What is WHL franchise worth to Cranbook? ... Another injury for Giants ... Longest game set to resume

Tigers having to spend another nite in Cranbrook.  No. 3 hi way still closed fr. Cranbrook to Ab border in 3  places.

— Bob Ridley (@BobRidley_CHAT) February 6, 2017

Tiger good Samaritans, Kristians Rubins and John. Dalstrum helping push stranded motorists today In Cranbrook.

— Bob Ridley (@BobRidley_CHAT) February 7, 2017

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F Brett Bulmer (Kelowna, 2008-12) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Ingolstadt (Germany, DEL). He was released Friday by mutual agreement by Ilves Tampere (Finland, Liiga). He had two goals and three assists in 23 games. . . .

F Jordan Knackstedt (Red Deer, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Esbjerg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). This season, he had 12 goals and 19 assists in 31 games with Herlev (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Herlev and Esbjerg reached an agreement (details unknown) allowing Knackstedt to change teams. . . .

D Kyle Cumiskey (Kelowna, 2003-06) has been released by Skellefteå (Sweden, SHL). He had a goal and two assists in 12 games. . . .

F Marcel Noebels (Seattle, Portland, 2010-12) has signed a five-year contract extension with Eisbären Berlin (Germany, DEL). He hasn’t played a league game this season after tearing his left ACL in September in the last group stage game of the Champions Hockey League.

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Keith Powell of Kootenay Business has taken a look at what the economic impact of the Kootenay Ice might be on its home city of Cranbrook.

Powell concluded that the Ice’s departure, presumably to Nanaimo, would mean an increase in his taxes and those of other residents and business owners simply because the Ice’s home arena, Western Financial Place, no longer would have a major tenant.

“That’s why I believe the No.1 economic development, retention or enhancement initiative that the City of Cranbrook, the chamber of commerce and the business community at large must undertake is keeping the WHL franchise in Cranbrook,” Powell writes. “It is, in my mind, such a high priority that it should be the sole focus of the City’s economic development department – 24/7.”

Powell’s complete piece is right here.

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The biggest WHL-related story over the next month won’t have anything to do with happenings on the ice.

Rather, it will have to do with the future of the Kootenay Ice and the immediate future of the WHL and Nanaimo, a city of more than 90,000 people on Vancouver Island.

(The Nanaimo Regional District has a population of more than 135,000. Cranbrook’s population is around 20,000, with about 73,000 people within 150 km.)

What is especially interesting is that if the WHL is to leave Cranbrook, the home of the Ice, it won’t be back. However, if the WHL doesn’t get into Nanaimo this time, there always will be another opportunity, assuming a new arena gets built at some point in time.

There has been, and continues to be, ample speculation that the Ice could be playing out of Nanaimo as soon as next season.

Voters in Nanaimo are scheduled to go to the polls for a referendum on March 11. As noted here earlier, the question is:

“Are you in favour of the City of Nanaimo Council adopting Loan Authorization Bylaw 2017 No. 7237 which will authorize Council to borrow a sum not exceeding $80,000,000, repayable over a period of no more than 20 years, for the development and construction of an event centre that will include an ice arena and other related entertainment, cultural and recreation facilities?"

While city officials obviously are in favour of borrowing and building, the No side has organized and is working to gather support.

Merv Unger, a longtime journalist, a one-time World Wrestling Federation referee (that’s a story for another time) and a former Nanaimo city councillor, has a blog where he often offers commentary on the referendum and the lead-up to it. That blog is right here.

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A tip of the hat to the Saskatoon Blades for the transparency they have shown when releasing information regarding injuries suffered by D Jake Kustra and F Braylon Shmyr during a 4-2 victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels on Saturday.

Many people have seen the checks that resulted in the injuries, and it’s a good move by the Blades to update the conditions of the players, something that was done on Monday.

“Jake is fine and doing well,” according to the Blades. “He suffered a concussion and a laceration on his head. . . . He didn’t suffer neck or spinal injuries, and was not required to spend the night in the hospital.”

Kustra, who has a history with concussions, is in the protocol.

“Our main concern is his immediate and long term health,” the news release reads, “so obviously we aren’t prepared to make any statements on him returning to action just yet.”

As for Shmyr, he also is in concussion protocol.

“We aren’t prepared to make any statements or estimates on when he will play again as his health is the only concern right now,” the Blades said.

Saskatoon also lost F Lukus MacKenzie, a 17-year-old from Calgary, when he suffered a shoulder injury during fight with Red Deer F Evan Polei, who turns 21 on Feb. 19.

The Blades, who are one point out of a playoff spot, next play Friday when they entertain the Moose Jaw Warriors.

——

The Vancouver Giants, having lost seven in a row (0-5-2), open a doubleheader in Prince George against the Cougars tonight (Tuesday). The Giants appear to have added another player — F Dawson Holt — to their injury list. Steve Ewen of Postmedia reports that Holt, who didn’t play in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to the host Everett Silvertips, was to see a doctor on Monday. Holt missed 13 earlier games with a shoulder injury. . . . The Giants had seven players with injuries on last week’s WHL roster report, including F Tyler Benson (groin), D Darian Skeoch (ankle) and D Matt Barberis (undisclosed). . . . The Giants dressed only 17 skaters on Saturday, including D Bowen Byram, a 15-year-old who was the third-overall selection in the 2016 bantam draft. He now has played four games with Vancouver. . . . The Cougars, meanwhile, go into the two games still in first place in the B.C. Division, but they have lost two games and now lead the second-place Kamloops Blazers by six points, each team having 17 games remaining. The Cougars and Blazers will meet five times in those 17 games, with three of the games scheduled for Prince George.

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The longest game in WHL history will conclude (hopefully) on Wednesday in Brandon. You may recall that the Wheat Kings and Moose Jaw Warriors opened the regular season in Brandon, but the game was stopped in the second period because of fog that simply wouldn't take the hint and leave. . . . The Warriors were leading 2-1 when play was suspended at 14:23 of the second period. . . . F Brayden Watts had scored to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead at 11:23 of the first period. . . . Brandon F Stelio Mattheos tied it 31 seconds into the second period. . . . F Nikita Popugaev, now with the Prince George Cougars, gave the visitors a 2-1 lead at 14:23 of the second period, which is when the game was halted. . . . On Wednesday, the suspended game will be completed, starting at 6 p.m. The regularly scheduled game is to start at 7:30 p.m.

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F Owen Sillinger of the BCHL’s Penticton Vees has committed to attend Bemidji State in Minnesota and play for the Beavers next season. Sillinger, the 19-year-old son of former WHL/NHL F Mike Sillinger, was a 10th-round selection by the Vancouver Giants in the 2012 bantam draft. Owen is in his second season with the Vees. . . . Earlier, he had committed to attending Arizona State and playing for the Sun Devils. . . . Owen’s younger brother, Cole, scored five goals and added three assists on Monday as his bantam AA Regina Aces scored a 13-1 victory over the Estevan TS&M Bruins. Cole, born in 2003, will turn 14 on May 16.

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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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WHL League Meetings #memcup2017 pic.twitter.com/5tyyOkjVg7

— Donnie Harkins (@dharkins26) February 6, 2017

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MONDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.

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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Vancouver at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Seattle at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Will Brent say 'uncle' in Everett? . . . Blazers stop streaking Rockets . . . Sawchenko sparks Warriors

The fella at the next table was nice enough to help me hold the flag after the Cubs won!!! Go Cubs and fly the W!!#GoCubsGo #FlytheW #Game7 pic.twitter.com/QJVaPgOTDH

— Bob Newhart (@BobNewhart) November 2, 2016

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F Brett Bulmer (Kelowna, 2008-12) has signed a one-year contract with Ilves Tampere (Finland, Liiga). Last season, he was pointless in three games with the Minnesota Wild (NHL), and had three goals and eight assists in 58 games with the Iowa Wild (AHL). . . . As a result of Ilves’ decision to sign Bulmer, it has released F Mitch Wahl (Spokane, 2005-10). Wahl had a goal and three assists in 16 games with Ilves. . . .

F Jakub Langhammer (Spokane, 2002-04) has been released by the Manchester Phoenix (England, Premier). He had four goals and three assists in 14 games.

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RILEY SUTTER

Brent Sutter, the owner, general manager and head coach of the Red Deer Rebels is an intense competitor. Hey, when’s the last time you saw him smile during a game? But if you’re in Everett tonight you just might see at least a bit of smile. That’s because his Rebels are up against the Silvertips, whose roster includes F Riley Sutter, who is a nephew. Ron Sutter, one of the twins, is Riley’s father. . . . “I think it’s definitely going to be exciting for sure since I didn’t get the chance to play last (season) against him,” Riley told Jesse Geleynse of the Everett Herald.“It’s going to be something to think about. You always want to beat your family.” . . . So what's his uncle like? "I don't think he's too much different than (his brothers)," Riley told Geleynse. "They're all pretty similar. All the coaches (who) are Sutters are pretty hard at the rink, but away (from it) they're nice guys." . . . Geleynse’s story is right here.

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Hockey Canada’s national junior team selection camp will run from Dec. 11-14 at Blainville, Que., the home of the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. . . . The camp will include three exhibition games — Dec. 12 and 13 against a team comprising Canadian university players and Dec. 14 against Czech Republic. . . . Team Canada will be preparing for the 2017 World Junior Championship that is to run Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Toronto and Montreal. . . . The 22-player Canadian roster is expected to be named on Dec. 15, although it doesn’t have to be finalized until Dec. 25. . . . In advance of the tournament, Canada will play exhibition games against Finland (Montreal, Dec. 19), Czech Republic (Ottawa, Dec. 21) and Switzerland (Toronto, Dec. 23). . . . Canada opens the WJC in Toronto on Dec. 26 against Russia (8 p.m. ET) and plays Team USA on Dec. 31 in Toronto (3:30 p.m. ET).

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Bob Mackin of Business in Vancouver has weighed in with a piece on the proposed class-action lawsuit that the CHL, WHL, OHL and their teams are fighting. . . . Mackin’s piece is right here. . . . Collin Gallant of the Medicine Hat News examines the proposed lawsuit from the Medicine Hat Tigers’ perspective in a story that is right here.

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The Kamloops Blazers dropped G Carter Phair, who turns 18 on Dec. 15, from their roster on Tuesday. He is expected to return to the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings. The Blazers acquired Phair from the Edmonton Oil Kings, giving up a fourth-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft, hoping he would provide them with some depth at the position. However, he was struck in the head with a puck during a practice in Alberta and suffered a concussion. He got into only one game with the Blazers, going 4.68, .842. . . . Phair, a native of Carnduff, Sask., played 19 games with the Red Wings last season, going 8-4-3, 2.47, .925. . . . The Blazers are down to 24 players, including two goaltenders — Connor Ingram and Dylan Ferguson — and nine defencemen.

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Patrick Conway, who keeps tabs on goings-on in the KHL, has checked in with his weekly team-by-team roundup. You have to read it to believe what has been happening with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, which is on its third head coach of this season — in fact, it went through three head coaches in the month of October alone. . . . Conway’s latest report is right here.

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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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November 1, 1959 - Jacques Plante of Montreal Canadiens becomes the first goalie to wear protective face mask during an @NHL game. pic.twitter.com/Ua3WT95nCQ

— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) November 1, 2016

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TUESDAY’S GAMES:

Chippy & sloppy game with lots of special teams... Not an easy watch in Kelowna tonight.

— Andy Levangie (@AndyLevang) November 2, 2016

At Kelowna, F Deven Sideroff scored twice and added an assist to help the Kamloops Blazers to a 5-1

COLLIN SHIRLEY

victory over the Rockets. . . . The Blazers now are 9-8-0. . . . The Rockets, also 9-8-0, had a six-game winning streak come to an end. . . . The Blazers got the game’s first two goals, from F Nick Chyzowski, his seventh, at 2:53 of the first period, and Sideroff, on a PP, at 13:07. . . . Kelowna F Nick Merkley scored his third goal at 18:37, on a PP. . . . F Rudolfs Balcers, a Latvian freshman, got his seventh goal for Kamloops at 1:45 of the second period. Blazers also had an assist. . . . Sideroff’s ninth goal, on a PP at 11:17 of the third period, added more insurance and F Matt Revel scored his sixth goal at 16:05. . . . F Collin Shirley drew three assists for Kamloops. A 37-goal scorer last season, he’s got six goals and 12 assists in 17 games this time around. . . . Kamloops also got two assists from F Garrett Pilon. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 20 shots, 14 fewer than Michael Herringer of Kelowna. . . . The Blazers were 2-7 on the PP; the Rockets were 1-7. . . . The Rockets lost F Leif Mattson with a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 16:39 of the third period. . . . Announced attendance: 4,369.

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ZACH SAWCHENKO

At Moose Jaw, G Zach Sawchenko stopped 41 shots as the Warriors got past the Prince Albert Raiders, 3-1. . . . Sawchenko was especially solid in the third period when the Raiders failed to score despite holding a 22-8 edge in shots. . . . F Jayden Halbgewachs scored twice for the Warriors, giving them a 1-0 lead at 2:21 of the second period and putting them in front 2-1 at 4:22 of the third. He’s got 11 goals in 15 games, after putting in a career-high 15 in 69 games last season. . . . F Luke Coleman scored the Raiders’ goal, his fourth, at 6:06 of the second period. . . . F Tanner Jeannot got the empty-netter for Moose Jaw at 19:58 of the third. He’s got four goals. . . . G Nick Sanders stopped 26 shots for the Raiders. . . . Prince Albrert was 0-4 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-5. . . . The Warriors (9-3-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Raiders (4-10-1) have lost three straight. . . . Announced attendance: 3,099.

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Had to dig a little bit to find a relevant fact for tonight. This will mark 1st time TBirds have played a team from Saskatchewan on Nov 1st.

— TBird Tidbits (@TBirdTidbits) November 1, 2016

At Saskatoon, the Seattle Thunderbirds scored three times in the second period and went on to a 4-3

SCOTT EANSOR

victory over the Blades. . . . The Thunderbirds (5-6-1) are 2-1-0 on their six-game East Division trip. . . . The Blades slipped to 7-8-1. . . . The Thunderbirds scored the game’s first three goals, all of them via the PP. At that point, Seattle had scored six times on nine PP opportunities over two games. . . . D Jarret Tyszka’s first goal got the visitors started, at 2:51 of the first period. F Alexander True made it 2-0 with his fifth goal 56 seconds into the second period. F Donovan Neuls’ third goal upped the lead to 3-0 at 1:51. . . . F Michael Farren’s first goal got the Blades on the board at 6:04, but Seattle F Scott Eansor scored shorthanded at 9:32. He’s got two goals. . . . Saskatoon made it interesting as F Josh Paterson got his fifth goal at 1:39 of the third period and F Mason McCarty made it 4-3 with his 10th goal at 18:44. . . . Seattle got two assists from F Nolan Volcan, with Eansor adding one to his goal. . . . Paterson also had an assist. . . . Seattle G Rylan Toth, who is from Saskatoon, stopped 21 shots. . . . The Blades started Logan Flodell, who had been acquired from Seattle earlier this season. He was gone after allowing three goals on 19 shots in 22:05. Reliever Brock Hamm stopped 13 of 14 shots in 36:51. . . . Seattle was 3-6 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-4. . . . F Mathew Barzal, who is eligible to play for the Thunderbirds, again was scratched by the New York Islanders last night. They lost 6-1 to the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning. . . . Announced attendance: 2,812.

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Congrats to @_SoySauce_ who recorded his 💯 career WHL goal & 💯 assist tonight! pic.twitter.com/RpdcAM6tGl

— Victoria Royals (@victoriaroyals) November 2, 2016

At Victoria, F Ryan Peckford broke a 4-4 tie at 17:39 of the third period and the Royals went on to beat

CHAZ REDDEKOPP

the Red Deer Rebels, 6-4. . . . The Rebels (8-6-2), who have lost three straight, overcame a late two-goal deficit before losing. . . . The Royals (9-7-2) had lost their previous three games (0-1-2). . . . After F Jared Dmytriw’s sixth goal got the Royals started at 8:07 of the first period, the visitors took the lead when F Grayson Pawlenchuk scored his fourth goal at 14:35 and F Dawson Martin got his third, at 15:25. . . . Victoria followed that with the game’s next three goals, as F Matt Phillips got his ninth at 7:00 of the second, F Tyler Soy scored his 10th at 17:24, and F Dante Hannoun counted No. 8 at 10:06 of the third. . . . Red Deer D Josh Mahura, who also had an assist, got his guys into a tie with goals at 13:39 and 15:57. . . . F Ethan Price iced it for the Royals, scoring his second goal of the season into an empty net. . . . Victoria D Chaz Reddekopp earned three assists, while Peckford, who has five goals this season, and Soy each had one. . . . The Rebels got two assists from D Austin Strand. . . . G Griffen Outhouse blocked 40 shots for the Royals. The Rebels got 30 saves from Riley Lamb in 58:18. Lasse Petersen wasn’t tested in a 46-second stint. . . . Red Deer was 1-6 on the PP; Victoria was 0-4. . . . Announced attendance: 3,032.

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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Moose Jaw at Brandon, 7 p.m.

Red Deer at Everett, 7:05 p.m.

Lethbridge at Kamloops, 7 p.m.

Seattle at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Kootenay at Regina, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Here’s Jim Matheson, in the Edmonton Journal:
“Derek Laxdal loves working with the Oil Kings and has done a fantastic job with the kids but with every win in the playoffs you wonder whether pro people outside of Edmonton are noticing. The Dallas Stars are looking for an AHL farm coach in Austin and the New York Islanders just let two assistants go, including former Swift Current Broncos coach-GM Dean Chynoweth. Laxdal used to coach the Stars’ ECHL club in Idaho. He was drafted by the Leafs the same year (1984) as Isles’ head coach Jack Capuano and they played together in Newmarket (Ont.) and Springfield.”
Matty’s Hockey World is right here.
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Jerry Toppazzini, who played in the six-team NHL with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroi Red Wings, died Saturday at the age of 81.
The Sudbury Star has more right here.
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F Brett Bulmer, who played this season with the Kelowna Rockets, had the game’s only goal as the visiting Houston Aeros beat the Oklahoma City Barons 1-0 in an AHL playoff game on Sunday. The Barons lead the best-of-five series 2-1 with Game 4 set for Tuesday in Oklahoma City. . . . The Aeros are affiliated with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild; the Barons are with the Edmonton Oilers. . . . Former Moose Jaw Warriors G Mike Brodeur put up the shutout.
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According to the Winnipeg Sun, the MJHL has called an emergency board meeting for tonight at which the much-rumoured sale of the Winnipeg Saints to interests in Virden, Man., will be discussed. There has been speculation that the franchise already has been sold to a Virden group.
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SUNDAY’S GAME:
There was one Eastern Conference game on Sunday night, with the Edmonton Oil Kings putting up a second straight 6-1 victory over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . This is the seventh Eastern Conference series this spring; the tally is 26-2. There have been four sweeps and two series decided in five games. . . . The Western Conference final resumes Wednesday with the host Portland Winterhawks holding a 2-0 edge over the Tri-City Americans. . . .

In Edmonton, G Laurent Brossoit stopped 48 shots to lead the Oil Kings to a 6-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Oil Kings, who now have won 21 straight games, including 10 in a row in these playoffs, lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final, 2-0. . . . Edmonton had won the opener, also 6-1, on Friday. . . . The series now heads for Moose Jaw and games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. . . . Brossoit was especially busy in the second period when he stopped 23 of 24 shots. . . . The CHL’s reigning goaltender of the week, Brossoit has won 19 straight starts. . . . F Jordan Peddle scored twice for Edmonton, giving him three goals in these playoffs. He got the game’s first goal and later made it 5-1 with an empty-netter as Moose Jaw lifted G Luke Siemens for the extra attacker with 3:30 to play. . . . Edmonton F Klarc Wilson had two assists, giving him five points in the two games. . . . Siemens finished with 26 saves. . . . Brossoit lost his shutout when F Kenton Miller scored on the PP at 11:37 of the second period. That cut the Edmonton lead to 2-1, but D Martin Gernat restored the two-goal lead on a PP just three minutes later. . . . According to Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald: “The 49 shots (Brossoit) was the most he had faced since his first WHL start. Brossoit made 49 saves in a 2-1 loss to Kootenay in his second career appearance on March 13, 2010 when he was 16.”. . . The Oil Kings continue to play without injured forwards Dylan Wruck (shoulder) and Kristians Pelss (undisclosed). As well, F Travis Ewanyk suffered an apparent arm injury last night. Ewanyk, who turned 20 on March 29, played only 11 regular-season games after undergoing shoulder surgery in September. He returned to Edmonton's lineup on Feb. 24.

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Think about this for a moment or two . . .
There were 18,890 fans at Rogers Place in Vancouver on Friday night as the Canucks beat the Dallas Stars, 5-2.
There were 7,044 fans at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre to watch the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat beat the Chicago Wolves, 4-3 in overtime. The Wolves, of course, are affiliated with the Canucks.
Meanwhile, there were 6,328 fans at Pacific Coliseum and they saw the Spokane Chiefs beat the Vancouver Giants, 5-1, in Game 5 of their first-round WHL playoff series.
Add it up and that’s 32,262 fans in attendance at three hockey games on B.C.’s Lower Mainland.
In the meantime, there is an arena situated between Vancouver and Abbotsford that seats almost 5,000 seats. In fact, you may remember that Prospera Centre in Chilliwack used to be home to a WHL franchise.
Now what if that franchise was competitive enough that it could forge a rivalry with the Vancouver Giants? What if an established team with a solid track record on and off the ice was to relocate?
What if . . .?
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The AJHL’s St. Albert Steel notified the city on Wednedsay that it has filed a request to the league in the hopes of relocating to Whitecourt. AJHL officials held a conference call regarding the situation on Friday afternoon. . . . Whitecourt is 175 kilometres northwest of St. Albert, which is just northwest of Edmonton. . . . Glenn Cook of the St. Albert Leader reports “the AJHL has struck a committee of six governors, which will convene in Edmonton on Friday, April 6, to address the situation. Both the Steel and the City will have a chance to make a presentation to that committee.” . . . Greg Parks is the owner/GM/head coach of the Steel.
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The Minnesota Wild announced Friday that Everett Silvertips D Josh Caron and Kelowna Rockets F Brett Bulmer will join the AHL’s Houston Aeros. . . . Caron signed with Wild as a free agent prior to the 2010-11 season. Bulmer started this season with the Wild before he was returned to the Rockets.
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FRIDAY’S WHL GAMES:
(If you want WHL facts and stats, open a Twitter account, if you haven’t already, and follow @WHLFacts)

In Moose Jaw, the Warriors outshot the Regina Pats 14-0 in the first as they scored four times en route to a 5-2 victory. . . . The Warriors won the series 4-1, winning four in a row after losing the opener, and now will meet the Medicine Hat Tigers in Round 2. . . . That series will open Friday in Moose Jaw. The first three playoff games in Mosaic Place were sell outs (4,714). . . . That leaves the Edmonton Oil Kings and Brandon Wheat Kings to go at it in the Eastern Conference’s other semifinal. That series will begin in Edmonton on Friday. . . . Moose Jaw F Justin Kirsch scored 16 seconds into the game and the Warriors were away to the races. . . . F Cam Braes and F James Henry, the two 20-year-olds acquired by the Warriors at the trade deadline, each had two points. Braes drew two assists; Henry had a goal, his second of the series, and an assist. . . . Moose Jaw F Brayden Point, who turned 16 on March 12, had his third goal of the series. His first two were game-winners. . . . The Warriors, who use five forwards on their first PP unit, were 8-for-27 with the man advantage. Regina was 2-for-16. . . . The Pats were without G Matt Hewitt (broken wrist), D Brandon Davidson (separated shoulder), F Andrew Rieder (shoulder) and F Dyson Stevenson (one-game suspension). . . . D Morgan Rielly (knee) remains among Moose Jaw’s scratches. . . . With Hewitt out, the Pats brought in Tanner Burgardt, the 115th pick in the 2010 bantam draft, to back up Adam Beukeboom. Burgardt ws 20-2-1 with the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos this season. . . . The Pats also had D Nathan Zimbaluk in the lineup. He played 15 games with the Pats earlier in the season, before being assigned to the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs. . . . After the game, the head coaches — Regina’s Pat Conacher and Moose Jaw’s Mike Stothers — didn’t shake hands. “My reaction to that is the same reaction I had when they sat guys out in the regular season. I have no reaction to it," Stothers told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. "I just keep marching ahead and focus on my team and make sure we conduct ourselves professionally.” . . . For his part, Conacher said he couldn’t find Stothers. “I looked for Mike and he walked off the bench so I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” Conacher told Harder. “I’m not going to chase him down the hallway.” . . .

In Vancouver, F Mitch Holmberg scored twice as the Spokane Chiefs bet the Giants, 5-1. . . . The Chiefs dropped the first two games in this series but now hold a 3-2 edge. This now is the only first-round series that has yet to be decided. Game 6 is Sunday in Spokane. . . . . This was the first time in the series that a visiting team won. . . . F Liam Stewart, at 7:20 of the first period, and F Darren Kramer, at 1:09 of the second, gave the Chiefs a 2-0 lead. . . . F Brendan Gallagher got Vancouver into it with his fifth of the series at 15:06 of the second, on the PP. . . . The Chiefs put it away with three in the third, the last two just 23 seconds part. Holmberg got his side’s third and fourth goals, giving him five in the series, with F Blake Gal getting the last one. . . . The start of the game was delayed almost 20 minutes by a broken pane of glass in the warmup. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province was paying particular attention in the warmup and tweeted about Kramer chatting up Vancouver F Cain Franson, and then exchanging howdy-dos with D Blake Orban and D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen. . . . Kramer finished the game by being assessed a minor penalty for “leaving penalty box” at 20:00 of the third period. . . . Referees Chris Crich and Trevor Hanson handed out 22 minor penalties. . . . The Giants were 1-6 on the PP; the Chiefs were 1-4. . . . Spokane F Mike Aviani came up empty on a third-period penalty shot with the Chiefs leading 3-1. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams, who has started each of the last three games, stopped 23 shots, four more than Vancouver’s Adam Morrison. . . . The Giants added F Brodyn Nielsen to their lineup while scratching Russian F Alex Kuvaev, who hasn’t scored in 26 games. Nielsen, 18, had one goal in 14 reguar-season games with the Giants. He spent the season with the junior B North Vancouver Wolf Pack.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.

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Interesting day in the WHL office

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers will be without defenceman Austin Madaisky for Games 3 and 4 of their first-round WHL playoff series with the Victoria Royals.
The Blazers lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 going into Game 3 tonight at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria. The fourth game is scheduled for there on Wednesday. If necessary, Game 5 will be played at Interior Savings Centre on Friday.
Madaisky, the Blazers best all-around blue-liner, was suspended Monday for two games for a hit that occurred early in the Blazers’ 7-4 victory on Saturday night.
The play in question occurred at 1:28 of the first period when Madaisky checked Victoria forward Zane Jones. Madaisky was given a checking-to-the-head minor penalty for the hit.
At some point after the game, the Royals requested supplemental discipline from the WHL office, meaning they sent in video of the hit and $500. If the league acts on it, as was the case here, a team gets its money back. If not, it pays the money as a fine, which is what happened to the Regina Pats when they requested supplemental discipline for a hit by Moose Jaw Warriors forward Cody Beach in Game 1 of their series. (Beach was suspended for one game Monday, for a comment he directed at the Regina bench during Game 2.)
The Royals had started the series’ first game on Friday by going hard to the body. Madaisky said last night from Victoria that he was expecting the same thing in Game 2, so he was prepared to counter that.
“For the first three or four minutes of (Game 1), it seemed that they were just trying to run us out of the building,” Madaisky said. “The energy level was getting pretty high. I was expecting to be one of the guys they were targeting . . .”
When Game 2 started, he said he “wanted to go out there and take the body to show them that we weren’t going to shy away . . . and it just happened.”
Asked to describe the play, Madaisky recalled:
“It was a 50-50 puck that bounced off the boards and I saw Jones coming. I know he’s one of their players who will always take the body. It seemed that he was reaching for the puck . . . he’s a left-handed player . . . he kind of opened himself up and was in a bit of a vulnerable position.
“I watched the replay and I did make contact with his head. I mean, I didn’t mean to . . . it’s not like I was targeting his head. It just happened to be in a position where I did clip it a bit.”
Jones, a 17-year-old freshman from Olds, Alta., is 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. He had 30 points, including 14 goals, and 64 penalty minutes in 62 regular-season games. He wasn’t injured on the play.
Madaisky, 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, added that he “was definitely surprised to get two games.” But he had been forewarned by head coach Guy Charron and associate coach Dave Hunchak.
“I was told to expect something,” Madaisky said. “I was told to expect one, maybe two, and it happened to be two.”
Madaisky, who turned 20 on Jan. 30, said he was disappointed with the league’s decision.
“Especially at this time of year,” he said. “It’s never fun sitting out. You kind of feel like letting the team down by not being in the lineup. Hopefully, we’re a deep enough squad that we have guys who are able to come into the lineup and do a good job.”
Madaisky played quite well in the first two games, picking up three assists and going plus-4. He and Tyler Hansen have been used in a shutdown role for much of the season, playing against the opposition’s best offensive line. Madaisky also plays a point on the first power-play unit and kills penalties.
Madaisky’s absence means Landon Cross, a 17-year-old in his first WHL season, is likely to check into the lineup after being a healthy scratch for three straight games.
This is the second suspension of the season for Madaisky, who served a two-game sentence after taking a cross-checking major against the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Feb. 18.
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Madaisky’s suspension was one of six handed out by Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, on Monday.
* F Manraj Hayer of the Everett Silvertips drew a ‘tbd’ after taking a double minor for checking from behind against the host Tri-City Americans on Saturday night. The teams are scheduled to play in Everett tonight and Wednesday. Tri-City D Drydn Dow, who was hit by Hayer, suffered an injury to his right arm on the play and isn’t expected to play again in this series.
* Everett F Ryan Harrison also won’t play tonight after taking a one-game sentence for an interference major he incurred on Saturday.
* The Silvertips also were fined $500 for being in “violation of the WHL Social Media and Networking Policy” after Saturday’s game. That was for a tweet by Everett F Cody Fowlie, who was ejected with a checking-from-behind major on Saturday. The tweet contained a couple of obscenities, one of which referred to “bullshit refing.” Interestingly, Fowlie wasn’t suspended for the major penalty.
* F Brett Bulmer of the Kelowna Rockets is on a ‘tbd’ after taking a kneeing major in Game 2 against the Winterhawks in Portland on Saturday. He won’t play in Game 3 tonight in Kelowna. Bulmer’s penalty came for a hit on Portland D William Wrenn, who is the Winterhawks’ captain. The WHL may be waiting to see if he plays tonight before deciding on the length of Bulmer’s suspension.
* F Oliver Gabriel of the Winterhawks will sit out tonight after being suspended for one game. He took a slashing minor on Saturday, and then was given a game misconduct. At this point, no one is saying what he did that warranted a game misconduct.
* F Cody Beach of the Moose Jaw Warriors was hit with a one-game suspension for a “derogatory comment to the Regine bench” during Game 2 of that series on Saturday. Interestingly, the Pats had requested supplemental discipline for a Beach-delivered hit during Game 1, a request that was turned down by the WHL. That cost the Pats $500.
Alan Millar, the Warriors’ director of hockey operations, told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald that he “received an email from Richard Doerksen saying that (Regina head coach) Pat Conacher had sent in a complaint to the league after the game regarding something Cody had said to their bench and that he asked the league to review the matter,”
No one seems to be too eager to repeat what Beach said and the Warriors chose not to make him available to the media on Monday.
“It was something we thought was over the limit of what would be classified as hockey talk,” Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post.
This is Beach’s fourth suspension of the season. He will have sat out 11 games in suspensions when he misses tonight’s game in Regina.
According to Gourlie, the Warriors are 8-1-1 with Beach serving suspensions.
The Warriors tied the series with an 8-1 victory in Game 2. Beach had two goals and an assist, and was selected as the game’s first star.
Meanwhile, Scott Sepich, writing for Yahoo! Sports, points out that while Fowlie’s tweet was taken down about an hour after it was posted, a tweet from Everett F Jordyn Boyd remains in cyberspace.
That tweet was posted after Game 2 and reads: “This is actually a joke. Never seen a team dive so much in my life.”
And to think the playoffs are only a few days old!

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Gerad Adams (Regina, Kelowna, 1995-99) signed a two-year contract extension as player and head coach for the Cardiff Devils (Wales, UK Elite). He had eight goals and nine assists in 56 games this season, his seventh in Cardiff.
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If you scoot on over to DubNation — there’s a link over there on the right — you will find the latest production from the computer of Doyle Potenteau. It’s the March edition and it’s full of WHL-related news, feature stories and photographs. . . . D Ryan Murray of the Everett Silvertips is profiled. There’s a look back at Ray Ferraro . . . and a whole lot more. . . . Enjoy!
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SOME PRO NEWS: F Garett Bembridge (Saskatoon, 1997-2001) has signed with the Central league’s Wichita Thunder. He had been playing for Valpellice in Italy, totalling 28 points in 36 games. . . . F Taylor Vause, who signed with the AHL’s Texas Stars after completing his junior eligibility this season with the Swift Current Broncos, scored his first pro goal on Sunday in a 4-2 victory over the host Toronto Marlies. Vause was playing his third AHL game. . . . Also on Sunday, G Jon Groenheyde, who also finished his junior career with Swift Current, picked up his first pro victory. Groenheyde stopped 23 shots as the host Allen Americans downed the Wichita Thunder 3-1 in a Central league game. That was Groenheyde’s second start; he gave up two goals on 27 shots the first time out. He is one of three goaltenders on the roster, including Rejean Beauchemin (Prince Albert, 2002-05).
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Prior to the start of the just-completed regular season, the WHL announced it was implementing a social media policy.
After its annual general meeting in June, the league announced: “The WHL has adopted a Social Media and Networking Policy designed to educate players and all members of the WHL community on the risks associated with this new medium. The policy contains guidelines for using social media in a responsible manner and areas which would constitute a League violation.”
Now I haven’t seen a copy of that policy but I’m thinking it was violated at some point after Saturday’s playoff action.
I didn’t see it but I am told that a player who shall go unnamed tweeted this:
“Never seen such bullshit refing in my life. #conspiracy #anythingfortricity what a f'en joke”
Except that he didn’t write ‘f’en’, preferring to spell it out in case there was any doubt.
Apparently, the tweet was deleted about an hour after it first showed up.
Could be an interesting test for the WHL’s social media policy, whatever it is.
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On behalf of my media brethren, a reminder to all WHL teams . . .
According to the WHL’s Media Services Policy, “Players coaches and other team personnel will be available upon request for media interviews up to 90 minutes before game time.”
That rule stands for regular-season games and for playoff games.
I offer this reminder after being informed Saturday by a veteran coach that he wasn’t aware of that rule.
It is on Page 26 of the WHL’s 2011-12 Guide.
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DEPT. OF DISCIPLINE: D Darren Dietz of the Saskatoon Blades is under a ‘tbd’ suspension for a slashing major and game misconduct in Game 1 against the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Friday. The victim was Tigers F Emerson Etem. Dietz didn’t play in Game 2 on Saturday. . . . The Regina Pats requested supplemental discipline for a hit by Moose Jaw F Cody Beach in Game 1 against the host Warriors. The WHL office didn’t grant the request, so the Pats are $500 lighter. . . . There are a few other players awaiting word on discipline. . . . Kelowna F Brett Bulmer took a kneeing major and game misconduct in Game 2 of the Rockets series with the Winterhawks in Portland on Saturday. . . . Everett had two players ejected from a 3-1 loss to the host Tri-City Americans in Game 2. F Ryan Harrison drew an interference major and game misconduct, while F Cody Fowlie got tossed with a checking-from-behind major. . . . As well, Portland F Oliver Gabriel drew a game misconduct in Game 2 after taking a minor penalty. I don’t know that whatever he did was a suspendable offence, however.
———
To date, there have been 17 playoff games played. During those games, WHL referees have handed out 36 misconduct penalties, along with six game misconducts and 10 majors, six of which were for fighting.
Yes, sirree! In 17 games there have been three fights. In total. That’s all.
During the 792-game regular season, there were 790 fights, or an average of one scrap before game. (Thanks to hockeyfights.com for compiling those numbers.)
A few weeks ago, WHL commissioner Ron Robison was talking about how fighting was down in the league. Well, he was right. The number of fights per game fell by .08.
Last season, there were 857 fights, an average of 1.08 per game.
In last season’s playoffs, teams combined to play 70 games. There were 24 fights, an average of 0.34 per game.
Please tell me again why fighting is such an integral part of the game?
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Edmonton, D Keegan Lowe’s goal at 16:48 of the third period broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Oil Kings a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Oil Kings, who had the WHL’s best record in the regular season, take a 2-0 lead into Cranbrook for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Thursday. . . . Edmonton has won its last 13 games. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit, who stopped 22 shots, preserved the tie with a big save off F Sam Reinhart with 38 seconds left in the third. . . . Lowe’s goal was his first of the series and his second in six career playoff games. He had three goals in 72 games during the regular season and has seven in 212 career regular-season games. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen turned aside 41 shots. . . . The Ice got the game’s first goal, with F Drew Czerwonka scoring a minute into the first period. . . . The teams alternated goals after that, with the Ice leading 2-1 after one period and 3-2 after two. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar, the second overall selection in the 2010 bantam draft, tied the game with his second goal in two games at 15:05 of the third. . . . Lowe won it 1:43 later. . . . Edmonton was 2-7 on the PP; the Ice was 0-4. . . . The Oil Kings were without F Henrik Samuelsson, who completed a two-game suspension for a clipping major he incurred in the regular season’s final game. . . .
Columnist John MacKinnon the Edmonton Journal took in Game 2 and filed this piece.

In Winnipeg, Brandon F Michael Ferland broke a 1-1 tie at 8:01 of the second period and the Wheat Kings went on to a 4-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Wheat Kings hold a 2-1 lead in the series with Games 4 and 5 in Winnipeg on Tuesday and Thursday nights. . . . The Wheat Kings are 11-4-0 in games played at the MTS Centre, including 4-3 in playoff games. . . . The Wheat Kings are playing their home games at the MTS Centre because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is in Westman Place in Brandon. . . . Brandon D Eric Roy scored perhaps the game’s biggest goal, giving his side a 3-1 lead at 19:41 of the third period. . . . Brandon F Kevin Sundher made it 4-1 at 4:56 of the third. That was Sundher’s first goal of the playoffs and his first goal since Feb. 10. Two games later, he suffered a concussion, then tried to come back on March 2, wasn’t able to continue and didn’t play again until Game 1 of this series. Sundher also had an assist and was named the game’s first star. . . . If he’s healthy, Sundher, who turned 20 on Jan. 18, can be a difference-maker. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes stopped 26 shots, 12 fewer than Calgary’s Brandon Glover, who started his second straight game after Chris Driedger played in the opener. . . . Brandon was 1-5 on the PP; Calgary was 0-1. . . . Attendance in the home of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets was announced as 3,578. . . . F Cody Sylvester, Calgary’s captain, missed the first two games with an undisclosed injury. He travelled to Winnipeg but didn’t play in Game 3. . . . Calgary F Victor Rask (leg) didn’t make the bus trip to Winnipeg but still could join the team there this week.
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Max Reinhart, Kootenay.
F Brock Montgomery, Kootenay.
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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There aren’t any WHL games scheduled for tonight. Seven series will resume on Tuesday.
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Lem Barney is in the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and yet if he had it to do all over again he wouldn’t play football. Why? Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes about Barney and his concussion history right here.
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In the Boston Globe’s weekly hockey notebook, Fluto Shinzawa looks at the NHL and the impact of new statistics and data. Give it a read and you will realize that hockey is unlikely to ever go the way of baseball when it comes to that area of the game.


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Blazers in chase mode now

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
After spending the last few weeks as the hunted, the Kamloops Blazers now are the hunters.
While they clinched the WHL's B.C. Division pennant on Saturday night, the Blazers now find themselves third in the Western Conference. Of course, as B.C. Division champions, the Blazers will be no worse than the second seed in the conference when the playoffs open on March 23.
On Sunday, the Tri-City Americans got a goal from Justin Feser with 51.2 seconds left in the third period to beat the Winterhawks 4-3 in Portland. The Winterhawks hold down top spot in the conference by one point over the Americans and three on the Blazers.
The Winterhawks are next up on the Blazers' schedule. The teams will meet at Interior Savings Centre on Wednesday, 7 p.m.
The Blazers wrapped up the B.C. Division flag on Saturday, the first time they have accomplished that since 2001-02 when they finished two points ahead of the Kootenay Ice.
The race for first in B.C. ended at 9:22 p.m., when the final buzzer went on the Victoria Royals' 5-2 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants. That loss left the Giants 15 points back with just seven games remaining.
Twelve minutes later, Kelowna forward Zach Franko scored from a bad angle to give the Rockets a 4-3 overtime victory over the visiting Blazers. The Rockets (28-29-9), who trail Kamloops (44-17-5) by 28 points, had doubled the Blazers 6-3 in Kamloops on Friday night.
The Blazers fell behind 4-0 in the series opener and expended a lot of energy in trying to come from behind. That may have cost them Saturday as they played their fourth game in five nights, only one of which was at home.
“We sensed fatigue (Saturday) . . . (on Friday), we gave it a good push - we had a lot of scoring chances and their goaltender played well,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron told the Kelowna Daily Courier. “Their team paid the price as far as blocking shots and doing the things they needed to do to win the hockey game. So it's a credit to them.
“I thought we started well with some tempo and they took the play away from us in the second period. I thought our third period was adequate enough for us to perhaps get the two points.”
Kamloops forward Dylan Willick, with his 28th goal, opened the scoring just 39 seconds into the game, with defenceman Bronson Maschmeyer making it 2-0 at 6:39 of the second.
However, the Rockets came back with three goals in 8:25. Forward Brett Bulmer, who had two goals and an assist on Friday, got his 32nd of the season at 7:17. Kelowna then got its first lead on goals from defencemen Mitchell Chapman, at 13:31, and Madison Bowey, at 15:42. Bulmer also had two assists, giving him a six-point weekend.
Kamoops defenceman Austin Madaisky tied it on a power play two minutes later.
Franko won it with his 12th goal of the season at 2:31 of OT.
Kelowna goaltender Adam Brown, who stopped 43 shots on Friday, turned aside 28 in this one. Cole Cheveldave of the Blazers, who left Friday trailing 3-0 after the first period, stopped 29 shots.
The Blazers went 1-2-1 in those last four games; they are 3-5-1 over their last nine games as they have battled fatigue and a tougher schedule.
“I do believe sometimes having a tough schedule at the end of the season can be a benefit to your team,” Charron said. “You don't want to be overconfident going into the playoffs even though you won your division. And you want that challenge. If you look at our schedule, we have Portland on Wednesday, we have a home-and-home with Vancouver, we have to go to Spokane and we finish the weekend with Prince George. They're all teams fighting for something.
“Portland wants to finish first overall. Vancouver wants to get home-ice advantage and they're fighting with Spokane. So we'll see what happens and we'll play it a game at a time. . . . We have a few injuries and we need to heal up some of those injuries, but if the cards are dealt that we can perhaps challenge for the conference, then great.”
The Rockets, who clinched a playoff spot on Friday, are searching for some consistency with the postseason on the horizon.
“Right now, (the players) are excited,” Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska said. “You have to feel like you can beat the best teams in the league, and Kamloops is one of the best teams in the league. So it was a good weekend for us; it shows our players that we can play against the best teams, and that's important.”
JUST NOTES: Kamloops scratched F Ryan Hanes, who is hurt, D Tyler Bell and F Chase Souto. . . . Willick is on an eight-game point streak, with 11 points over that time. . . . Madaisky has 13 goals this season, 11 of them on the PP. . . . The Blazers won the season series with the Rockets, 5-1-2, although each team was credited with having scored 28 goals. . . . Kamloops F Tim Bozon appeared to suffer an injury to his right leg in the second period, but he returned to action. . . . After finishing first in the B.C. Division in 2001-02, the Blazers were swept from the first round by the Rockets. . . . The Americans took the season series from Portland, 6-4-0. The Americans won the first five games; the Winterhawks came back to win four in a row before losing last night. . . . A scoring change after Friday's game gave Kamloops D Marek Hrbas his first goal of the season. Hrbas also has 23 assists in 61 games. The goal, the Blazers' first in that game, had been credited to F Aspen Sterzer, who ended up with an assist. . . . There aren't any WHL games on the schedule for today.


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Damien Cox of the Toronto Star:
“Well, whether you look at the NHL or the OHL or any league that currently only penalizes fighters with five-minute major penalties, there’s absolutely no correlation between winning and teams that fight a lot or teams that don’t, no evidence that scrappin’ squads win or lose more than teams that don’t.
“It’s just irrelevant, really. Irrelevant and pointlessly dangerous.
“Again, it’s one thing for professionals to do it, quite another for teenagers getting paid less than $100 a week to trade blows for the amusement of the paying public.
“That’s sick.”
His complete column is right here.
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The WHL, if you were wondering, is on pace for an 800-fight season.
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John MacKinnon of the Edmonton Journal offers up his take on the debate -- to fight or not to fight -- right here.
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Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times writes right here about Spokane Chiefs F Liam Stewart, the son of you know who and you know who. The big news here is that Liam’s father and a few other family members apparently are planning on attending a game or two in Spokane in the immediate future.
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The Phoenix Coyotes have signed F Brendan Shinnimin of the Tri-City Americans to a three-year entry-level NHL contract. Shinnimin, an undrafted free agent, attended the Coyotes’ camp prior to this season. . . . In the last few days, Shinnimin has been named the WHL player of the week and player of the month, and the CHL player of the week and player of the month. That came after he put up an amazing 43 points in 14 February games. Shinnimin, who turned 21 on Jan. 7, is from Winnipeg and is represented by Mark MacKay, a former WHL rookie of the year.
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Russ Parker, the owner of the Regina Pats since 1995, is one of the latest members of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted as a builder in the sports of baseball and hockey. He has a long-time love affair with baseball, going back to before he managed the Alberta Dodgers in the mid-1960s. He later owned professional teams in Calgary. . . . In fact, if pushed, Parker, a native of Moosomin, Sask., would surely admit that baseball is his first love; yes, even over hockey.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
(If you’re on Twitter, follow @WHLFacts for lots of facts and numbers.)
In Prince Albert, the Moose Jaw Warriors scored two late goals and beat the Raiders, 4-3. . . . F Cam Braes tied the game at 13:45 of the third, with his 38th score, and F Torrin White won it with his 10th at 15:21. . . . Braes had two goals, while F James Henry had a goal, his 15th, and two assists. Braes and Henry, both 20, were acquired by the Warriors at the trade deadline. . . . Raiders F Chance Braid, a 17-year-old from Chauvin, Alta., opened the scoring with his first point in 54 games. . . . F Justin Maylan drew three assists for the Raiders, while F Anthony Bardaro had a goal, his 31st, and two helpers. . . . Moose Jaw has won three in a row. . . . The Warriors, who lead the East Division, are four points behind the idle Edmonton Oil Kings, who lead the Eastern Conference. . . .

In Brandon, F Brenden Walker scored twice to help the Wheat Kings to a 6-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . F Alessio Bertaggia had three assists for Brandon, while F Michael Ferland had two. . . . Brandon scored the game’s first three goals and the last three. . . . The Wheat Kings had F Kevin Sundher and F Jason Swyripa back from injuries. . . . Brandon D Ayrton Nikkel had one assist and was plus-4. . . . Brandon is 7-0-1 in its last eight and has moved into seventh in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Saskatoon Blades and one ahead of the Regina Pats. . . .

In Calgary, F Cody Sylvester scored his second goal of the game at 3:46 of OT to give the Hitmen a 4-3 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The Blades held a 3-1 lead halfway through the third period. . . . Sylvester scored at 10:18 and F Victor Rask tied it, with his 30th, at 14:01. . . . Sylvester won it with his 22nd goal of the season. . . . F Jimmy Bubnick got his 30th goal for Calgary. . . . F Matej Stransky got his 35th for Saskatoon. . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger came on after Saskatoon’s third goal. He stopped all six shots he faced and got the victory. . . . The Hitmen, with three straight victories, clinched a playoff spot. They are fourth in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Medicine Hat and five ahead of the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Blades are sixth, a point behind Kootenay and a point ahead of Brandon. . . .

In Red Deer, G Jon Groenheyde stopped 45 shots to lead the Swift Current Broncos to a 4-0 victory over the Rebels. . . . It was his second 4-0 shutout over the Rebels this season. . . . That is the most saves by a goaltender in recording a shutout this season. There have been 58 shutouts in the WHL this season. . . . Groenheyde has two shutouts this season and two in his career. . . . The Broncos have put up two shutouts this season; the Rebels have been blanked five times. . . . F Brad Hoban had a goal, his 19th, and two assists. . . . F Josh Derko’s eighth goal, at 6:42 of the first, stood up as the winner. . . . The Broncos were 2-2 on the PP. . . . F Taylor Vause scored his 35th goal of the season. . . . The Broncos swept the four-game season series. . . . The Rebels, with eight regulars on the shelf with injuries, are nine points out of a playoff spot with eight games left. . . .

In Kamloops, F Brett Bulmer and F Shane McColgan each had two goals to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 6-3 victory over the Blazers. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 43 shots in picking up his 20th victory. . . . The Blazers held a 46-18 edge in shots, including 22-5 in the third. . . . Bulmer, with his 30th, and McColgan, with his 16th, got the Rockets going with goals 49 seconds apart early in the first period. . . . F Zach Franko had three assists for the Rockets, who clinched a playoff spot with the victory. . . . Kamloops F Jordan DePape, playing his first game since suffering a shoulder injury on Oct. 10, scored the Blazers’ last goal, his third of the season. . . . These teams will play tonight in Kelowna with the Blazers needing one point to clinch the B.C. Division pennant. . . . Kelowna clinched a playoff spot and will finish sixth in the Western Conference. The Rockets will face the second-place team from the U.S. Division, either the Portland Winterhawks or Tri-City Americans, in the first round. . . .

In Prince George, the Spokane Chiefs scored the game’s last four goals as they beat the Cougars, 4-1. . . . Spokane G Mac Engel stopped 17 shots, 17 fewer than Prince George’s Drew Owsley. . . . Spokane F Darren Kramer scored his 20th goal. . . . With the victory, the Chiefs, who have won three in a row, moved into fourth place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Vancouver Giants. Those two teams are headed for a first-round clash, with the Chiefs now holding home-ice advantage. Each team has eight games remaining. . . . The Cougars have dropped seven in a row. They are five points out of a playoff spot with eight games left. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Taylor Leier scored the game’s last two goals as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Tri-City Americans, 6-4. . . . The Winterhawks, who have won four in a row from the Americans and 10 of their last 11 overall, took a 4-2 lead in the second period, only to have the Americans tie it on goals by F Adam Hughesman, his 39th, at 12:28 and D Zach Yuen, his 11th, at 15:42. . . . Leier, who has 11 goals, scored at 3:23 of the third to break a 4-4 tie. He added an empty-netter at 19:44. . . . F Brendan Shinnimin had one assist for the Americans, who had won their previous seven games. . . . F Oliver Gabriel drew three assists for Portland, while F Brad Ross had two goals, giving him 38, and a helper. . . . F Justin Feser scored twice for the Americans, giving him 34. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 22 shots in winning his WHL-leading 40th game. . . . Tri-City’s Ty Rimmer turned aside 33. . . . The teams will meet Sunday in Portland. . . . With the victory, the Winterhawks moved into first place in the overall standings, one point ahead of the Americans, two up on Kamloops and three ahead of Edmonton. . . . Portland is 11-0-1 in its last 12 games. . . . Attendance was 6,121, the second-largest crowd in the Americans’ history in the Toyota Center. . . .

In Vancouver, the Medicine Hat Tigers erased a 3-1 first-period deficit and beat the Giants, 6-4. . . . Tigers D James Bettauer forged a 4-4 tie with his 20th goal, on a PP, just 35 seconds into the third period. . . . Tigers F Boston Leier broke the tie with his 13th at 5:11 and F Emerson Etem got his WHL-leading 54th goal at 5:45. . . . Vancouver G Adam Morrison gave up six goals on 19 shots, including three on four shots in the third period, before being hooked. . . . The Tigers were 3-7 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-8. . . . The Tigers went 3-0 on a short but long trip that took them to Prince George and Vancouver. . . . The Giants will catch a ferry to Victoria this morning where they will play the Royals tonight and again Sunday at 1 p.m. . . . Vancouver F Austin Vetterl (leg) was injured in practice this week and the team says he will be out four weeks. . . . Pro cheerleader Cameron Hughes, who was in Kamloops on Friday night, is due in Victoria tonight. . . . The Tigers were playing their 3,000th regular-season game, which means the legendary Bob Ridley, the Tigers’ radio voice, was calling his 2,999th game. . . . Ridley will get to No. 3,000 on Wednesday when the Kootenay Ice visits Medicine Hat. . . . The Tigers are third in the Eastern Conference, four points ahead of Calgary. . . . The Giants slipped a point behind fourth-place Spokane in the Western Conference. . . .

In Everett, G Kent Simpson stopped 25 shots to help the Everett Silvertips to a 4-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Simpson has one shutout this season and five in his career. . . . It was the sixth time this season that Seattle has been blanked. . . . F Josh Birkholz had a goal, his 27th, and an assist, as did F Reid Petryk, who has 15 goals. . . . D Ryan Murray scored his ninth goal. . . . Seattle took 50 of 76 penalty minutes. . . . The Silvertips were 1-8 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 0-5. . . . The victory lifted Everett past Seattle and into eighth place in the Western Conference. . . . The Silvertips are a point ahead of Seattle and one behind the seventh-place Victoria Royals. . . . Interestingly, the Silvertips are in possession of a playoff spot despite having the fewest victories (18) of any team in the league. They do have nine loser points, though.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Jesse Forsberg, Prince George.
F Mitch Elliot, Seattle.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES
Swift Current at Edmonton
Calgary at Kootenay
Lethbridge at Moose Jaw
Saskatoon at Red Deer
Brandon at Regina
Tri-City at Everett
Kamloops at Kelowna
Seattle at Portland
Spokane at Prince George
Vancouver at Victoria
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ASK THE COMMISSIONER:
The WHL has awards to honour executives and head coaches, referees and marketing people and on and on. So, Mr. Commissioner, why aren’t there awards to honour the league’s hardest-working people, the assistant coaches, the trainers/athletic therapists and the equipment managers?

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By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs fired head coach Ron Wilson on Friday evening.
The Kamloops Blazers and Kelowna Rockets went ahead and played anyway. The Blazers may wish they hadn’t.
On a night when a victory would have allowed them to clinch first place in the WHL’s B.C. Division, the Blazers absorbed a 6-3 beating from the Rockets at Interior Savings Centre.
“How did we lose that one?” wondered Kamloops right-winger Jordan DePape. “We have to be prepared to play.”
The Blazers were completely dominant for the game’s first two minutes. The owned the puck and were all over the Rockets’ defenders.
However, Brett Bulmer, at 2:22, and Shane McColgan, at 3:11, scored on two of the Rockets’ first three shots and that terrific start, albeit a scoreless one, was all for naught because the visitors now had all the momentum.
“We focus on their key guys,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said, “and they only have two players we have to worry about, McColgan and Bulmer. They had two goals each.
“Why would we allow one of their top players . . . both of their first goals were right from the slot. They have to be contested. People on the ice, we tell them, ‘Know who you’re playing against.’ ”
Things only got worse for the Blazers late in the period, after DePape went off for tripping. During the power play, the Rockets were guilty of a sloppy line change and had too many men on the ice, but the officials chose not to call it.
“We yelled about it and it wasn’t called,” Charron said, with a shrug of his shoulders.
Moments later, forward Cody Chikie banged a rebound past Cole Cheveldave and the Rockets had three goals on seven shots, which was enough to end the goaltender’s night.
Cam Lanigan came on in relief and, at 8:19 of the second, was beaten by defenceman Madison Bowey on a shot from the point.
“The fourth goal was an awful goal . . . it’s just an awful goal,” Charron said. “Instead of being down 3-0, it’s 4-0.”
And school was out. The Blazers had erased a 4-1 deficit in beating the Rockets 5-4 in overtime here on Feb. 10, but it was apparent that wasn’t going to happen this time.
The Rockets were much tougher in their zone and their defencemen were shot-blocking machines; by game’s end, the Rockets, led by defenceman Mitchell Chapman, had blocked 26 shots, while the Blazers had gotten in front of only three.
“I thought we had a lot of good shot blocks out there,” said Kelowna goaltender Adam Brown, who won his 20th game with a 43-save effort. “We were very good in the (defensive) zone. A lot of (Kamloops’ shots) were from the outside so the guys really helped me out there. Overall, I thought we had a really good outing.”
Brown, 20, is in his final season and his record of 20-22-4 pretty much mirrors the Rockets’ season. But he was solid in this one.
“It was one of those games where a lot of pucks seemed to be hitting me,” said Brown, the son of Vancouver Canucks assistant coach Newell Brown. “I was reading the play and reacting off shots well. It was one of those games where everything seemed to hit me.”
“He might not have had to make exceptional saves,” said Charron, whose team outchanced the visitors 25-13, “but he made saves.”
The Rockets took that 4-0 lead into the third period, where Brandon Herrod and Aspen Sterzer scored at 7:53 and 11:11 respectively, providing a bit of hope to the home fans.
But it all was dashed when McColgan restored a three-goal Kelowna lead at 13:53 with his 17th goal of the season.
DePape, who had been out since Oct. 10 with a shoulder injury, banged in a rebound at 19:00, and Bulmer, who has 31 goals, finished it with an empty-netter at 19:40.
“Did our team quit? Absolutely not,” Charron said. “We didn’t quit. But we didn’t get what we needed, which was a couple of saves early.”
The Blazers, who have lost four of their last seven games overall and four of their last five at home, hope to get things back on track tonight in the rematch in Kelowna.
“Right now,” Charron allowed, “there is part of our game that is not in place.”
The Rockets, who scored their first five goals on just 17 shots, clinched a playoff spot with the victory. They will finish sixth in the Western Conference and will meet the U.S. Division’s second-place team, either the Portland Winterhawks or Tri-City Americans, in the first round.
“It’s been a process for us this season and I think tonight was a step in the right direction,” Brown said. “We just need to build off that for (tonight).
“Our mindset was more looking at the end of the season and the playoffs and focusing on that and the way we need to be playing going into the postseason.”
The Blazers, meanwhile, will play in Kelowna tonight and will once again attempt to clinch their first B.C. Division title since 2001-02. Kamloops (44-17-4) has 92 points and holds a 16-point lead over the second-place Vancouver Giants (36-23-4), who lost 6-4 to the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers last night and have eight games remaining.
JUST NOTES: Attendance was 5,227, the largest crowd of the season. Cameron Hughes, a sports entertainer based in Ottawa, kept the crowd entertained. . . . The Rockets were 2-4 on the power play, while the Blazers went 0-7. . . . The Blazers lead the season series with the Rockets, 5-1-1, going into tonight’s finale. . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Brown: Steady as he goes; 2. Bowey: scores, blocks shots; 3. Bulmer: Two goals and even blocked a shot. . . . F Brock Nixon of the Calgary Dinos, who played 286 regular-season WHL games with the Kamloops Blazers (2003-08) before being traded to the Calgary Hitmen, has been named the Canada West Husky-WHL graduate of the month. Nixon, a kinesiology major, had six points in four regular-season games last month, then was the first star in two victories as the Dinos went the distance in winning a best-of-three first-round series from the UBC Thunderbirds.

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