Blazers end losing skid

A tip of the cap to the WHL for posting details of the Portland-Red Deer trade from Tuesday. . . . In that exchange the Winterhawks acquired D Mathew Dumba from the Rebels for F Presten Kopeck. Four conditional bantam draft picks were involved. . . . Should Dumba end up in Portland after the World Junior Championship, the Rebels will get second-round bantam picks in 2014, 2015 and 2016. There are conditions on the 2016 selection that could turn it into a third-round pick, all depending on when Dumba would be returned. . . . If Dumba doesn’t go to Portland, the Rebels cough up a third-rounder in 2014, meaning the deal would become Kopeck for that selection.
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The Saskatoon Blades have brought in D Nolan Reid from the midget AAA Notre Dame Argos. Reid, a 15-year-old from Deer Valley, Sask., was the Blades’ first pick, 41st overall, in the 2013 bantam draft. He has 19 points in 23 games with the Argos. . . . Reid is expected to practise with the Blades today and could play Friday and Saturday against the visiting Regina Pats and Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Blades have lost D David Nemecek to the Czech Republic’s national junior team’s selection camp.
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The Portland Winterhawks, about to lose five players to Christmas tournaments, have brought in F Skyler McKenzie, F Colton Veloso and D Justin Greer. . . . McKenzie was an eighth-round pick in the 2013 draft. From Sherwood Park, Alta., McKenzie is playing with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. . . . Greer, who is from Edmonton, was taken in the fourth round of the 2012 draft. He is playing for the South Side Athletic Club midget AAA team in Edmonton. . . . Veloso, from Winnipeg, plays for the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild.
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The Victoria Royals have acquired F Braden Oleksyn, 17, from the Calgary Hitmen in exchange for F Landon Welykholowa, 17. . . . Oleksyn, from Saskatoon, was pointless in seven games with the Hitmen this season. A third-round bantam draft pick by the Hitmen in 2011, he had 28 points, including 11 goals, in 50 games with the SJHL's La Ronge Ice Wolves last season. . . . Welykholowa, who is from Calgary, had one goal in 18 games with Victoria. He was a third-round pick by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2011 bantam draft. Last season, he played 34 games the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes, putting up 26 points, including 12 goals.
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The WHL’s Christmas trade moratorium runs from Dec. 15 through Dec. 27.
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The Everett Silvertips had lost 15 straight games to the Chiefs in Spokane going into last night’s game. It all began with a devastating setback on March 14, 2010. Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald examines the situation right here. . . . BTW, the skid now is at 16 after the Chiefs won 5-3 last night.
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WEDNESDAY:
In Prince Albert, F Curtis Lazar and F Mitch Moroz had two goals each to help the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 7-5 victory over the Raiders. . . . Edmonton has won seven in a row. . . . Lazar’s 20th goal of the season, at 16:03 of the first, gave the Oil Kings a 2-1 lead and they never trailed after that. . . . Lazar’s second goal, at 17:29 of the third, left Edmonton with a 6-4 lead. . . . Moroz has 19 goals in 31 games. Two seasons ago, he scored 16 times in 66 games; last season, he had 13 scores in 69 outings. . . . F Dakota Conroy had two goals for the Raidersd, giving him 15, while F Leon Draisaitl had a goal, his 18th, and two assists. Draisaitl, who will play for Germany at the World Junior Championship, extended his point streak to seven games. He has 19 points, including eight goals, over that stretch. He has multiple points in 10 of 16 games since Nov. 1. . . . Edmonton D Aaron Irving, in his first season, had a goal and an assist. He’s got 24 points, seven of them goals, in 31 games. . . . The Oil Kings (21-9-1) and Calgary Hitmen (19-7-5) each has 43 points, tops in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Raiders, who are tied for fifth with the Regina Pats, have lost four in a row. . . .

In Moose Jaw, the Kelowna Rockets scored the game’s first four goals and went on to a 6-3 victory over the Warriors. . . . The victory, their eighth in a row, lifted the Rockets atop the overall standings. . . . F Myles Bell’s second goal of the game and 12th of the season, shorthanded at 6:47 of the second, gave Kelowna a 4-0 lead. . . . The Warriors got to within 4-3 when F Scott Cooke got his first goal of the season at 9:26 of the third. . . . F Carter Rigby restored Kelowna’s two-goal lead at 15:01. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 35 shots in running his record to 18-1-2. . . . Kelowna is 2-0 on its East Division swing. . . . The Warriors have lost six in a row and, at 8-20-6, are 14 points out of a playoff spot. . . .

In Regina, F Jesse Shynkaruk’s shootout goal gave the Kamloops Blazers a 4-3 victory over the Pats, snapping a franchise-record 13-game losing streak. . . . Shynkaruk, who is from Saskatoon, scored his first WHL goal in a 5-2 loss to the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Tuesday night. . . . The Blazers hadn’t won since beating the visiting Red Deer Rebels 4-1 on Nov. 5. . . . F Matt Needham gave the Blazers a 3-2 lead with his second goal of the game, and seventh of the season, at 19:07 of the third. . . . However, Regina F Boston Leier forced OT with his second goal of the game, and 22nd of the season, at 19:25. . . . Needham also had an assist, while linemate Cole Ully scored once, his 12th, and added two helpers. Ully’s goal pulled the Blazers into a 2-2 tie at 18:37 of the third. . . . Kamloops G Taran Kozun, who was on the bench when Ully scored, stopped 39 shots through OT. . . . Regina has points in its last three games (2-0-1). . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more right here.

In Lethbridge, F Calder Brooks scored twice to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 5-3 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Brooks has six goals this season. He gave his mates a 2-0 lead at 18:55 of the first and made it 3-1 at 5:33 of the second. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen had a goal, his 15th, and an assist. . . . The Hurricanes had won their previous two home games. . . . Lethbride F Reid Duke got his guys to within 4-3 with his fourth goal at 3:42 of the third. . . . Calgary F Brady Brassart iced it with his 10th, into an empty net, at 19:38. . . . The Hitmen are 6-0-1 in their last seven and 8-1-1 in their last 10. . . .

In Spokane, F Mike Aviani broke a 3-3 tie with a PP goal at 16:12 of the third period as the Chiefs beat the Everett Silvertips, 5-3. . . . Spokane scored the game’s first three goals, taking a 3-0 lead on F Dominic Zwerger’s fifth goal at 4:19 of the second. . . . Zwerger was playing his first game since suffering an undisclosed injury on Nov. 8. . . . The Silvertips scored twice in the second and tied it on F Tyler Sandhu’s 13th goal at 8:19 of the third. . . . Spokane F Mitch Holmberg scored twice, giving him a WHL-leading 35 goals, the last one into an empty net. . . . Holmberg also had an assist, giving him 70 points, four more than Portland Winterhawks F Nic Petan. . . . G Eric Williams stopped 34 shots for Spokane, 17 more than Everett’s Austin Lotz.
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HAVE A GOOD DAY:
Second baseman Robison Cano, who is in the process of cutting a rather large deal with the Seattle Mariners, will make $45 dollars a minute for the next 10 years. That computes to $65,753 each day for 10 years.
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From Barney Shynkaruk (@bshynk): “@jesseshynkaruk0 made Romans night by tossing him a puck in warm up. Then he scores on a dirty move for shootout winner. #proud parents”
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From former Portland/Kamloops G Kurtis Mucha (@tooka31): “Tweet #200. How to double up your followers? Get a quick NHL call up haha. #thankful #twittertips #bruins #lucky #gobears”
Mucha, who plays for the U of Alberta Golden Bears, practised with the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

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