SATURDAY’S GAMES:
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F Calder Brooks of the Spokane Chiefs has joined the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Islanders. Brooks, who finished up his junior eligibility this season, had 58 points, including 23 goals, in 52 games, 50 of them with Spokane. The Chiefs acquired him from the Prince Albert Raiders early in the season. He also played two-plus seasons with the Calgary Hitmen.
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F Brett Roulston, who played two seasons (2012-14) with the Prince George Cougars, scored 20 seconds into overtime as the Nanaimo Clippers beat the host Penticton Vees 2-1 last night. . . . The Clippers lead the BCHL’s best-of-seven final, 2-0. . . . Nanaimo had won 5-2 in Penticton on Friday. . . . Roulston, 20, is from Whitehorse. . . . The series resumes in Nanaimo with games scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.
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G Eric Comrie of the Tri-City Americans earned his first pro victory last night as the host St. John’s IceCaps beat the Hershey Bears, 5-1. Comrie stopped 21 shots. Former Spokane Chiefs D Brenden Kichton had two assists, while former Kamloops Blazers F JC Lipon scored his fifth goal of the season. . . . D Shea Theodore of the Seattle Thunderbirds had two assists as the visiting Norfolk Admirals beat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3-2 in OT. Theodore’s first assist was primary and on the PP; his second assist was on the winner.
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On Friday night, F Brett Stovin scored three times to lead the ECHL’s Missouri Mavericks to a 4-1 victory over the host Brampton Be ast. Stovin, who played out his junior eligibility with the Saskatoon Blades this season, scored one in the first period and twice in the third, with the last one into an empty net. Stovin finished the regular season with six points, including five goals, in eight games with the Mavericks.
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THE COACHING GAME:
As mentioned here yesterday, the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings named Chad van Diemen as their new head coach. . . . Here’s more from Brian Wiebe’s blog Brian’s Banter: “With the departure of van Diemen, Powell River added Brock Sawyer to its team as a full-time assistant coach. Sawyer, who played for the Kings from 2006-08, was a part-time assistant to head coach Kent Lewis in 2014-15 following a two-year pro career in the Southern Professional Hockey League and a four-year NCAA Div. III career at Elmira College.” . . . If you want BCHL news, check out Brian’s Banter. There’s a link over there on the right.———
One happy Dane here tonight for the Portland Winterhawks #bjorkstrand pic.twitter.com/ymoGbxClzx
— Chris Mast (@MastImages) April 12, 2015
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Saturday’s final regular-season game, a 3-2 loss to the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate reports that Musil will miss a first-round series against the Medicine Hat Tigers. That series opens Saturday in Medicine Hat. “It’s a significant injury and he’ll be week to week with it,” Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ general manager and head coach, told Meachem. . . . The Rebels have added D Ryan Pouliot, 16, from the major midget Vancouver-North West Giants, and G Trevor Martin, 18, who finished the season with the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. . . . Pouliot was an 11th-round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2013 bantam draft. Martin was acquired earlier this season from the Blades.
Despite not making the playoffs, the Moose Jaw Warriors’ braintrust feels the team made considerable progress this season. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has more on that story 
The Saskatoon Blades missed the playoffs for a second straight season, but management is convinced that the franchise is on the right track to get back to responsibility. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix takes a look 
The Prince Albert Raiders are playing the “what if . . .” game now that the season is over and they didn’t make the playoffs. In Prince Albert, that games goes like this: “What if Leon Draisaitl had returned for a third season?” . . . Jeff D’Andrea of paNOW has more 
Colorado Avalanche. Colorado selected Geertsen, 19, in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2013 entry draft. Geertsen, from Rocky Rapids, Alta., had 38 points, 13 of them goals, in 69 games this season. . . . He began his career with the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . In 245 regular-season games, he has 78 points, including 19 goals.
will be finishing this season in the professional ranks. . . . Martin is to report to the Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Sabres’ AHL affiliate. Buffalo selected Martin in the third-round of the 2014 NHL draft. Martin, who has yet to sign with the Sabres, missed the Blades’ last two games with a back injury, so it’s not certain that he will play for the Americans. . . . After being acquired from the Swift Current Broncos, Martin had 22 points, five of them goals, in 30 games with Saskatoon. . . . Stovin is expected to join the ECHL’s Missouri Mavericks, whose head coach is former Blades D Richard Matvichuk. This season, Stovin, 20, had 50 points, including 29 goals, in 72 games. He will finish this season with the Mavericks, then return home and decide whether to chase a pro career or go to school. . . . Nugent-Bowman’s story is 
selections in the 2015 bantam draft will be decided. The six teams that didn’t make the playoffs take part in the draft lottery — Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Vancouver, Kamloops, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw. . . . Keep in mind that Spokane holds Saskatoon’s first-round selection from a January 2013 trade in which the Blades acquired F Collin Valcourt. . . . Also remember that Moose Jaw holds Kamloops’ first-round pick from a January 2013 deal in which the Blazers got D Joel Edmundson. . . . The most a team is able to move up in the draft lottery is two spots. . . . The order of the second round and all subsequent rounds will be the inverse order of the regular-season standings. . . . The bantam draft is scheduled for May 7 in Calgary.
The Kootenay Ice has signed a new three-year broadcasting deal with The Drive 102.9 FM. The contract runs through 2017-18. . . . It covers all 72 regular-season games and all playoff games, as it has for each of the previous 15 seasons. . . . Jeff Hollick, the play-by-play voice since 1999-2000, will remain in place.
The QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats have signed head coach Darren Rumble to a two-year contract that runs through 2016-17. Rumble was working on a two-year deal that was to expire after this season. The club had an option on a third season. . . . The Wildcats are 79-51-0-6 in two seasons under Rumble. They open a first-round playoff series at home to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Thursday.
In Edmonton, F Brett Pollock scored two goals and added two assists as the Oil Kings beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 5-3. . . . Pollock was in on the game’s first three goals, drawing an assist on F Edgar Kulda’s 10th goal at 4:54 of the first period and then scoring twice, at 7:59 and 12:28 of the first. . . . Pollock has 29 goals. . . . The Oil Kings led 3-1 and 5-2 at the intermissions. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer scored his 21st goal and added two assists. . . . F Reid Gardiner and F Simon Stransky each had a goal and an assist for the Raiders. Gardiner has 29 goals; Stransky has 11. . . . Each team was 0-for-4 on the PP. . . . The Oil Kings (29-28-6) have won two in a row. . . . The Raiders (24-35-3) have lost three straight. . . . 
In Regina, the Pats dropped the Moose Jaw Warriors 6-2 in a game that featured seven goals in the third period. . . . Regina F Pavel Padakin scored the game’s first goal, on a penalty shot, at 16:29 of the first period. . . . Warriors F Brett Howden tied the game with his 16th goal at 1:29 of the third. . . . Regina F Rykr Cole restored the one-goal lead at 2:15. He’s got eight goals. . . . Moose Jaw F Torrin White scored his 12th goal at 4:01. . . . After that, it was all Regina, with F Braden Christoffer getting his 21st at 9:55 and Padakin opening up a two-goal lead with No. 23 at 13:35. . . . F Jesse Gabrielle iced it with his 21st, on a PP, at 16:39 and F Adam Brooks added is 26th, shorthanded, into an empty net. . . . The Warriors scratched three of their top six forwards -- Axel Blomqvist, Tanner Eberle and Jaimen Yakubowski, as well as D Tyler Brown. . . . They listed D Connor Clouston and F Jayden Halbgewachs as their fourth line. . . . The Pats (34-20-9) had been 0-1-2 in their last three. . . . The Warriors (26-32-5) had won their previous two games. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story 
In Brandon, G Jordan Papirny, in his 100th WHL regular-season appearance, stopped 32 shots to help the Wheat Kings to a 5-0 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Papirny has six career shutouts, five of them this season. . . . F Rihards Bukarts’ 26th goal, at 15:58 of the second period, stood up as the winner. Bukarts scored twice. . . . D Eric Roy, F John Quenneville and F Tim McGauley each had two assists. . . . McGauley’s point streak now is at 17 games. He has 36 points, including 24 assists, during that stretch. . . . D Ivan Provorov returned to Brandon’s lineup after a six-game injury-related absence. He scored his 13th goal and also had an assist. . . . The game marked the last time, barring a playoff meeting, that the three Quenneville brothers will play in the same WHL game. John, 18, and Peter, 20, who had one assist, play for the Wheaties; David, 16, is a defenceman with the Tigers. . . . G Logan Thompson returned from a case of pink eye to back up Papirny. G Alex Moodie remains out with a suspected concussion. . . . The Wheat Kings (45-10-6), who won the season series 4-0-0, have won two in a row. . . . The Tigers (37-21-3) have lost three in a row. . . . 
In Portland, D Jake Bean scored at 1:36 of OT as the Calgary Hitmen beat the Winterhawks, 5-4. . . . Bean’s sixth goal won it after the Winterhawks had a chance to win it on a late PP. . . . (There was post-game chatter that Calgary F Elliott Peterson may have re-directed Bean’s point shot). . . . The Hitmen trailed 2-0 at 15:51 of the first period and 4-1 early in the second. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen scored his 18th goal at 15:08 of the second and D Ben Thomas got his sixth at 17:53. . . . Calgary F Kenton Helgesen forced OT with his 19th goal, shorthanded, at 12:17 of the third period. . . . F Chase Lang had two assists for Calgary, including the only one on the winner. . . . Helgesen also had an assist, as did Virtanen. . . . F Adam Tambellini scored his 42nd goal for Calgary. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and two assists. He now is tied for the WHL goal-scoring lead, with 46. He also has at least a goal in 10 straight games, one shy of the Portland franchise record. The WHL record (18) was set by F Cliff Ronning of the New Westminster Bruins in 1984-85. . . . Portland D Anton Cederholm and F Nic Petan each had two assists, while F Chase De Leo got his 30th goal. . . . The game featured two goaltenders who were traded for each other in January — Evan Johnson was making just his second appearance for Portland; Brendan Burke made his 11th appearance with Calgary. . . . On this night, Burke left in the second period after giving up four goals on 22 shots. Mack Shields came on to stop all 22 shots he faced. . . . Johnson stopped 33 shots. . . . Portland was 2-for-6 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-4. . . . Calgary (38-18-5) is 4-0-0 on an 11-game road swing. The Hitmen have won six in a row and 15 of 16. . . . Portland (36-20-5) is 5-0-2 in its last seven. . . . 
In Kelowna, the Rockets erased a 2-0 first-period deficit and beat the Victoria Royals, 4-2. . . . F Austin Carroll, with his 35th, and F Greg Chase, with No. 18, gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. . . . D Madison Bowey got the Rockets on the board with his 15th at 5:57 of the second and F Chase Braid tied it with his 11th, via the PP, at 15:07. . . . F Leon Draisaitl gave Kelowna its first lead, with his 12th, at 13:22 of the third. . . . Rockets F Tyson Baillie iced it with his 35th goal, shorthanded, at 15:57. . . . F Cole Linaker had two assists for the Rockets. . . . Kelowna was 1-for-3 on the PP; Victoria was 0-for-7. . . . F Rourke Chartier, who is tied for the WHL’s goal-scoring lead, was among Kelowna’s scratches. . . . Kelowna (47-10-4) had split two games in Victoria last weekend. . . . The Royals are 33-24-4. . . . 
In Spokane, F Calder Brooks scored twice and added an assist to lead the Chiefs to a 3-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . F Nikita Scherbak gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 16:55 of the second period. He’s got 25 goals. . . . Brooks tied it with 17.6 seconds left in the period and then gave the Chiefs the lead at 7:09 of the third, on a PP. He’s got 18 goals. . . . Spokane F Adam Helewka iced it with his 32nd, an empty-netter, at 19:58. . . . Spokane G Garret Hughson stopped 23 shots, seven fewer than Everett’s Austin Lotz. . . . The Chiefs (28-27-4) snapped a three-game losing skid. . . . The Silvertips slipped to 37-18-7.
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