F Justin Mapletoft (Red Deer, 1996-2001) signed a contract through Nov. 30 with Sierre (Switzerland, NL B). He had six assists in 14 games this season for the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) prior to his release last week. Sierre signed Mapletoft as an injury replacement for former OHL F Lee Jinman.
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In Calgary, F Lukas Sutter scored two goals, including the winner, as the Saskatoon Blades dumped the Hitmen, 6-5. . . . Sutter broke a 5-5 tie at 8:58 of the third period as the Blades won their seventh straight game. . . . Sutter, an 18-year-old from Lethbridge, now has 21 points, including eight goals, in 24 games. Last season, he finished with 19 points, four of them goals, in 71 games. . . . Calgary F Jimmy Bubnick had a goal and two assists. He has 183 points in 285 career regular-season games. . . . Saskatoon G Andrey Makarov stopped 41 shots. He leads the WHL with 15 victories. . . . The Blades, with 35 points, lead the overall standings, one point ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . 
In Vancouver, the defending-champion Kootenay Ice got big nights from the Reinhart boys and beat the Giants, 4-1. . . . F Sam Reinhart, 16, had a goal and three assists, and older brother Max, 18, had a goal and two helpers. The Reinhart boys are from Vancouver. . . . Sam has 14 points in 23 games; Max has 25 points in 20 games. . . . The Giants had won six in a row going into this one. . . . The Ice is 2-0 on what is the start of a nine-game road swing. It opened with an 8-3 victory over the Victoria Royals on Saturday night and continues on Tuesday in Prince George against the Cougars. . . . D Eric Walker, who has left Northern Michigan U and joined the Giants, didn’t play. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 33 shots in improving his record to 11-4-3. He has a 1.82 GAA and a .936 save percentage. . . . Vancouver opens its six-game East Division swing on Friday in Prince Albert. . . .
In Moose Jaw, F Paul Ciarelli scored at 1:40 of OT as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Warriors, 7-6. . . . Brandon F Alessio Bertaggia tied the score at 6-6 when he scored on a penalty shot at 10:39 of the third. He finished with two goals, giving him 11. . . . The Warriors took a 6-3 lead into the third period. Trailing 3-2, they seemingly took control by scoring four times in a span of 4:07 in the second period. . . . One night earlier, Brandon had coughed up a 4-0 lead in losing 5-4 to the Broncos in Swift Current. . . . Last night, Brandon F Mark Stone had a goal and three assists. He leads the WHL scoring race, with 54 points in 25 games. He has an eight-point lead on F Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who has played two fewer games. . . . F Andrew Johnson had two goals and two assists for the Warriors. . . . Brandon D Ryan Pulock left the game early in the second period after being checked from behind by Moose Jaw F Tanner Eberle, who was given a major and game misconduct. . . . ———
SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT
F Tanner Eberle, Moose Jaw (major)
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JUST NOTES: When G Calvin Pickard of the Seattle Thunderbirds blanked the visiting Tri-City Americans 3-0 on Friday, it was the first shutout in the league since Oct. 29. On that night, Tyler Bunz of the Medicine Hat Tigers and Patrik Bartosak of the Red Deer Rebels both pitched shutouts. . . . There have been only 15 shutouts in the WHL this season. . . .
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Joe O’Connor of the National Post spent some time at a special breakfast the other day. Among the guests was Jim McKenny, who has been sober for 25 years but has a son on the streets. That piece is right here.
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David Shoalts of The Globe and Mail knows the NHL will be celebrating the return of Sidney Crosby today. But, as he points out, this isn’t the end of the concussion problems. The last three paragraphs of this piece are especially interesting because they deal with how much concussions might be down in the NHL this season.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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