Don Cherry Night is March 14 in support of @kidneycanada to increase awareness & organ transplant rates!— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) March 7, 2017
đ«TICKETS→ https://t.co/wPs9w1mrGo pic.twitter.com/h40n7zyf7F
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F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) has announced his retirement. This season, he had 19 goals and 41 assists in 46 games with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). . . .
F Andrew Clark (Brandon, 2005-09) has signed a one-year extension with Innsbruck (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). This season, he had 23 goals and 34 assists in 49 games.
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Les Lazaruk was busy on Tuesday night, calling the play of the Saskatoon Blades’ game in Red Deer against the Rebels.
But during some down-time earlier in the day, he compiled standings showing the WHL’s 22 teams before the Jan. 10 trade deadline, after the deadline, and going into last night’s games.
Here you go (figures in parentheses are post-deadline) . . .
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B.C DIVISION
Prince George 28-11-2 (14-9-3) 42-20-5
Kelowna 24-15-3 (16-6-2) 40-21-5
Kamloops 25-15-3 (13-8-3) 38-23-6
Victoria 22-16-4 (15-7-1) 37-23-5
Vancouver 16-23-3 (3-18-3) 19-41-6
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U.S. DIVISION
Everett 25-5-7 (14-9-4) 39-14-11
Seattle 21-14-4 (20-5-2) 41-19-6
Tri-City 24-17-3 (14-8-0) 38-25-3
Portland 21-18-1 (14-8-3) 35-26-4
Spokane 17-17-7 (9-11-3) 26-28-10
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EAST DIVISION
Regina 27-4-7 (18-8-1) 45-12-8
Moose Jaw 25-9-7 (16-8-1) 41-17-8
Swift Current 23-12-7 (11-8-3) 34-20-10
Brandon 20-16-4 (9-11-6) 29-27-10
Saskatoon 15-22-6 (10-9-3) 25-31-9
Prince Albert 8-31-3 (10-10-4) 18-41-7
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CENTRAL DIVISION
Medicine Hat 29-12-1 (17-7-0) 46-19-1
Lethbridge 22-15-5 (20-2-2) 42-17-7
Red Deer 18-17-6 (8-11-5) 26-28-11
Calgary 14-19-5 (11-11-5) 25-30-10
Edmonton 18-20-4 (2-20-1) 20-40-5
Kootenay 10-24-8 (4-17-2) 14-41-10
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If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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The Calgary Hitmen were playing the Pats in Regina on Jan. 6 when G Cody Porter went down. Oh, did he! . . . “I had seven injuries on the one play,” Porter said in a story posted at hitmenhockey.com. “It was a third-degree separated shoulder, third-degree dislocated shoulder, third-degree broken collarbone, torn labrum, torn AC joint, torn rotator cuff and a torn Bankart lesion. So it was a pretty serious injury off a play that didn’t seem very serious at the time.” . . . After all that, you have to wonder if his nickname isn’t Doc. . . . Anyway, Porter worked amazingly hard at rehab and is back, at least in a backup role, and it’s just in time because G Trevor Martin is out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. . . . Porter’s story is right here.
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When the Kamloops Blazers awoke on Friday morning, they were in Prince George, preparing for a game with the Cougars that evening. At the time, the Blazers were second in the B.C. Division, three points behind Prince George.
When the Blazers boarded their bus late Saturday night and headed for home, having lost both ends of a
Tonight, the Blazers open a Wednesday/Friday doubleheader against the visiting Victoria Royals. On Tuesday night, the Royals opened a five-game trek with a 4-3 loss in Kelowna.
The Royals went into that game having won six straight games, but all of those were against non-playoff teams (Kootenay, Vancouver and Spokane). Victoria will play in Kelowna again on Saturday.
A Victoria sweep of the Blazers would move the Royals past the Blazers, knocking Kamloops into fourth place in the division.
Such is life in the B.C. Division where four of the WHL’s most competitive teams reside.
The Blazers will have F Jermaine Loewen back for tonight’s game after he served a one-game suspension incurred after he took a cross-checking major and game misconduct on Friday night.
The Royals remain without D Chaz Reddekopp, who has been out since Feb. 15, and F Ryan Peckford, who hasn’t played since Feb. 7, both of whom remain week-to-week. There is a chance that F Tyler Soy, who last played on Feb. 11, could return Friday in Kamloops.
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Mike Fraser, the writing scout, has been out on the playoff trail of late. Just the other day, he was at a bantam game in Alberta when he glanced at the players’ benches and counted the coaches — one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. . . . In his latest column for the Brandon-based Westman Journal Fraser wonders: What’s up with that? . . . It’s all right here.
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If you haven’t seen it already, former WHL/NHL D Brent Sopel opened up his heart and soul with a piece headlined Lost in My Mind that was posted at The Players’ Tribune on Tuesday. . . . This is a heart-wrenching piece about a man who came to believe he was stupid but now knows that he is learning disabled. . . . Former players like Corey Hirsch, who had a piece there earlier, and Sopel are proving that hockey players are people, too. . . . Sopel’s piece is right here.
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JUST NOTES:
The Kamloops Blazers have a pair of 2016 bantam draft picks — F Connor Zary of Saskatoon and D Quinn Schmiemann of Wilcox, Sask. — practising with them this week. Zary, a second-round selection, had 45 points, including 27 goals, with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts this season. Schmiemann played with the midget AAA Notre Dame Hounds, who play out of Wilcox. He had 11 goals and 15 assists in 42 games. . . . Both players are scheduled to return to their homes on Sunday. . . .
F Keyvan Mokhtari of the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies has committed to Colorado College, starting with the 2018-19 season. A native of Burnaby, B.C., he had 36 points, including 19 goals, in 47 games with the Grizzlies this season. . . . Mokhtari, who will turn 19 on May 4, was a seventh-round selection by the Everett Silvertips in the 2013 WHL bantam draft.
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.@JansenHarks26 - Your pal Sunjay + Canadian music icon @TomCochraneMUS would like to congratulate you! @NHLJets have a new permanent fan! pic.twitter.com/DqQXj4dRq0— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) March 7, 2017
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If the WHL playoffs began today . . .
Eastern Conference
Regina vs. Saskatoon
Medicine Hat vs. Brandon
Moose Jaw vs. Swift Current
Lethbridge vs. Red Deer
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Western Conference
Seattle vs. Portland
Prince George vs. Victoria
Kelowna vs. Kamloops
Everett vs. Tri-City
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
Sometimes you simply can't see what is right in front of you @victoriaroyals @outhouse40 that's the way to use your head to make a save pic.twitter.com/gaWP5VSvpv— Marissa Baecker (@Marissa_Baecker) March 8, 2017
At Kelowna, the Rockets built a 4-0 lead and hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . F
Nolan Foote got the Rockets started with his 17th goal — he’s 16 years of age — at 9:31 of the first period. . . . Kelowna went ahead 2-0 on F Carsen Twarynski’s 16 goal, at 4:33 of the second period. . . . F Calvin Thurkauf scored No. 33 just 22 seconds later. . . . F Leif Mattson (7) upped the lead to 4-0 at 5:19 of the third period. . . . The Royals made things interesting with three goals in the second-half of the third period. . . . F Jack Walker scored his 29th goal at 12:40. F Jared Dmytriw, who now has 15 goals, added scores at 12:58 and 18:45. . . . Walker also had an assist. . . . The Rockets got two assists from D James Hilsendager. . . . G Michael Herringer stopped 30 shots to earn the victory. . . . Victoria starter Giffen Outhouse was beaten three times on 22 shots in 24:55. Dylan Myskiw came off the bench to stop 15 of 16 shots in 34:48. . . . Kelowna was 0-2 on the PP; Victoria was 0-4. . . . The Rockets (41-21-5) have won five in a row to close with two points of the B.C. Division-leading Prince George Cougars. . . . The Royals (37-24-5) had points in their previous seven games (6-0-1). They are fourth in the B.C. Division, three points behind the Kamloops Blazers. The Royals play in Kamloops on Wednesday and Friday nights. . . . Announced attendance: 4,507.
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| NOLAN FOOTE |
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At Medicine Hat, F Chad Butcher scored 36 seconds into OT to give the Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Butcher, who has 25 goals, had drawn the primary assist on F John Dahlstrom’s game-
tying goal, at 16:11 of the third period. He’s got 28 goals. . . . The Tigers got out to a 2-0 lead on goals from F Mark Rassell (34), who was playing in his 200th regular-season game, at 8:17 of the first period, and D Clayton Kirichenko (12), at 4:47 of the second. . . . The Ice took the lead on three third-period goals. F Brett Davis got his 18th at 1:44. F Colton Kroeker scored No. 17 at 6:40. F Vince Loschiavo, with assists on the first two goals, put the visitors out front with his 25th goal at 8:08. . . . Medicine Hat G Michael Bullion actually made a glove save on Loschiavo’s shot, but it turned out that the glove was over the goal line. . . . D David Quenneville had two assists for Medicine Hat. . . . Kroeker and Davis had one each for the Ice. . . . The Tigers had anticipated starting G Nick Schneider, but he came up ill during the warmup, so Bullion made his fifth straight start. He earned the victory with 24 saves. . . . G Payton Lee blocked 30 shots for Kootenay. . . . The Ice was 0-2 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-3. . . . The Ice went 1-3-1 on a five-game road trip. . . . Medicine Hat (47-19-1) leads the Central Division, by four points over Lethbridge and is second in the overall standings, three points behind Regina. . . . The Ice (14-41-11) has lost four in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 3,030.
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| CHAD BUTCHER |
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Winger @T_Steener celebrates his winning goal for the #SCBroncos. #WHL. pic.twitter.com/kta7gl3jBV— Darren Steinke (@StanksSports) March 8, 2017
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| TYLER STEENBERGEN |
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Calgary, we're comin for ya!#RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/UQaEP3LnJp— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) March 8, 2017
At Red Deer, F Jesse Shynkaruk scored with 16.5 seconds left in OT to give the Saskatoon Blades a 2-1
victory over the Rebels. . . . It was Shynkaruk’s second goal of the game, his fourth OT goal this season and his 10th game-winner of the season. . . . F Deven Sideroff of the Kamloops Blazers has five OT goals this season, tying the WHL record (F Eric Fehr, Brandon Wheat Kings, 2004-05). . . . Shynkaruk, 20, was a walk-on to the Blades’ training camp as he hoped to extend his WHL career. When this season began, Shynkaruk had 23 goals and 25 assists in 196 career regular-season games. This season, he has put up 51 points, including 30 goals, in 52 games. . . . Shynkaruk had opened the scoring, on a PP, at 1:12 of the first period. . . . The Rebels tied it at 12:10 of the second on F Evan Polei’s 29th goal of the season. . . . The Blades got 35 saves from G Logan Flodell. . . . At the other end, Riley Lamb also stopped 35 shots. . . . Saskatoon was 1-3 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-4. . . . The Calgary Hitmen didn’t want to see this game turn into a three-pointer, but it did. Saskatoon (26-31-9), which plays in Calgary tonight, moved into the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, one point ahead of the Hitmen. Red Deer (26-28-12) is third in the Central Division, four points ahead of Calgary. . . . Announced attendance: 4,029. . . . Greg Meachem of reddeerrebels.com has a game story right here. It’s worth a click to see the photo by Rob Wallator that features Red Deer’s Matt Campese and Saskatoon’s Jackson Caller.
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| JESSE SHYNKARUK |
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Chiefs have a 16 yo d-man in each pairing tonight..that's something you don't see too often— Brandon Rivers (@hodgesheroes) March 8, 2017
At Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds moved back atop the Western Conference standings with a 5-2
victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Thunderbirds (42-19-6) lead the conference by one point over the Prince George Cougars. Seattle also leads the U.S. Division, by a point over the Everett Silvertips. . . . F Hudson Elynuik (26) gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead at 5:55 of the first period, but the Thunderbirds roared back to score the next five goals. . . . F Alexander True (21) tied it, on a PP, at 9:08, and D Turner Ottenbreit (6) shot Seattle into the lead at 10:45. . . . D Anthony Bishop gave Seattle a 3-1 lead with his second goal of the season at 19:30. . . . F Keegan Kolesar (26) and F Donovan Neuls (14) added third-period goals for the winners. . . . F Kailer Yamamoto scored Spokane’s final goal, his 37th, on a penalty shot at 19:07 of the third period. . . . Seattle got two assists from each of F Mathew Barzal and F Ryan Gropp, with Kolesar adding one. Kolesar is riding a 15-game point streak. . . . Seattle D Ethan Bear had an assist in his return to the lineup, running his point streak to 13 games. . . . Seattle got 26 saves from Rylan Toth, who leads the WHL with 35 victories. . . . Spokane starter Jayden Sittler allowed five goals on 28 shots in 46:28. Donovan Buskey finished up, stopping all five shots he faced in 13:32 in the second appearance of his WHL career. . . . Seattle was 1-2 on the PP; Spokane was 0-3. . . . The Chiefs (26-29-10) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). They are 12 points out of a playoff spot with seven games remaining. . . . Announced attendance: 5,807.
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| KEEGAN KOLESAR |
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Saskatoon at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Prince George at Portland 7 p.m.
Everett at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Regina at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
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D Brent Sopel (Saskatoon, Swift Current, 1992-97) was traded by Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, KHL) to Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia, KHL) for "monetary compensation." Metallurg is out of the playoffs and Salavat Yulaev have clinched a playoff spot. Both teams have four games left in the regular season. Sopel had four goals and six assists in 47 games with Metallurg this season. A short message from Sopel thanking the fans of Metallurg is 
D Shaone Morrisonn (Kamloops, 1999-2002) was traded by Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL) to CSKA Moscow (Russia, KHL) for "monetary compensation." He had one goal and three assists in 44 games for Spartak. Spartak also is out of the playoff race while CSKA has clinched a playoff spot with four games left for each team. You can see pictures of Morrisonn being welcomed to CSKA by general manager Sergei Fedorov 
D Jordan Henry (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, 2003-07) signed a contract for the rest of this season with HPK HÀmeenlinna (Finland, SM-Liiga). Henry started the season on a tryout contract with SödertÀlje (Sweden, Allsvenskan), where he had one goal and one assist in seven games. After his release form the try-out, he signed with the Stockton Thunder (ECHL) and was loaned to the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) on a tryout five days afterwards. Henry had two assists in 20 games with the Barons but was released from his tryout loan and returned to Stockton on Jan. 21. He played two games with the Thunder and had two assists. . . .
The Tri-City Americans are expected to have a pair of prospects make their WHL debuts tonight in Everett against the Silvertips. . . . D Parker Wotherspoon, the Americans’ first-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, and F Justin Marreck, who has been on the Americans’ list for two years, have been brought in for the weekend. . . . Wotherspoon, the younger brother of Portland Winterhawks D Tyler Wotherspoon, plays for the major midget Fraser Valley Hawks. . . . Marreck, 16, plays for the major midget Okanagan Rockets. . . . Both plays also are to play Saturday when the Americans are to meet the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash., and then return to their club teams.
The WHL has suspended D Joel Edmundson of the Kamloops Blazers for four games, while Tri-City Americans F Tyson Dallman has been hit with a three-game sentence. . . . Both suspensions are the result of infractions in Wednesday games. . . . Edmundson received a headshot major and game misconduct for an open-ice hit on Portland Winterhawks F Adam De Champlain, who left the game afer the first-period hit and didn’t return. . . . Dallman was given an interference major and game misconduct after a collision with Prince George Cougars G Brett Zarowny, who also left the game.
In Red Deer, F Turner Elson and F Ryhse Dieno each had two goals to lead the Rebels to a 6-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Dieno also had two assists, while Elson had one. . . . Dieno has 33 points, including 17 goals, since joining the Rebels from the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart scored his 27th goal as he ran his point streak to 15 games. . . . With F Joel Hamilton having suffered an undisclosed injury in practice Wednesday, the Rebels brought in F Vukie Mpofu, a fourth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. Mpofu has 55 points in 34 games with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. That’s good for second place in the league scoring race. . . .
In Kelowna, the Rockets scored the game’s first four goals, three of them in the first period, and went on to a 6-1 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . F Tyson Baillie scored the game’s first and last goals, giving him 18. . . . The Rockets ran their home-ice winning streak to 22 games. The franchise record (24) is held by the 1994-95 Tacoma Rockets. . . . Kelowna F Dylen McKinlay had two assists in his 300th regular-season game. . . . With the victory, the Rockets became the second WHL team to clinch a playoff spot this season.
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