WHL going camping

F Carsen Germyn (Kelowna, Red Deer, 1998-2003) has been loaned to AIK Stockholm (Sweden, SHL) by the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL) for the rest of this season. With Straubing this season, Germyn has 37 points, including 16 goals, in 49 games. Straubing is in 12th place in the DEL, and with three games left can't finish 10th and make the playoffs. AIK is last in the SHL with five games left and can't finish higher than 11th. It will play in SHL Kvalserien in an attempt to keep its place in the SHL for next season.
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The WHL is taking the recruiting war with junior A and the NCAA to another level by launching a series of what it calls “combine camps.”
These camps, according to a news release, are “designed to assist minor hockey players with their skill development by participating in a new state of the art testing system.”
The WHL has forged partnerships with Okanagan Hockey Schools of Penticton, B.C., and Sport Testing Inc., in order to hold these camps throughout Western Canada and the
Each camp will comprise one day of on- and off-ice testing, instructional tips, a player development seminar, and a presentation on the WHL player experience, according to the WHL.
In the beginning, camps will be open to bantam- and midget-aged players, with all 22 WHL teams having access to all test results.
Okanagan Hockey Schools will provide instructors and testing personnel for each camp, with Toronto-based Sport Testing Inc., providing the testing systems.
Camps will run this year, from April through August, in Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Brandon, Winnipeg, Minneapolis, Denver, Dallas, Phoenix and Anaheim.
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John Branch of The New York Times reports: “Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated blows to the head, has been found posthumously in a 29-year-old former soccer player, the strongest indication yet that the condition is not limited to athletes who played sports known for violent collisions, like football and boxing.” . . . Branch’s complete story is right here.
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F Nolan Volcan, a second-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft, has joined the Seattle Thunderbirds. Volcan played for the midget AAA Maple Leaf Athletic Club United Cycle Maple Leafs, whose season has ended. . . . Volcan’s father, Marty, is a former WHLer, having played for the Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Breakers and Victoria Cougars (1984-86).
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The Portland Winterhawks will be chasing their 21st straight victory when they meet the Chiefs in Spokane on Friday night. The WHL record for longest winning streak in one season (22 games) belongs to the Estevan Bruins of 1967-68. . . . The Winterhawks have won all seven games with Spokane this season; in fact, Portland has won its last 15 meetings with the Chiefs. . . . The Winterhawks are scheduled to play the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash., on Saturday and then visit the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Wednesday.
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First place in the Eastern Conference will be on the line Saturday when the Edmonton Oil Kings play host to the Calgary Hitmen in the opener of a Battle of Alberta doubleheader. . . . The two WHL teams will play at 2 p.m., at Rexall Place, with the NHL’s Calgary Flames to meet the Edmonton Oilers there that evening.
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IF THE PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY:
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Red Deer (8)
Regina (2) vs. Brandon (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Kootenay (5)
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Western Conference
Kelowna (1) vs. Tri-City (8)
Portland (2) vs. Vancouver (7)
Victoria (3) vs. Everett (6)
Seattle (4) vs. Spokane (5)
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THURSDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
No games scheduled.
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FRIDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
Lethbridge at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m.
Kootenay at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Kamloops at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Portland at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Brandon, F Jayce Hawryluk scored twice and set up another to lead the Wheat Kings to a 6-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Brandon broke a 1-1 tie with four second-period goals. . . . Hawryluk has 57 points, including 20 goals, in 55 games. Last season, he totalled 43 points, 18 of them goals, in 61 games as a freshman. . . . Brandon D Ryan Pilon, playing at home against his former club for the first team, drew two assists, as did D Ryan Pulock and F John Quenneville. . . . Lethbridge F Tyler Wong, playing his second game after being out since Jan. 11, scored his 14th goal. . . . Brandon G Curtis Honey stopped 36 shots, four fewer than Jonny Hogue of Lethbridge. . . . Brandon D Eric Roy picked up 29 penalty minutes in one foul sweep, as he got nailed with minors for instigating and unsportsmanlike conduct, a fighting major, a misconduct and game misconduct at 3:51 of the third period. . . . The Hurricanes took 24 minutes in penalties. . . . Brandon (30-26-8) is seventh in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Hurricanes (12-48-5) have lost seven in a row. . . .

In Moose Jaw, F Sam Reinhart scored twice and added an assist as the Kootenay Ice dropped the Warriors, 5-1. . . . The teams were tied 1-1 going into the third period. . . . Reinhart is on a 21-game point streak and a 14-game assist streak, both the longest in the WHL this season. . . . Reinhart, who has 34 goals this season, has tied the franchise record (F Mike Comrie, Sept. 23 to Nov. 10, 2000) for longest point streak in one season. . . . F Tim Bozon also had two goals and an assist for the Ice. He’s got 32 goals. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau added his 39th goal and also had an assist. . . . Reinhart has 93 points, while Descheneau has 88. . . . Bozon has 68 points, with 61 of those coming in 49 games with the Ice after he came over from the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 22 shots. . . . G Zach Sawchenko of the Warriors turned aside 37. . . . The Ice dressed 16 skaters, two under the maximum, then lost F Zach Franko in the second period. . . . The Ice (36-23-4) is a comfortable fifth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and six ahead of the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Warriors (16-38-9) are 10th in the 12-team conference. . . .

In Swift Current, F Jake DeBrusk scored twice to help the Broncos to a 6-2 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . DeBrusk, a 17-year-old freshman from Edmonton, has 27 points, 12 of them goals, in 63 games. This was his first multi-goal game. . . . F Coda Gordon had a goal, his 23rd, and two assists for the Broncos, who scored the game’s first five goals, three of them in the first period. . . . Swift Current got two assists from each of F Graham Black and F Nathan Burns. . . . The Broncos were 3-for-7 on the PP; the Pats were 0-for-5. . . . F Rykr Cole, a third-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with the Pats. He has 45 points, including 23 goals, in 41 games with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. . . . Regina scratched F Morgan Klimchuk and D Dmitry Sinitsyn, both of whom were ill. They still are without injured F Boston Leier. . . . The Broncos have won all five games with the Pats this season. . . . Regina (35-23-6) went into this one leading the East Division by eight points over the Broncos (31-24-8). That lead, of course, now is six points. . . . While the Pats, as East Division leaders, are the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed, the Broncos are sixth. . . .

In Edmonton, F Blake Penner’s goal at 3:00 of OT gave the Medicine Hat Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . The Tigers, who clinched a playoff spot with the victory, erased a 3-1 deficit with two third-period goals. . . . F Chad Butcher scored his fifth goal at 3:20 and F Curtis Valk tied it, with his 37th, at 6:36. . . . Penner has 10 goals this season. . . . Valk had two goals, while D Dylan Bredo had two assists. . . . Edmonton F Edgars Kulda had a goal, his 25th, and an assist. He scored shorthanded at 1:33 of the second to give his guys a 1-0 lead. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 37 shots, eight more than Tristan Jarry of Edmonton. . . . Edmonton had won 5-2 in Medicine Hat on Tuesday. . . . The Tigers were without F Markus Eisenschmid. The German freshman drew a ‘tbd’ suspension for a boarding major and game misconduct he incurred against the visiting Oil Kings on Tuesday. . . . The Tigers (39-22-3) are fourth in the Eastern Conference, eight points behind the Calgary Hitmen and five in front of the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Oil Kings (44-15-3) are atop the Eastern Conference, two points in front of the Hitmen. . . .

In Red Deer, G Patrik Bartosak stopped 32 shots as the Rebels blanked the Kamloops Blazers, 2-0. . . . Bartosak has six shutouts this season, but this was the first on home ice. He also has 12 in his career. . . . Red Deer F Vukie Mpofu scored his eighth goal at 12:12 of the first period and F Rhyse Dieno got his 22nd at 14:24. . . . Kamloops G Bolton Pouliot stopped 34 shots. . . . The Blazers are 3-16-2 since Guy Charron replaced Dave Hunchak behind the Blazers’ bench. . . . The Blazers are 1-4-0 as they play 10 in a row away from the home. The Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men’s curling championship, begins in Interior Savings Centre on Saturday. . . . The victory lifted the Rebels (30-30-4) back into eighth in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Blazers (13-46-5) need seven points in their last eight games to avoid the worst record in franchise history (Kamloops Jr. Oilers, 18-53-1, 1981-82). . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips scored the game’s last five goals and beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 5-1. . . . F Shane Danyluk gave the visitors a 1-0 lead with his seventh goal at 4:58 of the first, but it was all Silvertips after that. . . . F Brayden Low tied it at 12:13 of the first, with his seventh goal, and D Noah Juulsen, a 16-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., scored his first WHL goal at 16:15. The goal came in his 52nd career game, 51 of which have been played this season. . . . Everett F Josh Winquist scored his 39th goal, while F Ivan Nikolishin had two assists. . . . Everett was 3-for-6 on the PP. . . . The Raiders went 3-2-1 on this road swing. . . . The Silvertips (31-23-9) moved into sixth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Raiders (29-30-5) slid into ninth in the Eastern Conference, a point behind the Red Deer Rebels. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Myles Bell scored the only goal of the shootout as the Kelowna Rockets bet the Tri-City Americans, 4-3. . . . The Rockets led this one 2-0 after one period, but had to come back from a 3-2 deficit to force OT. . . . F Marek Tvrdon, with his eighth goal, and Bell, with his 40th, shorthanded, gave the Rockets the first-period lead. . . . F Brian Williams, with his 35th, got the Americans on the board in the second period. . . . F Beau McCue scored his 19th to get Tri-City even at 2:19 of the third and D Michal Plutnar, with his third, tied it at 3:35, on the PP. . . . Tvrdon forced OT at 14:45 of the third. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 25 shots, 14 fewer than Tri-City’s Eric Comrie. . . . The Rockets, who were 52-16-4 last season, have won 50 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history. The WHL record is three, held by the 1989-92 Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Americans are without F Taylor Vickerman, 17, whose season is over, thanks to a knee injury. He was scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. Vickerman, a native of Kennewick, was acquired from the Vancouver Giants but played just 30 games as a shoulder injury cut into the first half of his season. . . . Also missing from Tri-City lineup last night were F Jessey Astles, who has three games left on a seven-game WHL suspension, and F Phil Tot, who hasn’t played since Feb. 1. . . . The Rockets (50-9-4) lead the overall standings by seven points over the Portland Winterhawks. Each team has nine games remaining. . . . The loser point lifted the Americans (27-28-8) two points clear of the ninth-place Prince George Cougars in the Western Conference.
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From Brandon Sun sports editor James Shewaga (@JamesShewaga): “The @bdnwheatkings list RW Peter Quenneville, who was in a walking boot last weekend, out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Carsen Germyn (Kelowna, Red Deer, 1998-2003) signed a two-year contract extension with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL). He had 14 goals and 25 assists in 49 games for the Tigers last season. This contract extension is in addition to the one-year extension Germyn signed in April. He now is under contract with Straubing through the 2014-15 season. . . .
F Jakub Sindel (Brandon, 2004-05) signed a one-year contract with Fassa (Italy, Serie A). Sindel played 46 games with four clubs in three leagues last season. He started with Kloten (Switzerland, NL A) (five games, two assists, one broken jaw), moved to Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL) (21 games, one goal), then made his way to Finland, playing 11 games with Kärpät Oulu (SM-Liiga) (three assists) and nine games with Ässät Pori (SM-Liiga) (no points). . . .
D Jakub Cutta (Swift Current, 1998-2000) signed a contract through Nov. 4 with Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had two goals and five assists in 33 games with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga) last season. . . .
F Bandon Campos (Everett, Chilliwack, 2006-08) signed a one-year contract with The Hague (Netherlands, Eredivisie). Campos had 14 goals and 34 assists in 60 games with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (CHL) last season. . . .
F Jordan Knackstedt (Red Deer, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract with Tingsryd (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had 18 goals and 35 assists in 42 games with Bolzano (Italy, Serie A) last season, leading the team in scoring and to the Italian championship. . . .
F Jaroslav Kristek (Tri-City, 1998-2000) signed a one-year contract with Neman Grodno (Belarus, Ekstraliga). He had 10 goals and six assists in 39 games with Lev Poprad (Slovakia, KHL) and one goal and one assist in 11 games while on loan to Kosice (Slovakia, Extraliga).
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You wonder if it’s the canary in the WHL’s coal mine.
James Shewaga, the sports editor of the Brandon Sun, has a column in today’s newspaper that looks at the Wheat Kings’ season-ticket numbers to this point.
As he wrote the piece on Thursday, the Wheat Kings had sold 2,284 season tickets. Last season, they had 2,973 season-ticket holders. Do the math and you realize that they are down 689.
Kelly McCrimmon, the Wheat Kings’ owner and general manager, told Shewaga that “at this point, I’m not concerned.”
McCrimmon also said that if they don’t get to 3,000 season tickets, “I would be very disappointed.”
And he should be disappointed because the Wheat Kings have iced a competitive product for a number of years now, and this season promises to be no different.
Later in the column, a quote from McCrimmon practically jumped off the computer screen.
“The reality in the Western Hockey League,” McCrimmon told Shewaga, “is expenses are growing at a much higher rate than our revenues, and that’s a fact.”
Think about that for a moment.
If you’re in business and your expenses are out-pacing your revenues, you are in a spot of trouble. And if you aren’t able to turn the tide, you soon are out of business.
While there are WHL teams out there that are believed to be making a goodly pile of money, there are others that aren’t.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have lost more than $1 million over the last two seasons, including $602,000 in 2011-12.
The Swift Current Broncos have lost in the neighbourhood of $800,000 on their hockey operation in each of the last two seasons. For 2010-11, that number was $882,587. However, off-ice fund-raising, along with corporate sponsorship and suites, left the deficit at $197,226.
For 2009-10, the loss suffered by the hockey operation was $820,688. However, again, money from such things as corporate sponsorships, suites and the World Junior Championship cut the overall deficit to $58,927.
How long will those teams be able to continue to work as hard as they do just to survive?
Or will the WHL have to implement some form of revenue sharing just to enable some of its franchises to survive?
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There was some movement on the WHL’s 20-year-old front on Thursday.
The Kelowna Rockets added two 20s to their lineup, acquiring F Dylen McKinlay from the Kootenay Ice and claiming J.T. Burnett off waivers from the Everett Silvertips.
The Rockets gave up a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft for McKinlay.
McKinlay had 39 points, including 15 goals, and 37 penalty minutes in 66 games with the Ice last season. Before that, he played three seasons with Chilliwack Bruins.
Barnett was dealt by the Kamloops Blazers to Everett early last season, but got into only 20 regular-season games with the Silvertips thanks to a knee injury. He had 12 points in those 20 games and later returned in the playoffs.
The Rockets went into the day with one 20-year-old on their roster — D Mitchell Chapman — and finished with three.
When all was said and done, the Ice was left with four 20-year-olds — F Drew Czerwonka, D Joey Leach, F Brock Montgomery and F Elgin Pearce.
Everett’s roster features three 20s — F Cody Fowlie, F Ryan Harrison and D Landon Oslanski, the latter having been claimed off waivers from the Lethbridge Hurricanes last month. Harrison is back skating after being out with mononucleosis. He will miss the first four games of the regular season with a supension left over from last season.
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The Victoria Royals have dealt D Kade Pilton, 18, to the Regina Pats for F Demico Hannoun, 17, and a conditional third-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . Pilton had 13 points and 52 penalty minutes in 43 games with the Royals last season. The 6-foot-5, 186-pounder was a second-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. . . . Pilton was selected by the Chilliwack Bruins in the second round of the 2009 bantam draft. Regina head coach Pat Conacher was an assistant coach with the Bruins in 2010-11 so has some familiarity with Pilton. . . . Hannoun played last season with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, putting up 26 points in 49 games. Regina selected him in the ninth round of the 2010 bantam draft.
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JUST NOTES: The Medicine Hat Tigers have assigned F Rhyse Dieno, 19, to the SJHL’s La Ronge IceWolves. He had 11 points in 50 games with the Tigers last season. . . . F Kohl Baum of the Everett Silvertips, who had off-season shoulder surgery, is expected to see some game action this weekend. . . . D Mathew Dumba of the Red Deer Rebels has a walking boot on one foot after suffering a sprained ankle in practice this week. The Rebels expect him to be ready to start the season next weekend. . . . The Saskatoon Blades will hold out as many as six players from games this weekend. F Ryan Graham (back), F Shane McGolgan (knee), G Alex Moodie (hamstring) and D Dalton Thrower (groin) won’t play, while F Matej Stransky (foot) and F Lukas Sutter (shoulder) also are hurting. . . .
D Christos Zinis, an eighth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, has signed with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Zinis, from Broomfield, Colo., played last season with the major bantam Colorado Thunderbirds. News of his signing was tweeted by Turning Point Sports Management. . . . It turns out that the Red Deer Rebels surrendered a fifth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft for F Wyatt Johnson, 17, who had been in camp with the Vancouver Giants. . . . F Colton Sissons of the Kelowna Rockets has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the NHL’s Nashville Predators. Sissons, 19, was a second-round pick by the Predators in the NHL’s 2012 draft. He had 41 points, including 26 goals, in 58 games with the Rockets last season. . . . F Connor Rankin of the Tri-City Americans is expected to sit out this weekend after taking a stick to the mouth last weekend. He lost one tooth and ended up needing caps on three others.
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F Tyler Redenbach, who won the WHL’s 2003-04 scoring title while with the Swift Current Broncos, got his SM-liiga season off to quite a start Thursday as he helped HIFK to a 7-3 victory over Jokerit. Redenbach drew four assists in the victory, with linemate Ville Peltonen scoring three times and adding an assist.
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Ken Dryden has worked in the NHL as a player and a front-office guy. In the latter role, as president of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dryden was involved in high-level meetings during which he would have watched NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in action. Today’s Globe and Mail contains this piece, written by Dryden, that pretty much sums up the state of the NHL today.


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Don Nachbaur, the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs, shares a moment with
forward Mason Wilgosh, the captain of the Tri-City Americans, after
Wednesday's playoff game in Kennewick, Wash.
(Photo by John Allen / AridAcres.com)

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Justin Taylor (Medicine Hat, Red Deer, 1999-2000, 2003-04) signed a one-year contract with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 19 goals and 23 assists in 44 games for Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, Austria Erste Bank Liga) this season. Villach head coach and ex-Winnipeg Jets F Hannu Järvenpää: "Justin is a very valuable player. He is an excellent centre but also plays the wing very well. He knows how to get the puck into dangerous positions in front of the net and gets there himself, too." . . .
F Carsen Germyn (Kelowna, Red Deer, 1998-2003) signed a one-year contract extension with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL). He had 14 goals and 25 assists in 49 games for the Tigers this season. Tigers GM Jason Durham: "Carson generally had an extremely strong season and his plus/minus of +16 was outstanding. It is highly gratifying that Carsen will return, despite lucrative offers from other teams."
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Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada tops his weekly piece with some interesting thoughts on the NFL, the NHL and concussion-related litigation. It is right here.
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Ellen Etchingham at Backhand Shelf offers up her take right here on what is happening in the NHL these days, and it’s well worth a read.
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Evan Daum of the Edmonton Journal takes a look at the Moose Jaw Warriors and their ownership situation right here. They are one of the last community-owned teams left in the WHL.
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D Brandon Manning, a product of the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?), is among the players recalled by the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers from the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Norm Johnston, a former head coach of the Regina Pats, will be returning for a fifth season as head coach the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians.
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TWEET OF THE NIGHT:
From Drew Owsley, who played this season with the Prince George Cougars: “Philly, I’m a free agent . . . #justsayin.”
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
The WHL’s conference finals will feature the top two teams from each. . . . In the Western Conference, the Tri-City Americans will be at home Friday night to the Portland Winterhawks. Both teams advanced with sitrring Game 7 victories on Wednesday night. . . . In the Eastern Conference, it’ll be the Edmonton Oil Kings and Moose Jaw Warriors meeting in the Alberta capital on Friday night. . . . Tri-City, Edmonton and Moose Jaw all won division titles. . . . The other division winner, the Kamloops Blazers, lost 2-0 in Portland last night.

In Portland, G Mac Carruth stopped 32 shots to lead the Winterhawks to a 2-0 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Carruth has two shutouts in these playoffs and three in his career. . . . F Marcel Noebels scored from the slot at 1:10 of the first period. . . . F Brendan Leipsic added insurance, finishing off a 2-on-1 with F Cam Reid, at 9:49 of the third. . . . The Blazers had lost the first three games of the series before roaring back to force a seventh game. . . . Kamloops G Cam Lanigan stopped 37 shots. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave, who suffered a concussion late in Game 1, didn’t play again in the series. He was back in uniform for this one, but only in a backup role. . . . The Winterhawks had won their first seven playoff games before losing three in a row to the Blazers. . . . A note from @WHLFacts: After Game 6 having the most combined goals in the playoffs (13), Game 7 between Portland & Kamloops had the fewest goals in this post season.” . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Brendan Shinnimin, who won the WHL’s regular-

Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin reacts after
scoring the game-winner.
(Photo by Doug Love / Tri-City Americans)

season scoring title, broke a 202 tie 15:42 of the third period as the Tri-City Americans edged the Spokane Chiefs, 3-2. . . . Shinnimin, who also had an assist, has at least a point in each of his last 34 games. . . . Tri-City F Malte Strömwall tied the score 2-2 at 14:38 of the third period. . . . F Dominik Uher gave Spokane a 1-0 lead at 18:48 of the first, on a PP. . . . F Brian Williams tied it at 5:03 of the second. . . . Spokane F Mitch Holmberg gave his guys a 2-1 lead with his 11th goal of the playoffs at 5:47 of the third. . . . Tri-City G Ty Rimmer stopped 17 shots. At the other end, Eric Williams, making his 11th straight start, turned aside 45. . . . The Americans had a 29-9 edge in shots after two periods. . . . Spokane F Mike Aviani came up empty on a penalty shot at 16:59 of the first period. The game was scoreless at the time. . . . This was the 27th playoff victory with the Americans for head coach Jim Hiller, tying him with Don Nachbaur for the most in franchise history. Nachbaur, of course, now coaches the Chiefs. . . . Nachbaur has won a franchise-record six series. . . . The Americans are headed to the Western Conference final for the second time in three seasons and the third time in five years. . . . Shinnimin has 59 career playoff points, tying him with Daymond Langkow for the Tri-City franchise record.
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Here are a couple of interesting post-game tweets from Portland D Troy Rutkowski (@TRutter2):
“To any of our ‘fans’ who jumped off the bandwagon, don’t bother coming back. We don’t want you #pretenders great win boys! #allin.”
He followed that with:
“On the side to everyone who came out to support us tonight thank you. Best fans in the league #7thman #proudtobeahawk.”
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Rutkowski also paid tribute to Kamloops D Bronson Maschmeyer, who played his final WHL game, with this tweet:
“Would like to acknowledge the great series and career @MashMellowMits had in the WHL. #classy guy #greatplayer #allthebesttoyou.”


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Saturday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Nathan Rempel (Saskatoon, 1994-98) signed a one-year contract extension with the Guildford Flames (England, Premier). He had 59 goals and 32 assists in 54 games for the Flames last season and was named to the English Premier League First All-Star Team. . . .
F Dylan Stanley (Tri-City, 2000-05) signed a one-year plus option contract with Bad Nauheim (Germany, Oberliga). He had 14 goals and 23 assists in 53 games with the Colorado Eagles and Texas Brahmas (both Central Hockey League) last season. . . .
F Carsen Germyn (Kelowna, Red Deer, 1998-2003) signed a one-year contract with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL). He had 18 goals and 27 assists with Olten (Switzerland, NL B) last season.
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If you’re a fan of the Portland Winterhawks and eagerly are awaiting renovations to Memorial Coliseum, don’t hold your breath. This one is going to take a while. Brad Schmidt of The Oregonian has the latest right here.
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According to John MacNeil of the Brandon Sun, F Paul Van De Velde (Everett, Brandon, 2008-10) has decided to attend the U of Toronto and play hockey for the Varsity Blues. He played last season for the MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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