G Chris Mason (Victoria/Prince George, 1993-97) has signed a one-year contract with the Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL). This season with Ritten/Renon (Italy, Serie A), he was 2.18 and .927 in 36 games. He had the best GAA in Serie A as he led his club to the league championship. . . .
F Max Brandl (Prince Albert, Portland, 2007-09) signed a one-year contract with the Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, DEL2). This season, with Landshut (Germany, DEL2), he had 22 points, including 10 goals, in 42 games.
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1. Four on-ice officials missed what should have been a major penalty in the first period on Thursday night when Montreal Canadiens F Brendan Prust drilled New York Rangers F Derek Stepan. . . . On Friday, Prust was given a two-game suspension. Also on Friday, the Rangers revealed that Stepan, who missed a couple of shifts before returning to finish the game, has a broken jaw and is out indefinitely. . . . Shortly after that hit, with emotions raw, New York F Daniel Carcillo was ejected after he got physical with a linesman during a scrum. On Friday, Carcillo was suspended for 10 games. . . . Thinking out loud: 1. How is it that four on-ice officials miss what should have been an easy call on Prust? 2. If that call is made, does the Carcillo incident happen? 3. Is bumping a linesman really five times as bad as breaking an opponent’s jaw?
2. What does Larry Brooks of the New York Post think of the NHL’s response to Prust’s hit on Stepan? Well, let’s say that he wasn’t impressed. Brooks’ piece is right here.
3. Can anyone explain why there were referees on the ice during the overtime periods in the Memorial Cup game on Friday night? Hey, if they aren’t going to call the obvious penalties, let’s get them off the ice so they aren’t getting in the way.
4. While the two referees didn’t see any penalties, OHL commissioner David Branch saw at least three suspendable offences.
5. The Brandon Wheat Kings aren’t likely to have any problems recruiting F Stelio Mattheos, the first overall selection in the 2014 WHL bantam draft. “My family and I, we’ve done our homework on the WHL,” Mattheos, a Winnipegger, told Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun. “We think it’s a great league for development and that’s where I want to play. I want to play for the Wheat Kings one day.” . . . According to Henderson, Mattheos, who is attending Brandon’s prospects camp this weekend, is expected to play next season for the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Jim Dobson (New Westminster, Portland, 1977-80) is going to help coach the Fort Vancouver Vipers of the Northern Pacific Hockey League. Dobson worked as an assistant coach with the Seattle Thunderbirds and also spent one season (1987-88) as their head coach. . . . Paul Danzer of the Vancouver Columbian reports that Dobson, known forever as Dobber, and Mike Dickerman will work together as the Vipers’ co-coaches. Dickerman is coming off his first season as a head coach; the Vipers didn’t win a game. In fact, they have won two of 80 games over the last two seasons. . . . Danzer writes that the eight-team NPHL is “a third-tier USA Hockey-sanctioned junior league for players ages 16-20.”
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MEMORIAL CUP
(at London, Ont., all times Eastern)
(all games televised by Sportsnet)
Friday: Val-d’Or 1, London 0 (8,863)
Saturday: Guelph 5, Edmonton 2 (8,842)
Sunday: Edmonton 5, London 2 (8,863)
Monday: Guelph 6, Val-d’Or 3 (8,796)
Tuesday: Val-d’Or 4, Edmonton 3 (2OT) (8,745)
Wednesday: Guelph 7, London 2 (8,863)
Thursday: No game scheduled.
Friday’s semifinal: Edmonton 4, Val-d’Or 3 (3OT) (8,776)
Saturday: No game scheduled.
Sunday: Guelph vs. Edmonton, 4 p.m.
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FRIDAY’S GAME:
F Curtis Lazar ended the longest game in Memorial Cup tournament history as the Edmonton Oil Kings beat the Val-d’Or Foreurs 4-3 in the semifinal game. . . . Lazar scored at 2:42 of the third OT period, redirecting a point shot by D Cody Corbett that followed a turnover in the Foreurs’ zone. . . . It was the first time in tournament history that a semifinal game went to double OT. . . . In the end, it was the longest game in Memorial Cup tournament erasing one from 2005. In that one, the Ottawa 67’s beat the Kelowna Rockets 3-2 in 95:31. The 2005 tournament also was played in London. . . . In the round-robin portion, Val-d’Or got past Edmonton, 4-3, in double OT, as well. . . . Between that game and the semifinal, the two teams played 183:57, or more than nine periods. . . . Val-d’Or D Guillaume Gelinas, returning from a knee injury suffered on Monday, forced OT when he drifted a point shot through traffic and past G Tristan Jarry with 36 seconds left in the third period. . . . The QMJHL’s defenceman of the year, Gelinas went out with a knee injury during a 6-3 loss to Guelph on Monday. Obviously not 100 per cent, Gelinas wasn’t his usual explosive self, although he did make some plays in the third period before scoring his first goal of the event. . . . The Foreurs opened the scoring, with D Phil Pietroniro getting his first of the tournament at 1:49 of the first period, but then watched as the Oil Kings scored three in a row. . . . Pietroniro later left with a left shoulder/collarbone injury and didn’t return. . . . F Mads Eller got his first, at 9:00 of the opening period, with Edmonton getting the lead at 6:34 of the second when F Mitch Moroz struck on the PP. That was Moroz’s first goal of the week. . . . Edmonton F Edgars Kulda scored his third goal of the tournament at 9:45 of the second. . . . The Oil Kings seemed in control until Foreurs D Randy Gazzola got his second goal at 17::52 of the second period. . . . Jarry finished with 46 saves, five fewer than Antoine Bibeau of the Foreurs. . . . Edmonton was 1-for-3 on the PP; Val-d’Or was 0-for-4. . . . After handing out six minor penalties in the second period, referees Brett Iverson and Scott Oakman called just two in the game’s final 72:29. . . . The QMJHL had won the previous three tournaments. The WHL hasn’t won since 2008 in Spokane.
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From Neate Sager of Yahoo! Canada Sports: “First time since 1990 the same two #mcmemorialcup teams have played double overtime twice. Other time was the Oshawa-Kitchener classics.” That was in Hamilton, where Oshawa won them both -- 5-4 in the final round-robin game and 4-3 in the championship game.
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From Not Ron Robison (@NotRonRobison: “SportsNet guys said Val d'Or went mini golfing and Edmonton went bowling on their days off. Portland would've been figuring out how to win.”
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