F Hnat Domenichelli (Kamloops, 1992-96) has announced his retirement after 12 seasons in Switzerland NL A. He started the season with Lugano, then then transferred to Bern (both Switzerland, NL A). With Lugano, he had seven points, including three goals, in 10 games. With Bern, he put up 17 points, nine of them goals, in 32 games.
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A trust fund has been established to assist the Bozon family with medical- and rehabilitation-related costs with which they now are faced.
You are able to make a donation at any BMO Bank of Montreal branch in Western Canada.
Should you live outside of that area and want to donate, please mail donations to:
Western Hockey League
c/o Tim Bozon
Father David Bauer Arena
2424 University Drive NW
Calgary AB
T2N 3Y9
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F Jayce Hawryluk of the Brandon Wheat Kings was taken to Brandon General Hospital
by ambulance after his club’s 5-4 victory over the Regina Pats on Wednesday night.
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| JAYCE HAWRYLUK |
After the game, Kelly McCrimmon, the Wheat Kings’ owner/general manager and head coach, reported:
“Jayce was taken to hospital after tonight's game. While concerned the club believes it is not serious. Until we have more information we can not pinpoint the cause. Jayce is resting comfortably.”
Hawryluk, who turned 18 on Jan. 1, is from Roblin, Man. A sophomore, he had 64 points, including 24 goals, in 59 regular-season games. He was a second-round selection by Brandon in the 2011 bantam draft.
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It is pretty much a given in the hockey world that a team’s dressing room belongs to the coaches and players.
It has long been seen as a sanctuary for the players and there often is a coaches’ office attached to it. In most
situations, if someone from management wants to see a coach or a player, that person is beckoned upstairs, if you will, for that meeting. If a general manager, for example, needs to be in a dressing room, it oftentimes is only a brief visit.That doesn’t seem to be the case with the Saskatoon Blades, nor will it be as things evolve there under the ownership of the father-and-son team of Mike and Colin Priestner.
Curtis Leschyshyn, a former Blades defenceman who went on to an NHL career, was an assistant coach in Saskatoon this season. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix quotes Leschyshyn in Wednesday’s newspaper:
Leschyshyn, who revealed last week that he wouldn’t be back with the Blades, said that former owner Jack Brodsky “had ideas, but would respect the decisions that the coaches and (general manager Lorne Molleken) would have. Colin obviously wants to be real involved and be in the locker-room.
"Those were some of the things that, as a player, I never saw in my career nor do I think is part of the game. The room is a very special place for the players. It always should be that way."
Colin Priestner, the franchise’s minority owner and managing partner, said he isn’t about to change his ways.
"Like I said in the first press conference, I felt like I needed to know every player, every employee, every manager and everyone in the organization," he said. "We weren't going to be able to properly identify what we had if I was just going to sit in my office with the door locked all day. That's just not how I operate anyway."
The Priestners, with help from TSN/NHL Network analyst Craig Button, who is a former Calgary Flames GM, are looking for a new general manager and a head coach after dropping Molleken and head coach Dave Struch on Tuesday. It sounds like the new GM and head coach will have to be prepared to have an owner who makes regular visits to the dressing room.
Nugent-Bowman’s complete story is right here.
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A tweet from Kelly Chase (@Chasenpucks39), a former Blades player who was part of a group that attempted to purchase the franchise last summer: “Extremely unfortunate that the @bladeshockey have let go of David Struch great job with very little. May be a blessing.”
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Greg Pocock, a Prince George businessman who heads up a group that is in the process of purchasing the Cougars, has told the Prince George Citizen that the franchise will be staying where it is. “We're not buying a team to move a team, we're buying a team to keep it in Prince George," Pocock told the Citizen‘s Ted Clarke. . . . That story is right here. . . .
Over time, Kelly McCrimmon has become the face of the Brandon Wheat Kings. These days, he is the owner, governor, general manager and head coach coach. Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post takes a look at McCrimmon’s journey right here. . . .
If you are planning to attend Game 5 of the first-round series between the Tri-City Americans and host Kelowna Rockets on Friday, note that the starting time has been moved from 7:05 to 7:30 p.m. . . . The starting time was changed as the game will be televised in Canada on Sportsnet. The Rockets lead the series, 3-1. . . . D MacKenzie Johnston, 20, has joined the Central league’s Tulsa Oilers for the remainder of the season. Johnston completed his junior eligibility with the Saskatoon Blades. Johnston, who played five seasons in the WHL, was dealt by the Kelowna Rockets to the Prince Albert Raiders early this season, and later traded to the Blades. . . . The Oilers are 32-28-3 and have clinched a playoff spot. . . .
The game-winning goal in the Seattle Thunderbirds’ 4-3 OT victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips on Tuesday night has been changed. F Mathew Barzal had been credited with the goal. It was changed Wednesday to Justin Hickman from Barzal and Ryan Gropp. . . . Following Game 1, the winning goal, that had been credited to Seattle D Shea Theodore, was changed to Gropp. . . .
In the U.S., the National Labor Relations Board has ruled that football players at Northwestern University in Illinois are employees and, as such, are eligible to go through the process of forming a union. . . . There is more on that right here.
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WEDNESDAY'S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, D Cody Corbett and F Mitch Moroz each had two goals and three assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings dropped the Raiders, 6-2. . . . The Oil Kings swept the series. . . . Edmonton took a 3-2 lead into the latter stages of the second period when it got a PP goal from Corbett at 16:26. . . . Moroz, with his second of the game and the series, added another PP goal at 1:38 of the third and F Curtis Lazar scored at 13:57. . . . F Henrik Samuelsson had two assists for Edmonton. . . . Edmonton was 3-for-5 on the PP; Prince Albert was 0-for-2. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 25 shots, 10 fewer than Cole Cheveldave of the Raiders. . . . Edmonton has appeared in the WHL’s last three championship finals. It’s first-round record on those playoffs now is 12-1. . . .
In Brandon, F Jayce Hawryluk scored three times and added an assist as the Wheat Kings got past the Regina Pats, 5-4. . . . Hawryluk was taken to Brandon General Hospital after the game, where he was said to be resting comfortably. . . . The Wheat Kings, who lead the series 3-0 and can wrap it up on home ice on Friday night, trailed 4-1 before the game was 14 minutes old. . . . Brandon F Jesse Gabrielle scored the game’s first goal, at 5:29, but the Pats came back with four in a row, the last three in a span of 1:45, with two of those coming from F Dryden Hunt on the PP. . . . D Jesse Zgraggen (7:17), (12:10), F Carter Hansen (12:40) and Hunt (13:55) gave Regina its three-goal lead. . . . Hawryluk scored at 15:39 and 18:01, and Brandon trailed 4-3 going into the second period. . . . F Chad Robinson tied it with a shorthanded goal at 3:19 of the second and Hawryluk got the winner at 15:10 of the third. . . . Hawryluk has four goals and four assists in the series’ three games. . . . Brandon F John Quenneville had three assists. His older brother, Peter, returned to Brandon’s lineup after missing Game 2, as did D Eric Roy. . . . Brandon’s line of Hawryluk, John Quenneville and Gabrielle combined for nine points. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk had two assists. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny, who didn’t practice on Tuesday, stopped 29 shots. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple, out since March 5 with an ankle injury, returned to the ice and stopped 20 shots. . . . Regina was 2-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-2. . . .
In Swift Current, freshman F Jake DeBrusk scored his third goal of the series at 5:06 of OT as the Broncos got past the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 in Medicine Hat on Saturday night. . . . DeBrusk, a 17-year-old from Edmonton, has three goals in the series. He had 15 goals in 72 regular-season games, when he had a goal and eight assists in his last six games. . . . The Tigers took a 2-0 first-period lead on two goals by F Curtis Valk, at 7:23 and 8:35. . . . The Broncos got two goals form Graham Black, his first and second of the series, at 1:06 of the second period and 1:01 of the third. . . . F Jay Merkley had two assists for Swift Current, while F Trevor Cox did the same for Medicine Hat. . . . Valk has three goals in the series. . . . The battle between the two European goaltenders continued, as the Broncos’ Eetu Laurikainen, who is from Finland, stopped 40 shots, and Marek Langhamer of the Tigers, who is from Czech Republic, turned aside 42. . . . The Tigers were 0-for-4 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-for-5. . . . F Steve Owre was back with the Tigers after missing five games. . . .
In Vancouver, F Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and two assists as the Portland Winterhawks dumped the Giants, 6-1, to sweep the first-round series. . . . Portland, the WHL’s defending champion, is 10-0 in its last 10 series against Western Conference opponents. The last time Portland lost to a conference opponent was in the spring of 2010 when Vancouver won a conference semifinal in six games. . . . The Winterhawks are into the second round for a fifth straight season. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic opened the scoring with his WHL-leading fifth goal of these playoffs. That was at 16:09 of the first period, on a PP. . . . Portland had a 3-0 lead when Vancouver F Carter Popoff scored, on a PP, at 9:47 of the second. . . . Leipsic and F Keegan Iverson had a goal and an assist each for Portland, which got 32 saves from G Brendan Burke. . . . Vancouver starter Payton Lee stopped 10 of 13 shots, leaving after Portland’s third goal at 17:05 of the first period. . . . Jared Rathjen came on to turn aside 29 of 32 shots. . . . Rathjen wasn’t on the bench for Game 3, as was indicated here yesterday. The WHL’s online score sheet was in error. Cody Porter, from the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors, backed up Lee. . . . Rathjen had needed 15 stitches to close a cut near an eye after he was struck by a puck while on the bench in Game 2 in Portland on Saturday. . . . The Winterhawks, the conference’s No. 2 seed, outscored the No. 7 Giants, 19-7, in the four games. Portland had the WHL’s top-ranked regular-season PP, at 27.5 per cent. It scored six PP goals in 27 opportunities (22.2 per cent) in the series. . . . Vancouver scored one PP goal in 14 opportunities in the four games. . . . Going back to the regular season, the Winterhawks have won 11 in a row and 32 of 33. . . . Including the regular season, Portland went 8-0-0 against Vancouver this season. . . . Portland D Derrick Pouliot picked up one assist, giving him 47 career playoff points to tie the franchise record held by Glen Wesley (1983-87). . . . Vancouver F Tim Traber was given a major for clipping at 18:21 of the third period for a hit on Portland D Keoni Texeira. Traber, 20, was playing in the final junior game of his career. . . .
In Spokane, F Austin Carroll celebrated his 20th birthday by scoring twice and adding an assist as the Victoria Royals beat the Chiefs, 6-1. . . . The Royals, who won two OT games on home ice, lead the series 3-0 and can wrap it up tonight in Spokane. . . . The Royals led this one 4-0 after one period on Carroll’s first two goals of the series and singles from F Ben Walker and D Jordan Fransoo. . . . Walker scored 11 seconds into the game, which is four seconds off the WHL record held by F Trevor Linden of the Medicine Hat Tigers. Linden scored seven seconds into a 6-5 victory over the visiting Saskatoon Blades on April 15, 1988. . . . F Logan Nelson and D Travis Brown each had a goal and an assist for the Royals. . . . F Brandon Magee had three assists for Victoria, which went into this series having lost six straight first-round series, four of which came when it was the Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?) . . . In those series, the Chilliwack/Victoria teams were 6-24. . . . The Royals were 3-for-6 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-for-2. . . . Victoria G Patrik Polivka stopped 20 shots. . . . Spokane starter Eric Williams allowed five goals on 22 shots. Garret Hughson came on midway through the third and stopped one of two shots. . . . The Chiefs have lost their last seven playoff games. . . . According to Marlon Martens, the radio voice of the Royals, Victoria set franchise playoff records for fewest shots against in a period (3), fastest goal to start a game or period (0:11), most goals for in a road game (6) and most goals in one period (4). . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., F Tyson Baillie scored his first goal of these playoffs and added two assists to help the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Rockets lead the series 3-1 and can wrap it up at home on Friday night. . . . Kelowna, which got a goal and an assist from each of D Madison Bowey and F Justin Kirkland, scored the game’s first three goals. . . . The Americans got to within 3-1 and 4-2 but weren’t able to close the gap to a singleton. . . . F Phil Tot and F Brian Williams each scored his third goal of the series for the Americans. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 25 shots, while Tri-City’s Eric Comrie turned aside 27. . . . The Rockets were 1-for-5 on the PP; the Americans were 0-for-4. . . .
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THE FIRST ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
(x - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
EDMONTON (1) vs. PRINCE ALBERT (8)
(Edmonton wins, 4-0)
Season series: Edmonton, 2-1-1; Prince Albert, 2-2-0.
Saturday: Prince Albert 3 at Edmonton 5 (6,534)
Sunday: Prince Albert 1 at Edmonton 3 (6,584)
Tuesday: Edmonton 4 at Prince Albert 3 (2,881)
Wednesday: Edmonton 6 at Prince Albert 2 (2,727)
INJURIES
Edmonton: F Brandon Baddock, 3-5 weeks; D Blake Orban, indefinite; F Reid Petryk, day-to-day.
Prince Albert: D Graeme Craig, indefinite.
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REGINA (2) vs. BRANDON (7)
(Brandon leads, 3-0)
Season series: Brandon, 5-3-0; Regina, 3-3-2.
Saturday: Brandon 6 at Regina 3 (6,200)
Sunday: Brandon 8 at Regina 4 (5,014)
Wednesday: Regina 4 at Brandon 5 (3,547)
Friday: Regina at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
x-Saturday: Brandon at Regina, 7 p.m.
x-Monday: Regina vs. Brandon, at Dauphin, Man., 7 p.m.
x-Wednesday: Brandon at Regina, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Brandon: None.
Regina: D Tye Hand, indefinite.
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CALGARY (3) vs. KOOTENAY (6)
(Series tied, 2-2)
Season series: Calgary, 4-4-0; Kootenay, 4-2-2.
Thursday: Kootenay 5 at Calgary 2 (6,649)
Saturday: Kootenay 0 at Calgary 5 (9,019)
Monday: Calgary 7 at Kootenay 6 (OT) (1,992)
Tuesday: Calgary 4 at Kootenay 5 (2,102)
Thursday: Kootenay at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Calgary at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
x-Monday: Kootenay at Calgary, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Calgary: F Cal Babych, day-to-day; F Connor Rankin, day-to-day.
Kootenay: F Tim Bozon, indefinite; F Ryan Chynoweth, indefinite; D Tyler King, day-to-day; D Tanner Faith, 3-5 months.
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MEDICINE HAT (4) vs. SWIFT CURRENT (5)
(Series tied, 2-2)
Season series: Medicine Hat, 2-2-0; Swift Current, 2-2-0.
Friday: Swift Current 1 at Medicine Hat 2 (3,512)
Saturday: Swift Current 2 at Medicine Hat 4 (3743)
Tuesday: Medicine Hat 1 at Swift Current 3 (2,840)
Wednesday: Medicine Hat 2 at Swift Current 3 (OT) (2,890)
Saturday: Swift Current at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: Medicine Hat at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
x-Tuesday: Swift Current at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Medicine Hat: F Anthony Ast, indefinite; F Gavin Broadhead, day-to-day; F Hunter Shinkaruk, indefinite.
Swift Current: None.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
KELOWNA (1) vs. TRI-CITY (8)
(Kelowna leads, 3-1)
Season series: Kelowna, 4-4-0; Tri-City, 0-3-1.
Saturday: Tri-City 1 at Kelowna 3 (5,827)
Sunday: Tri-City 1 at Kelowna 3 (5,041)
Tuesday: Kelowna 3 at Tri-City 4 (2,010)
Wednesday: Kelowna 5 at Tri-City 3 (2,189)
Friday: Tri-City at Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
x-Saturday: Kelowna at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
x-Tuesday: Tri-City at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
(NOTE: Tri-City plays home games in Kennewick, Wash.)
INJURIES
Kelowna: D Jesse Lees, indefinite.
Tri-City: F Taylor Vickerman, indefinite.
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PORTLAND (2) vs. VANCOUVER (7)
(Portland wins, 4-0)
Season series: Portland, 4-0-0; Vancouver, 0-3-1.
Friday: Vancouver 3 at Portland 4 (9,756)
Saturday: Vancouver 0 at Portland 3 (10,947)
Tuesday: Portland 6 at Vancouver 3 (5,680)
Wednesday: Portland 6 at Vancouver 1 (5,142)
INJURIES
Portland: None.
Vancouver: F Tyler Benson, indefinite; G Jared Rathjen, day-to-day; F Jakob Stukel, indefinite; D Dalton Thrower, indefinite.
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VICTORIA (3) vs. SPOKANE (6)
(Victoria leads, 3-0)
Season series: Victoria, 1-3-0; Spokane, 3-1-0.
Saturday: Spokane 1 at Victoria 2 (OT) (6,615)
Sunday: Spokane 3 at Victoria 4 (OT) (4,629)
Wednesday: Victoria 6 at Spokane 1 (3,412)
Thursday: Victoria at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
x-Saturday: Spokane at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
x-Monday: Victoria at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
x-Wednesday: Spokane at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
INJURIES
Victoria: None.
Spokane: D Colton Bobyk, week-to-week; F Adam Hascic, day-to-day; F Blair Oneschuk, week-to-week.
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SEATTLE (4) vs. EVERETT (5)
(Seattle leads, 3-0)
Season series: Seattle, 5-4-1; Everett, 5-4-1.
Saturday: Everett 1 at Seattle 2 (4,650)
Sunday: Seattle 3 at Everett 1 (4,150)
Tuesday: Everett 3 at Seattle 4 (OT) (5,176)
Friday: Seattle at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
x-Saturday: Everett at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
x-Monday: Seattle at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
x-Wednesday: Everett at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
(NOTE: Seattle plays home games in Kent, Wash.)
INJURIES
Seattle: F Connor Honey, indefinite.
Everett: F Kohl Baum, indefinite; F Tyler Sandhu, day-to-day.
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From the Kootenay Ice (@WHLKootenayICE): “Between Games 3 & 4 our fans raised $1,579.27 for the Tim Bozon Trust Fun. Best fans in the world #tb20 #getwelltim”
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One more from the Ice: “Huge high five goes out to local businesses in Cranbrook. They donated $1,525 to the Tim Bozon Trust Fund #kice #tb20 #getwelltim”
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From Darren Steinke (@MHND_Steinke) of the Medicine Hat News: “Always a classic site on the road with #MHTigers in playoffs. Morning skate and Bob Ridley is being interviewed by Regina's CTV.”
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From the Edmonton Oil Kings (@EdmOilKings): “True Story: When we showed up to the Art Hauser Centre for morning skate today, there was a broom sitting outside the locker room #omen?”
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