Wheat Kings skate without Patrick . . . Estephan expected back for Game 3 . . . Two BCHL series go 7

The defending-champion Brandon Wheat Kings are down 2-0 and on the road again as the WHL playoffs resume Tuesday after taking Monday off. . . . The Wheat Kings lost Games 1 and 2 to the Tigers in Medicine Hat on the weekend, and now are in Dauphin, Man., for two games in the hopes of prolonging things. . . . The Wheat Kings haven’t had F Nolan Patrick in their lineup yet this series after he was injured in the second-last game of the regular season. He didn’t skate on Monday in Dauphin, so isn’t likely to play in Game 3. . . . Brandon G Logan Thompson, who left Saturday’s second game after a goal-mouth collision, was on the ice yesterday. . . . The Tigers, meanwhile, skated in Dauphin yesterday and they did so without D Brad Forrest, who was scratched from Game 2 as D Ty Schultz returned from a broken leg. Schultz was back in the Tigers’ lineup earlier than expected after Forrest suffered an undisclosed injury.

——

The Regina Pats won the first two games of their first-round series with visiting Calgary on the weekend, outscoring the Hitmen 10-3 in the process. However, John Paddock, the Pats’ general manager and head coach, says there is lots of room for improvement. . . . “We’re glad we’re up 2-0, that’s for sure,” Paddock told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post on Monday. “They left us a lot of room for some teaching clips. It starts with intelligence and focus, (including) some of the penalties we took. We’re not playing near the kind of hockey you have to play.” . . . The Pats take a 10-game winning streak into Game 3 in Calgary tonight (Tuesday).

——

The Lethbridge Hurricanes expect to have F Giorgio Estephan back in the lineup on Wednesday when they resume their series with the Red Deer Rebels. The teams split the first two games in Lethbridge. . . . Estephan left in the second period of Sunday’s Game 2, a 5-2 Hurricanes’ victory, after taking a high-stick to the face from Red Deer F Michael Spacek. . . . “He’s fine,” Lethbridge head coach Brent Kisio told Dale Woodard of the Lethbridge Herald. “He’s good to go.” . . . Of course, this being the playoffs, nothing will be official until the lineup sheet for Game 3 is posted.

——

F Duncan Campbell, who began this season with the Brandon Wheat Kings, had a goal and an assist on Monday as his Penticton Vees beat the visiting Merritt Centennials, 6-2, in Game 7 of a BCHL semi-final series. The game drew 3,774 fans to the South Okanagan Events Centre. The Vees he'd led the series 3-1 before the Centennials won two straight games to force Game 7. . . . The Vees and Vernon Vipers will clash in the next round. . . . Meanwhile, at the Q Centre in Victoria, F Keyvan Mokhtari scored 57 seconds into the second OT to give the Grizzlies a 2-1 victory over the Powell River Kings in another Game 7. This one drew 1,705 fans. . . . Victoria advances to meet the Chilliwack Chiefs in the second semi-final.

——

Three coaches with WHL experience have been chosen by BC Hockey to lead the team that will compete at the 2017 U-16 Western Canada Challenge Cup in Calgary and the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer. . . . Steve O’Rourke, an assistant coach with the Prince George Cougars, has been named head coach. He spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Red Deer Rebels before joining the Cougars. . . . Jason Becker and Brian Pellerin will serve as O’Rourke’s assistants. . . . Becker, a former WHL player, is an assistant with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. He spent five seasons as an assistant coach with Prince George and two as a head coach at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton. . . . Pellerin, also a former WHL player, is associate coach with the Tri-City Americans. He also has coaching experience in the AHL, the Central league and a sports school. . . . Kevin Pedersen, an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, will be the video coach, with Kim Penner (Merritt Centennials) as trainer and Craig Carter (major midget Okanagan Rockets) as equipment manager.

——

If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.

If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

If interested, you also are able to follow me on Twitter at @gdrinnan.

———

MONDAY GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.

——

TUESDAY GAMES (all times local):

Moose Jaw at Swift Current, 7 p.m. (Series tied, 1-1)

Medicine Hat vs. Brandon, at Dauphin, Man., 7:30 p.m. (Medicine Hat leads, 2-0)

Regina at Calgary, 7 p.m. (Regina leads, 2-0)

Kelowna at Kamloops, 7 p.m. (Kelowna leads, 2-0)

Everett at Victoria, 7:05 p.m. (Series tied, 1-1)

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.

A little of this and some of that . . .
1. Mike Johnston, the suspended GM/head coach of  the Portland Winterhawks, was said to be in Credit Union Centre on Monday, the first time he had watched his club play in person since an 8-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash., on Nov. 24. I haven’t been able to find out if he was using the Bobby Valentine disguise, though. (Can’t remember? Go ahead and Google ‘Bobby Valentine disguise.’)

2. Are the Winterhawks back? They beat the London Knights 6-3 last night, after a 7-4 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday. . . . They got two goals from Ty Rattie, superior goaltending from Mac Carruth, and another terrific night in the faceoff circle from Taylor Peters. . . . Oh, and D Seth Jones was plus-4, so perhaps he’s at least back on a par with Halifax F Nathan MacKinnon.

3. You have to wonder how many coaches look at Rattie and his long stick and are tempted to get him to shorten it. A stick that length for a highly skilled talent goes against the traditional grain of hockey, but Rattie is a magician with it. So perhaps he should stick with it!

4. Les Lazaruk, the veteran radio voice of the Saskatoon Blades, is calling every Memorial Cup game on 92.9 The Bull. But you’ve got to wonder if there is a Plan B should his voice disappear. Hello, Roger . . . Roger Millions! . . . No. What about Kevin Waugh?

5. The attendance for Portland-London on Monday night was 7,575. And there was more social media abuse piled on the City of Saskatoon and the Blades. . . . Look for more of the same tonight as the London Knights and Halifax Mooseheads clash.

6. A note from a Portland fan: “Huge ‘props and kudos’ for the Saskatoon radio station that is covering the tourney — 90 minute pre-game show featuring Dave Hunchak and Peter Loubardias . . . every game broadcast . . . extended post-game show . . . The Bull has done a great job covering this tourney.”

7. I’m sorry, but looking at all the permutations and trying to figure out what might happen over the rest of the week gives me a headache. Let’s just allow things to play out. It’s more fun that way.

8. With the Everett Silvertips, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Prince Albert Raiders each in need of a head coach, I’m not hearing too many rumours. . . . But I have heard that Brian Pellerin may be the Raiders’ next head coach. A native of Hinton, Alta., he played four seasons (1987-91) with the Raiders and has WHL coaching experience (2004-08) as an assistant in Portland. These days, he is the head coach of the prep team at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton.

9. When Patrick Roy steps behind the Colorado Avalanche bench for the first time as head coach, will he still have his Stanley Cup rings in his ears?

10. In my business, you grow inured to a lot of the things that happen in our world. I spend a lot of evenings at my desk, periodically checking photos that are sent our way from around the world. Whenever tragedy strikes, the photos are right there; a lot of them aren’t pretty. Having been doing this as long as I have, the vast majority don’t have an impact on me. But that wasn’t the case on Monday when the pictures began to come in from the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., a suburb of Oklahoma City. The school had found itself in the way of a tornado that hit during the afternoon. . . . As you make your way around your world today, please keep the folks and families from that area of our world in your thoughts.
———
Jim Donlevy, who is leaving his role as the head of the WHL’s education program in June, has been named the 2013 recipient of the WHL Governors Award. . . . He was given the award during a reception in Saskatoon on Sunday. . . . According to a news release, the award “is presented annually to an individual, who through their outstanding achievements and service to the league, has contributed to the growth and development of the WHL.” . . . Donlevy has headed up the education program since 1992. . . . He is leaving his position as the director of education services at the end of June.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Adrian Dater of the Denver Post reports that “Patrick Roy will be the next coach of the Avalanche, according to Roy’s brother, Stephane.” . . . That story is right here.
———


From Portland freelancer Scott Sepich (@SSepich), who is covering the Memorial Cup for The Oregonian: “Dominic Turgeon made it through a shift without Dale Hunter jumping off the bench to blast him into the boards.”


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.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) was released by Jokerit Helsinki (Finland, SM-Liiga) at the end of his tryout contract. He had one
goal in three exhibition games for Jokerit this month. . . .
F Shay (Red Deer, 2000-04) and D Logan (Tri-City, 2001-06)
Stephenson each signed one-year contracts with Vålerenga Oslo (Norway, GET-Ligaen). Logan had two goals and three assists in 43 games for the Adirondack Phantoms (AHL) last season, while older brother Shay didn’t play. Two seasons ago, Shay had six goals and 13 assists in 36 games with the Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL) and four goals and two assists in seven games with Vålerenga. . . .
F Josh Bonar (Kamloops, Vancouver, Regina, 2000-03) signed a one-year contract extension with Miskolci Jegesmedve JSE (Hungary, Interliga). He had 29 goals and 30 assists in 31 games for Miskolc during MOL Liga play last season, leading the league in goals and scoring. In Hungarian league play (OB I. Bajnoksag), Bonar had 10 goals and 10 assists in 14 games. The MOL Liga, comprising teams from Hungary and Romania, was renamed Interliga this summer.
———
JUST NOTES: The Regina Pats and Evraz Place announced Tuesday that they have agreed on a five-year lease for the Brandt Centre. If you have followed this story, you know that this is like The Rock and Stone Cold reaching a truce back in the day. . . . "We are pleased that we are able to announce a longer term lease agreement with Evraz Place. The process has been long and at times frustrating for both parties but with the help of our legal counsel Neil Tulloch and the co-operation of Neil Donnelly from Evraz we were able to find some common ground," Pats president Brent Parker said in a news release. . . . The previous deal expired on May 31. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more right here. . . .
The staff at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton includes some names that will be familiar to WHL fans. Blake Wesley, a former Portland Winterhawks defenceman is the director of hockey operations. . . . Robert Dirk, a former Regina Pats defenceman, is the GM and head coach of the junior B team, the Penticton Lakers. . . . Brian Pellerin, who played with the Prince Albert Raiders and has worked as an assistant coach with Portland, is the prep team head coach. . . . Tim Hunter, who played in the WHL with the Seattle Breakers, is the head coach of the varsity Red team. . . . Mike Needham, who was a sniper with the Kamloops Blazers and is on their staff as skills coach, is head coach of the OHA’s bantam Tier 1 team. . . . Former Blazers head coach Barry Smith is head coach of the bantam Tier 2 team. . . .
———
The Saskatoon Blades will travel to Prince Albert for an exhibition game against the Raiders tonight. Drew Wilson has all the action on CKBI and you can find it on the Internet.
———
A tip of the hat to general manager/head coach Jesse Wallin and the Red Deer Rebels.
D Matt Dumba has yet to skate in the Rebels’ training camp, which is exactly what happened a year ago with F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
“Like Ryan, Mathew played hockey all of August,” Wallin told Greg Meachem, the Red Deer Advocate’s sports editor. “After returning from overseas (with the Canadian national under-18 team), he flew to Toronto (for an NHL developmental/orientation camp). We’ll give him a week off to catch his breath and get him skating Friday.”
With the amount of time young players are spending in the gym and on skates during the summer months, more teams should be providing some of these players with more time off.
———
Curtis Lazar, the second overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft, is working to make a name for himself with the Edmonton Oil Kings. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal has more right here on the player they call The Czar.
———
For today's good read, we send you to the Sporting News, where Craig Custance has written an entertaining read that carries the headline: NHL watches as colleges wage war with Canadian junior hockey. . . . This is as entertaining a look at the 'war' as I have read. It's right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter