Friday, February 3, 2017

Thibodeau gets AJHL record . . . Winterhawks, Thunderbirds on fire . . . Halbgewachs ends drought

F Brett Bulmer (Kelowna, 2008-12) has been released by mutual agreement by Ilves Tampere (Finland, Liiga). He had two goals and three assists in 23 games.
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Gord Thibodeau recorded his 833rd coaching victory on Friday, moving to the top of the AJHL’s career list. Thibodeau’s Whitecourt Wolverines scored a 2-1 OT victory over the host Fort McMurray Oil Barons to give him the record. Thibodeau spent 11 seasons (2003-13) as the Oil Barons’ GM and head coach. . . . In his first season with Whitecourt, he also has coached the Lloydminster Blazers, St. Albrert Saints and Lloydminster Bobcats. . . . Thibodeau, who is in his 23rd season as an AJHL head coach, had been tied with Don Phelps, who coached the Calgary Canucks from 1979-2011. . . . Whitecourt’s winning goal came from F Eric Krienke, with the lone assist to F Mitch Lipon, both of them former WHL players.
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The Battlefords Stars of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League have made a coaching change, with Norm Johnston replacing Jean Fauchon for the remainder of this season. . . . After losing 9-1 to the Mintos in Prince Albert on Thursday, the Stars were 14-21-2 and tied for 10th place, one point out of a playoff spot. . . . Fauchon was in his first season as head coach of the Stars after spending four seasons with them as an assistant coach. . . . Johnston, a school teacher by profession, hasn’t coached since 2013-14 when he was with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. He was the general manager and head coach of the SJHL’s North Battleford North Stars for five seasons (1983-86, 1988-90). . . . He spent 1994-95 as head coach of the WHL’s Regina Pats. . . . He will be behind the bench today (Saturday) as the Stars play host to the Yorkton Maulers.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:

At Brandon, F Tyler Coulter and F Nolan Patrick each had four points to lead the Wheat Kings to a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Coulter scored two goals and added two assists, while Patrick
TYLER COULTER
drew four assists. . . . The Wheat Kings took an early 2-0 lead as F Stelio Mattheos (18) and F Meyer Nell (2) scored at 1:21 and 5:07 of the first period. . . . Both of Nell’s goals this season have come with his side shorthanded. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky pulled Edmonton to within one at 9:00, but Brandon put it away with the next three goals. . . . Coulter scored at 14:34 of the first period, while F Ty Lewis (24) counted at 12:35 of the second and F Reid Duke got his 32nd, on a PP, at 15:06. . . . D Will Warm got Edmonton’s second goal, his ninth, at 18:02 of the second and F Davis Koch (14) scored on a PP 27 seconds into the third. . . . Coulter wrapped up the scoring, putting his 22nd goal into an empty net at 19:31. . . . Coulter equalled his career high in goals from last season. . . . Patrick, the consensus No. 1 selection for the 2017 NHL draft, has 22 points, 13 of them assists, in 13 games this season. He has 13 points, including five goals, in seven games since returning from injury. . . . Brandon got two assists from D Kale Clague, with Mattheos adding one to his goal. . . . F Graham Millar had two assists for the Oil Kings, with Koch adding one. . . . G Travis Child earned the victory with 22 saves. . . . Edmonton G Patrick Dea stopped 27 shots. . . . Brandon was 1-2 on the PP; Edmonton was 1-6. . . . With Brandon head coach David Anning ill, assistant coach Don MacGillivray picked up his first WHL coaching victory. . . . The Wheat Kings (25-19-6) have points in three straight (2-0-1). They are fourth in the East Division, four points behind the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Oil Kings (18-30-4) have lost 13 in a row. They are six points out of the playoffs. . . . Announced attendance: 4,712.
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At Everett, F Skyler McKenzie and F Cody Glass each had four points to help the Portland Winterhawks to a 6-5 victory over the Silvertips. . . . The start of the game was delayed about 30 minutes due to an
SKYLER McKENZIE
accident on I-5 that delayed Portland’s arrival. . . . McKenzie scored twice, running his total to 34, and added two assists, while Glass, who has 72 points, had a goal, his 24th, and three assists. . . . F Brad Ginnell (5) gave Portland a 1-0 lead at 1:14 of the first period. . . . Everett followed with two quick ones, F Bryce Kindopp (7) scoring at 3:48 and F Riley Sutter (15) at 5:21. Kindopp’s goal came on a PP, ending an 0-22 skid. . . . The Winterhawks went back out front on goals from McKenzie, on a PP, at 17:51 and Glass just 30 seconds into the second period. . . . Everett F Devon Skoleski (10) tied it at 3:17. . . . F Ryan Hughes (23), on a PP, and McKenzie scored at 5:54 and 8:37 as the Winterhawks took a 5-3 lead. . . . F Sean Richards (6) but the deficit to one at 14:54, but Portland F Joachim Blichfeld (18) scored with 2.8 seconds left in the period for a 6-4 lead. . . . Everett got back to within a goal when F Dominic Zwerger (22) struck at 13:15 of the third period. . . . D Caleb Jones had two assists for Portland. . . . Everett got four assists from D Aaron Irving, his first career four-point game. Everett F Eetu Tuulola had three assists, with D Kevin Davis adding two. . . . Portland G Cole Kehler finished with 34 saves as he recorded his 20th victory. . . . Everett starter Carter Hart was beaten three times on 11 shots in 24:30 when he was relieved by Mario Petit. He allowed three goals on 17 shots in 33:11. . . . Portland was 2-3 on the PP; Everett was 1-3. . . . The Winterhawks (28-21-3) ran their winning streak to six games. They hold down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot and are nine points ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Silvertips (30-11-10) have lost seven in a row (0-5-2). They lead the U.S. Division by four points over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Announced attendance: 4,432.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Jayden Halbgewachs, the WHL’s leading sniper, ended an eight-game drought with
JAYDEN HALBGEWACHS
two goals as the Warriors beat the Kootenay Ice, 6-2. . . . Halbgewachs, who now has 40 goals, also had two assists. . . . F Brett Howden helped out with two goals and one assist. . . . The Warriors led 2-0 before the game was 45 seconds old, with Halbgewachs scoring at 0:30 and Howden counting just 11 seconds later. . . . Halbgewachs scored again at 3:35. . . . The Warriors led 4-0 when F Tristin Langan scored his fifth goal at 4:01 of the second period. . . . F Max Patterson (7) got the Ice on the scoreboard at 5:48, but Howden got that one back with No. 28 at 18:11. . . . Ice F Kaeden Taphorn scored his third goal, assisted by twin brother Keenan, at 1:17 of the third period. . . . F Luka Burzan finished the scoring with No. 12 for the Warriors at 7:10. . . . The Warriors got two assists from each of D Jett Woo and F Brayden Burke. . . . G Brody Willms got the victory with 20 saves. . . . Ice starter Jakob Walter allowed three goals on seven shots in 3:35. Payton Lee came on in relief to stop 32 of 35 shots in 56:25. . . . Each team was 0-2 on the PP. . . . The Warriors (31-14-7) had lost their previous two games. They are comfortably in second place in the East Division, 10 points behind the Regina Pats and nine in front of the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Ice (12-34-8) have lost four straight. . . . Announced attendance: 1,709.
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At Prince Albert, F Evan Polei and F Michael Spacek each had two goals as they led the Red Deer
COLTON BOBYK
Rebels to a 6-3 victory over the Raiders. . . . The Rebels took a 2-0 lead into the second period on goals from Polei, on a PP, at 12:33, and Spacek, at 19:30. . . . The Raiders tied it with a pair of early second-period goals as F Simon Stransky (14) scored, on a PP, at 1:04, and F Sean Montgomery (11) tied it at 4:05. . . . The visitors answered with two more goals, as F Cameron Hausinger scored his sixth at 14:10 and Spacek got his 23rd, on a PP, at 19:03. . . . F Cavin Leth got the Raiders to within a goal with his 17th just 25 seconds later. . . . The Rebels put it away with two empty-netters, as Polei scored No. 24 at 18:09 of the third period and F Lane Zablocki got his 16th at 19:36. . . . D Colton Bobyk had three assists for Red Deer, with F Adam Musil and F Brandon Hagel each adding two. . . . Bobyk had four goals and a career-high 36 assists in 51 games. He went into the season with 44 assists in 160 games. . . . Red Deer G Riley Lamb earned the victory with 32 stops, five more than Nic Sanders at the other end. . . . The Rebels were 2-3 on the PP; the Raiders were 1-4. . . . Red Deer (23-21-8) had lost its previous two games (0-1-1). The Rebels appear headed to a third-place finish in the Central Division. . . . The Raiders (13-36-5) had won their previous two outings. . . . Announced attendance: 2,198.
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At Prince George, F Kole Lind broke a 2-2 tie at 7:23 of the third period as the Kelowna Rockets got past the Cougars, 3-2. . . . Lind, who has 24 goals, also scored Kelowna’s first goal, while shorthanded, at
KOLE LIND
8:12 of the first period. . . . F Reid Gardiner gave the visitors a 2-0 lead with his fourth goal, at 18:04. . . . The Cougars tied it with two second-period goals. . . . F Colby McAuley scored No. 19 just 20 seconds into the period, with F Jesse Gabrielle getting his 24th goal at 17:09. . . . F Dillon Dube had two assists for the Rockets. . . . Lind, an 18-year-old from Shaunavon, Sask., has 63 points in 50 games this season. He finished last season with 14 goals and 27 assists in 70 games. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer, in his 100th WHL appearance, earned the victory with 32 stops. Herringer made two appearances with the Victoria Royals in 2012-13; the other 98 have been with the Rockets, including 40 this season. . . . The Cougars got 29 saves from G Ty Edmonds. . . . Kelowna was 0-2 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-5. . . . The Cougars scratched D Brendan Guhle (ankle), while F Tomas Soustal (undisclosed injury) was among Kelowna’s scratches. . . . The Rockets (29-19-4) have won two in a row. They are tied with the Victoria Royals for third spot in the B.C. Division, five points behind the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Cougars (36-15-3) had won their previous two games. They lead the B.C. Division by eight points over Kamloops. . . . The game was handled by one referee (Mike Langin), when the other assigned official (Colin Watt) was snowed in at the airport in Vancouver. . . . Announced attendance: 3,038.
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At Saskatoon, F Austin Wagner scored twice to help the Regina Pats to a 5-2 victory over the Blades. . . . The Pats took control by scoring the game’s first three goals. . . . F Nick Henry (23) got it started at 11:50,
AUSTIN WAGNER
with Wagner counting 36 seconds into the second period and D Dawson Davidson scoring 5:18 later. . . . Saskatoon D Bryton Sayers got his sixth, on a PP, at 13:56, but Regina D Connor Hobbs, who is from Saskatoon, got that one back with No. 22, on a PP, at 14:15. . . . F Braylon Shmyr scored Saskatoon’s other goal, his 26th, on a PP, at 5:32 of the third period. . . . Wagner’s 24th goal, a shorthanded empty-netter, ended the scoring at 17:21. . . . Regina F Sam Steel, who leads the WHL scoring race with 91, had two assists, as did F Adam Brooks, who trails his teammate by three points. . . . Davidson also had an assist for Regina. . . . Shmyr added one to his goal. . . . G Tyler Brown stopped 18 shots for Regina, while Saskatoon’s Brock Hamm blocked 32. . . . Saskatoon was 2-6 on the PP; Regina was 1-7. . . . F Jesse Shynkaruk (coach’s decision) was among the Blades’ scratches. . . . F Filip Ahl (ill) was one of Regina’s scratches. . . . Regina lost F Jake Leschyshyn to an undisclosed injury and he isn’t expected to play tonight against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Regina F Jeff de Wit took a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 18:27 of the third period for a hit on Saskatoon D Mark Rubinchik, who didn’t appear to be injured on the play. . . . Regina (36-6-7) has won seven in a row. The Pats lead the overall standings by four points over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Saskatoon (20-26-6) has lost four straight and is one point away from a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 3,487.
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At Spokane, F Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored three times and added an assist to lead the Chiefs to a 5-3
JARET ANDERSON-DOLAN
victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Anderson-Dolan broke a 3-3 tie, on a PP, at 11:52 of the third period and then had the primary assist on F Keanu Yamamoto’s 19th goal, at 18:45. . . . Anderson-Dolan has 27 goals and 26 assists in 51 games; he finished last season, his first, with 14 goals and 12 assists in 65 games. Anderson-Dolan, 17, is from Calgary. He was a first-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . The Tigers led 2-0 after one period on goals from F James Hamblin (14), on a PP, at 15:53 and F Matt Bradley (23), at 18:46. . . . The Chiefs scored three times in the second period. . . . F Hayden Ostir got his fifth at 2:25. . . . Anderson-Dolan followed with two PP scores, at 8:57 and 12:34. . . . The Tigers tied it when F Tyler Preziuso scored his third goal, at 2:14 of the third period. . . . Yamamoto also had three assists, while F Riley Woods record two. . . . Spokane got 31 saves from G Dawson Weatherill. . . . Medicine Hat G Michael Bullion stopped 29 shots. . . . The Chiefs were 3-7 on the PP; the Tigers were 1-4. . . . Spokane (21-22-8) had lost its last three games (0-2-1). The Chiefs are nine points away from a playoff spot. . . . Medicine Hat (36-16-1) had a five-game winning streak halted. It leads the Central Division by six points over the Lethbridge Hurricane. . . . Announced attendance: 8,564.
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At Kent, Wash., F Zack Andrusiak scored in the ninth round of a shootout to give the Seattle
ZACK ANDRUSIAK
Thunderbirds a 3-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The first four shooters in the skills competition all scored, but the next 12 all came up short. Andrusiak, who has five goals in 40 games, scored on G Connor Ingram to put the hosts ahead. Seattle won it when G Rylan Toth stopped Blazers F Erik Miller. . . . Prior to the shootout beginning, TBird Tidbits tweeted that the Blazers were 5-0 in shootouts against the Thunderbirds. . . . The Blazers had taken a 1-0 lead when F Nic Holowko’s fifth goal of the season, on a PP, at 7:16 of the second period. That was the first PP goal of Holowko’s career; it came in his 183rd game. . . . Seattle F Luke Ormsby (5) tied it at 7:59. . . . Kamloops went back out front when F Deven Sideroff got No. 30, at 11:25. . . . F Ryan Gropp, who is from Kamloops, tied it with his 14th goal, on a PP, at 15:21. . . . F Alexander True had two assists for Seattle. . . . Toth finished with 35 saves through OT, while Ingram stopped 24 shots. . . . Seattle was 1-2 on the PP; Kamloops was 1-4. . . . This was the third time in a row these teams went to OT. Seattle had beaten the visiting Blazers, 4-3 in OT, on Tuesday. On Nov. 30, the host Blazers won 4-3 in OT. . . . Seattle (31-15-4) has won seven in a row and moved into second in the U.S. Division, one point ahead of the Tri-City Americans. . . . Kamloops (31-18-5) has lost three straight (0-1-2). It is 1-1-2 in a five-game swing into the U.S. Division. The Blazers are second in the B.C Division. . . . Announced attendance: 4,259.
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At Langley, B.C., the Calgary Hitmen, down 2-0 before the game was three minutes old, came back to beat the Vancouver Giants, 4-3 in OT. . . . F Owen Hardy (3) gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 2:27 of the
MATTEO GENNARO
first period and F Johnny Wesley (7) made it 2-0 just 24 seconds later. . . . Calgary F Matteo Gennaro scored for the Hitmen at 5:29 of the second period, but the Giants got that one back as F Ty Ronning (20) counted at 8:27. . . . The visitors responded with the game’s last three goals. . . . F Tristen Nielsen scored his first goal of the season — and second of his career — at 13:08 of the second period. A first-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft, Nielsen scored once in three games last season; this season, he has a goal and three assists in 30 games. . . . F Jakub Stukel, who started his career with the Giants, tied the game, on a PP, 54 seconds into the third period. He’s got 17 goals. . . . The Hitmen won it when Gennaro struck for his 33rd goal at 1:09 of OT. . . . Gennaro began this season with 39 goals in 202 games. This season, he has 33 goals and 28 assists in 48 games. . . . Gennaro didn’t score in his last five games in December. He then scored 20 times in January and now has two goals in February. . . . D Brady Reagan drew three assists, while F Beck Malenstyn had two, and Gennaro and Stukel each had one. . . . The Hitmen got 31 stops from G Trevor Martin, while Vancouver’s Ryan Kubic made 28 saves. . . . Calgary was 1-1 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-3. . . . The Hitmen were without F Mark Kastelic, who drew a one-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct he incurred on Wednesday in Kelowna. . . . Calgary (19-23-9) had lost two in a row. The victory lifted the Hitmen past the Saskatoon Blades and into the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Vancouver (17-30-5) has lost six straight (0-4-2). . . . Announced attendance: 3,368.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Vancouver at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Portland, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Regina, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Kamloops at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Brandon at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Calgary at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
No Games Scheduled.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:23 PM
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