Thunderbirds bow out of Memorial Cup ... Sea Dogs win, 7-0 ... Love staying in Everett

F Radek Meidl (Seattle, Tri-City, 2006-08) has signed a one-year extension with Orlik Opole (Poland, PHL). This season, he had three goals and an assist in four games there. He began the season with Frydek-Mistek (Czech Republic, 1. Liga), scoring a goal and adding three assists in 27 games, before joining Dukla Trencin (Slovakia, Extraliga), where he had one assist in 10 games. . . .

F Cody Sylvester (Calgary, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract with Bad Nauheim (Germany, DEL2). This season, with Dornbirn (Austria, Erste Bank Liga), he had nine goals and 20 assists in 50 games. . . .

F Stanislav Balán (Portland, 2005-06) has signed a one-year contract with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). This season, he had a goal and an assist in 30 games with Vítkovice Ostrava (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Balán's contract has an option clause that extends it by one year should Karlovy Vary win promotion to Extraliga next season. . . .

F Dylan Wruck (Edmonton, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract with Cologne (Germany, DEL). This season, with the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany, DEL), he had eight goals and 16 assists in 52 games.

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Likely due to yesterday's event in Manchester, but increased security and bag checking at WFCU Centre in Windsor tonight.

— Loosepucks (@loosepucks) May 23, 2017

The WHL-champion Seattle Thunderbirds bowed out of the Memorial Cup tournament in Windsor, Ont., on Tuesday night after losing 7-0 to the QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs. . . . The Thunderbirds lost all three of their games and were outscored 18-3 in the process. . . . While the Thunderbirds are finished, the Sea Dogs advanced to Friday’s semifinal where they will meet the loser of Wednesday’s game between the host Windsor Spitfires (2-0) and the OHL-champion Erie Otters (2-0). The winner moves on to Sunday’s final. . . . Without the need for a tiebreaker, Thursday is a day off, as is Saturday. . . . 

Last night, Seattle and Saint John played through a goalless first period before the Sea Dogs exploded for six goals in the second period. . . . F Joe Veleno opened the scoring at 1:14. The next five goals came in the span of 3:09, starting at 14:04. . . . Veleno finished with two goals and an assist, with F Bokondji Imama adding a goal and two assists. F Spencer Smallman, F Mathieu Joseph, D Chase Stewart and F Cole Reginato also had goals. . . . G Callum Booth recorded the shutout with 31 saves. . . . Seattle head coach Steve Konowalchuk went back to G Carl Stankowski after lifting him after he gave up three goals, in 38 seconds, on six shots to start Sunday’s 7-1 loss to the host Windsor Spitfires. Against Saint John, Stankowski was beaten four times on 14 shots in 34:57. Rylan Toth came off the bench to stop 11 of 14 shots. . . . Seattle was 0-2 on the PP; Saint John was 0-3. . . . 

Seattle made one lineup change, inserting F Luke Ormsby and scratching D Anthony Bishop. . . . The WHL champion now is 0-6 in the last two Memorial Cup tournaments, the Brandon Wheat Kings having gone 0-3 a year ago in Red Deer. . . . Announced attendance: 5,062.

Andy Eide of 710 ESPN Seattle has a game story right here.

Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun has a game story right here.

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The number of empty seats at Memorial Cup games in the WCFU Centre in Windsor, which has a capacity of 6,500, is becoming a story in its own right.

They haven’t come close to a sellout through five games in the four-team tournament, this despite the fact the host Spitfires are 2-0 and proving to be highly competitive. The announced attendances, in order, have been: 5,926, 5,259, 5,237, 5,114 and 5,062. Games 1 and 3 featured the Spitfires.

So where are the fans? Well, perhaps junior hockey fans have a problem paying $70 or more for a single ticket.

As pensionplanpuppets.com points out right here, the cheapest adult season-ticket for the Spitfires (34 games) could be had for $425, while the cheapest Memorial Cup pass (nine games) was $672.35, tax included.

The piece at pensionplanpuppets.com is headlined: I love you Memorial Cup, but we need to talk about ticket prices.

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The Prince George Cougars have signed F Tyson Phare to a WHL contract. Phare, from Maple Ridge, B.C., was the 18th overall selection in the 2017 bantam draft. He played this season with the Yale Hockey Academy Lions in Abbotsford, B.C., putting up 18 goals and 22 assists in 28 games.

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The Swift Current Broncos have signed F Ben King, who was the 13th overall selection in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. King, from Vernon, B.C., played this season with the Pursuit of Excellence’s bantam prep team, putting up 16 goals and 30 assists in 22 regular-season games.

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Matt Cockell, the Kootenay Ice’s new president and general manager, is getting settled in Cranbrook and has begun the work aimed at re-establishing the WHL franchise in the area. Cockell, 38, is a former WHL goaltender and is eager to get things rolling. Brad McLeod of the Cranbrook Townsman has a piece on Cockell right here.

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Chase Souto has been named assistant general manager of hockey operations for the Los Angeles Jr. Kings organization. Souto, who is from Yorba Linda, Calif., played four seasons (2010-14) with the Kamloops Blazers before his career was ended by concussion problems. . . . Souto, 22, has been coaching with the Jr. Kings for three seasons. With his new title, he also will work as an assistant coach with three teams from midget to pee wee. . . . There’s more on Souto and his new position right here.

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The Mississauga Steelheads, fresh off their first appearance in the OHL’s championship final, have parted company with general manager James Boyd. He told John Matisz of Postmedia that “we were unable to come to an agreement on a contract moving forward.” According to Matisz, Boyd said the parting was “amicable” and that the decision was “mutual.” . . . Boyd had been the Steelheads GM/head coach for five seasons (2011-16). Prior to this season, James Richmond stepped in as head coach, allowing Boyd to focus on the GM’s duties. On Tuesday, after Boyd’s departure was made public, the Steelheads announced that Richmond now is the GM and head coach, and that he had signed a five-year contract. . . . Boyd is expected to interview with the Ottawa 67’s, who are looking for a GM and head coach to replace Jeff Brown. . . . Matisz reported that assistant GM Jan Egert also is gone from Mississauga, his contract having expired. . . . Matisz’s story is right here.

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The U of Waterloo, Ont., Warriors have commitments from two players who finished up their junior eligibility this season in the WHL. . . . G Trevor Martin, who was with the Calgary Hitmen, and F Markson Bechtold, who finished the season with the Saskatoon Blades, both have chosen to attend Waterloo. . . . Martin, from Androssan, Alta., also played with the Saskatoon Blades and Red Deer Blades. He spent some time with the QMJHL’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar this season before joining the Hitmen. . . . From Strathmore, Alta., Bechtold was dealt to the Blades by the Spokane Chiefs this season. In 231 career regular-season games, he had 38 goals and 62 assists. . . . Stick tap to Victor Findlay on the tweets about both players. He keeps tabs on the Canadian university hockey scene at @Finder_24.

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In the USHL, F Tyler Gratton scored at 11:30 of OT to give the visiting Chicago Steel a 2-1 victory over the Sioux City Musketeers in the final game of the championship series. The Steel won the best-of-five series, 3-2. . . . That goal was the first point in 14 playoff games for Gratton, a 17-year-old from Pottstown, Pa. . . . The Musketeers had a 46-25 edge in shots on goal. . . . Jay Varady, who is in his fourth season as the Musketeers’ director of hockey operations and head coach, spent eight seasons (2003-11) on the coaching staff of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips. . . . Mark LeRose, in his third season as Sioux City’s GM, was an assistant coach in Everett for three seasons (2007-09, 2013-14).

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Mitch Love will be returning as an assistant coach with the Everett Silvertips, who introduced Dennis Williams, their new head coach, to their fans on Monday. Jesse Geleynse of the Everett Herald reported that Love’s signing to a two-year extension should be announced shortly. . . . Love played five seasons (2000-05) in the WHL, the last two with the Silvertips. He is heading into his sixth season on their coaching staff. He spent four seasons alongside head coach Kevin Constantine, whose contract wasn’t renewed after this season. . . . Geleynse also reported that the Silvertips will employ only one assistant coach this season, a decision having been made not to replace Brennan Sonne, now the head coach of the pro team in Angers, France. . . . Geleynse’s story is right here.

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The OHL’s Sudbury Wolves are in the market for a head coach after parting company with Dave Matsos on Tuesday. Matsos had been with the Wolves since 2013 when he was the associate coach. He took over as head coach in January 2015. Matsos had a year left on his contract when, according to a news release from the Wolves, the parties “mutually agreed to part ways.” . . . Rob Papineau, the Wolves’ vice-president of hockey operations and general manager, said in a news release: “We considered options on contract extensions but we were unable to come to an agreement moving forward.” . . . Assistant coach Barry Smith also is gone. He joined the Wolves in mid-November when assistant coach Drake Berehowsky left to take over as head coach of the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears.

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At my 150th consecutive #MCMemorialCup game tonight. Seattle's goalie was 2 months old when it started. #old pic.twitter.com/UMWLsFRtsI

— Terry Doyle (@Terry_Doyle) May 23, 2017

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Another player at home with brain injury . . . To dry scrape, or not to dry scrape

G Leland Irving (Everett, 2003-08) has signed a one-year contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia, KHL). He was invited to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s training camp on a tryout basis on Sept. 9. Last season, with Jokerit Helsinki (Finland, Liiga), he was 2.14 and .922 in 55 games. . . .
F Karel Hromas (Everett, 2004-06) has been released by Kadaň (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). Last season, he had one assist in seven games with Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had 11 points, including six goals, in 29 games on loan to Kadaň.
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CONCUSSION REPORT:

Veteran F Chase Souto, 20, no longer is with the Kamloops Blazers. Souto, who is hoping to play in his fifth season with the Blazers, has returned to his California home as he tries to recover from at least the fourth concussion of his WHL career.
Souto suffered his latest concussion on Feb. 7 and still wasn’t feeling well when he reported to the Blazers training camp in late August.
“He took part in the first two days of training camp,” Blazers head coach Don Hay told Earl Seitz of CFJC-TV in Kamloops. “He came to us and said he wasn’t feeling quite right. Our doctors looked at him and shut him down.
“We’ve given him some time to go home, get well rested, then have the possibility of coming back and joining us at a future date.”
Souto finished last season with 31 points, including 20 goals, in 47 games. He suffered a broken hand during a fight in Moose Jaw on Dec. 15 and didn’t play again until Jan. 17.
His latest concussion came in a game against the visiting Victoria Royals on Feb. 7. He tried to play again, on Feb. 28 in Calgary, but it didn’t work and his season was over.
Now there isn’t any time frame for a return.
“The doctor feels he’s not at 100 per cent right now,” Hay said,
“and wants to give him a little more time to recover.”
Souto incurred two concussions as a 16-year-old freshman, the first coming four games into the season on an open-ice hit in Chilliwack, the second occurring when he was on the receiving end of a heavy check in Cranbrook.
Then, on Sept. 10, 2011, he took an elbow to the head during an exhibition game against Kelowna and that resulted in brain injury No. 3.
Three years ago, after Souto suffered that third brain injury, I talked with him and wrote this piece right here. The interesting part is how he kept playing after the hit and intentionally got into a fight. That way, he got tossed with the automatic game misconduct and was able to buy some time as he tried to determine whether he might be able to keep the brain injury from training Colin Robinson and the coaching staff.
With Souto gone, the Blazers are down to two 20-year-olds -- G Bolton Pouliot and D Brady Gaudet.
Will Souto be back in time to fill that third spot.
“That is open right now,” Hay told Seitz, “but there’s always the possibility it might get filled.”
The Blazers also need Souto’s offence. With him on the roster, they return 106 goals from a team that had the second-poorest offence in the WHL last season.
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Sometime during the next week, the WHL will issue a news release covering rule changes for the 2014-15 regular season. Don't expect the trapezoid behind the nets to be expanded or for the area between the hash marks at faceoff circles to be widened, a la the NHL. No doubt the WHL would like to use both rules, but there isn't time to change the paint schemes in all of the arenas before the season opens on Friday. . . . I experienced the dry scrape before overtime for the first time on Friday night. I would hope the WHL dumps that idea before the regular season begins. There are times when there is a real buzz in a building as everyone prepares for OT. But the time it takes to do a dry scrape sucks the atmosphere right out of the building. At least, that was the case last night in Kamloops, where the Blazers scored at 18:53 of the third period to forge a 3-3 tie and force OT with the Prince George Cougars.
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Some impressions from that game:
Kamloops F Matt Needham needs to have a lot of games just like that one for the Blazers to have success this season. The Blazers’ captain had the winning goal, on the PP, and two assists. He set up the tying goal by winning a faceoff in the Cougars’ zone. . . . Kamloops D Patrik Maier, a Slovakian freshman, had a goal and an assist and showed some flair. He slammed his gun into its holster after rifling a shot through a screen for a third-period goal. He also showed a sharp stick and some feistiness in front of his net. . . . Blazers F Jake Kryski, 16, was the best player on the ice. The kid has a lot of game for someone that young. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles the grind of a WHL schedule. . . . The Cougars had a few veterans who played like it was the last exhibition game, which it was. At this level, coaches shouldn’t have to be yelling at players to skate hard on the way back into their zone. . . . Prince George D Dominic Thom looks like one of those players you hate to play against but love to have on your team. . . . Cougars F Jari Erricson, 20, has some rust after playing only four games last season thanks to a brain injury. . . . The Cougars scratched F Jansen Harkins, meaning he finishes the exhibition season with nine points, including four goals, in three games.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers are waiting to find out exactly what is wrong with G Jared Rathjen. Shaun Clouston, the Tigers’ GM and head coach, has told Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News that Rathjen, 20, has yet to get medical clearance to play. . . . “In his medical, (Rathjen) had some abnormalities appear on some testing, and so basically until those are investigated and looked into, our doctor has said he can’t participate,” Clouston told McCracken. “So he’s been just kind of waiting. He’s going to see a specialist next week and hopefully he’ll be back to normal.” . . . For now, then, Nick Schneider will be the Tigers’ starting goaltender, with Cole Schafer from the junior B Medicine Hat Cubs backing up. That means Schneider starts tonight against the Red Deer Rebels in Stettler, with Schafter on the bench. . . . McCracken also reports that F Anthony Ast (wrist) and F Chad Labelle (knee) are hobbled.
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It’s hard to believe, but F Tim Bozon is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens. It was only in March when Bozon, then with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice, was in the intensive care unit of a Saskatoon hospital, deathly ill with Neisseria meningitis. He has come a long way since then, though, and Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette has the story right here.
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The OHL has handed out its first major suspension of the season, hitting F Noah Bushnell of the Sarnia Sting with a 10-game sentence for a headshot -- an elbow to the an opponent’s chin -- during a preseason game. . . . There’s more, including video, right here.
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It sounds like Tim Hunter, the first-year head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors, got welcomed to the WHL on Friday night. His club was outshot 42-20 en route to a 6-2 loss to the host Brandon Wheat Kings. Afterwards, Hunter told Katie Brickman of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald: “I never trust the shot clock on the road. I don’t think it was quite as bad as it was but, still, they did outshoot us and outwork us.” . . . Ah, yes, the shot clock on the road in the WHL. There isn‘t a coach in the league who hasn‘t walked the same ground as Hunter. . . .
An interesting note from Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, after the Blades’ 3-2 shootout victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos last night: “The 1,134 fans who attended Friday’s game got a taste of what the setup will look like at the rink this season. The upper bowl will be curtained off for almost all games in an effort to create a better atmosphere and stronger demand for tickets. The lower bowl holds approximately 6,000 people.” . . . During that game, Nugent-Bowman tweeted: “Broncos D Jordan Harris dumped to the side of the SC net. He skates off the ice with his left shoulder dangling down.” . . .
F Justin Hickman of the Seattle Thunderbirds was to have joined the Winnipeg Jets team at the Young Guns tournament in Penticton, B.C., but those plans were ruined by an undisclosed injury suffered in practice this week. . . . The Toronto Maple Leafs revealed Friday that D Rinat Valiev of the Kootenay Ice won’t participate in their camp because of an undisclosed injury. . . .
F Kristian Ferletak of the Victoria Royals drew a one-game suspension for the goaltender interference major and game misconduct he incurred Thursday against the visiting Vancouver Giants. He won't play tonight in Kelowna against the Rockets. . . . Victoria D Joe Hicketts wasn’t selected in the NHL’s 2014 draft, but is with the Detroit Red Wings’ rookie team in a tournament at Traverse City, Mich. Last night, he scored in OT and also drew an assist as the Red Wings beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-5.
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Please @TheWHL, no dry scrapes before overtime.
— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) September 13, 2014

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Blazers get down to two goaltenders

If you haven't seen it, this is the new scoreclock at Interior
Savings Centre in Kamloops.
(Murray Mitchell / The Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
For the most part, the evaluation process is over, and so is training camp.
The Kamloops Blazers will get down to the routine of practising today as they get ready to play their first WHL exhibition games.
The Blazers will visit the Kelowna Rockets on Friday and return home to face the Vancouver Giants on Sunday, 6 p.m. (On Saturday, the Rockets will play the Giants in Ladner.)
On Wednesday night, the Blazers put the wraps on another training camp as Team Blue scored an 8-4 victory over Team White in the annual intrasquad game.
For veteran forwards JC Lipon and Colin Smith, both 20 years of age, it may have been their last time in a Blazers uniform.
Lipon leaves next week for Winnipeg and the camp of the NHL’s Jets, who selected him in the third round of the 2013 draft. Smith departs Friday and will end up in Denver at the Colorado Avalanche’s camp.
Lipon has yet to sign a pro contract; Smith is under contract to Colorado, which selected him in the seventh round in 2012.
“We’re moving forward without them,” Blazers head coach Dave Hunchak said. “If we get them back, great.
“Our plan is to move forward without them. Those are big holes we need to plug somehow. Veteran guys need to step in.”
Hunchak has talked with Dean Chynoweth, the general manager and head coach of the Lake Erie Monsters, the Cleveland-based AHL affiliate of the Avalanche.
Based on those conversations, Hunchak said: “I don’t expect to get Colin Smith back.”
As for Lipon, he could end up with the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps.
“He’ll do everything he can do stay there, as he should,” Hunchak said of Lipon. “For us to be sitting here and hoping that one of those guys comes back isn’t right. From an organizational standpoint, we want to move players up.”
Without Lipon and Smith, the Blazers are left with two 20-year-olds on their roster — defenceman Sam Grist and centre Joe Kornelsen. WHL teams are allowed to dress three such players per game.
Last night, the Blue guys erased a 1-0 deficit with three straight second-period goals, courtesy of Jake Kryski and Swiss imports Tim Bozon and Edson Harlacher. Cole Ully, with two, Deven Sideroff, Joe Kornelsen and Matt Needham also scored for Blue.
Team White got two goals from Chase Souto and singles from the Lipon brothers, Mitch and JC.
Hunchak quite liked what he saw, noting that the coaches have done some work on systems, some of which was evident on the ice.
“It was good as far as structure,” Hunchak said of the game, adding that some players had picked up the defensive-zone coverage and the forecheck in the neutral zone.
As for the much-watched scrap for the position backing up starting goaltender Taran Kozun, the winner is Cole Kehler, a youngster from Altona, Man., who played high school hockey last season. Kehler, who won’t turn 16 until Dec. 17, was beaten three times last night after coming on in relief of Kozun for Team Blue.
The Blazers released two 17-year-old goaltenders — Liam McLeod of Kamloops and Cameron Pateman of Regina — following the game. McLeod played Kozun to a 1-1 draw in the game’s first half; Pateman was beaten six times.
The Blazers also released forwards Jermaine Loewen and Laramie Kostelansky, along with defenceman Dawson Davidson and Cameron Trott.
Loewen, a 15-year-old from Arborg, Man., was a third-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. He has signed with the Blazers and had a good camp.
Kostelansky, 16, from Fort MacLeod, Alta., was a 10th-round pick in the 2012 draft. Davidson, from Moosomin, Sask., was the 58th overall pick in the 2013 draft, while Trott, 16, from Port Moody, is the younger brother of Portland Winterhawks forward Jason Trott.
 JUST NOTES: The Blazers still have two 1998-born players on their roster — 2013 first-rounders Quinn Benjafield and Kryski. Both are expected to see game action this weekend. . . . Hunchak said he expects the Rockets to “dress a good team” on Friday. “They will be motivated from last season,” he said. . . . The Blazers swept Kelowna from a second-round playoff series last spring. . . . Hunchak also said the Blazers will be wanting to push the Rockets. “We want to make sure to put our best foot forward every game,” he said. . . . Colorado’s three-day rookie camp opens Sept. 8 in Denver, with main camp starting Sept. 12. Smith, who signed a three-year NHL contract earlier this season, is on the roster wearing No. 37. . . . Ryan Huska, who won three Memorial Cups as a player with the Blazers, has signed a three-year extension as head coach of the Rockets. Huska, 38,now is signed through 2016-17. He is going into his seventh season as the Rockets’ head coach and his 12th season with the organization.

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Lipon brothers meet up during Blazers scrimmage

Forward Mitch Lipon of the Kamloops Blazers applies some freezing gel
to his upper front teeth after having them chipped when he was checked
by his brother, JC, during an earlier scrimmage on Sunday.
(HUGO YUEN / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
JC Lipon was chuckling.
His younger brother, Mitch, was grimacing.
Their mother, Shelley, was, well, she was being a mother.
During a Sunday morning scrimmage at the Kamloops Blazers’ training camp at Interior Savings Centre, JC caught Mitch with a shoulder check in open ice.
“He got me with a shoulder and my teeth went into my visor,” offered Mitch, 17, showing the damage to his two upper front teeth, both of which were chipped, then adding that he was going to have to call home.
“I hit him in middle ice,” said JC, 20, with a laugh, while nodding in the direction of Mitch.
“I suppose (JC) is just trying to toughen up his little brother,” Shelley wrote in a text from Regina. “I have just come to the conclusion that it’s part of hockey.
“But it is tough on a mom!”
While JC has spent four seasons with the Blazers, Mitch, who played last season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians, is hoping for a spot here this season. He put up 51 points, 20 of them goals, in 44 games with Regina last season, and also got a late-season taste of life with the Blazers, getting limited playing time and going pointless in three regular-season and five playoff games.
Having been here last spring has made this camp a bit easier for him.
“It’s a lot easier to come in here knowing all the guys, having been here before and knowing how things work,” Mitch said. “You’re still a rookie but you know what to do and are expected to know what to do.”
Mitch also has gotten more help than a shoulder to the face from his older brother.
“He helps me out a lot,” Mitch said. “He gives me that extra push. He’s in my face quite a bit but it’s all good.
“He said I have the skill, I just have to put in the work ethic to get where I want to be and get a spot on the team. I want to make the team and find a spot where I can contribute.”
JC, meanwhile, is hoping to play this season for the St. John’s IceCaps, the Newfoundland-based AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. They selected Lipon in the third round of the 2013 NHL draft.
That put a cap on a season during which Lipon really came of age, at one point leading the WHL in scoring and then earning a spot on the Canadian team that played at the world junior championship in Ufa, Russia.
“Obviously a lot of good things happened last winter,” Lipon said. “I made some big strides. But it’s like you’re in the doghouse again . . . you get drafted and start from the bottom again. It’s another challenge in life and I’m looking forward to it.”
Shortly after the draft, Lipon attended a Jets’ prospects camp that, he said, only served to help his confidence.
Asked how he stacked up there, he replied: “Good, really good.”
He admitted to having been intimidated a bit in fitness testing “with the college guys.”
“But,” he added, “then you get on the ice and you know why you’re there. I did really well in all the practices and in the game, too. I’m pretty happy with the way things are.”
Lipon, who has yet to sign an NHL contract, will head for Winnipeg on Sept. 4 and then play for the Jets team at the Young Stars tournament in Penticton, Sept. 5-9.
“Obviously, I want to make the big team,” he said. But, being realistic, “definitely St. John’s is where I want to be.”
And if he ends up back in Kamloops?
“It is what it is,” he said. “There’s good coaching staff here. We’re young but just from being here it’s an awesome coaching staff. They’ve kind of developed that over the last few seasons and it’s a good organization to be in.”
Of course, if Lipon should wind up back here, he could get to play with Mitch, something he said is “pretty exciting.”
“He worked really hard this summer,” Mitch said. “I told him, ‘it’s your position to lose and he’s got to work hard.’ ”
Yes, even if it means taking a shoulder to the mouth from big brother.
So . . . when is payback?
“I don’t know,” Mitch said. “I guess we’ll see.”
JUST NOTES: Of the 57 players left in the Blazers’ camp, 32 were born in 1997 or ’98. The 14 players born in 1998 aren’t eligible for WHL rosters this season. . . . Veteran F Chase Souto, who turns 19 on Oct. 8, is the lone American in camp. . . . Sophomore D Jordan Thomson remains day-to-day with a cut to one foot. Thomson, who was injured while vacationing with his family, skated Sunday. . . . F Tim Bozon, 19, will leave Sept. 4 for Montreal and the Canadiens’ training camp, while F Colin Smith, 20, leaves Friday to join the Colorado Avalanche. Both have signed NHL deals. . . . G Bailey De Palma, the son of Blazers goaltending coach Dan De Palma, stopped 23 of 24 shots during his stint and was the second star last night as the host Prince George Spruce Kings dropped a 5-2 decision to the visiting Merritt Centennials in a BCHL exhibition game.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Bud Holloway (Seattle, 2003-08) signed a one-year contract extension with Skellefteå (Sweden, Elitserien). The contract has an out-clause should he sign an NHL contract. Holloway was named Elitserien Most Valuable Player, winning the league scoring championship with 20 goals and 51 assists in 55 games. Skellefteå beat Luleå four games to none to win their second-ever Elitserien championship — the first was in 1977-78. There is an interview video (in English) with Holloway on the club website, which you can find right here. . . .

F Ryan Kinasewich (Medicine Hat, Tri-City, 1998-2004) signed a one-year plus option contract with the Graz 99ers (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had four goals and seven assists in 14 games with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) and 16 goals and 10 assists in 25 games for Milan Rossoblu (Italy, Serie A) this season. . . .

D Jame Pollock (Seattle, 1995-99) signed a one-year contract extension with the Nuremburg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL). He had eight goals and 18 assists in 46 games this season. Nuremburg also announced that it won’t offer contracts for next season to seven players, including D Sven Butenschön (Brandon, 1993-1996). Butenschön had two goals and one assist in 50 games for the Ice Tigers this season. . . .

F Nathan Rempel (Saskatoon, 1994-98) won’t be offered a contract for next season by the Guildford Flames (England, Premier). He had 19 goals and 20 assists in 43 games for the Flames this season.
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It will be interesting to see what kind of welcome is afforded F Chase Souto and the Kamloops Blazers tonight in Portland.
The Blazers trail 3-1 in the Western Conference final with the Winterhawks.
After being beaten 3-0 in Game 4 in Kamloops on Wednesday night, Souto was quoted by Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week as saying: “We did it last year. I think we're going to go in their barn, cause a ruck and shut their fans up. Bunch of losers down there. … just gonna give it our all."
A year ago, in the second round, the Blazers were trailing 3-1 when they went into Portland and won, 7-2.
Souto’s comment was met with a predictable response.
Portland F Nic Petan told Paul Buker of The Oregonian: “We kind of heard it on the bus today. Not much you can do about it, just let it go. Our focus is on winning the game, and not making comments like that.”
D Derrick Pouliot added: “He can say whatever he wants. We’ve got amazing fans here. They’re loud, and proud.”
The loudest stuff, as usual, came from the fans.
Among the comments on the Winterhawks Booster Club’s Facebook page, where the graphic at the top of this entry was posted, were these:
“Wow, what a great example of terrible sportsmanship. Even if the Hawks lost, the fans would never shut up — Hawks' fans aren't fair weather fans.”
“No one shuts up we just shutout.”
“If your going to the game boo him enough for me please.”
“Suoto literally has a face only a mother can love. Go Hawks!!! Skates To Asses tomorrow night from the first puck drop till the final horn!!!”
“Chase Souto mouthing off, down 3-1? Shocker. Someone forgot to lock the chicken coop…”
“We should boo him every time he touches the puck. Just to remind him of his comment and how loud we can really be!”
There also was this:
“As much as it was pretty classless for Souto to make this statement... in my opinion it was wrong of the Winterhawks to create this and share it on their Facebook page. Seriously. Be the better team and show them on the ice...not on social media. This is a professional organization and posting this on their page is completely unprofessional.”
Meanwhile, over on Twitter, there was this:
From WinterhawksEgo (@WinterhawksEgo): “Way to stay classy @blazer hockey, chase souto. You're still losing Saturday night, don't fools yourselves.”
Uhh, someone may want to tell WinterhawksEgo that the game is tonight and tonight is Friday. Uhh, there isn’t a game scheduled for Saturday. So, WinterhawksEgo, don’t fools yourself into thinking there is a game on Saturday.
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And then there was Portland freelance writer Scott Sepich (@SSepich), who noted: “If the Winterhawks want to get casual PDX sports fans outraged, they should point out that Chase Souto is from CA and prob. a Lakers fan.”
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In the WHL, we get chirping. In the QMJHL, they get really down and dirty.
You have to love the QMJHL. You watched video of the the post-game donnybrook between the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Baie-Comeau Drakkar and you go to bed. You wake up Thursday morning and the suspensions and fines already have been handed out. No wasting time. Everyone knows where they stand. Wonderful! . . . All told, 12 players, including all four goaltenders, drew suspensions, which means you may be on the bench as a backup goaltender for one of the teams. . . . There’s more on the suspensions and fines right here. . . . The series is 2-2 with Game 5 scheduled for Baie-Comeau tonight. . . . After Game 2, the Armada dropped F Stefane Matteau, who was a first-round selection by the New Jersey Devils in the 2012 NHL draft. Provided with a plane ticket home from Baie-Comeau, he chose to ride home on a fan bus. His father, former NHLer Stephane, is an assistant coach with the Armada, although he now is on leave from the team.
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Former NHLer Jim Peplinski suggests bodychecking be banned from all levels of hockey until players are at least 16 years of age. . . . “I’d question whether I’d have kids in hockey as it’s currently organized,” Peplinski said. “I don’t think I would. The image, the money, it completely fogs people’s judgments.” . . . Mark Howell, the head coach of the U of Calgary Dinos, says hitting shouldn’t be introduced until players are 13 to 15 years of age. . . . “Kids cannot learn to hit,” Howell said. “Kids need to learn the game of hockey without the fear of body contact at a young age.” . . . Dawn Walton of The Globe and Mail has more right here.
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It would appear that D Griffin Reinhart’s season is over. That being the case, his WHL career may be over. The Edmonton Oil Kings announced Thursday that Reinhart has undergone surgery to repair a torn tendon in a foot and won’t play for perhaps six weeks. . . . Reinhart suffered a cut to one foot during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference with the Calgary Hitmen. Reinhart, 19, was a first-round selection, fourth overall, by the New York Islanders in the 2012 NHL draft. . . . Edmonton D Cody Corbett (knee), who missed Games 3 and 4, is back skating. . . . With the series tied 2-2, Game 5 of the conference final is tonight in Edmonton. . . . The Hitmen will get back F Jake Virtanen, who served a two-game suspension for the hit that injured Corbett.
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D Landon Oslanski, who played out his junior eligibility with the Everett Silvertips, has joined the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. He made his pro debut last night, picking up an assist in a 5-3 playoff victory over the visiting Anchorage Aces.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Jerry Bancks is the new general manager/head coach of the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay International Junior League. Bancks had been an assistant coach with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice. In the past, Bancks has done two stints on the Dynamiters’ coaching staff, both times as an assistant. . . .
Aaron Wilburn has resigned as head coach of the junior B Richmond Sockeyes, who won the Keystone Cup as Western Canadian champions last week. Wilburn, 32, told Mark Booth of the Richmond News that his business interests have become too all-encompassing. Among other things, Wilbur is president of The Coaches Site and organizes coaching clinics. . . . Booth’s story is right here.
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The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Calgary (3)
(Series tied 2-2; Game 5 tonight in Edmonton; all games on Shaw TV, with Dan Russell calling the play.)
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Kamloops (3)
(Portland leads series, 3-1; Game 5 tonight at the Rose Garden in Portland.)
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (20):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (6):
None
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From Ken Campbell (@THNKenCampbell): “Have to wonder where parity has gone in Jr. hockey. In OHL, QMJHL, WHL there have been 36 playoff series, only one has gone seven games.”


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Royals/Blazers notebook

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
A hush fell over Interior Savings Centre early Saturday evening when D Ryan Gagnon of the Victoria Royals was injured during a WHL playoff game with the Kamloops Blazers.
It was at 3:34 of the first period when Gagnon, a 16-year-old from Quesnel, caught an edge and fell awkwardly into the boards. He laid on his back and didn’t move for a minute or two, but eventually got to his feet and was helped off the ice. He didn’t return, leaving the Royals to finish with five defencemen.
“I saw him in the dressing room right afterward,” Royals general manager Cam Hope told Marlon Weldon, the team’s play-by-play man, “and he was walking, and talking and quite upset that he had put himself in that position and was out of the game.”
After the game, Victoria head coach Dave Lowry said Gagnon would be “re-evaluated” when the Royals get home.
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The Royals were hanging on by a thread during the game, but it all came unravelled in the second period, leading to the Blazers’ 6-4 victory.
Two minutes into the second period, with the Blazers leading 2-0, Victoria G Patrik Polivka was penalized for handling the puck outside the trapezoid. The way the Royals saw it, it was a borderline call at best.
A few minutes later, the Royals thought they had a power-play goal when F Steven Hodges whipped a shot from the right side that beat G Cole Cheveldave. However, it was waved off as referees Devin Klein and Tyler Adair called incidental contact by F Ben Walker on Cheveldave. While there was contact, the Royals claimed it was well before Hodges took the shot.
Then, at 12:43, just a minute after F Jamie Crooks had cut the deficit to 2-1, Kamloops F Tim Bozon was credited with a goal when a D Joel Edmundson shot glanced off him and beat Polivka. The Royals wondered if Bozon — like Crooks before him — should have been called for incidental contact with Polivka.
Nothing of the sort happened, of course, and the Blazers quickly scored two more goals to take a 5-1 lead into the third period.
One of the results was a running dialogue — most of it one-way — between Victoria head coach Dave Lowry and the officiating crew.
“That’s playoff hockey. Right?,” a much cooler Lowry stated afterward. “It’s all about the wave and tonight we were on the wrong side of it. Momentum is huge in the playoffs. You have to find a way when you have it to keep it; when you don’t have it, you have to find a way to get it back.”
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Kamloops F Chase Souto was penalized late in the third period after he took the feet out from under Polivka. At the time, Lowry could be seen barking in the direction of the Blazers’ bench.
Kamloops associate coach Dave Hunchak had backup G Taran Kozun begin loosening up, perhaps thinking it might be prudent to send him in for Cheveldave just in case things took a turn.
But that never happened and the game finished without mishap.
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The Royals got a huge break on their first goal when Edmundson tried to fire the puck around his net and out the other side, only to have it hit Klein in the feet.
The puck went directly to Crooks beside the Blazers net. He skated out front and beat Cheveldave to get the Royals to within 2-1 at 11:49 of the second period.
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JUST NOTES: Counting regular-season and playoff games, the Blazers are 17-3-2 against the Royals since the franchise relocated from Chilliwack in time for the 2011-12 season. . . . Crooks’ goal gave him the franchise record for most career goals (8), breaking a mark he had shared with F Ryan Howse. Crooks also played in his 17th postseason game, setting another franchise record. . . . Former Blazers D Austin Madaisky, who is working to come back from wrist surgery, played three games with the ECHL’s Evansville Icemen last week, scoring once in a 5-2 loss to the visiting Kalamazoo Wings on Saturday. He now will join the Springfield Falcons, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets.


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