Hitmen, Ice keep rolling

“Winnipeg minor hockey officials are investigating a violent incident at a Fargo tournament Sunday, when adults from two Winnipeg teams traded punches in front of 14 eight-year-old boys,” reports the Winnipeg Free Press. . . . It seems that things got out hand in one team’s dressing room. Yes, this is bizarre. . . . That story is right here.
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The Portland Winterhawks have signed F Reed Morrison, a 15-year-old list player from Calgary. He has 57 points, including 22 goals, in 29 games for the CRAA Gold team in the Alberta Minor Midget Hockey League. The Winterhawks added him to their list in October.
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With all that has gone on with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, on and off the ice, Dylan Purcell of the Lethbridge Herald has tried to figure out just where to point a finger. That piece is right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
Kootenay at Regina, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Portland at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, the Hitmen got two goals and two assists from F Brady Brassart as they won their fourth in a row, beating the Prince Albert Raiders, 7-2. . . . Brassart has 27 goals. . . . Calgary F Connor Rankin drew four assists and was plus-6, while F Jake Virtanen scored twice, giving him 35, and added an assist. . . . The line of Brassart, Rankin and Virtanen combined for 11 points and plus-13. . . . Calgary F Pavel Padakin scored his 20th goal. . . . The Raiders held 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the first period. Virtanen tied it at 18:23 of the first period with his first goal and the Hitmen went from there, scoring the game’s last five goals. . . . The Hitmen had G Evan Johnson, who plays for the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild, on the bench backing up starter Mack Shields. Johnson is 17-3-2, 1.32, .945 with the Wild. . . . Chris Driedger, Calgary’s No. 1 goaltender, was scratched for disciplinary reasons. Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun reported that Hitmen head coach Mike Williamson said the length of the discipline “is to be determined. . . . All we’re saying is, it’s team discipline.” . . . Prince Albert D Josh Morrissey scored his 20th goal of the season. He is the second Raiders defenceman with 20 goals, behind Emanuel Viveiros, who scored 22 times in 1985-86. . . . If you missed it, Viveiros is the head coach of the Austrian men’s team at the Olympic Winter Games. Former WHL coach Rob Daum is an assistant coach with the Austrian side. . . . The Hitmen (36-15-6) moved to within three points of the Eastern Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings, who hold three games in hand. . . . The Raiders (25-27-3) remain five points out of a playoff spot. . . .

In Moose Jaw, F Sam Reinhart scored twice and G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 34 shots to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 3-1 victory over the Warriors. . . . Reinhart, who ran his point streak to 14 games, has 29 goals. Twitter chatter last night suggested that a scoring change might be in order, one that would give Reinhart an assist on the game’s first goal. . . . Reinhart has 32 points, including 13 goals, in that 14-game point streak. . . . On the season, Reinhart has 78 points in 44 games. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau scored his 36th goal and added an assist for the Ice. He got the visitors on the board just 1:01 into the game. . . . Descheneau has 78 points in 54 games and is tied with Reinhart for fourth in the WHL points race. . . . Moose Jaw G Justin Paulic turned aside 35 shots. . . . Ice G Mitch Skapski made his sixth straight start and put up his 10th straight victory. . . . Ice F Ryan Chynoweth returned after missing six games with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Ice (31-21-4), which has won six in a row, is fifth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and four in front of the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Miles Koules had two goals and two assists to lead the Tigers to a 6-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Koules, the son of former Wheat Kings F Oren Koules, has 19 goals. . . . Medicine Hat F Curtis Valk scored the game’s first goal, his 30th of the season. That extended his point streak to 15 games, the third-longest in the WHL this season. He’s got 23 points, 12 of them goals, in that streak. The longest belongs to F Josh Winquist of the Everett Silvertips, who put together an 18-gamer from Oct. 20 to Dec. 3. . . . Medicine Hat F Anthony Ast enjoyed the first two-goal game of his career. He’s got 11 goals this season. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford wasn’t able to beat Brandon G Curtis Honey on a second-period penalty shot. . . . The Tigers (33-20-3) are fourth in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Wheat Kings (28-22-6) are sixth in the Eastern Conference, but are only two points behind the East Division-leading Swift Current Broncos. The East Division pennant winner will be the conference’s No. 2 seed when the playoffs open.

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