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| Mr. Lazuli Bunting stopped by and said hello. Also said he was on his way to London for the Memorial Cup. I just hope he knows which London. |
F Bud Holloway (Seattle, 2003-08) has signed a one-year contract with Bern (Switzerland, NL A). This season with Skellefteå (Sweden, SEL), he had 33 points, including 10 goals, in 53 games. . . .
F Bohdan Višňák (Saskatoon, 2006-07) has signed a one-year contract with Nice (France, Division 1). This season with Montpellier (France, Division 1), he had 11 points, four of them goals, in 16 games.
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1. So what happened to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday afternoon? According to Jack Todd, in the Montreal Gazette, it was a combination of speed and sympathy. His piece is right here.
2. Remember J.P. Arencibia? He was a catcher with the Toronto Blue Jays, until last season ended. Arencibia says he no longer is with the Blue Jays because of unfavourable media coverage last season. Never mind that he couldn’t hit and struggled on defence. Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star has more right here.
3. A Saturday afternoon tweet from Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail: “A silent prayer for the all the sportswriters who will have to cover the Belmont Stakes, having never watched a horse race in their lives.” . . . That comes after California Chrome won the Preakness Stakes, becoming the third horse in the last 10 years to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown.
4. If you knew that Big Brown (2008) and I’ll Have Another (2012) were the other two, you know your thoroughbreds.
5. In watching the Stanley Cup playoffs and the first two games of the Memorial Cup tournament, it has become rather apparent that the unpenalized cross-check has returned to the game of hockey.
6. Does the performance by F Milan Lucic in these playoffs, from the chest-thumping to the handshake line the other night, say more about him or a lack of leadership on the Boston Bruins’ roster? Shouldn’t one of the more veteran players have taken him aside earlier and suggested he refocus his energies on what he does best, which is forecheck and cause a ruckus in the offensive zone? Or could it be that Lucic sees himself as the next Brad Marchand?
7. Will Lucic spend the off-season getting ready for the welcome he is going to receive in enemy arenas next season?
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F Ethen Frank has committed to attending Western Michigan U and playing for the Broncos. Frank, who played this season with his hometown U-16 Omaha AAA Lancers, was selected by the Victoria Royals in the fourth round of the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft.
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At the RBC Cup in Vernon, B.C., the host Vipers of the BCHL lost a semifinal game, 6-3, to the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers, whose pregame meal, again, was paid for by F Jarret Stoll of the Los Angeles Kings. Have to think Stoll is buying again before today’s final. . . . The Terriers scored two empty-net goals to put away that victory. . . . In the other semifinal, the CCHL’s Carleton Place Canadians got past the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings, 5-3, with an empty-netter. . . . Today’s final is to begin at 4:30 p.m. Pacific (7:30 Eastern), and it’s scheduled to be televised by TSN.---
The junior B Pacific Junior Hockey League has done some juggling of its conferences, what with the North Delta Devils moving to Langley and becoming the Langley Knights. They will play out of the George Preston Recreation Centre.
Thus, the Knights have moved to the Harold Brittain Conference, with the Port Moody Panthers shifting to the Tom Shaw Conference.
Here is the new alignment:
TOM SHAW CONFERENCE
Delta Ice Hawks
Grandview Steelers
North Vancouver Wolf Pack
Port Moody Panthers
Richmond Sockeyes
HAROLD BRITTAIN CONFERENCE
Abbotsford Pilots
Aldergrove Kodiaks
Langley Knights
Mission City Outlaws
Ridge Meadows Flames
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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: London vs. Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Monday: Guelph vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Edmonton vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: London vs. Guelph, 7 p.m.
Thursday: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7 p.m.
Friday: Semifinal, 7 p.m.
Saturday: No game scheduled.
Sunday, May 25: Final, TBD.
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SATURDAY’S GAME:
The OHL-champion Guelph Storm scored the game’s last four goals and beat the WHL-champion Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-2, on Day 2 of the Memorial Cup tournament. . . . Guelph went 2-for-3 on the PP, scoring its first two goals with the man advantage. . . . Guelph got two goals from each of F Kerby Rychel and F Tyler Bertuzzi. Rychel is the son of former NHLer Warren Rychel, who now owns a piece of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and is the team’s general manager. Bertuzzi is a nephew to Detroit Red Wings F Todd Bertuzzi, who also played for the Storm. . . . Rychel scored the game’s first goal, with 4.2 seconds left in the first period, scoring on the PP after a soft roughing penalty to Edmonton D Aaron Irving. . . . The Oil Kings roared back early in the second period, getting goals 27 seconds apart from F Henrik Samuelsson (1:19) and D Ashton Sautner (1:46). . . . Guelph G Justin Nichols, who stopped 37 shots, was perfect after that. . . . Rychel tied the game at 7:40 of the second, giving Guelph goals on its first two PP shots of the game. That goal came as Jarry left his net to play the puck, a move that resulted in Edmonton F Mads Eller rifling an attempted clearance off Rychel and into the net. . . . At that point, Rychel had scored his club’s last four goals, as he scored the tying and winning goals as the Storm eliminated the North Bay Battalion in the OHL final. . . . F Brock McGinn gave Guelph its first lead at 14:52. . . . Bertuzzi added his goals at 5:46 and 15:49 of the third period. . . . Edmonton was 0-for-5 on the PP. . . . Jarry stopped 27 shots. . . . The Oil Kings have a quick turnaround as they meet the host London Knights tonight.
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From Edmonton Sun columnist Terry Jones (@sunterryjones): “Good gawd. Attempt from behind own net by Mads Eller to ice puck on power play hits Rychel and in off Jarry. Steve Smith flashback. It's 2-2.”
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From Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge): “Not a must-win game for the Knights and Oil Kings (today), but loser almost certainly needs to go through tiebreaker game to win Cup. Hard.”
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