Warriors prospect dies at 16 . . . Former WHL assistant coach to Canucks

F Garrett Festerling (Portland, Regina, 2003-07) has signed a three-year contract extension with the Hamburg Freezers (Germany, DEL). Festerling now is under contract with Hamburg through the 2017-18 season. Last season, in 53 games, he had eight goals and team-leading 29 assists. . . .
F Owen Fussey (Calgary, Moose Jaw, 1999-2003) has signed a one-year contract with the Guildford Flames (England, Premier). Fussey didn’t play the last two seasons. In 2011-12, with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite), he had 68 points, including 37 goals, in 60 games. He led the Blazers in goals.
---

ETHAN WILLIAMS
(Moose Jaw Warriors photos)

F Ethan Williams, a fifth-round selection by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2012 WHL bantam draft, has died. Williams, who was from Winnipeg, would have turned 17 on Aug. 22.
“Our entire organization is very saddened with the news of Ethan Williams’ passing,” Warriors general manager Alan Millar said in a news release. “Ethan was a fine young man, and a very talented hockey player. Our thoughts and prayers are with Chris and Shannon and the entire Williams family during this difficult time.”
Williams, 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds, signed with the Warriors after their 2012 training camp, and he played one game with them in 2012-13. During that 2012 camp, he scored a goal in his first WHL exhibition game, against the Swift Current Broncos.
In his draft season, Williams had 71 points, 25 of them goals, with a bantam AAA team at the Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna.
Last season, he had eight points, four of them goals, in 23 games with the midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers.
Williams still was on the Warriors’ protected list and had been expected to attend training camp next month.
“Ethan has all the tools needed to play in the WHL and a great chance to hone those skills to advance to the highest level,” former NHL and WHL forward Darcy Tucker said of Williams shortly after the 2012 bantam draft. “Ethan can use his body, skating ability and hands to create scoring chances almost at will. We are very happy for Ethan’s success, and will be following him closely this season as he progresses.”
Tucker is a partner in Turning Point Sports Management, the firm that represented Williams at the time.
---



The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks will have a new video coach when the new season arrives. A source has told Taking Note that the Canucks have signed Ben Cooper as their video coach. He will work with Willie Desjardins, the Canucks’ new head coach. . . . Cooper has been coaching a varsity team at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C., and also was scouting for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Before that, he was an assistant coach with the WHL’s Victoria Royals. He also has extensive video experience with Hockey Canada.
---
Former WHL head coach Jim Hiller has signed on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. Hiller, 45, spent the past five seasons as head coach of the Tri-City Americans, but his contract wasn’t renewed after last season. He was the CHL and WHL coach of the year in 2011-12. Hiller also was head coach of the Chilliwack Bruins for three seasons. . . . As an NHL player, Hiller played 21 regular-season and two playoff games with the Red Wings in 1992-93. . . . Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press has more right here.
---
Levi Moon finished his second season of bantam hockey and walked away from the game. He decided he was going to be a baseball player. Moon, 18, attended the Badlands Baseball Academy in Oyen, Alta., and soon he’s off to Niagara County Community College in Sanborn, N.Y., on a baseball scholarship. His father, Cam, is the radio voice of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Danny Rode of the Red Deer Advocate has more right here.
---
The Prince George Cougars have named Bob Simmonds as their director of scouting. Simmonds, who spent 37 years with the RCMP before retiring, works out of Edmonton. He has been part of the Cougars’ scouting staff for seven seasons. . . . Bill Horton of St. Paul, Minn., has been promoted to director of U.S. scouting. Horton, 27, is preparing for his second season with the Cougars. . . . Cougars GM Todd Harkins also announced the addition of Trevor Sprague of Prince George and Tom Hengen of Vancouver to the scouting staff. Sprague, the head coach of the major midget Cariboo Cougars, will work as a travelling scout, while Hengen will focus on B.C.’s Lower Mainland. Sprague had been scouting for the Portland Winterhawks. Hengen is the father of Michael Hengen, the Cougars’ new assistant coach. Tom spent the past six seasons as head scout for the BCHL’s Penticton Vees.
---
With the news that Vin Scully will return in 2015 for a 66th year calling baseball games, the Los Angeles Times took a look at his movie appearances. That piece is right here.
---

Thoughts and prayers go out today to the friends, family and teammates of Ethan Williams. Gone far too soon... #RIPEthan
— Mike Fraser (@MikeFraser29) July 30, 2014

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.

Brendan Ranford felt the draft on Friday afternoon.
Ranford, a veteran of four seasons with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, wasn’t able to get a deal done with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers by yesterday’s deadline. Therefore, he is once again eligible for the NHL draft.
The Flyers selected Ranford in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2010 draft; in fact, he was the second-last player taken. NHL teams had until yesterday at 5 p.m. ET to sign players taken in that draft. Those not signed are eligible for this year’s draft that is scheduled for Pittsburgh, June 22 and 23.
Should Ranford not be selected in next month’s draft, he will become a free agent, eligible to sign with any team.
“Nothing got done,” Ranford said late yesterday afternoon. “There’s nothing I can do. I just have got to work hard during the summer and move on.”
The Blazers selected Ranford, who is from Edmonton, with the 15th overall selection in the WHL’s 2007 bantam draft. He has 270 points, including 115 goals, in 278 regular-season games with the Blazers. He holds down 13th spot on the Blazers’ all-time points list and is 14th in goals and 17th in assists.
This season, he had career single-season highs in goals (40) and points (92).
The writing may have been on the wall for Ranford and his agent, Mark MacKay, about 10 days ago when the Flyers signed two other forwards – Derek Mathers, who had 17 points and 177 penalty minutes with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes, and Andrew Johnston, an 81-point man with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. Mathers, 18, was a seventh-round pick in the 2011 draft; Johnston, 20, was an undrafted free agent.
Asked if he was disappointed not to get signed, Ranford replied: “No, not really. I wouldn’t say disappointed. I’ve got to move on and just work harder.”
Should Ranford, who turned 20 on May 3, be selected in this month’s draft, he would be eligible to play anywhere in that team’s organization should he sign an NHL contract. He also is eligible to return for a fifth season with the Blazers.
Ranford was one of a handful of WHLers who will be going back into the draft.
The list includes defenceman Troy Rutkowski of the Portland Winterhawks, who was a fifth-round pick by the Colorado Avalanche in 2010, and winger Josh Nicholls of the Saskatoon Blades, a seventh-round pick, who wasn’t signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Meanwhile, three WHL forwards who were selected in the 2011 draft signed NHL deals yesterday.
Ty Rattie of the Portland Winterhawks, a second-round pick, signed with the St. Louis Blues, while Dominik Uher of the Spokane Chiefs, a fifth-round pick, got a deal done with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Brody Sutter, the captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, signed with the Carolina Hurricanes, who had taken him in the seventh round.
Rattie, 19, is eligible to return to Portland. Uher, who is from Czech Republic, wasn't likely to return to Spokane as a 20-year-old, while Sutter completed his major junior eligibility this season.
Rattie is coming off a season in which he scored 121 points, including 57 goals, in 69 regular-season games. He then added 33 points, 19 of them goals, in 21 playoff games.
Uher had 68 points, including 33 goals, in his final season with the Chiefs. He finished the season with the Penguins’ AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, but didn’t see playoff action.
Sutter had 60 points in 65 games as a 20-year-old in Lethbridge. Brody, the son of former NHLer Duane Sutter, is the third Sutter in the Carolina organization, following cousins Brandon and Brett.
———
F Logan Proulx has agreed to join the Selkirk Saints of the B.C. Intercollegiate league. Proulx played this season with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals after being acquired from his hometown Trail Smoke Eaters. He played 137 games over three seasons with the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . .
———
The OHL’s Owen Sound Attack has signed former NHL D Drew Bannister as its new assistant coach. He takes over from former associate coach Terry Virtue, a former WHL assistant coach, who has left after two seasons with the Attack. . . . Bannister spent this season as a player-coach with the Braehead Clan of the British Elite league. . . .
———
The Medicine Hat Mavericks of the Western Major Baseball League opened their home schedule on Friday night and Bob Ridley, the veteran play-by-play voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers was there to throw out the first pitch. . . . Don’t know if he sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the seventh-inning stretch. . . . There was even more WHL flavour as Shaw TV carried the game, with Cam Moon, the voice of the Red Deer Rebels, and Peter Lourbardias, who should be doing hockey play-by-play, in the booth. . . . If you’re wondering, the Okotoks Dawgs beat the Mavericks, 6-5. . . .
———
F Tyler Johnson (Spokane, 2007-2011) had a goal and an assist last night, helping the host Norfolk Admirals to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Marlies in Game 1 of the AHL’s best-of-seven final for the Calder Cup. Game 2 is tonight. . . . F Cory Conacher also had a goal and an assist for the winners. . . . C Carter Ashton (Lethbridge, Regina, Tri-City, 2006-11) had Toronto’s goal. . . . Interestingly, earlier in the season Ashton played on a line with Johnson and Conacher in Norfolk, the AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning. . . . If you check, you may find it on TV somewhere. I stumbled on a replay of Game 1 on Leaf TV late last night. . . .
———
When F Locke Muller was with the Red Deer Rebels, Dale McMullin was on their scouting staff. McMullin now is Regina’s head scout, so when Muller recently was dropped by the Saskatoon Blades, well, the Pats were quick to add him to their protected list. . . . Muller, 19, had 10 points and 87 penalty minutes in 58 games last season. He started the season with Red Deer and finished with the Blades.
Greg Harder, in the Regina Leader-Post: “The 6-foot-2, 197-pounder was a healthy scratch on a few occasions due to discipline issues, apparently working his way into the doghouse of Blades head coach/GM Lorne Molleken . . .”
Regina GM Chad Lang told Harder that the past is just that, the past.
“There’s kids that are leaders, there’s kids that are followers,” Lang said. “It’s about putting kids in an environment where they know the rules and the limitations. You hope they abide by them and if they don’t there’s consequences. From our standpoint it’s about giving kids the opportunity.”

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.

VIN SCULLY

Every once in a while, you find a real nugget on the Internet.
I mean, a really big chunk of gold.
In this instance, the link arrived via email, sent by Cam Moon, the former WHL goaltender who is the radio voice of the Red Deer Rebels.
Moon, believe it or not, may be a bigger fan of baseball than he is of hockey. Seriously!
Anyway . . . he sent me a link that I am going to share with you. But I am warning you. To enjoy this one, you will need at least three cups of coffee and a headset.
Written and prepared by Daniel Riley, this piece appeared in the October 2011 issue of GQ magazine. It is an interactive story about and with Vin Scully, the greatest play-by-play voice of them all.
There are links to Scully’s actual call  of Sandy Koufax’s perfect game on Sept. 9, 1965, Henry Aaron’s 715th home run on April 8, 1974, Kirk Gibson’s home run on Oct. 15, 1988, and Bill Buckner’s boot on Oct. 25, 1986.
More than that, though, there are conversations with Scully as he reminisces and it doesn’t get any better than that. Chances are you will do what I did — give it all a read and a listen and then file it away for later enjoyment.
Check it all out right here. And you can thank Cam Moon later.
———
There is a story in Friday’s Globe and Mail that is headlined: Americans consider ban on fighting in junior ranks, hope Canada follows suit.
Written by Allan Maki, it contains this quote from Jim Johannson, USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey operations:
“Whatever we do there’ll be a fight in junior hockey next season. But if kids are in this level of hockey and fighting x amount of times, then what’s going on? We have a responsibility to safeguard the game at the minor levels. This is not the NHL, and that’s not a criticism of the NHL. These are kids under 20 playing hockey.”
Hallelujah! Someone with some authority understands that it is the responsibility of the adults who are in charge of hockey at this level to safeguard the players.
It seems that during the World Junior Championship there were meetings held that involved USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and the Canadian Junior Hockey League.
According to Maki, USA Hockey has since held winter meetings and “recommended that fighting be eliminated at the Tier I, II and III levels.”
If the recommendation is adopted — there will be a vote in June — the ban could be in place for next season.
Unfortunately, this isn’t likely to happen in Canada. Well, it isn't going to happen this season or next. But it is going to happen. The writing is on the wall and sooner or later it is going to happen.
Maki quotes Bob Nicholson, the president of Hockey Canada, as saying: “We want to remove fighting from the game, but we don’t want to create other violent acts that may occur. We’ll work hand in hand with USA Hockey.”
Ahh, yes, the creation of “other violent acts” excuse, the thinking being that if players aren’t allowed to punch themselves in the face they’ll hack themselves to death with their sticks.
And then there’s WHL commissioner Ron Robison, who fell back on the old excuse that his league is developing players for the NHL “and we have an understanding to mirror their rules.”
Which, of course, is so much bunkum. For starters, the WHL has no-touch icing; the NHL doesn’t.
“From a WHL/CHL perspective,” Robison told Maki, “we feel strongly our role is to prepare players for the next level and as long as fighting is an element of that, we need to prepare the players so they can protect themselves.”
That ignores the fact that if major junior hockey outlawed fighting, players wouldn’t need to fight to protect themselves.
It also seems that a whole lot of European and NCAA players who have advanced to the NHL are having success while not having done a whole bunch of fighting. Pavel Datsyuk and Jonathan Toews seem to be making out OK, don’t they?
Of course, Robison has yet to explain how a league that cracked down on headshots as this season started continues to allow its players to punch each other silly.
In Maki’s story, Robison makes the claim that fighting in the WHL is down 10 per cent over a year ago. Maki doesn’t cite any statistics.
But using figures available at hockeyfights.com, it is easy to calculate that fighting in the WHL is on pace to be down less than six per cent.
There were 1,713 fights in 792 games last season. This season, in 529 games, there have been 1,079 fights. That computes to 1,616 fights over an entire season. That would be a reduction of 5.7 per cent.
With the flood of information that has come to light involving brain trauma and concussions and CTE, any hockey league that employs teenagers and continues to allow fighting — and features more than 1,600 fights in a season — should be embarrassed by such numbers.
Let us not forget that there were more than 100 concussions in the WHL last season, a number that resulted in the WHL taking injuries under cover this season and announcing player absences as being due to upper- and lower-body injuries. NHL teams, meanwhile, now are reporting when players are out with concussions.
The WHL’s latest injury report, released Tuesday, lists 49 players as being out with upper-body injuries.
Maki’s complete story is right here.
———
Meanwhile, in a story at cbc.ca, Gov. Gen. David Johnston says that fighting shouldn’t be part of the game.
"What other sports say (fighting) is a part of the game?” said Johnston, who played hockey at Harvard. “Least of all in this game, because the essence of this game is the speed and the skill and playmaking. . . .
"If we want our children, both our boys and girls, to be playing this game we don't want them to be subjecting themselves to concussions and so on."
That story is right here.
———
Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos on The Eagle 94.1 FM, reported Thursday that D Jordan Evans, 19, won’t play again this season.
Evans, from Drumheller, Alta., hasn’t played since Oct. 1.
“At the time,” Mullin reported, “(Evans) apparently took the concussion test and didn’t seem to have one. They thought maybe he had a virus. Since that time he has continued to have concussion-like symptoms and there is apparently not much improvement.
“Evans now is back home in Alberta and his season is apparently done. Given his age and history of concussions this could also mark the end of his WHL career if not his hockey career.”
Evans was in his fourth season in Swift Current. He was pointless in five games this season, but had seven minutes in penalties, five of those coming from a fight with F Dyson Stevenson of the Regina Pats on Sept. 23.
———
The Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association is taking body checking out of the game in the rec levels starting next season.
Paul Woods, the executive director of Hockey Winnipeg, has told Doug Lunney of the Winnipeg Sun that “it’s probably long overdue.”
Here’s more from Woods:
“I would like to see it personally. If it’s going to advance the safety of the game and allow some kids to participate in the game a little bit longer, then I would say it would have to be a positive.
“Some of those (negative) comments are coming from traditionalists who don’t want to let the sport go. They feel it’s a man’s game. They grew up in that environment and they’re still holding on to that.”
Woods points out that there are players who leave the game as youngsters and return to recreational leagues in their 20s. So why not make the environment safer in an attempt to keep the children safe and in the game?
Lunney’s story is right here.
———
Sharp-eyed hockey fans may recognize Doug Lunney’s name. A goaltender, he played in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders, Kelowna Wings and Winnipeg Warriors (1982-84).
———

Canalta Cup

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League has cut a 10-year deal with Canalta Hotels that has resulted in the junior A league renaming its championship trophy.
The SJHL champion now will win the Canalta Cup.
According to a news release, the deal calls for the hotel chain to “contribute more than $600,000 in partnership revenue” over the 10 years.
Established in 1979, Canalta Hotels has six hotels in five Saskatchewan markets — Humboldt, Melfort, Moosomin, Tisdale and Weyburn — with construction underway in Esterhazy and Shaunavon.
———
The OHL has suspended Stan Butler, the head coach of the Brampton Battalion, for eight games. Butler’s crime? He picked up a double game misconduct for abuse of an official after a 2-1 victory over the visiting Sudbury Wolves on Sunday.
Butler is said to have berated referee Mike Marley on the ice and in a corridor in the arena. Butler felt that an instigating penalty should have been given to a Sudbury player following a fight in the third period.
———
The Prince Albert Raiders will induct ex-players Robin Bartel and Dean McAmmond, along with builder Gerry Bergen, into their Wall of Honour this season. They will be honoured prior to a Feb. 25 game against the visiting Kootenay Ice. . . . Bartel played three seasons (1979-82) with the Raiders, playing in three Centennial Cup championship games and winning two of them. (The Centennial Cup now is the RBC Cup, which goes to the junior A champion.). . . . Dean McAmmond played 217 games with the Raiders over three-plus seasons (1989-93). A wonderful skater, he left Prince Albert as part of a seven-player trade with the Swift Current Broncos in January 1993. Before leaving, he was the Raiders rookie of the year (1989-90) and playoff MVP (1992). . . . Bergen, a long-time volunteer, has worked as a goal judge, penalty box attendant, spotter, timekeeper and scorekeeper. He also has been the off-ice co-ordinator, managing 14 volunteers. . . . Bartel and McAmmond will be the 13th and 14th former players to be inducted, while Bergen is to be the ninth volunteer. The Wall of Honour is located in the History and Heroes section of the Art Hauser Centre by the Raiders dressing room.
———
JUST NOTES: The Portland Winterhawks have signed F Adam De Champlain, a 10th-round selection in the 2009 bantam draft, who is with the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks. De Champlain, 17, has 14 points, including eight goals, in 38 games. . . . Regina Pats F Chandler Stephenson, who has missed 14 games with a sprained knee, is expected to return tonight against the visiting Swift Current Broncos. . . .
———
If you have followed the BCHL over the years, you may want to go on over to bchl.ca and vote on the players of the decades.
There’s a link on the right-hand side, near the top of the website. Click on there and have some fun

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.

Moon shines on in Red Deer

Cam Moon has called the play for more than 1,000 WHL games.
(Red Deer Advocate photo)

By GREG MEACHEM
Red Deer Advocate Sports Editor
When Cam Moon arrived in Red Deer 12 years ago to take over as the Rebels’ play-by-play broadcaster, his goal was to be here for not just a good time, but a long time.
Mission accomplished, and then some.
Moon called his 1,000th Rebels game Oct. 23 at Spokane, where Red Deer downed the Chiefs 4-2.
“When I came to Red Deer I wanted to settle in somewhere and be able to be with a team for a long time,” Moon said Sunday evening, prior to boarding the Rebels bus for a six-game road trip through the Pacific Northwest and the B.C. lower mainland.
“It was never my intention to just be here for a little while and move on. I didn’t want to lead a gypsy-like lifestyle.”
As a player, Moon strapped on the big pads and stopped pucks at the junior A, major junior and college levels. He played one season with the Nipawin Hawks of the SJHL, split the following winter with the Saskatoon Blades and Medicine Hat Tigers, and was back with the Blades for his 20-year-old season.
“When it was becoming painfully clear that pro hockey was not an option for me, I realized that I had to do something that would keep me involved in the game and involved with the league,” Moon said. “Coaching was not something that really appealed to me, but telling the story interested me a lot. Basically, I like telling stories, whether it be hockey or whatever.”
When his final junior season came to an end, Moon used his WHL education money to enrol in the two-year broadcasting program at NAIT in his hometown of Edmonton. He blocked shots for the Ooks of the Alberta Colleges League during his first year of post-secondary schooling, then gained part-time employment with TSN during his second year.
“I was getting a crash course in television broadcasting and an opportunity to see the country, which was extremely fortunate,” said Moon, who worked as a colourman with Paul Romanuk on telecasts of Canadian Hockey League games, mostly in the WHL but also in Ontario and Quebec.
Upon graduation in 1993, Moon worked as a freelance TV broadcaster for two years before heading to Vancouver Island to become sports director at a Nanaimo radio station and call games for the Clippers of the junior A BCHL. During his three years in Nanaimo, he travelled each spring to work with the likes of Peter Watts during the televised final of the Canadian midget AAA championship.
“I did six Air Canada Cup finals in a row,” said Moon.
Upon being hired in 1998 as the Rebels’ broadcast director, Moon embarked on a career highlighted by the team’s march to a Memorial Cup championship in the 2000-01 season.
“That whole playoff run was magical,” he said. “Of course the expectations were high for that club, but they were able to meet them. It was so much fun, and the characters on that team . . . when I see those guys now, it’s like time has stood still. You see them now and just sort of pick up where you left off.”
Moon also has fond memories of the following spring, when the Rebels rallied from a 3-1 deficit in games to defeat the Brandon Wheat Kings and advance to the second of three consecutive league-final appearances.
“That comeback was unbelievable,” he remembered. “The crowd at the (Brandon) Keystone (Centre) was going crazy in Game 6, their team was winning 2-1 and it was getting down to the short straws. The Rebels weren’t getting many chances and it looked like it was going to end there. It looked like it was going to be a very long, 11-hour (bus) trip home.”
And then . . .
“Jeff Smith picked one out of the air to tie it and (Chris) Neiszner scored the overtime goal from the boards. You just knew the Wheat Kings would have little hope in Game 7.”
Moon also remembers a completely different scenario involving former Rebels tough guy Stephen Peat.
“Stephen left the penalty box in Prince Albert while there was a brouhaha going on in the corner,” Moon recalled. “He came out of one penalty box to go into another to fight Craig Brunel. That was unbelievable. That was old-time hockey, great entertainment.”
Speaking of Prince Albert, Moon is fond of the city’s Art Hauser Memorial Centre. He lists that arena, along with the Centrium and the WHL facilities in Regina, Brandon, Medicine Hat and Kamloops, among his favourites in terms of his broadcast location.
“To me, Swift Current and Moose Jaw are far down the list . . . right at the bottom,” he said. “In Swift Current, you have to climb a ladder to a small booth and in Moose Jaw you’re at the top of the stands, and with the way the ceiling is configured it’s not optimal for calling a game.
“The broadcast booth in Kelowna is awful as well. You’re jammed into a small area and then they have TV cameras in front of you. I have to stand on a stool to see over the cameras, which is tough. But hey, if that’s the toughest thing you have to go through in your day, that’s still not very bad.”
Moon has dined at numerous restaurants during his travels with the Rebels and a couple of the eateries stand out above the rest.
“The best pre-game meal we have is en route to Cranbrook. The restaurant is called Pure Country and it’s in the town of Frank,” he noted. “They have everything. You name it and it’s there. And it’s a buffet.”
As for the premier post-game meal . . .
“The steak sandwich at the Coliseum Steaks and Pizza in Edmonton is very good . . . right up there.”
Moon has worked solo through more games than he can ever possibly remember. His first time without a colourman went better than he had feared.
“I thought it would be difficult the first time I did a game by myself, but it really wasn’t,” he said. “As long as the game is good it’s actually quite easy. When the game is awful, that’s when you have to dig deep.”
Moon has two set colourmen on the road — former Blades teammate Scott Scissons in Saskatoon and former Rebels netminder Mark Dawkins in Spokane.
Since Day 1, his partner at the Centrium — with the exception of a game here and there — has been former WHL/NHL player Mike Moller.
“I love the enthusiasm that Mike brings to the rink every night. He really wants to be there and he wants the team to do well,” said Moon. “With Mike, there’s a genuine love of the game, of the league, of the team . . . working with him just makes it so easy and so much fun. He’s played at a high level and he’s coached at a high level (as a former Rebels assistant), so he understands the game.
“We get along very well and have a lot of fun and I hope we stay a tandem as long as we want to.”
If it’s up to Moon, he’ll be calling Rebels games for many years to come.
“I love it here, I absolutely do,” he insisted. “I love the city and God knows I love the league.”

(NOTE: This story appears thanks to Greg Meachem, sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate.)

Moon continues to shine

The PBR Canadian Cup National Finals presented by Wrangler are scheduled for Saskatoon, in Credit Union Centre, Nov. 19 and 20.
The CUC, of course, is home to the Saskatoon Blades.
So the Blades have cut a promotional deal with PBR Canada and Wrangler that includes the use of a third jersey.
Yes, that is the third jersey in the photo above.
The Blades plan on wearing these jerseys on Nov. 12 against the visiting Portland Winterhawks.
One look at those jerseys raises a question: They practically scream WRANGLER, even through there is no label in evidence. So how long before we see advertising patches on WHL team jerseys?
When you see a jersey like this one it makes you think it won’t be long until there are Husky/Mohawk patches on the front and KalTire strips across the back.
Or maybe it’ll have Drake Hotel across the back in place of the name bar.
(PBR? That would be Professional Bull Riders.)
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jared Aulin (Kamloops, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with Leksand (Sweden Allsvenskan). He had 16 goals and 21 assists in 64 games for the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) last season. The contract contains a one-month tryout clause, then rolls into a contract for the rest of the season. . . .
F Roman Tvrdon (Spokane, 1999-2001) signed a one-year plus option contract with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia Extraliga). He had six goals and four assists in an 11 game try-out with Skalica (Slovakia Extraliga) this season.
———
Congrats to old friend Cam Moon, the long-serving radio voice of the Red Deer Rebels. He worked his 1,001st consecutive game Friday night as the Rebels beat the visiting Vancouver Giants, 5-2.
If you haven’t listened to Moon call a game, you should. He’s personable and easy to listen to, and he and analyst Mike Moller clearly enjoy bringing the games to their listening audience.
Moon will be back at it tonight as the Saskatoon Blades visit Red Deer. Moon once played goal for the Blades — he also played for the Prince Albert Raiders and Medicine Hat Tigers — and has some great stories to tell, most of which are fit only for private conversations.
He will have a tougher time calling tonight’s game than he did last night. You can bet on that. . . . Why? . . . Because he is one of the biggest baseball fans around. So you know he’ll have Game 3 of the World Series up on his laptop tonight. Yes, he is talented enough to keep one eye on Texas and San Francisco, while talking about Saskatoon and Red Deer.
———
Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate, has a story right here on the Seattle Thunderbirds’ backup goaltender. Michael Salmon hasn’t had a whole lot to do this season because he’s the caddy for Calvin Pickard, perhaps the WHL’s best goaltender. Salmon, however, is working hard and trying to be a good teammate.
———

Former WHL scoring champion Erik Christensen continues to be his own worst enemy. Christensen has all the tools to be a superb offensive player -- he won the 2002-03 WHL scoring title with 108 points while with the Kamloops Blazers -- has always struggled to deal with the pressure he puts on himself to perform. That is the problem again, this time as he struggles to find his place with the New York Rangers. Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes about it right here.
———

haven’t seen all of Hockey Canada’s officiating assignments for IIHF events, but at least four WHL officials have been selected to work on the international stage. . . . Matt Kirk and Pat Smith will work at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo, Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. . . . Kiel Murchison will be at the the IIHF World Championship in Bratislava and Kosice, Slovakia, April 29 though May 5. . . . Trent Knorr gets the U-18 World Championship (Division 3, Group B) in Mexico City, March 14-19.
———
There was an interesting goaltending battle in Canada West hockey on Friday night as the visiting Alberta Golden Bears scored a 5-4 shootout victory over the Calgary Dinos. . . . Kurtis Mucha of the Golden Bears stopped 18 shots through OT and then turned aside five shooters in a shootout. At the other end, Dustin Butler turned aside 29 shots and stopped the first four shootout shooters he faced before F Sean Ringrose scored to win it. . . . Calgary F Matt Isbister had given his side a 4-3 lead at 18:56 of the third, only to have Alberta F Chad Klassen tie it at 19:42.
———
It was one year ago tonight when Ben Fanelli of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers was crushed by Mike Liambis of the Erie Otters. Liambis now is playing for the UBC Thunderbirds, who play in the CIS’s Canada West conference. But waht of Fanelli? It turns out he has yet to receive medical clearance to return to game action. Jeff Hicks of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record has that story right here.
———
John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that U.S. college hockey officials will meet with NHL people on Nov. 9 in Toronto. The college hockey people, including Paul Kelly, the executive director of College Hockey Inc., are concerned about losing young players to NHL teams. Shipley’s story is right here.
———
Haven’t seen one like this in a while. In the Central league last night, the host Missouri Mavericks scored a 5-2 victory over the Mississippi RiverKings. The teams combined for 300 penalty minutes. Check out the scoresheet right here. Gotta love the fact that each team ended up with 150 minutes.
———
FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
CHILLIWACK 7 at CALGARY 2: F Roman Horak had two goals and an assist and F Ryan Howse drew three assists for the Bruins (8-4-0), who won their fourth straight game. . . . D Brandon Manning helped out with a goal and three helpers. . . . The Hitmen (4-9-0) have lost five in a row and have scored six goals in those games. . . . The Bruins scored the game’s first two goals — F Brandon Magee getting his first WHL goal and Horak getting his eighth — before the Hitmen roared back to tie it before the first period ended. . . . F Justin Krisch and F Trevor Cheek, with his first WHL score, counted for Calgary. . . . The Bruins, however, got goals from F Robin Soudek, his sixth, and F Chris Collins, his first, before the first period ended. Soudek scored at 17:53, with Collins scoring shorthanded at 19:46. . . . Manning, with his fifth, gave Chilliwack a 5-2 lead in the second. . . . Horak, with his ninth, and F Kevin Sundher, with his second, finished the scoring in the third. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 30 shots. . . . Calgary opened with Juraj Holly. He gave up two goals on five shots and left at 4:39 of the first. Michael Snider came on to stop 20 of 25. . . . The Bruins were 2-for-6 on the PP and now are 23-for-75 (30.7 per cent) on the season. . . . Attendance was 7,813. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero.
———
BRANDON 4 at KOOTENAY 5 (SO): The Ice scored three shootout goals to win this one. . . . F Matt Fraser, F Jesse Ismond and F Max Reinhart beat Brandon G Liam (Sonny) Liston, who stopped 37shots through OT. It was the first shootout of Liston’s WHL career. . . . Ice G Brett Teskey stopped 13 shots. . . . The Wheat Kings (6-9-1) were playing the seventh game of an eight-game swing that ends tonight in Lethbridge. . . . The Ice now is 11-3-1 and has won seven in a row. . . . The Wheat Kings led this one 3-0 at 12:18 of the first period on goals by F Brenden Walker, his seventh, D Brodie Melnychuk (3) and F Mark Stone (9). . . . The Ice came back to take a 4-3 lead, with F Drew Czerwonka counting at 11:38 of the third period for that lead. . . . Brandon F Hampus Gustafsson forced OT at 12:34 of the third. . . . F Scott Glennie and F Paul Ciarelli each had two assists for Brandon. . . . F Christian Magnus, D Joey Leach and Czerwonka each had a goal and an assist for the Ice, while F Elgin Pearce had two assists. . . . Brandon was 0-for-3 on the PP; Kootenay was 1-for-6. . . . Attendance was 2,478. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero. . . . The Ice was without two defencemen — Hayden Rintoul (collarbone) and James Martin (nose). They lost D John Neibrandt after a second-period scrap with F Michael Ferland.
———
SPOKANE 2 at MOOSE JAW 3: D Connor Cox scored at 15:40 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie. It was his third goal of the season. . . . The Warriors (6-8-1) got the game’s first goal, from F Dylan Hood at 6:39 of the first, and the teams alternated goals after that. . . . Chiefs F Levko Koper forged a 2-2 tie at 5:54 of the third on the PP. . . . The Chiefs (5-7-0), who had won three of four, were playing Game 1 of an eight-game road trip. . . . Moose Jaw F Danny Gayle had a goal and an assist. . . . Moose Jaw G Thomas Heemskerk kicked out 21 shots, while Spokane’s James Reid turned aside 40. . . . The Chiefs were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Warriors were 0-for-4. . . . Attendance was 2,556. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero.
———
SWIFT CURRENT 4 at PRINCE ALBERT 3 (OT): F Stepan Novotny’s 11th goal of the season, at 2:04 of OT, won it for the Broncos (9-8-0). . . . The Raiders (5-7-4) have lost six in a row. . . . Prince Albert’s Sebastian Svendsen scored twice, giving him 10. He opened the scoring at 15:52 of the first period and the teams alternated scoring after that. . . . Swift Current F Cody Eakin, returning from a hip injury, tied the score 3-3 with his ninth goal at 7:43 of the third on the PP. . . . F Mark McNeill and F Jonathan Parker each had two assists for P.A. . . . The Broncos got two assists from F Taylor Vause, while F Justin Dowling, playing with a sore right shoulder, had a goal and an assist. . . . The Broncos were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Raideers were 1-for-5. . . . Swift Current G Mark Friesen stopped 37 shots, 12 more than Prince Albert’s Eric Williams. . . . Attendance was 2,073. . . . The Raiders played again without three defencemen — Jordan Rowley (wrist), Nathan Deck (knee) and Emerson Hrynyk (shoulder). . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero. . . . Of the 13 minor penalties handed out, four were for goaltender interference. Each team took two of those penalties.
———
VANCOUVER 2 at RED DEER 5: F Andrej Kudrna had a goal and two assists for the Rebels (10-5-0). They acquired Kudrna, who has nine goals, from the Giants last season. . . . F Byron Froese added two goals for the Rebels. He has eight on the season. . . . D Alex Petrovic and F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had two helpers for the home team. . . . The Giants (9-6-2), who had won four in a row, scored the game’s first and last goals. . . . Vancouver F Brendan Gallagher had his 16-game point streak snapped. Gallagher, with 15 goals and 13 assists, had at least one point in each of his team’s 16 games going into this one. . . . Giants F Craig Cunningha, who leads the WHL with 34 points, also was held pointless. He had been riding a 10-game streak. . . . Red Deer G Darcy Kuemper stopped 27 shots. Vancouver opened with Mark Segal, who gave up four goals on 22 shots. Brendan Jensen came on late in the second period and stopped nine of 10. . . . The Giants were 1-for-7 on the PP; the Rebels were 3-for-7. . . . Vancouver took 50 of the game’s 90 penalty minutes. . . . Attendance was 4,408. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero.
———
PRINCE GEORGE 2 at SEATTLE 0: G Ty Rimmer stopped 36 shots for his first WHL shutout. Rimmer, who was acquired by Prince George from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Oct. 16 for a sixth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, was making his first start for the Cougars (8-6-1). . . . This was the first shutout by a Prince George goaltender since March 6, 2009, when Kevin Armstrong stopped 31 shots in a 2-0 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . Last night, the teams were scoreless well into the third period. . . . F Nick Buonassisi broke the scoreless tie with his sixth of the season, on the PP, at 13:59. . . . F Taylor Stefishen added insurancee at 16:24. It was his second of the season. . . . Tefishen, Buonassisi and D Martin Marincin each had two points. . . . G Calvin Pickard stopped 30 shots for Seattle (5-3-3). . . . The Thunderbirds have lost four in a row, with the first three of those losses coming in OT or a shootout. This, in fact, was their first loss in regulation in seven games. . . . The Cougars were 1-for-8 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 0-for-7. . . . Attendance was 3,033. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero.
———
TRI-CITY 3 at EVERETT 2 (SO): The Americans (11-4-1) got two shootout goals, while both Everett (5-4-4) shooters were blanked. . . . F Adam Hughesman and F Patrick Holland both scored in the shootout. . . . The Silvertips have lost five in a row and have scored seven goals in those games. . . . The Americans have won four of five. . . . F Parker Stanfield scored his third goal at 2:30 of the second period to give the Silvertips a 2-1 lead. . . . F Brooks Macek got his third at 9:21 of the second to tie the score at 2-2. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley turned aside 38 shots, seven more than Everett’s Kent Simpson. . . . This was victory No. 48 for Owsley, moving him into seventh on the franchise’s all-time list, one ahead of Olaf Kolzig, who now is one of the team’s owners. . . . The Americans were 1-for-3 on the PP; the Silvertips were 0-for-3. . . . Attendance was 6,422. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero. . . . The Silvertips announced after the game that their Pink in the Rink auction raised US$38,807.77, with proceeds benefiting the Providence General Foundation. Among other things, they auctioned off special game jerseys. The highest price paid for a jersey was $1,500, for D Ryan Murray’s. . . . And a special tip of the cap to Denny Spencer, a season-ticket holder in Everett. He donated $5,000 in memory of his wife, who recently lost her battle with breast cancer. You, sir, are someone special.
———
KELOWNA 2 at PORTLAND 4: The Winterhawks (11-2-1) broke a 1-1 tie with three straight goals as they welcomed F Nino Niederreiter back into their lineup. . . . Niederreiter, the fifth pick in the NHL’s 2010 draft, was sent back by the New York Islanders on Thursday. He had one assist last night. . . . Niederreiter had a goal and an assist in nine games with the Isles. According to CapGeek.com, he was paid US$101,613 while in the NHL. . . . The Winterhawks have won five in a row. . . . D Joe Morrow scored for Portland, on the PP, at 8:45 of the first, with Kelowna F Cody Chikie, who scored both Kelowna goals, tying it at 9:04 with his first of the season. . . . F Riley Boychuk broke the 1-1 tie at 16:55 of the first. . . . After a scoreless second period, the Winterhawks got third-period goals from F Brad Ross, his seventh, at 15:32, and F Sven Bartschi, his 10th, at 15:59. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had two assists. . . . Rattie and Bartschi are on eight-game point streaks. . . . The Rockets, who have lost four of five, are 4-9-0. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 33 shots, while Kelowna’s Adam Brown turned aside 32. . . . Kelowna wsa 0-for-9 on the PP; Portland was 1-for-8. . . . Attendance was 2,448. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero. . . . However, the teams, who play again tonight in Portland, combined for 114 penalty minutes, with the Winterhawks taking 58 of those.
———
Congratulations to all of the players who were in action on Friday night. Eight games and not one checking-from-behind penalty. In Regina, Brad Hornung is smiling.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter