Monday, February 17, 2014

Ex-junior player tells his story; franchise records for Oil Kings

D Nick Ross (Regina, Kamloops, Vancouver, 2004-09) has signed for the rest of this season with Asiago (Italy, Serie A). This season, he put up 28 points, including eight goals, in 39 games with Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). . . .
F Jeremy Williams (Swift Current, 2001-04) has signed a two-year extension with Västerås (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He is second in the league’s scoring race with 43 points, including 25 goals, in 44 games.
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Gregg Sutch was a good enough hockey player that he was selected 11th overall by the Sarnia Sting in the OHL draft. In 2010, the Buffalo Sabres picked him in the fifth round of the NHL draft. . . . Before his OHL career was done, he had played 255 games for four teams over five seasons. . . . Sutch, who turned 22 on Feb. 9, walked away from the game earlier this season. . . . Right here, he documents everything you might want to know about his hockey career. This is straight from the heart and should be mandatory reading for every junior hockey player, every player who aspires to play junior hockey and every parent of every one of those same players. . . . This is the real thing!
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If you haven’t heard, there was an ugly situation during a minor hockey tournament in Winnipeg on the weekend. Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports has more right here. If you watch the video with the volume up, make sure there aren’t any young ears around because there’s plenty of hockey being spoken, especially by one woman. . . . The tournament apparently wasn’t sanctioned by Hockey Winnipeg, Hockey Manitoba or Hockey Canada, so it’s doubtful that much more will be heard about this one.
But, as Sager notes: “The timing is uncanny. Hockey Winnipeg just last week announced that hockey parents, at least one in each household with a child registered, must take an online Respect in Sports course before their daughter or son can take to the ice. Some knee-jerkers have howled, predictably, that the $12 course won't deter any of the powder-keg parents and that it's more likely than not the more level-headed co-head of the household will end up taking the course.”
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OK, shootout fans, this one is for you. The Sherwood Park Crusaders and host Drayton Valley Thunder went 19 rounds before settling an AJHL game on Monday. After playing to a 3-3 draw through OT, it was time for the skills competition. Each team’s 18 skaters shot once and the teams still were tied, and each team scored twice, so they started all over again. Drayton Valley F Jamie Waddington, who had scored in the first round, struck again, giving the Thunder a 4-3 victory. . . . Mitch Martell, who came on in relief of Marc Olivier Daigle, got the goaltending victory, while Tommy Nixon was in goal for the Crusaders.
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The Portland Winterhawks will be gunning for their 17th straight victory tonight when they play host to the Prince George Cougars. . . . Portland D Derrick Pouliot has 29 points in 18 games since playing for Canada at the world junior tournament. He has 59 points this season, five behind Shea Theodore of the Seattle Thunderbirds, who leads all WHL defencemen. . . . Pouliot also has 194 career points as he looks to become the sixth defenceman in Portland history to get to 200 points. . . . Portland F Nic Petan and Spokane Chiefs F Mitch Holmberg lead the WHL in scoring, each with 100 points. Petan shared the scoring title with teammate Brendan Leipsic last season. The last player to lead the WHL in points in consecutive seasons? F Rob Brown of the Kamloops Blazers (1985-86, 1986-87). . . .
Kootenay Ice F Sam Reinhart now owns the franchise record for most consecutive games with an assist (10). The streak is still alive, too. . . . Reinhart has 84 points, one off his career high from last season. . . . He also is riding a 17-game point streak, one behind the one that Medicine Hat Tigers F Curtis Valk has put together. F Josh Winquist of the Everett Silvertips had an 18-game run earlier this season.
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TUESDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
Prince George at Portland, 7 p.m.
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WEDNESDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
Victoria at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Regina at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Tri-City at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Prince Albert at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
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MONDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, the Victoria Royals scored the only two goals of the shootout and beat the Warriors, 4-3. . . . F Logan Nelson and F Jack Walker both scored in the skills competition as the Royals improved to 2-0-0 on this five-game swing into the East Division. Overall, they have won eight straight road games. . . . The Warriors led 2-1 after the first period and took that lead into the third. . . . F Austin Carroll, with his 30th, at 3:03, and F Axel Blomqvist, with his 21st, via the PP, at 8:23, gave the visitors the lead. . . . Moose Jaw F Jack Rodewald forced OT at 15:58. He’s got 20 goals this season. . . . D Travis Brown, dealt from Moose Jaw to Victoria in January, had two assists and was named the game’s first star. . . . Among the Warriors’ scratches was Sam Fioretti (undisclosed injury). They also had F Scott Cooke back after having served a two-game WHL suspension. . . . The Royals (41-16-4) are third in the Western Conference, three points behind the Portland Winterhawks, who have two games in hand. . . . The Warriors (15-34-9) are 10th in the Eastern Conference. . . .

In Regina, G Daniel Wapple turned aside 23 shots to lead the Pats to a 4-0 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . This was Wapple’s first shutout this season and the fourth of his career. The 18-year-old from Saskatoon now has posted shutouts with three different team; he had one with the Medicine Hat Tigers earlier this season and one with the Moose Jaw Warriors last season. . . . F Dyson Stevenson’s 27th goal of the season, a PP effort at 6:55of the second period, stood up as the winner. . . . Stevenson later scored No. 28 and also added an assist. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk got his 20th goal and had an assist. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 35 shots. . . . Regina F Dryden Hunt was helped from the ice in the first period after taking a hit from Brandon D Colton Waltz. Hunt, who has a history of brain injuries, didn’t return. . . . The Wheat Kings had F Richard Nejezchleb back in their lineup, but still are missing F Rihards Bukarts, D Rene Hunter, F Jayce Hawryluk and F John Quenneville. . . . The Wheat Kings are winless in six straight games (0-4-2). . . . The Pats (31-22-6) are back in sole possession of first place in the East Division, two points ahed of the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Wheat Kings (28-24-8) are seventh in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Swift Current. . . .

In Swift Current, the Prince Albert Raiders opened a 3-0lead and went on to a 3-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . F Collin Valcourt, with his 21st, got the Raiders rolling at 5:09 of the first period. . . . Former Broncos D Graeme Craig added his fifth goal of the season at 7:52 of the second, via the PP, and F Leon Draisaitl added more insurance, with his 26th, also on the PP, at 7:30 of the third. . . . Broncos D Julius Honka scored his 14th, on the PP, at 10:37 of the third. . . . Raiders G Nick McBride stopped 31 shots. . . . The Raiders were 2-for-3 on the PP; the Broncos were 1-for-3. . . . The Broncos were without F Nathan Burns (undisclosed injury). . . . The Raiders (27-28-4) are two points behind the Red Deer Rebels, who hold down the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Broncos (29-23-8) are sixth. . . .

In Edmonton, the Oil Kings got two goals from each of four players as they whipped the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 12-0. . . . F Henrik Samuelsson, F Curtis Lazar, F Mitch Moroz and F Brett Pollock each scored twice. Samuelsson now has 28 goals, while Lazar has 32, Moroz has 31 and Pollock 23. . . . Moroz, playing in his 200th WHL regular-season game, also had three helpers, as did D Dysin Mayo. F Reid Petryk scored his 15th goal -- a PP effort at 2:17 of the first, it was the winner -- and set up four others. . . . D Cody Corbertt, Samuelsson and F Edgars Kulda, who also had a goal, each had two assists. . . . Edmonton outshot the visitors, 53-25. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry put up his WHL-leading seventh shutout this season and the 13th of his career. Jarry also set the Edmonton franchise record for shutouts in one season, breaking his record from last season. . . . Jarry also leads the WHL with 36 victories. . . . Lethbridge F Carter Amson left at 13:34 of the second period with a checking-from-behind major and a game misconduct. . . . Edmonton was 6-for-11 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-for-3. . . . The Oil Kings set franchise single-game records for goals in one game and PP goals in one game. . . . In their last three meetings, the Oil Kings have outscored the Hurricanes, 27-3. . . . Edmonton won the season series, 5-1, with a 35-11 edge in goals. Lethbridge actually won the opener, 5-3, then lost 2-1 and 3-2. After that, it was 7-3, 8-0 and 12-0. . . . Edmonton (41-14-2) is tied with the Calgary Hitmen atop the Central Division and the Eastern Conference. Edmonton has more victories (41-39) and three games in hand. . . . Lethbridge (12-44-5) has the WHL’s poorest record, its .238 winning percentage slightly worse than that of the Kamloops Blazers (.242). . . .

In Calgary, F Brady Brassart scored three times and D Travis Sanheim drew five assists as the Hitmen dumped the Red Deer Rebels, 7-1. . . . Brassart now has 30 goals, five off his career high from last season. He has 251 points in 311 regular-season games. . . . Brassart. who has four career hat tricks, is riding a 10-game point streak, with 21 points, 10 of them goals, over that stretch. . . . Sanheim, a 17-year-old freshman from Elkhorn, Man., has 25 points, including four goals, in 55 games. He has eight assists in his last two outings. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields stopped 39 shots. . . . G Chris Driedger was on the bench in support of Shields, suggesting that his team-issued suspension has ended. . . . F Adam Tambellini had a goal and three assists for the Hitmen. It was his 13th goal and came via the PP. . . . Tambellini has seven points over his last two games and 14 in seven games. . . . The Hitmen also got two goals from F Joe Mahon, who has seven, and a goal and two assists from F Greg Chase. He’s got 31 goals. . . . D Aaron Hyman, a third-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft, got his first WHL point, an assist, on the game’s final goal. He plays for the midget AAA Northwest Calgary Athletic Association Flames. . . . The Hitmen (39-15-6), who have won seven in a row, are tied with Edmonton atop the Central Division and the Eastern Conference. . . . Red Deer (28-28-4) is 1-7-2 in its last 10 and holds a two-point lead over Prince Albert in the race for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.
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From WHL Facts (@WHLFacts): “12 - @EdmOilKings 12-0 win today was the WHL's largest margin of victory since LETH beat the Edmonton Ice 14-2 on Oct. 2, 1996.”
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One more from WHL Facts: “12 - Prior to today's 12 goals by @EdmOilKings, the last time a team put up that many was on Oct. 12, 2009 when @tigershockey beat KAM 12-5.”


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