Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Scout no fan of shootout ... 'Cane train rolls through Red Deer ... Pats get past Warriors


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 F Chris St. Jacques (Medicine Hat, 1999-2004) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, DEL2). This season, he had nine goals and 21 assists in 24 games with Füchse Duisburg (Germany, Oberliga). He was released on Jan. 14. . . .
F Jiří Smejkal (Moose Jaw, Kamloops, 2014-16) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season, he had three goals and an assist in 26 games with Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL).
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ECHLF Casey Pierro-Zabotel, a former WHL scoring champion, had two assists for the Colorado Eagles in a 5-2 ECHL victory over the visiting Anchorage Aces on Wednesday night. The first of those assists was Pierro-Zabotel’s 400th career regular-season ECHL point. In 451 games, he has 123 goals and 278 assists. He also has played with the Wheeling Nailers, Cincinnati Cyclones, Bakersfield Condors, Gwinnett Gladiators, Florida Everblades and Allen Americans. . . . Pierro-Zabotel, 28, won the WHL’s 2008-09 scoring title when he put up 115 points in 72 games with the Vancouver Giants.
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Mike Fraser has a good rant in the Westman Journal this week. Fraser scouts for the Brandon Wheat Kings so sees more minor hockey games than is good for his health. (Most of his tweets include a photo featuring a Wheat Kings leather folder and a cuppa Starbucks.) Anyway, he has seen enough of, you guess it, the shootout and says it’s time for it go the way of the dodo bird. That piece is right here.
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Is F Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins bad news for the NHL? Will Steve Yzerman move G Ben Bishop out of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s dressing room? Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman looks at those issues and more in his weekly 30 Thoughts right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

At Kelowna, the Rockets erased a 1-0 first-period deficit with two PP goals and went on to dump the Calgary Hitmen, 8-2. . . . The Hitmen took a 1-0 lead on F Beck Malenstyn’s 22nd goal at 10:40. . . . At
DILLON DUBE
11:41, Calgary lost F Mark Kastelic with a charging major and game misconduct at 11:41 of the first period. . . . F Kole Lind, who took that hit, left the game but returned and finished with three assists. . . . The hosts scored two PP goals during the major penalty — F Dillon Dube (7) scored at 12:15 and F Calvin Thurkauf (23) at 14:12. . . . F Nick Merkley made it 3-1 with his 13th goal, at 19:21. . . . Calgary got to within a goal when F Luke Coleman got his 11th just 20 seconds into the second period. . . . Kelowna closed it out with the game’s last five goals. . . . Dube, Merkley and Thurkauf each had two goals and two assists. Dube’s NHL rights are owned by the Calgary Flames, who own the Hitmen. . . . F Nolan Foote (11) and D Devante Stephens (9) also scored for Kelowna. . . . D Cal Foote had two assists for Kelowna, with Stephens adding one. . . . G Michael Herringer stopped 25 shots for the Rockets. . . . Calgary starter Trevor Martin allowed seven goals on 32 shots in 32:24. Kyle Dumba finished up with eight saves on nine shots in 27:35. . . . Kelowna was 3-4 on the PP; Calgary was 0-4. . . . The Rockets (28-19-4) had lost their previous two games. They are fourth in the B.C. Division, two points behind the Victoria Royals. . . . The Hitmen (18-13-9) have lost two in a row. They remain one point out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 5,018.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Max Gerlach scored two goals and added an assist as the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Kootenay Ice, 6-2. . . . Gerlach, a sophomore from Flower Mound, Texas, has 47 points,
MAX GERLACH
including 29 goals, in 52 games. Last season, Gerlach finished with 45 points, including 30 goals, in 72 games. . . . On Tuesday night, The Tigers had scored the game’s last three goals in a 4-3 victory over the visiting Ice. Last night, Medicine Hat accounted for the final four goals. . . . Gerlach, at 1:22 of the first period, and F Mark Rassell (23), at 8:56 of the second, gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. . . . Kootenay tied it on goals from F Brett Davis (15), on a PP, at 17:16 of the second and F Vince Loschiavo (19), at 1:40 of the third. . . . Tigers F James Hamblin broke the tie with his 13th goal at 4:47. . . . F Matt Bradley (22) added insurance at 12:44. . . . Gerlach and F Gary Haden (5) added goals and 13:21 and 13:40. . . . Hamblin and D Kristians Rubins had two assists each for Medicine Hat. . . . Loschiavo also had an assist. . . . G Michael Bullion blocked 23 shots to earn the victory over Payton Lee, who stopped 35 shots. . . . The Ice was 1-3 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-1. . . . Medicine Hat (36-15-1) has won five in a row and is third in the overall standings, four points behind the Regina Pats and two in arrears of the Prince George Cougars. . . . Kootenay (12-33-8) has lost its past three games as it searches for its 13th victory, one more than it won all of last season. . . . Announced attendance: 1,526.
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At Portland, F Evan Weinger broke a 2-2 tie at 17:09 of the second period and the Winterhawks went on to a 4-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Weinger, a 19-year-old from El Segundo, Calif., has 33
EVAN WEINGER
points, including 16 goals, in 51 games this season. Last season, his second with Portland, he finished with 10 goals and 15 assists in 63 games. . . . F Collin Shirley (21) gave Kamloops a 1-0 lead at 6:49 of the second period. . . . Portland F Skyler McKenzie tied it with his 32nd goal at 9:37. . . . F Luc Smith (9) put the Blazers back into the lead, on a PP, at 13:58. . . . The Winterhawks tied it on F Jake Gricius’s fifth goal, at 15:21. . . . After Weinger scored, D Caleb Jones added insurance with his fifth goal at 13:39 of the third period. . . . The Winterhawks got two assists from F Cody Glass, with McKenzie adding one. . . . F Quinn Benjafield had two assists for Kamloops. . . . G Shane Farkas stopped 25 shots in his third start in eight days. He is 3-0-0 in those starts. . . . Kamloops got 34 saves from G Dylan Ferguson. . . . Kamloops was 1-4 on the PP; Portland was 0-4. . . . The Winterhawks (27-21-3) have won five straight. They hold down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, three points behind the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Blazers (31-18-4) had points in their previous three games (2-0-1). They are 1-1-1 on a five-game trip into the U.S. Division. Kamloops is second in the B.C. Division, four points ahead of the Victoria Royals. . . . This was the third meeting between these teams in the past 13 days. The host Blazers won 4-3 in a shootout on Jan. 20, with the Winterhawks posting a 6-4 victory in Portland four days later. . . . Announced attendance: 5,101.
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At Red Deer, F Giorgio Estephan had two goals, including the OT winner, and an assist to lead the
GIORGIO ESTEPHAN
Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the Rebels. . . . One night earlier, Estephan had the only goal of a shootout as the Hurricanes beat the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-3. . . . Last night, he won it with his 26th goal just 46 seconds into OT. . . . D Brennan Menell picked up one of his two assists on the winner. . . . Estephan and Menell had assisted on F Tyler Wong’s 37th goal, at 17:34 of the third period, that forced OT. . . . Estephan had given the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 8:18 of the first period. . . . Red Deer took a 2-1 lead on goals from D Jared Freadrich (4), on a PP, at 7:52 of the second period, and F Brandon Hagel (21), at 11:47 of the third. . . . F Michael Spacek assessed on both Red Deer goals. . . . G Stuart Skinner earned the victory with 34 saves, four more than Red Deer’s Lasse Petersen. . . . Red Deer was 0-3 on the PP; Lethbridge’s PP unit didn’t get an opportunity. . . . The Hurricanes (30-15-7) have points in 12 straight games (10-0-2). They are second in the Central Division, six points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and 15 in front of the Rebels. . . . The Rebels (22-21-8) have lost two in a row (0-1-1). . . . Announced attendance: 4,131.
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At Regina, D Connor Hobbs scored with 23.7 seconds left to give the Pats a 4-3 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Hobbs leads WHL defencemen in goals, with 21, one more than David Quenneville of
CONNOR HOBBS
the Medicine Hat Tigers, who is on the shelf with a broken leg. . . . The Pats never trailed in this game, as Moose Jaw three times tied the score. . . . F Austin Wagner gave Regina a 1-0 lead at 10:49 of the first period, with Warriors F Tanner Jeannot tying it at 10:28 of the second period. . . . Regina F Robbie Holmes (2) put the Pats back out front at 14:44. . . . F Brett Howden (26) tied it at 17:51. . . . The Pats regained the lead at 8:38 of the third period when F Nick Henry got his 22nd goal. . . . Jeannot, with his 14th goal, tied it at 14:02. . . . F Sam Steel, the WHL scoring leader, had assists on the Pats’ last two goals to reach 90 points in 42 games. . . . Wagner and Holmes had an assist each. . . . Howden also had an assist. . . . The Pats got 30 saves from G Tyler Brown. At the other end, Zach Sawchenko stopped 27 shots. . . . Moose Jaw was 0-3 on the PP; Regina was 0-4. . . . The Pats scratched F Dawson Leedahl (personal) and F Jeff de Wit (ill). . . . The Pats (35-6-7) have won six in a row and are back on top of the overall standings, two points ahead of the Prince George Cougars. . . . Moose Jaw (30-14-7) has lost two straight and now trails the Pats by 10 points in the East Division. . . . Shortly after the game, the Pats announced that their Saturday game against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings is sold out. . . . Announced attendance: 5,402.
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At Swift Current, F Tyler Steenbergen’s two goals helped the Broncos to a 4-1 victory over the Edmonton
TYLER STEENBERGEN
Oil Kings. . . . Steenbergen, who has 37 goals, broke a 1-1 tie, on a PP, at 15:10 of the second period. He added insurance at 19:38 of the second. . . . D Max Lajoie drew an assist on each of those goals. . . . F Brett Kemp gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead with his fourth goal, on a PP, at 6:51 of the first period. . . . Broncos F Kaden Elder (11) tied it at 1:16 of the second. . . . F Aleksi Heponiemi, who also had an assist, got the Broncos’ last goal, into an empty net, at 19:48 of the third. He’s got 20 goals. . . . Steenbergen is one goal behind F Jayden Halbgewachs of the Moose Jaw Warriors, who holds the league lead despite not having scored in his past eight games. F Matt Phillips of the Victoria Royals and F Tyler Wong of the Lethbridge Hurricanes also have 37 goals. . . . Swift Current G Jordan Papirny stopped 22 shots, while Edmonton’s Patrick Dea blocked 38. . . . Edmonton was 1-4 on the PP; Swift Current was 1-6. . . . The Broncos (26-17-8) snapped a four-game losing skid. They are third in the East Division, seven points behind the Moose Jaw Warriors and six ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Oil Kings (18-29-4) now have lost 12 in a row and are six points out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 1,717.
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At Kennewick, Wash., F Kyle Olson had a goal and three assists to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 5-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . A 17-year-old from Calgary, Olson has 45 points, 14 of them goals,
KYLE OLSON
in 54 games. Last season, as a freshman, he had three goals and seven assists in 19 games. . . . The Americans grabbed a 1-0 lead just 12 seconds into the game when D Juuso Valimaki scored his 14th goal. . . . Tri-City scored the next four goals as they grabbed a 4-0 lead late in the second period. . . . F Morgan Geekie got No. 28 at 18:40 of the first period, with Olson, at 15:06 of the second period, and F Vladislav Lukin (22), who also had an assist, counting at 17:42. . . . D Jake Christiansen got his fourth goal for Everett, at 17:57. . . . D Dylan Coghlan (9) scored Tri-City’s final goal, on a PP, at 7:24 of the third period. . . . Geekie also had two assists. He went into the season with 13 goals and 15 assist in 76 games. This season, he has 67 points, including 39 assists, in 54 games. . . . The Americans got 27 saves from G Rylan Parenteau. . . . Everett started Carter Hart, but he left after giveng up two goals on seven shots in the first period. Mario Petit finished up with 18 saves on 21 shots. . . . Tri-City was 1-5 on the PP; Everett was 0-3 and now hasn’t scored in its last 23 opportunities. . . . Tri-City F Tyler Sandhu, the team captain, played in his 300th regular-season game. He also has played with Everett and the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Silvertips are in a stretch that has them playing seven games in nine nights. Seriously. It began with three games in fewer than 48 hours last weekend. This was the second of four games in five nights. . . . Tri-City (31-20-3) is back in second spot in the U.S. Division, a point ahead of Seattle, but the Thunderbirds hold five games in hand. . . . The Silvertips (30-10-10) have lost six in a row (0-4-2). They are four points ahead of Tri-City and Everett has four games in hand. . . . Announced attendance: 2,732.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

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

Edmonton at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Portland at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
Moose Jaw vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Regina at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Kamloops vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
Calgary vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:07 PM
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