Taking Note

“Brain injury,” writes Matt Calkins of the U-T San Diego. “Say it with me now. Brain injury. Not head injury. Not concussion. Not getting dinged, seeing stars. or having your bell rung.”
Calkins’ complete column is right here.
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In case you missed it, Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets, had this on his blog on Friday:
“The Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops is getting a new score clock in time for next season. The new clock includes new high definition video boards which were desperately needed. The score clock at ISC is nine years old.”
Apparently, things aren’t quite official, what with it going to Kamloops city council for final approval this week.
But it is exciting to have Kelowna radio people concerned about what’s happening in Kamloops.
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Prior to Sunday’s WHL Eastern Conference final game in Calgary, Evan Daum of the Edmonton Journal wrote a nifty blog entry that centres on Oil Kings general manager Bob Green and what he does during games. That piece is right here.
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The Red Deer Chiefs successfully defended their Canadian midget AAA championship (Telus Cup) with a 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Jr. 67’s in Sault  Ste. Marie, Ont., on Sunday. . . . The Chiefs are the fourth team to win back-to-back titles, the others being the Couillard/Gouverneurs de Ste-Foy (1978, 1979), Prince Albert Mintos (2006, 2007) and Notre Dame Hounds (2009 and 2010). . . . Red Deer G Matt Zentner stopped 27 shots for the shutout. . . . Zentner was a 10th-round selection by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Chase Thudium, Trey Degraaf, Ryker Lee, Chris Gerrie and Ian McLellan had the goals. . . . The 2014 tournament will be held in Moose Jaw, with the Moose Jaw Generals as the host team.
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 The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Calgary (3)
(Series tied, 3-3; Game 7 in Calgary on Tuesday night; on Shaw TV, with Dan Russell calling the play.)
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Kamloops (3)
(Portland wins series, 4-1)
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CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Portland vs. Edmonton/Calgary winner
(Series opens Friday and Saturday in Portland)
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SUNDAY’S GAME:
In Edmonton, F Brooks Macek scored Calgary’s last two goals as the Hitmen came from behind to beat the Oil Kings, 4-3. . . . Macek tied the game at 7:56 of the third period, via the PP, and won it 6:59 of OT. . . . “It was a nice pass from Greg (Chase),” Macek told Crash Cameron of the Edmonton Sun. “He saw me, dropped it to me and I just saw top shelf, far side and I took it. Nobody wanted it to be our last game. Nobody thought anything about a Game 7, we just wanted to focus period by period.” . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger was tremendous in making 36 saves. . . . When the game ended, folks were talking about a second-period save he made on Edmonton F T.J. Foster to keep the score at 2-0. "That was a desperation move," Driedger told Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun. "I threw out an arm and, luckily got it. You don't make those too often. Most of the time, they're going to find the back of the net. It was nice to get one in a game like this." . . . Edmonton took at 3-1 lead into the third period. . . . F Brady Brassart scored on a PP just seven seconds into the period to get Calgary to within one. . . . Brassart has nine goals this spring; Macek has eight. . . . Edmonton D Ashton Sautner opened the scoring at 13:27 of the first. It was his third goal of the series; he had two goals in 62 regular-season games. He has four goals in 121 career regular-season games. In 26 playoff games, he has scored three times. . . . Brad Curle, the radio voice of the Hitmen, pointed out that Macek scored at 6:59 of overtime and at 6:59 Mountain Time. . . . The Hitmen are 3-0 in playoff OT games against the Oil Kings. . . . Calgary is 5-2 in OT games in these playoffs, including 2-0 against Edmonton. The Oil Kings are 0-3. . . . Game 7 will be played Tuesday in Edmonton. The WHL final opens Friday in Portland.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (21):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (6):
None
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From sportscaster Renaud Lavoie (@RenLavoieRDS): “Dean Chynoweth is a strong candidate to be the next Avalanche coach. He's working for the farm team (ahl) of the Avalanche as the head coach”


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