Showing posts with label Austin Pratt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Austin Pratt. Show all posts

Friday, October 14, 2016

Blades open trek with win in Kelowna . . . Pratt, Benson, Phillips, Henry fill hats . . . Silvertips win again


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G Lasse Petersen, acquired by the Red Deer Rebels from the Everett Silvertips on Thursday, ran into weather problems so wasn’t able to travel in time to join his new teammates on Friday. . . . The right here.
Rebels entertained the Moose Jaw Warriors last night. . . . Brent Sutter, the owner, general manager and head coach in Red Deer, acquired Petersen because G Tyson Verhelst, 19, who was picked up from the Spokane Chiefs, looks to be out on a long-term basis. . . . “It’s an unfortunate situation with Tyson and we don’t know what his future is going to bring,” Sutter told Greg Meachem of reddeerrebels.com. “He’s back home now and will be evaluated on a regular basis. We couldn’t be left in a position where we’re hoping he might be back in two or three weeks, a month, whatever. It’s such an unknown thing.“It’s unfortunate for Tyson, but we needed to move forward and add someone to the group and we were fortunate enough to acquire a goalie who has some experience in the league.” . . . Meachem’s complete story is
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F Lane Pederson’s three-year entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes carries NHL salaries of US$610,000, $685,000 and $685,000, according to generalfanager.com. . . . Pederson, who plays for the Swift Current Broncos, agreed to the deal on Thursday. . . . The AHL salary in each of the three years is $70,000. . . . There also is a $105,000 signing bonus, payable in three annual installments.
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F Landon Quinney, 18, has signed with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs. He was released earlier this season by the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Last season, the Las Vegas native had 16 points, including three goals, in 69 games with the Warriors. . . . Last night, in his first game, he picked up on assist and won four of five faceoffs in a 4-2 victory over the host Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. . . . His father, Ken, and brother, Gage, both are former WHLers. . . . 
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Brennan Tutt, who had a brief stint with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2009-10, is one of three men in custody after what, according to the St. George, Utah, News, “is believed to be the biggest meth bust in Utah history.” . . . Tutt, 24, is from Airdrie. . . . The three were pulled over near Provo after police officers, with the help of a dog, found 236 pounds of methamphetamine, some steroids and $66,000. . . . According to The News, the meth had “an estimated wholesale value of $1.5 million and a street value of between $7 million and $15 million.” . . . Tutt was pointless during his stint with the Thunderbirds. . . . The News story is right here.
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The Tri-City Americans have dropped D Landon Fuller from their roster. He now is with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Fuller, 17, is from 100 Mile House, B.C. He was pointless in one game this season. He got into two games last season and also was pointless. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Fuller was a fifth-round selection in the 2014 WHL bantam draft.
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If you aren’t familiar with Joe Pelletier’s Greatest Hockey Legends.com, you should be. It’s a great place to drop by and visit whenever you get the urge to look into the game’s past. Pelletier also keeps tabs on hockey-related books as they come available and oftentimes offers up his thoughts on them. Right here, he takes a look at The Hockey Scribbler, which was written by George Bowering, a native of Penticton, B.C., who is a prolific writer.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:


At Brandon, F Austin Glover scored 45 seconds into OT to give the Raiders a 3-2 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Glover has five goals this season. . . . F Luke Coleman gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 3:08 of the first period, only to have Brandon F Ty Lewis tie it at 14:24. . . . F Nic Holowko put the Raiders back out in front at 15:02 of the second period. . . . The Wheat Kings forced OT when F Ty Kaspick scored his sixth goal, on a PP, at 12:58 of the third period. . . . F Simon Stransky had two assist for the Raiders. . . . Kaspick and Lewis had an assist each. . . . G Ian Scott turned aside 32 shots for the Raiders, two fewer than Brandon’s Logan Thompson. . . . The Wheat Kings were 2-5 on the PP; the Raiders were 0-2. . . . Prince Albert (3-5-0) snapped a three-game losing skid. . . . Brandon (2-3-2) has lost three in a row. . . . The Wheat Kings scratched F Nolan Patrick, giving him what is believed to be his second maintenance day of the young season. He missed most of training camp after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia in July. . . . Announced attendance: 3,518.
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At Edmonton, F Matt Phillips scored three times and added two assists to lead the Victoria Royals to
MATT PHILLIPS
a 6-1 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Phillips, who has six goals, opened the scoring at 8:38 of the first period. He made it 3-0 at 8:18 of the second, on a PP, and got his third goal, on another PP, at 9:54. . . . It was his second career hat trick, the other coming last season. . . . Phillips added an assist on F Tyler Soy’s goal, his fifth, on a PP at 12:03 of the first period. . . . Soy also had two assists. . . . The Royals were 3-7 on the PP, scoring three straight to take a 4-0 lead. . . . The Oil Kings were 1-4 on the PP. . . . F Jack Walker had a goal and an assist for the winners. . . . The Royals (5-5-0) got 39 saves from G Griffen Outhouse, while G Patrick Dea stopped 36 for Edmonton. . . . The Oil Kings (3-5-1) have lost the first two games of a seven-game homestand. . . . Announced attendance: 7,176.
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At Kelowna, G Logan Flodell stopped 36 shots and F Jesse Zaharichuk and F Mason McCarty each scored twice to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 4-2 victory over the Rockets. . . . This was the first
LOGAN FLODELL
game of a B.C. Division swing for the Blades, who were 0-3 in their last three visits to Kelowna. . . . Saskatoon (5-2-1) is 4-0-1 in its last five starts. . . . Kelowna (3-6-0) has lost two in a row. . . . Shynkaruk, who basically walked into Saskatoon’s camp and asked for a tryout, has five goals this season. He opened the scoring on a PP at 10:20 of the first period. . . . F Kole Lind, who had both Kelowna goals, tied it at 13:14. . . . McCarty gave the visitors the lead with his fourth goal, on a PP, at 19:00. . . . Shynkaruk upped the lead to 3-1 at 3:50 of the third period. . . . Lind got the Rockets to within a goal at 18:36, but McCarty got the empty-netter at 19:15. . . . Flodell was sharp as the Rockets held a 30-11 edge in shots over the last two periods. . . . G Brodan Salmond stopped 13 shots for Kelowna. . . . The Blades were 2-5 on the PP; the Rockets were 0-2. . . . F Kaleb Fantillo, acquired by the Blades from the Medicine Hat Tigers on Thursday, didn’t play. . . . F Jake Kryski (ill) was among Kelowna’s scratches. . . . F Leif Mattson, acquired earlier in the month from the Brandon Wheat Kings, was in the Rockets’ lineup for the first time. . . . Announced attendance: 4,678.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., D Connor Hobbs scored at 1:26 of OT to give the Regina Pats a 5-4 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . F Nick Henry, who has four goals, scored three times and added an assist for
CONNOR HOBBS
the Pats. His third goal, at 13:32 of the third period, forced OT. . . . Henry’s second goal, on a PP at 7:14 of the second period, gave Regina a 3-1 lead. . . . The Ice came back to take a 4-3 lead as F Matt Alfaro scored shorthanded at 11:39, F Vince Loschiavo scored at 17:31 and F Zak Zborosky, who is from Regina, scored his second goal of the game, on a PP, at 5:44 of the third period. . . . Zborosky has nine goals, second in the WHL to Tri-City F Michael Rasmussen, who has 10. . . . F Sam Steel had three assists for Regina, while F Dawson Leedahl and Hobbs each had a goal and an assist. . . . Alfaro added an assist to his goal. . . . Regina G Jordan Hollett blocked 19 shots, while the Ice’s Payton Lee turned aside 52. . . . Kootenay was 1-6 on the PP; Regina was 1-7. . . . The Pats (5-0-3) are the only one of the WHL’s 22 teams not have lost in regulation time. . . . The Ice (1-5-3) has lost three in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 1,668.
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At Lethbridge, F Tyler Benson scored three times, including the OT winner, as the Vancouver Giants got past the Hurricanes, 4-3. . . . Benson’s fifth goal, on a PP, won it just 39 seconds into extra time. It
TYLER BENSON
also gave him his first WHL hat trick. . . . F Jesse Zaharichuk gave Lethbridge a 1-0 lead at 11:42 of the first period. . . . Benson tied it at 13:22. . . . F Ryley Lindgren put the home side ahead 2-1 with his sixth goal, on a PP, at 16:32. . . . Benson tied it 58 seconds into the second period. . . . F Brayden Burke, who also had two assists, gave Lethbridge a 3-2 lead at 14:01. . . . Vancouver F Brendan Semchuk forced OT with his fourth goal, on a PP, at 7:29 of the third period. . . . In 2015-16, a freshman season short-circuited by injury, Semchuk had a goal and an assist in 28 games. He has four goals and an assist in 11 games this season. . . . If you’re a WHL follower, you are aware of Benson’s injury woes. This season, he has five goals and four assists in six games. . . . F Thomas Foster had two assists for Vancouver. . . . The Giants got 25 saves from G Ryan Kubic, two fewer than Ryan Gilchrist of Lethbridge. . . . Vancouver was 2-4 on the PP; the Hurricanes were 1-5. . . . D Darian Skeoch had an assist for Vancouver; D Brennan Menell had an assist for Lethbridge. The two were involved in a trade earlier in the season. . . . The Giants (4-7-0) have won three in a row in Alberta. . . . The Hurricanes (5-2-2) have points in four straight (2-0-2). . . . Vancouver F Johnny Wesley was tossed with a headshot major and game misconduct at 3:21 of the second period. . . . Announced attendance: 3,267.
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At Medicine Hat, F Chad Butcher and F Mason Shaw each scored two goals and added an assist to help the Tigers to a 7-2 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . After F Jakob Stukel gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 1:50 of the first period, the Tigers erupted for five straight goals. . . . The Tigers got two assists from each of F Zach Fischer, F Steve Owre and F John Dahlstrom, with D David Quenneville and F Matt Bradley each adding a goal and an assist. . . . F Matteo Gennaro had a goal and an assist for Calgary. . . . The Tigers got 22 saves from G Nick Schneider. Calgary starter Cody Porter stopped 19 of 21 shots before leaving at 1:58 of the second period with an undisclosed injury. Kyle Dumba came on and allowed five goals on 18 shots. . . . Medicine Hat was 3-9 on the PP; Calgary was 1-7. . . . The Tigers (6-3-0) snapped a two-game losing skid. . . . The Hitmen (3-3-0) have lost two straight. . . . Announced attendance: 3,731.
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At Red Deer, F Austin Pratt scored three times to lead the Rebels to a 6-4 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Pratt gave the Rebels a 2-0 lead at 4:43 of the second period and tied the score 3-3 at
AUSTIN PRATT
17:14. He completed his first WHL hat trick at 12:43 of the third period, giving the Rebels a 5-4 lead in the process. . . . A 17-year-old from Lakeville, Minn., Pratt has eight points, including five goals, in nine games. Last season, as a freshman, he had eight goals and four assists in 56 games. . . . After Pratt tied the game at 3-3, Red Deer F Adam Musil gave his guys the lead at 18:23 of the second. . . . Moose Jaw F Luka Burzan’s second goal of the game, on a PP, tied it at 1:25 of the third. . . . Red Deer F Brandon Hagel had three assists, with D Colton Bobyk and F Michael Spacek each getting a goal and an assist. . . . The Warriors got two goals and an assist from F Jayden Halbgewachs, and two assists from each of F Nikita Popugaev and D Matt Sozanski. . . . Red Deer G Riley Lamb made 23 saves, six fewer than the Warriors’ Brody Willms. . . . Moose Jaw was 3-8 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-2. . . . The Rebels (4-3-2) have won two straight. . . . The Warriors are 4-2-2. . . . F Grayson Pawlenchuk played in his 200th regular-season game with the Rebels. . . . The Warriors lost F Tanner Jeannot with a boarding major and game misconduct for a hit on Red Deer D Alexander Alexeyev at 14:08 of the first period. . . . Announced attendance: 4,389.
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At Kent, Wash., F Kody McDonald scored in the fourth round of a shootout to give the Prince George Cougars a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Cougars (9-2-0) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Thunderbirds (2-3-1) have lost two straight. . . . Seattle led this one 2-0 on goals by F Nolan Volcan, at 8:32 of the first period, and F Sami Moilanen, 20 seconds into the second, on a PP. . . . F Jesse Gabrielle’s fourth goal got the Cougars to within one at 8:47 of the second period and F Jansen Harkins’ first goal tied it at 12:15. . . . F Brad Morrison had two assists for the Cougars, while Gabrielle also had an assist. . . . Prince George was 2-4 on the PP; Seattle was 1-5. . . . G Ty Edmonds, 20, stopped 23 shots for the Cougars, one more than Carl Stankowski, 16, of the Thunderbirds. . . . According to TBird Tidbits, the Cougars were “10-2-0 in their last 12 regular-season visits to Kent” prior to last night. . . . With four 20-year-olds on their roster, following the return of F Ryan Gropp, the Thunderbirds have to scratch one each game. Last night, G Rylan Toth drew the short straw. . . . Announced attendance: 3,068.
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At Spokane, F Patrik Bajkov’s second goal of the game, 24 seconds into OT, gave the Everett Silvertips a 4-3 victory over the Chiefs. . . . F Brian King gave Everett a 1-0 lead at 3:14 of the second period. . . . The Chiefs took a 2-1 lead on two goals from F Kailer Yamamoto, who has six goals. He scored on a PP at 16:02 of the second and added his other goal at 9:30 of the third. . . . Bajkov, who has four goals, tied it at 13:59 and D Noah Juulsen gave the visitors the lead, on a PP, 10 seconds later. . . . The Chiefs forced OT when F Markson Bechtold scored a shorthanded goal at 18:52. . . . F Dominic Zwerger, who was acquired by Everett from Spokane as the Chiefs got down to three 20-year-olds, had two assists, while Juulsen added one to his goal. . . . D Ty Smith had two assists for Spokane, while Yamamoto and Bechtold had one each. . . . G Mario Petit stopped 27 shots for Everett, 10 more than Spokane’s Jayden Sittler. . . . Everett was 2-5 on the PP; Spokane was 1-1. . . . The Silvertips (7-1-1) have won three in a row. . . . The Chiefs (2-4-1) have lost two straight. . . . Chiefs F Hunter Elynuik left with a charging major and game misconduct for a hit on F Devon Skoleski at 13:06 of the third period. . . . Announced attendance: 4,423.
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At Kennewick, Wash., G Rylan Parenteau made 28 saves to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 4-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Parenteau, 20, got the start after being acquired from the
MICHAEL RASMUSSEN
Prince Albert Raiders on Thursday. He joined his new team that night. . . . The Americans got two goals from F Michael Rasmussen, who leads the WHL with 10 scores. . . . He opened the scoring at 10:13 of the first period, on a PP, then set up a PP goal by D Parker Wotherspoon, at 17:05. . . . F Nick Chyzowski got Kamloops on the board at 12;16 of the second, but Rasmussen got that one back at 16:53. . . . F Travis Walton, with his first WHL goal, got the Blazers to within one at 8:03 of the third. . . . The Americans put it away when F Parker AuCoin scored at 19:02. . . . Rasmussen has 10 goals in eight games. Last season, he scored 18 times in 63 games. . . . G Connor Ingram turned aside 33 shots for the Blazers. . . . The Americans were 2-4 on the PP; Kamloops was 0-3. . . . The Americans (5-3-0) have won three in a row and are 4-0-0 at home. . . . The Blazers (4-6-0) had won their previous two games. . . . Tri-City head coach Mike Williamson now has 498 regular-season coaching victories. . . . Announced attendance: 2,758.

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SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Seattle at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Swift Current at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Red Deer vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.
Regina at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Brandon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Portland at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Prince George vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
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SUNDAY’S GAME (all times local):


Moose Jaw at Calgary, 2 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:30 PM
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Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Cougars on top of CHL heap . . . Blades add veteran forward . . . Tigers stun Warriors in OT

The Prince George Cougars went to bed on Wednesday night knowing — apologies to Frank Sinatra — they are kings of the hill, top of the heap. . . . At No. 8 in the CHL rankings a week ago, the 
Cougars were No. 1 when the latest list was released yesterday. . . . Under new head coach Richard Matvichuk, who must be the most popular man in Prince George these days, the Cougars are 6-0-0, the first such season-opening streak in franchise history. They won their first four games on the road, then took a doubleheader from the visiting Kelowna Rockets last weekend. . . . Next up for the Cougars? A visit from the Vancouver Giants. They’ll play Friday and Saturday nights. The Giants, who lost 3-2 to the visiting Victoria Royals last night, now are 1-5-0. . . . Other WHL teams in the top 10: 5. Brandon Wheat Kings (1-1-1); 8. Regina Pats (3-0-1). . . . The Everett Silvertips, who beat the visiting Tri-City Americans 3-1 last night to go to 4-0-1, garnered an honourable mention. . . . The rankings are selected by a panel of anonymous NHL scouts.
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The Prince Albert Raiders placed F Kolten Olynek, 20, on waivers and the arch-rival Saskatoon Blades claimed him on Wednesday. The two teams are scheduled to meet tonight (Thursday) in Saskatoon and Olynek, who skated with the Blades on Wednesday, is expected to play. . . . This season, Olynek, who is from Saskatoon, had two goals and an assist in three games with the Raiders. . . . Olynek was a second-round selection by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2011 bantam draft. He also has played with the Hurricanes, Moose Jaw Warriors and Spokane Chiefs. In 189 regular-season games, he has 20 goals and 31 assists. . . . With Olynek’s arrival, the Blades have four 20-year-olds on their roster, although F Ryan Graham has yet to play this season, thanks to an undisclosed injury. He is likely to be out for a few more weeks. . . . The two other 20s are D Bryton Sayers and F Jesse Shynkaruk. . . . Olynek and Shynkaruk were teammates with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. . . . The Raiders put Olynek on waivers in order to get down to the maximum three 20s — F Austin Glover, G Rylan Parenteau and F Tim Vanstone. The Raiders also have F Reid Gardiner on their roster, but he is in camp with the AHL’s Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Penguins.
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The Regina Pats have dropped F Erik Gardiner, 17, from their roster and he will join the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. Gardiner was a second-round selection in the 2014 WHL bantam draft. . . . Last season, the Humboldt native led the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League in scoring, with 59 points, including 21 goals, in 43 games. . . . Gardiner was pointless with the Pats this season, having dressed for two of their four games. . . . He is the younger brother of F Reid Gardiner, 20, who played the past four seasons with the Prince Albert Raiders.
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BCHLRich Murphy, a Minnesota-based businessman, is in the process of finalizing the purchase of majority ownership of the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters. For $600,000, Murphy will get 90 per cent of the franchise; the non-profit society that has been operating the team will retain 10 per cent. The Smoke Eaters are about $400,000 in debt. . . . The team has been community-owned, but the society wasn’t able to find a local buyer. Murphy is the president and CEO of Midwest Railcar Corp. . . . His son, Ryan, 18, has two goals in eight games in his freshman season with the Smokies. . . . Kari Lee Campbell has more right here from the Nelson Daily.
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JUST NOTES:

The Everett Silvertips have named F Noah Juulsen as the 13th team captain in franchise history. Juulsen, 19, is from Surrey, B.C. He is into his fourth season with the Silvertips. . . .
Nathan Van Oosten of Vancouver, who is a WHL linesman, has been selected to work at the 2017 World Junior Championship. The tournament runs from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Montreal and Toronto. . . . 
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Coaching
BCHLRick Lanz, a former assistant and head coach with the Tri-City Americans, has joined the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles as an assistant coach. He replaces Colin Hemingway, who left the team for family reasons. . . . Lanz, who also is a former Eagles head coach, will work with Blaine Neufeld, Surrey’s GM and head coach. . . . Nick Greenizan of the Peace Arch News has more right here.
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Check out this video of illusionist Darcy Oake in action . . .  

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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:


At Everett, D Noah Juulsen, named the captain earlier in the day, had a goal and an assist to help the Silvertips to a 3-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . This was the second of three straight games between these teams. The Americans won 3-2 at home on Sunday. They will play the third game on Friday in Everett. . . . Last night, F Max James gave the Americans a 1-0 lead at 14:41 of the first period. . . . The Silvertips pulled even when F Dominic Zwerger scored a PP goal at 1:31 of the second period. . . . Everett (4-0-1) won it with two third-period goals. F Graham Millar’s fifth goal, at 14:40, proved to be the winner. . . . Juulsen added an empty-netter at 19:32. . . . Everett G Carter Hart blocked 15 shots. At the other end, Back Warm turned aside 30. . . . The Americans (2-3-0) were 0-2 on the PP; the Silvertips were 1-4. . . . Everett is without F Eetu Tuulola (shoulder). He was injured in a game against the host Americans on Sunday and will be out for up to a month. . . . Announced attendance: 2,733.
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At Lethbridge, the Kelowna Rockets exploded for five goals in the third period as they beat the Hurricanes, 6-3. . . . Rockets F Calvin Thurkauf’s PP goal forged a 2-2 tie at 2:33 of the third. . . . Lethbridge F Tyler Wong snapped the tie with a PP goal at 9:05. . . . Kelowna F Kole Lind tied it at 11:23 and Thurkauf’s second goal of the game, at 13:22, proved to be the winner. . . . Thurkauf added an assist to his brace of goals, while F Tomas Soustal had a goal and an assist. . . . The Rockets (2-4-0) welcomed F Nick Merkley back to their lineup. He picked up one assist. Merkley, 19, last played on Feb. 5 against the visiting Spokane Chiefs. He suffered a torn ACL during that game and needed surgery on his right knee. He did play in two exhibition games with the Arizona Coyotes, who selected him in the first round of the NHL’s 2015 draft. . . . At the same time, though, the Rockets are without F Dillon Dube, 18, who suffered a sprained knee while with the Calgary Flames. He could be out for a month. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer stopped 24 shots, three more than Stuart Skinner of the Hurricanes (3-2-0). . . . The Rockets were 2-4 on the PP; the Hurricanes were 2-8. . . . Announced attendance: 3,099.
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At Medicine Hat, the Tigers, who trailed 4-0 early in the third period, got a goal from F Max Gerlach at 1:25 of OT to beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-4. . . . Moose Jaw F Jayden Halbgewachs’ fourth goal, at 19:37 of the second period, gave the visitors a 4-0 lead. . . . The Tigers got rolling with three goals in a span of 43 seconds in the third period. F Zach Fischer got it started with his fourth goal, at 5:03. F John Dahlstrom scored at 5:24 and F Mason Shaw got the home boys to within a goal at 5:46. . . . Fisher tied it with a PP goal at 17:48. . . . Shaw added an assist to his goal, while F Steve Owre had two assists. . . . The Warriors got a goal and an assist from F Nikita Popugaev and two assists from F Noah Gregor. . . . G Nick Schneider stopped 18 shots for the Tigers (4-1-0), while Zach Sawchenko turned aside 56 for Moose Jaw (3-0-2). . . . The Tigers held a 27-6 edge in shots in the third period. . . . Each team was 1-2 on the PP. . . . Announced attendance: 3,845.
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At Prince Albert, F Cody Glass scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Portland Winterhawks to a 5-3 victory over the Raiders. . . . The Winterhawks (4-2-0) are 1-1-0 on their East Division tour. They lost 7-3 to the Swift Current Broncos on Tuesday. . . . Glass, a 17-year-old sophomore, had 27 points, including 10 goals, in 65 games last season. This season, he has a WHL-leading 12 points, nine of them assists, in six games. . . . The Winterhawks scored the game’s first four goals and took a 4-0 lead into the third period. . . . The Raiders (2-3-0) then scored three times, cutting the deficit to 4-3 on F Simon Stransky’s fourth goal at 10:28. . . . Portland F Joachim Blichfeld got the empty-netter at 18:39. . . . Blichfeld also had an assist, while F Keegan Iverson had two assists. Portland F Colton Veloso ran his goal streak to three games. . . . The Winterhawks got 25 saves from G Cole Kehler. . . . Prince Albert starter Rylan Parenteau gave up four goals on 22 shots in 33:17. Ian Scott came on to block all 17 shots he saw. . . . Portland was 1-3 on the PP; Prince Albert was 0-3. . . . Raiders D Loch Morrison was back after missing three games with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Winterhawks scratched Latvian F Rodrigo Abols, 20, for a third straight game. . . . Portland D Jake Hobson, in his first WHL season, is from Prince Albert. He is the son of Doug Hobson, who played on the Raiders’ 1985 Memorial Cup-winning team. . . . Announced attendance: 1,859.
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At Red Deer, the Rebels erased a 3-0 first-period deficit with five straight goals en route to a 5-4 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Blazers led this one 2-0 on two goals by F Deven Sideroff in the first five minutes of the first period. . . . Kamloops F Matt Revel upped the lead to 3-0 at 19:37. . . . Red Deer F Austin Pratt cut into the lead with goals at 10:11 and 10:50 of the second period. . . . F Akash Bains pulled the Rebels (2-2-2) even with 57.9 seconds left in the period. . . . Red Deer F Brandon Hagel scored shorthanded at 5:36 of the third period, and D Josh Mahura got the eventual winner at 9:32. . . . F Rudolfs Balcers got the Blazers (2-4-0) back to within a goal at 18:38. . . . Red Deer G Riley Lamb, an 18-year-old freshman from Rivers, Man., came on in relief to start the second period and stopped 32 of 33 shots. Starter Trevor Martin gave up three goals on 14 shots. . . . Kamloops got 34 saves from G Connor Ingram. . . . Each team was 0-2 on the PP. . . . Announced attendance: 4,123.
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At Langley, B.C., F Jack Walker scored three goals to lead the Victoria Royals to a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Walker, who went into the game without a goal in his first two games, opened the scoring just 14 seconds into the game. . . . The Giants then took a 2-1 lead on second-period goals from F Ty Ronning, at 3:40, and F Brendan Semchuk, his third, at 5:45. . . . Walker tied the score on a PP at 10:29 of the second. He got the eventual winner at 2:04 of the third period. . . . It was the third three-goal game of Walker’s career. The 20-year-old from Edina, Minn., had one in each of the past two seasons. . . . D Ryan Gagnon had two assists for the Royals (2-4-0). . . . G Griffen Outhouse stopped 28 shots for Victoria, while Ryan Kubic blocked 25 for the Giants (1-5-0). . . . Victoria was 1-2 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-3. . . . Announced attendance: 3,127.
——

THURSDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Prince Albert at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:56 PM
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Friday, April 10, 2015

SRO in Brandon . . . Another shutout for Whistle . . . New coach in Prince George


FRIDAY’S GAMES:


In Brandon, the Wheat Kings, playing before a sold-out crowd, opened with a 5-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . They’ll play Game 2 tonight in Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings scored the game’s first two goals, with F Duncan Campbell getting his first at 9:48 of the first and F Tim McGauley getting his fourth at 1:56 of the second. . . . F Taylor Cooper, a former Wheat Kings skater, got Regina’s goal at 9:12 of the second. . . . F John Quenneville got his fourth goal for Brandon at 13:50 of the second. . . . The Wheat Kings put it away with two third-period goals — D Ivan Provorov scored his first at 10:41 and F Jayce Hawryluk got No. 4 at 14:04. . . . F Tyler Coulter had two assists for Brandon. . . . Brandon has scored the first goal in each of its past five games and has won each of those games. . . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny celebrated his 19th birthday by stopping 21 shots, five fewer than Regina’s Daniel Wapple. . . . Regina was 0-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-3. . . . F Reid Duke was back in Brandon’s lineup after a 21-game absence with an undisclosed injury. He hadn’t played since Feb. 13. . . . Brandon F Morgan Klimchuk remains sidelined. . . . Attendance was 5,130. . . . A Friday tweet from Phil Andrews, the radio voice of the Pats: “Pats HC John Paddock will be inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in October. Official announcement coming Monday.”

In Medicine Hat, F Chase Lang had a goal and two assists to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 3-1 victory over the Tigers. . . . The series now heads for Calgary and games on Sunday and Monday. A fourth game will be played in Medicine Hat on Wednesday. The remainder of the schedule, if necessary, has yet to be announced. . . . Last night, Calgary led 2-1 after two periods, despite being outshot 24-8. . . . With the Tigers leading 6-0 on the shot clock, F Connor Rankin scored his eighth goal of these playoffs on Calgary’s first shot, at 7:57 of the first period. . . . F Jake Virtanen scored his first goal at 16:30 of the first, for a 2-0 lead. . . . The Tigers got their goal from F Dryden Hunt at 19:50 of the first. . . . Lang scored his fourth goal at 6:30 of the third. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields turned aside 33 shots. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 11 shots. . . . The Tigers were 0-for-3 on the PP; the Hitmen were 0-for-1. . . . Calgary continues to play without D Jake Bean, while F Beck Malensytn was back after  a 10-game absence. . . . Attendance was 4,006.

In Kelowna, G Jackson Whistle stopped 20 shots to help the Rockets to a 5-0 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . They’ll play Game 2 in Kelowna tonight. . . . Whistle has put up three shutouts in his first five playoff starts. He opened the first round with 6-0 and 3-0 shutouts over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Rockets are 5-0 in these playoffs. . . . F Tyson Baillie’s third goal, at 5:40 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . The Rockets had a 14-1 edge in shots in a scoreless first period. . . . Victoria’s one shot came on a breakaway by F Alex Forsberg, who was stymied by Whistle. . . . D Josh Morrissey, out since Feb. 28, was back in the Kelowna lineup and drew three assists. . . . F Leon Draisaitl had two assists. . . . Victoria G Coleman Vollrath stopped 39 shots. . . . The Rockets’ last two goals came via the PP as they went 2-for-5. . . . Victoria was 0-for-4. . . . F Tyrell Goulbourne, who missed two games, returned to the Rockets’ lineup. . . . F Justin Kirkland, F Chance Braid (WHL suspension) and D Devante Stephens were among Kelowna’s scratches. . . . There were at least 21 NHL scouts on hand for this one. . . . Attendance was 5,481. . . . Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier has a game story right here.

In Everett, the Silvertips scored the game’s first three goals and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The teams will be back at it tonight in Everett. . . . F Kohl Bauml opened the scoring at 5:25 of the first period and F Remi Laurencelle made it 2-0 just 3:04 later. . . . Laurencelle added his second of the game, and second of these playoffs, at 4:42 of the second. . . . Portland F Miles Koules cut the deficit to 3-1 with 22.3 seconds left in the second period. . . . However, Everett F Jake Mykitiuk got that one back with 2.2 seconds left in the period with what likely was the biggest goal of the game. . . . After F Patrick Bajkov gave Everett a 5-1 lead at 7:58 of the third, via a PP, the visitors got goals from F Dominic Turgeon, his fifth, and F Alex Schoenborn. . . . Silvertips D Cole MacDonald had three assists, while F Ivan Nikolishin had two. . . . Portland F Keegan Iverson had two assists. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 27 shots, 11 more than Portland’s Adin Hill. . . . Everett was 1-for-2 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-1. . . . D Noah Juulsen, D Tristen Pfeifer and F Dawson Leedahl were scratched by Everett, each with an undisclosed injury. . . . With two defencemen out, Everett had D Jantzen Leslie, 15, in the lineup for his second playoff game. . . . Attendance was 3,481.

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An interesting tidbit from the Hodge’s Heroes blog, where Brandon Rivers writes: “D-man Caleb Jones (1996) was ranked No. 115 overall among North American skaters in Central Scouting's final rankings. Jones, who is playing with the USNTDP, has reportedly signed with Portland, though this has not been announced by the Winterhawks. There could be some reason why this has not been announced as of yet, but I do not know exactly why.” . . . This speculation goes back to a report by Corbett Smith and his High School Sports Blog for The Dallas Morning News. Smith reported on April 2 that Jones, the younger brother of former Winterhawks D Seth Jones, has opted to join the Winterhawks, who selected him in the third round of the 2012 WHL bantam draft. Smith wrote: “According to local youth hockey expert Tanner Wilson, Caleb says he’s 100 percent committed to the Winterhawks for next season; Caleb had been courted by several top NCAA programs, most recently Wisconsin. He also had offers from Boston College, Boston University (currently in the NCAA’s Frozen Four) and Umass.” . . . Caleb Jones, 17, spent the past two seasons in the U.S. National Team Development Program.
——
OHLDavid Levin, who was born in Tel Aviv, will be selected by the Sudbury Wolves with the No. 1 pick in today’s OHL draft. . . . Levin, now 15, was 12 when he left his parents and brother behind to come to Canada in order to focus on hockey. . . . He played this season with the AAA minor midget Don Mills Flyers. Their head coach is Lindsay Hofford, who once did a stint as head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes (2003-06). Hofford also is the director of scouting for the OHL’s London Knights. . . . John Matisz of QMI Agency has more on Levin right here.
——F Sam Reinhart’s debut with the AHL’s Rochester Americans has been delayed. Reinhart suffered an undisclosed injury as his Kootenay Ice dropped a seven-game series to the Calgary Hitmen last week, so the Americans, the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, have chosen to hold out Reinhart until next weekend. . . . The Americans will conclude their regular season with three games next weekend. The last game, on Sunday, April 19, will be against the host Adirondack Flames, whose roster includes F Max Reinhart, Sam’s older brother.
——
The AHL’s Adirondack Flames have signed G Taran Kozun of the Seattle Thunderbirds to an amateur tryout deal. Kozun, who played out his junior eligibility this season, was in a development camp with the Washington Capitals in 2014. Adirondack is the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames. This season, Kozun was 33-19-8, .915, 2.41. . . . Former Kelowna Rockets head coach Ryan Huska is in his first season as Adirondack’s head coach. . . . The Flames are at home to Dean Chynoweth and the Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday and Sunday. . . . Seattle D Evan Wardley, who also used up his junior eligibility, has joined the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. . . . Seattle D Shea Theodore, 19, is playing with the Norfolk Admirals, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Theodore was selected by the Ducks in the first round of the NHL’s 2013 draft.
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BCJHLThe BCHL has made a move to get older players onto its teams’ rosters. Here’s a note from Brian Wiebe, over at Brian’s Banter:
“The BCHL has re-introduced the roster rule stating that each team must have a minimum of two players 17-years-old or younger on its active roster in 2015-16. This is a change from this season when teams were required to have a minimum of four rookie players, which was defined as those entering the season with less than 30 games of junior A experience. The 17-years-old-and-under rule was in place for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons after teams were required to carry a minimum of one 16-year-old and one 17-year-old on their rosters during the 2011-12 season.”
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The Red Deer Rebels have signed F Austin Pratt, a native of Lakeville, Minn., who was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Pratt, who attended a Rebels’ prospect camp last summer and was in their training camp prior to this season, played the past two seasons at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn. This season, with the school’s U-16 team, he had 52 points, 20 of them goals, in 55 games. . . . Pratt may be the only 16-year-old on the Rebels’ roster next season as it prepares to play host to the 2016 Memorial Cup. . . .
It is expected that F Connor McDavid of the OHL’s Erie Otters or F Jack Eichel of Boston U will be first pick in June’s NHL draft. On Friday afternoon, Eichel was named winner of the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top player; later in the day, McDavid became the first Erie player to score five goals in a regular-season or playoff game as the Otters dropped the visiting London Knights 7-3 in a second-round game. . . . The Otters lead the series, 2-0. . . . Erie D Kurtis MacDermid has been suspended for eight games for a headshot that has taken London F Max Domi out of the series. . . . Erie F Mason Marchment has been hit with an indefinite suspension for a hit on London F Mitch Marner. . . .
G Eric Comrie of the Tri-City Americans started for the AHL’s St. John’s Ice Caps last night. He made 28 saves in a 3-2 loss to the visiting Hershey Bears. . . . F Brayden Point of the Moose Jaw Warriors scored his first AHL goal last night, as he and the host Syracuse Crunch beat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 4-3, in OT. Point forced OT with a PP goal at 3:43 of the third period.
———

THE COACHING GAME:

BCHLChad van Diemen is the new head coach of the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings. Van Diemen, 33, spent the past six seasons with the BCHL’s Powell River Kings, as assistant GM and associate head coach. . . . Van Diemen, who signed a two-year contract, replaces Dave Dupas, who resigned following the season. Dupas, who is from Kelowna, cited family reasons in resigning. . . . Van Diemen is from Kamloops. He played four seasons (1998-2002)in the BCHL, with the Nanaimo Clippers, Powell River and Quesnel Millionaires before going on to play four seasons of NCAA hockey -- one at Iona and three at Manhattanville. . . . His father, Case, was the president of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers for a while when the franchise was community-owned.
——
The Hamilton Bulldogs, who will begin play in the OHL next season, have signed George Burnett as their first general manager/head coach. Burnett, a 26-year veteran of the coaching wars, spent the past 11 seasons as the GM/head coach of the Belleville Bulls. That franchise is relocating to Hamilton. Burnett, 53, is a long-time OHL coach, having also worked with the Oshawa Generals, Niagara Falls Thunder, Oshawa Generals and Belleville. He also has coached in the NHL and AHL. He has 611 OHL coaching victories, ranking him second among active coaches and leaving him fifth on the all-time list.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:17 PM
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Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Happy birthday to Wonder Woman! . . . Tigers writing quite a story . . . Stewart off Great Britain's roster

It is Wonder Woman’s birthday today (April 9). If you have been following her story over the past 18 months, you know that she really is our Wonder Woman. She’s not on Twitter or Facebook, but feel free to send her birthday greetings at ddrinnan52@gmail.com. . . . I know she’ll yell at me for doing this, but it’ll be worth it to see the look on her face when she checks her email.
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———
The Medicine Hat Tigers aren’t much for bragging, but what they have accomplished of late is worth examining.
At the turn of the century, the Tigers were — let’s be honest — a mess.
In four straight seasons (1993-97), the Tigers won 29, 33, 38 and 30 games, enough to get them into the playoffs each season. But in those playoffs, they went 2-15 and were first-round losers each time.
But that was nothing compared to what awaited them.
You may recall that the Tigers missed the playoffs in each of the next five seasons (1997-2002), winning 16, 15, 21, 24 and 30 regular-season games.
Obviously, though, management used that time to settle on a plan, put it into action, and see it through. The right people were hired and put into place and allowed to do whatever it is that they do best.
The results have been terrific.
The Tigers are in the playoffs now for a 13th straight season. In those 13 springs, they have left in the first round on only one occasion — in 2008, after going 43-22-7, they were bounced in five games by the Kootenay Ice. That was hardly an upset, though, as the Central Division featured four teams with more than 90 regular-season points. The Calgary Hitmen finished first, with 47 victories and 99 points, followed by the Lethbridge Hurricane (45 and 96), Medicine Hat (43 and 93) and Kootenay (42 and 92).
Six times in those 13 seasons, the Tigers have gone out in the second round. They have lost the Eastern Conference final on three occasions. Twice, in 2004 and 2007, the Tigers won the WHL championship.
On Friday, they will be at home as they open a second-round series with the Hitmen.
Since shaking off the black cloud, the Tigers have come to be known as a team that plays the game the right way. They love to deploy a fleet of small, skilled forwards who love nothing more than to forecheck an opponent into submission. They employ defencemen with size who can move the puck. And for three seasons now their last line of defence has been Czech goaltender Marek Langhamer. If the CHL doesn’t come to its senses and drop the embargo, Langhamer is destined to be the answer to a trivia question — who was the last European goaltender to play in the WHL?
Still, no matter what happens over the rest of these WHL playoffs, it is obvious that Medicine Hat, which will vacate the Arena and move into the new Regional Event Centre in time for next season, has become one of the WHL’s model franchises.
——
It isn’t as easy as one might think to get at least into the second round of the WHL playoffs with any kind of regularity. With the Medicine Hat Tigers in the playoffs for a 13th straight season and into the second round for a seventh straight spring, here’s a look at the 22 teams and their active streaks (consecutive seasons in playoffs, followed by consecutive seasons into at least the second round):
Brandon, 2 and 2.
Calgary, 4 and 1.
Edmonton, 5 and 0.
Everett, 12 and 1.
Kamloops, 0 and 0.
Kelowna, 8 and 3.
Kootenay, 17 and 0.
Lethbridge, 0 and 0.
Medicine Hat, 13 and 7.
Moose Jaw, 0 and 0.
Portland, 6 and 6.
Prince Albert, 0 and 0.
Prince George, 1 and 0.
Red Deer, 1 and 0.
Regina, 2 and 1.
Saskatoon, 0 and 0.
Seattle, 3 and 0.
Spokane, 9 and 0.
Swift Current, 3 and 0.
Tri-City, 12 and 0.
Vancouver, 0 and 0.
Victoria, 6 and 2.
———


F Liam Stewart of the Spokane Chiefs has a shoulder injury so won’t play for Great Britain in the IIHF Division I Group B World champoinship in Eindhoven, Netherlands. That tournament runs from April 13-19. . . . Great Britain has added F Craig Peacock of the Belfast Giants to fill the spot meant for Stewart, 20. “Liam is so disappointed not to be coming but he has picked up a shoulder injury,” Pete Russell, Great Britain’s head coach, is quoted as saying at icehockeyuk.co.uk. “He has just had a really intense playoff series, including (Tuesday) night’s game which went to triple overtime, and his injury means he will not be able to travel. It is a shame for the lad but I am sure his time will come again in the future.”
——
Three players from the Kootenay Ice were reassigned by NHL teams on Tuesday, two days after the team’s season ended. . . . F Sam Reinhart is off to the Rochester Americans, the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. Reinhart, the second overall pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft, opened the season by playing nine games with Buffalo. He went on to help Canada win the 2015 World Junior Championship. In 47 regular-season games with the Ice, he had 65 points, including 19 goals. . . . F Tim Bozon was sent by the Montreal Canadiens to their AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Bozon, who has used up his junior eligibility, was a third-round pick by the Canadiens in the 2012 NHL draft and he has signed with Montreal. This season, Bozon had 63 points, including 35 goals, in 57 regular-season games. . . .  D Rinat Valiev will join the Toronto Marlies, the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Valiet, who turns 20 on May 11, was selected by the Maple Leafs in the third round of the NHL’s 2014 draft. He had 46 points, nine of them goals, in 52 regular-season games with the Ice this season. He also played for Russia at the 2015 World Junior Championship. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau of the Ice, who was fifth-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the NHL’s 2014 draft, is joining the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. He has yet to sign with the Blues. This season he had 81 points, 34 of them goals, in 70 games this season.
——
A CHL team filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday. Yes, it was the team for which the highly touted Connor OHLMcDavid plays.
“The Erie Otters filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, a move owner Sherry Bassin insisted would not affect the Ontario Hockey League team's immediate future,” wrote Stephen Whyno of The Canadian Press. “Bassin said Erie Hockey Club Limited filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a way to prevent Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz's Ontario Major Junior Hockey Corporation from holding its own private sale of the Otters and their assets. Bassin still plans to sell the team and pay off creditors, including Katz, but said filing was necessary to protect the organization.”
Whyno’s story is right here.
The Otters open a second-round series tonight against the London Knights. That series features McDavid against the Knights’ Max Domi. Should be a good one.———




D Kyle Burroughs of the Medicine Hat Tigers has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the NHL’s New York Islanders. Burroughs, 19, was a seventh-round pick by the Islanders in the NHL’s 2013 draft. The Tigers acquired him from the Regina Pats in January. He finished the regular-season with 39 points, including seven goals, in 66 games. . . .
F Brandon Baddock of the Edmonton Oil Kings has signed an ATO with the Albany Devils, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Baddock, who turned 20 on March 29, had 40 points, 19 of them goals, in 71 games with the Oil Kings this season. He was a sixth-round pick by the Devils in the 2014 NHL draft, but has yet to sign with them. . . .
The AJHL’s Canmore Eagles have hired Barry Sawchuk as their head scout. Andrew Milne, the Eagle’s general manager, made the announcement earlier this week. Sawchuk, who spent the past two seasons has the head scout for the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats, takes over from Jason Rycroft. Rycroft has been named the Eagles’ executive assistant responsible for player development. . . .
The Red Deer Rebels are poised to announce the signing of F Austin Pratt, who was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Troy Gillard (@Troy_Gillard) tweeted Wednesday that Pratt “will be here Friday from Minnesota to sign with the club.” . . . The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Pratt is from Lakeville, Minn. The Rebels drafted him after he played for the bantam Tier 1 at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn. This season, he put up 52 points, including 20 goals, in 55 games with Shattuck St. Mary’s U-16 midget team.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:07 PM
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