Ingram shuts out Wheaties . . . McKenzie sparks Winterhawks . . . Brooks' streak at 19

Every season, a number of WHL teams have players visit what is known as the DTES — the Downtown East Side — of B.C.’s Lower Mainland to see another side of life. This is a piece of our world that you really can’t imagine unless you have actually seen it. Really, there are no words. . . . The latest team to have players experience the area was the Brandon Wheat Kings. “I think it kind of changed my life,” Wheat Kings D James Shearer told Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun. Bergson’s complete story, which really is worth a read, is right here.

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The USHL’s December Power Rankings — they are compiled by usahockeymagazine.com — are out and they’re interesting because the Sioux City Musketeers are No. 1, up from No. 3. That’s what an 11-game winning streak and a rise to the top of the league’s standings will do for you. The Musketeers are 13-1-1 at home. . . . Jay Varady is the Musketeers’ head coach. Varady, 39, spent eight seasons (2003-11) with the Everett Silvertips as assistant coach and later associate coach. . . . Mark LeRose is the Musketeers’ general manager and head scout. He spent three seasons (2007-09, 2013-14) as an assistant coach in Everett. . . . There’s more on the USHL rankings right here.

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If you’ve got a comment, some information you would like to pass along, or if you just want to say hello, feel free to contact me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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Incredible fun fact: @PGCougars 50/50 has had total pots of $194,979 so far just this season! Winners walking out with $97,489! Awesome!!

— Andy Beesley (@Andy_Beesley) December 4, 2016

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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

At Kamloops, G Connor Ingram stopped 29 shots to lead the Blazers to a 4-0 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . This was Ingram’s last home appearance before he leaves next weekend for the

CONNOR INGRAM

Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. . . . Ingram has two shutouts this season and nine in his career. . . . The Blazers don’t play at home again until Dec. 28. They leave later this week to play six games in eight days in the Central Division. . . . The Wheat Kings were playing their third game in less than 48 hours. They lost 2-1 in OT to the Vancouver Giants on Friday night, then dropped a 3-1 decision to the Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday. . . . F Matt Revel (10) opened the scoring at 10:36 of the first period. . . . F Rudolfs Balcers, the Latvian freshman, scored his 18th goal 50 seconds into the second period. . . . Kamloops closed it out with two third-period goals, from F Deven Sideroff (16) at 8:24 and F Scott Mahovlich, on a PP, at 19:24. . . . That was Mahovlich’s first WHL goal. . . . Balcers and Sideroff each added one assist. . . . F Garrett Pilon, who centres those two, left for the dressing room with 58.2 seconds remaining in the third period. He was unable to put much weight on his right leg after taking a low hit from Brandon F Ty Lewis, who was penalized for tripping. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 34 shots. . . . Kamloops was 1-5 on the PP; Brandon was 0-2. . . . Brandon F Reid Duke was back after not playing on Saturday. . . . F Nolan Patrick and F Tanner Kaspick were among Brandon’s scratches. Kaspick suffered an undisclosed injury in Kelowna on Saturday. . . . Brandon F Baron Thompson took a headshot major and game misconduct in that game and was hit with a TBD suspension. . . . The Blazers (17-12-1) have won three in a row and are 12-4-1 at home. They open their road trip against the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday. . . . The Wheat Kings (13-11-4) are 1-2-1 in the B.C. Division. They finish up in Prince George on Wednesday. . . . Announced attendance: 3,250.

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2 guys in the 4th row threw an extra puck on the ice 3 times in the final minute. Tigers couldn't put any of them in, Hawks win 5-3.

— Scott Sepich (@SSepich) December 5, 2016

At Portland, F Skyler McKenzie scored once and added two assists, helping the Winterhawks to a 5-3 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Winterhawks scored the game’s first three goals, taking a 3-

SKYLER McKENZIE

0 lead before it was 14 minutes old. . . . McKenzie got his 17th goal at 5:41. F Keegan Iverson followed with his 12th — McKenzie got an assist — at 11:11. F Evan Weinger added his 11th, on a PP, at 13:24. . . . D David Quenneville, who already has 14 goals, got the Tigers on the board at 13:32. . . . Medicine Hat F Mason Shaw’s sixth goal, at 18:32 of the first, got his guys to within a goal. . . . Portland F Ryan Hughes (12) upped the lead to 4-2 at 10:11 of the second period, with Medicine Hat’s John Dahlstrom (15) cutting into that lead, on a PP, at 15:43. . . . F Cody Glass (15) of the Winterhawks iced it at 12:05 of the third period. . . . McKenzie, a third-year player from Sherwood Park, Alta., has 17 goals and 19 assists in 30 games. He went into this season with 12 goals and 29 assists in 138 regular-season games. . . . The Winterhawks got 43 stops from G Cole Kehler, while Nick Schneider turned aside 40 at the other end. . . . Each team was 1-3 on the PP. . . . The Winterhawks improved to 16-13-1. . . . The Tigers (21-8-1) have lost three in a row, all in the U.S. Division. They remain second in the overall standings, one point behind the Everett Silvertips. . . . Shaun Clouston, the Tigers’ GM/head coach, played three seasons (1986-89) for the Winterhawks. He was the captain for the last two of those seasons. A centre, he had 79- and 92-point seasons. . . . Announced attendance: 3,112.

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19 - At 19 games, Adam Brooks (@adambrooks77) has the longest point streak for a @WHLPats player since Blake Evans' 22 gamer in 2001

— WHL Facts (@WHLFacts) December 5, 2016

At Swift Current, F Dawson Leedahl snapped a 3-3 tie 10 seconds after it was created and the Regina Pats went on to beat the Broncos, 6-3. . . . This was the first of eight meetings between these teams this

DAWSON LEEDAHL

season. . . . D Colby Sissons (3) have the home side a 1-0 lead 54 seconds into the second period. . . . The Pats scored the next three goals, seemingly taking control in the process. . . . D Sergey Zborovskiy, who had seven points on Saturday night, scored his sixth goal at 12:43. . . . F Adam Brooks gave Regina a 2-1 lead with his 12th goal, at 1:16 of the third and F Austin Wagner (14) made it 3-1 just 29 seconds later. . . . Swift Current tied it on goals 23 seconds apart by F Kaden Elder (6), at 6:51, and D Max Lajoie (5), at 7:14. . . . However, Leedahl, who has 10 goals, struck at 7:24 and 10:07 as the Pats took a 5-3 lead. . . . F Luc Smith added more insurance with his fifth goal, on a PP, at 15:47. . . . Zborovskiy also had an assist, meaning he had a nine-point weekend. . . . Wagner added an assist to his goal, while D Connor Hobbs had two assists for Regina. . . . Brooks finished with a goal and two assists, as he ran his point streak to 19 games. He has at least a point in each game he has played this season. He also leads the WHL with 45 points. . . . G Tyler Brown turned aside 24 shots for Regina, while Swift Current’s Travis Child stopped 31. . . . Regina was 1-4 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-2. . . . The Pats (19-2-4) are 3-0-1 in their last four games. They have closed to within two points of the idle Everett Silvertips (20-3-4), who lead the overall standings. . . . The Broncos (15-9-6) had won their previous two games. They now are six points behind the East Division-leading Pats, who have five games in hand. . . . The Broncos had F Riley Stotts back for the first time since Oct. 21. He suffered a skate cut to a foot when a teammate stopped on him in the dressing room at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. Stotts, 16, was the 10th overall selection in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . F Sam Steel was back in the Pats’ lineup after missing three games with a shoulder injury incurred during their B.C. Division tour. He picked up one assist and now has 42 points in 20 games. . . . However, the Pats were without D Chase Harrison and F Lane Zablocki, both of whom were injured in Saturday’s 12-2 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. Harrison is in concussion protocol. . . . Announced attendance: 2,021.

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MONDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Lethbridge at Edmonton, 7 p.m.

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TEDDY BEAR, TOQUE AND MITTEN TOSS GAMES:

Nov. 26: D Micheal Zipp, 19:47 1st period, Lethbridge 4 at Calgary 2.

Dec. 2: D Artyom Minulin, 13:24 1st period, Calgary 1 at Swift Current 5.

Dec. 2: F Jordy Bellerive, 14:00 1st period, Red Deer 3 at Lethbridge 5.

Dec. 3: F Adam Musil, 14:27 1st period, Lethbridge 2 at Red Deer 3 (OT).

Dec. 3: D Ondrej Vala, 10:38 1st period, Vancouver 2 at Kamloops 5.

Dec. 3: F Nick Merkley, 6:54 2nd period, Brandon 1 at Kelowna 3.

Friday, Dec. 9: Moose Jaw at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 9: Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 9: Kootenay at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 10: Prince Albert at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 10: Kamloops at Edmonton, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 10: Kelowna at Kootenay, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 10: Calgary at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 10: Everett at Portland, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 10: Seattle at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 10: Victoria vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 16: Saskatoon at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 16: Portland vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 17: Brandon at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 17: Portland at Everett, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 17: Vancouver at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 21: Vancouver vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

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Apologies to James Shewaga, the sports editor of the Brandon Sun, and to Kelly McCrimmon, the owner and general manager of the Brandon Wheat Kings.
In a piece that was posted here on Friday, I inadvertently inserted a word into a McCrimmon quote that completely changed its context.
The piece dealt with the Wheat Kings’ season-ticket numbers being down from a year ago.
"With only one week to go until the season opens," Shewaga wrote, "the WHL club is well behind last year's season ticket pace and getting more than a little concerned. With a total of 2,284 season tickets sold, the Wheat Kings are about 700 shy of last year’s total of 2,973, a number they hoped to surpass this year as expenses continue to rise.”
Shewaga then used this quote from McCrimmon:
“At this point, I’m concerned. I can’t say I’m disappointed because I don’t know yet what our final total will be. But I would say if we don’t reach 3,000 season tickets, I would be very disappointed … We’re hoping to make up ground in the next 10 days to two weeks.”
Unfortunately, I inadvertently inserted “not” into that quote, so that it read: “At this point, I’m not concerned.”
The error was completely unintentional.
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What follows is the piece that first appeared here Friday, in its entirety, the way it was meant to have appeared:
You wonder if it’s the canary in the WHL’s coal mine.
James Shewaga, the sports editor of the Brandon Sun, has a column in today’s newspaper that looks at the Wheat Kings’ season-ticket numbers to this point.
As he wrote the piece on Thursday, the Wheat Kings had sold 2,284 season tickets. Last season, they had 2,973 season-ticket holders. Do the math and you realize that they are down 689.
Kelly McCrimmon, the Wheat Kings’ owner and general manager, told Shewaga that “at this point, I’m concerned.”
McCrimmon also said that if they don’t get to 3,000 season tickets, “I would be very disappointed.”
And he should be disappointed because the Wheat Kings have iced a competitive product for a number of years now, and this season promises to be no different.
Later in the column, a quote from McCrimmon practically jumped off the computer screen.
“The reality in the Western Hockey League,” McCrimmon told Shewaga, “is expenses are growing at a much higher rate than our revenues, and that’s a fact.”
Think about that for a moment.
If you’re in business and your expenses are out-pacing your revenues, you are in a spot of trouble. And if you aren’t able to turn the tide, you soon are out of business.
While there are WHL teams out there that are believed to be making a goodly pile of money, there are others that aren’t.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have lost more than $1 million over the last two seasons, including $602,000 in 2011-12.
The Swift Current Broncos have lost in the neighbourhood of $800,000 on their hockey operation in each of the last two seasons. For 2010-11, that number was $882,587. However, off-ice fund-raising, along with corporate sponsorship and suites, left the deficit at $197,226.
For 2009-10, the loss suffered by the hockey operation was $820,688. However, again, money from such things as corporate sponsorships, suites and the World Junior Championship cut the overall deficit to $58,927.
How long will those teams be able to continue to work as hard as they do just to survive?
Or will the WHL have to implement some form of revenue sharing just to enable some of its franchises to survive?

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The saga of the Chilliwack Bruins . . .

Today, we bring you a must-read from the Chilliwack Times. Actually, it is almost in its entirety a press release issued by the Chiefs Development Group, explaining their side of the deal that had the Chilliwack Bruins sold and relocated to Victoria.
If you have been following this saga, you won’t want to miss this one. It is right here.
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Moray Keith has told the Chilliwack Times that he will bring “entertaining, winning and respectful” hockey to Chilliwack before the start of the 2011-12 season.
That story is right here.
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Meanwhile, Rob Henderson, who covers the Brandon Wheat Kings for the Brandon Sun, wrote this column earlier this week:
Dear Chilliwack, welcome to Dumpsville. Population: You.
With all the tact of Homer Simpson, from whom the above phrase was adapted, the Western Hockey League broke off its five-year relationship with Chilliwack, B.C., last week, shacking up instead with a more attractive suitor in Victoria.
The move came as a surprise to no one. The magic had been fading in Chilliwack, with attendance for Bruins games dropping from an average of about 4,500 per contest in the first couple of seasons to a little over 3,000 this winter. And fans in the Fraser Valley had been flirting with the American Hockey League’s new franchise in nearby Abbotsford.
Rumours of an imminent breakup swirled for more than a month, so when the official announcement came last Wednesday that the Bruins had been sold and would move to the B.C. capital, the news wasn’t half as interesting as the revelations that came out in the following days as each of the parties involved told their side of the story.
Among them was the league’s role in facilitating — one might say orchestrating — the move.
It turns out the WHL’s board of governors agreed back in February of 2009 to attempt to bring Victoria back into the fold, preferably by relocating an existing team. The Bruins’ falling attendance and discord among its ownership group made them the prime candidates.
Now, the WHL is well within its rights to pick and choose owners and place its franchises wherever it pleases. But the unwritten rule in sports is that the priority when selling a team should be attempting to find new owners who want to keep the franchise where it is.
League commissioner Ron Robison paid lip service to this while reports of the sale leaked out, telling the Chilliwack Progress in early March that for the Bruins to play in Chilliwack in 2011-12 was “certainly our intent and we haven’t considered anything different at this point.”
The Progress reports that Robison sang a different tune after the deal was done, telling the newspaper that once the ownership group decided on Jan. 13 to sell the team, local offers were not going to be accepted, explaining away the earlier interview by saying, “we were in the early stages of discussions then and we could not comment on what was taking place.”
Apparently he and I have much different opinions of what constitutes a comment.
In other words, a late bid to buy the Bruins and keep them in Chilliwack by minority owners Moray Keith and Jim Bond — reputed to be higher than the Victoria offer — never stood a chance. Perhaps Keith and Bond, who operate Prospera Centre where the Bruins played, knew that when they made the offer and they have also been blamed for failing to renegotiate a lease more fitting of the club’s declining fortunes. We may never fully know their role in the team’s departure.
Likewise, we may never know how much blame to place on Darryl Porter, Brian Burke and Glen Sather, the trio that held a controlling interest in the team.
True, Porter, as a league governor, surely knew a sale would result in the team moving to Victoria. However, I have a hard time blaming someone for cutting bait on an investment that wasn’t producing the expected returns and their hands were clearly tied. Already vilified by Tri-City Americans fans for attempting to move that franchise before being granted the Bruins as an expansion team, Porter could have pocketed more money by selling to local investors while still being able to show his face in Chilliwack.
Given the options, I know which one I’d choose.
One thing we do know after this whole fiasco is that fans in every less-than-glamorous market should not take for granted their relationship with their local team.
After all, we’ve already seen that the WHL has a wandering eye.