There is a reason why I so enjoy covering and writing about major junior hockey and its players.
It was never more in evidence that on Friday night after the Prince George Cougars’ 5-1 victory over the host Kamloops Blazers on Friday night.
D Garrett Thiessen, a 20-year-old playing the second-last game of his WHL career, scored the game’s last goal. It was the second goal of his career and ended a rather long drought.
Here’s is part of the conversation I had with him:
GREGG: When is the last time you scored?
GARRETT: When I was 17.
GREGG: Against?
GARRETT: Spokane.
GREGG: Where?
GARRETT: P.G.
GREGG: Score?
GARRETT: Uhh, 5-3 for Spokane.
GREGG: 4-3 in overtime for Spokane. . . . How many games in between goals?
GARRETT: 219.
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Thiessen, who is from Prince George, hadn’t scored a goal in more than three years. Not only did he know when he scored and against whom — OK, because he has only two goals, maybe that was easy — but he knew precisely how many games he had gone without scoring.
And when he said “219” he had a huge smile on his face.
That’s what is so great about being around WHL players.
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A Memorial Cup-related press release that was issued Friday by the Brandon Wheat Kings, the host team for the 2010 tournament:
“The Memorial Cup — originally donated to the Canadian Hockey League by the Ontario Hockey Association in 1919 in remembrance of the young Canadian men and women who died in service of their country in the First World War — will be officially rededicated to all fallen soldiers as part of the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup festivities in Brandon in May.
Considering the Wheat City’s strong ties to CFB Shilo, the gesture will be a truly fitting legacy of Brandon’s hosting opportunity, says the host committee’s event manager, Lois MacDonald.
“We have a deployment that will be coming home (from Afghanistan) right before the Cup, so we saw this as a great opportunity . . . to make it relevant to people of today,” MacDonald said. “Those sacrifices were made so that we, as Canadians, have freedom to do all the things we do. One of those things is enjoying the great sport of hockey.”
The cup’s official arrival in Westman will occur at CFB Shilo on the afternoon of May 13.
Its rededication will be the pinnacle of a full week of co-operative festivities between the base and the Memorial Cup tournament, says Marc George, director of the base’s Royal Canadian Artillery museum.
“It’s very appropriate that the cup is arriving (at CFB Shilo) because . . . Brandon is on the home front of the war in Afghanistan,” George said. “The First World War gets a little bit further away every year. So, this means that every year, as more Canadian troops sacrifice themselves, it stands for them.”
A brand new museum gallery dedicated to Manitoba’s historical military involvement is set to open that morning, wi th free entry into the museum for the duration of the championship.
Plans for the cup’s rededication ceremony also include an official fly-by from the Canadian Snowbirds demonstration team and a number of helicopter demonstrations.
Following the rededication, the cup will be delivered to Brandon by an armoured vehicle convoy to officially kick off the 10-day event in the Wheat City.
An interactive military display will also be set up within the Memorial Cup Village at the Keystone Centre for the duration of the championship.
And though it’s not being directly billed as a Memorial Cup event, there will be another distinctly military event in the city during the cup’s visit.
On May 22, CFB Shilo, in co-operation with Brandon University, Assiniboine Community College and the Brandon Salutes organization, is hosting a gala dinner to raise money for Project Hero — a national program that provides scholarship money to the children of fallen Canadian soldiers.”
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D Ryan Stanton of the Moose Jaw Warriors has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. Stanton, from St. Alberta, Alta., is in his fourth season with the Warriors. He was never selected in the NHL draft. Stanton went into Friday with career highs in goals (10), assists (30) and points (40).
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THE PLAYOFF CHASE
Teams in the running for playoff spots, showing games remaining (d — division leaders, who are seeded one-two; y — clinched division championship; x — clinched playoff spot):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
y-Calgary (1) 51-17-1-2-105
y-Brandon (1) 49-18-1-3-102
x-Saskatoon (1) 46-18-3-4-99
x-Kootenay (1) 42-24-3-2-89
x-Medicine Hat (1) 40-23-3-5-88
x-Red Deer (1) 39-27-0-5-83
x-Moose Jaw (2) 33-27-4-6-76
x-Swift Current (2) 35-30-1-4-75
Friday: Brandon 9 at Regina 3; Prince Albert 1 at Saskatoon 4; Edmonton 2 at Calgary 7; Medicine 5 at Lethbridge 4; Kootenay 4 at Red Deer 2.
Saturday: Saskatoon at Prince Albert; Regina at Brandon; Moose Jaw at Swift Current; Edmonton at Kootenay; Lethbridge at Medicine Hat.
Sunday: Red Deer at Calgary; Swift Current at Moose Jaw.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (1) 47-21-1-2-97
y-Vancouver (2) 40-23-2-3-85
x-Everett (2) 45-20-3-2-95
x-Spokane (2) 43-22-3-2-91
x-Portland (1) 43-25-2-1-89
x-Kelowna (1) 34-31-2-4-74
x-Chilliwack (1) 32-32-2-5-71
x-Kamloops (1) 32-33-2-4-70
Friday: Portland 4 at Chilliwack 3 (OT); Prince George 5 at Kamloops 1; Tri-City 4 at Spokane 3; Kelowna 4 at Vancouver 3; Seattle 1 at Everett 3.
Saturday: Prince George at Kelowna; Kamloops at Vancouver; Chilliwack at Everett; Portland at Seattle; Spokane at Tri-City.
Sunday: Vancouver at Seattle; Everett at Spokane.
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FRIDAY:
What happened:
In the East, the Calgary Hitmen won to clinch first-place overall — and home-ice advantage through the playoffs — and the Eastern Conference pennant. . . . The Brandon Wheat Kings won to wrap up the East Division title. . . . Calgary and Brandon will play the Moose Jaw Warriors or Swift Current Broncos in the first round. The Warriors and Broncos were idle Friday, but will play home-and-home tonight and Sunday. . . . The Saskatoon Blades won and will meet the Red Deer Rebels, who lost, in the first round. . . . The Kootenay Ice and Medicine Hat Tigers both won. They will be first-round combatants but home-ice advantage won’t be decided until Saturday or Sunday. The Ice needs one point to wrap up fourth place.
In the West, the Tri-City Americans won and now need a victory Saturday at home against the Spokane Chiefs to clinch top spot. . . . The Everett Silvertips won and can still catch the Americans, but in order to finish first they need to gain three points from their last two games while the Americans lose in Spokane. . . . The Chiefs lost and the Portland Winterhawks won, meaning Spokane needs one point from its last two games to clinch fourth place and home-ice advantage against the Winterhawks in the first round. . . . The Kelowna Rockets won to wrap up sixth place. . . . The Chilliwack Bruins picked up a loser point and moved into seventh, a point ahead of the Kamloops Blazers, who lost.
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In Vancouver, G Geordie Wudrick broke a 3-3 tie with the lone goal of the third period as the Kelowna Rockets edged the Giants, 4-3. . . . It was Vancouver’s first game in the Pacific Coliseum since Jan. 3. It had to vacate the premises for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. . . . Wudrick, who scored twice and now has 27, scored the winner at 14:53. . . . F Shane McColgan, with his 25th, Wudrick and F Brandon McMillan, with his 21st, gave the visitors a 3-0 before the game was seven minutes old. . . . McMillan has six goals in his last seven games. . . . Vancouver tied it on PP goals by F Milan Kytnar, his 13th, late in the first period and D Neil Manning, his 16th, at 10:02 of the second, and F Brendan Gallagher’s 40th goal at 12:24 of the second. . . . Vancouver G Adam Brown stopped 29 shots, while Vancouver’s Mark Segal turned aside 25. . . . Vancouver was 2-for-4 on the PP; the Rockets were 0-for-3. . . . Attendance was 12,106.
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In Calgary, F Brandon Kozun had a goal and two assists to help the Hitmen to a 7-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Kozun has 103 points, two
off the pace being set by Regina Pats F Jordan Eberle. . . . The Hitmen have won eight in a row. . . . F Tyler Shattock and F Tyler Fiddler both scored their 30th goals of the season for Calgary, while D Michael Stone got his 20th. . . . Calgary scored the game’s first four goals. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones made 19 saves. . . . The Hitmen, who went 6-0 against Edmonton, were 3-for-4 on the PP; the Oil Kings, who have lost seven in a row, were 1-for-3. . . . Attendance was 12,107, or exactly one more than in Vancouver.
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In Spokane, F Jordan Messier broke a 3-3 tie with his 23rd goal of the season to give the Tri-City Americans a 4-3 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Messier scored at 12:23 of the third period. . . . The Chiefs had tied it at 5:33 of the third on a PP goal, his 34th, by F Tyler Johnson. . . . The Americans opened the scoring when D Brett Plouffe got his sixth, on the PP, at 5:28 of the first period. . . . The teams simply exchanged goals after that. . . . F Blake Gal scored his 11th on the PP for the Chiefs; F Justin Feser got his 35th, shorthanded for the Americans; D Brett Bartman scored his second for Spokane; F Kruise Reddick got his 19th on the PP for the Americans. . . . Followed by Johnson and then Messier. . . . G Alex Pechurskiy stopped 29 shots for the Americans, who are still without G Drew Owsley (concussion). . . . G James Reid turned aside 33 shots for the Chiefs. . . . The Americans were 2-for-4 on the PP; the Chiefs were 2-for-5. . . . Attendance was a sellout — 10,528. . . . The teams play Saturday night in Kennewick, Wash., with the host Americans needing two points to clinch top spot in the Western Conference.
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In Chilliwack, F Ryan Johansen scored on the PP in overtime to give the Portland Winterhawks a 4-3 victory over the Bruins. . . . Johansen scored his 24th goal of the season with Chilliwack F Kevin Sundher off for tripping. . . . The goal was Johansen’s second of the game. . . . The Bruins forced OT with two third-period goals. F Roman Horak scored his 21st, shorthanded, at 2:42 and F Ryan Howse got his 47th at 13:56. . . . The Bruins had won their previous two games, both in Prince George. The loser point lifted the Bruins into sole possession of seventh place in the Western Conference, which may well put them into a first-round series against the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Winterhawks now have won three straight. They also have put up 22 road victories, and 21 at home. . . . Attendance was 3,769.
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In Everett, the Silvertips scored the game’s last two goals to beat the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent), 3-1. . . . F Kellan Tochkin got the eventual winner, on the PP, at 11:35 of the second period. He has 27. . . . F Scott MacDonald added insurance, with his ninth, at 13:22 of the third. . . . F Charles Wells got his 20th of the season, on the PP, for the Thunderbirds earlier in the second period. . . . Everett’s Marcus McCrea had opened the scoring with his fifth at 4:01 of the first period. . . . Everett F Dan Iwanski had two assists. . . . Attendance was 8,613, breaking the franchise record of 8,606 that was set during the 2004 WHL championship final series against Medicine Hat. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 26 shots, while Thunderbirds G Michael Salmon stopped 36. . . . The Silvertips had D Radko Gudas in the lineup, after he left Tuesday’s 3-0 loss in Portland and didn’t return. But D Alex Theriau, who also was injured Tuesday, didn’t play in this one. However, D Curtis Kulchar (knee) was back for the first time since Feb. 19. . . . With three defencemen hurt, the Thunderbirds had forwards Lindsay Nielsen and Prab Rai playing on the back end.
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In Kamloops, C Alex Rodgers set up four goals to lead the Prince George Cougars to a 5-1 victory over the Blazers. . . . Rodgers has two four-point games in his career, both this season and both against the Blazers. . . . Kamloops had won two in a row and four of five. . . . The Cougars had lost 15 in a row. This was only their fourth road victory of the season. . . . As mentioned up top, D Garrett Thiessen scored his second career goal for the Cougars. It was his 248th regular-season game. . . . Both Rodgers and Thiessen began their careers with Kamloops. . . . Prince George F Brett Connolly scored twice. . . . Attendance was 4,633.
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In Lethbridge, the Tigers scored four third-period goals and beat the Hurricanes 5-4 in a game that featured a line brawl that included battling goaltenders. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz and Lethbridge G Linden Rowat were among the combatants at 17:13 of the second period. . . . Unlike the ghost line brawl between Vancouver and Kamloops from a week ago, this one looks to be the real deal. . . . Cha-ching!!!! . . . Medicine Hat F Matt MacKay broke a 4-4 tie at 15:40 of the third period, just 2:03 after Lethbridge F Brody Sutter had given the home side the lead. . . . MacKay has 23 goals, while Sutter has five. . . . F Bretton Cameron scored twice for the Tigers, giving him 38. . . . The Tigers have won five in a row. . . . Attendance was 4,000. . . . Medicine Hat was without D Mark Isherwood (ill).
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In Red Deer, the Kootenay Ice scored two first-period goals and never looked back as they beat the Rebels, 4-2. . . . F Jesse Ismond and F Max Reinhart each scored his 21st goal in the first period. . . . F Matt Fraser drew assists on both of them. . . . D Alex Petrovic got Red Deer on the board with his eighth at 11”44 of the third, but Ice D James Martin got that one back, his seventh, less than a minute later. . . . Red Deer F Turner Elson pulled his side closer with a shorthanded score, his ninth, at 15:41. . . . Kootenay D Ryan Molle iced it with an empty-netter, his third. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews stopped 38 shots, 13 more than Red Deer’s Darcy Kuemper. . . . Attendance was 4,987. . . . The Ice had won two of their previous seven games, including a 5-1 victory over the Rebels in Cranbrook on Wednesday. . . . Red Deer now has lost four in a row.
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In Regina, the Brandon Wheat Kings scored four times in the game’s first 12 minutes and went on to beat the Pats, 9-3. . . . F Matt Calvert led Brandon, which has won seven in a row, with three goals — he has 47 — and two assists, while linemates Brayden Schenn and Scott Glennie each had a goal and three assists. . . . That line has 28 points in its last two games. . . . Schenn has 17 points, including eight goals, in his last seven games. . . . D Colby Robak had two assists and was plus-5 for Brandon, while D Travis Hamonic had one helper and was plus-5. . . . F Jordan Eberle scored his 49th goal of the season for Regina. He leads the WHL with 105 points. . . . F Jordan Weal had two assists for Regina and now has 102 points, second only to Eberle. Weal is the first 17-year-old WHLer to get to 100 points since Pavel Brendl of the Calgary Hitmen won the 1998-99 scoring title with 134 points. . . . Eberle will report to the AHL’s Springfield Falcons once the Pats’ season is over this weekend. . . . Brandon G Jacob DeSerres stopped 28 shots. . . . Regina G Damien Ketlo started but left at 2:56 of the first period, after Schenn’s goal, with a shoulder injury. He and Dawson Guhle combined for 29 saves. . . . Brandon, which is 19-2-1-0 in its last 22 games, was 1-for-7 on the PP, while Regina was 3-for-5. . . . Attendance was 6,450. . . . The teams play again Saturday night in Brandon.
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In Saskatoon, G Steven Stanford stopped 35 shots to help the Blades to a 4-1 victory over his former team, the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Saskatoon F Marek Viedensky broke a 1-1 tie with his 19th goal at 4:23 of the third period. . . . Six minutes later, Viedensky drew an assist on F Josh Nicholls’ 18th goal. . . . F Brent Benson finished the scoring with his eighth goal a minute later. . . . F Dustin Cameron got his 29th goal for the Raiders, who will miss the playoffs for a third straight season. . . . Prince Albert G Jamie Tucker stopped 29 shots. . . . Attendance was 6,795.
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