Saturday, November 26, 2016

Milestone for Constantine ... Tigers stay on WHL's top rung ... Berlin a wall for Seattle


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With Everett head coach Kevin Constantine on the verge of his 300th WHL regular-season coaching victory, Silvertips owner Bill Yuill was in attendance at Saturday’s game against the visiting Prince George Cougars.
This is of interest for more than one reason.
Yuill may have wanted to be on hand in case Constantine got his 300th victory, which is what happened as the Silvertips blanked the Cougars, 3-0.
It’s also of interest because Constantine’s contract expires after this season. Yuill’s presence, then, makes one wonder if an extension is in the works.
Constantine, who will turn 58 on Dec. 28, is a native of International Falls, Minn. He is in his second stint with the Silvertips, having been their first head coach (2003-07). He left Everett and spent three seasons with the AHL’s Houston Aeros and three in Europe before returning to the Silvertips in 2013. Constantine also has NHL head-coaching experience with the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils.
BTW, an apology to Constantine is in order after I wrongly pointed a finger at him in this space after Friday’s games. It turns out that it wasn’t Constantine who got the ol’ heave-ho from a game on Friday night. Rather, it was assistant coach Mitch Love, who has since been touched up by the WHL to the tune of $500. Ch-ch-ching!
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The Saskatoon Blades visited their past on Friday night, then they went out and beat the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2. . . . John Fraser of sasknow.ca reports that the Blades, as they did in 2012-13 when they were the host team for the Memorial Cup, have gone back to a previous policy involving the use of cell phones. Players now will turn in their phones when they arrive for work and then pick them up as they head for home. . . . Going into Friday, Fraser reported, the Blades had allowed the first goal in 17 of 25 outings and had been outscored 35-15 in first periods. It all added up to a 3-12-0 stretch. . . . On Friday, they outscored the Wheat Kings 2-0 in the first period and then won on a late third-period goal by F Braylon Shmyr. . . . Gotta think handing over the phones will become a permanent part of the game plan even though they dropped an 8-2 decision to the high-flying Medicine Hat Tigers in Saskatoon on Saturday night.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:


At Calgary, F Tyler Wong scored three times to lead the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 4-2 victory over the Hitmen in their Teddy Bear Game. . . . D Micheal Zipp, Calgary’s captain, scored the Teddy Bear goal with 13 seconds left in the first period. . . . Wong, who has 16 goals, got the Hurricanes off to a 2-0 lead by scoring at 10:03 of the first period and adding a PP goal at 12:25. . . . F Giorgio Estephan (10) upped Lethbridge’s lead to 3-0 at 15:22, with another PP goal. . . . Zipp, who has three goals, then cut into the lead. . . . Wong completed the hat trick at 11:34 of the second period. . . . Calgary F Beck Malenstyn (6) got the game’s final goal, on a PP, at 2:06. . . . Lethbridge F Colton Kroeker had two assists, while Estephan added one to his goal. . . . The Hitmen got two assists from F Tyler Mrkonjic. . . . G Stuart Skinner stopped 26 shots for Lethbridge, while Calgary’s Cody Porter turned aside 27. . . . Lethbridge was 2-6 on the PP; Calgary was 1-2. . . . The Hitmen are 16-5-1 in Teddy Bear games. They had won four in a row prior to this one, last having lost to the Medicine Hat Tigers, 2-1, in 2011. . . . The Hurricanes (11-11-3) have won four in a row. . . . The Hitmen (8-12-2), who continue to play without D Jake Bean (hand), have lost three straight. . . . Announced attendance: 17,601.
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At Everett, G Carter Hart recorded the shutout as the Silvertips gave head coach Kevin Constantine his 300th regular-season victory, 3-0 over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Hart blocked 26 shots as he recorded his second consecutive shutout. He has three this season and 13 in his career. Hart blanked the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 on Wednesday night. . . . D Montana Onyebuchi scored the game’s first goal, his first, at 4:21 of the first period. . . . That lead held up until F Bryce Kindopp (3) made it 2-0 at 3:16 of the third period. . . . F Patrick Bajkov finished the scoring with his 10th goal, into an empty net, at 18:54. . . . Prince George got 18 saves from G Ty Edmonds. . . . Prince George was 0-2 on the PP; Everett was 0-5. . . . The Silvertips (18-3-4) have won three in a row. They now lead the Western Conference standings by two points over the Cougars (18-5-2), who had won their previous four games. . . . The Silvertips got a real scare at 15:57 of the second period when F Dominic Zwerger left after taking a hit from Cougars D Ryan Schoettler. However, Zwerger returned for the third period. . . . Talk about a quick turnaround: The Cougars have a 2 o’clock date with the host Portland Winterhawks on Sunday afternoon. The Winterhawks didn’t play on Saturday. . . . Announced attendance: 4,877.
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At Kelowna, F Kole Lind scored at 3:25 of OT as the Rockets beat the Regina Pats, 3-2. . . . Lind has 13 goals. . . . F Nick Henry (11) gave Regina a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 7:09 of the second period. . . . Kelowna F Tomas Soustal, who also had two assists, tied the score, on a PP, at 11:12 of the second period. He’s got 11 goals. . . . D Devante Stephens (6) shot Kelowna into the lead at 1:04 of the third period. . . . Regina forced OT after F Lane Zablocki scored his eighth goal at 9:31. . . . Regina F Adam Brooks drew two assists, running his point streak to 17 games, the longest in the WHL this season. Brooks, the WHL’s defending scoring champ, has 38 points, two off the league lead. . . . Lind added an assist to his goal. . . . G Michael Herringer stopped 30 shots for the Rockets, one fewer than Regina’s Tyler Brown. . . . Kelowna was 1-3 on the PP; Regina was 1-6. . . . The Rockets improved to 14-11-0. . . . The Pats (17-2-4) went 2-2-1 in the B.C. Division. . . . The Pats were without F Sam Steel, the WHL scoring leader, for a second straight game. . . . The Rockets dressed only 16 skaters, 10 of them forwards. . . . Announced attendance: 5,521.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Tyler Steenbergen broke a 3-3 tie with his 20th goal at 7:54 of the third period as the Swift Current Broncos beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-3. . . . Steenbergen, a sophomore, had 20 goals in 67 games last season; this season, he reached 20 in his 28th game. . . . F Lane Pederson (13) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 1:43 of the first period. . . . Ice F Vince Loschiavo (4) tied it at 6:40. . . . F Kaden Elder (4) put the Broncos back out front at 2:08 of the second period. . . . The Ice tied it when F Jake Elmer (1) scored, on a PP, at 4:58. . . . The Broncos went back out front at 17:44 when F Kole Gable (2) scored. . . . Kootenay tied it again, this time on F Matt Alfaro’s ninth goal, at 3:07 of the third period. . . . Gable and Pederson each had an assist. . . . Alfaro and D Cale Fleury had two assists each for the Ice. . . . G Taz Burman blocked 21 shots to earn the victory. . . . G Jakob Walter of the Ice stopped 29. . . . Kootenay was 1-1 on the PP; Swift Current was 1-3. . . . The Broncos improved to 14-8-6. . . . The Ice (5-15-6) has lost two in a row. . . . Broncos F Ryan Graham was held off the scoresheet for the first time since being acquired from the Saskatoon Blades. He had five goals and four assists in his first three games with Swift Current. . . . The Broncos were playing their fourth game in five nights; they won three of them. . . . Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Broncos, reported that Swift Current F Conner Chaulk didn’t return after he fought with Ice F Tanner Sidaway at 5:05 of the second period. . . . Announced attendance: 1,651.
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At Red Deer, the Moose Jaw Warriors scored the game’s last five goals as they beat the Rebels, 5-2. . . . Red Deer got two first-period PP goals, from F Brandon Hagel (13), at 9:45, and D Josh Mahura (9), at 15:12. . . . F Jayden Halbgewachs got Moose Jaw started with a PP goal at 16:44. . . . The Warriors tied it on F Brett Howden’s 11th goal, just 52 seconds later. . . . Warriors D Jett Woo snapped the tie with his third goal, on a PP, at 16:16 of the second period. . . . Halbgewachs added his 19th goal, at 17:21. . . . Moose Jaw F Nikita Popugaev (19) closed out the scoring with another PP goal at 18:13 of the third period. . . . Halbgewachs added two assists, for a four-point night. The 19-year-old from Emerald Park, Sask., went into this season with 19 goals in 133 regular-season games. This seaosn, he has 19 goals in 24 games. . . . Howden had a goal and two assists for the second straight game since returning from a 10-game absence. . . . D Colton Bobyk had two assists for Red Deer, running his point streak to 10 games, with Mahura and Hagel adding one each. . . . Moose Jaw G Zach Sawchenko turned aside 28 shots. . . . Red Deer starter Riley Lamb gave up four goals on 30 shots over two periods. Lasse Petersen came on for the third and stopped 12 of 13. . . . The Warriors were 3-6 on the PP; the Rebels were 2-4. . . . Moose Jaw (15-5-4) has won two straight. . . . The Rebels (12-11-4) had been 2-0-1 in their previous three games. . . . Announced attendance: 4,671.
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At Saskatoon, F Max Gerlach scored three times and F Chad Butcher had four points as the Medicine Hat Tigers dumped the Blades, 8-2. . . . Medicine Hat (20-5-1) has won nine in a row as it became the first of the WHL’s 22 teams to win 20 games this season. The Tigers moved into first place in the overall standings on Friday night and this victory allowed them to remain there. . . . The Blades slipped to 10-16-1. . . . Saskatoon F Braylon Shmyr, who scored the winner in a 3-2 victory over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday, had both Blades’ goals. He gave them a 1-0 lead at 1:56 of the first period and his 11th goal pulled them into a 2-2 tie at 19:06. . . . However, the Tigers scored the game’s last six goals. . . . Gerlach, who has 18 goals, struck for three in a row — at 2:27, 9:31 and 13:07 of the second period. . . . Butcher broke a 2-2 tie 17 seconds into the second period and later added his 11th goal on a PP. He also had two assists. . . . Tigers D David Quenneville scored his 13th goal, on a PP, and added an assist. . . . Medicine Hat got three assists from each of D Clayton Kirichenko and F Steve Owre, with D Ty Schultz and F Mason Shaw adding two apiece. Shaw has 40 points, one shy of F Sam Steel of the Regina Pats, who leads the league. . . . G Nick Schneider stopped 22 shots in recording his WHL-leading 18th victory. . . . Saskatoon starter Logan Flodell gave up four goals on 21 shots in 22:27. Brock Hamm finished up, allowing four on 22 in 37:33. . . . The Tigers were 3-7 on the PP; the Blades were 1-7. . . . Saskatoon F Mason McCarty was spotted on crutches before the game after being injured Friday. He leads the Blades in goals (14) and points (23). Dean Brockman, the Blades’ head coach, later told veteran radio voice Les Lazaruk that McCarty is likely to be out up to 10 weeks. . . . Announced attendance: 3,802.

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At Kent, Wash., G Matt Berlin blocked 19 shots to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 5-0 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . It was Berlin’s first career WHL shutout. . . . F Mathew Barzal drew three assists as the Thunderbirds grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first period. . . . D Ethan Bear scored his seventh goal, on a PP, at 6:43, with F Ryan Gropp getting his fifth goal at 12:31, and D Jarret Tyszka (2) finding the mark at 14:24. . . . F Sami Moilanen upped it to 4-0 with his seventh goal, at 16:34. . . . Barzal closed out the scoring with his first goal, on a PP, at 1:09. In eight games since returning from the NHL’s New York Islanders, Barzal has 11 points, including 10 assists. . . . Barzal now has 156 career assists, and is tied for fourth on Seattle’s all-time list with F Tyler Metcalfe. They trail F Glen Goodall (290), F Victor Gervais (237) and F Lindsay Vallis (187). . . . Bear and Moilanen each had two assists. . . . G Griffen Outhouse started for the Royals and gave up three goals on 13 shots. Dylan Myskiw finished up with 19 stops on 21 shots over 45:36. . . . Seattle was 2-3 on the PP; Victoria was 0-4. . . . The Thunderbirds (13-9-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Royals (14-11-2) have lost two straight. . . . Announced attendance: 5,245.
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At Spokane, the Edmonton Oil Kings erased a 4-2 deficit with four straight goals and went on beat the Chiefs, 6-5. . . . F Jaret Anderson-Dolan (9) gave the Chiefs a 2-1 lead at 16:51 of the first period. . . . Edmonton F Artyom Baltruk tied it with his first WHL goal at 2:20 of the second. . . . Spokane then took a 4-2 lead on goals from F Keanu Yamamoto (8), at 2:51, and F Hudson Elynuik (10), shorthanded, at 11:04. . . . Edmonton got the next four goals. D Aaron Irving (8) got it started at 17:10 and F Tyson Gruninger tied it with his first goal, at 18:48. . . . The Oil Kings took the lead when F Tyler Robertson (8) scored at 5:26 of the third period and F Lane Bauer gave them a 6-4 lead with his 14th goal, at 6:42. . . . Anderson-Dolan got the Chiefs to within one with a PP goal at 10:29. . . . F Adam Berg and F Davis Murray each had two assists for Edmonton, while F Kobe Mohr added one to his fourth goal. . . . Elynuik added two assists to his goal, while D Evan Fiala also had two helpers for the Chiefs. . . . The Oil Kings got 27 saves from G Patrick Dea, one more than Dawson Weatherill made at the other end. . . . Spokane was 1-4 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-2. . . . The Oil Kings (11-13-2) had lost their previous three games. They are 3-3-0 on a seven-game trip that wraps up this afternoon in Cranbrook, B.C., against the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Chiefs (10-9-5) had won their previous two games. . . . The Chiefs had D Luke Gallagher, a Spokane native, in their lineup for this one. Gallagher, 16, was an eighth-round pick in the 2015 WHL bantam draft. He had four goals and 16 assists in 25 games with the junior B Spokane Braves of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. . . . Spokane lost F Curtis Miske to an undisclosed injury early in the first period. He didn’t return. . . . Announced attendance: 6,258.
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At Kennewick, Wash., F Tyler Sandhu scored in the fourth round of a shootout to give the Tri-City Americans a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Giants scored the game’s first two goals, with F Ty Ronning getting his ninth just 21 seconds into the first period and F Tyler Popowich adding his third at 11:17. . . . Sandhu ran his point streak to 12 games with his fifth goal at 14:43 of the second period. . . . D Dylan Coghlan pulled the Americans into a 2-2 tie, on a PP, at 18:22 of the second. He’s got six goals. . . . Tri-City G Rylan Parenteau came up with 26 saves through OT and three more in the shootout. . . . Vancouver G Ryan Kubic made 36 saves. . . . The Americans were 1-7 on the PP; the Giants were 0-4. . . . Tri-City now is 16-9-2. . . . Vancouver (10-16-1), which had been beaten 10-1 in Spokane on Friday night, has lost five in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 3,344.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Edmonton vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 4 p.m.
Prince George at Portland, 2 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:51 PM
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