D Ian White (Swift Current, 2000-04) signed for the rest of this season with Genève-Servette (Switzerland, NL A). Last season, he had four points, including two goals, in 25 games with the Detroit Red Wings (NHL). . . .
F Konstantin Pushkarev (Calgary, 2004-05) was reassigned to Nomad Astana (Kazakhstan, Kazakh Vysshaya Liga) by Barys Astana (KHL). This season, with Barys, he had one assist in two games. Earlier with Nomad, he had three points, including one goal, in 13 games.
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Connie Broden, the only person in history to have won a world hockey championship and a Stanley Cup title in the same season, has died. He left us a week ago at the age of 81. . . . As Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette notes, Broden “played just six regular-season games with the Canadiens, three in 1955-56 and three more in 1957-58. Broden appeared in seven more playoff games, six in 1956-57, one more the following season. . . . a player’s stats are not inscribed with his name on the Stanley Cup, where Connell Broden is twice engraved on the genuine trophy, Connie Broden appearing twice on the replica.” . . . Broden was so much more than a hockey player, though. He later became Quebec’s brewmaster for Molson’s, a company with which he spent 32 years. He ended up as the president of Molson’s Alberta. . . . Later, he scouted for the Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes. . . . Stubbs’ complete story is right here.
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G Bolton Pouliot, 19, of the Kamloops Blazers suffered an injury to his right hand in practice on Thursday
afternoon and, according to the team, “is expected to be out . . . until after the Christmas break.” . . . As a result, the Blazers have brought in G Cole Kehler, 15, from the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C. Kehler, who turns 16 on Dec. 17, is from Altona, Man. He was a sixth-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder is 12-1-0, 2.22 with OHA’s midget prep team. . . . Kehler is expected to stay with the Blazers until Pouliot returns. . . . If Kehler stays with the Blazers through December, he will be on their roster during their East Division swing that takes them up to the Christmas break.———
The Victoria Royals have signed F Keith Anderson, 16, who is from Hermiston, Ore., and is playing for the Compete Hockey Academy in the Canadian Sports School Hockey League. The 6-foot-4, 208-pounder has 23 points, including 13 goals, in 13 games. He was selected by the Royals in the sixth round of the 2012 bantam draft. Anderson played last season with the Arizona Bobcats, a Tier 1 U16 team that won the state championship. . . . One of the Black Friday’s related headlines that I saw yesterday went like this — The Worst of Black Friday: Guns, Knives and Brawls. . . . Gee, do you think Black Friday has jumped the shark? . . . G Curtis Honey of the Brandon Wheat Kings has returned to practice and should be back in the lineup soon. He has been out for almost a month. Once he returns, Brandon will have three goaltenders on its roster, the other two being Jordan Papirny, who has been the starter in Honey’s absence, and Christopher Tai, who was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes earlier this month. . . . After Friday’s games, 17 of the WHL’s 22 teams were sporting at least a .500 winning percentage. . . . Is it time to quit with the anthems before sporting events? Just asking. . . .
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FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS:
In Spokane, F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored three times to lead the Portland Winterhawks to a 6-3 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Bjorkstrand has 21 goals. . . . It was Portland’s fifth straight victory over Spokane this season. Overall, the Winterhawks have taken 13 in a row from Spokane. . . . F Paul Bittner had three assists for Portland. . . . Spokane F Mitch Holmberg, who leads the WHL in goals (30) and points (64), had his third three-goal game this season. . . . Portland F Nic Petan had two assists, giving him a WHL-leading 40. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, the Brandon Wheat Kings erased a 2-0 deficit with five straight second-period goals and went to an 8-4 victory over the Warriors. . . . Moose Jaw, down 5-2 late in the second, got to within 5-4, only to have Brandon score the game’s last three goals. . . . F John Quenneville had two goals and three assists for Brandon, while F Jayce Hawryluk added two goals and two assists. . . . Hawryluk has 18 points in 12 games this month, including three four-point outings. . . . Brandon was 4-for-8 on the PP. . . . Moose Jaw F Tanner Eberle departed at 18:33 of the second with a headshot major. . . . F Scott Cooke, who had been out all season with a broken bone in his right leg, played his first game for the Warriors. He was acquired earlier this month from the Vancouver Giants. . . . 
In Regina, the Prince Albert Raiders gave up the game’s first five goals — they trailed 5-0 as late as 7:00 of the second period — before beating the Pats, 7-6 in OT. . . . The Raiders trailed 6-2 going into the third period. F Leon Draisaitl tied the score at 13:21 and won it at 1:37 of OT while on a PP. . . . He’s got 13 goals this season. . . . D Josh Morrissey scored his 12th goal and added three assists for the Raiders. . . . Prince Albert F Tim Vanstone, who went into the game with one goal in 66 games, scored twice. . . . F Boston Leier scored twice for Regina, giving him 17. . . . Regina G Dawson MacAuley stopped 46 shots. . . . Prior to the game, Phil Andrews, the radio voice of the Pats, tweeted: “No Morgan Klimchuk for the Pats tonight. Left halfway through the 3rd (Thursday) night in Super Series. No confirmation on if it's an injury.” . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., the Victoria Royals scored the game’s first three goals, all via the PP, and went on to beat the Tri-City Americans, 3-1. . . . Victoria, which has won five in a row, was 3-for-4 on the PP; the Americans were 1-for-4. . . . F Logan Nelson drew two assists for Victoria, which got 33 saves from G Patrik Polivka, who now has been the first star in five straight games. . . . F Axel Blomqvist scored his first goal in three games since the Royals acquired him from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He’s got four points in those three games. . . . The Americans had F Taylor Vickerman, who is from Kennewick, in their lineup for the first time since he suffered an undisclosed injury on Sept. 24 in a game against the host Portland Winterhawks. He ended up missing 25 games. . . . The Americans are without D Mitch Topping (broken arm) and D Wil Tomchuk (broken wrist, surgery next week). . . . Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald reports that Tomchuk and Topping aren’t expected back before at least late January. . . . The Royals were without head coach Dave Lowry, who was in Vancouver to attend his daughter Sarah’s graduation from UBC. She now has a master’s in kinesiology. . . . In Lowry’s absence, veteran assistant coach Enio Sacilotto was in charge. . . . Lowry is expected back in time to work the bench tonight in Kent, Wash., against the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Royals (18-10-1) are one point behind the B.C. Division-leading Kelowna Rockets (18-3-2), who hold six games in hand. . . . 
In Swift Current, G Chris Driedger turned aside 37 shots to help the Calgary Hitmen to a 3-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . F Brady Brassart broke a 1-1 tie with his ninth goal of the season, on the PP, at 10:18 of the third. . . . D Stephen Shmoorkoff, acquired by the Broncos from the Edmonton Oil Kings on Thursday, didn’t play. The Broncos also were without F Graham Black and F Coda Gordon, their two leading scorers. . . . Broncos F Dakota Odgers, 17, played his first game after being out all season with a shoulder injury. . . . 
In Lethbridge, the Edmonton Oil Kings held a 45-16 edge in shots and scored the last two goals to beat the Hurricanes, 2-1. . . . F Mitch Moroz tied the score at 13:47 of the third and F Curtis Lazar won it at 16:02. . . . Moroz has 17 goals; Lazar has 16. . . . F Riley Sheen had given Lethbridge a 1-0 lead with a PP goal, his fifth, at 11:14 of the third. . . . Lethbridge G Corbin Boes stopped 43 shots. . . . D Aaron Irving had two assists for Edmonton. The 17-year-old freshman from Edmonton has 20 points, including 15 helpers, in 25 games. . . . 
In Medicine Hat, F Wyatt Johnson’s fourth goal of the season, at 11:51 of the second, gave the Red Deer Rebels a 2-1 victory over the Tigers. . . . Red Deer G Patrik Bartosak stopped 37 shots. He stopped Medicine Hat F Trevor Cox on a second-period penalty shot. . . . F Curtis Valk scored for Medicine Hat at 10:54 of the first. . . . Red Deer F Scott Feser, playing his first game this season, tied it at 18:13 with his second goal in 41 regular-season games. . . . 
In Kamloops, F Tyson Baillie broke a 2-2 tie at 17:20 of the third period as the Kelowna Rockets got past the Blazers, 3-2. . . . Kamloops D Josh Connolly had tied the game 2-2 on the PP at 10:04 of the third. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 37 shots, four more than Taran Kozun of the Blazers. . . . F Cole Ully had two assists for Kamloops. . . . The Blazers have lost nine in a row as they to Kelowna for the rematch tonight. . . . The Rockets (18-3-2) are 9-1-0 in their last 10. . . .
In Prince George, the Cougars scored twice in the shootout and beat the Vancouver Giants, 6-5. . . . Prince George F Chase Witala scored two third-period goals, the second one, his 18th, forging a 5-5 tie at 18:19. . . . Alex Forsberg and Witala scored for the home side in the shootout, while only F Cain Franson scored for Vancouver. . . . F Dalton Sward scored three times for Vancouver in what was his 200th game. He’s got six goals this season. . . . The Giants have points in eight straight (4-0-4). . . . D Peter Kosterman had three assists for Prince George. It was his second multi-assist game in 263 regular-season games. . . . Kosterman went into the night with three assists in 29 games this season. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds stopped 46 shots. He was forced into action when Brett Zarowny, who was to start, was injured in the warmup. . . . The Cougars also were without F Troy Bourke (WHL suspension) and the injured — D Joseph Carvalho (broken jaw), F Jari Erricson (concussion), D Raymond Grewal (ankle), D Tate Olson (concussion), F Zach Pochiro (concussion) and F David Soltes (knee). . . . Late Friday night, Cheryl Kustra (@CherylCkustra) tweeted: “Well . . . Congratulations and Good Luck to Matt Kustra. Just got a phone call that he’s called up to Prince George Cougars. Proud momma.” G Matt Kustra, from Yorkton, Sask., was an eighth-round pick by the Cougars in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Kustra has been playing for the midget AAA Notre Dame Argos out of Wilcox, Sask. . . .
In Kent, Wash., the host Seattle Thunderbirds scored three times in each of the last two periods and beat the Saskatoon Blades, 6-2. . . . It was Saskatoon’s first game of a U.S. Division swing. . . . F Alex Delnov, fresh off playing for Russia in the Subway Super Series, had two goals, giving him 12, and three assists for Seattle. . . . Delnov played for Russia on Wednesday, but was scratched on Thursday. . . . F Ryan Gropp added a goal, his third, and two assists for Seattle. He’s got six points in 14 games since leaving the BCHL’s Penticton Vees and joining Seattle. . . . The Thunderbirds were 3-for-5 on the PP.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.
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