Forward returns to Silvertips . . . Update on Patrick . . . Warriors romp in Saskatoon

F Jens Meilleur (Brandon, 2010-14) has been released by the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL) at his request. He was pointless in four games. This season, he had two assists in seven games while on loan to Bayreuth (Germany, DEL2) and was pointless in one game while on loan to Weiden (Germany, Oberliga).

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Jesse Geleynse of the Everett Herald tweeted Thursday that F Bradly Goethals has returned to the Everett Silvertips.

Goethals, 18, from Ile-des-Chenes, Man., was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Oct. 11 for a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2018 WHL bantam draft. Goethals joined the Silvertips after the trade, but left shortly afterwards for what was said to be personal reasons.

Last season, he put up 74 points, 41 of them goals, for the midget AAA Eastman Selects. He led the

Manitoba Midget Hockey League in goals and points. He also had three goals in one game with the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers and a goal and an assist in five games with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings.

The Silvertips, of course, are the WHL’s top defensive team, but surely could use an injection of offensive talent. All Goethals has to do is buy into head coach Kevin Constantine’s structured defensive game to earn enough playing time to be able to exercise his offensive skills.

The Silvertips had their defensive game on display in Kamloops on Wednesday night and an Everett fan could make the argument that circumstances conspired against the visitors in this one.

A Kamloops fan would say that the Blazers’ goaltender was better than Everett’s in this one — not by much, but enough to win.

The Blazers, who had been terrible in a 7-0 loss to the visiting Prince George Cougars on Saturday night, were much better against Everett, but still needed superb goaltending from Connor Ingram before beating the Silvertips 2-1 in OT.

The Blazers were being outshot 22-7 when Everett scored its only goal, at 12:12 of the second period, and the edge was 27-12 going into the third period.

However, the Silvertips had played at home the night before — they beat the Calgary Hitmen, 6-1 — and got into Kamloops in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. And it started to show in the latter stages of the second period.

The Silvertips got caught running around in their zone for maybe the only time all night at 15:31 when Kamloops F Rudolfs Balcers was able to beat a stickless Carter Hart with a high shot.

The OT lasted 11 seconds and the flagging Silvertips were no match for the Blazers’ speed 3-on-3, with Balcers ending the game as he finished off a give-and-go-go with linemate Deven Sideroff.

By game’s end, the Blazers had closed the gap on the shot clock to 34-23.

Everett’s offence is averaging 3.25 goals per game, 10th-best in the WHL, while it is far and away No. 1 on defence at 1.95, with the Prince George Cougars next at 2.55.

The Silvertips (15-2-4) and Cougars (16-4-2) are tied atop the WHL’s overall standings, with the Regina Pats (15-0-3) just a point off the pace. The high-flying Pats are scoring 5.78 goals per game, almost a goal more than the Medicine Hat Tigers (4.80) and two up on the Tri-City Americans (3.81). If you’re wondering, Regina’s defence is ninth, allowing 3.17 goals per game.

If Goethals can stick around and add even a little bit to Everett’s offence, Constantine and general manager Garry Davidson will be thrilled. If not, well, the trade deadline is less than two months away.

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F Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings, the consensus No. 1 pick in the NHL’s 2017 draft, has told NHL.com that he expects to miss another two to three weeks. Patrick, who underwent sports hernia surgery in July and missed most of training camp, has played only six games this season, putting up four goals and five assists. He last played on Oct. 11. . . . "I'm skating on my own right now," Patrick told Mike Morreale of nhl.com. "I’m just starting getting back on the ice (this week) and doing edge work and skill stuff like that, but nothing too intense yet. Every day it gets a little better, so I'm hopeful. This was out of my control, and it's killing me not to be out there with my teammates." . . . Patrick still hopes to get an invitation to the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. He likely will be on the list that Hockey Canada says will come out on Nov. 29. The selection camp is scheduled to open Dec. 11 in Blainville, Que. If Patrick isn’t back with Brandon for another three weeks, the time line would seem to be a bit tight. . . . Morreale’s story is right here.

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#ThrowbackThursday A fight breaks out on the North End Stage of the Keystone Centre back in 1982! #oldtimehockey #PrideofthePrairies pic.twitter.com/QWXk4b2EQS

— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) November 17, 2016

The Brandon Wheat Kings posted the above tweet on Thursday afternoon. We have determined that No. 6 is D Dean Kennedy, who was the captain of the Wheat Kings at the time. If you have any idea who the other player might be, drop me an email at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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The Spokane Chiefs have signed Chris Moulton to a contract through 2017-18 and named him assistant general manager, hockey operations. Moulton has been with the Chiefs since 2005 when he signed on as director of player personnel. . . . Before joining the Chiefs, he scouted with the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Chiefs also have signed Todd Daniels, their athletic trainer and conditioning coach, through 2017-18. He has been with them since 2008.

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John Tortorella, the head coach of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, suggested earlier this week that game-day skates are over-rated. . . . Mike Benton, the radio voice of the Everett Silvertips, asked head coach Kevin Constantine for his thoughts. Here’s Constantine’s answer:

“We do everything with trying to add a bit of science and study to make sure our facts are facts and not just an idea. We have found ourselves that we are much better by not skating. All the analytics and studies we’ve done we’re a better team when we don’t skate in the morning and we save the energy for the game at night.”

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Have you ever wondered how much money is to be made by playing hockey in Europe? Well, let us take a look at F Aaron Gagnon, a product of Armstrong, B.C. Gagnon, now 30, played five seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds before going on to a pro career that includes 38 NHL games — 21 with the Dallas Stars and 17 with the Winnipeg Jets. . . . Gagnon went to Europe for 2013-14 and now is into his fourth season with Lukko Rauma in the Finnish Liiga, that country’s top league.

Every October, the Finnish government publishes a list of individuals who earned at least 100,000 euros and their taxable income for the previous year as reported on their tax returns. The list that was published last month is for 2015 and Gagnon shows up as having the fourth-highest taxable income for a paid hockey player during that period.

According to the list, Gagnon earned 252,904 euros. At Thursday’s exchange rates, he made Cdn$363,300 (US$268,058).

That might be something for today’s junior/college players to ponder.

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Mark McNaughton has stepped in as the interim general manager and head coach of the junior B Princeton Posse of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. . . . He replaces Geoff Goodman, who was fired on Wednesday. The Posse also fired associate coach Lance Vaillancourt. . . . Goodman was in his second season in Princeton. . . . McNaughton had been the Posse’s director of hockey operations.

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These days, Bob McKeown is the co-host of the fifth estate, CBC-TV’s investigative show. In another life, he played for the CFL’s Ottawa Rough Riders. In fact, he played enough football during his athletic career that he writes “I happen to know something about concussions in football because . . . I’ve had a lot of them.” . . . This is scary and interesting stuff, and it’s all right here.

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Fred Sasakamoose, the 1st First Nations NHLer is in the house with chiefs from Saskatoon Tribal Council! 💯 pic.twitter.com/5vf8HspiLr

— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) November 18, 2016

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THURSDAY’S GAME:

The @MJWARRIORS celebrate their 5-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. #WHL. pic.twitter.com/5uEoUVE8wF

— Darren Steinke (@StanksSports) November 18, 2016

At Saskatoon, F Luka Burzan and F Noah Gregor each had two goals and an assist as the Moose Jaw Warriors skated to a 5-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Burzan, who has seven goals, gave the

Blades a 2-0 lead with goals at 18:39 of the first period and 1:40 of the second. . . . Burzan drew an assist on Gregor’s eighth goal, at 7:00 of the second, that gave the visitors a 3-0 lead. . . . F Wyatt Sloboshan (3) got the Blades to within two goals at 7:23. . . . Warriors F Jayden Halbgewachs got that one back when he scored No. 13, on a PP, at 11:39. . . . Gregor closed out the scoring with a shorthanded goal at 4:03 of the third period. . . . F Nikita Popugaev had three assists for the Warriors, with D Matt Sozanski earning two. . . . G Zach Sawchenko stopped 32 shots for the Warriors, two more than Saskatoon’s Brock Hamm. . . . The Warriors were 1-2 on the PP; the Blades were 0-4. . . . Moose Jaw (12-4-4) had lost its previous three games. . . . The Blades slid to 9-12-1. . . . F Brayden Burke was pointless in his debut with the Warriors after being acquired last week from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Blades will complete a stretch of three games in as many nights by playing in Brandon on Friday and Saturday. . . . Announced attendance: 3,302.

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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Saskatoon at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.

Vancouver at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.

Edmonton vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.

Prince Albert at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Lethbridge vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.

Calgary at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Red Deer, 7 p.m.

Moose Jaw at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

Kamloops vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

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Silvertips move to top of standings

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Derek Meech (Red Deer, 1999-2004) has been released by Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). He had five assists in 23 games. There are reports that Meech has circulatory problems that may threaten his career.
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Shelley and Chris Moulton have been honoured as Volunteers of the Year at the 2013 Community and Business Excellence Awards in Fernie, B.C. Chris is the Spokane Chiefs' director of player personnel. . . . According to a news release from the Chiefs: "The Moultons founded and operated a new charity, Fernie Friends for Friends, dedicated to raising funds for cancer patients and their families living in Fernie. . . . More info is available at www.ferniefriendsforfriends.com. . . . And if you click right here you will find a Fernie Free Press story on the Moultons and their decision to found Friends for Friends.
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David Branch, the OHL commissioner, has suspended F Matt Rupert of the London Knights for 15 games for a headshot. . . . Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports has more right here, including the video of the hit.
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During his professional career as an enforcer, Jim Thomson had 115 fights. He's retired now, though, and explains right here why he thinks there isn't any place in the game for fighting.
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FRIDAY:
In Brandon, the Wheat Kings held a 50-19 edge in shots as they beat the Saskatoon Blades, 6-2. . . . Brandon, which won 5-2 in Saskatoon on Wednesday, has won three in a row for the first time this season. . . . The Blades have lost four straight. . . . F Tim McGauley, a first-round selection by the Blades in the 2010 bantam draft, had two goals for Brandon. He has eight points, including three goals, in his last four games. . . . F Richard Nejezchleb had two assists for Brandon, giving him season totals of 17 goals and five helpers. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny started his seventh straight game with G Curtis Honey sidelined with an undisclosed injury. . . . Prior to the game, a moment of silence was observed in memory of Keith McCallum, who once owned a piece of the Wheat Kings and was the brother of the late Dunc McCallum, a former Brandon coach. Keith died a week ago. . . .

In Prince Albert, F Chance Braid opened the scoring with his first goal of the season and the Raiders skated to a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Braid had nine goals in 67 games last season; this was his first score in 23 games this season. . . .

In Red Deer, the Rebels scored twice in the game's first 10 minutes and went on to a 4-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . D Haydn Fleury scored his fourth goal, via the PP, at 4:30 and F Dominik Volek got his seventh, shorthanded, at 9:45 to get the Rebels rolling. . . . Red Deer has won three straight. . . . Moose Jaw has lost four in a row. . . .

In Calgary, Russian F Radel Fazleev scored the only goal of the shootout as the Hitmen got past the Swift Current Broncos, 3-2. . . . The Broncos had won their previous nine games. . . . Fazleev, a freshman, has two goals in 21 games. . . . F Jay Merkley gave the Broncos a 2-1 lead with his ninth goal, on the PP, at 4:47 of the second. . . . D Kenton Helgesen forced OT with his third goal at 19:06 of the third. . . . F Jake Virtanen, with an undisclosed injury, was among Calgary's scratches. . . .

In Victoria, F Logan Nelson scored 52 seconds into OT to give the Royals a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Nelson has 10 goals this season. . . . Victoria F Brandon Magee forced OT with his sixth goal at 12:59 of the second. That was his fifth goal in three games. . . . The Thunderbirds now have lost six in a row. . . . Seattle had D Evan Wardley back after he served a four-game WHL suspension. . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips scored the game's first three goals and then held on for a 3-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . In the last three seasons, Portland won 26 of 30 games with Everett. . . . F Tyler Sandhu scored twice, at 8:57 of the first and 1:19 of the second, to give the home side a 3-0 lead. He's got five goals in his last two games. . . . The Winterhawks, outshot 32-13 through two periods, scored two third-period goals as they outshot Everett , 15-4. . . . Everett F Josh Winquist had one assist, running his point streak to 11 games. . . . F Nic Petan had two assists for Portland, giving him 201 points in 158 regular-season games. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz, who hadn't played since suffering an ankle injury on Oct. 26, stopped 26 shots. . . . The Silvertips (15-3-4) are tied with Portland (16-5-2) atop the overall standings. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans scored the game's first four goals and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . F Brian Williams scored twice for the Americans, giving him 18. . . . F Marcus Messier of the Americans scored the game's first goal, a shorthanded effort in the first period. It was the first SHG allowed by the Pats this season. . . . G Nick Schneider started for the Pats. It was his first WHL appearance. . . .

In Spokane, F Mitch Holmberg, the WHL's leading scorer, had two goals and two assists as the Chiefs dumped the Prince George Cougars, 5-2. . . . Holmberg leads the WHL in goals (25) and points (55). He's the first skater in the entire CHL to get to 25 goals this season. He leads the WHL points derby by 10 points over Portland F Nic Petan. . . . Spokane D Reid Gow had three assists as he was in on each of the game's last three goals. Gow, who has yet to score this season, has 28 assists in 22 games. . . . The Chiefs scored the game's last four goals after F Todd Fiddler, who scored 42 goals for Spokane last season, gave the Cougars a 2-1 lead at 13:38 of the second period. . . .

In Vancouver, the Giants scored the game's first three goals and beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . F Dalton Sward gave the Giants a 3-0 lead at 12:31 of the first period. . . . Vancouver D Dalton Thrower returned after missing two games after taking a headshot in a Nov. 5 game. 

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Wheat Kings sign three for the future

THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Daniel Spence (Calgary, 2004-09) signed a one-year contract with Jokipojat Joensuu (Finland, Mestis). He had a 2.93 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 26 games with Nipissing University (CIS) last season.
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If you’re a hockey fan, you surely have some ideas that you feel would help make the game better at the NHL and major junior levels. . . . Sean McIndoe, over at grantland.com, attacked that very assignment with a whole lot of vim and vigour. His piece is right here. . . . Hey, WHL, give this a read and pay attention. There are a few things in here that could help your game, too.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have signed their first three selections in the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft – F Nolan Patrick, who was taken fourth overall, D Kale Clague, who went sixth, and F Tanner Kaspick, who was the 25th player selected. . . . Patrick, from Winnipeg, led that city’s bantam AAA league in scoring last season, with 75 points in 30 games with the Winnipeg Hawks. He is the son of former Wheat Kings F Steve Patrick. . . . Clague had 77 points in 33 games with the Lloydmister Heat of the Alberta bantam AAA league. His father, Jason, is a former WHL goaltender. . . . Kaspick, a Brandon native, had 38 points in 42 games with the midget AAA Wheat Kings.
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The Spokane Chiefs and Chris Moulton, their director of player personnel, have agreed on a three-year contract extension that runs through 2015-16. Moulton, who is from Fernie, B.C., had been with the Chiefs since June 2005. Prior to that, he had worked with the Calgary Hitmen.
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F Anthony Bardaro has decided to attend the U of British Columbia and play for head coach Milan Dragicevic with the Thunderbirds. Bardaro, who is from Delta, B.C., completed his WHL eligibility with the Prince Albert Raiders last season. A sixth-round pick of the Spokane Chiefs in the 2007 bantam draft, he had 190 career points in 268 games.
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F Jakob Stukel of the Vancouver Giants underwent knee surgery this week and may not play again this season. Stukel, who was injured during offseason training, was a second-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. He had 43 points, including 30 goals, with the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget League last season. He also had four points, two of them goals, in six games with the Giants.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Mark Ferner is back with the Kamloops Blazers. Ferner was named the club’s associate coach on Wednesday and will work alongside head coach Dave Hunchak. . . . Ferner previously coached the Blazers (2002-06), first as an assistant and then as head coach. He also played for the Jr. Oilers/Blazers (1982-85). . . . He followed up his Kamloops coaching stint with four seasons with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, winning three straight BCHL titles and a pair of national championships. . . . Ferner signed on as head coach of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips prior to 2011-12 but was dismissed during last season. . . .
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From Bruce Luebke (@wheatkingsvoice): “BTW, GM/Coach Kelly McCrimmon says @bdnwheatkings Director of Player Personnel position remains vacant, but could be filled shortly.”

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The Spokane Chiefs are holding an auction on Saturday to benefit the family of Chris Moulton, their director of player personnel.
From a Chiefs’ news release:
“In November 2011, Chris’ wife Shelly was re-diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (A.L.L.) after initially beating it in 2002.   “Shelly has undergone chemotherapy and had a bone marrow stem cell transplant on January 26, 2012. Her road to recovery is long and for the next two years Shelly will require constant monitoring.
“The Moulton’s live in Fernie, B.C., but Shelly’s treatments are in Calgary. Taylor, Chris and Shelly’s 13-year-old daughter, has had to remain in Fernie with family while attending school; this time apart has been extremely difficult for all concerned. Chris and Shelly have had to remain in Calgary for an underdetermined amount of time for monitoring to be close to the hospital for treatments and any infection can prove to be very serious with her compromised immune system.”
Available in the auction will be a number of autographed jerseys, including one from Chiefs F Liam Stewart that has been signed by him as well as his parents, Rachel Hunter and Rod Stewart.
There is more info right here.
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The Montreal Canadiens have signed Tri-City Americans F Patrick Holland to a three-year deal. A seventh-round pick by the Calgary Flames in the NHL’s 2010 draft, they dealt him to Montreal on Jan. 12, along with F Rene Bourque and a 2013 second-round draft pick, for F Mike Cammalleri, G Karri Ramo and a 2012 fifth-round draft pick. . . . This season, Holland has 103 points, including a WHL-leading 79 assists.
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The Calgary Flames announced Wednesday afternoon that they had recalled F Sven Baertschi from the Portland Winterhawks. The Flames invoked an emergency-recall situation in order to recall the Swiss winger. Baertschi, a first-round pick in the 2011 NHL draft, was to have played for the Winterhawks against the host Kamloops Blazers last night. Instead, he traveled from Kamloops to Calgary in order to practise with the Flames today. He is expected to make his NHL debut against the visiting Winnipeg Jets on Friday night. . . . Baertschi also will miss the Winterhawks game against the Silvertips in Everett on Friday. . . . Baertschi’s arrival in Calgary means there are three 19-year-old NHLers who could still be playing in Portland. F Nino Niederreiter (New York Islanders) and F Ryan Johansen (Columbus Blue Jackets) have been in the NHL all season. . . . Baertschi is the only player in the WHL who is averaging two points per game; he has 94 points, including 61 assists, in 47 games.
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BOOM! The WHL has fired a shot across the bow of the NCAA’s ship. . . . The WHL announced Wednesday that it will hold a prospects camp at in Calgary, March 23-25. What is interesting about this camp is that it is open, according to a news release, to “Major Pee Wee (1999-born) AA players across Alberta.” . . . Again, according to the news release, the camp “will be the first in a series of prospect camps the WHL will be staging, focusing on player development and education.” . . . Players attending that camp will be 12 and 13 years of age. . . . The WHL also holds an annual U.S. prospects camp in Anaheim, which is in California, and will hold a camp for 1998-born players in Calgary in August.
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Milan Dragicevic, a former WHL player and coach, has been named Canada West’s hockey coach of the year. Dragicevic, who played with the Regina Pats, New Westminster Bruins, Tri-City Americans, Spokane Chiefs and Victoria Cougars (1986-90) and coach with the Americans and Vancouver Giants, just completed his 10th season as head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds. Picked in the preseason coaches’ poll to finish last, the Thunderbirds went 12-12-4, good for fifth and a playoff spot.
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The Swift Current Broncos have added D Brycen Martin to their roster for the remainder of the season. Martin, the second overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft, had 16 points in 23 games with the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes. Martin should play Friday against the Raiders in Prince Albert.
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ASK THE COMMISSIONER:
Mr. Commissioner, about the camp for 1999-born prospects that the WHL announced on Wednesday. How much is it going to cost the parents of one of those 12- or 13-year-old players for their son to attend that camp?
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, G Andrey Makarov stopped 34 shots to help the Saskatoon Blades to a 2-0 victory over the Raiders. . . . Makarov, in his first WHL season, has two shutouts. . . . Saskatoon F Jake Trask got his 20th goal at 19:08 of the first period and F Lukas Sutter got his 27th at 19:23 of the second. . . . The Blades were 2-6 on the PP; the Raiders were 0-3. . . . Saskatoon D Dalton Thrower was helped off the ice after absorbing a heavy check in the second period. He appeared to be favouring his left arm. . . . The Blades had D Duncan Siemens, their captain, back after a 13-game concussion-related absence. . . . The Blades moved into a tie with Regina for sixth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Kootenay and one ahead of Brandon. . . .

In Regina, F Michael Ferland scored three times to lead the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 5-2 victory over the Pats. . . . Ferland got his 44th goal into an empty net at 17:08 of the third. . . . D Ryan Pulock added a goal, his 18th, and two assists for Brandon. . . . Each team scored twice on the PP. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal had two assists. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone drew three assists. . . . The Wheat Kings were able to dress only 16 skaters, two under the maximum, including two players recalled from midget AAA — D Colton Waltz and F Tim McGauley. . . . Brandon scratched eight players — G Brandon Anderson (personal), F Brenden Walker (ill), D Dylan Kuczek (shoulder), F Daniel Asham (knee), F Tyrel Seaman (concussion), F Jason Swyripa (ill), D Rene Hunter (upper body) and F Kevin Sundher (concussion). . . . Regina and Brandon are 2-2-2 in their season series. They will go home-and-home on the season’s final weekend. . . . Brandon is eighth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Saskatoon and Regina. . . . The Brandon victory leaves ninth-place Red Deer 10 points out of a playoff spot with six games remaining. . . .

In Edmonton, F Kristians Pelss scored at 1:02 of OT to give the Oil Kings a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Edmonton, which has clinched its first Central Division pennant, now leads the Eastern Conference by seven points over Moose Jaw. . . . The Oil Kings have won six in a row and have allowed just seven goals in those games. . . . They are 28-5-2 at home. . . . Edmonton F Stephane Legault scored twice, giving him 15. His second one, at 14:02 of the third, forced OT. . . . Pelss has 25 goals. . . . F Tyler Maxwell was scratched by the Oil Kings. “We have some team rules we follow by. It doesn’t matter who you are. . . .,” Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal said prior to the game on the Team 1260 pregame show. . . . The Warriors clinched first place in the East Division before their game ended. That became official with the end of Brandon’s 5-2 victory over the Pats in Regina. . . . Moose Jaw last finished on top of the East Division in 2005-06. . . . Edmonton’s victory also lifted it into a tie with Tri-City for first place in the overall standings. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reported: “For the second straight game Daniel Wapple from the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers backed-up (Luke) Siemens. Goalie Spencer Tremblay and defenceman Shayne Gwinner both didn’t make the trip to Alberta. (Head coach Mike) Stothers would only say that both players were healthy and wouldn’t elaborate on their transgression or their availability for Friday’s game in Regina.” . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Luke Philp’s first WHL goal stood up as the winner as the Kootenay Ice beat the Tigers, 2-1. . . . Philp, a 16-year-old from Canmore, Alta., was playing in his 14th game. . . . F Brock Montgomery, with his 21st, gave the Ice a 1-0 lead at 6:14 of the second. . . . Philp scored at 11:25 of the second. . . . Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem got his 56th at 19:28 of the third. . . . The Ice clinched a playoff spot for the 14th straight season, the longest streak in the WHL. . . . The legendary Bob Ridley was honoured in a pregame ceremony. The radio voice of the Tigers was doing his 2,998th regular-season game. He’ll hit 3,000 on Saturday in Lethbridge. . . . The Tigers are third in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Calgary. Each team has five games left. . . . The Ice is fifth, three points behind Calgary. . . .

In Vancouver, F Justin Feser scored on a power play in OT to give the Tri-City Americans a 2-1 victory over the Giants. . . . Feser scored his 36th goal at 2:09 of OT, 86 seconds after Vancouver F Jordan Martinook was called for tripping. . . . On Sunday, Feser scored in the game’s last minute to give Tri-City a 4-3 victory in Portland. . . . Vancouver F Dalton Sward scored his 11th goal at 5:07 of the first period. . . . Tri-City F Adam Hughesman got his 41st goal at 16:34 of the second. . . . F Brendan Shinnimin, the WHL’s leading scorer, drew an assist on the winner to run his points streak to 18 games. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland had two assists as he extended his streak to 15 games with at least one assist. . . . Holland’s first assist was his 200th career point. . . . The Americans, who won the season series 3-0-1, were 1-7 on the PP; the Giants were 0-2. . . . The Giants inducted Winnipeg Jets F Evander Kane into their Ring of Honour. . . . Feser has matched single-season career highs in goals (36) and points (73). . . . Tri-City has won 22 road games, one off the franchise record set in 2007-08. . . . The Americans, who have won eight of 10, moved back on top of the overall standings — they are tied with Edmonton — and the U.S. Division, one point ahead of Portland. . . . The loser point kept Vancouver in a fourth-place tie with Spokane, which holds a game in hand. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reported earlier in the day that F Austin Vetterl (leg surgery) and F Anthony Ast (high ankle sprain) may not play again this season. . . .

In Kamloops, the Blazers scored five third-period goals and beat the Portland Winterhawks, 5-1. . . . Kamloops trailed 1-0 going into the tihrd period when it got goals from five players. . . . F Colin Smith tied it with his 32nd at 3:22 and F Chase Souto got his ninth at 6:30. . . . Kamloops held a 44-25 edge in shots, including 20-9 in the third period. . . . The Blazers scratched F Chase Schaber, their captain, with what is believed to be a leg injury. . . . The Winterhawks went into the game leading the overall standings and now is third, a point behind Edmonton and Tri-City. . . . The Blazers, who will finish first in the B.C. Division, are two points behind Edmonton and Tri-City. . . .

In Prince George, D Jesse Forsberg broke a 1-1 tie in the second period and the Cougars went on to a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Forsberg scored his third goal of the season at 5:13 on the PP. . . . His brother, Alex, got his 13th into an empty net at 19:59 of the third. . . . Cougars G Drew Owsley stopped 31 shots as he ran his career record against Seattle to 15-3. Most of those decisions were while he was with the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Thunderbirds had beaten the Cougars 3-1 on Tuesday. . . . Cougars D Cody Carlson played in his 300th regular-season game. . . . The Cougars remain 10th in the Western Conference, but now are four points out of a playoff spot. . . . Seattle is two points ahead of Prince George and two behind Victoria, which holds down the conference’s last playoff spot. . . .

In Everett, D Ryan Murray drew two assists and was plus-3 to help the Silvertips to a 3-2 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . The Silvertips, who mustered 13 shots in the game, scored twice on two third-period shots. . . . F Manraj Hayer broke a 1-1 tie with his third goal of the season at 2:47 of the third. . . . F Ryan harrison got his 19th at 14:58. . . . F Robin Soudek, who has 27 goals, scored twice for Victoria. His second goal came at 18:09 of the third. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson turned aside 35 shots. . . . The victory, its third in a row, lifted Everett into seventh in the Western Conference, a point ahead of Victoria. . . .

In Spokane, D Jesse Lees and D Myles Bell scored in the circus to give the Kelowna Rockets a 3-2 victory over the Chiefs. . . . F Mitch Holmberg scored for the Chiefs in the shootout. His goal tied it and set the stage for the Bell to toll. . . . F Dominik Uher, who has 31, scored both Spokane goals. . . . Franko forced OT with his 13th goal at 6:08 of the third on a PP. . . . Kelowna was 2-3 on the PP. . . . The Chiefs were 1-5. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 41 shots, 18 more than Spokane’s Mac Engel. . . . The Chiefs remain tied with Vancouver for fourth in the Western Conference. These two teams will meet in the first round. . . . The Rockets, who have won three in a row, will finish sixth in that conference.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Mark McNeill, Prince Albert.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Dylan McIlrath, Moose Jaw.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES
None.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES
Saskatoon at Brandon
Medicine Hat at Kootenay
Calgary at Lethbridge
Swift Current at Prince Albert
Edmonton at Red Deer
Moose Jaw at Regina
Portland at Everett
Victoria at Kelowna
Tri-City at Spokane
Kamloops at Vancouver

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