Sunday . . .

If you have been paying attention, you are well aware that there have been some lengthy suspensions dished out in the OHL and the QMJHL this season, virtually all of them having to do with blows to the head.
The WHL, however, has had nothing that serious with which to deal. In fact, the longest suspension handed out by Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice president, hockey, has been five games. Doerksen has had to dish out the usual number of one-, two- and three-game sentences. But his stiffest sentences have been two five-gamers and two that were four games in duration.
To this point in the season — touch wood, rub the rabbit’s foot and all that stuff — the WHL hasn’t had to deal with even one of those vicious headshots that have rocked the NHL, OHL and QMJHL this season.
Doerksen thinks a major reason for the WHL’s success in this area can field under “education.”
The WHL, he says, works very hard at educating its players about the impact these kinds of hits can have.
“I think the education we have provided for all of our players and coaching staffs on blows to the head has been very helpful,” Doerksen wrote in an email.
He then pointed out that the WHL, in dealing with this situation, has done a few things:
1. A poster, placed in a high visibility area in each club’s dressing room, includes a number of points on blows to the head, with an emphasis on what is illegal and the ramifications.
2. The WHL has produced a DVD of blows to the head and that video is shown to all players at the start of the season.
3. The WHL works hard to ensure that its referees are diligent in penalizing players each time illegal contact is made in the head area.
4. The WHL tries to be diligent in levying suspensions for hits involving blows to the head, particularly if a concussion results from that hit.
And finally, Doerksen wrote: “I believe that our coaches and general managers are very cognizant of the dangers of blows to the head, and work together with their players in this regard.”
That last point may be the most relevant.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again. The coaching in the WHL has never been at a higher level, and part of coaching is teaching players to perform with discipline, something coaches, for the most part, seem to have accomplished.
———
The annual Best of the West poll is done. Compiled by Annie Fowler and presented in the pages of the Tri-City Herald, this season’s poll is right here.
———
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)
d-Saskatoon (14) 39-13-3-3-84
d-Calgary (14) 40-16-1-1-82
Brandon (12) 40-16-1-3-84
Kootenay (13) 37-17-3-2-79
Medicine Hat (10) 33-21-3-5-74
Red Deer (14) 33-21-0-4-70
Moose Jaw (15) 27-22-4-4-62
Swift Current (12) 29-27-0-4-62
———
Prince Albert (13) 28-25-3-2-61
Regina (12) 25-28-3-4-57
Sunday: Saskatoon 3 at Kootenay 6; Calgary 6 at Lethbridge 2; Brandon 5 at Medicine Hat 1.
Monday: Brandon at Calgary; Moose Jaw at Portland.
———
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (14) 40-15-1-2-83
dx-Vancouver (13) 35-20-1-3-74
x-Portland (12) 37-20-2-1-77
x-Everett (14) 36-19-2-1-75
x-Spokane (14) 34-20-3-1-72
Kelowna (12) 29-26-2-3-63
Kamloops (11) 27-28-2-4-60
Chilliwack (13) 25-28-1-5-56
x — clinched playoff spot.
Sunday: Kamloops 1 at Tri-City 3; Chilliwack 1 at Vancouver 6.
Monday: Moose Jaw at Portland; Vancouver at Seattle; Everett at Spokane.
———
SUNDAY:
In Cranbrook, F Kevin King and F Jesse Ismond each scored twice to help the Kootenay Ice to a 6-3 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The Ice is 11-0-0-1 in its last 12 home games. . . . The Blades had a five-game winning streak end. . . . Saskatoon F Gaelan Patterson scored shorthanded at 2:02 of the seocnd to tie it 1-1. . . . Ismond broke that tie 57 seconds later on the PP and the Ice added three more second-period goals. . . . Ismond has 19 goals; King has 22. . . . Ice F Steele Boomer had a goal, his 22nd, and two assists. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews turned aside 31 shots, including all 18 he faced in the first period. Mathews also stymied Patterson on a first-period penalty shot that preserved a 1-0 lead. . . . Saskatoon G Adam Morrison stopped 30 shots. . . . The Ice was 3-for-8 on the PP, while the Blades were 0-for-2. . . . The teams appear to have engaged in one of those multi-fight things at 8:40 of the second period. . . . Referee Derek Herman handed out 123 penalty minutes, 72 of those to the visitors. . . . Ice F Brock Montgomery could miss up to three weeks with a shoulder injury suffered in a 5-2 victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton on Friday. . . . Attendance was 2,806. . . . The victory was the 40th of the season for Calgary, the third straight season — and fourth in five — it has reached that mark.
———
In Lethbridge, D Zak Stebner’s two goals sparked the Calgary Htimen to a 6-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Hitmen took a 6-0 lead into the third period as they won their eighth straight game. . . . Stebner, who has 10 goals, scored twice in the first period, giving the visitors a 3-0 lead. . . . Calgary F Brandon Kozun had a goal and two assists. He and Vancouver Giants F Craig Cunningham are tied for the lead n the WHL points race, with 83, one ahead of Regina Pats F Jordan Eberle and Kootenay Ice F Dustin Sylvester. . . . Calgary G Michael Snider stopped 22 shots. . . . Lethbridge opened with Brandon Anderson, who stopped 10 of 13. Linden Rowat came on after one period and stopped 27 of 30. . . . Attendance was 2,995.
———
In Medicine Hat, D Colby Robak scored twice and set up another to lead the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 5-1 victory over the Tigers. . . . The Wheat Kings have three in a row and 10 of 11. . . . The Tigers have lost six of seven. . . . Robak has 13 goals. . . . His second one came while shorthanded late in the third period. . . . Brandon took a 2-1 lead into the third period and put it away in a hurry as F Aaron Lewadniuk got his 29th at 0:56 and F Brayden Schenn got No. 24 at 3:28 on the PP. . . . Schenn also had two assists. . . . Brandon was 2-for-4 on the PP; Medicine Hat was 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . Brandon G Andrew Hayes stopped 20 shots, while the Tigers’ Tyler Bunz stopped 29. . . . The Wheat Kings now have won 40 games for a fourth straight season and the fifth time in six seasons. . . . Medicine Hat F Wacey Hamilton, the team captain, left late in the third period with an apparent injury to his left leg. He will be re-evaluated on Monday.
———
In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans halted a three-game losing skid by beating the Kamloops Blazers, 3-1. . . . Americans F Mason Wilgosh broke a 1-1 tie at 3:03 of the second period and F Brooks Macek added insurance 17 seconds into the third. . . . Macek, who leads the Americans in assists (47), scored his first goal since Jan. 13. He has 15 goals this season. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley stopped 28 shots and now has a WHL-leading 32 victories. . . . The Americans are 17-2-0-0 against the B.C. Division this season. . . . Tri-City was playing its fifth game in six nights — it went 2-2-1-0. . . . The Blazers were playing their third game in three nights — they went 1-2-0-1. . . . The Americans went 4-0-0-0 against the Blazers this season, outscoring them 24-6. . . . Kamloops G Jon Groenheyde stopped 33 shots. . . . The Blazers are without D Ryan Funk (ankle) and F Jordan DePape (upper body). . . . Attendance was 4,503. . . . The Americans have won 40 games for a fourth straight season.
———
In Langley, B.C., F James Henry set up three goals as the Vancouver Giants dumped the Chilliwack Bruins, 6-1. . . . Tomas Vincour added two goals for the Giants, who were playing the last of their six games in the Langley Events Centre. The Giants used it for a home arena as the Olympic Winter Games took over Pacific Coliseum. . . . Vincour, who has 25 goals, gave the hosts a 2-0 lead before the first period was five minutes old. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 23 shots, losing his shutout when F Kevin Sundher scored on the PP at 8:18 of the third period. . . . Chilliwack G Braden Gamble stopped 24 shots. . . . The Giants had won 4-2 in Chilliwack on Saturday. . . . The Giants were 3-for-3 on the PP; the Bruins were 1-for-3. . . . Attendance was 4,417. . . . Vancouver, which has won four of five, was without F Lance Bouma, who was injured Saturday in Chilliwack.