Saturday, November 17, 2012

With Internet problems in the press box at Interior Savings Centre, veteran
sportscaster Earl Seitz of Kamloops TV station CFJC had time to pose for
a photo with the gals from the station on Friday night. There's more from
Seitz further down in this report.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Johnny Boychuk (Calgary, Moose Jaw, 1999-2004) signed a lockout contract with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had five goals and ten assists in 77 games with Boston Bruins last season. . . .
F Kris Beech (Calgary, 1996-2001) was released by Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had two goals and six assists in 21 games with Pardubice this season. . . .
F Evander Kane (Vancouver, 2006-09) was released from his lockout contract by Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). He had one goal and 47 PIM in 11 games with Minsk.
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Brent Sutter, the owner, president, general manager and, since Tuesday, interim head coach of the Red Deer Rebels continued to reshape his roster Friday. He released D Jan Bittner, a 19-year-old Czech who didn’t have a point in 14 games. . . . Sutter also released F Austin Ferguson, who was pointless in four games with the Rebels after having been acquired from the Kelowna Rockets. Ferguson, 17, is from Abbotsford, B.C.
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The Kamloops Blazers have acquired F Joey Kornelsen, 19, from the Calgary Hitmen for a fifth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . Kornelsen, in his fourth WHL season, also played for the Moose Jaw Warriors. In 187 regular-season games, he has 62 points, including 24 goals. This season, he has four assists in 18 games. . . . With the Hitmen getting F Victor Rask back from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, Kornelsen may have had trouble getting playing time in Calgary. . . . The Blazers, meanwhile, are without two 20-year-old forwards. Dylan Willick (broken ankle) likely won’t play until after Christmas, while Jordan DePape (shoulder) continues to be evaluated by medical staff. . . . Kamloops associate coach Dave Hunchak coached Kornelsen while both were with the Warriors. Moose Jaw selected him with its first pick, 33rd overall, in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Alan Caldwell, over there at Small Thoughts At Large, notes that the Hitmen now hold 10 selections in the first six rounds of the 2013 bantam draft. As Caldwell tweeted: “Lots of trade bait there, if they want to make a move later.”
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Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun reports that D Martin Gernat is back in Edmonton, although he’s still a while from getting back into the Oil Kings’ lineup. Gernat, who watched his teammates practise on Friday, had shoulder surgery in the Czech Republic in September. If all goes well, Gernat could begin light skating in a couple of weeks. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Gernat had 55 points, including nine goals, as a freshman last season. The Edmonton Oilers selected him in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2011 draft.
The Oil Kings return to action tonight as they play host to the Prince Albert Raiders. The Oil Kings will be without F Travis Ewanyk, who suffered a knee injury during Team WHL’s 1-0 Super Series shootout victory over a Russian side in Vancouver on Wednesday. He was to undergo an MRI on Friday and there already is speculation that he will be out for at least a month.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Victoria, G Patrik Polivka stopped 20 shots as the Royals beat the Everett Silvertips, 5-0. . . . It was Polivka’s first WHL shutout. . . . He had help as the Silvertips hit three posts. . . . It also was the Royals’ first shutout since the franchise relocated from Chilliwack prior to last season. . . . The big story, however, may have come in the second period when Everett D Ryan Murray left the game after taking a check from Victoria F Logan Nelson. There were reports that Murray was taken to hospital with what is believed to be an injury to his left arm or shoulder. . . . Murray, taken second overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2012 NHL draft, is one of the league’s top defencemen. If healthy, he will play for Canada’s national junior team and may be the captain. . . . F Jamie Crooks had two goals, giving him nine, and an assist for the Royals, who have won two in a row. . . . Everett F Manraj Hayer was back after missing six games with an undisclosed injury. . . .

In Kamloops, the Blazers got 14 points from their big line as they snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-4 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . RW JC Lipon had two goals and two assists, while C Colin Smith had a goal and four assists and LW Tim Bozon was two and two. . . . Lipon leads the WHL in goals (19) and points (48), while Smith leads in assists (31) and is second in points (47). . . . The three had combined for just seven points in the previous six games, five of which were losses. . . . Portland had its 12-game winning streak snapped and fell four points back of the WHL-leading Blazers. . . . F Brendan Leipsic had a goal and two assists for the Winterhawks, his seventh straight multi-point game. He is on a nine-game point streak. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford and Portland D Troy Rutkowski both played in their 300th regular-season games and each scored a goal. Each player is with his original team. . . . Kamloops D Sam Grist was pointless but finished plus-5. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth suffered his first loss in 10 decisions. He has given up 10 goals in his last four periods at Interior Savings Centre. That goes back to Game 6 of a second-round series last spring when the Blazers came back from a 5-2 deficit to win, 7-6. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Alex Delnov had two goals and an assist to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-3 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Delnov, who has eight goals, played for Russia in the Super Series-clinching victory over Team WHL on Thursday in Victoria. . . . Seattle F Robert Lipsbergs broke a 3-3 tie 15:57 of the third period. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk scored twice for the Tigers, giving him 17. . . .

In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice scored three times in the game’s first 7:30 and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes gave up four goals on 15 shots but last just one period. Curtis Honey came on to stop 17 of 18. . . . Kootenay G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 32 shots. . . . The teams meet in Cranbrook again tonight. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Logan McVeigh broke a 2-2 tie at 2:03 of the third period as the Prince Albert Raiders beat the Hurricanes, 3-2. . . . The victory lifted the Raiders past the idle Calgary Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings, into first place in the Eastern Conference. . . . F Leon Draisaitl had two goals for the winners. . . . F Russell Maxwell got his 14th goal of the season, in his 24th game, for Lethbrige. Lst season, he finished with 15 goals in 72 games. . . . Draisaitl, a German freshman who turned 17 on Oct. 27, has 18 points, five of them goals, in 22 games. . . . The Raiders are 6-0-0 against Alberta teams this season. They play in Edmonton tonight. . . .

In Prince George, G Andrey Makarov stopped 42 shots to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 4-0 victory over the Cougars. . . . One night earlier, Makarov backstopped a Russian team to a 5-2 victory over Team WHL in a Super Series game in Victoria. He also played in Wednesday’s 1-0 shootout loss to the WHL in Vancouver. . . . This was Makarov’s first shutout this season and the third of his career. . . . Saskatoon F Josh Nicholls got his 19th goal, one of the league lead held by Kamloops F JC Lipon. . . . Prince George F Caleb Belter drew a boarding major and game misconduct at 12:10 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon D Matthew Pufahl, who was hit by Belter, needed help getting off the ice and didn’t return to the game. . . . The Cougars lost D Rinalds Rosinskis, who left in the second period after blocking a shot with his left leg. . . . The Blades continue their B.C. swing in Vancouver on Sunday. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that the Blades are expected to bring up F Nick Gomerich, 16, from the major midget North Island Silvertips for the game. . . .

In Vancouver, F Thomas Foster scored in the circus to give the Giants a 4-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Foster was the 13th shooter in a seven-round shootout. . . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk forced OT with his 12th goal at 19:06 of the third period. It came via the PP. . . . Pats F Lane Scheidl, who began his WHL career with the Giants, notched his 11th goal and added two assists. . . . F Kale Kessy scored twice for Vancouver, including a shorthanded score at 7:16 of the third period that gave his side  3-2 lead. . . . Regine D Kyle Burroughs, who is from Langley, B.C., scored his first goal of the season in front of family and friends. . . . The Giants have back-to-back victories for the first time this season. Ironically, both victories have come in shootouts, a part of the game that Vancouver head coach Don Hay doesn’t enjoy. . . . Vancouver remains without F Cain Franson, who is believed to have a concussion. He has missed eight games. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Kelowna Rockets, 3-2. . . . Tri-City F Justin Feser won it with his 15th score this season at 14:44 of the third period. . . . Americans G Eric Comrie stopped a season-high 41 shots. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke returned from an undisclosed injury — speculation had him with a concussion incurred in a practice — to stop 19 shots. . . . The same teams meet in Kennewick again tonight.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Trevor Cheek, Vancouver
D Mirco Mueller, Everett
F Manraj Hayer, Everett

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, Vancouver
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Tri-City F Philip Tot (@totter19) with some advice for the ladies: “Women’s make up should come with a warning. Do not exceed entire bottle in one night. Know your limits #naturalbeauty #seriously”
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TWEET OF THE DAY II:
From Earl Seitz (@EarlCFJCsports), veteran Kamloops sportscaster: “We can put men on the moon, land rovers on Mars and fly drones to get the enemy. These days the enemy is the internet at the ISC #needdrone”
Oh, does he get my support on this one. It’s 2012 (almost 2013) and we have nothing but Internet grief, night after night, at Interior Savings Centre.


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