Ice signs head coach . . . Generals beat Rockets . . . Tigers get goaltender from 'Hawks

F Brett Breitkreuz (Kelowna, Edmonton, Vancouver, 2006-10) signed a one-year contract with Löwen Frankfurt (Germany, DEL2). This season, with the Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL), he had four goals and four assists in 51 games. . . .
F Brandon Segal (Calgary, 1999-2004) signed a two-year contract with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL). This season, with Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL), he had 10 goals and 15 assists in 54 games.
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LUKE PIERCE

The Kootenay Ice has dipped into the junior A ranks for the seventh head coach in its history.
Luke Pierce 31, was named head coach on Tuesday and signed a three-year contract. He replaces Ryan McGill, whose contract won’t be renewed after it expires on June 30. (That was McGill’s second stint as head coach; counting him twice makes Pierce No. 7.)
Pierce, who is from Merritt, B.C., has been the GM/head coach of the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials since November 2009. He put up a 168-111-21 record there and had the team in the playoffs in each of the six seasons.
Meanwhile, assistant coach Jay Henderson has said he won’t be returning to the Ice. His contract also expires on June 30.
Of the WHL’s 22 teams, 20 now have head coaches. Pierce is the only one of those 20 head guys to have moved into the WHL directly from junior A.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes and Vancouver Giants are the only two teams presently without a head coach.
Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has more on the Ice’s hire right here, including a neat piece on how Pierce’s name was brought to the attention of general manager Jeff Chynoweth.
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The Oshawa Generals clinched a berth in the Memorial Cup final with a 2-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday night. . . . The Generals won’t play again until Sunday’s final. . . . Oshawa improved to 3-0 with the victory, each of them by one goal, while the Rockets slipped to 1-2. . . . The host Quebec Remparts (1-1) and the Rimouski Oceanic (0-2) are scheduled to meet tonight. The Oceanic won the QMJHL title by beating the Remparts in double OT in Game 7. . . . If Quebec wins tonight, the Remparts and Rockets will play in the semifinal game on Friday. A Rimouski win tonight likely puts the Oceanic and Remparts into a tiebreaker on Thursday. The Rockets likely would avoid the tiebreaker on goal differential. . . . Last night, all three goals came in the second period. . . . Oshawa F Cole Cassels (4:15) and F Tobias Lindberg (17:16) gave the Generals a 2-0 lead. . . . F Gage Quinney scored for Kelowna at 18:11. . . . Quinney leads the tournament with four goals, one more than Lindberg. F Nick Merkley and F Leon Draisaitl of the Rockets also have three. . . . Merkley and Oshawa F Michael Dal Colle lead in points, each with five. . . . Oshawa G Ken Appleby stopped 20 shots, seven fewer than Kelowna’s Jackson Whistle. . . . The Rockets were 0-for-3 on the PP; Oshawa’s PP unit never got on the ice. . . . Kelowna had a glorious opportunity to tie the game, and maybe win it, when the Generals were given two minor penalties 1:01 apart late in the third period. Only three penalties were called in the entire game. F Dakota Mermis went off for kneeing at 15:36 of the third, and Cassels was called for delay to game at 16:37. The Rockets were all around Appleby and had numerous scoring chances, but they weren’t able to get the equalizer. . . . Draisaitl was 16-for-29 in the faceoff circle; Cassels was 15-for-30.
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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna 3 vs. Quebec 4 (9,497)
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski 3 vs. Oshawa 4 (8,409)
Sunday, May 24: Quebec 4 vs. Oshawa 5 (OT) (10,970)
Monday, May 25: Rimouski 3 vs. Kelowna 7 (6,981)
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa 2 vs. Kelowna 1 (7,002)
Wednesday: Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7:30 p.m.
Friday: Semifinal, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: Championship game, 7 p.m.
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The latest alleged victim of former WHL coach Graham James went to the police in September 2013, one month after telling his family of his experiences. Since then, he has been in close contact with Todd Holt, who was sexually abused by James while both were with the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Dean Pritchard of the Calgary Sun has more right here.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers have acquired G Evan Johnson, 19, from the Portland Winterhawks for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . The Winterhawks got Johnson from the Calgary Hitmen in January. He got into only four games with Portland, going 1-0-2, 3.97, .880. . . . Johnson, from Winnipeg, finished the season 6-3-4, 3.13, .890. . . . The top two goaltenders on the Tigers’ depth chart now are Johnson and Nick Schneider, who turns 18 on July 21. . . . Schneider played in 27 games this season, going 15-7-1, 2.82, .898. . . . Portland’s starter is Adin Hill, 19, who was 31-11-1, 2.81, .921 this season. . . . Michael Bullion, an 18-year-old from Anchorage, likely is No. 2 on the depth chart. He got into four games this season, going 2-2-0, 3.22, .900, but spent most of the season with the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild.
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Veteran F Ben Duperreault won’t be back with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Duperreault, who turns 18 on July 18, had one goal and four assists in 34 games this season, after putting up 18 points, six of them goals, in 65 games in 2013-14. Duperreault, who is from Wilcox, Sask., was dropped by the Warriors prior to the bantam draft.
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Steve Konowalchuk got fined $700 for ripping refs. Rockets got $500, I guess $200 is the price you pay for doing it in the press...

— Andy Eide (@AndyEide) May 26, 2015

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