Friday, December 2, 2016

Cougars lose D-man to Buffalo . . . New lease on life for Pats . . . Silvertips on top rung now


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F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) has signed for the rest of this season with Cracovia Kraków (Poland, PHL). This season, he was pointless in three games with Orli Znojmo (Czech Republic, Erste Bank Liga) and had a goal and an assist in six games with the Nottingham Panthers (England, UK Elite). . . .
F Kristaps Baževičs (Prince Albert, 2011-12) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Gap (France, Ligue Magnus). This season, he had two goals and eight assists in 24 games on tryout contracts with Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, Erste Bank Liga).
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The NHL’s Buffalo Sabres have brought in D Brendan Guhle, 19, from the Prince George Cougars under emergency recall rules.
Guhle was acquired by the Cougars from the Prince Albert Raiders on Nov. 19. He was a second-round
pick by the Sabres in the NHL’s 2015 draft and has signed with them.
He has three goals in four games with the Cougars. In 19 total games this season, Guhle has five goals and two assists.
The Sabres are at home to the Boston Bruins this afternoon (Saturday).
Already without D Zach Bogosian and D Dmitry Kulikov, both with long-term injuries, the Sabres may have lost D Josh Gorges, a former captain of the Kelowna Rockets, who was injured blocking a shot on Thursday in a 5-4 victory over the New York Rangers. His status won’t be known until sometime this morning.
Guhle almost made the Sabres prior to the 2015-16 season, but was sidelined with a concussion after taking a hit from D Dion Phaneuf, who was then with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to this season, Guhle was one of the Sabres’ last cuts.
The Cougars are at home to the Victoria Royals this weekend. They played last night and will meet again tonight.
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D Matt Sozanski of the Moose Jaw Warriors left late in the second period of a 5-3 loss to the Raiders in Prince Albert on Friday night and didn’t return. Sozanski was checked hard by Raiders F Tim Vanstone and was slow in returning to the Moose Jaw bench.
Jeff D’Andrea of paNOW reported that a doctor was called to the Moose Jaw dressing room during the second period.
According to D’Andrea, Tim Hunter, the Warriors’ head coach, was asked why a doctor was needed. However, Hunter chose to downplay things . . . or was he just being a snarky sore loser?
Here, according to D’Andrea, is Hunter’s reply: ”Somebody’s got a hangnail and I don't know why they'd send a doctor over for it. That's just a trick they pull here in P.A., to get the fans all excited about how physical they think their team is. That's all.”
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The way has been cleared for the Regina Pats to serve as the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup tournament. The WHL team’s bid hinged on it having a new lease with Regina Exhibition Association Ltd., which operates the Brandt Centre, and that lease was agreed to on Friday. The Pats are one of three CHL teams — the others are the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs and Oshawa Generals — on the short list of teams being considered as the host team for what will be the Memorial Cup’s 100th anniversary. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more on the Pats right here.
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JUST NOTES:

F Josh Bruce, 18, has joined the BCHL’s Power River Kings. Bruce, from Surrey, B.C., had one goal in four games with the Saskatoon Blades, before being traded to the Vancouver Giants. He was pointless in two games with the Giants. He also had one goal in three games with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles this season. . . .
The host Whitecourt Wolverines set franchise records for goals and shots in a single game on Friday night. They unleashed a 66-shot attack in beating the Calgary Mustangs, 14-0. . . . The teams combined for 90 shots, which also is an AJHL single-game record. . . . Former Kamloops Blazers F Eric Krienke had three goals for the Wolverines. . . . Whitecourt scored five PP goals in 2:43 during a major penalty in the second period. 
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:

At Edmonton, the Oil Kings scored the game’s last four goals, two of them into an empty net, and beat
LANE BAUER
the Saskatoon Blades, 4-1. . . . F Logan Christensen scored his seventh goal, at 11:59 of the first period, as the visitors took a 1-0 lead. . . . Edmonton D Will Warm (2) tied it at 3:21 of the third period, with F Lane Bauer providing the home side with a 2-1 lead at 15:00. . . . Bauer has goals in five straight games and has put in three straight game-winning goals. . . . Bauer, who has 18 goals, added an empty-netter at 18:27 and F Davis Koch, who also had two assists, added another at 19:21. He’s got seven goals. . . . D Aaron Irving had two assists for Edmonton. . . . G Patrick Dea blocked 20 shots for the winners, while Saskatoon’s Logan Flodell turned aside 35. . . . The Oil Kings were 0-1 on the PP; the Blades were 0-5. . . . Edmonton (13-13-2) has won three in a row. . . . Saskatoon (10-17-2) had lost three straight (0-2-1). . . . The Blades had F Kirby Dach, the second overall pick in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft, in their lineup for the second time this season and he earned an assist for his first career point. He is playing in his hometown for the midget AAA Fort Saskatchewan Rangers. Dach made his WHL debut in Edmonton on Nov. 10. . . . Announced attendance: 8,154.
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At Everett, F Patrick Bajkov scored three straight second-period goals to spark the Silvertips to a 4-3
PATRICK BAJKOV
victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Silvertips (20-3-4) have won five and row and now lead the overall standings by one point over the Tigers (21-6-1), who had a 10-game winning streak snapped. . . . Everett now is 13-2-0 on home ice. . . . F Steve Owre (8) gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead at 6:47 of the first period. . . . Bajkov, who has 14 goals, tied it at 6:17 of the second period, provided a 2-1 lead at 6:32 and made it 3-1 at 10:44. . . . Everett D Kevin Davis notched his third goal, on a PP, with Bajkov getting the lone assist, at 13:12 and that one proved to be the winner. . . . The Tigers made it interesting on goals from D Brad Forrest (1) at 4:34 of the third period and F John Dahlstrom (14) at 8:24. . . . F Matt Fonteyne had two assists for Everett. . . . The Tigers got two assists from F Matt Bradley. . . . Bajkov turned in Everett’s first hat trick of the season. . . . Everett G Carter Hart blocked 23 shots. He went into the game having put up three straight shutouts. That streak ended at 193 minutes 48 seconds. . . . G Nick Schneider, who leads the WHL with 19 victories, stopped 20 shots for the Tigers. . . . Everett was 1-6 on the PP; Medicine Hat was 0-2. . . . Tigers F Zach Fischer left with a fighting major and game misconduct at 10:51 of the first period for what appears to have been ruled a one-man fight. . . . Announced attendance: 4,387.
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At Lethbridge, F Jordy Bellerive scored twice and added an assist to lead the Hurricanes to a 5-3 victory
JORDY BELLERIVE
over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The visitors led 2-0 in the first period on goals from F Akash Bains (5), at 6:06, and D Carson Sass (3), at 10:02. . . . Bellerive, who has eight goals, scored the Teddy Bear Goal at 14:00 of the first, sending both teams to their dressing rooms while the ice was cleared. . . . Bellerive then tied it, on a PP, at 19:05. . . . F Giorgio Estephan broke the tie 33 seconds into the second period and F Tyler Wong, with his 18th, on a PP, made it 4-2 at 5:36. . . . F Adam Musil (9) pulled the Rebels to within one at 13:13. . . . Estephan added insurance with his 14th goal at 18:18. It was an empty-netter. . . . Wong also had three assists, while D Brennan Menell had two and Estephan added one. . . . Estephan has 12 points, including six goals, over his past five games. . . . Wong has five goals and four assists over his past three games. . . . Red Deer D Colton Bobyk picked up an assist, running his assist streak to 12 games, the longest in the WHL this season. He has 15 assists in that stretch. . . . G Stuart Skinner stopped 28 shots for Lethbridge. . . . G Lasse Petersen stopped 28 for Red Deer. . . . Lethbridge was 2-5 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-2. . . . The Hurricanes (13-11-3) have won six in a row. . . . The Rebels now are 13-12-4. . . . With G Riley Lamb scratched due to illness, the Rebels had G Byron Fancy backing up Petersen. Fancy, who will turn 16 on Jan. 1, is from Claresholm, Alta. A second-round pick by the Rebels in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft, he is playing for the midget AAA Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Announced attendance: 4,979.
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At Prince Albert, the Raiders scored two empty-net goals and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-3. . . .
SIMON STRANSKY
Prince Albert (6-20-1) had lost nine in a row. It won for the first time since Nov. 4. . . . The Warriors (15-6-4) had won their previous two games. . . . Prince Albert built a 4-1 lead and then hung as the Warriors scored twice before F Simon Stransky scored his 10th goal into an empty net at 19:35. . . . D Brandon Armstrong gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead with his first goal, at 13:07 of the first period. . . . The Raiders scored the next four goals. . . . F Cavin Leth (6) tied it at 15:16 of the first period and Stransky snapped the tie at 17:46 of the second. . . . F Austin Glover got his seventh goal at 6:47 of the third period, with D Max Martin (4) scoring a shorthanded empty-netter at 18:08. That was Martin’s first goal since coming over from the Prince George Cougars in the deal that had D Brendan Guhle go the other way. . . . Moose Jaw F Nikita Popugaev got his 20th goal, on a PP, at 18:32 and F Jayden Halbgewachs made it 4-3 with his 20th goal at 18:45. . . . Popugaev, a sophomore from Russia, scored his 20th goal in his 26th game. Last season, he finished with 16 scores in 70 games. . . . Halbgewachs has 20 goals in 25 games. Last season, his second, he totalled 15 goals in 69 games. . . . Glover added an assist to his goal. . . . Popugaev also had an assist. . . . The Raiders got 33 saves from G Ian Scott. . . . G Brody Willms stopped 37 shots for the Warriors. . . . Moose Jaw was 1-4 on the PP; Prince Albert was 0-5. . . . F Kolby Johnson was back in the Raiders’ lineup after a three-game absence. . . . Announced attendance: 2,463.
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At Prince George, F Jesse Gabrielle scored three times to lead the Cougars to a 4-2 victory over the
JESSE GABRIELLE
Victoria Royals. . . . Gabrielle, who has 16 goals, gave his guys a 1-0 lead 4:48 of the first period, only to have Victoria F Matt Phillips tie it, with No. 20, at 6:14. . . . Gabrielle put the Cougars out front again, at 14:39 of the second period. . . . The Royals tied it at 16:26 as F Regan Nagy scored his seventh goal. . . . Prince George F Colby McAuley (12) broke the tie at 17:21. . . . Gabrielle added insurance with his third goal of the game, at 4:10 of the third period. . . . The Cougars got three assists from F Jansen Harkins. . . . G Ty Edmonds stopped 25 shots to earn the victory over Griffen Outhouse, who stopped 26. . . . The Cougars were 0-6 on the PP; the Royals were 0-8. . . . Prince George (20-6-2), which started a seven-game homestand with the victory, has won three in a row. The Cougars are third in the overall standings, two points behind Everett and one back of Medicine Hat. . . . Victoria (14-13-2) has lost four straight. . . . The Cougars welcomed back D Sam Ruopp from an eight-game suspension, but were without D Brendan Guhle, who was recalled earlier in the day by the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. . . . Announced attendance: 2,842.
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At Kent, Wash., F Scott Eansor’s OT goal gave the Seattle Thunderbirds a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay
SCOTT EANSOR
Ice. . . . Eansor, who has 13 goals, won it at 1:24 of the OT period. . . . D Fedor Rudakov (4) had given the Ice a 1-0 lead at 1:13 of the opening period. . . . Seattle took a 2-1 lead on goals from D Ethan Bear (9) at 2:17 of the first and Eansor, on a PP, at 7:26 of the second. . . . Kootenay bounced back to take a 3-2 lead when F Jake Elmer scored his second goal, at 16:13 of the second, and F Vince Loschiavo got his fifth at 18:48. . . . Seattle forced OT when F Matthew Wedman (4) scored at 11:59 of the third period. . . . The Thunderbirds got three assists from F Mathew Barzal and two from F Ryan Gropp, who now has 100 career helpers. . . . Bear added two assists to his goal. . . . Kootenay F Barrett Sheen had two assists. . . . Seattle G Rylan Toth stopped 16 shots. Toth was back on the ice after watching for three games. . . . The Ice got 38 saves from G Jakob Walter. . . . The Thunderbirds had an 11-4 edge in shots in the second period and it was 17-3 in the third. . . . Seattle was 1-4 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-4. . . . The Thunderbirds (14-9-3) are 3-0-1 in their last four games. . . . The Ice (5-17-7) has lost five in a row. . . . Seattle lost F Donovan Neuls in the second period with an injury to his right leg. The Thunderbirds claim that Neuls was slashed on the knee. . . . Kootenay welcomed back F Max Patterson after an eight-game absence. . . . The Ice was without D Troy Murray, who is serving a four-game suspension after taking a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Nov. 27. F Artyom Baltruk of the Oil Kings, who absorbed Murray’s hit, didn’t play last night against the visiting Saskatoon Blades. . . . Announced attendance: 3,266.
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At Spokane, F Hudson Elynuik’s OT goal gave the Chiefs a 2-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . .
HUDSON ELYNUIK
Elynuik scored his 11th goal at 4:32 of extra time. . . . The Rockets took a 1-0 lead when F Kole Lind scored his 15th goal, on a PP, at 1:37 of the second period. Lind has goals in six straight games and has scored at least once in nine of his past 10 outings. . . . F Keanu Yamamoto’s 10th goal tied the game at 6:21 of the third period. Elynuik drew an assist on that goal. . . . Spokane G Jayden Sittler blocked 35 shots in a terrific outing. . . . The Rockets got 19 saves from Michael Herringer. . . . Kelowna was 1-1 on the PP; Spokane was 1-5. . . . The Chiefs (11-10-5) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Rockets (15-11-1) picked up their first loser point of the season. They are 2-0-1 in their last three games. . . . The Rockets continue to be without D Gordie Ballhorn, who injured a hand in a fight. Ballhorn could be gone for as long as two months, which is why the Rockets gave up D Jonathan Smart, 17, who was a first-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, in a deal this week that got them D James Hilsendager, 19, and F Erik Gardiner, 17. Hilsendager played for the Rockets in this one; Gardiner, who is with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos, will get into the lineup later this month when the Rockets travel through the East Division. . . . Announced attendance: 4,579.
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At Swift Current, F Ryan Graham scored twice and added an assist to lead the Broncos to a 5-1 victory
RYAN GRAHAM
over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Graham had a goal and four assists in 11 games with the Saskatoon Blades when he was dealt to Swift Current. In five games with the Broncos, he has seven goals and five assists. . . . F Matteo Gennaro (7) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 7:19 of the first period. . . . Broncos D Artyom Minulin tied it with the Teddy Bear Goal at 13:24 of the first period, forging a 1-1 tie. . . . F Kaden Elder (5) broke the tie at 18:55. . . . F Tyler Steenbergen then took over the WHL goal-scoring lead with his 21st goal at 7:43 of the second period. He has 21 in 29 games after putting up 20 in 67 games last season. Later in the night, Tri-City F Michael Rasmussen scored his 21st, moving into a tie with Steenbergen. . . . Graham put it away with unassisted goals at 13:02 and 16:57 of the second. . . . F Lane Pederson had two assists for the Broncos. . . . Calgary D Jake Bean returned from a hand injury to draw an assist. A late returnee from the camp of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, Bean hadn’t played since Oct. 14 when he was injured in his third game of the season. . . . G Travis Child stopped 27 shots to earn the victory. . . . Calgary got 15 saves from Cody Porter. . . . The Hitmen were 1-3 on the PP; the Broncos were 1-4. . . . The Broncos (15-8-6) have won two straight. . . . The Hitmen (8-13-2) have lost four in row. This was Game 1 in a four-game East Division swing. . . . Announced attendance: 1,990.
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At Kennewick, Wash., the Portland Winterhawks earned points in an eighth straight game as they beat
KEEGAN IVERSON
the Tri-City Americans, 5-2. . . . The Winterhawks (15-12-1) are 7-0-1 in their last eight outings. . . . The Americans (16-11-2) have lost two in a row. . . . F Vladislav Lukin (14) gave the Americans a 1-0 lead just 11 seconds into the game. . . . Portland followed that with four straight goals. . . . F Evan Weinger (10) tied the score at 17:29 and F Colton Veloso (7) provided a 2-1 lead just 1:06 later. . . . D Henri Jokiharju (3) added insurance at 4:21 of the second period and F Skyler McKenzie (16) made it 4-1 at 5:46. . . . Tri-City F Michael Rasmussen got his 21st goal, on a PP, at 2:24 of the third period. He and Swift Current F Tyler Steenbergen are tied for the WHL goal-scoring lead. . . . Portland F Joachim Blichfeld added an empty-netter at 17:51. He’s got 10 goals. . . . Portland got two assists from each of F Keegan Iverson and F Ryan Hughes, with Blichfeld and Veloso adding one each. . . . G Michael Bullion blocked 26 shots for Portland, six fewer than Tri-City’s Evan Sarthou. . . . Tri-City was 1-5 on the PP; Portland was 0-2. . . . Announced attendance: 2,857.
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DYLAN PLOUFFE
At Langley, B.C., D Dylan Plouffe scored at 1:49 of OT to give the Vancouver Giants a 2-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Plouffe, who has two goals, scored while a delayed penalty call was going against Brandon. Plouffe, in his second season, has four goals in 88 career regular-season games. . . . Vancouver D Matt Barberis scored his fifth goal at 6:11 of the first period. . . . Brandon tied it on D James Shearer’s fourth goal, on a PP, at 14:01 of the third period. . . . G Ryan Kubic stopped 25 shots for the Giants, while the Wheat Kings got 22 saves from Logan Thompson. . . . Brandon is 1-6 on the PP; Vancouver is 0-5. . . . The Giants (11-16-2) had lost their previous six games (0-4-2). . . . The Wheat Kings (13-9-4) are 1-0-1 in a B.C. Division swing that continues in Kelowna tonight. . . . Announced attendance: 4,239.
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TEDDY BEAR, TOQUE AND MITTEN TOSS GOALS:

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 first period, Red Deer 3 at Lethbridge 5.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Vancouver at Kamloops, 7 p.m. (TBG)
Brandon at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m. (TBG)
Calgary at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Kootenay at Portland, 2 p.m.
Victoria at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Red Deer, 7 p.m. (TBG)
Prince Albert at Regina, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Spokane vs. Tri-City Americans, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
TBG: Teddy Bear Game.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:03 PM
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