that night.
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Let's see . . . 16-0 . . . 10-1 . . . aren't you glad you didn't have to pay. . . . No, I didn't watch. Went out for coffee. Then watched Boston College and USC play football. . . . Again we see evidence of why the WJC should be five or six teams playing some kind of double round-robin tournament finishing with a Page playoff. Just like in curling. That way Hockey Canada's cash cow could run for about three weeks and there would be even more games and even more money. . . . Hey, I'm kidding. But, sheesh, it's time for the adults who run this thing to do something. I watched between five and 10 minutes total and I was embarrassed for the Czechs and the Latvians. The Canada-Latvian game was like one of those high school basketball mismatches you read about once in a while. . . . Makes you hunger for the next game, doesn't it? . . . That would be Kentucky and Clemson in the Music City Bowl. . . . Back to the WJC in the new year.
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F Mike Aviani, 16, has joined the Spokane Chiefs to help them fill out their roster into the New Year. Aviani, a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, has 30 points in 23 games with the junior B Grandview Steelers, who play in the Pacific International junior league. He will stay with the Chiefs through Jan. 5, and will play Sunday against the visiting Portland Winterhawks.
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The ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors have acquired RW Ryan Menei (Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, 2003-06) from the Johnstown Chiefs. Menei, a third-year pro, had 21 points, including 17 assists, in 24 games.
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Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald reports that the Tri-City Americans’ players who were on their way back from Winnipeg after the Christmas break ended up “stranded” in Denver on Saturday. . . . The Americans are to meet the Silvertips in Everett on Sunday. . . . According to Fowler, the first player to the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash., on Saturday, was Russian goaltender Alex Pechursky, who made the decision just before the break to leave his homeland and join the Americans. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley comes out of the Christmas break riding back-to-back shutouts. . . . The Americans, picked by some preseason prognosticators to miss the playoffs, are 26-9-0-0, which is only the best start in franchise history. They lead the Western Conference by five points over the Vancouver Giants.
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The Vancouver Giants will have D Luke Fenske in their lineup Sunday when they meet the Rockets in Kelowna. Fenske, 16, was in training camp with the Giants but was assigned to the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. He had 15 points in 37 games with the Bullodgs. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province points out that the Giants, who dealt D Mitch Spooner to the Regina Pats just before the break, “besides Spooner, Vancouver has dealt three other rearguards and also cut a WHL veteran blueliner since the start of training camp. They did lose five of their top six rearguards from last (season) to the pro ranks. It wouldn't be surprising to see them pick up another defenceman leading up to the Jan. 10 trade deadline, too.” . . . Ewen also points out that the Giants are about to play four home games over seven days, after which they won’t play in the Pacific Coliseum until March 12. They will play 27 games on the road, including ‘six’ home games at the 5,200-seat Langley Events Centre.
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The Everett Silvertips have added D Paul Bonar, an 18-year-old from Brandon, to their roster. He had three points in 44 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors last season and has been with the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders, who play out of Swan River, Man. He had 33 points in 36 games with the Stampeders. . . . The Silvertips also will have D Rasmus Rissanen, 18, back with them. He was a late cut from Finland’s world junior team.
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If you were wondering, the WHL’s Christmas trade moratorium runs through Sunday. Teams are able to start trading again on Monday at 12:01 a.m., Mountain time. . . . However, any players participating in the World Junior Championship or the U-17 World Hockey Challenge aren’t eligible to be dealt until after their particular event is over.
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The Kelowna Rockets will be without F Kyle St. Denis on Sunday when they meet the visiting Vancouver Giants. St. Denis suffered at least his second concussion of the season while the Rockets were on their East Division swing earlier this month.
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If you missed it, Regina Pats GM Brent Parker coughed up $500 for his comments after the Pats’ 3-1 loss to the Hitmen in Calgary on Dec. 18. Parker wasn’t impressed with the officiating that night.
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Let's see . . . 16-0 . . . 10-1 . . . aren't you glad you didn't have to pay. . . . No, I didn't watch. Went out for coffee. Then watched Boston College and USC play football. . . . Again we see evidence of why the WJC should be five or six teams playing some kind of double round-robin tournament finishing with a Page playoff. Just like in curling. That way Hockey Canada's cash cow could run for about three weeks and there would be even more games and even more money. . . . Hey, I'm kidding. But, sheesh, it's time for the adults who run this thing to do something. I watched between five and 10 minutes total and I was embarrassed for the Czechs and the Latvians. The Canada-Latvian game was like one of those high school basketball mismatches you read about once in a while. . . . Makes you hunger for the next game, doesn't it? . . . That would be Kentucky and Clemson in the Music City Bowl. . . . Back to the WJC in the new year.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Friday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT (CHRISTMAS DAY SPECIAL): F Konstantin Panov (Kamloops, 1998-2001) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Dynamo Moscow (Russia KHL) after his release by Lada Togliatti (Russia KHL) earlier today. Panov was the captain and leading scorer of Lada, getting 12 goals and nine assists in 31 games this season. No word on the reason for the release -- Lada also released its No. 3 scorer today and he landed with CSKA Moscow -- but the club has been facing severe financial difficulties all season.
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Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post wonders what the second-half of the WHL’s regular season holds in store for the Regina Pats. That piece is right here.
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I also happen to know that Harder spent a lot of Christmas Day writing World Junior Championship advancers. You will find them on The Leader-Post's website later today.
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So . . . you got a little cash for Christmas and are wondering what to do with it. At the same time, your fantasy football team is doing really well. So . . . why not buy the El Paso Generals, a team in the Indoor Football League? Check that out right here.
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Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post wonders what the second-half of the WHL’s regular season holds in store for the Regina Pats. That piece is right here.
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I also happen to know that Harder spent a lot of Christmas Day writing World Junior Championship advancers. You will find them on The Leader-Post's website later today.
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So . . . you got a little cash for Christmas and are wondering what to do with it. At the same time, your fantasy football team is doing really well. So . . . why not buy the El Paso Generals, a team in the Indoor Football League? Check that out right here.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas to all
It is late on Christmas Eve in Kamloops, B.C.
I was going to come on here with some Christmas wishes -- like turnsignals for all the idiot drivers who don’t use them; like no more whining from folks about the officiating in hockey; like no more broken promises from politicians; like a balanced budget for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games; like no shenanigans when it comes time to present the books to the public when the Games are over; like just once to see Ron MacLean shove Don Cherry off his high horse when Grapes is insulting him.
But I decided not to.
Instead, I simply want to wish anyone who might drop by here a very Merry Christmas and the best of New Years.
And thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your stay.
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I also present for your enjoyment a look, via Stu Hackel of the New York Times hockey blog Slapshot, at some of the good hockey books that will be available when the Boxing Day sales start. That look is right here.
And please allow me to add Where Men Win Glory (The Odyssey of Pat Tillman), by Jon Krakauer. That is the best book I read in 2009.
What else did I read in 2009?
Well, The Echoing Green (The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca and the Shot Heard Round the World), by Joshua Prager, was a thrilling read. This an in-depth -- really in-depth -- look at the two men most involved in one of baseball’s most historical plays.
The Paperboy, by Pete Dexter, was an interesting work of fiction that I quite enjoyed. Different and thrilling, both at the same time.
Leafs Abomination (The Dismayed Fan’s Handbook to Why the Leafs Stink and How They Can Rise Again), by Dave Feschuk and Michael Grange, started out well but got bogged down in the workings MLSE and the involvement in ownership of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. This book cried out for more anecdotes to explain just how the Leafs got into this predicament.
If you like paperback fiction, I read a bunch of books by Lee Child and Michael Connelly, along with anything by Elmore Leonard, one of the best wordsmiths around. You can’t go wrong with them.
If you are able to find a copy of Loose Balls (The Short, Wild Life of the American Baseball Association), by Terry Pluto, grab it right away. This one is a real treat.
Living on the Black (Two Pitchers, Two Teams, One Season to Remember), by John Feinstein, chronicled one season in the careers of major league pitchers Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina. This wasn’t Feinstein’s best work, but it is quite readable, primarily because both pitchers were quite candid. It also provided interesting insight into two great pitchers who knew retirement was near.
Asper Nation (Canada’s Most Dangerous Media Company), by Marc Edge, and Ego and Ink (The Inside Story of Canada’s National Newspaper War), helped explain, at least in part, how CanWest and the Canadian newspaper industry got to where they’re at today.
Searching for Bobby Orr, by Stephen Brunt, was a good read by perhaps Canada’s best sports essayist -- Brunt or Roy MacGregor, flip a coin -- is an insightful, thoughtful look at the man most people think of as the best defenceman in the history of hockey. Brunt also wrote Gretzky’s Tears, which I’m thinking might by under the tree in the morning.
You also can’t go wrong with any of Malcolm Gladwell’s books. I have read Outliers and Blink over the last 12 months and both provided more than enough food for thought.
And, finally, the two best fiction books I read in 2009 were The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and its sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, by the late Stieg Larsson. I eagerly await the release of the third and final book in the series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. . . . Lisbeth Salander has become one of my favourite fictional characters. She is a real treat.
Right now, I am about halfway through Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America, by Rick Perlstein. . . . If you’re into American history, you won’t want to miss this one.
I also am trying to find time to re-read Jim Murray: The Last of the Best. . . . There are a few compilations available of works by Murray and also by Red Smith. They were, and are, the measuring stick among sports writers. Give them a read and you’ll be shocked at how much sports journalism has changed.
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And now, just for the referee and linesmen lovers out there, here is a list of WHL officials and their IIHF assignments:
Referees . . .
Chris Savage, Medicine Hat: World Championship, Cologne/Mannheim, Germany.
Graham Skilliter, Saskatoon: World Championship, Division II, Group A, Mexico City.
Pat Smith, Vancouver: World U18 Championship, Minsk/Bobruisk, Belarus.
Derek Zalaski, Edmonton: World Junior Championship Regina/Saskatoon.
Linesemen . . .
Chris Carlson, Edmonton: World U18 Championship, Minsk/Bobruisk, Belarus.
Chris de Haan, Abbotsford: World Junior Championship, Regina/Saskatoon.
Jeff Jobson, Calgary: World Junior Championship, Regina/Saskatoon.
Kiel Murchison, Surrey, B.C.: World Championship, Division II, Group A, Mexico City.
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All told, the IIHF assigned 20 Canadian officials to nine different events this season, with eight of those from the WHL. . . . I’m told that veteran WHL Andy Thiessen chose not to accept any international assignments as the ones he was offered conflicted with games on his schedule that involve the Portland Winterhawks.
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The IIHF also selected 14 referees and linesmen to work the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Included are five Canadian NHL officials -- Paul Devorski, Marc Joannette, Bill McCreary, Dan O’Halloran and Brad Watson -- and three Canadian NHL linesmen -- Shane Heyer, Jean Morin and Jay Sharrers.
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Two former WHL head coaches will be coaching in the Central league’s all-star game in Laredo, Texas, on Jan. 13. . . . Terry Ruskowski, who coached the Saskatoon Blades for two seasons and now runs the Laredo Bucks, will help coach a team comprising players from South Texas teams (Rio Grande Valley, Laredo and Corpus Christi). . . . Kevin McClelland, who coached the Prince Albert Raiders for two seasons, will run the CHL all-star team. McClelland was selected because his team, the Colorado Eagles, had the league’s best winning percentage (.820) through Tuesday. . . . Ruskowski will be coaching in his third straight all-star game, with McClelland in his second in a row.
I was going to come on here with some Christmas wishes -- like turnsignals for all the idiot drivers who don’t use them; like no more whining from folks about the officiating in hockey; like no more broken promises from politicians; like a balanced budget for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games; like no shenanigans when it comes time to present the books to the public when the Games are over; like just once to see Ron MacLean shove Don Cherry off his high horse when Grapes is insulting him.
But I decided not to.
Instead, I simply want to wish anyone who might drop by here a very Merry Christmas and the best of New Years.
And thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your stay.
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I also present for your enjoyment a look, via Stu Hackel of the New York Times hockey blog Slapshot, at some of the good hockey books that will be available when the Boxing Day sales start. That look is right here.
And please allow me to add Where Men Win Glory (The Odyssey of Pat Tillman), by Jon Krakauer. That is the best book I read in 2009.
What else did I read in 2009?
Well, The Echoing Green (The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca and the Shot Heard Round the World), by Joshua Prager, was a thrilling read. This an in-depth -- really in-depth -- look at the two men most involved in one of baseball’s most historical plays.
The Paperboy, by Pete Dexter, was an interesting work of fiction that I quite enjoyed. Different and thrilling, both at the same time.
Leafs Abomination (The Dismayed Fan’s Handbook to Why the Leafs Stink and How They Can Rise Again), by Dave Feschuk and Michael Grange, started out well but got bogged down in the workings MLSE and the involvement in ownership of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. This book cried out for more anecdotes to explain just how the Leafs got into this predicament.
If you like paperback fiction, I read a bunch of books by Lee Child and Michael Connelly, along with anything by Elmore Leonard, one of the best wordsmiths around. You can’t go wrong with them.
If you are able to find a copy of Loose Balls (The Short, Wild Life of the American Baseball Association), by Terry Pluto, grab it right away. This one is a real treat.
Living on the Black (Two Pitchers, Two Teams, One Season to Remember), by John Feinstein, chronicled one season in the careers of major league pitchers Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina. This wasn’t Feinstein’s best work, but it is quite readable, primarily because both pitchers were quite candid. It also provided interesting insight into two great pitchers who knew retirement was near.
Asper Nation (Canada’s Most Dangerous Media Company), by Marc Edge, and Ego and Ink (The Inside Story of Canada’s National Newspaper War), helped explain, at least in part, how CanWest and the Canadian newspaper industry got to where they’re at today.
Searching for Bobby Orr, by Stephen Brunt, was a good read by perhaps Canada’s best sports essayist -- Brunt or Roy MacGregor, flip a coin -- is an insightful, thoughtful look at the man most people think of as the best defenceman in the history of hockey. Brunt also wrote Gretzky’s Tears, which I’m thinking might by under the tree in the morning.
You also can’t go wrong with any of Malcolm Gladwell’s books. I have read Outliers and Blink over the last 12 months and both provided more than enough food for thought.
And, finally, the two best fiction books I read in 2009 were The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and its sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, by the late Stieg Larsson. I eagerly await the release of the third and final book in the series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. . . . Lisbeth Salander has become one of my favourite fictional characters. She is a real treat.
Right now, I am about halfway through Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America, by Rick Perlstein. . . . If you’re into American history, you won’t want to miss this one.
I also am trying to find time to re-read Jim Murray: The Last of the Best. . . . There are a few compilations available of works by Murray and also by Red Smith. They were, and are, the measuring stick among sports writers. Give them a read and you’ll be shocked at how much sports journalism has changed.
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And now, just for the referee and linesmen lovers out there, here is a list of WHL officials and their IIHF assignments:
Referees . . .
Chris Savage, Medicine Hat: World Championship, Cologne/Mannheim, Germany.
Graham Skilliter, Saskatoon: World Championship, Division II, Group A, Mexico City.
Pat Smith, Vancouver: World U18 Championship, Minsk/Bobruisk, Belarus.
Derek Zalaski, Edmonton: World Junior Championship Regina/Saskatoon.
Linesemen . . .
Chris Carlson, Edmonton: World U18 Championship, Minsk/Bobruisk, Belarus.
Chris de Haan, Abbotsford: World Junior Championship, Regina/Saskatoon.
Jeff Jobson, Calgary: World Junior Championship, Regina/Saskatoon.
Kiel Murchison, Surrey, B.C.: World Championship, Division II, Group A, Mexico City.
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All told, the IIHF assigned 20 Canadian officials to nine different events this season, with eight of those from the WHL. . . . I’m told that veteran WHL Andy Thiessen chose not to accept any international assignments as the ones he was offered conflicted with games on his schedule that involve the Portland Winterhawks.
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The IIHF also selected 14 referees and linesmen to work the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Included are five Canadian NHL officials -- Paul Devorski, Marc Joannette, Bill McCreary, Dan O’Halloran and Brad Watson -- and three Canadian NHL linesmen -- Shane Heyer, Jean Morin and Jay Sharrers.
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Two former WHL head coaches will be coaching in the Central league’s all-star game in Laredo, Texas, on Jan. 13. . . . Terry Ruskowski, who coached the Saskatoon Blades for two seasons and now runs the Laredo Bucks, will help coach a team comprising players from South Texas teams (Rio Grande Valley, Laredo and Corpus Christi). . . . Kevin McClelland, who coached the Prince Albert Raiders for two seasons, will run the CHL all-star team. McClelland was selected because his team, the Colorado Eagles, had the league’s best winning percentage (.820) through Tuesday. . . . Ruskowski will be coaching in his third straight all-star game, with McClelland in his second in a row.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Wednesday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT: F Travis Brigley (Lethbridge, 1993-97) has been released by Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, plays in Austria Erste Bank Liga). Brigley had 14 goals and 11 assists in 22 games for Olimpija this season. . . . G Aleksandr Fomichev (Calgary, Seattle, 1997-2000) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Russia KHL). Fomichev was released last week by Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia KHL). Some followers of the blog might better recognize Nizhny Novgorod by its communist era name of Gorky. . . . D Ivan Baranka (Everett, 2003-05) has signed a two-year contract extension with Spartak Moscow (Russia KHL). The extension takes the contract through the 2011-2012 season. Baranka has three goals and 12 assists in 31 games for Spartak this season. . . .
———
Two players from the WHL — F Tyler Johnson of the Spokane Chiefs and F Luke Walker of the Portland Winterhawks — have been named to the U.S. national junior team that will play in the World Junior Championship in Regina and Saskatoon. . . . Johnson, who was born and raised in Spokane, played on the U.S. team last season. . . . Walker made the team despite undergoing surgery earlier in the month to repair facial injuries suffered when he was struck by a puck. Walker was born in New Haven, Conn., while his father, Gord, was playing professionally.
———
G Alex Pechursky officially joined the Tri-City Americans on Tuesday. The Russian goaltender, who was selected by the Americans in the CHL’s 2009 import draft, was a fifth-round selection by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL’s 2008 draft. He had been with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Continental Hockey League but had gotten into only one game. . . . “I have been on this since the beginning,” Americans general manager Bob Tory told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Drew (Owsley) is still our guy, but he can’t play 70 games in fear of burning out or risk of injury. With the type of season we’ve had, it only makes sense to have two quality goalies in the second half of the season.” . . . . Prior to the Christmas break, Owsley had played in 1,947 minutes over 34 games, while backup Brett Martyniuk had played only 154 minutes in seven games. Owlsey is 25-8-0-0 with a 2.50 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
———
The WHL announced Wednesday that it and FSN Northwest have cut a multi-year deal making “FSN Northwest the WHL’s exclusive Pacific Northwest cable broadcast home starting with this season.” The deal runs through 2011-12. The network will televise a minimum of 10 regular-season games each season.
Here is this season’s schedule:
Jan. 8: Everett at Seattle, in Kent, Wash. (tape delay), 9:30 p.m.
Jan. 13: Portland at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Jan. 15: Everett at Chilliwack, 7 p.m.
Jan. 22: Everett at Portland, 7:35 p.m.
Jan. 29: Seattle at Spokane, 7 p.m.
Feb. 5: Seattle at Portland, 7:35 p.m.
Feb. 12: Spokane at Everett, 735 p.m.
Feb. 19: Everett at Tri City, 7 p.m.
March 5: Seattle at Spokane, 7 p.m.
March 12: Tri-City at Spokane, (tape delay), 11 p.m.
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The interesting thing about that agreement being announced Wednesday is that the schedule, with one change, appears on Page 18 of the WHL’s 2009-10 Guide. . . . The schedule in the Guide has a Seattle at Kelowna game on March 5 being televised. The game that will be shown on March is Seattle at Spokane.
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F Drew George won’t be joining the WHL’s Regina Pats, despite having skated with them earlier this month. Instead, it seems he will be joining the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings. There’s more from Greg Harder right here.
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Damien Cox of the Toronto Star has a thought-provoking look at Hockey Canada’s cash cow, aka the World Junior Championship, right here.
———
Two players from the WHL — F Tyler Johnson of the Spokane Chiefs and F Luke Walker of the Portland Winterhawks — have been named to the U.S. national junior team that will play in the World Junior Championship in Regina and Saskatoon. . . . Johnson, who was born and raised in Spokane, played on the U.S. team last season. . . . Walker made the team despite undergoing surgery earlier in the month to repair facial injuries suffered when he was struck by a puck. Walker was born in New Haven, Conn., while his father, Gord, was playing professionally.
———
G Alex Pechursky officially joined the Tri-City Americans on Tuesday. The Russian goaltender, who was selected by the Americans in the CHL’s 2009 import draft, was a fifth-round selection by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL’s 2008 draft. He had been with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Continental Hockey League but had gotten into only one game. . . . “I have been on this since the beginning,” Americans general manager Bob Tory told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Drew (Owsley) is still our guy, but he can’t play 70 games in fear of burning out or risk of injury. With the type of season we’ve had, it only makes sense to have two quality goalies in the second half of the season.” . . . . Prior to the Christmas break, Owsley had played in 1,947 minutes over 34 games, while backup Brett Martyniuk had played only 154 minutes in seven games. Owlsey is 25-8-0-0 with a 2.50 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
———
The WHL announced Wednesday that it and FSN Northwest have cut a multi-year deal making “FSN Northwest the WHL’s exclusive Pacific Northwest cable broadcast home starting with this season.” The deal runs through 2011-12. The network will televise a minimum of 10 regular-season games each season.
Here is this season’s schedule:
Jan. 8: Everett at Seattle, in Kent, Wash. (tape delay), 9:30 p.m.
Jan. 13: Portland at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Jan. 15: Everett at Chilliwack, 7 p.m.
Jan. 22: Everett at Portland, 7:35 p.m.
Jan. 29: Seattle at Spokane, 7 p.m.
Feb. 5: Seattle at Portland, 7:35 p.m.
Feb. 12: Spokane at Everett, 735 p.m.
Feb. 19: Everett at Tri City, 7 p.m.
March 5: Seattle at Spokane, 7 p.m.
March 12: Tri-City at Spokane, (tape delay), 11 p.m.
———
The interesting thing about that agreement being announced Wednesday is that the schedule, with one change, appears on Page 18 of the WHL’s 2009-10 Guide. . . . The schedule in the Guide has a Seattle at Kelowna game on March 5 being televised. The game that will be shown on March is Seattle at Spokane.
———
F Drew George won’t be joining the WHL’s Regina Pats, despite having skated with them earlier this month. Instead, it seems he will be joining the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings. There’s more from Greg Harder right here.
———
Damien Cox of the Toronto Star has a thought-provoking look at Hockey Canada’s cash cow, aka the World Junior Championship, right here.
Bonner wants to see more consistency
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers open the second half of their WHL regular-season schedule at home Sunday and the word from general manager Craig Bonner is “consistency.”
The Blazers, of course, were anything but consistent as they compiled a 14-17-2-3 record over their first 36 games. That has them clinging to the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot as the Prince George Cougars visit Interior Savings Centre on Sunday, 6 p.m.
“(We need) more consistency throughout even one game . . . one 60-minute game. It’s even that short-term,” Bonner said Wednesday evening. “The consistency is something we’re striving for . . .”
Which doesn’t mean that Bonner hasn’t seen progress, because he has.
As he put it: “Lately, we’re kind of in the two-steps-forward, one-step-back stage, where a month ago we were one step forward, two steps back . . .
“So I guess it’s a positive thing.”
Keep in mind that the Blazers are trying to pick up the pieces after one of the most turbulent opening three months in franchise history. They began the season with a 7-1-2-0 record and, for a bit, were atop the conference. For a while, they were even ranked in the CHL’s Top 10.
But all the while there were ominous signs, like too many shots against and too many penalty minutes.
“It was a good start record-wise,” Bonner said, “but I didn’t really enjoy the way we were playing. It was one of those things you knew eventually was going to come to an end. On the Eastern swing is where it came to an end.”
The Blazers went 1-5-0-0 on that swing and were badly outshot. That resulted in a coaching change, with second-year coach Barry Smith exiting stage left with an 8-7-2-0 record.
Assistant coach Scott Ferguson was named interim head coach, with assistant coach Geoff Smith’s duties expanded.
“We didn’t get the response I thought we would get after the coaching change,” Bonner said. “I thought it would be a little more energetic, but it wasn’t.”
The Blazers were 3-6-0-1 under Ferguson and it was during that stretch that Bonner came to the realization that he was going to have to make some player changes.
In the meantime, Guy Charron, a former player and assistant coach, reached out to the Blazers’ ownership group through Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien — the two coached together with the Montreal Canadiens. Julien spoke with Bruins winger Mark Recchi, one of the WHL team’s five owners, and before long Bonner had Charron signed to a deal for the remainder of this season.
“I thought (Smith and Ferguson) started to get the team going in the right direction,” Bonner said. “And since Guy has been here, there sure are a lot more positives than negatives for me. Our team plays a lot better now.
“Wins and losses aside, we play a lot better game. He has been a very pleasant addition for us.”
The Blazers are 3-4-0-2 under Charron, who came in with no loyalties to anyone in the organization, something Bonner felt was “very important.”
“He didn’t know any of our players so they had to earn their stripes,” Bonner explained. “That’s terrific. It’s no secret that a lot of our players have been inconsistent. Now they have to earn their ice time and earn their way into the coach’s good books.”
Bonner also is hopeful that the younger players are able to learn how to win from this coaching staff.
“We have good kids and good people for the most part,” he stated, “but not a lot of our guys have had much success. They would like to have success but they don’t know how to get there.
“I really think the tail end of (Ferguson and Smith) and with Guy here now . . . this is definitely the direction I would like to see us go.”
While all this was going on, Bonner moved six veteran players out of the dressing room, bringing in forward Jordan DePape, 17, and two 20-year-olds — goaltender Kurtis Mucha and defenceman Ryan Funk.
With the Jan. 10 trade deadline approaching, Bonner won’t promise there won’t be more movement.
“The evaluation is ongoing,” he said. “I think there’s going to be some tough decisions that are going to have to be made before the deadline.”
If there are to be trades, he said, the proceeds will be “for the team now and in the future.”
“I don’t think we’re going to get ourselves where we’re moving players — if we do move players — for draft picks,” he explained. “It’s going to be for people coming in to help us now and in the future, as in the Shayne Wiebe trade.”
Bonner dealt Wiebe, a 19-year-old winger in his third season, to the Brandon Wheat Kings for DePape, who was the MJHL’s rookie of the year last season and who scored three goals in his first game with the Blazers.
JUST NOTES: Don’t forget that Sunday’s game time is 6 p.m. . . . Two of the Blazers — C Colin Smith and F JC Lipon — will be gone until early January as they play in the U-17 World Hockey Challenge that is to be based in Timmins, Ont. Smith, from Edmonton, will play for Team Pacific, while Lipon, from Regina, will be with Team Western. . . . Without those two, the Blazers will have only 20 players on hand Sunday. . . . The Blazers meet the Giants in Vancouver on Monday and the Rockets in Kelowna on Wednesday. Kamloops’ next home game is Jan. 5 against the Everett Silvertips. . . . Bonner leaves Saturday for the Mac’s midget tournament in Calgary. The Blazers have 10 of their prospects in that tournament, but delete F Logan McVeigh (Saskatoon Contacts) from that list as he has a broken wrist and add D Luc Lemire of the Prince Albert Mintos. He was added to the Blazers’ protected list earlier this month.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers open the second half of their WHL regular-season schedule at home Sunday and the word from general manager Craig Bonner is “consistency.”
The Blazers, of course, were anything but consistent as they compiled a 14-17-2-3 record over their first 36 games. That has them clinging to the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot as the Prince George Cougars visit Interior Savings Centre on Sunday, 6 p.m.
“(We need) more consistency throughout even one game . . . one 60-minute game. It’s even that short-term,” Bonner said Wednesday evening. “The consistency is something we’re striving for . . .”
Which doesn’t mean that Bonner hasn’t seen progress, because he has.
As he put it: “Lately, we’re kind of in the two-steps-forward, one-step-back stage, where a month ago we were one step forward, two steps back . . .
“So I guess it’s a positive thing.”
Keep in mind that the Blazers are trying to pick up the pieces after one of the most turbulent opening three months in franchise history. They began the season with a 7-1-2-0 record and, for a bit, were atop the conference. For a while, they were even ranked in the CHL’s Top 10.
But all the while there were ominous signs, like too many shots against and too many penalty minutes.
“It was a good start record-wise,” Bonner said, “but I didn’t really enjoy the way we were playing. It was one of those things you knew eventually was going to come to an end. On the Eastern swing is where it came to an end.”
The Blazers went 1-5-0-0 on that swing and were badly outshot. That resulted in a coaching change, with second-year coach Barry Smith exiting stage left with an 8-7-2-0 record.
Assistant coach Scott Ferguson was named interim head coach, with assistant coach Geoff Smith’s duties expanded.
“We didn’t get the response I thought we would get after the coaching change,” Bonner said. “I thought it would be a little more energetic, but it wasn’t.”
The Blazers were 3-6-0-1 under Ferguson and it was during that stretch that Bonner came to the realization that he was going to have to make some player changes.
In the meantime, Guy Charron, a former player and assistant coach, reached out to the Blazers’ ownership group through Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien — the two coached together with the Montreal Canadiens. Julien spoke with Bruins winger Mark Recchi, one of the WHL team’s five owners, and before long Bonner had Charron signed to a deal for the remainder of this season.
“I thought (Smith and Ferguson) started to get the team going in the right direction,” Bonner said. “And since Guy has been here, there sure are a lot more positives than negatives for me. Our team plays a lot better now.
“Wins and losses aside, we play a lot better game. He has been a very pleasant addition for us.”
The Blazers are 3-4-0-2 under Charron, who came in with no loyalties to anyone in the organization, something Bonner felt was “very important.”
“He didn’t know any of our players so they had to earn their stripes,” Bonner explained. “That’s terrific. It’s no secret that a lot of our players have been inconsistent. Now they have to earn their ice time and earn their way into the coach’s good books.”
Bonner also is hopeful that the younger players are able to learn how to win from this coaching staff.
“We have good kids and good people for the most part,” he stated, “but not a lot of our guys have had much success. They would like to have success but they don’t know how to get there.
“I really think the tail end of (Ferguson and Smith) and with Guy here now . . . this is definitely the direction I would like to see us go.”
While all this was going on, Bonner moved six veteran players out of the dressing room, bringing in forward Jordan DePape, 17, and two 20-year-olds — goaltender Kurtis Mucha and defenceman Ryan Funk.
With the Jan. 10 trade deadline approaching, Bonner won’t promise there won’t be more movement.
“The evaluation is ongoing,” he said. “I think there’s going to be some tough decisions that are going to have to be made before the deadline.”
If there are to be trades, he said, the proceeds will be “for the team now and in the future.”
“I don’t think we’re going to get ourselves where we’re moving players — if we do move players — for draft picks,” he explained. “It’s going to be for people coming in to help us now and in the future, as in the Shayne Wiebe trade.”
Bonner dealt Wiebe, a 19-year-old winger in his third season, to the Brandon Wheat Kings for DePape, who was the MJHL’s rookie of the year last season and who scored three goals in his first game with the Blazers.
JUST NOTES: Don’t forget that Sunday’s game time is 6 p.m. . . . Two of the Blazers — C Colin Smith and F JC Lipon — will be gone until early January as they play in the U-17 World Hockey Challenge that is to be based in Timmins, Ont. Smith, from Edmonton, will play for Team Pacific, while Lipon, from Regina, will be with Team Western. . . . Without those two, the Blazers will have only 20 players on hand Sunday. . . . The Blazers meet the Giants in Vancouver on Monday and the Rockets in Kelowna on Wednesday. Kamloops’ next home game is Jan. 5 against the Everett Silvertips. . . . Bonner leaves Saturday for the Mac’s midget tournament in Calgary. The Blazers have 10 of their prospects in that tournament, but delete F Logan McVeigh (Saskatoon Contacts) from that list as he has a broken wrist and add D Luc Lemire of the Prince Albert Mintos. He was added to the Blazers’ protected list earlier this month.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Tuesday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT: G Milan Hnilicka (Swift Current, 1992-93) signed a contract with Slavia Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga), terms not announced. He had a 3.19 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 22 games with Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga) last season.
———
Kevin Mitchell of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix takes a look right here at the Swiss team that will play in the World Junior Championship. That team includes two WHLers — D Luca Sbisa and F Nino Niederreiter. . . . Mitchell’s story includes this line: One Austrian player — Stefan Ulmer, who injured his knee Sunday against Slovakia — plays in the CHL with the WHL's Spokane Chiefs.
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There’s a story right here on F Jamie Benn, who played last season with the Kelowna Rockets and now is making an impact with the Dallas Stars.
———
D Adam Polasek has chosen not to play for the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship. That story is right here.
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Kevin Mitchell of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix takes a look right here at the Swiss team that will play in the World Junior Championship. That team includes two WHLers — D Luca Sbisa and F Nino Niederreiter. . . . Mitchell’s story includes this line: One Austrian player — Stefan Ulmer, who injured his knee Sunday against Slovakia — plays in the CHL with the WHL's Spokane Chiefs.
———
There’s a story right here on F Jamie Benn, who played last season with the Kelowna Rockets and now is making an impact with the Dallas Stars.
———
D Adam Polasek has chosen not to play for the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship. That story is right here.
These activities don't hamper Blazers' style
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
As anyone knows who has played hockey or listened to Don Cherry pontificate, it is better to give then to receive when you are on the ice.
Over the last little while, the Kamloops Blazers have learned that rule of thumb applies off the ice, too.
The players raised more than $2,800, which went into Christmas hampers for eight families and a donation to the New Life Mission.
“The guys were wanting to do something for families who don’t have a whole lot at Christmas,” assistant coach Scott Ferguson, who co-ordinated the project, said Monday night from Snohomish, Wash., where he and his family are spending Christmas. “The players raised about $250 among themselves and we came up with the idea of going out to sponsors and seeing if they would help.”
Not only did the team’s many sponsors around town dig deep, but so did a lot of their employees.
“That’s what makes Kamloops such a great city,” Ferguson said. “Everyone is having a hard time economically, but all our sponsors were really good and the people who work for them opened up their wallets. They all gave generously.”
During his professional career, Ferguson played four seasons with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. While there, he said, he and his wife, Valerie, became involved with similar projects through the Christmas Bureau of Edmonton.
“Because of that,” Ferguson said, “Valerie knew what kinds of things to buy for a Christmas meal and for hampers.”
Ferguson then approached the team’s booster club and got the names of five families.
“Then,” he said, “we went to Summit Drive Baptist Church and got three more families there.”
Knowing that they were buying for eight families and armed with Valerie’s list, Ferguson said he took some players “to Safeway and did some shopping.”
“We ended up with eight pretty big baskets,” he said. “We also had some left over money, about $1,000, and we gave that to the New Life Mission.”
The whole thing had Ferguson feeling pretty proud of the players.
“I was pretty happy and proud of the guys,” he said. “It’s not all about hockey; we’re trying to teach these guys about life as well. I think that goes a long way to hopefully getting them to take the focus off themselves and put it on other people.
“You get wrapped up in hockey and they’re worrying about wins and losses.”
A project such as this one, Ferguson said, can easily be related to a team sport.
“It has that same reflection on the team, where when you put other people ahead of yourself you tend to be a lot happier,” he said. “We also want to show these guys that we’re very fortunate that we’re able to play a game . . . there are people in real life situations who don’t havea lot.
“It’s always nice to lend a helping hand. Hopefuly, these guys take something and learn from it.”
Ferguson was so pleased with the way things turned out that he already is thinking about next year.
“We’re talking about . . . next year we have more of a gauge on how much money we can raise,” he said. “Maybe we challenge Kelowna. Maybe we say to the Rockets, ‘This is what we’re doing, we challenge you to see who can raise the most money.’
“Maybe we help out 10 families in Kamloops and however many families in Kelowna and go from there.
“That’s what Christmas is all about . . . helping other people.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers are off until Sunday when the Prince George Cougars visit Interior Savings Centre. Note that game time is 6 p.m. . . . Acording to Alan Caldwell, who keeps track of such things at his blog, Small Thoughts At Large, the Blazers will have 10 prospects playing in the annual Mac’s midget tournament that opens Saturday in Calgary. That list features D Nathan Browne and D Max Mowat, two list players from the Okanagan Rockets; D Jeffrey Ness (Prince Albert Mintos, eighth round, 2009); F Rhyse Dieno (list) and F Mitchell Schwark (sixth round, 2009), from the Saskatoon Blazers; F Logan McVeigh (Saskatoon Contacts, second round, 2009); D Brady Gaudet (Tisdale Trojans, first round, 2009); D Jordan Beveridge (Vancouver-North East Chiefs, second round, 2008); F Brandon Morley (Vancouver-North West Giants, third round, 2009); and, F Gage Rapitta (Yorkton Harvest, list).
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
As anyone knows who has played hockey or listened to Don Cherry pontificate, it is better to give then to receive when you are on the ice.
Over the last little while, the Kamloops Blazers have learned that rule of thumb applies off the ice, too.
The players raised more than $2,800, which went into Christmas hampers for eight families and a donation to the New Life Mission.
“The guys were wanting to do something for families who don’t have a whole lot at Christmas,” assistant coach Scott Ferguson, who co-ordinated the project, said Monday night from Snohomish, Wash., where he and his family are spending Christmas. “The players raised about $250 among themselves and we came up with the idea of going out to sponsors and seeing if they would help.”
Not only did the team’s many sponsors around town dig deep, but so did a lot of their employees.
“That’s what makes Kamloops such a great city,” Ferguson said. “Everyone is having a hard time economically, but all our sponsors were really good and the people who work for them opened up their wallets. They all gave generously.”
During his professional career, Ferguson played four seasons with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. While there, he said, he and his wife, Valerie, became involved with similar projects through the Christmas Bureau of Edmonton.
“Because of that,” Ferguson said, “Valerie knew what kinds of things to buy for a Christmas meal and for hampers.”
Ferguson then approached the team’s booster club and got the names of five families.
“Then,” he said, “we went to Summit Drive Baptist Church and got three more families there.”
Knowing that they were buying for eight families and armed with Valerie’s list, Ferguson said he took some players “to Safeway and did some shopping.”
“We ended up with eight pretty big baskets,” he said. “We also had some left over money, about $1,000, and we gave that to the New Life Mission.”
The whole thing had Ferguson feeling pretty proud of the players.
“I was pretty happy and proud of the guys,” he said. “It’s not all about hockey; we’re trying to teach these guys about life as well. I think that goes a long way to hopefully getting them to take the focus off themselves and put it on other people.
“You get wrapped up in hockey and they’re worrying about wins and losses.”
A project such as this one, Ferguson said, can easily be related to a team sport.
“It has that same reflection on the team, where when you put other people ahead of yourself you tend to be a lot happier,” he said. “We also want to show these guys that we’re very fortunate that we’re able to play a game . . . there are people in real life situations who don’t havea lot.
“It’s always nice to lend a helping hand. Hopefuly, these guys take something and learn from it.”
Ferguson was so pleased with the way things turned out that he already is thinking about next year.
“We’re talking about . . . next year we have more of a gauge on how much money we can raise,” he said. “Maybe we challenge Kelowna. Maybe we say to the Rockets, ‘This is what we’re doing, we challenge you to see who can raise the most money.’
“Maybe we help out 10 families in Kamloops and however many families in Kelowna and go from there.
“That’s what Christmas is all about . . . helping other people.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers are off until Sunday when the Prince George Cougars visit Interior Savings Centre. Note that game time is 6 p.m. . . . Acording to Alan Caldwell, who keeps track of such things at his blog, Small Thoughts At Large, the Blazers will have 10 prospects playing in the annual Mac’s midget tournament that opens Saturday in Calgary. That list features D Nathan Browne and D Max Mowat, two list players from the Okanagan Rockets; D Jeffrey Ness (Prince Albert Mintos, eighth round, 2009); F Rhyse Dieno (list) and F Mitchell Schwark (sixth round, 2009), from the Saskatoon Blazers; F Logan McVeigh (Saskatoon Contacts, second round, 2009); D Brady Gaudet (Tisdale Trojans, first round, 2009); D Jordan Beveridge (Vancouver-North East Chiefs, second round, 2008); F Brandon Morley (Vancouver-North West Giants, third round, 2009); and, F Gage Rapitta (Yorkton Harvest, list).
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Christmas with Jim Murray
What follows is the late, great Jim Murray at his biting best. . . . Read it and enjoy. . . . As for the eh? at the end. That was his . . . all his! Maybe he was a closet Canadian, eh?
Mondays With Murray
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1995 SPORTS
Copyright 1995/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY
JIM MURRAY
He'd Rather Get Fruitcake
Stop me if you've heard this, but are you as tired as I am of the upbeat Christmas letters, the look-at-us, hurray-for-our-side family chronicles you get this time of year?
You know what I mean. The ones that start out something like this:
"Well, it's been a banner year for the Mulligans. Christin finally had our first grandchild, a bouncing baby girl, 9 pounds 7 ounces, who'll probably grow up to be our first woman President.
"John has taken over the Federal Reserve System. Paula is still working on a cancer cure at Johns Hopkins and we expect a breakthrough any day now. A Nobel Prize, perhaps?
"Dad and I are enjoying our retirement. He has produced a new hybrid rose for our garden that is hailed by horticulturists everywhere.
"I am still busy with my charity work, saving the whales, protecting the spotted butterflies, supporting a Hottentot village in the South Pacific and still have time to combat illiteracy in our universities and lobby for outlawing the death penalty but legalizing abortion. Dad thinks I take on too much but I was on Howard Stern twice last year and am taking dead aim on Oprah Winfrey.
"Phil got his PhD in optical engineering and is working on the telescope with which they hope to bring in Heaven by the end of the century. Rita is in the Peace Corps some place where they can only get a message out by bottle but finds her life fulfilling and thinks the dysentery is only temporary. Harriet is still into archeology and they have found the lost city of an Aztec sun god of the second century BC, but she can't find her car keys.
"So, all in all, it's been a joy and we look forward to more of the same in 1996 and hope you all are enjoying the happiness and success that has been our fortunate lot this year."
Well, when I read those, I have this irresistible urge to pen the kind of letter I dream of receiving:
"Well, it's been a good year on balance for the Mulligans. Clarence got out of prison in time for Christmas and the good news is, he likes his parole officer.
"Hilda got another divorce, her ninth, and she has moved back home with her 11 kids. We don't know where her ex-husband is. Neither do the police. He's two years behind in child support to Hilda and 10 years behind to his other five wives.
"Paul has stopped sucking his thumb. We're proud of him. He's only 16.
"Carl is doing better. He's happy to say he cleared $30,000 last year begging from cars at the corner of Crescent Heights and Santa Monica Boulevard. He is buying a new Mercedes. He loves it when they yell at him, 'Get a life!'
"Frank lost his job at the factory. They're downsizing. Particularly with guys like Frank who they said was late 47 times last year, didn't show up at all on 20 other days and got caught making book in the company cafeteria.
"Tom goes around burning flags. He's not unpatriotic. He says it's a good way to meet girls.
"Alice's movie career is progressing nicely. She got to wear clothes in her last flick — a garter belt. She also got a speaking part — all moans. It's not Shakespeare but it's a start.
"Jonathan flunked out of another college. The dean explained, 'Jonathan missed the question "What year was the War of 1812?" but he only missed by 2.' We tell him if he had a good jump shot, he could miss it by a century and still graduate cum laude."
Face it. Wouldn't a letter like that be a welcome relief? So, have a great New Year. Just don't tell us about it, eh?
*Reprinted with permission by the Los Angeles Times.
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | P.O. Box 995 | La Quinta | CA | 92247
Mondays With Murray
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1995 SPORTS
Copyright 1995/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY
JIM MURRAY
He'd Rather Get Fruitcake
Stop me if you've heard this, but are you as tired as I am of the upbeat Christmas letters, the look-at-us, hurray-for-our-side family chronicles you get this time of year?
You know what I mean. The ones that start out something like this:
"Well, it's been a banner year for the Mulligans. Christin finally had our first grandchild, a bouncing baby girl, 9 pounds 7 ounces, who'll probably grow up to be our first woman President.
"John has taken over the Federal Reserve System. Paula is still working on a cancer cure at Johns Hopkins and we expect a breakthrough any day now. A Nobel Prize, perhaps?
"Dad and I are enjoying our retirement. He has produced a new hybrid rose for our garden that is hailed by horticulturists everywhere.
"I am still busy with my charity work, saving the whales, protecting the spotted butterflies, supporting a Hottentot village in the South Pacific and still have time to combat illiteracy in our universities and lobby for outlawing the death penalty but legalizing abortion. Dad thinks I take on too much but I was on Howard Stern twice last year and am taking dead aim on Oprah Winfrey.
"Phil got his PhD in optical engineering and is working on the telescope with which they hope to bring in Heaven by the end of the century. Rita is in the Peace Corps some place where they can only get a message out by bottle but finds her life fulfilling and thinks the dysentery is only temporary. Harriet is still into archeology and they have found the lost city of an Aztec sun god of the second century BC, but she can't find her car keys.
"So, all in all, it's been a joy and we look forward to more of the same in 1996 and hope you all are enjoying the happiness and success that has been our fortunate lot this year."
Well, when I read those, I have this irresistible urge to pen the kind of letter I dream of receiving:
"Well, it's been a good year on balance for the Mulligans. Clarence got out of prison in time for Christmas and the good news is, he likes his parole officer.
"Hilda got another divorce, her ninth, and she has moved back home with her 11 kids. We don't know where her ex-husband is. Neither do the police. He's two years behind in child support to Hilda and 10 years behind to his other five wives.
"Paul has stopped sucking his thumb. We're proud of him. He's only 16.
"Carl is doing better. He's happy to say he cleared $30,000 last year begging from cars at the corner of Crescent Heights and Santa Monica Boulevard. He is buying a new Mercedes. He loves it when they yell at him, 'Get a life!'
"Frank lost his job at the factory. They're downsizing. Particularly with guys like Frank who they said was late 47 times last year, didn't show up at all on 20 other days and got caught making book in the company cafeteria.
"Tom goes around burning flags. He's not unpatriotic. He says it's a good way to meet girls.
"Alice's movie career is progressing nicely. She got to wear clothes in her last flick — a garter belt. She also got a speaking part — all moans. It's not Shakespeare but it's a start.
"Jonathan flunked out of another college. The dean explained, 'Jonathan missed the question "What year was the War of 1812?" but he only missed by 2.' We tell him if he had a good jump shot, he could miss it by a century and still graduate cum laude."
Face it. Wouldn't a letter like that be a welcome relief? So, have a great New Year. Just don't tell us about it, eh?
*Reprinted with permission by the Los Angeles Times.
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | P.O. Box 995 | La Quinta | CA | 92247
Wright heads back to school
D Ben Wright (Lethbridge, 2003-09) has left the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals and will go to school. Wright, a first-year pro from Foremost, Alta., played in 26 games with the Jackals. He had six points and 17 penalty minutes. Wright was the Hurricane’s captain last season. . . . The University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds announced Aug. 9 that Wright had committed to playing for them this season. . . . UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougall told me Tuesday that the Varsity Reds “are expecting a ‘western’ Christmas present." . . . Other WHL products on the Varsity Reds’ roster include D Jonathan Harty, F Daine Todd, D Bretton Stamler, G Derek Yeomans, F Kyle Bailey, F Alex Aldred and F Taylor Procyshen. . . . It’s worth mentioning, too, that the Varsity Reds, who are off until Jan. 8, are having a pretty decent season. So far, their conference record is 15-0. They also lead the AUAA in scoring and defence.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tri-City to add goaltender?
It would seem that the Tri-City Americans are about to add a goaltender to their roster. There is news right here.
Monday . . . early
The CHL has announced the rosters for the Top Prospects Game. There are 13 WHLers included and the rosters are right here. Yes, Don Cherry and Bobby Orr will be there again.
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The OHL’s Windsor Spitfires have announced that they will bid on the opportunity to play host to the 2011 Memorial Cup. The Spitfires are the defending Memorial Cup champions. You will remember that they lost their first two games of the 2009 tournament in Rimouski, Que., before bouncing back to win four straight games. . . . Earlier this month, the Kingston Frontenacs announced that they would be bidding to play host to the 2011 tournament. . . . The 2010 Memorial Cup will be played in Brandon.
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Canada has made a couple of WHL-related changes to the roster of its team in the Spengler Cup, which opens Saturday in Davos, Switzerland. . . . G Brent Kahn (Calgary, 1999-2003) is injured and has been replaced by Wade Dubielewicz. Krahn plays for the AHL’s Texas Stars. . . . F Stacy Roest (Medicine Hat, 1990-95) also is unable to play. He is with Raaperswil in Switzerland. . . . Among the injury replacements is D Mike Siklenka (Seattle, 1998-99). He plays for Salzburg in Austria. . . . Other teams in the Spengler Cup are Adler Mannheim (Germany), HC Dynamo Minsk (Belarus), HC Energie Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic) and the host team, HC Davos (Switzerland). . . . All of Canada’s games will be televised by Rogers Sportsnet.
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Jackson Penney (Prince Albert, Victoria, 1987-90) is enjoying life as the owner of a junior B hockey team. That story is right here.
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Tomas Voracek was showing all the signs of being an impact defenceman for the Prince Albert Raiders in 2007-08 when he returned home to the Czech Republic because his mother was ill. Voracek, now 19, is with the Czech national junior team that will play in the World Junior Championship and the Raiders plan on checking him out. “I don’t know where it’s going to go, but we’re certainly going to chat with him to see if there’s some interest in him joining our team after the world juniors,” Bruno Campese, the Raiders’ GM and head coach, told John MacNeil of the Prince Albert Daily Herald. “But he’s playing over in (the Czech Republic) right now. He’s got a pro contract, so there’s lot of things (to consider). First of all, he’s got to want to come, and then you have to deal with him getting out of his contract, as well. He’s a guy that was with us, so we know what he can do, and there’s some comfort with that. But, in the same token, we feel it’s a little bit of a longshot, but it’s a longshot that we’re willing to take right now.” . . . Voracek’s mother died last week. . . . The Raiders have room for an import on their roster, as they dropped Swedish F Fredrik Cedergren last week.
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The OHL’s Windsor Spitfires have announced that they will bid on the opportunity to play host to the 2011 Memorial Cup. The Spitfires are the defending Memorial Cup champions. You will remember that they lost their first two games of the 2009 tournament in Rimouski, Que., before bouncing back to win four straight games. . . . Earlier this month, the Kingston Frontenacs announced that they would be bidding to play host to the 2011 tournament. . . . The 2010 Memorial Cup will be played in Brandon.
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Canada has made a couple of WHL-related changes to the roster of its team in the Spengler Cup, which opens Saturday in Davos, Switzerland. . . . G Brent Kahn (Calgary, 1999-2003) is injured and has been replaced by Wade Dubielewicz. Krahn plays for the AHL’s Texas Stars. . . . F Stacy Roest (Medicine Hat, 1990-95) also is unable to play. He is with Raaperswil in Switzerland. . . . Among the injury replacements is D Mike Siklenka (Seattle, 1998-99). He plays for Salzburg in Austria. . . . Other teams in the Spengler Cup are Adler Mannheim (Germany), HC Dynamo Minsk (Belarus), HC Energie Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic) and the host team, HC Davos (Switzerland). . . . All of Canada’s games will be televised by Rogers Sportsnet.
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Jackson Penney (Prince Albert, Victoria, 1987-90) is enjoying life as the owner of a junior B hockey team. That story is right here.
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Tomas Voracek was showing all the signs of being an impact defenceman for the Prince Albert Raiders in 2007-08 when he returned home to the Czech Republic because his mother was ill. Voracek, now 19, is with the Czech national junior team that will play in the World Junior Championship and the Raiders plan on checking him out. “I don’t know where it’s going to go, but we’re certainly going to chat with him to see if there’s some interest in him joining our team after the world juniors,” Bruno Campese, the Raiders’ GM and head coach, told John MacNeil of the Prince Albert Daily Herald. “But he’s playing over in (the Czech Republic) right now. He’s got a pro contract, so there’s lot of things (to consider). First of all, he’s got to want to come, and then you have to deal with him getting out of his contract, as well. He’s a guy that was with us, so we know what he can do, and there’s some comfort with that. But, in the same token, we feel it’s a little bit of a longshot, but it’s a longshot that we’re willing to take right now.” . . . Voracek’s mother died last week. . . . The Raiders have room for an import on their roster, as they dropped Swedish F Fredrik Cedergren last week.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Sunday . . .
What! . . . You thought that Taking Note would be taking a Christmas break!! . . . You thought that because the WHL shuts down, Taking Note would pull the covers over its head and forget about you, too!!! . . . You thought that Taking Note was like some of those other blogs, who censor videos to protect you from them, who want nothing more than to win a Memorial Cup ring, who bail on you at this time of the year, using some pagan holiday as an excuse!!!! . . . Not on your life!!!!! . . . Taking Note’s correspondents are continuing to search the world for information of value to you, and we are right here to pass along that information to you . . .
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THE MacBETH REPORT: F Dylan Stanley (Tri-City, 2000-05) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Rosenheim (Germany Oberliga). He started the season with the Florida Everblades (ECHL) and had one goal and three assists in eight games. Last season, Stanley had 45 goals and 73 assists in 61 games for Rosenheim.
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Somehow I missed The Attack of the Killer Hat from Saturday night’s game in Cranbrook as the Kootenay Ice beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 8-2. Ice F Dustin Sylvester, the team captain, had a hat trick in that one, which resulted in, as per tradition, the tossing of caps onto the ice. Or, in at least one case, close to the ice. . . . Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman put it this way:
“One of those caps that came down from the Rec Plex skyboxes apparently had a sharp visor as one elderly gentleman suffered a cut on his face from the errant throw. He was attended to by arena staff but didn't miss a shift and remained in his seat to watch the rest of the game.”
Hey, the gent is a hockey fan. He’s tough. A cap cut wasn’t going to keep him away from the action. Well done, sir, and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
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F Luke Walker of the Portland Winterhawks and F Tyler Johnson of the Spokane Chiefs are two of 14 forwards still with the U.S. national junior team after six players were dropped from the selection camp roster Sunday.
Walker was a scratch Sunday as the U.S. national junior team beat the U of North Dakota Fighting Sioux 4-2 in an exhibition game in Grand Forks, N.D.
The U.S. team is holding its selection camp in Grand Forks, at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The U.S. roster still includes eight defencemen and two goaltenders.
The U.S. had 30 players in camp, now is down to 24 and will select 22 to its final roster. The U.S. team will head for Regina on Monday morning. The U.S. won’t name its final roster until Wednesday, following a Tuesday night exhibition game with the Czech Republic.
Walker is in the U.S. camp despite having had surgery to repair facial injuries after he was struck by a puck during a game Dec. 8.
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THE MacBETH REPORT: F Dylan Stanley (Tri-City, 2000-05) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Rosenheim (Germany Oberliga). He started the season with the Florida Everblades (ECHL) and had one goal and three assists in eight games. Last season, Stanley had 45 goals and 73 assists in 61 games for Rosenheim.
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Somehow I missed The Attack of the Killer Hat from Saturday night’s game in Cranbrook as the Kootenay Ice beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 8-2. Ice F Dustin Sylvester, the team captain, had a hat trick in that one, which resulted in, as per tradition, the tossing of caps onto the ice. Or, in at least one case, close to the ice. . . . Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman put it this way:
“One of those caps that came down from the Rec Plex skyboxes apparently had a sharp visor as one elderly gentleman suffered a cut on his face from the errant throw. He was attended to by arena staff but didn't miss a shift and remained in his seat to watch the rest of the game.”
Hey, the gent is a hockey fan. He’s tough. A cap cut wasn’t going to keep him away from the action. Well done, sir, and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
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F Luke Walker of the Portland Winterhawks and F Tyler Johnson of the Spokane Chiefs are two of 14 forwards still with the U.S. national junior team after six players were dropped from the selection camp roster Sunday.
Walker was a scratch Sunday as the U.S. national junior team beat the U of North Dakota Fighting Sioux 4-2 in an exhibition game in Grand Forks, N.D.
The U.S. team is holding its selection camp in Grand Forks, at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The U.S. roster still includes eight defencemen and two goaltenders.
The U.S. had 30 players in camp, now is down to 24 and will select 22 to its final roster. The U.S. team will head for Regina on Monday morning. The U.S. won’t name its final roster until Wednesday, following a Tuesday night exhibition game with the Czech Republic.
Walker is in the U.S. camp despite having had surgery to repair facial injuries after he was struck by a puck during a game Dec. 8.
Saturday . . .
Eric Fehr of the Washington Capitals and Ryan Stone of the Edmonton Oilers were teammates with the Brandon Wheat Kings not so long ago and are the best of friends. On Saturday, they played against each other in Edmonton. There is more on the two friends right here.
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There is more right here on the AHL possibly ending up in Victoria or other points west. This piece is from Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist.
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According to Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province, the Vancouver Giants are bringing in some reinforcements. Ewen reports that the Giants have signed D Luke Fenske, 16, from the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. A third-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, he’ll join the Giants after the Christmas recess. . . . Ewen also reports that the Giants are pursuing Mark MacMillan, 17, of Port Alberni and D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, 17, of the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles. Vannieuwenhuizen was a sixth-round pick in 2007. . . . The Giants also are checking out F Aaron Hadley, 16, of the junior B Beaver Valley Nitehawks, who was a 10th-round selection in 2008. . . . For more on this story, check out Ewen’s blog -- The Dub Hub -- over there on the left.
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SATURDAY:
In Medicine Hat, F Taylor Gal and F Kale Kessy each scored two goals as the Tigers dumped the Calgary Hitmen, 6-4. . . . The Hitmen (26-9-1-1) led this one 2-0 at 16:12 of the first period, on goals by F Tyler Fiddler, his 17th, and F Joel Broda, his 20th. . . . But the Tigers (22-11-2-4) scored the next six goals. . . . F Emerson Etem got his 27th for the Tigers; he has five in four games against Calgary. . . . Etem also had two assists, while F Matt MacKay set up three goals. . . . The Hitmen got two goals from Fiddler and three helpers from F Misha Fisenko. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . The previous three games between these teams had been decided in shootouts, with Calgary winning twice.
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In Cranbrook, B.C., F Dustin Sylvester had three goals to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 6-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Sylvester also had an assist. . . . The Ice, which won 8-2 in Lethbridge on Friday, was 6-for-9 on the PP, setting a franchise record for PP goals in one game. . . . D Brayden McNabb had a goal and three assists, while D Hayden Rintoul added three assists for the Ice (19-15-1-2), which has won three in a row. . . . The Hurricanes (10-20-3-1) have lost three straight. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews stopped 19 shots, losing his shutout when F Mitch Maxwell got his 16th goal at 10:42 of the third. Yes, it came via the PP. . . . Lethbridge G Brandon Anderson stopped 17 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,669. . . . Lethbridge G Linden Rowat, out since October with an ankle problem, has been cleared to resume skating on Dec. 26.
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In Brandon, F Aaron Lewadniuk and F Mark Stone each scored three times to lead the Wheat Kings to an 8-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . It was the first WHL hat trick for each player. . . . Lewadniuk also had an assist. . . . F Toni Rajala and F Shayne Wiebe each had three assists for Brandon (25-11-0-2), which goes into the break having won eight in a row. . . . Brandon scored the game’s first four goals and the last four. . . . The Warriors fell to 17-15-1-2 as they lost for the sixth time in seven games. . . . Brandon G Andrew Hayes stopped 16 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,743. . . . Moose Jaw starter Jeff Bosch gave up three goals on 11 shots before being replaced by Brandon Glover, who stopped nine of 14 shots. . . . The Wheat Kings had beaten the Warriors 4-1 in Moose Jaw on Friday.
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In Chilliwack, F Byron Froese’s shootout goal gave the Everett Silvertips a 4-3 victory over the Bruins. . . . The shootout went five rounds and Froese was the ninth shooter. Earlier, Everett got a shootout goal from F Scott MacDonald, with D Jesse Craige scoring for the Bruins. . . . F Ryan Howse got his 28th goal of the season for Chilliwack, moving him to within one of WHL leader Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats. . . . Howse’s goal was the 70th of his career, one shy of Oscar Moller’s franchise record. . . . F Kellan Tochkin, who is from just down the Trans-Canada Highway in Abbotsford, got two for the Silvertips. He now has 12. . . . Everett F Cameron Abney forced OT with his third of the season at 10:21 of the third. . . . F Kevin Sundher had a goal and an assist for the Bruins, with D Brandon Manning drawing two assists. . . . The Bruins were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Bruins were 0-for-4. . . . Attendance was 3,679. . . . The Silvertips (19-13-2-1) had lost seven of nine. . . . The Bruins (15-17-1-5) had won their last two games.
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In Portland, G Drew Owsley stopped 46 shots, including 22 in the second period, to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 6-0 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Owsley, one of the biggest stories of the WHL season’s first half, has four shutouts this season and five in his career. . . . Owsley stopped 32 shots on Friday as the Americans blanked the Silvertips 3-0 in Everett. . . . F Jordan Messier scored three goals and set up another for the Americans (26-9-0-0), who have won four in a row and are 5-0 against Portland (22-15-0-1) this season. . . . F Patrick Holland added two Tri-City goals. . . . Attendance in the Rose Garden was 7,152. . . . Owsley’s shutout was the 42nd by WHL goaltenders this season.
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In Prince George, the Cougars got two goals from F Taylor Makin as they beat the Kamloops Blazers, 4-2. . . . Makin, whose first goal was the Teddy Bear score, has six goals this season. . . . F Nick Buonassisi broke a 2-2 tie with his sixth goal at 12:40 of the third period. Makin, who also had an assist, added insurance at 15:06. . . . The Blazers (14-17-2-3) scored two PP goals, giving them seven in their two games in Prince George. They scored five times on the PP in a 7-2 victory on Friday. . . . The Cougars (7-26-1-1) got a goal and two assists from F Jaroslav Vlach and two assists from F Brock Hirsche. . . . Prince George G Hudson Stremmel, who didn’t get out of the first period on Friday, stopped 34 shots. . . . Kamloops G Kurtis Mucha stopped 28. . . . Attendance was 4,299. . . . The teams return from the Christmas break to play in Kamloops on Dec. 27.
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In Red Deer, G Kraymer Barnstable stopped 24 shots to help the Rebels beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 2-0. . . . The shutout was the first of Barnstable’s career. . . . It was Red Deer’s first shutout this season and the fourth time Edmonton (10-20-4-4) has been blanked. . . . Barnstable, who has been backing up Darcy Kuemper and hadn’t played in 11 games, is 6-1-0-0. . . . F Colton Mayor’s second goal of the season, at 2:54 of the first period, was all the offence Red Deer (18-15-0-2) would need. . . . F Turner Elson added insurance with his fifth goal at 12:33 of the second. . . . F Matt Dumba, the fourth overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft, picked up an assist on Elson’s goal, his first career WHL point coming in his third game. He also was plus-2. . . . Attendance was 4,698. . . . Edmonton, which had won two in a row, had beaten the visiting Rebels 3-1 on Friday.
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In Saskatoon, F Derek Hulak scored two goals and set up three others as the Blades beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 5-2. . . . The Raider had beaten the Blades 4-2 in Prince Albert on Friday. . . . Hulak has 16 goals this season. . . . F Dustin Cameron of the Raiders got the game’s first goal, at 15:14 of the first period. . . . The Blades scored the next five -- two in the first, one in the second and two in the third. . . . F Charles Inglis added a goal and two assists for Saskatoon (24-7-1-3). . . . The Raiders (20-16-1-2) had won two in a row. . . . Attendance was 4,363. . . . The Blades had D Jyri Niemi (shoulder) back in their lineup. He had missed seven games and now will join the Finnish national junior team.
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In Kent, Wash., F Cody Eakin’s shootout goal gave the Swift Current Broncos a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent. . . . With Seattle shooting first for each round, Eakin, the first Broncos’ shooter, scored the only goal his side would need as the hosts were blanked. . . . Swift Current F Taylor Vause forced OT with a shorthanded goal at 19:49 of the second period. . . . The Broncos (19-17-0-2) went 3-2 on their U.S. Division swing. . . . The Thunderbirds are 13-19-1-4. . . . Seattle F Charles Wells had two assists. . . . Swift Current G Mark Friesen stopped 26 shots through OT. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard also stopped 26 shots. . . . Attendance was 3,347.
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That’s it. The WHL now is on its Christmas break. The regular season resumes on Dec. 27.
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There is more right here on the AHL possibly ending up in Victoria or other points west. This piece is from Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist.
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According to Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province, the Vancouver Giants are bringing in some reinforcements. Ewen reports that the Giants have signed D Luke Fenske, 16, from the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. A third-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, he’ll join the Giants after the Christmas recess. . . . Ewen also reports that the Giants are pursuing Mark MacMillan, 17, of Port Alberni and D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, 17, of the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles. Vannieuwenhuizen was a sixth-round pick in 2007. . . . The Giants also are checking out F Aaron Hadley, 16, of the junior B Beaver Valley Nitehawks, who was a 10th-round selection in 2008. . . . For more on this story, check out Ewen’s blog -- The Dub Hub -- over there on the left.
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SATURDAY:
In Medicine Hat, F Taylor Gal and F Kale Kessy each scored two goals as the Tigers dumped the Calgary Hitmen, 6-4. . . . The Hitmen (26-9-1-1) led this one 2-0 at 16:12 of the first period, on goals by F Tyler Fiddler, his 17th, and F Joel Broda, his 20th. . . . But the Tigers (22-11-2-4) scored the next six goals. . . . F Emerson Etem got his 27th for the Tigers; he has five in four games against Calgary. . . . Etem also had two assists, while F Matt MacKay set up three goals. . . . The Hitmen got two goals from Fiddler and three helpers from F Misha Fisenko. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . The previous three games between these teams had been decided in shootouts, with Calgary winning twice.
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In Cranbrook, B.C., F Dustin Sylvester had three goals to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 6-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Sylvester also had an assist. . . . The Ice, which won 8-2 in Lethbridge on Friday, was 6-for-9 on the PP, setting a franchise record for PP goals in one game. . . . D Brayden McNabb had a goal and three assists, while D Hayden Rintoul added three assists for the Ice (19-15-1-2), which has won three in a row. . . . The Hurricanes (10-20-3-1) have lost three straight. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews stopped 19 shots, losing his shutout when F Mitch Maxwell got his 16th goal at 10:42 of the third. Yes, it came via the PP. . . . Lethbridge G Brandon Anderson stopped 17 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,669. . . . Lethbridge G Linden Rowat, out since October with an ankle problem, has been cleared to resume skating on Dec. 26.
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In Brandon, F Aaron Lewadniuk and F Mark Stone each scored three times to lead the Wheat Kings to an 8-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . It was the first WHL hat trick for each player. . . . Lewadniuk also had an assist. . . . F Toni Rajala and F Shayne Wiebe each had three assists for Brandon (25-11-0-2), which goes into the break having won eight in a row. . . . Brandon scored the game’s first four goals and the last four. . . . The Warriors fell to 17-15-1-2 as they lost for the sixth time in seven games. . . . Brandon G Andrew Hayes stopped 16 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,743. . . . Moose Jaw starter Jeff Bosch gave up three goals on 11 shots before being replaced by Brandon Glover, who stopped nine of 14 shots. . . . The Wheat Kings had beaten the Warriors 4-1 in Moose Jaw on Friday.
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In Chilliwack, F Byron Froese’s shootout goal gave the Everett Silvertips a 4-3 victory over the Bruins. . . . The shootout went five rounds and Froese was the ninth shooter. Earlier, Everett got a shootout goal from F Scott MacDonald, with D Jesse Craige scoring for the Bruins. . . . F Ryan Howse got his 28th goal of the season for Chilliwack, moving him to within one of WHL leader Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats. . . . Howse’s goal was the 70th of his career, one shy of Oscar Moller’s franchise record. . . . F Kellan Tochkin, who is from just down the Trans-Canada Highway in Abbotsford, got two for the Silvertips. He now has 12. . . . Everett F Cameron Abney forced OT with his third of the season at 10:21 of the third. . . . F Kevin Sundher had a goal and an assist for the Bruins, with D Brandon Manning drawing two assists. . . . The Bruins were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Bruins were 0-for-4. . . . Attendance was 3,679. . . . The Silvertips (19-13-2-1) had lost seven of nine. . . . The Bruins (15-17-1-5) had won their last two games.
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In Portland, G Drew Owsley stopped 46 shots, including 22 in the second period, to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 6-0 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Owsley, one of the biggest stories of the WHL season’s first half, has four shutouts this season and five in his career. . . . Owsley stopped 32 shots on Friday as the Americans blanked the Silvertips 3-0 in Everett. . . . F Jordan Messier scored three goals and set up another for the Americans (26-9-0-0), who have won four in a row and are 5-0 against Portland (22-15-0-1) this season. . . . F Patrick Holland added two Tri-City goals. . . . Attendance in the Rose Garden was 7,152. . . . Owsley’s shutout was the 42nd by WHL goaltenders this season.
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In Prince George, the Cougars got two goals from F Taylor Makin as they beat the Kamloops Blazers, 4-2. . . . Makin, whose first goal was the Teddy Bear score, has six goals this season. . . . F Nick Buonassisi broke a 2-2 tie with his sixth goal at 12:40 of the third period. Makin, who also had an assist, added insurance at 15:06. . . . The Blazers (14-17-2-3) scored two PP goals, giving them seven in their two games in Prince George. They scored five times on the PP in a 7-2 victory on Friday. . . . The Cougars (7-26-1-1) got a goal and two assists from F Jaroslav Vlach and two assists from F Brock Hirsche. . . . Prince George G Hudson Stremmel, who didn’t get out of the first period on Friday, stopped 34 shots. . . . Kamloops G Kurtis Mucha stopped 28. . . . Attendance was 4,299. . . . The teams return from the Christmas break to play in Kamloops on Dec. 27.
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In Red Deer, G Kraymer Barnstable stopped 24 shots to help the Rebels beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 2-0. . . . The shutout was the first of Barnstable’s career. . . . It was Red Deer’s first shutout this season and the fourth time Edmonton (10-20-4-4) has been blanked. . . . Barnstable, who has been backing up Darcy Kuemper and hadn’t played in 11 games, is 6-1-0-0. . . . F Colton Mayor’s second goal of the season, at 2:54 of the first period, was all the offence Red Deer (18-15-0-2) would need. . . . F Turner Elson added insurance with his fifth goal at 12:33 of the second. . . . F Matt Dumba, the fourth overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft, picked up an assist on Elson’s goal, his first career WHL point coming in his third game. He also was plus-2. . . . Attendance was 4,698. . . . Edmonton, which had won two in a row, had beaten the visiting Rebels 3-1 on Friday.
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In Saskatoon, F Derek Hulak scored two goals and set up three others as the Blades beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 5-2. . . . The Raider had beaten the Blades 4-2 in Prince Albert on Friday. . . . Hulak has 16 goals this season. . . . F Dustin Cameron of the Raiders got the game’s first goal, at 15:14 of the first period. . . . The Blades scored the next five -- two in the first, one in the second and two in the third. . . . F Charles Inglis added a goal and two assists for Saskatoon (24-7-1-3). . . . The Raiders (20-16-1-2) had won two in a row. . . . Attendance was 4,363. . . . The Blades had D Jyri Niemi (shoulder) back in their lineup. He had missed seven games and now will join the Finnish national junior team.
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In Kent, Wash., F Cody Eakin’s shootout goal gave the Swift Current Broncos a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent. . . . With Seattle shooting first for each round, Eakin, the first Broncos’ shooter, scored the only goal his side would need as the hosts were blanked. . . . Swift Current F Taylor Vause forced OT with a shorthanded goal at 19:49 of the second period. . . . The Broncos (19-17-0-2) went 3-2 on their U.S. Division swing. . . . The Thunderbirds are 13-19-1-4. . . . Seattle F Charles Wells had two assists. . . . Swift Current G Mark Friesen stopped 26 shots through OT. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard also stopped 26 shots. . . . Attendance was 3,347.
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That’s it. The WHL now is on its Christmas break. The regular season resumes on Dec. 27.
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