Saturday . . .

Jerome Dupont, the head coach of the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques, unexpectedly resigned Saturday. Assistant coach Guy Lalonde has taken over as head coach until a replacement is found. Dupont, a former NHL defenceman, was in his second season with the Olympiques. He joined them in November 2008. The Olympiques were 26-29-1-4 with the 18-team league’s 12th-best winning percentage (.433) when Dupont resigned. He is expected to remain with the organization as a consultant, at least for now. Dupont signed a three-year contract on April 16, 2009.
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The 2010 Memorial Cup will be part of Manitoba Homecoming 2010, which is part of the province’s 140th birthday celebrations. As part of that, the Memorial Cup host committee has scheduled two Saturday Night Socials, one on May 15 and the other on May 22. . . . Randy Bachman, the legendary guitarist, song writer, performer and producter, kicks off the May 15 social, with seven-time Juno Award-winner Tom Cochrane performing May 22. . . . If you haven’t taken a couple of hours out of your Saturday evening schedule to listen to Randy’s Vinyl Tap on CBC Radio, well, you’re cheating yourself. . . . By the way, Cochrane is from, yes, Lynn Lake, Man. . . . Tickets for both shows go on sale Monday morning (March 1) at the Keystone Centre box office. They also may be purchased by calling 204-726-3555 or by visiting ticketmaster.ca. . . . Yet to be announced are details of the Opening banquet (May 13), a golf tournament at Clear Lake (May 20) and the CHL awards ceremony (May 22).
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Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Brandon Wheat Kings, has published his annual Best of the East poll. You’ll find it right here. . . . Two things of interest: The Saskatoon Blades had three of their players show up as the three most irritating players to play against. And the Portland Winterhawks and their fans will be thrilled to know that Andy Thiessen was selected as best referee.
http://luberslounge.blogspot.com/2010/02/third-annual-best-of-east-poll.html
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Two former WHLers are on the coaching staff for Team Canada West that will play in the 2010 World Junior A Challenge at a site yet to be determined. Larry Wintoneak of the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers will be the head coach, with Jomar Cruz of the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard and Andrew Milne of the AJHL’s Canmore Eagles on his staff. Cruz was a goaltender during his WHL career, while Milne was a hard-nosed forward. Milne also spent some time as an assistant coach with the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Wintoneak’s other assistant coach will be Kevin Hasselberg of the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlies.
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THE PLAYOFF CHASE
Teams in the running for playoff spots, showing games remaining (d — denotes division leaders, who are seeded one-two):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Calgary (7) 45-17-1-2-93
dx-Saskatoon (7) 43-15-3-4-93
x-Brandon (6) 44-18-1-3-92
x-Kootenay (6) 39-22-3-2-83
Red Deer (7) 38-23-0-4-80
Medicine Hat (6) 35-23-3-5-78
Moose Jaw (8) 31-24-4-5-71
Swift Current (6) 33-29-0-4-70
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Prince Albert (7) 30-30-3-2-65
Regina (6) 27-32-3-4-61
x — clinched playoff spot.
Saturday: Prince Albert 3 at Brandon 5; Kelowna 1 at Calgary 2; Red Deer 4 at Edmonton 3 (SO); Lethbridge 4 at Kootenay 1; Kamloops 6 at Medicine Hat 3; Chilliwack 2 at Moose Jaw 3; Regina 3 at Saskatoon 0; Vancouver 3 at Swift Current 5.
Sunday: No games scheduled.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (8) 43-18-1-2-89
dx-Vancouver (6) 39-22-2-3-83
x-Everett (7) 41-19-3-2-87
x-Spokane (7) 40-21-3-1-84
x-Portland (7) 39-23-2-1-81
x-Kelowna (6) 30-30-2-4-66
x-Kamloops (5) 30-31-2-4-66
x-Chilliwack (6) 29-31-1-5-64
x — clinched playoff spot.
Saturday: Kelowna 1 at Calgary 2; Prince George 0 at Everett 5; Kamloops 6 at Medicine Hat 3; Chilliwack 2 at Moose Jaw 3; Portland 3 at Seattle 2 (SO); Tri-City 2 at Spokane 5; Vancouver 3 at Swift Current 5.
Sunday: Tri-City at Seattle; Prince George at Portland.
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SATURDAY:
In Brandon, the Wheat Kings jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead en route to a 5-3 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . F Jay Fehr, with his 25th, and F Matt Calvert, with his 40th, at 1:04 and 3:32 of the first period got the home side off to a hot start. . . . The Raiders played from behind the rest of the night, three times closing the gap to one but never catching up. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie scored twice, giving him 28. His second goal, the game’s last score, came on a penalty shot at 6:41 of the third. . . . F Justin Maylan scored twice for the Raiders, giving him 16. . . . Brandon holds a 4-3 edge in the season series. . . . Attendance was 4,953. . . . Brandon F Toni Rajala, who went into the game with 17 points in 11 February games, was blanked. . . . Brandon G Jacob De Serres stopped 30 shots, while P.A.’s Garrett Zemlak stopped 28. . . . If you believe in the plus/minus stat, it’s worth noting that Brandon D Travis Hamonic was pointless but finished plus-3.
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In Calgary, the Hitmen scored two third-period goals and beat the Kelowna Rockets, 2-1. . . . F Joel Broda got his 33rd at 53 seconds on the PP and F Riley Bugart added his third at 5:18. . . . F Brandon McMillan, with his 17th, scored for Kelowna at 14:22 of the third. . . . Attendance was 9,408.
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In Edmonton, F Landon Ferraro’s shootout goal gave the Red Deer Rebels a 4-3 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Ferraro also had a goal, his 15th, in regulation time. . . . Red Deer took a 3-1 lead into the third period. . . . The Oil Kings forced OT on goals by F Michael Burns, at 9:19, and Sebastian Svendsen, at 19:07. Burns has seven goals; Svendsen has 11. . . . Edmonton was 1-for-3 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-for-1. . . . Attendance was 5,128. . . . Red Deer G Kraymer Barnstable stopped 27 shots through OT and three more in the shootout. . . . Edmonton G Cam Lanigan turned aside 39 shots.
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In Everett, F Kellan Tochkin had two goals and G Kent Simpson earned the shutout as the Silvertips dropped the Prince George Cougars, 5-0. . . . The shutout was the first of the season for Simpson and the second of his career. He stopped 24 shots. . . . Tochkin has 25 goals. His first goal, 37 seconds into the first, stood up as the winner. . . . He also had an assist. . . . F Shane Harper added his 38th goal of the season to tie the franchise’s single-season record that was held by F John Lammers (2005-06). . . . Attendance was 7,581. . . . The Cougars, who lost D Jesse Forsberg (shoulder) in a 5-1 loss in Spokane on Friday, have lost nine in a row. . . . The Silvertips are adding F Tyler Giebel, 16, to their roster for the remainder of the season. He had been with the midget AAA Regina Pats Canadians, earning 55 points in 41 games -- and is eligible to join Everett as their season has ended. Giebel was the 27th overall pick in the 2008 bantam draft.
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In Cranbrook, the Lethbridge Hurricanes got two assists from each of F Austin Fyten and F Graham Hood as they beat the host Kootenay Ice, 4-1. . . . The Ice now has lost three in a row; the Hurricanes had lost seven of eight. . . . Lethbridge G Brandon Anderson stopped 20 shots through two periods; the third period shots weren’t up on the WHL website. . . . Anderson stopped Ice F Matt Fraser on a first-period penalty shot to preserve a 1-0 lead. . . . Lethbridge F Ryon Moser broke a 1-1 tie with his sixth goal at 3:27 of the third period. . . . Lethbridge F Mitch Maxwell scored his 27th goal at 4:25 of the third. . . . Attendance was 4,241. . . . In what may be one of the most amazing statistics of this WHL season, Pat Siedlecki, the radio voice of the Hurricanes, points out that Lethbridge has played in 30 one-goal games this season. The Hurricanes are 10-20 in those games.
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In Medicine Hat, F Chase Schaber scored three times to lead the Kamloops Blazers to a 6-3 victory over the Tigers. . . . Schaber, who has 16 goals, scored once in each period, the last one on the PP and into an empty net. . . . Kamloops F C.J. Stretch broke a 3-3 tie with a PP goal at 18:08 of the third period. . . . F Jordan DePape, who scored the OT winner Saturday in a 4-3 victory over the Hurricanes in Lethbridge, had a goal, also an empty-netter, and two assists for Kamloops. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . Kamloops G Jon Groenheyde made his second straight start and has won back-to-back games for the first time since late September. . . . Groenheyde stopped 26 shots. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz turned aside 22 shots. . . . Kamloops was 2-for-5 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-for-4.
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In Moose Jaw, the Warriors rode three first-period goals to a 3-2 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . D Ryan Stanton scored the game’s first two goals, the first at 1:24 and the second at 6:56 on the PP. He has 10 goals. . . . F Dylan Hood, with his 20th, scored at 16:18. . . . The Bruins got close on second-period goals from F Jamie Crooks and F Roman Horak. Both have 19. . . . Attendance was 2,307. . . . Moose Jaw G Jeff Bosch stopped 33 shots, six more than Chilliwack G Lucas Gore. . . . The Bruins went 3-3-0-0 on their swing through the East Division.
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In Saskatoon, G Dawson Guhle stopped 19 shots for his first WHL shutout as the Regina Pats dumped the Blades, 3-0. . . . Not only was it Guhle’s first shutout, it was the first time this season that the Pats have blanked the opposition. . . . Regina F Jordan Eberle scored twice, giving him 45. His first goal, at 2:08 of the second, stood up as the winner. . . . F Matt Strueby had a goal, his 34th, and an assist, while F Brett Leffler drew two helpers. . . . Eberle’s second goal was into an empty net. . . . Attendance was 5,236. . . . Saskatoon G Adam Morrison stopped 26 shots. . . . The Blades have been blanked twice this season. . . . The Pats, fighting to get back into position to grab the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot, had lost three in a row. . . . The Blades had won their last two games. . . . Following a scoring change made earlier Saturday, Eberle went into the game with the WHL points lead. He had 93, one ahead of teammate Jordan Weal and F Craig Cunningham of the Vancouver Giants. . . . Eberle and Weal are attempting to become the first members of the Pats to reach 100 points since F Ronald Petrovicky did it in 1997-98 when he finished at 113. (F Blake Evans had 102 points in 2000-01, but got 59 of those with the Tri-City Americans). . . . As well, Eberle and Weal are trying to become the first Regina player to win the WHL scoring title since F Dale Derkatch had 179 points in 1982-83.
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In Kent, Wash., the Portland Winterhawks made it 11 straight victories over the Seattle Thunderbirds, with a 3-2 shootout triumph. . . . Portland F Luke Walker, the sixth shooter, gave his side a 2-1 edge in the shootout. . . . The Winterhawks tied a franchise record for longest winning streak against the Thunderbirds. . . . The Winterhawks led 2-0 on goals by D Troy Rutkowski and F Taylor Peters. . . . The Thunderbirds got goals from F Brandon Troock and F Tyler Aloos, the latter tying the score at 5:35 of thet hird period. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 43 shots, including nine in OT. . . . Portland G Ian Curtis stopped 39 shots as he won his 20th game of the season. . . . The Thunderbirds were 0-for-5 on the PP; the Winterhawks were 0-for-0. . . . Andy Thiessen was working the game in Medicine Hat.
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In Spokane, the Chiefs scored three PP goals and beat the Tri-City Americans, 5-2. . . . F Tyler Johnson, who had three goals in Friday’s 5-1 victory over the visiting Prince George Cougars, had three assists for the Chiefs, as did D Jared Spurgeon. . . . The Chiefs have won the last five games with the Americans. . . . F Kyle Beach scored his WHL-leading 48th goal for Spokane. . . . The Chiefs, who have won nine of 10, were 3-for-7 on the PP; the Americans were 1-for-2. . . . Attendance was 10,529. . . . The Chiefs were without F Dominik Uher, who served a one-game suspension for a boarding major he incurred in Friday’s 5-1 victory over the visiting Prince George Cougars. . . . Tri-City F Todd Kennedy sat out his second game. He remains under indefinite suspension for a hit on Portland D Eric Doyle on Tuesday night.
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In Swift Current, the Broncos struck four times in the third period and beat the Vancouver Giants, 5-3. . . . The teams were tied 1-1 going to the third, with F James Henry having scored his 20th, shorthanded, for the Giants and D Joel Rogers having gotten his first, on the PP, for the Broncos. . . . F Tomas Vincour gave the Giants the lead at 1:09 of the third. . . . The Broncos then got goals from D Kyle Verdino, his first, and F Brad Hoban at 4:34 and 7:29. . . . The Giants took the lead 30 seconds later on F JT Barnett’s 19th. . . . F Jordan Peddle broke the tie with his second of the season at 14:59 and F Cody Eakin added the empty-netter, his 43rd, at 19:24. . . . Talk about getting goals from unexpected sources! Rogers’ goal was his first in 56 games this season and his third in 159 career games. Verdino, in his third WHL season, scored his first goal in his 144th game. He was goalless in 122 games with Kelowna and has played 22 games with the Broncos. Peddle got his second goal in 63 games this season after scoring 11 in 55 games last season. . . . Broncos G Morgan Clark stopped 37 shots, 15 more than Vancouver’s Mark Segal. . . . Attendance was 2,172.