Hitmen hang on for win . . . Manitoba Hockey Hall names inductees . . . Stewart off to ECHL

F Matt MacKay (Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Brandon, 2008-11) signed one-year contract with the Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL). This season, with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, DEL2), he had 24 goals and 20 assists. He led his team in goals. MacKay is a dual Canadian-German citizen. . . .
D Paul Kurceba (Red Deer, Kootenay, 2003-08) has signed a one-year contract with the Melbourne Ice (Australia, AIHL). This season, with the Okotoks Drillers (Chinook Hockey League), he had one goal and 10 assists in 19 games. The AIHL season starts on April 25.
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MONDAY’S GAME:

In Calgary, the Hitmen erased an early 2-0 deficit with five straight goals and then hung on to beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-4. . . . The Hitmen hold a 2-1 edge in the series. . . . The teams will return to Medicine Hat for Game 4 on Wednesday, with Game 5 in Calgary on Friday. . . . F Chad Labelle and Steve Owre gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead before the game was three minutes old. . . . Calgary tied it on goals by F Adam Tambellini, at 6:20, and F Kenton Helgesen, on a PP, at 10:36. . . . Another PP goal, this one from F Connor Rankin, gave the Hitmen their first lead, at 13:28. . . . Helgesen has six goals; Rankin has nine. . . . Calgary D Travis Sanheim stretched the lead to 4-2 with his fourth goal, at 2:14 of the second, on another PP. . . . Tambellini upped it to 5-2 with his second of the game and ninth of the playoffs, at 5:17. . . . The Tigers made it interesting on Labelle’s second goal of the game, and second of the playoffs, at 3:09 of the third, and F Dryden Hunt’s fourth goal, at 6:04. . . . Medicine Hat F Trevor Cox rang one off the cross-bar late in the third period. . . . Special teams obviously were key in this one. Calgary was 3-for-5 on the PP; Medicine Hat was 0-for-4. . . . The Hitmen got a total of four goals and four assists from their three 20-year-olds — Helgesen, Rankin and Tambellini. . . . Tambellini also had two assists; he leads the playoffs in assists (10) and points (19). He and Rankin share the goal-scoring lead, each with nine. . . . Sanheim also had two assists. . . . F Blake Penner and F Cole Sanford each had two assists for the Tigers. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields stopped 29 shots, while Medicine Hat’s Marek Langhamer turned aside 26. . . . A note from Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun: “Including the regular season, the Tigers have outshot the Hitmen in nine straight games.” . . . The Tigers remain without F Chad Butcher (hand), who was injured in Game 3 of their first-round series. . . . The Hitmen continue to play without D Jake Bean, who has an undisclosed injury. They also are without F Chase Lang, who suffered a right leg injury in Game 2. . . . Attendance was 5,297, the Hitmen’s smallest crowd of this season.
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F Morgan Klimchuk of the Brandon Wheat Kings skated in the early portion of practice on Monday but isn’t expected to play in Game 3 of their series against the Pats in Regina tonight. The Wheat Kings lead that series, 2-0. . . . Klimchuk, who was acquired from Regina in January, has missed Brandon’s past four games. . . .
The Pats aren’t expected to have D Sergey Zborovsky, F Rykr Cole or D Chase Harrison in their lineup tonight. . . . Zborovsky has been hit with a ‘tbd’ suspension after taking an interference major and game misconduct in Game 2. Brandon F Jayce Hawryluk was injured on the play and may sit tonight. . . . Cole was injured after taking a hit from F Tanner Kaspick in Game 1 in Brandon, while Harrison went down in Game 2 after a hit from Hawryluk. . . . Regina F Taylor Cooper didn’t practice on Monday for undisclosed reasons. . . . Regina will have D James Hilsendager back in its lineup as he has completed a three-game WHL-issued suspension.
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John Paddock, the Regina Pats’ vice-president of hockey operations and head coach, and former NHL coach Andy Murray head up the 2015 inductees to the Manitoba hockey Hall of Fame. . . . The induction ceremony is scheduled for Winnipeg on Oct. 3. . . . Paddock, who is from Oak River, Man., played for the Brandon Wheat Kings and also worked as general manager and head coach of the Winnipeg Jets. . . . Paddock, who also is in the AHL Hall of Fame, is being inducted as a builder, along with Al Hares of Selkirk and Murray, who is from Souris and now is the head coach at Western Michigan. . . . Those going in as players include Winnipeg’s Cam Connor (Winnipeg, Flin Flon, 1971-73), Elkhorn’s Sheldon Kennedy (Moose Jaw, Swift Current, 1984-89), Curt Ridley (Brandon, 1970-71), who grew up in Portage la Prairie, and the late Cully Wilson, an Icelandic-Canadian who played in the early 1900s. . . . Others being inducted are the late Dianne Woods of Winnipeg (builder), Gerry Varnes of Winnipeg (official), and Scott Oake of Winnipeg (media). . . . Three teams also will be inducted — the 1953-54 Dauphin Kings, the 1979-80 Transcona Railers and the 1975-76 Deloraine Royals.
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F Liam Stewart, who played out his junior eligibility with the Spokane Chiefs this season, has signed with the ECHL’s Quad City Mallards. Stewart had career highs in goals (25), assists (28) and points (53) this season. In 251 career regular-season games, all with the Chiefs, he had 132 points, including 57 goals. . . .
It turns out that two of the scouts mentioned here yesterday did lose their jobs when the Toronto Maple Leafs began cleaning house on Sunday. Roy Stasiuk and Darryl Stanley both are gone; among those kept on the scouting staff was Garth Malarchuk. . . .
Hungary finished 2-3 at the IIHF Division 1 Group B women’s world championship that wrapped up Sunday in Beijing. Dwayne Gylywoychuk, a former WHL player and coach, was the Hungarian team’s head coach. It finished fourth in the six-team affair that was won by Slovakia. . . .
The Edmonton Oilers have missed the NHL playoffs each of the past nine seasons. Interestingly, when Edmonton GM Craig MacTavish met with the media on Monday, his message was that next season will be “another developmental year.” . . . John MacKinnon of the Edmonton Journal has his reaction right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The ECHL’s Brampton Beast fired Brent Hughes, their vice-president of hockey operations and head coach, on Monday, one day after its season ended. . . . The Beast went 23-46-3, finishing last in the Western Conference’s Central Division. . . . Hughes was an assistant coach with the Beast last season when it was in the Central league. He took over as head coach prior to this season. . . . The Beast also announced that Phil Oreskovic will return as an assistant coach next season. He retired as a player earlier this season and joined the Beast’s coaching staff in January.
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#NASCAR fan at the Duck Commander 500 @GettySport Best photos of the week: http://t.co/5n5o96U4jb pic.twitter.com/NgbB3QcIEO
— Paul Nisely (@SN_Paul_Nisely) April 14, 2015

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It was on March 16, 2002, when a deflected puck flew into the stands in the Nationwide Arena in Columbus and struck a young girl named Brittanie Cecil in the head. Soon to turn 14, she died two nights later.
Following her death, leagues, teams and arenas everywhere were quick to install netting to protect fans. You may recall the hue and cry at the time. “People wouldn’t want to look through netting.” “The game has been played all these years without netting, so why now?” . . . And on and on it went.
Steve Macfarlane of the Calgary Sun looks back at the incident right here.
Which brings us to Don Sanderson. Remember him?
He was playing senior hockey for the Whitby, Ont., Dunlops when he got into a fight, lost his helmet and hit his head on the ice.
That was on Dec. 14, 2008. Sanderson, who had been in a coma, died on Jan. 2, 2009.
Three years later, nothing has changed. Yes, there is more concussion awareness at all levels of hockey. But the powers-that-be still allow teenagers to punch themselves in the face for the entertainment of others.
While there is netting in place to protect the fans from flying pucks, what has been done to protect the players from flying fists? Or have we already forgotten about Don Sanderson?
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ASK THE COMMISSIONER:
There really isn’t a question here; it is more of a statement and some opinion, but it’s from a former WHL coach who continues to be heavily involved in coaching . . .
Dear Commissioner:
If somebody fights with another person — who doesn't want to fight and tries to get out of there or turtles — why isn't this considered assault and dealt with as a criminal offence? Particularly with you and your league continuing to demonstrate a grievous lack of leadership and understanding in regards to prevailing attitudes in the real world? In simpler terms — if you can't police yourselves and OUTLAW fighting and headshots, then turn it over to the police.
Second to that, Mr. Commisioner, if you won't outlaw headshots and fighting, I PROMISE I will educate as many parents as I possibly can on the misguided lack of leadership by hockey — specifically the WHL — while steering my child, and any other children I teach/coach, into safer individual and team sports where they learn the important life lessons of RESPECT and SPORTSMANSHIP. After all, hockey is just a game and for 99.99 per cent of all who play it, it ends with minor hockey or beer leagues. I want my children to be able to function as contributing citizens in real life without scrambled brains or confusion brought on at least in part because what is acceptable in hockey isn't acceptable on the streets or in the courts — where DEMOCRATIC LAW governs and prevails. Get on it, Mr. Commissioner. Time is ticking and with every concussion and fight that happens on your watch it is yet another mark against you and your legacy.
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is complicity." — Marcus Luttrell.
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Congrats to old friend Andy Murray, whose Western Michigan Broncos won the Mason Cup as CCHA tournament champions on Saturday with a 3-2 victory over the Michigan Wolverines at Joe Louis Arena. . . . Murray is in his first season as the Broncos’ head coach. . . . You can bet G.D. and Ab are smiling.
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Pour some coffee and give Jim Matheson’s Hockey World a read. The piece from the Edmonton Journal is right here.
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The NHL’s Calgary Flames returned F Sven Baertschi to the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday. He scored three goals in five games while with the Flames on emergency recall due to a rash of injuries. With one or two of those injured players returning, the Flames were obligated to return Baertschi. . . . The Winterhawks went 2-3 while Baertschi was away, playing all five games on the road. . . . I’ll let you decide whether the Flames had an impact on the Western Conference playoff picture. . . . Without Baertschi, they got swept in Victoria and those two victories all but put the Royals into the playoffs. Now, assuming Baertschi is in the lineup today, the Winterhawks can ruin the Seattle Thunderbirds chance at getting into the playoffs.
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THE MATCHUPS
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
Moose Jaw (2) vs. Regina (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Brandon (6)
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Saskatoon (5)
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Western Conference
Tri-City (1) vs. Everett/Seattle (8)
Kamloops (2) vs. Victoria (7)
Portland (3) vs. Kelowna (6)
Vancouver (4) vs. Spokane (5)
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TODAY’S GAME:
Seattle at Portland
If Seattle wins, the Thunderbirds would be tied with Everett for eighth place in the Western Conference. Those two teams would meet Tuesday in Kent, Wash., in a sudden-death game for that last spot. . . . If Portland wins, Everett finishes eighth and plays the Tri-City Americans in the first round.
(End of regular season)
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
(For lots of good WHL stuff, get on Twitter and follow @WHLFacts. Some of the numbers below are from @WHLFacts.)

In Brandon, F Mark Stone had two goals and two assists to lead the Wheat Kings to a 7-2 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Stone finished the season with 123 points, which would have won the scoring title in any of the last 12 seasons. Instead, he is second, 11 behind Tri-City’s Brendan Shinnimin. Portland F Ty Rattie is five points behind Stone with one game left. . . . F Brenden Walker had four assists for Brandon, with D Eric Roy drawing three assists. . . . The Wheat Kings put this one away with four goals in a 5:51 span in the second period. . . . F Darian Dziurzynski scored his 30th goal of the season for Brandon. . . . Brandon D Brodie Melnychuk playing in his 318th regular-season game, scored twice, giving him eight this season and 25 in his career. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes, making his 10th straight start, stopped 22 shots. . . . For the second straight night, Brandon F Kevin Sundher (concussion) skated in the warmup and then was scratched. . . . Brandon will be in Calgary for Games 1 and 2 against the Hitmen on Thursday and Friday. . . . The Wheat Kings will play first-round home games at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair takes over Westman Place. . . . Games 3 and 4 in Winnipeg will be played on March 25 and 27. . . . If necessary, they’ll play Game 5 in Winnipeg on March 29. . . . The Pats will open against the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Friday. . . .

In Moose Jaw, the Warriors scored six times in the second period and beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 7-1. . . . Warriors G Justin Paulic, a 16-year-old from Thompson, Man., the hometown of former WHL coach Jack Sangster, stopped 24 shots in his WHL debut. He was an eighth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . The Warriors set franchise records for victories (45) and points (98). . . . F Kenton Miller scored twice for Moose Jaw, giving him 35 goals, while F Sam Fioretti also had two goals and finished with 21. . . . The Warriors and Regina Pats open Friday in Moose Jaw. . . .

In Calgary, G Chris Driedger stopped 25 shots as the Hitmen blanked the Kootenay Ice, 3-0. . . . It was Driedger’s third shutout of the season and the third of his career. . . . D Peter Kosterman scored the game’s first goal, his second of the season, at 16:13 of the second. . . . F Greg Chase had three assists. . . . F Jimmy Bubnick scored twice, giving him 36. . . . One night earlier, the Ice overcame a 4-0 first-period deficit and beat the Ice 6-5 in OT in Cranbrook. . . . The Ice scratched F Drew Czerwonka and F Max Reinhart, both of whom are injured. Kootenay is hoping both will be ready for the playoffs. . . . Among Calgary’s scratches was F Cody Sylvester. . . . Interestingly, the Ice, which began life as the Edmonton Ice, will meet the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first round. That series opens Friday in Edmonton. . . . The Hitmen will open at home on Thursday against the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Driedger’s shutout was the 63rd in the WHL this season, the lowest total since 1999-2000 when there were 61. The record is 120 from 2006-07. . . . Tri-City led the WHL with eight shutouts; Tri-City G Ty Rimmer and Seattle’s Calvin Pickard had a WHL-leading five each. . . .

In Saskatoon, Christian Magnus scored twice and added an assist to help the Swift Current Broncos to a 7-3 victory over the Blades. . . . F Graham Black helped the winners with a goal and two assists, and F Ryon Moser had three assists. . . . Swift Current freshman F Coda Gordon got his 30th goal. . . . Broncos G Jon Groenheyde stopped 23 shots in his final WHL game. . . . Saskatoon was 1-4 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-0. . . . The Blades finished 6-2-0 against the Broncos. . . . Saskatoon D Matt Pufhal returned after missing 21 games with an ankle injury. . . . The Blades will meet Medicine Hat in the first round and they’ll open on the road on Friday. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Russell Maxwell scored three times in regulation and then added the winner in the circus as the Lethbridge Hurricanes beat the Tigers 6-5 in a shootout. . . . Lethbridge F Graham Hood scored his 16th of the season with 16.5 seconds left in the third period to force OT. . . . Maxwell finished with 15 goals. . . . The Hurricanes trailed 3-1 after the first period and 4-2 halfway through the second. . . . Medicine Hat F Hunter Shinkaruk scored twice to finish with 49 goals in 66 games. A pure talent, Shinkaruk had 42 points, including 14 goals, as a 16-year-old. This season, he had 91 points. . . . Tigers F Emerson Etem, who didn’t score, led the WHL with 61 goals. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz finished with 39 victories. . . . Lethbridge F Brody Sutter got his 30th goal in his final WHL game. . . . D Matthew Konan had a goal and two assists for the Tigers. . . . The Tigers will open at home against Saskatoon on Friday. . . .

In Red Deer, the Edmonton Oil Kings beat the Rebels 7-3 and win the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for finishing atop the WHL’s overall standings. . . . Somewhere, ‘Wild’ Bill Hunter is giving it to Scotty and Ed Chynoweth is refereeing. . . . The Oil Kings closed out the season by winning their 50th game and 11 in a row. . . . F Curtis Lazar scored twice for Edmonton, giving him 20 goals. He was the second overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . F Kristians Pells added a goal, his 28th, and two assists for Edmonton. . . . The Rebels hung in there — the score was 3-3 eight minutes into the second period — but simply ran out of gas as Edmonton scored the last four goals. . . . Edmonton F Henrik Samuelsson left at 18:29 of the first period after being hit with a clipping major and game misconduct. He already has served two suspensions since joining the team after Christmas. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit won his 42nd game. . . . Red Deer D Alex Petrovic had a goal and an assist in what no doubt was his final WHL game. Petrovic, 19, will join the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage early next week. The Rampage is the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Florida Panthers. . . . The Rebels, whose season was devastated by injuries, finished by dressing only 15 skaters, three under the maximum, for their final game. . . . Early Saturday, the Rebels thought they would be without F Dexter Bricker, a recall from midget AAA. According to a tweet from the Rebels, he was out “with an upper body injury, after taking a punch to the head from behind (Friday) night.” . . . However, Bricker’s name is on the online scoresheet. . . . The Oil Kings will open at home to the defending-champion Kootenay Ice on Friday. . . . That matchup could be tough on the the Reinhart family. Griffin is a defenceman with the Oil Kings; Max and Sam are forwards with the Ice. Max is out with a concussion but the Ice is hoping he’ll be ready to go by Friday. . . .

In Kelowna, F Zach Franko scored the only goal of the circus to give the Rockets a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Giants tied the score with two third-period goals. F Scott Cooke got his first WHL goal at 14:36 and F Marek Tvrdon added his 31st, and second of the game, while shorthanded at 17:31. . . . The Giants, having locked up fourth place, left G Adam Morrison, D Neil Manning and F Brendan Gallagher at home. . . . Vancouver G Jackson Whistle, who is from Kelowna, stopped 44 shots. . . . The Giants will have home-ice against Spokane with the series opening Friday in Vancouver. . . . The Rockets will open in Portland on Friday. . . . Tvrdon led all freshmen in points (74), finishing three points ahead of F Tim Bozon of Kamloops, who was tops in goals (36). D Martin Gernat of Edmonton had the most assists (46). . . .

In Prince George, F Spencer Asuchak scored twice to help the Cougars to a 4-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Asuchak, who is from Kamloops, was playing his final WHL game. He finished with 18 goals this season. . . . Attendance was announced as 4,582. . . . F Troy Bourke had two assists. The 17-year-old sophomore, who hasn’t had a whole lot of pub with the Cougars, finished with 56 points in 71 games. The first assist was his 100th career point. He has 101 points in 144 games. . . . Prince George G Devon Fordyce stopped 38 shots. . . . The Kamloops line of Brendan Ranford, Brandon Herrod and Jordan DePape was pointless and a combined minus-8. One night earlier, they had 10 points in a 10-4 Blazers victory in Kamloops. . . . The Kamloops loss guaranteed the idle Portland Winterhawks of home-ice advantage in the second round, should they get there. . . . The Blazers will be at home to Victoria on Friday. . . . The Royals are expected to be without F Brandon Magee, who suffered an undisclosed injury in Friday's 3-1 victory over visiting Portland.

In Kent, Wash., the Everett Silvertips got their first lead late in the third period and then hung on to beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 6-4. . . . They exchanged goals until Everett F Zach McPhee tied it 4-4 with his fifth goal at 8:31 of the third. . . . F Cody Fowlie gave Everett its first lead with his 14th goal at 15:11 and F Ryan Harrison iced it with an empty-netter at 19:41. Harrison finished with 20 goals. . . . F Connor Honey had two goals, giving him 10 and an assist for Seattle. . . . Seattle F Luke Lockhart scored his 16th goal on a second-period penalty shot. . . . F Jari Erricson set up three goals for Everett. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 29 shots, while Seattle’s Calvin Pickard turned aside 35. . . . The victory left Everett out of games and in eighth place in the Western Conference. Seattle is two points back with one game left — in Portland this evening. . . . There are some good play-by-play voices in the WHL but none are better than Thom Beuning, who calls the play for the Thunderbirds on 710AM ESPN. He has great pipes and doesn’t lean too far one way. . . . Don’t believe me? Give him a listen when he calls Seattle’s game out of Portland tonight. . . . By the way game time is 5 p.m. Pacific. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Dylan Walchuk broke a 2-2 tie at 8:31 of the third period to give the Spokane Chiefs a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Walchuk’s 10th goal came via the PP. . . . D Brendan Kichton had a goal, his 17th, and an assist for the Chiefs. . . . D Reid Gow, who could be a key for the Chiefs, had two assists. Gow played only 54 games due to injuries and missed most of February. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland scored his 25th goal at 4:512 of the first on a PP to run his points streak to 20 games. However, his assists streak ended at 19 games. . . . Holland led the WHL in assists, with 84, two more than Brandon’s Mark Stone. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin had an assist to run his point streak to a franchise-record 23 games, the first time two WHLers had 20-game streaks in the same season since 2003. . . . The Americans got a goal from F Jesse Mychan in his first game back after missing 15 with a hand injury. . . . Chiefs F Steve Kuhn played in his 288th consecutive game. He has played 72 games in each of his four seasons. . . . The Chiefs will open in Vancouver on Friday. . . . The Americans will meet Everett or Seattle, depending on what happens tonight in Portland and then maybe Tuesday in Kent, Wash.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Josh Derko, Swift Current.
F Graham Hood, Lethbridge.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.


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The Lethbridge Hurricanes helped out with Operation Christmas Child on Thursday.
(Photos courtesy Lethbridge Hurricanes)

The Lethbridge Hurricanes, who have won a couple in a row and have vacated the Eastern Conference basement, got December off to a festive start.
On Thursday, according to a news release, Cam Braes, Damien Ketlo, Brody Sutter, Landon Oslanski, Brady Ramsay, Spencer Galbraith, Tyler Kizuik, Graham Hood, Nick Buonassisi, Juraj Bezuch, Liam Liston, Phil Tot and Albin Blomqvist lent a helping hand to Richard and Lisa Henry and Rev. Brian Palsky at University Drive Alliance Church for Operation Christmas Child. The church . . . is the regional collection centre for Southern Alberta and in total 6,746 shoe boxes were collected from Lethbridge and surrounding area for the global Christmas exchange program.
“The program encourages churches, children and adults to pack shoeboxes with toys, hygiene items and school supplies to be given to thousands of children living in impoverished areas all over the world. In the coming days, the shoe boxes will be sent to Calgary and then distributed around the world.”
Operation Christmas Child is a terrific program and is attracting attention from more and more sports teams. In Kamloops, for example, the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack women’s soccer team has helped out for a number of years now and players were wrapping boxes just last week.
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F Jonas Knutsen of the Prince Albert Raiders will play for Norway at the IIHF U-20 World championshp (Division 1, Group A) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Dec. 11-17. Also in the tournament are Germany, Slovenia, Belarus, Austria and Great Britain. . . . Knutsen, who has nine points and 36 penalty minutes, will leave Monday. . . .
F Marek Tvrdon of the Vancouver Giants, who is the WHL’s highest-scoring freshman, will play for Slovakia in the World Junior Championship. Shoulder woes limited Tvrdon to 12 games last season, so he is considered a rookie. He has 35 points, 14 of them goals, in 28 games this season. Last season, he had 11 points in those 12 games. . . .
A source tells me that three WHL teams are involved in discussions on a transaction that, if it comes to pass, will cause some big-time buzz. I’m not one to speculate on what players might be involved — and there are trade talks going on all the time — but trust me when I tell you this one would give people something to talk about for a while. . . .
Saw this on the WHL website in the wee hours of today: “Brendan Gallagher and the Kamloops Blazers host Alex Forsberg and the Prince George Cougars for a B.C. Division match-up on Friday night.” . . . The Vancouver Giants and the Blazers have been known to make the odd trade, but I don’t think Gallagher is headed to Kamloops any time soon. . . . I’m sure the writer meant Brendan Ranford, and I’ve been there before. Just ask Matt Needham of the Blazers how many times I have referred to him as Mike.
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Congratulations to old friend Andy Murray on his induction into the IIHF Hall of Fame.
Murray, now the head coach of the Western Michigan Broncos, will go into the Builder’s category. Also going into the Hall of Fame will be Raimo Helminen, a six-time Olympian for Finland, Russian star Pavel Bure, defenceman Phil Housley of the U.S., and Czech star Milan Novy.
The induction ceremony is scheduled for May 20 in Helsinki.
How long have I known Murray? Since he was an aspiring quarterback with the Brandon University Bobcats football team. Oh, what a team that was. Right, Garry Davidson?
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The QMJHL has revealed its social media policy. If you’re interested, you are able to check it out on the QMJHL website.
But here is the part that deals with disciplinary measures . . .
“The following are examples of conduct through social media and networking mediums that are considered violations of this policy and which may be subject to disciplinary action by the QMJHL, at the discretion of the Commissioner:
“- Statements which are critical of League personnel, its programs, employees, on-ice or off-ice officials, players, members, owners or operations staff, sponsors or any other actors.
“- Divulging confidential information that may include, but is not limited to the following: trade talk or other player movement, medical history (injuries or other), game plans or strategies and any other information that is deemed confidential.
“- Sharing or divulging photos, videos or comments which promote negative influences or criminal behaviour, including but not limited to: drug use, alcohol abuse, public intoxication, sexual exploitation, etc.
“- Online activity that contradicts the current policies of the QMJHL.
“- Inappropriate, derogatory, racist or sexist comments of any kind that contradict the policies outlined by the QMJHL on these matters.”
Good luck to the QMJHL in enforcing this thing. I might suggest that the QMJHL is going to need to hire a full-time babysitter.
Let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that the WHL had the same policy in place, say, one night this week. Let’s say it was Tuesday night, when every player in the WHL who wasn’t involved in a game was watching the Victoria’s Secret fashion (?) show on TV. (Those who were playing that night likely recorded the show.) And most of those viewers, if not all of them, were Tweeting about it.
And let’s just say that the rules called for the league to suspend the players for the remarks. That being the case, the WHL would have had to postpone a few games this weekend due to a shortage of players.
But having said that, some of the WHL’s players have been blessed with great wit!
And judging by some of the tweets I saw, a whole lot of them fell in love on Tuesday night.
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In Edmonton last night, D Mark Pysyk drew three assists to lead the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 6-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Oil Kings ran their winning streak to five, while ending Calgary’s at four. . . . F Tyler Maxwell scored twice for Edmonton. He has six points, including four goals, in four games since being acquired from the Everett Silvertips. He is plus-8 in those four games. . . . The victory lifted Edmonton into a tie for second in the Eastern Conference, with the Saskatoon Blades and Moose Jaw Warriors. They are four points in back of the Kootenay Ice.
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THURSDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Martin Gernat, Edmonton
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Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun writes today that Wheat Kings F Mike Ferland and Vancouver Giants D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen drew ‘tbd’ suspensions for their roles in a game-ending schmozzle Wednesday in Brandon.
The stuff hit the fan as teams were leaving their benches at game’s end.
Here’s what Henderson wrote:
The melee broke out as the teams left their benches at the end of the game. Wheat Kings Eric Roy and Darian Dziurzynski and Giants David Musil and Jordan Martinook were also assessed fighting majors and game misconducts.
Western Hockey League vice-president of hockey Richard Doerksen said Ferland and Vannieuwenhuizen were punished because they were on the bench to end the game, and not legally on the ice.
“Neither was on the ice,” Doerksen said. “Of the other (penalized) players, all had been on the ice.”
The league revoked the game misconducts for Roy, Dziurzynski, Musil and Martinook, while Dziurzynski and Martinook also had their majors turned into double minors for roughing.
Decisions on the length of the suspensions and team fines should be made today.
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With fighting majors turned into double minors, that means it wasn’t a multi-fight situation, which means there likely won’t be fines issued. That means we were guilty of premature ch-ch-ching the other day.
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On the subject of ch-ch-ching, to the five people who have taken time to make donations this week, thank you. . . . If you’re a regular here, feel free to click on the DONATE button and help the cause. Thanks in advance!
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Laura Robinson, who wrote the book Crossing the Line: Violence and Sexual Assault in Canada’s National Sport, has written a scathing essay about hazing and sexual abuse in football and hockey.
Football in the United States and hockey in Canada have much to answer for, she writes.
And she is correct. Because if you think the hazing incident that involved the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives is a one-off, you have your head buried in the sand.
Robinson also brings up an interesting point regarding a Hockey Canada rule that may well have been ignored in the Neepawa situation.
Robinson’s essay is right here.
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Wondering how the coaching thing came down with the Anaheim Ducks? Check out Jon Rosen’s take on it all right here. If you want a thorough look at it, this one is for you.
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For today’s good read, we take you to SI.co and writer Stu Hackel. He chatted with Scotty Bowman, who has some interesting comments on the state of the game today and the recent spate of coaching changes in the NHL. That piece is right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Canucks up 2-0 on Bruins!

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Marcel Hossa (Portland, 1998-2001) signed a one-year contract with Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL). He had 16 goals and 15 assists in 51 games with Ak Bars Kazan (Russia, KHL) last season.
F Ian McDonald (Tri-City, 2000-06) signed a one-year contract with Eaters Geleen (Netherlands, Eredivisie). He had 12 goals and 17 assists in 34 games with the Nottingham Panthers (UK, Elite) and one goal and five games in 10 games with Elmira Jackals (ECHL) last year.
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F David Rutherford (Vancouver, Spokane, 2004-08) has signed with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. Rutherford spent the last two seasons with the Central league’s Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. He helped the Mudbugs to the 2010-11 playoff championship, after which the franchise folded.
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THE COACHING GAME:
A few signings that were mentioned here earlier in the week were announced Tuesday. . . . The Regina Pats introduced Pat Conacher as their new head coach on Tuesday. Conacher, who replaces Curtis Hunt, had been the assistant GM/assistant head coach with the Victoria Royals. The Pats have yet to sign an assistant coach, while the Royals obviously now are in the market for one. . . . The Regina Leader-Post’s Craig Slater has more on the Conacher signing right here. . . .  Of course, this means that the Royals are in the market for an assistant coach. Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has that story right here. . . . The BCHL’s Westside Warriors signed Rylan Ferster as their GM and head coach, and gave him a three-year contract. He takes over from Darren Yopyk, who has joined the scouting staff of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. . . . In the college world, Western Michigan University has signed former NHL coach Andy Murray as its head coach. He got a five-year deal. Murray takes over from Jeff Blashill, who now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. . . .
Spencer Carbery is the new head coach of the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. He was an assistant with the Stingrays last season. Carbery takes over from Cail MacLean, who signed on as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat.
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BC Hockey is holding its U17 provincial camp this week in Salmon Arm, which means the competition for the Ted Hargraves Cup is rolling. . . . In the first game, on Monday, the Canucks beat the Bruins, 3-2, in a shootout. F Curtis Lazar and F Nick Petan gave the Canucks a 2-0 second-period lead, with F Riley Hunt and F Sam Reinhart, the latter early in the third, pulling the Bruins even. The Canucks took the shootout, 2-0, on goals by F Chase Witala and Petan. . . . On Tuesday, the Canucks went to 2-0 with a 4-2 victory over the Bruins. Petan, F Dryden Hunt, D Joseph Carvalho and F Ryan Forbes scored for the Canucks, with Riley Hunt and Jackson Houck replying for the Bruins. Carvalho broke a 2-2 tie at 3:30 of the third period, with Forbes adding an empty-netter. The teams were tied 2-2 after one period and played through a scoreless second period. . . . They’ll play again today at 2 p.m., at the Sunwave Centre.
David Michaud, the assistant director of operations, reports from the camp:
“There are 41 players in camp. We will shortlist 20 or so and will eventually take that down to the 11 players who will combine with 11 players from Alberta to play for Team Pacific at the 2012 World Hockey Challenge.”
As an added note, Hockley Canada is expected to announce one of these days that the WHC is being moved from Winnipeg to Windsor, Ont., thanks to the rebirth of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets.
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JUST NOTES: Kelly Moore, a former radio voice of the Kamloops Blazers, is heading back to Winnipeg. Moore, the program director at CJKC-FM (Country 103) in Kamloops, is going back to Winnipeg to work for CJOB as part of its coverage of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. Even though it didn’t get the play-by-play rights to the Jets, CJOB apparently is beefing up its hockey coverage. Moore was the radio voice of the Jets for their last two NHL seasons before they relocated to Phoenix. He also called the play for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose before returning to Kamloops to help Country 103 get off the ground. . . . Marc Paquet is the Everett Silvertips’ new athletic therapist. Paquet, 24, has a masters of education in kinesiology from Bowling Green State University. He spent the last two years at Bowling Green, where he was the supervising athletic trainer for men's soccer and softball and an assistant to men's hockey and football. He replaces Chris Walker, who left for the AHL. . . . The Edmonton Oil Kings have signed F Cole Benson, an Edmonton native who was the 178th pick in the 2010 bantam draft. Benson, 5-foot-7 and 148 pounds, played last season with the midget AAA South Side Athletic Club team, putting up 32 points, including 12 goals, in 29 regular-season games.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Lots of news . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Tyler Weiman (Tri-City, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract with the Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL). He had a 2.62 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 29 games with the Manitoba Moose (AHL) last season. . . .
D Tomas Kudelka (Lethbridge, 2005-07) signed a one-year contract with Vitkovice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He was pointless in nine games with Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga) and had one goal and five assists in 43 games with TPS Turku (Finland, SM-Liiga) last season. . . .
F Bud Holloway (Seattle, 2003-08) signed a one-year contract with Skellefteå (Sweden, Elitserien). He had 28 goals and 33 assists in 78 games with the Manchester Monarchs (AHL) last season. . . .
D Gord Baldwin (Medicine Hat, 2004-07) signed a one-year contract with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had two goals and 11 assists in 75 games with the Abbotsford Heat (AHL) last season.
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The Regina Pats will introduce Pat Conacher as their head coach this afternoon.
The Pats issued a news release late Monday afternoon indicating they will hold a press conference this afternoon. Later, a few Internet reports indicated Conacher, the assistant general manager and assistant coach with the Victoria Royals, had signed with the Pats.
Early Monday evening, two sources familiar with the situation confirmed Conacher’s signing. He will replace Curtis Hunt, who was fired last month despite having a year left on his contract last month.
That means each of the 22 WHL teams now has a head coach under contract, with the Pats being the fourth team to make a change this summer.
The Everett Silvertips lost Craig Hartsburg to the NHL’s Calgary Flames, and replaced him with Mark Ferner, who had been with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers.
The Moose Jaw Warriors, who fired Dave Hunchak after last season, now have former NHL defenceman Mike Stothers as head coach. Stothers spent last season as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers. Hunchak has since signed on as associate coach with the Kamloops Blazers.
The Seattle Thunderbirds hired former WHL forward Steve Konowalchuk, who had been an assistant coach with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. With the Thunderbirds, he replaces Rob Sumner.
Conacher, a 52-year-old native of Edmonton, played in the WHL with the Billings Bighorns and Saskatoon Blades before going on to a professional career that included 521 NHL games split among the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames and New York Islanders.
He has head-coaching experience with the AHL’s Utah Grizzlies and San Antonio Rampage. Conacher spent last season as general manager/head coach Marc Habscheid’s right-hand man with the Chilliwack Bruins, who relocated to Victoria earlier this summer.
Just last week, the Royals signed Ben Cooper as an assistant coach. He had been a video coach with Hockey Canada for the previous three years.
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Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Post-Dispatch reported Sunday that Tyler Wright (Swift Current, 1989-93) is about to be promoted by the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets.
According to Portzline, Wright, who has been the team’s development coach for three seasons, is soon to be promoted to director of amateur scouting and will share that title with Paul Castron, who has been there for five years.
There will be more changes coming, too, as the Blue Jackets have yet to replace Don Boyd, who was dropped as director of player personnel, and Bob Strumm, the former director of pro scouting who was relieved of his duties after the season.
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Two new chapters to the Boogaard situation were penned on Monday.
Late Monday night, Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune posted to his blog an email he received from Ryan Boogaard, who is younger than his late brother, Derek, but older than Aaron. That posting is right here.
Earlier in the day, Aaron Boogaard appeared in court on charges relating to Derek’s death on May 13. He did not enter a plea and is to return to court on Aug. 17.
The StarTribune’s story on that appearance is right here.
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Now a few words about a story that will take place today.
Forward Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings is expected to announce his retirement today, bringing to an end a 20-year career.
It says something that Draper was a member of four Stanley Cup-championship teams in Detroit.
But what always struck me the most about Draper was that he played the game the right way. A wonderful skater, he played whatever role was requested of him, and he played hard and within the rules.
More players should fashion themselves after Draper.
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D Jamieson Oleksiak, all 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds of him, has left Northeastern University, where he spent one season, to sign with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. He was the 14th overall selection in the NHL’s 2011 draft, taken by the Dallas Stars.
Oleksiak, who is from Toronto but has dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, will attend the Canadian national junior team’s development camp in August.
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It would seem that Kamloops Blazers F Dylan Willick was rather fit when he showed up at the development camp of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild earlier this month.
In the fitness testing, Willick did 41 metronome pushups, which is a timed sequence involving doing a pushup every three seconds or so.
 In the last three NHL combines, only two players have bettered that number — G Mike Morrison (45) of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers and F Max Le Sieur (42) of the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes topped it at this year’s predraft combine. In 2009, F Kyle Palmieri of the U.S. U18 NTDP team also did 41.
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The Portland Winterhawks revealed Monday that they will play 14 home games at the Rose Garden this season, with the other 22 scheduled for Memorial Coliseum.
However, you shouldn’t take that to the bank.
With the NBA presently in lockout mode, those numbers could change.
“If the current NBA labor dispute extends into the scheduled start of basketball season,” the Winterhawks’ news release reads, “the Winterhawks could move games to the Rose Garden. Should that be the case, the Winterhawks will announce those changes as those games approach.”
In other words, stay tuned.
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Travis Hunington is the new radio voice of the Everett Silvertips.
Huntington, 28, is coming off four seasons with the now-defunct Bossier-Shreveport, La., Mudbugs, who folded after winning the Central league’s 2010-11 championship.
Huntington, a native of Platteville, Colo., will work as the Silvertips’ director of broadcasting and public relations. He replaces Jon Rosen, whose last day with the Silvertips is today.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Ken Pearson, who resigned Monday as GM/head coach of the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars, has a two-year deal as GM/head coach of the MJHL’s Winkler Flyers. Pearson spent the last three seasons with the North Stars after joining them from the MJHL’s Winnipeg South Blues in April 2008. . . . Pearson has two children who live in Emerson, Man., which is 56 km south east of Winkler, so this move will allow them to see more of each other. . . . In Winkler, Pearson will replace John Marks, who left last week to sign on with the USHL’s Fargo Force. . . . Pearson is a veteran coach who actually is returning to Winkler for a third time. He was on the Flyers’ coaching staff (1996-98) and was GM/head coach for a time after that. He also has extensive scouting experience. . . .
There are reports that Ron Rolston will be the next head coach of the Rochester Americans, the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. He is the head coach of USA Hockey’s U-18 national development team. . . . He is a brother to NHLer Brian Rolston. . . .
A Monday afternoon tweet from Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune: “Per sources, ex #NHL dman Mike Van Ryn is leading contender to be John Torchetti's top asst in Houston.” . . . The Houston Aeros are the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild.
Former NHL head coach Andy Murray will be the next head coach of the Western Michigan University Broncos. He is reported to have signed a five-year contract. . . . The Broncos have needed a head coach since earlier this month when Jeff Blashill signed on as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. . . .
Jim Madigan, who has been an NHL scout for the last 19 years, is expected to be named Northeastern’s head coach today. Numerous reports having him replacing Greg Cronin, who now is an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Madigan is a former Northeastern player (1981-85). He spent 13 years scouting with the New York Islanders, before moving over to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After playing, he worked for six seasons as an assistant coach at Northeastern.
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Take two minutes out of your day and take a look at this Lethbridge TV feature on Tri-City Americans prospect Tyler Mrkonjic. You won’t be sorry you did.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter