Sunday, December 11, 2016

Cougars forward gets NHL deal . . . Blazers, Raiders cut deal . . . Silvertips back on top

JESSE GABRIELLE
F Jesse Gabrielle of the Prince George Cougars has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Boston Bruins. Gabrielle, 19, had 19 goals and 11 assists in 25 games with the Cougars this season. . . . Last season, he put up 75 points, including 40 goals, in 72 games with the Cougars. In 214 regular-season games — he also has played with the Regina Pats and Brandon Wheat Kings — Gabrielle has 175 points, including 94 goals. . . . From Moosomin, Sask., Gabrielle was a fourth-round pick by the Bruins in the 2015 NHL draft. . . . Gabrielle was a fifth-round selection by the Wheat Kings in the 2012 WHL bantam draft.
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The Kamloops Blazers have acquired F Nic Holowko, 19, from the Prince Albert Raiders for a conditional sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft. Holowko, who is from Burnaby, B.C., is expected to join the Blazers today (Monday) and play on Tuesday against the Rebels in Red Deer. . . . Holowko had been scratched from each of the Raiders’ last five games. He last played on Nov. 30 in a 5-1 loss to the host Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Holowko had two goals and five assists in 26 games with the Raiders, who acquired him from the Seattle Thunderbirds on Sept. 15 for F Layne Bensmiller and a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft. . . . In two seasons with Seattle, he had 11 goals and 18 assists in 135 games. . . . Holowko adds some depth and experience to a lineup that lost veteran F Matt Revel, 20, to an undisclosed injury during a 3-2 victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton on Saturday night. Revel will miss at least the last five games of what is a six-game Central Division road trip.
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F Riley McKay of the Spokane Chiefs has been hit with a TBD suspension for a one-man fight during a game against the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C., on Saturday night. . . . This is the third one-man fight suspension in the WHL this season; the first two drew eight and five games. D Sam Ruopp of the Prince George Cougars has served his eight-game sentence, while F Zach Fischer of the Medicine Hat Tigers in in the middle of his five-game suspension.
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Shayne Sanborn, a coach with the Omaha AAA hockey organization, was killed in a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 80 in Iowa on Saturday. The accident also claimed the lives of brothers Jamison, 14, and Gavin, 11, Steckler of Audubon, Iowa. . . . The Omaha AAA organization put this statement on its Facebook page: "Words cannot express our sorrow and grief today with the passing of under 14 assistant coach Sanborn. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family in this difficult time. He was a valued member of our coaching staff and will be greatly missed. Rest in peace, Shayne." . . . There is more on the accident right here.
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Coaching
Two former coaches of the junior B Princeton Posse are suing the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League team for what they claim are unpaid wages. The Penticton Herald, in a story by Erin Christie, reports that Geoff Goodman, a former general manager and head coach, and his assistant coach, Lance Vaillancourt, have filed separate lawsuits in small claims court in Penticton. Goodman is claiming $13,333, while Vaillancourt wants $3,000. . . . Both men were fired by the Posse on Nov. 16. . . . Christie’s story is right here.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:


At Calgary, F Jakob Stukel scored the only goal of the shootout as the Hitmen beat the Kamloops
JAKOB STUKEL
Blazers, 3-2. . . . Blazers F Collin Shirley forced OT with his 100th career goal at 18:27 of the third period, on a PP, as the visitors erased a 2-0 first-period deficit. Shirley had picked up his 200th career point one night earlier in Edmonton. . . . In fact, Calgary led 2-0 before the game four minutes old. . . . F Matteo Gennaro (11) scored 32 seconds into the game and F Jordy Stallard (5) made it 2-0 at 3:11. . . . Kamloops F Deven Sideroff scored his 17th goal at 5:31 of the third period to halve the deficit. . . . The Blazers got two assists from F Garrett Pilon, who has figured in the team’s last five goals. Kamloops beat the Oil Kings, 3-2, in Edmonton on Saturday night. . . . The Hitmen got 31 saves from G Kyle Dumba, who also stopped all three shooters in the circus. . . . Kamloops G Dylan Ferguson made 33 stops as he started his eighth game of the season and his second in a row, with Connor Ingram at the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. Ferguson hadn’t started two straight since the first two games of the season. . . . Ferguson also drew an assist on Shirley’s goal. . . . Kamloops was 1-6 on the PP; Calgary was 0-4. . . . The Hitmen (12-15-2) are without D Jake Bean (Team Canada). . . . Kamloops (18-12-2) has points in five straight (4-0-1). . . . The Blazers are 1-0-1 on a six-game Central Division trek. . . . Announced attendance: 7,825.
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At Everett, F Dominic Zwerger burned his former team for two goals and an assist as the Silvertips beat
DOMINIC
ZWERGER
the Spokane Chiefs, 5-3. . . . Zwerger, who has 13 goals, scored at 3:14 of the first period and 1:27 of the second as Everett took a 2-0 lead. . . . The Chiefs got on the scoreboard when F Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored at 4:25 of the second, but Everett F Graham Millar (7) got that one back at 9:43. . . . Anderson-Dolan then scored his 16th goal  and 29th point, in 31 games at 10:25. He finished last season with 14 goals and 12 assists in 65 games. In his last four games, he has six goals and two helpers. . . . F Riley Sutter (10) restored the home team’s two-goal edge, on a PP, at 3:44 of the third period. . . . The Chiefs got back to within one on F Keanu Yamamoto’s 13th goal, at 7:47. That ran his point streak to 12 games. . . . Everett F Connor Dewar (3) got the empty-netter at 18:57. . . . F Patrick Bajkov D Kevin Davis and F Matt Fonteyne each had two assists for the Silvertips. . . . Everett got 24 saves from G Mario Petit. . . . Spokane starter Jayden Sittler surrendered three goals on 14 shots in 29:43. Dawson Weatherill finished up, allowing a goal on 12 shots. . . . Everett was 2-4 on the PP; Spokane was 0-2. . . . This was the third game in three nights — and the fourth in five nights — for both teams. Each team went 2-1-1. . . . The Chiefs are 2-1-1 in the season series; the Silvertips are 2-2-0. . . . Everett is without G Carter Hart and D Noah Juulsen, both of whom are in camp with Canada’s national junior team. . . . The Silvertips (22-4-5) moved atop the overall standings, one point ahead of the idle Regina Pats (21-2-6), who hold two games in hand. . . . The Chiefs (13-12-6) had been 2-0-1 in their previous three games. . . . Announced attendance: 3,502.
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At Lethbridge, F Tyler Wong drew three assists in helping the Hurricanes to a 6-5 victory over the
STUART SKINNER
Kelowna Rockets. . . . This was a strange one in that the Rockets scored the game’s first and last goals. In between, Lethbridge scored three times, then Kelowna struck for three, and finally the Hurricanes scored three in a row. . . . Kelowna F Conner Bruggen-Cate’s first goal, at 1:35 of the first period, got it started. . . . The Hurricanes then struck three times, with D Brennan Menell (6) scoring at 2:28, D Calen Addison (5) at 5:20 and F Jordy Bellerive (13), on a PP, at 6:46. . . . The Rockets roared back with three of their own, two of them from F Calvin Thurkauf, who has 17 goals, and one from D James Hilsendager, who got his first. . . . The next three goals went to Lethbridge. F Colton Kroeker (5) tied the game, 4-4, at 13:41 of the second period. F Tanner Nagel (6) provided a 5-4 lead at 10:26 of the third period. F Egor Babenko (9) scored on a PP at 15:03. . . . F Nolan Foote (6) got Kelowna back to within a goal at 16:42. . . . Addison, Bellerive and Kroeker each added an assist to their goals. . . . D Cal Foote and F Kole Lind each had three assists for the Rockets, with Bruggen-Cate and Hilsendager each adding one. . . . Thurkauf has eight goals and two assists over his past four games. . . . G Stuart Skinner earned the victory with 38 stops. . . . Kelowna starter Michael Herringer was beaten three times on four shots in 6:46. Brodan Salmond came on to stop 28 of 31 in 52:14. . . . Lethbridge was 2-4 on the PP; Kelowna was 1-3. . . . The Rockets are without F Nick Merkley and F Dillon Dube, both of whom are at the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. . . . Lethbridge (18-11-4) is 11-0-1 in its past 12 games. . . . The Rockets (19-12-1) had been 6-0-1 in their previous seven outings. . . . Announced attendance: 3,015.
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At Saskatoon, the Blades scored the game’s last four goals as they beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-3. . .
LUKUS MacKENZIE
. The Warriors led 3-1 early in the second period but weren’t able to put it away. . . . F Jayden Halbgewachs, who leads the WHL with 27 goals, scored twice and added an assist for Moose Jaw. His goal-scoring streak now is at nine games and his 47 points leave him one off the WHL lead. . . . D Josh Brook (3) gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead 28 seconds into the game. . . . Saskatoon F Braylon Shmyr (13) tied it, on a PP, at 5:39. . . . Halbgewachs then scored twice, at 18:25 of the first and 4:57 of the second period. . . . F Brayden Burke drew assists on both goals as he ran his point streak to nine games. . . . F Lukus MacKenzie pulled the Blades to within one, at 9:37 of the second period. . . . MacKenzie then tied it with his third goal of the season, at 2:35 of the third period. . . . D Jordan Henderson broke the tie with his first goal, at 17:47, and F Kolten Olynek (7), who also had an assist, added a shorthanded empty-netter, at 19:59. . . . F Michael Farren and F Logan Christensen had two assists each for Saskatoon as they set up MacKenzie’s goals. . . . The Blades got 29 saves from G Brock Hamm. . . . Brody Willms stopped 33 shots for the Warriors. . . . Saskatoon was 1-3 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-4. . . . F Brett Howden (Team Canada) and D Matt Sozanski (hangnail/shoulder) were among Moose Jaw’s scratches as it dressed only 16 skaters. The Warriors also are without head coach Tim Hunter, who is with Team Canada. . . . Moose Jaw F Noah Gregor had a 10-game point streak come to an end. . . . Saskatoon (13-18-2) has won two straight and closed to within two points of a wild-card playoff spot. . . . Moose Jaw (18-7-5) had been 3-0-1 in its previous four games. . . . Announced attendance: 4,202.
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MONDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Kelowna at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Tri-City at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Kamloops at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Spokane vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Portland at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
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TEDDY BEAR, TOQUE AND MITTEN TOSS GAMES:

Friday, Dec. 16: Saskatoon at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 16: Portland vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17: Brandon at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17: Portland at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17: Vancouver at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 21: Vancouver vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Nov. 26: D Micheal Zipp, 19:47 1st period, Lethbridge 4 at Calgary 2.
Dec. 2: D Artyom Minulin, 13:24 1st period, Calgary 1 at Swift Current 5.
Dec. 2: F Jordy Bellerive, 14:00 1st period, Red Deer 3 at Lethbridge 5.
Dec. 3: F Adam Musil, 14:27 1st period, Lethbridge 2 at Red Deer 3 (OT).
Dec. 3: D Ondrej Vala, 10:38 1st period, Vancouver 2 at Kamloops 5.
Dec. 3: F Nick Merkley, 6:54 2nd period, Brandon 1 at Kelowna 3.
Dec. 9: F Austin Glover, 0:32 2nd period, Moose Jaw 7 at Prince Albert 3. 
Dec. 9: F Riley Woods, 11:45 1st period, Swift Current 1 at Regina 8.
Dec. 9: F Keanu Yamamoto, 4:01 1st period, Kootenay 3 at Spokane 4.
Dec. 10: D Josh Thrower, 12:13 1st period, Prince Albert 4 at Moose Jaw 5 (SO).
Dec. 10: F Nick Bowman, 13:38 2nd period, Kamloops 3 at Edmonton 2.
Dec. 10: D Troy Murray, 1:51 2nd, Kelowna 7 at Kootenay 3.
Dec. 10: F Max Gerlach, 5:26 1st period, Calgary 4 at Medicine Hat 7.
Dec. 10: F Skyler McKenzie 2:21 1st, Everett 2 at Portland 5.
Dec. 10: F Josh Curtis, 6:02 2nd period, Seattle 4 at Prince George 6.
Dec. 10: F Tyler Sandhu, 0:36 1st period, Victoria 3 at Tri-City 4.

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