As mentioned here yesterday, he is one of four men to have coached at least 1,000 games in the WHL.
The top 10, including last night’s games:
Ken Hodge, 1,114
Ernie McLean, 1,067
Lorne Molleken, 1,018
Don Nachbaur, 1,000
Peter Anholt, 973
Pat Ginnell, 963
Don Hay, 952
Dean Clark, 937
Jack Shupe, 887
Bob Lowes, 851
Of those in the top 10, Molleken, Nachbaur, Hay and Clark remain active.
Meanwhile, here’s the top 10 in WHL head-coaching regular-season victories, including last night’s games:
ADD IN SATURDAY GAMES
Ken Hodge, 742
Lorne Molleken, 570
Don Hay, 563
Ernie McLean, 548
Don Nachbaur, 534
Pat Ginnell, 518
Jack Shupe, 466
Dean Clark, 460
Bob Lowes, 453
Peter Anholt, 450
Remember that Molleken, Hay, Nachbaur and Clark are the active coaches on that list.
———
It’s also worth noting that Mike Williamson, the head coach of the Calgary Hitmen, has gone over 350 victories, this despite two horrid seasons — with 19 and 17 victories — with the Portland Winterhawks. In fact, just this season Williamson has gotten his won-lost record over .500 — he’s at 352-347-73.
(A word here about coaching records. The decision to go to overtime and shootouts and not count them as losses has resulted in the bastardization of these coaching records because the WHL record book groups such losses in with ties. Williamson’s record, then, includes a total of 73 ties, overtime losses and shootout losses. As someone who values the historical significance of statistics this is simply appalling.)
Meanwhile, Ryan Huska, the head coach of the Kelowna Rockets, is at 200 victories thanks to a 9-2 victory over Molleken’s visiting Saskatoon Blades last night.
———
Jeff McDill, who played in the WHL with the Flin Flon Bombers and Victoria Cougars (1973-76), died earlier this month in Swan River, Man., where he and his wife, Laureen, operated the Thunderhill Motel. In 1975-76, McDill put up 121 points, including 55 goals, in 72 games. He also had 197 penalty minutes. McDill was 56.
An obituary is right here.
———
Nick Denis, an MMA fighter nicknamed The Ninja of Love, has retired. Too many blows to the head, he wrote on his blog.
———
JUST NOTES: Former WHL G Barry Brust (Spokane, Calgary, 2000-03) set an AHL record for longest shutout streak on Saturday night. Brust, now with the Abbotsford Heat, had his
streak at 251:41 after one period against the Rampage in San Antonio. That broke the record of 249:51 that had been held by the great Johnny Bower (Cleveland Barons, 1957-58). Brust ran the record to 268:17 before being scored upon by F James Wright (Vancouver, 2006-10). . . . Abbotsford went on to win the game 3-2, but not until a circus that went 11 rounds. F Carter Bancks, another former WHLer, was the 22nd shooter and he ended it. Two other former WHLers, Sven Baertschi and Roman Horak, also scored for the Heat in the shootout.———
SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Dakota Conroy drew three assists to help the Raiders get past the Brandon Wheat Kings, 5-2. . . . The Raiders had won 6-0 in Brandon on Friday night. . . . Prince Albert broke a 1-1 tie with goals six seconds apart by F Leon Draisaitl and F Logan McVeigh. Conroy drew assists on both goals. . . . The WHL record for fastest two goals is two seconds. Seriously! . . . The Raiders have won five of seven, including four of six on a six-game road trip. . . . Conroy began his career with the Wheat Kings, before being deawlt to the Victoria Royals, who moved him to Prince Albert earlier this season. . . . Brandon D Ryley Miller played despite taking a kneeing major late in Friday’s game. . . . Brandon scratched D Ryan Pulock, F Alessio Bertaggia, F Tyrel Seaman and F Jens Meilleur, all with undisclosed injuries. . . .
In Kelowna, the Rockets scored five times in the first period en route to a 9-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The victory was No. 200 for Rockets head coach Ryan Huska, who holds the franchise career record. . . . The Blades, who won 3-2 in Kamloops on Friday, went 3-2-0 on their B.C. Division swing. . . . Kelowna got the five first-period goals on 14 shots and sent G Andrey Makarov to the bench at 4-0. . . . F Myles Bell had two goals and an assist for the Rockets. He has had back-to-back three-point games. . . . Kelowna D Colten Martin had two assists and was plus-5. . . . Fourteen of Kelowna’s 18 skaters had at least one point. . . . Saskatoon D Darren Dietz, who was outstanding in Kamloops on Friday, was minus-6 in this one. . . .
In Edmonton, D Keegan Lowe scored with one second left in OT to give the Oil Kings a 2-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Lowe has four goals this season. . . . F Henrik Samuelsson scored in the second period for Edmonton. . . . Medicine Hat F Dylan Bredo tied it, on a PP, at 13:40 of the third. . . . Edmonton penalty killers had killed off 46 straight shorthanded situations prior to Bredo’s goal. . . . Medicine Hat G Cam Lanigan, who began his WHL career with the Oil Kings, stopped 46 shots. . . . The Oil Kings have won three in a row. . . . The Tigers have lost seven in a row and continue to play without F Hunter Shinkaruk (skate cut). . . .
F Colin Smith scored two goals to help the Kamloops Blazers to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants. . . . Smith broke a scoreless tie with two second-period goals, giving him 19 on the season. . . . F Carter Popoff scored for Vancouver at 10:56 of the third period — the puck skittered off the left skate of Kamloops F Charles Inglis and over the goal line — but the Giants weren’t able to equalize. . . . It was the first meeting of the season between the B.C. Division rivals. . . . Kamloops F JC Lipon had two assists. He continues to lead the WHL in goals (21) and points (53). He has one more point than Smith, who holds the WHL lead in assists (33). . . . After the game, the Blazers trimmed F Brayden Gelsinger, 17, from their roster. He is expected to join the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans or an SJHL team. He was pointless in 12 games with the Blazers. . . . 
F Tyler Sandhu scored twice to help the host Everett Silvertips to a 4-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Everett erased a 1-0 deficit when Sandhu scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season at 5:30 and 8:50 of the first period, the latter coming via the PP. . . . F Jon Martin tied it for the Ice at 9:21, only to have F Reid Petryk put Everett back in front just 15 seconds later. . . . Everett F Josh Winquist returned from a 13-game absence due to mononucleosis and set up two goals. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., F Brendan Leipsic continued to burn it up on behalf of the Portland Winterhawks as they beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 8-2. . . Leipsic ran his point streak to 13 games with two goals and two assists. He also has 11 straight multi-point games. He now has 15 goals. . . . F Ty Rattie had three assists for Portland, while F Oliver Bjorkstrand had two goals. . . . Rattie has points in 18 of his last 19 games. He has 37 points in that span. . . . F Nic Petan scored his 16th goal for Portland. . . . Petan is on an eight-game point streak, with four straight multi-point games. . . .
In Victoria, D Brett Cote broke a 2-2 tie at 17:04 of the third period as the Royals beat the Prince George Cougars, 3-2. . . . Cote’s goal was his third of the season. . . . F Ben Walker scored twice for Victoria, giving him 10. He was unsuccessful on a penalty shot just 4:04 into the game. . . . After the game, Walker said the second goal actually belonged to F Alex Gogolev. . . . Prince George D Raymond Grewal opened the scoring with his first of the season. . . . The Royals were missing F Tim Traber for a sixth straight game with an undisclosed injury. F Austin Carroll (personal) missed his second game. . . . F Tyler Soy, the eighth overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with Victoria. . . . The Cougars were without D Michael Mylchreest, who drew a ‘tbd’ suspension under supplemental discipline for something that happened in Friday’s game. . . . The Cougars lost F Zach Pochiro the previous night when he left in the second period with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Cougars had won 5-4 on Friday night. . . . The same two teams will play Friday and Saturday in Prince George to conclude a four-game series. . . . 
F Connor Bleackley scored in the fourth round of the circus to give the Red Deer Rebels a 2-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . F Justin Kirsch had given Moose Jaw a 1-0 lead with his 10th goal at 16:09 of the second. . . . Red Deer D Mathew Dumba tied it at 4:23 of the third on the PP. . . . Red Deer G Patrik Bartosak stopped 42 shots. . . .
The host Spokane Chiefs scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Tri-City Americans, 5-2. . . . Spokane’s Don Nachbaur was a winner in his 1,000th game as a WHL head coach. . . . Spokane F Mitch Holmberg broke a 2-2 tie at 8:00 of the third period. . . . F Liam Stewart added two goals after that, the last one into an empty net. . . . There may have been a ch-ch-ching moment in this one as the on-line scoresheet shows five fighting majors — three to the Americans — at 19:17 of the third. . . . The Chiefs now head into the East Division with a six-game trip beginning Friday in Swift Current..———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Steven Hodges, Victoria (double minor)
CHECKING-T0-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Henrik Samuelsson, Edmonton
F Michal Holub, Seattle
———
From Calgary Hitmen F Spencer Humphries (@shumper5): “Earned my first black eye of my career last night, even though my eye sight has taken a severe hit I don’t mind it at all! #punchingbag”
I don’t know if it had anything to do with the shiner, but he had scrap with F Jacob Doty of the Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday night.
There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
Posts
