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Wondering how former Spokane Chiefs head coach Hardy Sauter is doing this season? Check out this story right here by Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spokesman-Review.
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F Shayne Neigum, 20, who was acquired by the Regina Pats from the Kamloops Blazers late Tuesday night, is expected to join his new club immediately. F Lyndon Martell, 17, who also went to Regina in that deal, won’t join the Pats until after the Christmas break. . . . F Thomas Frazee, 20, who went from Kamloops to Regina in that swap, is expected to join the Blazers in Prince George on Friday. The Blazers are to play the Cougars on Friday and Saturday nights. . . . Kamloops and Regina got that deal late Tuesday night, just before the WHL’s trade moratorium began. It runs until Dec. 27. . . . D Theran Yeo (Brandon, 2004-08) has joined the U of Regina Cougarsand will play his first game with them on Jan. 21. He had been with the UBC Thunderbirds, but left halfway through last season. As per CIS rules, he sat out the first half of this season. . . .———
Some highlights from Wednesday’s WHL games . . .
In Edmonton, the Oil Kings scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Swift Current Broncos, 3-1. . . . The Oil Kings, who have won five in a row, are 8-0-1 in their last nine games. . . . F Adam Lowry got the visitors on the board with a PP goal at 1:54 of the first period. . . . Edmonton F Dylan Wruck tied it at 2:50 of the second, with his 13th of the season, and F Mike Piluso gave the home side t he lead at 14:32. . . . D Braeden Laroque provided insurance at 12:31 of the third. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit stopped 18 shots, 17 fewer than Swift Current’s Mark Friesen. . . . Attendance was announced at 3,122, but horrible weather conditions mean less than half that many showed up. . . . Edmonton D Adrian Van de Mosselaer was tossed at 9:52 of the first period with a boarding major and game misconduct. He can expect at least a phone call from WHL disciplinarian Richard Doerksen. . . . ———
In Cranbrook, F Christian Magnus broke a 2-2 tie at 14:27 of the third period to give the host Kootenay Ice a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Hitmen led 2-0 before this game was seven minutes old, with F Nathan MacMaster getting his eighth and F John Lawrence getting his second. . . . The Ice had F Kevin King, its leading scorer, back from an infected elbow and he got his 15th goal, via a PP, to get the comeback started. . . . F Matt Fraser tied the score, with his 11th, at 9:48 of the second. . . . Ice G Brett Teskey made nine saves, including two in the second and three in the third. . . . Calgary G Brandon Glover stopped 35 shots. . . . The Ice has beaten the Hitmen six times this season. . . . Calgary had won its three previous games. . . . Attendance was 2,169. . . . Ice D Brayden McNabb, released earlier in the day by Canada’s national junior team, was back in the lineup and had an assist. . . .———
In Lethbridge, the Kelowna Rockets scored twice in the shootout and beat the Hurricanes, 3-2. . . . The Rockets got shootout goals from F Geordie Wudrick and F Shane McColgan, while only F Jacob Berglund scored for Lethbridge. . . . It was the second game in a row in which the Hurricanes were beaten in a shootout. . . . Lethbridge F Max Ross scored his 10th goal at 6:54 of the second to forge a 2-2 tie. . . . Attendance was 2,686. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 31 shots, nine fewer than Lethbridge G Dylan Tain. . . . D Madison Bowey, the 23rd pick in the WHL’s 2010 bantam draft, was in Kelowna’s lineup. He took a checking-from-behind minor in the first period. . . . Kelowna F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan leaves the Rockets today to head for the U.S. national junior team’s selection camp. . . .———
In Red Deer, F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins set up two goals as the Rebels got past the Chilliwack Bruins, 3-1. . . . Nugent-Hopkins was released earlier in the day by Canada’s national junior team. . . . Red Deer F Turner Elson also had two helpers. . . . The Rebels scored the game’s first three goals, with F John Persson, returning from a one-game suspension, getting his 10th at 7:11 of the first period. . . . Red Deer D Alex Petrovic got his third at 14:49 of the first, with F Byron Froese getting his 13th on the PP at 19:23 of the second. . . . Red Deer G Darcy Kuemper stopped 25 shots, losing his shutout when F Steven Hodges scored at 19:51 of the third. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore set a franchise record with 54 saves. . . . Attendance was 3,781. . . . The Bruins were without D Brandon Manning (groin) and Czech forwards Roman Horak and Robin Soudek, who are off to the national junior team’s selection camp. . . .———
In Everett, G Mark Segal stopped 36 shots to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 3-0 victory over the Silvertips. . . . Segal has all three of the Giants’ shutouts this season; all three came in 3-0 victories. . . . He has seven career shutouts. . . . The Silvertips have been blanked five times this season. . . . F Mark Reners gave the Giants a 1-0 lead at 1:00 of the second period. That was Reners’ seventh goal this season, his first since coming over from the Lethbridge Hurricanes in a trade last week. . . . Vancouver F Brendan Gallagher, cut earlier in the week by Canada’s national junior team, had two assists. . . . Giants F Craig Cunningham got his 10th goal on a PP at 3:30 of the second. It was his first goal in eight games. . . . F Matt MacKay got his 11th at 12:23 of the second. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 26 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,417. . . .———
In Portland, F Sven Bartschi broke a 4-4 tie at 16:21 of the third period to give the Winterhawks a 5-4 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Bartschi’s 21st goal came via the PP after Kamloops F Logan McVeigh had been hit with a hooking penalty off a faceoff. That was McVeigh’s first minor penalty in 26 games. . . . The Blazers, who have lost seven straight road games, received the previous five PP opportunities, and scored once, before Bartschi won it. . . . Bartschi and F Nino Niederreiter, who had two goals, are scheduled to leave today to join the Swiss national junior team. . . . The Winterhawks have won three in a row. . . . Kamloops LW Brendan Ranford had two goals and an assist. He leads the WHL in goals (28) and points (53). . . . That was Ranford’s seventh three-point game in his last 15 outings. . . . Attendance in the Rose Garden was 4,246. . . . Portland was 3-for-5 on the PP; Kamloops was 2-for-6. . . . Kamloops F Colin Smith had a goal and two assists. . . . The Blazers dressed 16 skaters, two under the maximum, and had only 10 forwards in uniform. F Jordan DePape and F Chase Schaber were serving WHL suspensions, while F Dalibor Bortnak has joined the Slovakian national junior team. . . . The Blazers left Portland after the game and headed straight to Prince George where they will meet the Cougars on Friday and Saturday nights. . . .———
In Spokane, F Travis Toomey scored his fifth goal of the season, at 4:16 of OT, to give the Seattle Thunderbirds a 5-4 victory over the Chiefs. . . . F Burke Gallimore scored three times and set up another for Seattle, giving him 17 goals. He forced OT with a goal at 11:34 of the third. . . . The Chiefs led 3-0 when F Dominic Uher scored his sixth goal at 6:02 of the second. . . . Spokane F Mitch Holmberg had a goal and two assists. . . . D Brendan Kitchton had two goals for the Chiefs, while F Tyler Johnson had two assists. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard, cut earlier in the day by the Canadian national junior team, made 40 saves and now is 14-9-6 on the season. . . . Attendance was 4,026. . . . The Chiefs had beaten the Thunderbirds 8-2 in Kent, Wash., on Tuesday.———
WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Two minors:
Kelowna D Madison Bowey
Spokane D Brendan Kichton
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