F Justin Taylor (Medicine Hat, Red Deer, 1999-2001, 2003-04) has been released by Mörrum (Sweden, Division 1) at his request. In 18 games, he had six goals and five assists. Mörrum assistant GM Jens Svensson: “(Taylor) wanted to stay but, unfortunately, his wife could not.” Taylor’s wife didn’t receive a Swedish residence permit.
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I hope my story will help people who are going through a similar situation. If I can affect even one young kid, that's all that matters.
— Dickson Liong (@DLLiong) February 26, 2015
If you only do one thing today, click on this link right here and spend three minutes of your day watching a CTV Vancouver story on Dickson Liong, a young writer who covers the Vancouver Canucks and Vancouver Giants, and whose stories you sometimes read on this blog. . . . He’s a good friend and he is a truly great story. . . . Go ahead and watch his story. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
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Bob Brown, the architect behind the Kamloops Blazers’ three Memorial Cup titles in the early 1990s, will be inducted into the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame on April 11. Brown was the general manager of a community-owned team that became was a major junior dynasty in the late 1980s and into the ’90s, winning the 1992, 1994 and 1995 Memorial Cups. . . . During Brown’s run, the Blazers won 10 Western Conference titles and five WHL championships. . . . With Brown at the helm, the Blazers were 13-6 in Memorial Cup games, 108-54 in the WHL playoffs and 484-202-33 in regular-season play.
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Danny Schur, a film-maker from Winnipeg, is working on a documentary about Terry Sawchuk, one of the greatest of all NHL goaltenders. Terry Sawchuk — The Winnipeg Years is filming now and, hopefully, will be ready for the start of the 2015-16 season. . . . Sara Calnek of CBC News has more right here.
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An unnamed hockey father from Kamloops may be charged following an altercation with on-ice officials who worked a BCHL game between his son’s team, the Merritt Centennials, and the host Penticton Vees on Feb. 20. Joe Fries of the Penticton Herald reports that RCMP are investigating the incident. Fries’ story is right here.
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The Prince George Cougars completed their three-day tour of minor hockey association’s on Wednesday by presenting the folks in 100 Mile House with a cheque for $1,500. The Cougars, who are on their way to Kent, Wash., and a Friday night date with the Seattle Thunderbirds, did the same thing in Quesnel and Williams Lake earlier in the week. In all three communities, the Cougars took part in minor hockey practices, chalk talks, autograph signings, etc. . . .
According to Brett Smith of the Prince Albert Daily Herald, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid “guaranteed his team would make the playoffs” during a Wednesday breakfast session with season-ticket holders. . . . The Raiders are nine points out of a playoff spot as they head into two games in Alberta this weekend. They’ll play in Red Deer on Friday and Edmonton on Sunday. Prince Albert has 12 games remaining in the regular season. . . . Smith’s story is right here. . . .
It will be a year on Sunday since Kootenay Ice F Tim Bozon was diagnosed with Neisseria meningitis. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post checks in with Bozon right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
B.C. DIVISION: Kelowna (11 games remaining) won at home to stay two points ahead of Brandon atop the WHL’s overall standings. . . . Victoria (11) lost in Kelowna, but will finish second in the division.U.S. DIVISION: Everett (11) lost on the road and Portland (11) picked up a loser point at home. Everett leads the division by three points over Portland. . . . Portland is seven points ahead of third-place Seattle (12). . . . Spokane (13) won at home and holds down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot, three points ahead of idle Tri-City (11).
EAST DIVISION: Brandon (11) won at home and remained two points behind Kelowna, which leads the WHL’s overall standings. . . . Regina (12) picked up a loser point at home and remains second, a comfortable nine points ahead of Swift Current (11), which lost on the road.
CENTRAL DIVISION: Calgary (11) won on the road and now leads the division by four points over Medicine Hat (11), which lost on the road. . . . Red Deer (12) won on the road and trails Medicine Hat by six points, but is four points ahead of Kootenay (10), which also won on the road. . . . Kootenay holds down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot, seen points ahead of Edmonton (11), which lost at home.
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In Brandon, G Jordan Papirny, in his 100th WHL regular-season appearance, stopped 32 shots to help the Wheat Kings to a 5-0 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Papirny has six career shutouts, five of them this season. . . . F Rihards Bukarts’ 26th goal, at 15:58 of the second period, stood up as the winner. Bukarts scored twice. . . . D Eric Roy, F John Quenneville and F Tim McGauley each had two assists. . . . McGauley’s point streak now is at 17 games. He has 36 points, including 24 assists, during that stretch. . . . D Ivan Provorov returned to Brandon’s lineup after a six-game injury-related absence. He scored his 13th goal and also had an assist. . . . The game marked the last time, barring a playoff meeting, that the three Quenneville brothers will play in the same WHL game. John, 18, and Peter, 20, who had one assist, play for the Wheaties; David, 16, is a defenceman with the Tigers. . . . G Logan Thompson returned from a case of pink eye to back up Papirny. G Alex Moodie remains out with a suspected concussion. . . . The Wheat Kings (45-10-6), who won the season series 4-0-0, have won two in a row. . . . The Tigers (37-21-3) have lost three in a row. . . . 
In Regina, F Jaedon Descheneau scored in the fifth round of a shootout to give the Kootenay Ice a 5-4 victory over the Pats. . . . With the Ice shooting first, he was the only scorer in the shootout. . . . Regina D Connor Hobbs forced OT with his second goal of the season, but his first since being acquired by Regina from Medicine Hat in January, with 45.2 seconds left in the third period. . . . The Pats led 2-0 after one period and 3-1 early in the second. . . . Descheneau scored his 29th goal at 8:25 of the second, F Sam Reinhart got No. 16 at 19:27, and F Tim Bozon gave his guys a 4-3 lead with his 29th at 11:11 of the third. . . . F Austin Vetterl and D Rinat Valiev, the latter returning after missing a game with the flu, each had two assists for the Ice. . . . F Taylor Cooper had a goal, his 23rd, and two assists for the Pats, while freshman F Sam Steel scored his 16th goal. He now has a team-high 50 points, in 55 games. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 32 shots, five fewer than Regina’s Daniel Wapple. . . . The Pats were without F Austin Wagner, who is expected to be out for up to two weeks. He was injured Monday when he collided with teammate Colby Williams. . . . The Ice (32-27-3) is 4-0-2 in its last six games. . . . Regina (33-19-8) had won its previous four games. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story right here. . . . 
In Saskatoon, F Cameron Hebig and F Brett Stovin each scored twice as the Blades dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 6-2. . . . Hebig, who also had an assist, has 16 goals; Stovin has 27. . . . Blades F Nick Zajac had two assists. . . . The Blades led 2-0 at 7:11 of the first period and were ahead 3-1 and 6-1 at the intermissions. . . . F Colby Cave got his 29th goal for the Broncos, while F Jake DeBrusk had two assists. . . . Saskatoon G Brock Hamm turned aside 46 shots. . . . Saskatoon was 1-for-1 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-for-3. . . . The Blades (18-39-4) snapped a four-game losing streak (0-3-1). . . . The Broncos (30-26-5) had won their previous three games. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story right here. . . . 
In Edmonton, D Haydn Fleury broke a 1-1 tie at 6:41 of the third period as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Oil Kings, 2-1. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer scored his 20th goal at 9:09 of the second period, on a PP. . . . Red Deer F Adam Musil tied it with his 12th goal, at 5:19 of the third, on a PP. Fleury drew the primary assist. . . . Rebels G Rylan Toth stopped 40 shots, 19 more than Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry. . . . The Rebels remain without F Conner Bleackley, their captain. Brent Sutter, the Rebels' GM and head coach, told the Red Deer Advocate that Bleackley may be out up to three more weeks. . . . Red Deer (31-20-9) had lost its previous two games. . . . The Oil Kings slipped to 27-28-6. . . . 
In Portland, D Jake Bean scored at 1:36 of OT as the Calgary Hitmen beat the Winterhawks, 5-4. . . . Bean’s sixth goal won it after the Winterhawks had a chance to win it on a late PP. . . . (There was post-game chatter that Calgary F Elliott Peterson may have re-directed Bean’s point shot). . . . The Hitmen trailed 2-0 at 15:51 of the first period and 4-1 early in the second. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen scored his 18th goal at 15:08 of the second and D Ben Thomas got his sixth at 17:53. . . . Calgary F Kenton Helgesen forced OT with his 19th goal, shorthanded, at 12:17 of the third period. . . . F Chase Lang had two assists for Calgary, including the only one on the winner. . . . Helgesen also had an assist, as did Virtanen. . . . F Adam Tambellini scored his 42nd goal for Calgary. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and two assists. He now is tied for the WHL goal-scoring lead, with 46. He also has at least a goal in 10 straight games, one shy of the Portland franchise record. The WHL record (18) was set by F Cliff Ronning of the New Westminster Bruins in 1984-85. . . . Portland D Anton Cederholm and F Nic Petan each had two assists, while F Chase De Leo got his 30th goal. . . . The game featured two goaltenders who were traded for each other in January — Evan Johnson was making just his second appearance for Portland; Brendan Burke made his 11th appearance with Calgary. . . . On this night, Burke left in the second period after giving up four goals on 22 shots. Mack Shields came on to stop all 22 shots he faced. . . . Johnson stopped 33 shots. . . . Portland was 2-for-6 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-4. . . . Calgary (38-18-5) is 4-0-0 on an 11-game road swing. The Hitmen have won six in a row and 15 of 16. . . . Portland (36-20-5) is 5-0-2 in its last seven. . . . 
In Kelowna, the Rockets erased a 2-0 first-period deficit and beat the Victoria Royals, 4-2. . . . F Austin Carroll, with his 35th, and F Greg Chase, with No. 18, gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. . . . D Madison Bowey got the Rockets on the board with his 15th at 5:57 of the second and F Chase Braid tied it with his 11th, via the PP, at 15:07. . . . F Leon Draisaitl gave Kelowna its first lead, with his 12th, at 13:22 of the third. . . . Rockets F Tyson Baillie iced it with his 35th goal, shorthanded, at 15:57. . . . F Cole Linaker had two assists for the Rockets. . . . Kelowna was 1-for-3 on the PP; Victoria was 0-for-7. . . . F Rourke Chartier, who is tied for the WHL’s goal-scoring lead, was among Kelowna’s scratches. . . . Kelowna (47-10-4) had split two games in Victoria last weekend. . . . The Royals are 33-24-4. . . . 
In Spokane, F Calder Brooks scored twice and added an assist to lead the Chiefs to a 3-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . F Nikita Scherbak gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 16:55 of the second period. He’s got 25 goals. . . . Brooks tied it with 17.6 seconds left in the period and then gave the Chiefs the lead at 7:09 of the third, on a PP. He’s got 18 goals. . . . Spokane F Adam Helewka iced it with his 32nd, an empty-netter, at 19:58. . . . Spokane G Garret Hughson stopped 23 shots, seven fewer than Everett’s Austin Lotz. . . . The Chiefs (28-27-4) snapped a three-game losing skid. . . . The Silvertips slipped to 37-18-7.———
THURSDAY’S GAME
(all times local)Edmonton at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
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Alex Smidt with @WHLKootenayICE forward and @CanadiensMTL prospect @timbozon94. Both overcame meningitis pic.twitter.com/OMd9zaJfr2
— Regina Pats (@WHLpats) February 26, 2015
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