D Dave Sutter (Seattle, 2010-12) has signed a B-license card with Bern (Switzerland, NL A). He currently is playing with Red Ice Martigny (Switzerland, NL B). Signing a B-license allows Sutter to play with Bern on loan once Red Ice season is over. This season with Red Ice, he has 12 points, including three goals, in 42 games. . . .
F Yegor Mikhailov (Spokane, 1996-97) signed a B-license card with Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland, NL A). He is playing with Red Ice Martigny and is in the same situation as Sutter. Mikhailov is eligible to join Fribourg-Gottéron after Red Ice's season. He leads Red Ice in scoring, with 37 points, including 18 goals, in 42 games.
---
If you are a WHL fan who is on Twitter, make sure you are following WHL Facts (@WHLFacts).
---
The headline in the Prairie Post reads: 'Johann Sebastian' Black hitting all the right notes. . . . It's atop a story by Brad Brown on F Graham Black, a classical pianist who is having a terrific season with the Swift Current Broncos. That story is well worth reading and it's right here. ---
F Jagger Williamson, who was selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the sixth round of the 2013 bantam draft, has said he will play next season with the BCHL's Vernon Vipers. Williamson, a 15-year-old from Vernon, is playing for the midget Tier 1 team in Vernon. ---
The Concussion Blog, which is linked to over there on the right, has an interesting season-ending look at the NFL and brain injuries. It's well worth a read and it's right here.
---
Elliotte Friedman has his weekly compilation 30 Thoughts posted and it is as readable as always. It's right here, and Portland Winterhawks followers should know there is a Nino Niederreiter mention.
---
Chris Driedger of the Calgary Hitmen is the sixth goaltender in WHL history to score a goal. He was credited with a Kootenay Ice own goal on Saturday night in Cranbrook. Jefferson Hagen of the Calgary Herald caught up with Driedger and has the story right here. The goal actually was scored by Ice F Zach Franko, whose pass attempt during a delayed penalty call against the Hitmen split the points and travelled the length of the ice and into the open net. Franko and Driedger are offseason training partners.---
Jonny Hogue used to be a stickboy for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. These days you can find him minding the WHL team’s goal. Dylan Purcell of the Lethbridge Hurricanes has more right here.---
THURSDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
No games scheduled.
---
FRIDAY’S WHL GAMES:
Moose Jaw at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Swift Current at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Kootenay at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Portland at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
Calgary at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.
Spokane at Seattle, 7:35 p.m.
---
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
The visiting Saskatoon Blades erased a 2-0 second-period deficit and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-3. . . . Blades F Mitch Lipon gave his guys a 3-2 lead with his fifth goal at 1:37 of the third. . . . Saskatoon D Dylan Busenius played in his 300th regular-season game and scored his eighth goal of the season, a shorthanded marker at 9:21 of the third. It stood up as the winner. . . . F Jamal Watson scored twice for Lethbridge. He's got 15. . . . Saskatoon G Troy Trombley turned aside 50 shots. . . . Saskatoon F Austin Adamson scored his first goal and it came in his 37th game. Adamson, who turned 18 on Feb. 2, is from Vancouver. . . . The Hurricanes had won their previous two games. . . . Neither the Blades (15-37-4) nor Hurricanes (11-39-5) will make the playoffs. The Hurricanes continue to hold down last place in the overall standings, their .245 winning percentage slightly ahead of the Kamloops Blazers’ .250. . . . 
In Brandon, F Trevor Cox scored twice to help the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 3-2 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Cox broke a 1-1 tie at 10:47 of the second period and upped the lead to 3-1 just 19 seconds into the third. He's got 18 goals. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford had a goal, his 25th, and two assists. . . . Medicine Hat F Curtis Valk ran his point streak to 12 games, the longest in the WHL at present, with two assists. . . . Tigers G Marek Langhamer stopped 23 shots, including one on Brandon F Ryley Lindgren on a second-period penalty shot with the visitors leading 2-1. . . . The Tigers (31-19-3) have won two in a row and are fourth in the Eastern Conference, seven points behind the Calgary Hitmen and five ahead of the Kootenay Ice. . . . Brandon (27-20-6) is tied with Kootenay (28-21-4) and the Swift Current Broncos (26-20-8) atop the East Division. . . .
In Kamloops, the Edmonton Oil Kings ran their winning streak to a season-high nine games as they got past the Blazers, 4-1. . . . Edmonton F Riley Kieser broke a 1-1 tie with his ninth goal at 2:05 of the third period. . . . Kieser finished with two goals, giving him 10, and an assist. He was the Oil Kings' best skater in this one. . . . The Oil Kings now have won 15 of their last 16 games and 24 of 28. . . . The Kamloops PP unit was 0-for-8 and gave up two shorthanded goals, the last one Kieser’s empty-netter. . . . Kamloops D Sam Grist drew an interference major and game misconduct at 10:12 of the first period for a hit on Edmonton F Reid Petryk, who needed help on the ice but was out on the PP shortly thereafter. . . . It was a dangerous hit and Grist can expect a call from the WHL office today. . . . The Blazers won't play in Edmonton this season, but the Oil Kings played twice in Kamloops. Edmonton won 5-0 on Nov. 8. . . . Edmonton G Tyler Santos, who posted that 5-0 shutout, stopped 31 shots last night. The Oil Kings needed him through the first two periods as they were outshot 27-17. Edmonton held a 21-6 edge in the third, though. . . . The Oil Kings will visit the Kelowna Rockets on Friday for a battle of the conference leaders. . . . The Blazers (11-38-5) have lost seven in a row; they are 1-9-1 since Guy Charron took over as head coach from Dave Hunchak on Jan. 11. The Blazers will play their next five games at home, after which they will hit the road for 10. . . . The Blazers were the better team through two periods but couldn’t get enough pucks past Santos to give them some breathing room. For the most part, Edmonton’s best players didn’t show up until the third period. Perhaps they were looking ahead to Friday. . . . The Oil Kings (38-13-1) are comfortably atop the Eastern Conference standings, five points ahead of Calgary with two games in hand. . . . 
In Kelowna, the Rockets scored four first-period goals and went on to beat the Red Deer Rebels, 4-3. . . . The Rockets had 11 players with one point each in that first period, and every skater but two was at least plus-1. . . . Red Deer G Taz Burman was gone 1:34 in to the first period after stopping one of three shots. G Patrik Bartosak came on and finished up. . . . Kelowna held a 22-8 edge in shots after one period. . . . The Rebels scored three times in the third period to make it interesting, the last one coming from F Aspen Sterzer, at 18:13. . . . Sterzer scored Red Deer's last two goals, giving him 24 in 52 games this season. . . . He had two goals in 31 games last season and five in 63 games in 2011-12. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 35 shots. . . . The Rockets (43-7-3) have a 12-point lead atop the overall standings. . . . The Kelowna franchise record for victories (52) was set last season. . . . The Rebels (27-23-4) are eighth in the Eastern Conference. . . . 
In Spokane, Seattle G Taran Kozun continued his magical run as the Thunderbirds blanked the Chiefs, 4-0. . . . Kozun stopped 29 shots in posting his third shutout in nine starts with Seattle. Two of the blank jobs have been against the Chiefs. . . . Kozun was acquired from the Kamloops Blazers at the trade deadline. . . . With Kamloops, the 19-year-old from Nipawin, Sask., was 5-19-3, 3.95, .897. With Seattle, he is 8-1-0, 1.31, .957. . . . Seattle F Justin Hickman had three goals for his first WHL hat trick. He has 18 goals this season, five of them coming over the last two games. . . . The Thunderbirds are 6-0 versus the Chiefs this season. The teams meet again Friday, this time in Kent, Wash. . . . Seattle (34-16-5) is fourth in the Western Conference, one point behind the Victoria Royals and six ahead of the Chiefs (31-17-5). . . . 
In Victoria, Calgary F Pavel Padakin scored on a breakaway at 1:26 of OT to give the Calgary Hitmen a 7-6 victory over the Royals. . . . The Royals looked to be in control after scoring three PP goals and taking a 3-0 lead into the second period. . . . The Royals had dumped the Hitmen 7-2 on Tuesday night. . . . This was the second time this season Victoria has given up seven goals. The Royals lost 7-4 to the visiting Vancouver Giants on Dec. 7. . . . The Hitmen took the first period's last three minors and the Royals scored on each of them. . . . The Hitmen forced OT on third-period goals by F Brady Brassart, at 5:03; F Adam Tambellini, at 6:36, via the PP; and F Mike Winther, at 12:23. . . . Padakin finished with two goals and an assist. He has 19 goals this season. . . . Brassart had a goal, his 24th and two assists. . . . Tambellini's goal was his fifth. . . . F Ben Walker had two goals, giving him 22, and an assist for Victoria. . . . F Logan Nelson was among Victoria's scratches. . . . Royals D Joe Hicketts had two assists. He's got a goal and five assists in four games since returning from an injury. He had last played on Oct. 26. . . . Hitmen head coach Mike Williamson was hired in Calgary when Dave Lowry, now the Royals’ head coach, left for an assistant coaching job with the NHL’s Calgary Flames. . . . The Royals were without G Patrik Polivka for both games. He has an undisclosed injury. Michael Herringer, a ninth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, backed up Coleman Vollrath. Herringer plays for the junior B Kerry Park Islanders who are coached by former WHL toughie Dale Purinton.---
TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Global Lethbridge sports director Paul Kingsmith (@paulkingsmith): "Crazy but true -- @WHLHurricanes record w/@radiopat258 calling the game: 7-39-2-3. Record without @radiopat258 calling: 4-0-0-0."
Pat Siedlecki (@radiopat258) is the radio voice of the Hurricanes.
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
