Americans introduce captain, new logo ... Hurricanes captain gets AHL deal ... Ex-P.A. captain to coach in AHL

D Richie Regehr (Kelowna, Portland, 1998-2004) has signed a one-year contract with Klagenfurt (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). This season, with Red Bull Munich (Germany, DEL), he had three goals and 13 assists in 44 games. . . .

D Austin Madaisky (Calgary, Kamloops, 2008-12) has signed a one-year extension with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL). This season, he had three assists in 19 games.

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The Tri-City Americans unveiled their 30th anniversary logo on Thursday evening, while also announcing that F Michael Rasmussen is the 29th team captain in the team’s history. . . . Rasmussen, who will be a first-round selection in the 2017 NHL draft, had 32 goals and 23 assists in 50 games this season. His season ended prematurely when he suffered a broken scaphoid in his left wrist. In his two seasons with the Americans, Rasmussen has 50 goals and 48 assists in 114 games. . . . The Americans will be celebrating 30 seasons in the Tri-Cities — Kennewick, Pasco and Richland — in 2017-18. It’s worth noting, though, that the Americans actually are one of the WHL’s original franchises. They started out as the Calgary Buffaloes in 1966-67, the WHL’s first season, and were the Calgary Centennials from 1967-77. After that, they were the Billings Bighorns (1977-82), Nanaimo Islanders (1982-83) and New Westminster Bruins (1983-88).

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F Tyler Wong, who played out his eligibility with the Lethbridge Hurricanes this season, has signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Wolves, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. Wong played five seasons with the Hurricanes, putting up 298 points, including 143 goals. From Cochrane, Alta., he was the Hurricanes’ captain for the past two seasons. This season, he totalled 109 points, tying for the WHL lead with 41 goals, in 69 games.

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Jeremy Colliton is the new head coach of the Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. The 32-year-old Colliton, who is from Blackie, Alta., played four seasons with the Prince Albert Raiders (2001-05), the last two as team captain. He spent the past four seasons as the head coach of Mora IK in Sweden (HockeyAllsvenskan). In Rockford, Colliton replaces Ted Dent, who was fired following the end of this season.

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Paul McFarland of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs has been named the head coach of the U-18 team that will represent Canada at this summer’s Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament. McFarland also was the team’s head coach a year ago. His assistant coaches will be Brent Kisio of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Daniel Jacob of the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. . . . The tournament will be held in Bratislava, Slovakia, and Breclav, Czech Republic, in August. . . . The 2018 tournament is scheduled to be held in Edmonton. . . . Meanwhile, Dave Struch, the Regina Pats’ assistant GM/assistant coach, has been named head coach of Team Canada Black that will play at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, B.C., Nov. 5-11. . . . Struch’s assistant coaches will be Spencer Carbery (OHL’s Saginaw Spirit) and Louis Robitaille (QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres). . . . Luke Pierce, the head coach of the Kootenay Ice, will work as an assistant on Team Canada Red. Gilles Bouchard (QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies) is the head coach, with B.J. Adams (OHL’s Erie Otters) the other assistant. . . . Ryan Oulahen of the OHL’s Flint Firebirds will be the head coach of Team Canada White. His assistants will be Brett Gibson (Queen’s University) and Eric Landry (QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques).

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Sotheby's just sold this Basquiat 1982 masterpiece for $110 million, smashing a new auction record for the US artist to cheers and applause pic.twitter.com/dhv3TTRnPO

— Jennie Matthew (@jenniematthew) May 19, 2017

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Chase to Russians? . . . Barzal on crutches . . . An ECAC coach loses it

F Adam Řehák (Medicine Hat, 2011-12) has signed for the rest of this season with Nice (France, Division 1). Last season, with Meran/Merano (Italy, Inter-National-League), he had seven goals and five assists in 12 games; he also had 29 points, including 11 goals, in 29 games with Cracovia Krakow (Poland, Ekstraliga). . . .
F Toni Rajala (Brandon, 2009-10) has been released by Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia, KHL) by mutual agreement. He had 13 points, three of them goals, in 21 games. . . .
G Barry Brust (Spokane, Calgary, 2000-04) signed a contract through the end of 2015-16 with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia, KHL). Brust exercised an NHL opt-out clause to get released from Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL) last week. With Zagreb, he had a 2.15 GAA and a .933 save precentage in 19 games. . . .
D Shawn Belle (Regina, Tri-City, 2000-05) signed for the rest of this season with Düsseldorf (Germany, DEL). Last season, with Färjestad Karlstad (Sweden SHL), he had three goals and three assists in 39 games. . . .
D David Hájek (Spokane, 1998-99) signed a contract through Dec. 31 with Bad Nauheim (Germany, DEL2). The club has the option to extend the deal through the rest of the season. Last season, with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany, DEL2), he had three goals and 22 assists in 42 games. . . .
F Justin Taylor (Medicine Hat, Red Deer, 1999-2001, 2003-04) has signed a contract through the end of this season with Mörrum (Sweden, Division 1). Last season, with Sterzing/Vipiteno (Italy, Serie A), he had three assists in six games.

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With apologies to Blackie Sherrod, we're scattershooting on a Monday night, while watching the WHL and a touring pack of Russians play in Saskatoon. . . .

1. The Russians won the game, 3-2, but not before a shootout that lasted 11 rounds. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story right here.
2. F Greg Chase, who is waiting for the Calgary Hitmen to trade him, played for the WHL against the Russians last night in Saskatoon. There is no truth to the rumour that Calgary GM Mike Moore was in Saskatoon trying to trade Chase to the Russians.
3. Is it true that the only way U.S. fans could watch last night's Super Series game was to fork over $8 and watch via Neulion? All the while, of course, Canadian fans were watching on Sportsnet. You really have to wonder when the American franchises and their fans will start to be treated as equals by the WHL.
4. Attendance in Saskatoon last night was announced at 5,383. As of Monday afternoon, about 3,700 tickets had been sold for tonight's Super Series game in Brandon.
5. D Austin Madaisky picked up five points in two weekend games and now is the AHL-Springfield Falcons' leading scorer, with 10 points. Madaisky, 22, played in the WHL with the Kamloops Blazers and you've got to think he's about due to get a look from the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.
6. After a two-day break, the WHL schedule resumes tonight with the Kelowna Rockets in Spokane to meet the Chiefs. The Rockets will be without F Tyson Baillie and D Madison Bowey, both of whom played for the WHL against the Russians last night in Saskatoon. . . . The Subway Super Series continues tonight in Brandon.
7. The Rockets are the hottest thing since summer in the Okanagan. They are 17-1-1 overall and riding a 7-0-1 streak.
8. If you go by winning percentage, 14 of the WHL’s 22 teams are above .500 at this point in the season. . . . If you go by wins and losses, that number is at 11.
9. Unless I missed it, the WHL hasn’t acknowledged that there seem to have been issues with its website practically all season long. Do you think perhaps no one has told them?
10. Today is the 11th day of the 11th month, meaning it is the day we stop to remember our veterans and to thank those who continue to serve in our military and on our behalf all over the world. . . . If you haven’t already seen this right here, it’s a story I wrote about Hick Abbott, a giant of a man and a war hero after whom the since-retired Abbott Cup is named. . . . He also was among the 2014 inductees into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in Regina.
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With two injured goaltenders healthy again, the Portland Winterhawks have returned G Michael Bullion to the NAHL's Wenatchee, Wash., Wild. In four appearances with Portland, Bullion is 2-2-0/3.22/.900. . . . He joined the Winterhawks with Brendan Burke and Adin Hill both injured. They are healthy again, so the Winterhawks moved out Bullion and Bolton Pouliot, 20. Pouliot, who went from the Kamloops Blazers to Portland, was released last week. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers might be without two veteran defencemen when they play host to the Spokane Chiefs on Friday. The Blazers had neither Josh Connolly nor Brady Gaudet in their lineup on Saturday when they lost 4-3 in OT to the Winterhawks in Portland. . . . Both defenders sat out with undisclosed injuries. . . . Kamloops will have F Jake Kryski, 16, back in its lineup as he has returned from the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. He's got 11 points, including five goals, in 16 games. In Kryski's last game, the Blazers beat the host Tri-City Americans, 2-0. Since then, the Blazers are 0-3-2. . . .

D Evan Wardley of the Seattle Thunderbirds is awaiting word from the WHL office on what will be his second suspension in less than a month. Wardley was hit with a seven-game suspension for a headshot major during a game against the Winterhawks in Portland on Oct. 11. On Saturday, Wardley was ejected from a game in Saskatoon with the Blades for a checking-from-behind incident. . . . The Thunderbirds are 1-1-0 on an East Division swing that continues Wednesday in Moose Jaw. . . .

The Red Deer Rebels have released F Cole Chorney, 18, who is expected to play in the AJHL. Chorney, from Beaumont, Alta., had 11 points, including six goals, in 58 games with the Rebels last season. This season, he had one assist in six games as he had trouble getting into the lineup. . . .

G Zach Sawchenko has started each of the Moose Jaw Warriors' past six games. He won't make it seven. Sawchenko suffered an injury to his right leg late in the third period of a 4-2 loss to the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Saturday. . . . He is expected to be out for at least week. . . . G Justin Paulic is expected to start against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds on Wednesday. . . .

On Sept. 23, the Calgary Hitmen traded F Pavel Padakin, a 20-year-old Ukrainian, to the Regina Pats for a third-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft. Last season, Padakin had 54 points, including 27 goals, in 66 games. . . . On Nov. 4, the Brandon Wheat Kings traded F Richard Nejezchleb, a 20-year-old Czech, to the Tri-City Americans for two third-round bantam draft picks, one in 2015 and the other in 2017. Last season, Nejezchleb had 57 points, including 32 goals, in 66 games. . . . Perhaps all of that explains why Brandon's Kelly McCrimmon is the WHL's best general manager. As a former WHL general manager once told me: "I wouldn't buy a used car from him." . . .
 
On the weekend, Cody Nickolet tweeted: “Mathew Barzal roaming around on crutches. Have heard the diagnosis of ‘a couple of weeks’ is very optimistic. Tough news if that's true.” . . . Barzal was the No. 1 selection by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. . . . If what Nickolet heard is correct, you have to wonder if Barzal will be back before Christmas. The Thunderbirds have four games left on an East Division tour that continues Wednesday in Moose Jaw. All told, Seattle has 15 games remaining before the 10-day Christmas break, with eight of those at home and eight of them inside the U.S. Division. . . . Barzal has 18 points, including seven goals, in 16 games. Last season, his first in the WHL, he had 54 points, 14 of them goals, in 59 games. . . . Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds should have D Shea Theodore, 19, back in their lineup on Wednesday in Moose Jaw. He was returned to them by the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks over the weekend. Theodore played five games with the Ducks’ AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, scoring three times and adding two assists. . . . He played for the WHL in the Super Series game last night in Saskatoon. . . .

Former WHL D Wil Tomchuk, 20, is back with the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. Tomchuk was released last week when the Prince George Cougars acquired G Jared Rathjen, 20, from the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Oil Barons were at the maximum of six 20-year-olds and to make room for Tomchuk they dealt G Jesse Gordichuk to the Olds Grizzlys. Gordichuk had requested a trade -- see, it doesn’t only happen in the WHL! . . . Tomchuk played with the Oil Barons in 2011-12 before moving on to the Tri-City Americans and then to Prince George. . . .

Things got a bit heated late in an NCAA hockey game between Cornell and Quinnipiac on Saturday. Yes, some bad words were spoken. We don’t see this kind of thing in the WHL these days, not even in the interests of trying to sell tickets. Too bad! . . . Chris Dilks has more right here. (This one comes with a language warning!) . . . Later on Monday, Cornell head coach Mike Schafter issued an apology; he also drew a one-game suspension from the ECAC.
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Honored to attend a fitting tribute to @chamblin6 and his life today.God has just acquired the playing rights to a great player #cancersucks
— Garth Mitchell (@GMitch61) November 11, 2014

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Todd Dutiaume (Brandon, 1991-94) signed a one-year contract extension as player-head coach with the Fife Flyers (Scotland, UK Elite). He had nine goals and 17 assists in 54 games with the Flyers this season. Dutiaume has been with the Flyers since 1999 and has been the playing head coach since 2005. You can read about it right here and also get a look at Fife’s sweaters. You have to admire a team that has a tartan as part of the sweater, both home and away.

F Scott Wasden (Medicine Hat, Kamloops, 2004-09) signed a one-year contract with Duisburg (Germany, Oberliga). He had 11 goals and five assists in 28 games with the U of British Columbia Thunderbirds (CIS) this season.

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1. Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune takes a look back a the career of Portland Winterhawks sniper Ty Rattie right here. Where does former Winterhawks GM/head coach Ken Hodge rank Rattie in Portland’s history?

2. The Red Deer Rebels have acquired F Lukas Sutter, 20, from the Saskatoon Blades in a deal that comes with some conditions. . . . For starters, the Blades will get a third-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft should Sutter be returned by the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. . . . The Blades also will get D Kevin Pochuk, 18, or a seventh-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. The Blades will have to make that choice. . . . Pochuk, from Winnipeg, had five points in 32 games this season. He was a fifth-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Sutter played three seasons with the Blades, finishing with 103 points, 45 of them goals, and 520 penalty minutes in 220 games. . . . This season he had 24 points, including 13 goals, and 168 penalty minutes in 72 games. . . . Sutter was a second-round selection by Winnipeg in the NHL’s 2012 draft but hasn’t signed with the Jets. . . . Lukas is a nephew — his father is Rich Sutter — to Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner, general manager and head coach. . . .

3. Here’s what Brent Sutter told Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate: “You look at our top nine forwards and it was important to add someone like Lukas to our team,” said Sutter. “Our hockey operations staff sat down and evaluated players in our league who we thought could fit in here with an element that we need, and he was at the top of our list. Yes, there are things that have to happen to get him here and Winnipeg will decide that. That being said, it’s a deal that was worth doing. Lukas should fill a gap in our forward group. If we can get him here, he’ll be a great addition to our team.”

4. Lukas Sutter’s presence leaves the Rebels with five 1993-born players on their rosters, the others being F Rhyse Dieno, F Tyson Ness, D Cody Thiel and G Patrik Bartosak. . . . The Blades, who aleady have traded away three players off the roster that played in the Memorial Cup last month, still have a dozen 1993-born players on their roster, although two of those are imports.

5. Willy Palov of the Halifax Chronicle Herald checks in right here with his opinion of the CHL’s ban on European goaltenders. No, he doesn’t like it, either.

6. The Lethbridge Hurricanes have a new look and a new logo. It all was unveiled at a news conference on Thursday morning. . . . The Hurricanes were forced into the change when they, according to a news release, “were informed by the NHL that they could no longer use their current logo.” It was too similar to the logo that belongs to the Washington Capitals. . . . At the same news conference, the Hurricanes announced a partnership with the Lethbridge Minor Hockey Association. All LMHA rep teams will be nicknamed the Junior Hurricanes and will use the same logo.

7. Austin Madaisky and his family are back in their Surrey, B.C., home for the first time since it was gutted by fire on Aug. 11. . . . Madaisky, who played four seasons in the WHL (Calgary, Kamloops, 2008-12), tweeted: “First time sleeping back in the house since the fire...it sure has come a long way #home”

8. Hockey fans are hoping for the best but fearing the worst as former Edmonton Oil Kings F Kristians Pelss is missing and feared dead in Riga, Latvia. . . . There have been numerous reports of a man believed to be Pelss having jumped from the Stone Bridge and into the Daugava River in Riga. . . . However, a body has yet to be found. . . . The Edmonton Journal has more right here.

9. When Kevin Constantine walked into a news conference to be introduced as the new head coach of the Everett Silvertips, he received a standing ovation. Constantine, 54, is back for a second go-round with the Silvertips, having been the head coach for the first four years of their existence. They won seven playoff series under his guidance; they haven’t won any since his departure. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has more right here.


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Royals/Blazers notebook

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
A hush fell over Interior Savings Centre early Saturday evening when D Ryan Gagnon of the Victoria Royals was injured during a WHL playoff game with the Kamloops Blazers.
It was at 3:34 of the first period when Gagnon, a 16-year-old from Quesnel, caught an edge and fell awkwardly into the boards. He laid on his back and didn’t move for a minute or two, but eventually got to his feet and was helped off the ice. He didn’t return, leaving the Royals to finish with five defencemen.
“I saw him in the dressing room right afterward,” Royals general manager Cam Hope told Marlon Weldon, the team’s play-by-play man, “and he was walking, and talking and quite upset that he had put himself in that position and was out of the game.”
After the game, Victoria head coach Dave Lowry said Gagnon would be “re-evaluated” when the Royals get home.
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The Royals were hanging on by a thread during the game, but it all came unravelled in the second period, leading to the Blazers’ 6-4 victory.
Two minutes into the second period, with the Blazers leading 2-0, Victoria G Patrik Polivka was penalized for handling the puck outside the trapezoid. The way the Royals saw it, it was a borderline call at best.
A few minutes later, the Royals thought they had a power-play goal when F Steven Hodges whipped a shot from the right side that beat G Cole Cheveldave. However, it was waved off as referees Devin Klein and Tyler Adair called incidental contact by F Ben Walker on Cheveldave. While there was contact, the Royals claimed it was well before Hodges took the shot.
Then, at 12:43, just a minute after F Jamie Crooks had cut the deficit to 2-1, Kamloops F Tim Bozon was credited with a goal when a D Joel Edmundson shot glanced off him and beat Polivka. The Royals wondered if Bozon — like Crooks before him — should have been called for incidental contact with Polivka.
Nothing of the sort happened, of course, and the Blazers quickly scored two more goals to take a 5-1 lead into the third period.
One of the results was a running dialogue — most of it one-way — between Victoria head coach Dave Lowry and the officiating crew.
“That’s playoff hockey. Right?,” a much cooler Lowry stated afterward. “It’s all about the wave and tonight we were on the wrong side of it. Momentum is huge in the playoffs. You have to find a way when you have it to keep it; when you don’t have it, you have to find a way to get it back.”
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Kamloops F Chase Souto was penalized late in the third period after he took the feet out from under Polivka. At the time, Lowry could be seen barking in the direction of the Blazers’ bench.
Kamloops associate coach Dave Hunchak had backup G Taran Kozun begin loosening up, perhaps thinking it might be prudent to send him in for Cheveldave just in case things took a turn.
But that never happened and the game finished without mishap.
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The Royals got a huge break on their first goal when Edmundson tried to fire the puck around his net and out the other side, only to have it hit Klein in the feet.
The puck went directly to Crooks beside the Blazers net. He skated out front and beat Cheveldave to get the Royals to within 2-1 at 11:49 of the second period.
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JUST NOTES: Counting regular-season and playoff games, the Blazers are 17-3-2 against the Royals since the franchise relocated from Chilliwack in time for the 2011-12 season. . . . Crooks’ goal gave him the franchise record for most career goals (8), breaking a mark he had shared with F Ryan Howse. Crooks also played in his 17th postseason game, setting another franchise record. . . . Former Blazers D Austin Madaisky, who is working to come back from wrist surgery, played three games with the ECHL’s Evansville Icemen last week, scoring once in a 5-2 loss to the visiting Kalamazoo Wings on Saturday. He now will join the Springfield Falcons, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets.


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Madaisky hoping to get back this season

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Austin Madaisky, a former Kamloops Blazers defenceman who underwent wrist surgery on Nov. 21, hopes to return to game action later this month.
Madaisky, who turned 21 on Jan. 30, is under contract to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL draft. Prior to this season, with the NHL locked out, he went to training camp with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons but didn’t get into any games before being assigned to the ECHL’s Evansville IceMen. He had five points, including a goal, in eight games when he had to shut it down due to a sore wrist that he had been trying to play through.
Subsequently, Madaisky was diagnosed with a torn scapholunate – a ligament in the wrist was fully torn – and it was repaired by a surgeon in Columbus.
After surgery, Madaisky returned home to Surrey and has been skating there. He was back in Columbus on Thursday where he was cleared by the Blue Jackets’ medical staff to return to practice. He then flew to Springfield, Mass., where he will begin skating with the Falcons.
Madaisky said via text that he hasn’t been cleared for contact, nor has he been shooting at full strength.
“Still have to break down a lot of the scar tissue,” he said. “It’s come a long way, though.”
Madaisky played the previous two and a half seasons with the Blazers after having been acquired from the Calgary Hitmen. He was a Western Conference second-team all-star in 2011-12 and was eligible to return to the Blazers this season had the Blue Jackets chosen to return him.
Instead, he wants to get back into game action with the Falcons or Icemen later this month.
“I hope to be back within two weeks,” he added. “Still 20-something games left.”
On another note, Madaisky reports that his family is having its home in Surrey rebuilt and hopes to have it completed by June. The home was almost completely destroy by fire in the early hours of Aug. 11.

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First victory, then heartbreak

Jordan DePape, No. 17 at lower right, won't take part in any pregame whooping
with the Kamloops Blazers now that should problems have forced him to end
his WHL career. He left Kamloops on Sunday morning and headed home to Winnipeg.
(KAMLOOPS DAILY NEWS PHOTO)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports EditorA pall hung over the Kamloops Blazers’ dressing room at Interior Savings Centre on Saturday night, despite the fact the local WHL team had just posted a 5-4 shootout victory over those pesky Prince George Cougars.
Shortly after game’s end, right-winger Jordan DePape, a member of the Blazers since Dec. 13, 2009, when he was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings, walked out of the room, having just informed his teammates that his WHL career was over.
DePape had reconstructive surgery on his left shoulder on Nov. 4, 2011, which limited him to 14 regular-season games in 2011-12. He came back to finish with 14 points in 14 games, then added 13 in 11 playoff games.
This season, he tweaked his right shoulder early and missed six games. Then, on Nov. 11, during a 3-1 loss to the Winterhawks in Portland, he stood up forward Ty Rattie in the neutral zone — it wasn’t hard contact — and hurt the shoulder again. This time it was a subluxation — a temporary separation that could lead to more problems.
“It was a freak accident,” the 20-year-old Winnipegger said. “I never had (shoulders) problems until last season and now this season.”
DePape didn’t think it was fair to himself or his teammates to be in and out of the lineup all season. So . . .
“An MRI showed there is work that needs to be done. . . . I think it’s the best decision for me at this time,” he said.
What made it that much tougher is that the Blazers (19-5-1) own the WHL’s best record.
“I was so looking forward to this season,” DePape said. “I knew we would have a really good team and we should probably go far in the playoffs and that was the way I wanted to go out.
“Unfortunately . . . I don’t know what it is . . . the hockey gods just haven’t been on my side. I haven’t been able to catch a break.”
Immediately after the game, which the Blazers won on right-winger JC Lipon’s shootout goal, DePape informed his teammates of the decision.
“That was definitely the hardest part,” said DePape, who took in the pregame warmup from the bench area because he knew it would be his last one. “The past couple of days I’ve known and the staff has known I was going to be getting the surgery. It was my choice not to let the guys know. I didn’t want it to be a distraction because I knew these two games were huge to get back on track.
“After this game, it was emotional for me. I was tearing up; the guys were tearing up. They’re family to me and I’m going to really miss them.”
The feeling is mutual.
“We’re friends. We’re very close,” said a teary-eyed Brendan Ranford, who now has lost both his linemates to injury. Dylan Willick is out, likely until after Christmas, with a broken ankle.
“This is really tough,” Ranford continued. “He’s such a great guy.”
“It’s a pretty sad thing,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said, “when you have to face those kind of decisions, especially when you’re a young man and you feel you have all this energy to give.
“But I know that being an ex-player you can’t control injuries. It’s a sad one for him, but there’s lots of life ahead of him.”
A Type 1 diabetic who wears an insulin pump, DePape also did a lot of work with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation while in Kamloops, where he said “I met a lot of people and made a lot of good friends . . . who will be my friends for life.”
DePape had six points, four of them goals, in 17 games this season. He finishes his WHL career with 106 points, including 48 goals, in 142 regular-season games.
Meanwhile, Lipon, who had 19 goals in 69 games last season, ran his WHL-leading total to 21 with two goals against the Cougars. His second goal, at 15:25 of the third period, forged a 4-4 tie. Then he won it with a goal in the fourth round of the shootout.
When it went to a shootout, Lipon said he looked back at associate coach Dave Hunchak.
“He was like, ‘You got one?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll go,’ ” Lipon said. “I was going to shoot and I ended up deking. You’ve kind of got to adapt at times.”
Lipon also became the WHL’s first 50-point man this season, while linemate Colin Smith had two assists to stay within a point of the lead.
Cole Ully also scored twice for Kamloops, ending a 10-game drought.
“It is amazing how if you shoot the puck you have the potential of scoring,” Charron said. “And if you don’t shoot, don’t expect to score. He shot twice and he got two goals.”
Asked if he had been urging Ully to shoot more, Charron replied: “Everyone. Not just him.”
The Cougars, who held 2-0 and 4-3 leads, got goals from Jari Erricson, Colin Jacobs, Chase Witala and Ryan Hanes. The latter, a former Blazers player in his second game with the Cougars, put the visitors ahead at 12:56 of the third period.
“I wasn’t nervous,” said Hanes, who is from Kamloops and heard loud cheers when he scored. “I was more excited to get going.”
While the Blazers (19-5-1) remain four points clear atop the WHL’s overall standings, the Cougars (7-11-4) are tied for the Western Conference’s last playoff spot.
“That’s the way we play all the time,” Cougars head coach Dean Clark said. “We’ve played a lot of good games where we’ve found a way not to win.”
Charron added: “They have our number as far as how they play us. They play hard and you have to give them credit. I give them credit for the effort they put out every time they play us.”
JUST NOTES: The attendance was 4,692. . . . Blazers G Cole Cheveldave stopped 27 shots, five fewer than Prince George’s Mac Engel. . . . Engel made the game’s best stop when he came across to get a glove on a hard shot Tim Bozon thought was into an open side in the second period. Bozon was left gritting his teeth and muttering to himself. . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Lipon: Scoring leader comes through when needed; 2. F Jarrett Fontaine, Prince George: Mr. Hustle; 3. Ully: Blazers need more of that secondary scoring. . . . Former Blazers D Austin Madaisky is on the shelf with the ECHL’s Evansville IceMen. He has a wrist injury and is to be in Columbus today to see the Blue Jackets’ medical staff. Doctors in Evansville have indicated that he may have a torn ligament (scapholunate). He now wants to get a second opinion. Madaisky said it’s something that has been bothering him since he was in training camp with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. Madaisky, 20, who is under contract to the Blue Jackets, has five points, including one goal, in eight games with the IceMen.


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Our latest poll has closed and it was no contest. They don’t call it Win-nipeg for nothing.
The question was: Were the WHL to expand or relocate, what city should be at the top of the list?
In the end, there were 243 responses, with Winnipeg an easy winner, drawing 96 votes or 39 per cent. Langley, B.C., was next, with 68 votes (27 per cent), followed by Chilliwack (40) and Fort McMurray, Alta. (39), both at 16 per cent.
The lineup to get a team into Winnipeg forms on the left.
A new poll is up over there on the right, this one dealing with the NHL lockout.
Thanks for taking part.
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According to a report in the Columbus Dispatch, D Austin Madaisky, 20, needs surgery on a wrist and could miss up to three months of action. . . . Madaisky, who is under contract to the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and with the ECHL-Evansville IceMen, told me Saturday night that report is “a little pre-mature.” . . . Madaisky is to go to Columbus on Monday to meet with the team’s medical staff, “then see what they say.” . . . The doctors in Evansville have told him that he may have torn a ligament known as a scapholunate in one wrist but have suggested he get a second opinion. . . . Madaisky also said that he wasn’t injured while playing with the IceMen. He said the wrist has bothered him since he was in camp with the AHL-Springfield Falcons. . . . He has five points, including a goal, in eight games with Evansville.
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D Ryan Murray of the Everett Silvertips suffered a separated or dislocated shoulder — there are reports out there indicating one or the other — in Friday night’s 5-0 loss to the Royals in Victoria.
He has to undergo an MRI, something that is expected to happen in the next day or two. The extent of the damage then will be known.
Murray, the second overall pick in the NHL‘s 2012 draft, has signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He also is a lock for a roster spot with Canada’s national junior team.
“It’s not good news,” Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson told Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. “Right now his arm is in a sling, held tight to his body, and he’s in a lot of pain He’ll have an MRI early this week, and then we’ll know more.
“You’ll have to see how much damage he’s done to the labrum. Does he have any broken bones from the thrust of the fall? Once it’s come out, it tends to come out easier in the future. Our doctors will take a look at the tests and we’ll decide the next step.”
Last season, Murray suffered a high ankle sprain in October and only just got back in time to play for Canada in the world junior championship.
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The Saskatoon Blades will play their second game of a B.C. Division swing today in Vancouver against the Giants. And Saskatoon has added D Matthew Pufahl to its list of walking wounded. Pufahl, 19, has an undisclosed injury after taking a hit from behind from Prince George Cougars F Caleb Belter on Friday night. Saskatoon also is without F Jessey Astles (wrist), F Brett Stovin (undisclosed) and D Dalton Thrower (undisclosed). . . . The Blades will get a look at F Nick Gomerich today and F Landyn Hickmott on Tuesday in Victoria. Both play for B.C. major midget teams -- Gomerich, a sixth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, is with the Nanaimo-North Island Silvertips, while Hickmott, a third-rounder in 2011, is with the Abbotsford-Fraser Valley Thunderbirds. Hickmott was the Blades’ first selection in that 2011 draft, going 66th overall.
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Former Spokane Chiefs D Jared Cowen underwent surgery Saturday and is expected to be sidelined for up to eight months. Cowen, who plays for the NHL’s Ottawa Senators but had been with the AHL-Binghamton Senators during the lockout, had a torn labrum in his left hip.
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In the AJHL on Friday night, the Grande Prairie Storm dumped the visiting Brooks Bandits, 4-1. The Bandits had gone into the game 20-0. The victory ran the Storm’s winning streak to nine games. . . . The Bandits set an AJHL record for longest winning streak from the start of a season; the Olds Grizzlies opened 1993-94 with 18 straight victories. . . . The Bandits fell one game short of tying the AJHL record for longest winning streak, though. The Calgary Canucks set that record at 21 in 1987-88.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Cranbrook, G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 28 shots to help the Kootenay Ice to a 4-0 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Skapski has three shutouts this season and three in his career. . . . The Wheat Kings, who have lost four in a row, were blanked for the first time this season. . . . The Ice swept the doubleheader, having beaten the visiting Wheat Kings 5-3 on Friday. . . . F Sam Reinhart scored the Ice’s first two goals. He has eight on the season. . . .

In Edmonton, G Luke Siemens stopped 50 shots and F Shane Danyluk scored in OT as the Prince Albert Raiders beat the Oil Kings, 4-3. . . . Danyluk has three goals this season. . . . The Raider led 3-0 late in the second period when the Oil Kings mounted a comeback. . . . Edmonton F Michael St. Croix forced OT when he scored at 16:17 of the third period. . . . Danyluk won it at 3:35 of OT. . . . The Raiders brought in G Rylan Parenteau from the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers. He is 6-2-0, 2.86, .897 with the Blazers. Parenteau was a third-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Parenteau was on the bench backing up Siemens, replacing Andy Desautels who was in that role in Friday’s 3-2 victory in Lethbridge. . . . The Raiders (15-6-2) moved into first place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Edmonton (13-5-4). . . . The Raiders have beaten the Oil Kings three times this season. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Justin Feser scored two shorthanded goals 1:01 apart in the first period and the Tri-City Americans celebrated their 25th anniversary with a 3-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Feser’s 16th and 17th goals of the season gave the Americans a 3-0 lead. . . . Feser has 128 career goals. That puts him into seventh place on the Americans’ all-time list, one ahead of F Dylan Gyori. . . . The Rockets got second-period goals from Rourke Chartier and Ryan Olsen but couldn’t equalize. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 42 shots. . . . One night earlier, Comrie stopped 41 shots in a 3-2 victory over those same Rockets. . . . The Rockets had won five in a row going into Friday’s game. . . .

In Victoria, F Morgan Klimchuk broke a 2-2 tie at 19:34 of the third period to give the Regina Pats a 3-2 victory over the Royals. . . . Klimchuk’s goal, his 13th, came 2:06 after D Jordan Fransoo had pulled the Royals into a 2-2 tie. . . . Regina G Teagan Sacher stopped 32 shots. . . . Pats D Luke Fenske had three assists. . . . Regina opened its B.C. Division swing with a 4-3 shootout loss in Vancouver on Friday. . . . The Pats play in Prince George on Tuesday and Kamloops on Wednesday. . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips scored the game’s last two goals to beat the Vancouver Giants, 6-5. . . . F Ty Mappin, with his second goal this season, pulled Everett into a tie at 11:13 of the third. . . . F Reid Petryk, with his second of the game, won it at 15:30. . . . The Silvertips played without D Ryan Murray (shoulder), who was injured Friday night in a 5-0 loss in Victoria. . . . The six goals were a season-high for Everett. Not only that, Everett had scored only five goals in its previous six games. . . . D Austin Adam (broken hand) returned to the Silvertips’ lineup. He was injured on the season’s opening weekend. . . .

In Portland, F Taylor Leier and F Ty Rattie had two goals apiece as the Winterhawks dumped the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-2. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic had two assists, giving him eight straight multi-point games and running his point streak to 10 games. He has 23 points, including nine goals, in those 10 games. . . . The Winterhawks had their 12-game winning streak end Friday when they lost 6-4 in Kamloops. . . . F Nic Petan added three assists for Portland. . . . Medicine Hat F Hunter Shinkaruk left in the first period after taking a check from Portland D Seth Jones. Shinkaruk apparently suffered a skate cut of some kind. . . . Rattie has 14 goals, while Leier has eight. . . .

In Red Deer, F Turner Elson, the team captain, broke a 1-1 tie at 7:32 of the third period as the Rebels beat the Swift Current Broncos, 2-1. . . . It was owner/president/general manager Brent Sutter’s first game as the Rebels’ interim head coach. He removed Jesse Wallin as head coach earlier in the week. . . . F Rhyse Dieno, who was added to the Red Deer roster on Friday, had the Rebels’ other goal. . . .

In Kamloops, F JC Lipon, the WHL scoring leader, struck for two goals and the winner in the circus as the Blazers got past the Prince George Cougars, 5-4. . . . Immediately after the game, Kamloops F Jordan DePape, 20, informed his teammate that he was ending his WHL career thanks to a shoulder injury that needs surgery. There will be more on DePape and his decision right here early Monday morning. . . . The Cougars held 2-0 and 4-3 leads, the latter coming when F Ryan Hanes, a Kamloops native and former Blazers skater, scored at 12:56 of the third period on the PP. He was playing his second game with the Cougars since joining them from the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. . . . Lipon tied it at 15:24 with his 21st goal of the season. He became the WHL’s first 20-goal man this season when he scored the Blazers’ first goal, at 12:52 of the second. . . . Last season, Lipon had 19 goals in 69 games. . . . With the second goal, Lipon became the WHL’s first 50-point scorer this season. He leads the WHL in goals (21) and points (50). . . . Linemate Colin Smith had two assists and has 49 points. . . . F Brad Morrison, 15, picked up one assist in his WHL debut with the Cougars. By the third period, Morrison, the seventh overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft, was playing on perhaps the Cougars’ best line, with Alex Forsberg and Hanes. . . . F Cole Ully also scored twice for Kamloops. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Todd Fiddler scored three times to lead the Spokane Chiefs to a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Fiddler has 15 goals in 22 this season after scoring 12 times in 73 games last season. He had four goals in 35 games with Prince Albert, before scoring eight times in 38 games after being acquired by the Chiefs. . . . He scored at 1:30 of the second period and 14:32 of the third to give the Chiefs a 2-0 lead. He later added his third goal into an empty net to complete the first hat trick of his career. . . . Fiddler finished last season with 28 points in those 73 games. He has 26 points in 22 games this season.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Tyler Yaworski, Brandon
D Tanner Faith, Kootenay
F Rob Trzonkowski, Kamloops

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Lucas Grayson, Everett
F Reid Petryk, Everett
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Jordan DePape (@papskos17): “Wow, so thankful for all this support! Can’t believe it. Thank you. My phone has literally exploded and died in a matter of 30 minutes.”
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TWEET OF THE DAY II:
From Portland Winterhawks F Brendan Leipsic (@leip28): “Congrats on a great career @papskos sorry it had to end like this. #seeyousoon”
Leipsic and DePape both are from Winnipeg.
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TWEET OF THE DAY III:
From Prince George Cougars F Brock Hirsche (@bigsexytweet10): “@papskos17 best of luck in the future. I know what you are going through.”
Hirsche is fighting shoulder woes for a second straight season. He was on the Cougars’ bench as an assistant coach last night in Kamloops.
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TWEET OF THE DAY IV:
From Prince George F Ryan Hanes (@HANESR13): “Thank you to everyone who came out tonight! Fans are amazing even when I’m a cougar now! Love it!”


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