Taking Note

That's owner Len Barrie (centre) behind the bench
of the Victoria Grizzlies on Tuesday night.
(Photo courtesy Evan Hammond)

A former WHL player was behind the bench during a BCHL game Tuesday night.
Len Barrie, who owns a piece of the Victoria Grizzlies, took a turn coaching as the Grizzlies skated to a 5-4 victory over the visiting Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
Former WHLer Kyle St. Denis had three assists for the Grizzlies.
Sharie Epp of the Victoria Times Colonist has the story right here. And, yes, Barrie says he’ll be coaching through the end of the season.
(By the way, the Bulldogs showed up without their jerseys so wore practice jerseys belonging to the major midget South Island Thunderbirds.)
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The WHL’s governors and general managers spent Monday and Tuesday in Las Vegas. They are believed to have been holding meetings there.
Perhaps they were checking out the area’s viability for a WHL franchise.
Surely it only was a coincidence that all the WHL big shots were in Las Vegas on Tuesday, the same day a story in the Las Vegas Sun dealt with a proposed three-stadium complex. That story is right here.
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Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that the SHA will have a province-wide bantam AA league up and running in time for next season. Interestingly, the 18-team league won’t include any teams from Saskatoon. Harder’s story is right here.
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When the Vancouver Giants and Kamloops Blazers meet in Whitehorse on Saturday, the referees will be Steve Papp and Trevor Hanson, while Chris Sweeting and Nathan Van Oosten will be working the lines. . . . F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels is the CHL player of the week. He had 12 points in three games last week. . . . The New York Islanders had former WHL G Joel Martin (Lethbridge, Tri-City, Vancouver, Calgary, 2000-03) on the bench for the third period of a 5-3 loss to the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. Martin, 28, signed with the Islanders on Feb. 4 and was with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers when he was recalled Tuesday on an emergency basis.
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A note from Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada: Great days to be a reporter in the QMJHL's East Division. Chicoutimi is reportedly to hire Guy Carbonneau as coach, meaning two more games against Quebec and Patrick Roy. While the two have been close for a long time, their relationship is strained right now. Carbonneau went on RDS recently and said Patrick's son, Frederick, should receive a lengthy suspension for a dirty hit. (He got three games.) Needless to say, Roy, who thought the hit was shoulder to shoulder, wasn't amused.
Friedman’s weekly blog posting, 30 Thoughts, is a must if you’re a hockey fan. You will find this week’s posting right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
Seattle at Kamloops: The Thunderbirds have one victory in their last 10 games but are just two points behind Kamloops, which holds down the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Blazers are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games; they also are down to five healthy defencemen.
Regina at Lethbridge: The Pats and Hurricanes have played 54 games and they’re tied for 10th in the Eastern Conference, three points out of a playoff spot.
Prince George at Medicine Hat: The Cougars blew a chance to get some breathing room when they lost 6-5 in Edmonton last night. The Tigers will be looking for a victory that will lifted them into third place in the Eastern Conference.
Swift Current at Prince Albert: The Broncos won their last start but are 2-8-0 in their last 10 and are clinging to seventh in the Eastern Conference, a point ahead of Brandon and two ahead of Prince Albert. The Raiders are 3-6-1 in their last 10.
Moose Jaw at Saskatoon: The Warriors are comfortably in fifth place, seven points our of fourth and 11 out of sixth. They’ve lost three in a row but have won two of three with the Blades this season. The Eastern Conference-leading Blades have won eight straight and nine of 10.
Portland at Spokane: This one is the game of the night. The Winterhawks have won their last thhree, are 9-1-0 in their last 10 and hold a five-point lead over the Chiefs, who hold two games in hand.
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Edmonton, the Oil Kings exploded for four third-period goals and beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-5. . . . The Cougars had taken a 4-1 lead into the second period and led 5-2 going into the third. . . . Edmonton F Travis Ewanyk got it started at 5:51 of the third, and that was followed by goals from F Jordan Hickmott (10:24), F Mike Piluso (13:55) and F Dylan Wruck (18:27). . . . The Oil Kings outshot the visitors 26-5 in the third. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit, who relieved starter Jon Groenheyde to start the second, stopped 17 of 18 shots. . . . Edmonton F Cameron Abney had three assists. . . . There wasn’t a special teams goal scored in the game. . . . Prince George F Spencer Asuchak returned from an eight-game suspension after testing positive for a prohibited substance. He was pointless and minus-4. . . . Attendance was 3,370. . . . The Oil Kings are sixth in the Eastern Conference, but now are five points clear of the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Cougars are sixth in the Western Conference, a point up on the Everett Silvertips. . . .
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In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice erased a 2-0 deficit with six straight goals and went on to beat the visiting Regina Pats, 7-4. . . . F Kevin King scored three times for the Ice. He’s got 26. . . . D Brayden McNabb drew four assists for the Ice, while F Cody Eakin had a goal, his 25th, and two helpers. . . . F Jordan Weal had two assists for Regina. . . . Ice G Brett Teskey stopped 19 shots. . . . Regina G Damien Ketlo stopped 37 shots. . . . The Ice was 3-for-6 on the PP. . . . Regina had F Nils Moser back after he sat out 16 games with a knee injury. . . . Attendance was 2,164. . . . The Ice, third in the Eastern Conference, moved to within six points of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Pats remain 10th, three points out of a playoff spot. . . .
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In Red Deer, the Medicine Hat Tigers scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Rebels, 3-1. . . . F Byron Froese gave the Rebels a 1-0 lead with his 31st goal at 19:41 of the first period. . . . That lead held up into the third period when F Kellan Tochkin tied it at 1:27 on a PP. He’s got 20 goals. . . . Medicine Hat F Cole Grbavac broke the 1-1 tie with his 12th goal at 13:19 and F Emerson Etem added his 30th, on a PP, at 15:18. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey, the WHL’s scoring leader, had one assist and now has 88 points. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 37 shots, three more than Red Deer’s Darcy Kuemper. . . . With two games left, the Tigers hold a 3-1 edge in the season series. . . . Attendance was 4,358. . . . Medicine Hat was 2-for-3 on the PP; the Rebels were 0-for-1. . . . The Tigers were without D Scott Ramsay (concussion) who was hurt in a 4-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday. . . . The  Tigers remain fourth in the Eastern Conference, just one point behind Kootenay and seven in front of Moose Jaw. . . . The Rebels are five points behind the conference-leading Saskatoon Blades, who now hold three games in hand.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Three minors:
Kootenay D Brock Montgomery
Red Deer F Chad Robinson
Red Deer D Colin Archer

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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