F Cody Eakin, who has been out with a hand injury, is getting ready to play his first game with his new WHL team, the Kootenay Ice, which acquired him on Jan. 9 in a blockbuster deal with the Swift Current Broncos. Eakin is from Winnipeg and Kirk Penton of the Winnipeg Sun chats with Eakin right here. . . . If you weren’t aware, Penton’s father, Bruce, covered the Brandon Wheat Kings in the early 1970s and now works at the Medicine Hat News.———
John Blanchette, a columnist with the Spokane Spokesman-Review, took in Saturday’s Rockstar Outdoor Hockey Classic, the first outdoor game in WHL history. His column is right here.
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Apologies to the SJHL. One of the league’s coaches got me pointed in the right direction. If you click on TRANSACTIONS on the website, the first thing that comes up is suspensions, with the transactions further down the page. . . . It would appear that SJHL teams were involved in 14 trades on Jan. 10.
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, the Hitmen erased a 1-0 deficit with two goals 74 seconds apart and went on to beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 3-1. . . . It was the third straight game between the teams, who split Wednedsay and Friday games in Lethbridge. . . . F Chase Clayton, with his second goal of the season, and D Kyle Schmidt, with his third, scored at 13:00 and 14:14. . . . F Austin Fyten, with his 18th, had opened the scoring for Lethbridge. . . . D Spencer Humphries, with his third, got the empty-netter. . . . Attendance was 11,591. . . . Calgary G Brandon Glover stopped 34 shots, including 11 in the third period when the Hitmen were outshot 11-2. . . .———
In Moose Jaw, F Sebastian Svendsen broke a 2-2 tie early in the third period as the Warriors edged the Edmonton Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . The goal was Svendsen’s 18th this season, but his first since being acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders on Jan. 10. . . . F AJ Johnson got Moose Jaw on the scoreboard with his third of the season at 3:35 of the first period and the teams exchanged goals after that. . . . F Kristians Pelss scored both Edmonton goals, giving him seven. . . . D Dylan McIlrath got his fourth of the season for Moose Jaw on a second-period PP. . . . Moose Jaw was 2-for-6 on the PP. . . . The winner came via the PP just 35 seconds into the third period. . . . Attendance was 2,466. . . . Edmonton D Marek Hrbas likely will be hearing from the WHL office after taking a boarding major and game misconduct in the second period. . . . The start of the game was delayed 40 minutes due to a broken radiator hose on the Zamboni. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports: “The Warriors suffered a potential major blow when captain Spencer Edwards just failed to convert on a partial breakaway chance and was taken heavily into the boards by Edmonton defenceman Adrian Van de Mosselaer. Van De Mosselaer was given a penalty, but Edwards went straight to the locker room favouring his shoulder. His status was uncertain post-game and was expected to be updated today.” . . .———
In Swift Current, F Brett Ferguson had a goal and an assist to help the Red Deer Rebels to a 5-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . Ferguson, who has 12 goals, also was plus-4. . . . F Byron Froese got his 20th goal of the season for Red Deer. . . . F Justin Dowling, with his 13th, broke Red Deer G Dawson Guhle’s shutout bid at 16:31 of the third period. . . . Guhle finished with 23 saves. . . . Attendance was 1,787. . . . From Josh Aldrich of the Red Deer Advocate: “The game had an early first intermission when a pane of glass was broken by a shot in the Broncos’ end and a replacement could not be found. Eventually an old sign was cut to fit the slot and the final 5:51 of the first period was played after the break.” . . . The Rebels went 4-0 on a five-night swing into the East Division, also winning in Moose Jaw (4-0), Brandon (2-1, shootout) and Prince Albert (6-0). . . .———
In Everett, the Spokane Chiefs jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the game was four minutes old and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Silvertips. . . . D Jared Cowen, with his 10th goal, and F Tyler Johnson, with his WHL-leading 34th, had the Chiefs out front by the 1:28 mark. . . . Cowen’s goal was scored on a play in which the puck went through the mesh. Play continued and the goal was awarded via video review upon the next stoppage. . . . Everett head coach Craig Hartsburg replaced starting G Luke Siemens with Kent Simpson, but the Chiefs went up 3-0 when F Dominik Uher notched his 11th goal on the PP at 3:08. . . . F Ryan Harrison scored Everett’s goal, his 16th of the season, at 11:28 of the second. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 32 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,957. . . . Johnson also had an assist and now is second in the WHL scoring race, his 70 points just two behind F Linden Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . ———
In Kent, Wash., the Vancouver Giants came from behind to edge the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-3. . . . The victory put the Giants atop the B.C. Division, two points ahead of the idle Prince George Cougars. . . . F Marcel Noebels scored his 15th goal at 14:31 of the first period to give Seattle a 2-1 lead. . . . The Giants scored the next three goals, with F Brendan Gallagher equalizing with his 28th at 5:25, and F Spencer Bennett putting the Giants out front at 14:32 on the PP. . . . F Brendan Rowinski upped Vancouver’s lead to 4-2 at 9:06 of the third period. . . . F Travis Toomey had two goals for Seattle, giving him 15. . . . Bennett had two goals for Vancouver, giving him 21. He has 14 points, nine of them goals, in nine games with Vancouver, which acquired him from the Portland Winterhawks on Dec. 30. . . . Gallagher also had two assists. . . . Attendance was 3,176.———
SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Spokane D Jared Cowen
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