Tuesday, April 28, 2015

'Sudden-Death' Tambellini strikes again . . . 'Hawks romp past Rockets . . . Petan ties franchise mark








F Dustin Johner (Seattle, 1999-2004) has signed a one-year contract with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). This season, with Västerås (Sweden, Allsvenskan), he had 23 goals and 23 assists in 51 games. He led his team in goals, assists and points, and was fifth in the league’s scoring race. . . .
F Robin Kovář (Vancouver, Regina, 2001-04) has signed a one-year extension with the Manchester Phoenix (England, Premier). This season, he had 30 goals and 46 assists in 48 games. He led the Phoenix in assists and was fifth in the league’s scoring race.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:



In Calgary, F Adam Tambellini scored twice, the second one at 3:07 of OT, as the Hitmen beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 2-1. . . . The Wheat Kings lead the Eastern Conference final 2-1 with Game 4 in Calgary tonight. . . . They’ll play Game 5 in Brandon on Friday night. . . . Brandon had won Game 2, 3-2, in OT on Saturday night when F
Tyler Coulter scored 51 seconds into extra time. . . . Brandon now is 4-1 in OT. . . . The Hitmen now have played in a franchise record eight OT games in these playoffs. They are 5-3, with Tambellini having scored three of the winners. . . . ‘Sudden-Death’ Tambellini? Why not? You may have heard of ‘Sudden-Death’ Mel Hill. He scored three OT goals in one series, sparking the Boston Bruins to a seven-game victory over the New York Rangers in a Stanley Cup semifinal in the spring of 1939. Hill scored in OT in Games 1, 2 and 7. . . . Interestingly, Hill was from Glenboro, Man., which is a couple of slapshots southeast of Brandon. . . . But we digress. . . . Last night, Brandon F John Quenneville opened the scoring at 4:23 of the second period. The Wheat Kings have scored first in each of the three games in this series. . . . Quenneville has a team-high seven playoff goals. . . . Tambellini tied the game, on a PP, at 10:41 of the third period. . . . His winner came from the high slot after Brandon D Ivan Provorov, who uses a freakishly long stick, lost control of the puck as he came out from behind his net. . . . Tambellini now has 12 goals in these playoffs, one behind Portland Winterhawks F Oliver Bjorkstrand, who leads the WHL. Tambellini leads all skaters with 24 points, one more than Bjorkstrand and Portland F Nic Petan. . . . Calgary G Brendan Burke stopped 33 shots, three more than Brandon’s Jordan Papirny. . . . Calgary was 1-for-3 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-2. . . . Referees were Chris Schlenker and Reagan Vetter. . . . Brandon has won just two of 10 regular-season games in Calgary over the past five seasons. . . . Brandon now is 4-2 on the road in the playoffs; the Hitmen are 5-3 at home. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen sat out the second game of a three-game suspension for a hit on Brandon F Tanner Kaspick in Game 1. . . . Kaspick hasn’t played since absorbing that hit early in the third period. . . . D Kale Clague and F Reid Duke also were among Brandon’s scratches, while the Hitmen were without F Chase Lang and F Connor Rankin. . . . Attendance was 5,387. . . . Laurence Heinen wrote this game story for the Calgary Herald.

In Portland, the Winterhawks scored four PP goals en route to a 7-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . .  Portland leads the Western Conference final 2-1 with Game 4 scheduled for tonight, again in the Moda Center in Portland. . . . The Winterhawks opened a 3-0 lead with two early second-period goals and went on to take a 4-1 lead into the third period where they outscored the visitors, 3-2. . . . F Oliver Bjorkstrand had two goals and two assists for Portland. He leads playoff scorers with 13 goals. His 24 points are one shy of
Calgary F Adam Tambellini, who leads in that category. . . . Portland F Nic Petan drew three assists as he ran his point streak to 14 games. He has a WHL-high 16 assists. . . . Petan also played in his 85th post-season game, tying the franchise record that had belonged to D Derrick Pouliot. Petan should break that record tonight. The WHL record (87) belongs to F Shay Stephenson (Red Deer, 2000-04). . . . The Winterhawks got two assists from D Adam Henry, and the other goals from F Dominic Turgeon, his eighth, D Keoni Texeira (1), F Chase De Leo (4), F Alex Schoenborn (3) and F Paul Bittner (4). . . . F Leon Draisaitl (5), F Cole Linaker (3) and F Riley Stadel (2) countered for Kelowna. . . . Stadel, a defenceman by trade, started on a wing with Leon Draisaitl and Tyson Baillie. The latter had two assists. . . . The Rockets scratched F Justin Kirkland, who played the first two games of the series after returning from injury, and F Gage Quinney, who left Game 1 with an undisclosed injury. . . . Portland G Adin Hill turned aside 41 shots. That included a terrific second period in which he stopped 22 of 23 shots. . . . Kelowna starter Jackson Whistle gave up four goals on 18 shots, leaving for Michael Herringer at 13:51 of the second period. Herringer was beaten three times on 22 shots. . . . Portland was 4-for-8 on the PP; Kelowna was 1-for-4. . . . Portland scored three PP goals while Kelowna F Tyrell Goulbourne was in stir. . . . Attendance was 8,510. . . . Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier filed this game story.




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D Chad Pietroniro of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar has drawn a 14-game QMJHL suspension for an incident that occurred against the Val-d’Or Foreurs on April 21. From the QMJHL website:
“At the end of the game, both teams start discussing a video that was projected on the giant screen. Two players, including the player at fault, started a fight.
“The linesman broke them up. He then accompanied the player at fault and directed him towards the exit door of the Baie-Comeau bench. The player resisted and then left the ice.
“When both skates had left the ice surface the player turned around and head-butted the linesman, helmet to helmet. A major penalty (code 4.92, category 3) was given to the Baie-Comeau player for physical abuse towards an official.
“The rule is clear in these circumstances, a minimum 20 game suspension should be granted.
“However the Director of Player Safety considered the frustration caused by the inappropriate video, the fact the official wasn’t injured and that the headbutt wasn’t at maximum force when making his decision.”
Pietroniro, who turns 19 on July 8, is from Prescott, Ariz. He had one assist in 19 regular-season games with the Drakkar. Last season, he had one assist in seven games with the Foreurs.
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The Everett Silvertips have had a couple of list players commit to NCAA schools. . . . D Myles Cunningham, a 17-year-old from Minneapolis, has said he will attend Brown University in Providence, R.I. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder played this season at Blake School, a prep school in Hopkins, Minn. . . . G Dayton Rasmussen, a 16-year-old from Eden Prairie, Minn., is off to Denver U. Rasmussen, 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, played this season for the Colorado Thunderbirds U-16 side.
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QMJHLIn the QMJHL, the host Quebec Remparts dumped the Moncton Wildcats 7-0 to sweep that semifinal series, 4-0. . . . F Kurt Etchegary had three goals and two assists, with F Anthony Duclair picking up a goal and four assists. . . . G Zach Fucale stopped 25 shots for the shutout. In his last nine starts, he is 9-0 with a .935 save percentage. . . . The Remparts, the host team for the Memorial Cup, will face either the Rimouski Oceanic or Val-d’Or Foreurs in the final. Last night, in Val-d’Or, the Oceanic won 4-2 to take a 3-0 lead. They’ll play again tonight in Val-d’Or. . . .

In the OHL, F Nick Baptiste had four goals and F Connor McDavid drew four assists as the host Erie Otters beat the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, 7-5. Erie leads that series 3-1 as it returns to the Soo for Game 5 on Thursday. . . . McDavid has 14 points in the first four games of the semifinal. In  13 playoff games, he’s got 18 goals and 17 assists. . . . In last night’s other game, F Ryan Kujawinski scored at 10:28 of OT to give the host North Bay Battalion a 2-1 victory over the Oshawa Generals. The Battalion has a 2-1 lead going into Game 4 tonight in North Bay.
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THE COACHING GAME:

QMJHLThe QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders have fired head coach Gordie Dwyer, never mind that the team won its first playoff series in 11 years. The Islanders won a first-round series from the Sherbrooke Phoenix in six games, than was swept by the Quebec Remparts, who will play host to this season’s Memorial Cup. Dwyer, 37, had been there for four seasons.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:26 PM
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