Cougars unable to contain Magee . . . Whistle still unbeaten . . . Malenstyn wants to help friend

SATURDAY’S GAMES:

In Regina, F Adam Brooks broke a 2-2 tie in the third period to give the Pats a 3-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Pats, who won 4-2 on Friday, lead the series 2-0 as it heads to Swift Current for games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. . . . Games 3 and 4 are scheduled to be televised by Shaw. . . . D Brett Lernout gave the Broncos a 1-0 lead at 5:00 of the first period. . . . Regina took the lead before the period ended, on goals by F Taylor Cooper, at 8:39, and F Jesse Gabrielle, at 14:24. . . . F Tyler Steenbergen pulled the Broncos even at 7:32 of the second. . . . Brooks scored the winner at 6:34 of the third. . . . It’s the first time the Pats have won back-to-back playoff games at home since the spring of 2001. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple turned aside 29 shots, eight fewer than Landon Bow of the Broncos. . . . F Braden Christoffer had two assists for the Pats. . . . Regina was 0-for-4 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-for-2. The second of those started with 53 seconds left in the third period. . . . Attendance was 5,377.

In Medicine Hat, G Marek Langhamer stopped 30 shots to help the Tigers to a 2-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . This was the series opener with Game 2 tonight in Medicine Hat. . . . Langhamer, a 20-year-old Czech, is the last European goaltender in the WHL. CHL teams no longer are allowed to use Euro goaltenders. . . . One goal was scored in each period of this game. . . . Tigers D Kyle Becker opened the scoring at 6:32 of the first. . . . F Cole Sanford, Medicine Hat’s 50-goal man, made it 2-0 at 14:29 of the second, on a PP. . . . Red Deer F Grayson Pawlenchuk got his guys to within a goal at 11:19 of the third. . . . F Trevor Cox had two assists for the Tigers. . . . Medicine Hat was 1-for-2 on the PP; Red Deer’s PP unit was never given even one opportunity. . . . Red Deer G Rylan Toth stopped 31 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . The Tigers have added F James Hamblin to their roster, but he didn’t play last night. He was a first-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. He played this season with the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club.

In Victoria, F Brandon Magee scored two third-period goals to lead the Royals to a 5-4 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . On Friday, Magee had three goals in Victoria’s 5-3 victory. . . . The series now moves to Prince George for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . F Greg Chase gave the Royals a 3-1 lead at 15:11 of the second period. . . . The Cougars tied it on goals by F Zach Pochiro, at 18:28 of the second, and D Tate Olson, his second of the game, at 5:02 of the third, via the PP. . . . Magee put the Royals back in front at 11:51, only to have Cougars F Chase Witala tie it at 13:49. . . . Magee then scored the winner at 15:47. . . . That goal was Magee’s 20th career playoff point, allowing him to tie the franchise record that had been held by F Stephen Hodges. . . . F Brad Morrison, F Jansen Harkins and D Joe Carvalho each had two assists for the Cougars. . . . Victoria G Coleman Vollrath stopped 30 shots, 10 more than Prince George’s Ty Edmonds. . . . The Cougars were 2-for-6 on the PP, giving them five PP goals in two games. The Royals were 0-for-2. . . . Attendance was 5,545.

In Kelowna, G Jackson Whistle turned aside 30 shots in posting his second straight shutout as the Rockets beat the Tri-City Americans, 3-0. . . . Whistle has made two career playoff starts and has yet to surrender even one goal. On Friday, the Rockets beat the Americans, 6-0, as Whistle made 18 saves. . . . The series now moves to Kennewick, Wash., for games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. . . . F Rodney Southam, who started this season with the Americans, opened the scoring for Kelowna at 7:42 of the second period. . . . F Leon Draisaitl added insurance at 15:54 of the third and F Tyson Baillie scored an empty-netter at 18:36. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 42 shots. . . . The Rockets held a 20-6 edge in shots after one period. . . . Each team was 0-for-3 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 5,639. . . . Craig West, the play-by-play voice of the Americans, called his 2,000th WHL game last night.

In Everett, the Spokane Chiefs scored four times in the first period en route to a 6-2 victory over the Silvertips. . . . The Chiefs, 5-1 losers in Game 1, will play host to Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Friday. . . . F Adam Helewka had two goals and an assist for Spokane, while F Dominic Zwerger also scored twice. . . . Chiefs F Keanu Yamamoto had two assists. . . . Spokane G Garret Hughson stopped 29 shots. He lost his shutout at 14:21 of the third period when D Cole MacDonald scored. . . . Spokane was 3-for-9 on the PP; Everett was 1-for-7. . . . The game featured 30 minor penalties, 16 of them to the Silvertips. Ten roughing minors were handed out at the final buzzer. . . . Everett D Ben Betker left in the first period with an apparent arm injury and didn’t return. . . . Attendance was 4,339.

In Portland, F Mathew Barzal opened and closed the scoring as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Winterhawks, 4-3. . . . Game 2 is scheduled for tonight in Portland. . . . Barzal’s second goal, at 17:18 of the third period, broke a 3-3 tie. . . . The Winterhawks went on the PP with 53.1 seconds left in the third period but weren’t able to equalize. . . . Seattle took a 2-0 lead in the first period when Barzal scored, at 1:01, and F Cory Millette added a PP goal, at 15:43. . . . Portland D Blake Heinrich got his guys on the board at 19:55. . . . The Winterhawks tied it when D Adam Henry scored a PP goal at 8:37 of the second and took the lead on F Evan Weinger’s goal at 6:27 of the third. . . . Seattle F Scott Eansor tied it at 11:41. . . . F Ryan Gropp drew an assist on both of Barzal’s goals. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 34 shots, five more than Portland’s Adin Hill. . . . Gropp came up short on a third-period penalty shot with the score 2-2. . . . Weinger scored 10 seconds later. . . . Seattle was 1-for-2 on the PP; Portland was 1-for-3. . . . Portland F Alex Schoenborn returned after not playing since Jan. 31. He missed 19 games. . . . Attendance was 7,072.
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The third game of the series between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Rebels in Red Deer will begin at 7 p.m. The game, which is scheduled for Wednesday, originally was scheduled for 7 p.m., but then was shifted to TBD in order to accommodate a possible Sportsnet telecast. But the Brandon-Edmonton series will go at least five games, with the fifth game set for Wednesday. Sportsnet will televise that game, with an 8 p.m. start time, allowing Game 3 in Red Deer to begin at 7 p.m.
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F Beck Malenstyn of the Calgary Hitmen has a friend in Penticton who is battling cancer. Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun reports that Kaylee Kozari-Bowland, 16, has “a rare, aggressive form of cancer” and “has exhausted all treatments available at the B.C. Children’s hospital, and now her desperate family is looking to a trial at the MD Cancer Center in Texas.” . . . Her family is looking at a bill of $200,000 or more, and Malenstyn wants to help. So he and the Hitmen are putting together a silent auction. . . . Fisher’s story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Brett Hopfe has resigned as director of hockey operations and head coach of the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlys. Hopfe has filled both positions for more than three seasons. . . . Hopfe had signed a three-year contract extension on June 10. . . . The Grizzlys finished 24-27-9 this season, good for fifth place in the South Division. They were swept by the Drumheller Dragons in a best-of-five first-round playoff series.
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Happy 61st to @bdnwheatkings legend Ron Chipperfield who's one of few pros to go from playing in Calgary to Edmonton. pic.twitter.com/srONCeYoVm
— O-Pee-Chee Stars (@opeecheestars) March 29, 2015

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Is the WHL in Babey's future? . . . Improvements in Spokane

F Tomáš Karpov (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 2007-09) has signed a three-year extension with the Basingstoke Bison (England, Premier). Last season, in 54 games, he had 76 points, including 37 goals. He was a first-team Premier League all-star, and led the Bison in goals and points, all while working on a degree at the University of Winchester.
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1. On Tuesday, in this space, I mentioned something about Kingston Frontenacs F Sam Bennett’s inability to do one pull-up at the NHL Scouting Combine in Mississauga, Ont., last weekend.
That prompted an NHL scout to relate, via email, a couple of fitness testing-related anecdotes.
“Martin Havlat was at the Combine in his draft year,” the scout wrote. “He couldn’t do a single bench press. He ended up having a pretty good career and immediate success as a young player.
“I heard (Wayne) Gretzky tell a story one day. To paraphrase, he said: ‘Early in my career, we had testing. I did 10 sit-ups, but scored 60-plus goals that season. Near the end of my career, I could do 60-plus sit-ups, but only scored 10 goals during the season!’ ”
In closing, the scout wrote: “This entire Combine thing is about showcasing the league. Many of the tests that they do are irrelevant to hockey, but they ‘look’ good.”
So, kids, if you blow a test or two, don’t lose sleep over it because it’s what you do on the ice that the scouts will remember.

2. BTW, Wayne Gretzky looked good and sounded great as he appeared on Hockey Night in Canada prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final on Wednesday night. . . . The NHL should hang its head in shame because Gretzky is not actively employed in promoting their game. The fact that he isn't working for an individual team or out of the NHL office should be an embarrassment to the commissioner and the owners. . . . Contrast that with Major League Baseball and the NFL, both of which have numerous former players, many of them Hall of Famers, working to better and to promote their games in one fashion or another.

3. Let the speculation begin. The Calgary Hitmen have an opening for a head coach and Ken Babey, the face of athletics at SAIT in Calgary, is leaving the Trojans after 27 years as the hockey team’s head coach. He also has been the school’s athletic director since 1997. According to a news release: “A desire to pursue other interests, and to go out on on top, has been given as reasons for his decision to step down.” . . . Babey took over as the Trojans head coach in 1987. That followed one season as an assistant coach. . . . Under his guidance, the Trojans won 534 of 849 games. He leaves with a .629 winning percentage. . . . Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald has more right here, including the revelation that Babey “hopes to find another coaching gig in the near future.” . . . Let the speculation begin.

4. There are at least three movies in the works involving concussions in football. . . . Will Smith may star in one that is based on the GQ story Game Brain that was written by Jeanne Marie Laskas. . . . Cindy Boren of the Washington Post has more right here.

5. D Evan Morden (Everett, Prince Albert, 2011-14) has committed to attend Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., and play for the Badgers. . . . Morden, from Swan River, Man., will attend the Goodman School of Business at Brock. . . . He played most of last season with the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders. . . . He split 170 WHL games between Everett and Prince Albert, putting up 23 points, including six goals.

6. Yes, the Stanley Cup final started on Wednesday night. John Branch of The New York Times takes a look right here at the rivalry between Los Angeles and New York. Hey, any story in which there are quotes from Ed (Boxcar) Hospodar is a good one.

7. The way NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has it figured, if the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers are worth US$2 billion, “we have plenty of franchises that are worth that, if not more.” . . . OK. Stop laughing! . . . Bettman had that to say and a whole lot more prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final. Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times has more right here.

8. Fans of the Spokane Chiefs should be in for improved wireless service when they attend games in the Veterans Memorial Arena in the fall. Boingo Wireless, which bills itself as “the leading DAS and Wi-Fi provider that serves consumers, carriers and advertisers worldwide,” has been chosen to manage the facility’s Distributed Antenna System (DAS) “from design to deployment, multi-carrier access to ongoing management.” . . . According to a news release: “The DAS networks will provide enhanced cellular capacity, allowing fans to upload videos and photos of their event experiences in real time. Boingo’s neutral host approach to DAS networks allow for multiple carriers to access the network on behalf of their customers, ensuring that more fans are automatically connected to the state-of-the-art cellular network.”

9. Don Zimmer, one of the grand old men of baseball, has died at the age of 83. He played for Casey Stengel. He managed four teams on a full-time basis and was the New York Yankees’ interim manager for a bit. In all, he was involved in baseball for more than 60 years. In The Zen of Zim, written with New York writer Bill Madden and published in 2004, Zimmer says: “All I’ve ever been is a simple baseball man, but it’s never ceased to amaze me how so many far more accomplished people I’ve met in this life wanted to be one, too. What a game, this baseball!” . . . The New York Times obituary is right here.

10. The end of Donald Sterling’s days in the NBA is nigh, and it is going to happen without anyone ending up in court. The end result of his selling the Los Angeles Clippers for US$2 billion could be the raising of the NBA’s age limit to 20. Michael McCann of SI.com has all that and more right here. . . . If you want the inside info on the Sterling affair, this is a great read.

11. The World Cup doesn’t start until next week, but the mind game are underway. With Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo on the limp, a witch doctor from Ghana is claiming responsibility. The Guardian has more right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The AJHL’s Olds Grizzlys have signed Brett Hopfe, their director of hockey operations and head coach, and Dana Lattery, the manager of player development and assistant coach, to three-year contract extensions. The contracts run through the next three seasons. . . . Joel Hunter, the business operations manager, got a one-year extension.
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The Detroit Red Wings have signed Jeff Blashill, the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, to a three-year contract that runs through 2016-17. Blashill, 40, just completed his second season with the Griffins. They won the Calder Cup as AHL champions in 2012-13. Last season, they finished with 99 points, an increase of seven, then went on to lose a conference semifinal series to the Texas Stars. . . . Last month, Blashill was honoured as the AHL’s coach of the year.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Oleg Tverdovsky (Brandon, 1994-95) was released by Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia, KHL). He had no points in 12 games this season. Tverdovsky cleared KHL waivers last week but elected not to report to Salavat Yulaev's farm club, Toros Neftekamsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga).
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JUST NOTES: F Filip Vasko, 18, of the Kelowna Rockets will attend the Slovakian national junior team’s selection camp in Three Hills, Alta., Dec. 15-23. Vasko, in his freshman WHL season, has 11 assists in 24 games with the Rockets. . . .
F Geordie Wudrick (Swift Current, Kelowna, 2005-11) is leaving the Rosenheim Star Bulls, a German pro team, to join the U of New Brunswick Varsity Reds, the No. 1 team in Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s latest rankings. . . . Wudrick had 59 points, 43 of them goals, in 71 games with the Kelowna Rockets last season. . . . He will play for the V-Reds after Christmas. . . . Wudrick had nine points in 14 games with Rosenheim, which plays in the 2.Bundesliga. . . .
F Thomas Frazee (Portland, Medicine Hat, Regina, Moose Jaw, Kamloops, 2005-11) will play for the Lakehead University Thunderwolves after Christmas. Frazee, 21, finished up his WHL eligibility with the Kamloops Blazers last season. He went to camp this season with the NHL”s Washington Capitals and began the season with the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors, finishing up with a goal and three assists. . . .
F Adam Rockwood of the Northeast Chiefs put up 28 points in eight B.C. major midget league games in November. That broke the record for most points in a month set by F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, now with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . Rockwood is on the Medicine Hat Tigers’ list. . . . The Chiefs, who are coached by Doneau Menard (New Westminster, Victoria, 1985-89), are on an 8-0 run. . . . The Federal Hockey League’s Vermont Wild, who played out of Morrisville, have ceased operations. They lasted 10 games, going 3-7-0. . . .
The NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets have returned F Oliver Gabriel, 20, to the Portland Winterhawks. He should play Friday against the visiting Everett Silvertips. Gabriel, a free-agent signee of the Blue Jackets, was with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. He had one goal in 11 games. Last season, he had 32 points in 41 games with Portland before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in January. . . . Gabriel’s arrival leaves Portland with four 20-year-olds, one over the limit. The others are D William Wrenn, the team’s captain, F Dillon Wagner and F Charles Wells. The Winterhawks have two weeks from Gabriel’s arrival to get down to three. . . .
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have assigned G Tanner Kovacs to the AJHL’s St. Albert Steel. That leaves the Hurricanes with Damien Ketlo, 20, and Liam Liston, 18, as their goaltenders. Kovacs, 17, had gotten into only three games.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Former WHL player and coach Brad Lauer has joined the Anaheim Ducks as an assistant coach. The move came as the Ducks fired head coach Randy Carlyle and replaced him with Bruce Boudreau, who had been dumped a couple of days earlier by the Washington Capitals. Lauer was an assistant under Cory Clouston with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators last season. After Ottawa cleaned house, he signed as an assistant with the Syracuse Crunch, Anaheim’s AHL affiliate. . . .
The USHL’s Omaha Lancers fired GM/head coach Bliss Littler on Wednesday, replacing him with assistant coach Mike Aikens, at least on an interim basis. The Lancers were 9-8-2 and third in the Western Conference in Littler’s fourth season with them. He was 117-60-22 in Omaha. . . . Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that Littler announced his firing via Twitter. Here’s his tweet: “Fired this morning. Good luck to a bunch of great kids and staff.” . . .
Earlier in the week, Kevin Willison resigned as director of hockey operations and head coach of the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlys. Assistant coach Brett Hopfe is the interim head coach. Olds was 9-18-0-3 after going 0-7-1-2 in November. Willison had been with the Grizzlys since August 2010. . . .
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In Saskatoon, the Reinhart brothers combined for seven points as the Kootenay Ice whipped the Blades, 6-1. . . . F Max Reinhart scored three times, while his younger brother, Sam, drew four assists. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 20 shots. . . . Max Reinhart, 19, has 34 points, including 15 goals, in 24 games. In his career, he has 191 points in 229 games. . . . This was his third WHL hat trick — he had a four-goal game and three-goal game last season. . . . Sam Reinhart, 16, has 26 points, 18 of them assists, in 27 games. He has followed three pointless games by putting up 18 points in his last six games. He has had at least two points in each of those games, as he has alternated two- and four-point outings. . . . The Ice also set a franchise record with its seventh straight road victory. . . . The defending-champion Ice (19-5-3) boasts the WHL’s best record. . . . “That was like some of the girls you used to date, Daniel,” Lorne Molleken, the Blades’ GM/head coach, said to Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. . . .

In Brandon, F Brenden Walker had a goal and two assists as the Wheat Kings scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Vancouver Giants, 5-4. . . . F Mark Stone, the WHL scoring leader, got the winner just 38 seconds into the third period. He has 25 goals. . . . Brandon, which had lost three straight, trailed 4-2 when it scored two quick PP goals, the first on the 5-on-3. . . . F Alessio Bertaggia got the Wheaties to within one and D Brodie Melnychuk tied it. . . . F Brendan Gallagher had three goals for the Giants, giving him 22 on the season. . . . Vancouver D Kiefer McNaughton didn’t return after taking a punch from Brandon F Mike Ferland in a second-period bout. . . . The teams became involved in a donnybrook of sorts at games end. It resulted in six fighting majors, which means it was a multi-fight situation. That means — ch-ch-ching! — there will be fines. And just in time for Christmas shopping, too. . . . The Wheat Kings were without G Brandon Anderson (flu), so had Tyrel Heap of a local high school team, the Crocus Plains Plainsmen, backing up Corbin Boes. . . .

In Prince Albert, G Luke Siemens stopped 18 shots to help the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 3-0 victory over the Raiders. . . . Siemens has two shutouts this season. . . . Prince Albert D Tyler Hart took a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 11:02 of the third period. . . . The Warriors had a 35-18 edge in shots. . . . D Dylan McIlrath was back in Moose Jaw’s lineup after sitting out a three-game suspension. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Lethbridge Hurricanes erased a 2-0 deficit and went on to beat the Tigers, 4-3. . . . D James Bettauer had two goals and an assist for the Tigers. He has 12 points, including seven goals, in 16 games. . . . The Hurricanes were one skater short due to injuries. . . . Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo stopped 35 shots. . . . The Hurricanes were without F Graham Hood (suspension), who is awaiting supplementary discipline for a hit on Red Deer F Josh Cowen, who didn’t play last night in a loss to the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Lethbridge did have D Albin Blomqvist and F Juraj Bezuch back after one-game absences (flu). . . .

In Red Deer, F Mitch Holmberg scored twice as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Rebels, 5-2. . . . The Chiefs, who won for the first time in nine road games this season, are 1-1 on their Central Division trek. . . . The Chiefs had a 22-15 edge in shots. . . . Spokane captain Darren Kramer scored his 10th goal of the season in his 22nd game. he had seven in 68 games last season. . . . Chiefs D Brenden Kichton, one of the WHL’s more under-appreciated players, had a goal and two assists. He has 24 points in 23 games. . . . The Rebels have lost seven in a row. . . . Red Deer had four forwards and two defencemen out with injury or suspension. The Rebels dressed F Conner Bleackley of the midget AAA UFA Bisons. He was their first pick in the 2011 bantam draft. F Scott Feser, an eighth-round pick in 2010, played his second straight game. He plays for the midget AAA Red Deer Optimist Rebels. . . . All told, the Rebels were without D Alex Petrovic, D Aaron Borejko, F Turner Elson, F Josh Cowen, F Daulton Siwak and F Adam Kambeitz. . . . The Rebels open a four-game road trip in Brandon on Friday. . . .

In Kelowna, F Brett Bulmer scored two goals to help the Rockets dump the Tri-City Americans, 6-2. . . . Bulmer has eight goals. . . . The Rockets are 6-3-1 in their last 10 outings. . . . The Americans had won four in a row and finished November with an 8-2-0 record for the month. . . .

In Victoria, F Chase Schaber’s fourth goal in two games, at 2:30 of overtime, gave the Kamloops Blazers a 6-5 victory over the Royals. . . . Schaber’s goal came with Victoria forward Jesse Pauls in the penalty box for slashing. . . . Schaber had scored three times Tuesday night as the Blazers beat the Royals 4-3 in Victoria. . . . Kamloops has now beaten the Royals four straight times this season, including 4-1 in Kamloops on Friday night. . . . The teams meet for the fourth time in nine nights on Saturday in Kamloops. . . . The Blazers (18-7-1) are 6-1-1 in their last eight games and have won four in a row. They boast the WHL’s best road record (9-2-1) and are 10-2 inside the B.C. Division, which they now lead by a point over the Vancouver Giants. Kamloops also is within a point of the Western Conference-leading Tri-City Americans. . . . The Royals (11-15-2) now have lost six in a row and nine of 10.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Justin Weller, Red Deer
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TWEET OF THE NIGHT:
From Edmonton Oil Kings F Tyler Maxwell, who tweets as KingMaxymus23: “I'm proud to be part of a generation that was once mesmerized by Lite-Brites but now complains if we can't stream HD video from our phones.”
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gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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