Wheaties, Pats, Rockets one win away . . . Sudden-Death Tambellini strikes again

Detroit Red Wings forward Drew Miller is slashed across the eye with a hockey skate. https://t.co/trKVe6jgLb pic.twitter.com/fmbirHXCk8
— [ Detroit News ] (@goinsidedetroit) April 1, 2015

D Patrick Baum (Swift Current, 1997-98) signed a one-year contract with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany, DEL2). This season, with the Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, DEL2), he had 17 points, including five goals, in 49 games. He is a dual Canadian-German citizen.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:

In Edmonton, the Brandon Wheat Kings turned in a workmanlike effort as they beat the Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . Brandon leads the series 3-1 and gets its first chance to end it tonight in Edmonton. The game will be televised by Sportsnet on its 360 channel. . . . After a scoreless first period, the Wheat Kings took a 2-0 second-period lead when F Tyler Coulter scored at 8:24 and F Rihards Bukarts counted at 13:45, on a PP. . . . The Oil Kings got a big goal when F Andrew Koep scored at 19:03 of the second. . . . Brandon F Nolan Patrick countered that with his first playoff point just 36 seconds into the third. . . . Edmonton F Brandon Baddock pulled his guys close at 19:21. . . . F Jayce Hawrulyk had two assists for the Wheaties. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 30 shots, four fewer than Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry. . . . Brandon was 1-for-3 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-for-3. . . . F Mads Eller, who went hard into an open gate at the Edmonton bench in Game 3, was scratched by the Oil Kings. That allowed F Garan Magnes to get into the lineup. . . . The Wheat Kings were without F Morgan Klimchuk, who suffered an undisclosed injury in Game 3. D Mark Matsuba went back into the lineup to fill that spot. . . . F Duncan Campbell moved into Klimchuk’s spot alongside Patrick and Peter Quenneville. . . . Edmonton F Blake Orban took a shot to the face off the stick of Brandon D Ivan Provorov early in the third period and didn’t return. . . . Attendance was 5,357. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story right here.

In Swift Current, F Austin Wagner scored in OT to give the Regina Pats a 5-4 victory over the Broncos. . . . Wagner’s winner, his first goal of the series, came at 4:25 of extra time. . . . The Pats hold a 3-0 lead in the series with Game 4 in Swift Current tonight. The game will be televised by Shaw. . . . The Broncos held 3-2 and 4-3 leads but were’t able to finish it with the lead. . . . F Colby Cave gave the Broncos a 4-3 lead with his second goal of the game 25 seconds into the third period. . . . Regina D Colby Williams tied it at 6:46. . . . Williams, F Adam Brooks and F Braden Christoffer each had a goal and an assist for Regina. . . . D Max Lajoie had a goal and two assists for the Broncos, with F Carter Rigby getting three assists, and F Coda Gordon getting one of each. . . . Broncos G Landon Bow stopped 43 shots, 19 more than Regina’s Daniel Wapple. . . . The Broncos were 1-for-3 on the PP; the Pats didn’t get even one opportunity. . . . Broncos F Jake DeBrusk took a hit from D James Hilsendager in the third period. DeBrusk, who needed help getting off the ice, was on the bench in OT but didn’t get on the ice. . . . The Broncos had veteran D Dillon Heatherington in the lineup and he took the warmup, but an illness apparently kept him from playing. . . . Attendance was 2,666.

In Cranbrook, F Adam Tambellini scored his second OT goal in as many games as the Calgary Hitmen beat the Kootenay Ice, 8-7. . . . Tambellini scored his third goal of the game at 1:12 of extra time. . . . On Sunday in Calgary, Tambellini scored at 16:36 of OT to give the Hitmen a 3-2 victory. . . . The Hitmen take a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 tonight in Cranbrook. . . . Last night, Calgary led 3-2 after one period and the teams were 5-5 going to the third. . . . Ice F Matt Alfaro put the home boys ahead at 2:12 of the third. . . . The Hitmen took the lead when Tambellini scored his second of the game at 8:50, via the PP, and F Taylor Sanheim scored at 13:19. . . . Ice D Rinat Valiev forced OT when he scored his second goal of the game at 19:56. . . . Calgary D Travis Sanheim, who originally was credited with the winner, also had four assists. . . . F Chase Lang had two goals for Calgary, while F Kenton Helgesen had two assists. . . . Ice F Tim Bozon tied a franchise record for most points in one playoff game, with six. He had two goals and four assists. That tied the record set by F Jaedon Descheneau when he had a goal and five assists against Calgary on March 24, 2014. . . . F Sam Reinhart had two goals and an assist for Kootenay, with F Luke Philp drawing two assists. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 30 shots. . . . Calgary opened with G Mack Shields, but he left at 14:42 of the second period, having allowed four goals on 21 shots. Calgary held a 5-4 lead at the time. . . . G Brendan Burke came on to turn aside eight of 11 shots. . . . Calgary was 2-for-5 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-for-2. . . . Attendance was 2,126. . . . A note from Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun: “What’s up, Cranbrook? Western Financial Place was half empty (or is it half full?) for Game 3 on Tuesday night. If you’re not going to come out to watch a talent like future NHLer Sam Reinhart and Co., the writing is probably on the wall.”

In Kent, Wash., D Jerret Smith scored two goals and added an assist to help the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 5-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Thunderbirds lead the series 2-1 and will play host to Game 4 on Thursday. . . . Last night, Seattle scored the game’s first two goals and Portland never recovered. . . . F Scott Eansor got the home boys rolling at 3:28 of the first period and F Roberts Lipsbergs made it 2-0 at 8:48. . . . F Dominic Turgeon got the Winterhawks on the board at 1:37 of the second. . . . Seattle got that back at 4:12 when F Alexander True scored a PP goal at 4:12. . . . Smith upped the lead to 4-1 at 4:06 of the third and later added an empty-netter. . . . F Ryan Gropp and F Donovan Neuls each had two assists for the Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 35 shots, 11 more than Portland’s Adin Hill. . . . Seattle was 1-for-4 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-4. . . . There were 19 NHL scouts in attendance at this one. Well, for at least the first two periods. . . . Attendance was 6,119.

In Kennewick, Wash., the Kelowna Rockets closed to within one victory of a sweep as they beat the Tri-City Americans, 5-3. . . . Game 4 is scheduled for tonight in Kennewick. . . . The Rockets, who didn’t give up a goal in either of the first two games, never trailed in this one. . . . D Riley Stadel, at 15:37 of the first period, and F Tomas Soustal, at 8:49 of the second, gave Kelowna a 2-0 lead. . . . F Beau McCue scored Tri-City’s first goal of the series on a PP at 14:14 of the second. . . . The Rockets got that one back 1:21 later when F Cole Linaker scored on a PP. . . . F Jordan Topping got the Americans back to within one at 3:57 of the third, but the Rockets put it away on goals by F Tyson Baillie, at 9:31, on a PP, and F Chance Braid, at 16:02. . . . McCue later added his second goal. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 19 shots. Tri-City’s Eric Comrie turned aside 20. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-4 on the PP; Tri-City was 1-for-9. . . . The Rockets had D Mitch Wheaton back in the lineup. An undisclosed injury limited him to four games this season, the last on Oct. 3. . . . F Tyrell Goulbourne (undisclosed injury) was among Kelowna’s scratches, as were D Josh Morrissey and F Justin Kirkland. . . . D Riley Hillis and D Tyler Morrison were among the Americans’ scratches. . . . Tri-City F Justin Gutierrez is questionable for tonight. He left 16 minutes into the first period after taking what Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald called “a hit to the head.” . . . Attendance was 3,257.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings played Game 4 of their series with the Edmonton Oil Kings last night in the Alberta capital. However, subscribers to the Brandon Sun won’t find a game story in today’s newspaper. With the decision to change the starting time to 8 p.m. — that’s 9 p.m. in Brandon — in order to allow Sportsnet to televise the game, Sun sports editor Rob Henderson had no chance of getting a game story in by the newspaper’s 11:05 p.m. deadline. As a result, Henderson filed a story that was posted on the Sun’s website. . . . The exercise will be repeated again tonight as Sportsnet televises Game 5, as well.
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F Grant Mismash of Edina, Minn., has said he will attend the U of North Dakota and play hockey there. Mismash, who turned 16 on Feb. 19, is at Shattuck St. Mary’s, the prep school in Faribault, Minn. This season, he had 31 goals and 31 assists in 52 games. . . . The Red Deer Rebels selected him in the fifth round of the 2014 bantam draft.
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The Prince George Cougars have signed F Brogan O’Brien, who has played the last two seasons with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings. This season, he had 29 points, including 12 goals, in 57 games. . . . O’Brien, who will turn 18 on Aug.13, is from Prince George. . . . The Cougars acquired his right in a January trade in which F Chance Braid joined the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Rockets selected him in the 10th round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . . O’Brien practised with the Cougars on Tuesday.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Don Schulz is the new head coach of the major midget Thompson Blazers, who play out of the Kamloops area. Schulz spent four seasons as head coach of the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack of the B.C. Intercollegiate League. The WolfPack program collapsed prior to this season. . . . With the Blazers, Schulz will replace Mark Chase. . . . The Blazers were 2-35-3 this season.
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Love exploring all @TheWHL arenas. Of all the banners I've had privilege of seeing, here's the most important one! 😥 pic.twitter.com/TYANuB932D
— Dan Russell (@DanRussellST) March 31, 2015

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Kamloops, Lethbridge, Vancouver shuffle forwards . . . Hitmen, Oil Kings make deal . . . Rockets add Braid

The WHL trade deadline arrives today at noon MT. That’s 11 a.m. Pacific and 1 p.m. Central.
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If you follow the WHL, make sure you check out Small Thoughts At Large, the blog where Alan Caldwell tracks all the WHL bantam draft picks.
He has created a spreadsheet for each season and tracks the transfer of picks via trade, also noting what was involved in each transaction.
It’s a tough job because not all of these trades are cut and dried, but Caldwell does a terrific job of sorting through it all.
His blog is right here and the link to the spreadsheets is on the right-hand side.
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Over the last while, Todd Harkins, the first-year general manager of the Prince George Cougars, has experienced the downside of the WHL’s trade deadline and he wishes that some people would take a look at how they operate.
"What people don’t realize in social media is these are kids,” he told Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets, earlier in the week. “They are not pros. They play like pros and I think that is the misunderstanding. They love the game at this age and they just want to play and they are doing their best. We have to be careful how we treat them in those social media rings as fans.”
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THE NUMBERS:
(Since Dec. 10)
Trades: 30.
Players: 52.
Draft picks: 38.
Conditional draft picks: 6.
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FRIDAY’S TRADES:

Moments after dropping a 2-1 shootout decision to the visiting Kelowna Rockets, the Kamloops Blazers announced two trades, both involving 20-year-old forwards. . . . The Blazers sent Mike Winther to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for an eighth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft and acquired F Joel Hamilton from the Vancouver Giants for a sixth-round pick in 2017. . . . Both players were healthy scratches on Friday night. . . . Winther, from Trochu, Alta., has 16 points, including six goals, in 40 games with Kamloops. He also has played with the Prince Albert Raiders and Calgary Hitmen. In 271 regular-season games, he has 158 points, including 76 goals. However, he hasn’t scored since Nov. 19 and has been a healthy scratch for two straight games. The Blazers had acquired him from Calgary for a 2015 fourth-round draft pick and a seventh-rounder in 2017. Taken 16th overall by Prince Albert in the 2009 bantam draft, he was a second-round pick of the Dallas Stars in the 2012 NHL draft, but was never signed. . . . Hamilton, from Cochrane, Alta., has 27 points, 10 of them goals, in 40 games with the Giants this season. He played two seasons with the Red Deer Rebels, before moving to the Giants, where he played last season for Don Hay, now the head coach in Kamloops. In 224 career games, he has 130 points, 37 of them goals. Vancouver gave up a third-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft to get Hamilton from Red Deer. Hamilton was a fourth-round pick by Red Deer in the 2009 bantam draft.
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The acquisition of F Mike Winther left Lethbridge with four 20-year-olds, a situation that was resolved when the Hurricanes dealt F Zane Jones to the Vancouver Giants for the rights to F Johnny Wesley, 17, who is with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles. . . . Jones, from Olds, Alta., has also played with the Everett Silvertips, Calgary Hitmen, Victoria Royals and Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Bruins selected him in the fifth round of the 2009 bantam draft. . . . This season, he has 30 points, including 18 goals, in 36 games with Lethbridge. In 229 regular-season games, he has 134 points, including 66 goals. . . . Wesley, from White Rock, B.C., has 21 points, five of them goals, in 32 games with the Eagles. He scored one goal in his lone game with the Giants this season.
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The Kelowna Rockets added a third 20-year-old to their roster with the acquisition of F Chance Braid from the Prince George Cougars. In exchange, the Rockets gave up F Brogan O’Brien, 17, who is from Prince George. . . . The Cougars had gotten Braid from the Prince Albert Raiders over the summer. He had 13 points, including eight goals, in 35 games with the Cougars. A power forward-type, he’ll add some sandpaper to the Rockets’ roster. . . . O’Brien was a 10th-round pick by the Rockets in the 2010 bantam draft. He is playing with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings and had 15 points, including six goals, in 48 games going into weekend games.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings acquired D Marshall Donald, 19, from the Calgary Hitmen for a 2015 fourth-round draft pick. . . . Donald, from Edmonton, has eight points in 32 games in his first season with the Hitmen. He was a third-round pick by Calgary in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Donald played the last three seasons with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders. Prior to that, he was with the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club program. . . . Donald is out with an undisclosed injury but is expected to join the Oil Kings early next week.
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TRADE DEADLINE DEALS:

(All draft picks in bantam draft unless otherwise noted)
Dec. 10 . . .
To Kelowna: D Josh Morrissey (95), F Gage Quinney (95).
To Prince Albert: D Jesse Lees (95), F Austin Glover (96), 2016 second-round pick, 2017 third-round pick.
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Dec. 12 . . .
To Red Deer: D Nelson Nogier (96), F Austin Adamson (96).
To Saskatoon: F Mason McCarty (97), 2015 second-round pick, 2016 first-round pick.
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Dec. 16 . . .
To Calgary: G Thatcher Demko, 19, who is at Boston College.
To Spokane: Conditional draft picks. Guy Flaming of The Pipeline Show tweeted that he had it as a second-rounder in 2015 and a second- or third-rounder in 2016.
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Dec. 27 . . .
To Swift Current: D Griffin Foulk, 19.
To Lethbridge: Conditional eighth-round pick in 2016.
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Dec. 27 . . .
To Red Deer: D Colton Bobyk, 18, and a 2016 fourth-round pick.
To Spokane: D Nick Charif, 19, a second-round 2015 pick and a conditional sixth-round 2016 selection.
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Jan. 2 . . .
To Brandon: F Morgan Klimchuk, 19.
To Regina: F Jesse Gabrielle, 17.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Medicine Hat: D Kyle Burroughs, 19, and F Dryden Hunt, 19.
To Regina: D Connor Hobbs, 17, and two draft picks -- second-rounder in 2016 and third-rounder in 2015.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Saskatoon: D Kolton Dixon, 19.
To Red Deer: G Trevor Martin, 18.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Red Deer: F Connor Gay, 19, and three bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2016, a second in 2015 and a seventh in 2017.
To Regina: F Jake Leschyshyn, 15, and a fourth-round pick in 2017.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Brandon: D Reid Gow, 20.
To Spokane: A fifth-round pick, Spokane’s option for 2015 or 2016.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Kelowna: F Leon Draisaitl, 19.
To Prince Albert: F Tomas Schmidli, 18, D Dalton Yorke, 18, and three bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2015, a fourth-rounder in 2016 and a conditional fourth-rounder in 2016 or 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Prince George: D Tomas Andrlik, 19.
To Prince Albert: A 12th-round pick in 2015.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Moose Jaw: D Connor Clouston, 18.
To Kamloops: A fifth-round pick in 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Calgary: G Brendan Burke, 19.
To Portland: G Evan Johnson, 18, and a fourth-round pick in 2016.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Lethbridge: D Brady Reagan, 17.
To Regina: F Taylor Cooper, 19.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Victoria: F Alex Forsberg, 19, a third-round pick in 2015 and a fourth-round pick in 2016.
To Saskatoon: F Brayden Dunn, 16, and a first-round pick in 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Portland: D Adam Henry, 20.
To Saskatoon: A second-round pick 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Moose Jaw: F Axel Blomqvist, 19, a third-round pick in 2015 and a fifth-round pick in 2017.
To Victoria: D Alexey Sleptsov, 18, G Justin Paulic, 19, and a sixth-round pick in 2015.
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Jan. 7 . . .
To Tri-City: F Tyler Sandhu, 18.
To Red Deer: Fourth-round picks in 2015 and 2016.
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Jan. 7 . . .
To Kamloops: D Marc McNulty, 19, and a 2016 sixth-round draft pick.
To Prince George: D Josh Connolly, 19, and a 2015 sixth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 7 . . .
To Saskatoon: D Brycen Martin, 18, and a conditional 2017 fifth-round draft pick.
To Swift Current: D Jordan Thomson, 18, and a 2016 first-round draft pick (originally belonged to Red Deer).
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Kootenay: D Lenny Hackman, 19.
To Lethbridge: A 12th-round pick in the 2015 draft.
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Saskatoon: F Mitch Skapski, 18, and 2015 fifth-round draft pick.
To Victoria: A 2016 fifth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Lethbridge: G Jayden Sittler, 18.
To Victoria: A 2016 seventh-round draft pick.
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Seattle: F Cory Millette, 19.
To Prince Albert: A sixth-round pick in the 2015 or 2016 bantam draft.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Kelowna: F Chance Braid, 20.
To Prince George: F Brogan O’Brien, 17.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Edmonton: D Marshall Donald, 19.
To Calgary: A 2015 fourth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Kamloops: F Joel Hamilton, 20.
To Vancouver: A 2017 sixth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Lethbridge: F Mike Winther, 20.
To Kamloops: A 2017 eighth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Vancouver: F Zane Jones, 20.
To Lethbridge: F Johnny Wesley, 17.


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