in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Kessy is serving a 12-game suspension for a headshot on Lethbridge Hurricanes D Ryan Pilon on Sept. 22. He has six games remaining and will be eligible to play for the Giants on Oct. 30 when they are in, yes, Lethbridge. . . . Kessy, a fourth-round selection by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2011 NHL draft, has been with the AHL’s Portland Pirates. However, he was told Thursday night that he would be returning to the WHL. . . . Last season, he had 16 points and 151 penalty minutes in 49 games. He had two goals in two games when he was suspended this season. . . . In 195 regular-season games, Kessy has 71 points and 422 penalty minutes.———
The Regina Pats have assigned D Cole Hamblin, 19, to an unspecified junior A team. Hamblin, 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, had two points in eight games with the Pats this season. He played last season with the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers. He also has six points in 19 games with the Spokane Chiefs over the last two seasons.———
F Zach Pochiro of the Prince George Cougars has been suspended for three games for a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct incurred on Wednesday night in a 5-4 victory over the host Kootenay Ice. . . . Pochiro sat out Friday’s 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes in Lethbridge.
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Remember Joey Hishon? He was playing for the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack at the 2011 Memorial Cup when he took a headshot from Kootenay Ice D Brayden MacNabb. Hishon, a first-round selection by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2010 NHL draft, has yet to return to action. Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post has more right here.
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The Vancouver, Wash., Vipers, who play in the Northern Pacific Hockey League (NORPAC), had four hometown brothers on their roster until making a trade the other day. Now they have but one.
The Vipers dealt Joe Bordak, 19, Avik Bordak, 18, and Elijah Bordak, 17, to the Medford-based Southern Oregon Spartans of the Western States Hockey League. Daniel Bordak, at 20 the oldest of the brothers, remains with the Vipers. . . . Head coach Keith Bemis of the Vipers told the Vancouver Columbian that the Bordaks were traded because they couldn’t afford the US$5,500 per player registration fee. According to the newspaper, “Benis said Southern Oregon had sponsorship money to assist the Bordaks with the cost of playing.” . . . The Columbian also reported that “Bemis said the Vipers will receive between three and five players from Southern Oregon, with most expected to arrive next week.”
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FRIDAY’S STUFF:
G Jackson Whistle earned his second WHL victory — his first since Jan. 10 — as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Royals 4-1 in Victoria. . . . Whistle, who is from West Kelowna, was acquired from the Vancouver Giants last month. His only other victory came on Jan. 10 when the Giants beat the Prince George Cougars, 3-0. . . . Last night, Whistle stopped 20 shots. . . . 
The Red Deer Rebels snapped a 12-game home-ice losing streak against Medicine Hat by beating the Tigers, 2-1. . . . According to Greg Meachem, the sports editor at the Red Deer Advocate, the Tigers hadn’t lost in Red Deer since October 2009. . . . Red Deer G Bolton Pouliot stopped 32 shots. . . . Red Deer G Patrik Bartosak was scratched for undisclosed disclipinary reasons. The Rebels had Grant Naherniak, from the Red Deer midget ranks, backing up Pouliot. . . . F Turner Elson broke a 1-1 tie at 16:16 of the second period when his centring pass during a PP bounced in off a Medicine Hat player. . . . Red Deer takes a three-game winning streak into a game tonight in Calgary. . . .
F JC Lipon scored three times in a 5:39 span in the first period and the Kamloops Blazers went on to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . Lipon also had an assist, giving him a WHL-leading 18 points. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 36 shots, including 18 in the second period. . . . The Blazers left shortly after the game for a five-game swing into the Central Division. Kamloops (7-0-1) will open the trip Sunday afternoon in Calgary against the Hitmen (5-0-2). These are the only WHL teams not to have lost in regulation time this season. . . .
The Calgary Hitmen improved to 5-0-2 with a 5-4 shootout victory over the host Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Calgary is 3-0-0 against Edmonton (5-2-2) already this season. . . . The Hitmen won at home, 6-5 in OT, on Sunday. . . . “I didn’t mind the effort,” Edmonton head coach Derek Laxdal told Evan Daum of the Edmonton Journal. “I thought we played hard for 60 minutes and, obviously, a shootout is what it is.” . . . Calgary F Greg Chase, who is from Sherwood Park, Alta., scored the shootout winner. . . . Edmonton’s PP, which features five forwards, was 3-for-3 and now is 9-for-14 in its last four games. . . . With the Hitmen having won all three games with the Oil Kings and with two of them going to extra time, here’s another quote from Laxdal, who told Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun: “We’ve only got two points out of a possible six, and they’ve got six.” . . . That’s what the loser point does for you. Out of a possible six points, the teams split eight of them. . . . 
The Seattle Thunderbirds scored six times on 21 shots in a 6-4 victory over the Giants in Vancouver. . . . F Brendan Rouse may have scored three times for the Thunderbirds. (The online scoresheet has him with three goals; a post-game news release from the Thunderbirds has him with two goals and an assist, with that other goal going to F Luke Lockhart.) . . . The Giants have lost six of eight games. . . . F Marek Tvrdon, a 31-goal man last season, scored his first goal of the season for the Giants. . . . 
F Coda Gordon scored a PP goal in OT to give the Swift Current Broncos a 3-2 victory over the Pats in Regina. . . . The goal was Gordon's second of the game. . . . The Broncos, who finished 3-for-6 on the PP, started OT on the PP and then got another PP later in OT. . . . The Broncos have played nine games this season, with five of them going into extra time. . . . Regina F Chandler Stephenson tied the score 2-2 with 6:19 left in the third period. . . . Regina F Dryden Hunt (concussion) returned after missing the season’s first nine games. . . . 
The Prince Albert Raiders had their seven-game winning streak come to an end as they lost 5-2 to the visiting Portland Winterhawks. . . . Portland took control late in the second period when D Derrick Pouliot and F Taylor Leier broke a 1-1 tie with goals 1:33 apart. . . . Portland, which held a 40-28 edge in shots, has outshot its opponent in each of its games this season. . . . The Winterhawks wrap up their six-game East Division swing tonight in Swift Current. . . . F Dakota Conroy scored one of the Raiders’ goals. He has four goals in seven games since being acquired from the Victoria Royals. . . . The Raiders meet the Warriors in Moose Jaw tonight, then play nine of their next 10 at home. . . .
The Everett Silvertips, down 2-0 just 12 minutes into the first period, bounced back to beat the host Brandon Wheat Kings 3-2 in overtime. . . . D Landon Oslanski, 20, scored on a slapshot from the point at 1:17 of extra time. . . . Everett F Trent Lofthouse forced OT with his second goal of the season at 14:33 of the third. . . . Everett G Daniel Cotton recorded his first WHL victory. He spent most of two seasons backing up Calvin Pickard with the Seattle Thunderbirds before being dealt to the Silvertips on Sunday. Cotton was 0-8-0 with Seattle last season. . . . Cotton also earned an assist on the game-winner last night. . . . Everett had lost its last three games. . . . Brandon F John Quenneville scored his first WHL goal in the first period and got his first WHL stitches in the third, courtesy of a puck to the face. . . . The Silvertips play in Regina tonight, meaning Everett D Ryan Murray, the No. 2 overall selection in the 2012 NHL draft, gets to play in front of family and friends for the first time since Dec. 7, 2010. Murray is from White City, which is located on the eastern outskirts of Regina. . . . 
F Sam Mckechnie’s goal late in the third period broke a 2-2 draw and gave the host Lethbridge Hurricanes a 3-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Lethbridge G Ty Rimmer stopped 27 shots. . . . F Russell Maxwell had two PP goals for Lethbridge. . . . Prince George F Colin Jacobs had an assist to run his point streak to eight games. . . . Prince George lost F Caleb Belter to an interference major and game misconduct late in the first period. . . .
F Brock Montgomery had two goals and a helper to help the Kootenay Ice to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Saskatoon Blades. . . . Montgomery’s second goal, at 16:24 of the third, broke a 3-3 tie. . . . Montgomery has seven goals in as many games. . . . Saskatoon F Shane McColgan had tied the game at 15:16 with his first goal of the season. . . . F Sam Reinhart added a goal and an assist for the Ice, who had lost three in a row. . . . F Josh Nicholls had two goals and an assist for the Blades, who have lost five in a row. . . . The Blades are in Lethbridge tonight.———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Josh Winquist, Everett
F Tim Bozon, Kamloops
D Tyler Stahl, Victoria
F Logan Nelson, Victoria
D Mitchell Wheaton, Kelowna
CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Dan Gibb, Prince George
D Tyler Stahl, Victoria
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Seattle Thunderbirds G Brandon Glover (@BGlover31): “Nice win in front of my family tonight in Vancouver. #feelsgood On a side note: who was serving drinks to the shot clock guys tonight?”
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TWEET OF THE DAY II:
Rob Henderson (@HendoRob) of the Brandon Sun, getting ready to cover a game between the Wheat Kings and the visiting Everett Silvertips last night: “Either the TC Americans are here for a look before tomorrow’s game or it’s staff appreciation night at Tip Top. Pretty sure it’s the former.”
The Americans open their six-game East Division tour in Brandon tonight.
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