Showing posts with label Colby McAuley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colby McAuley. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Tortorella: We practice too much; we coach too much ... 'Tips overpower Hitmen ... Cougars real road warriors


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F Mitch Wahl (Spokane, 2005-10) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Västervik (Sweden, Allsvenskan). This season, he had one goals and three assists in 16 games with Ilves Tampere (Finland, Liiga) before being released on Oct. 30.
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Granted that it’s on an experimental basis, but who would have thought that head coach John Tortorella of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets would be the guy to bring an end to the morning skate on the day of a game? . . . "When I can, I want to start trying to keep the team away from the morning,” he told Cory Wilkins in a story posted at thescore.com. “We bring them in here one time a day during practice days, but on game days we bring them in twice. It doesn't make any sense. With our schedule coming up the way it is, we are trying to get our guys out of the building as much as we can." . . . No, it doesn’t make sense and it hasn’t for a number of years. It also will be interesting to see if less time on the practice ice, even as loose as morning skates can be, will result in fewer injuries. . . . Tortorella also said: "When we get (the schedule) in July, I look for days off, not to see how many days we can practice. I do not want to practice two days in a row at all this year. We practice too much, we coach too much. If we don't have them here, then we don't have to coach them." . . . The Blue Jackets are into a stretch of seven games in 12 days. It will be interesting to see how they do. . . . Wilkins’ complete story is right here.
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D Ryan Gardiner, 19, and the Moose Jaw Warriors have “mutually agreed” to go their separate ways, according to the WHL team. . . . Gardiner, from Winnipeg, is expected to join the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers. . . . A third-round selection by the Warriors in the 2012 WHL bantam draft, he was in his third season with Moose Jaw. This season, he had two assists in 17 games. . . . In 158 regular-season games, he had one goal and 29 assists.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings have added G Josh Dechaine, 18, to their roster. Dechaine had been with the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. From St. Albert, Alta., he also has had stints with the AJHL’s Whitecourt Wolverines and Whitecourt Wolverines. He also has been in training camp with the Brandon Wheat Kings each of the past three years. . . . Dechaine, who has been practising with the Oil Kings, will replace freshman G Liam Hughes on the Edmonton roster. Hughes is out indefinitely with an undisclosed injury. . . . G Boston Bilous, 15, who had been backing up Patrick Dea since Hughes was hurt, has returned to the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors announced Tuesday that brothers Kevin and Ryan Smyth will be the 2016 inductees into the Conexus Warriors and Legends Hall of Fame. . . . It all will take place on March 3, with the Hall of Fame Game against the Medicine Hat Tigers on March 4. . . . Kevin finished his WHL career (1990-93) with 242 points, including 104 goals, in 201 games with the Warriors. He is seventh on Moose Jaw’s career points list. He was a fourth-round selection by the Hartford Whalers in the 1992 NHL draft. In 58 NHL games, he had six goals and eight assists. He played nine years of pro hockey, with stops in the AHL, IHL and WCHL. . . . The Warriors selected Ryan in the second round of the 1991 WHL bantam draft. He went to play 188 regular-season games with them, putting up 110 goals and 114 assists. He is 13th on the team’s all-time scoring list. In 1993-94, he had 105 points, including 50 goals. He was drafted sixth overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL‘s 1994 draft. His NHL career included time with Edmonton, the New York Islanders, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings. He also had an extensive international career on various Canadian teams.
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The Okanagan Hockey Group, which is based in Penticton, B.C., has released an economic impact study that includes some numbers of interest.  According to the study, OHG had an economic impact of $19.91 million from September 2015 through August 2016. . . . From an OHG news release: “Okanagan Hockey Group Ltd. directly injects $3.95 million into the local economy. . . . Okanagan Hockey Academy activities contribute $7.7 million in direct spending in the City of Penticton. . . . As a result of Okanagan Hockey Camps offering eight weeks of programming the local economy benefited by an additional $4.8 million in direct spending.” . . . OHG provides 30 full-time and 100 part-time jobs with an annual payroll in excess of $1.76 million. . . . What I found especially interesting was that “47 families relocated to Penticton” with 15 of those relocating for the school year and 32 spent the entire year there. Those 47 families resulted in more than “$2.98 million of new dollars being spent in the local economy.” As well, visiting families spent $1.51 million, while visiting teams (1,671 visitors) spent $365,000. . . . According to the release, the study was conducted by “an independent third party, Lochaven Management Consultants Ltd., a company with 30 years of experience and a global reputation for excellence, (that) is internationally recognized for its work in private sector development.” . . . I am well aware that economic impact studies are to be read with caution, but these numbers can offer an interesting take on the impact of a business like OHG on a community the size of Penticton.
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Steve Payne was a sniper; Michel Petit was a banger. They don’t know each other; they know of each other. Their NHL careers were ended by brain injuries and now both ex-players have joined the concussion-related lawsuit against the NHL. . . . Payne is adamant that he isn’t involved because he is looking for money. "I hope I don't become one of those guys, because that means I'm having trouble and problems that are beyond my ability to handle," he tells Joshua Kloke of sports.vice.com."I just want (the NHL) to be there for these guys and help them get the treatment they need to at least live as normal a life as they can under the circumstances.” . . . What Payne and Petit have gone through is an eye-opener and worth a read. Kloke’s story is right here.
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JUST NOTES:

The Kootenay Ice is expected to have F Peyton Krebs, 15, in the lineup for the first time (tonight) when it meets the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. Krebs, from Okotoks, Alta., was the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. Krebs is spending this season with the midget AAA UFA Bisons. He has 21 points, nine of them goals, in 12 games. . . . 
The Saskatoon Blades have a flu bug going through the dressing room. G Logan Flodell and D Libor Hajek, two key individuals, weren’t able to practice on Tuesday. The Blades are at home to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Thursday. 
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:


At Everett, the Silvertips struck four times on a five-minute power play en route to a 6-1 victory over the
DOMINIC ZWERGER
Calgary Hitmen. . . . Calgary F Travis Sanheim took a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct for a first-period hit on Everett D Noah Juulsen, who went to the dressing room. . . . Juulsen returned to start the second period, played a couple of PP shifts and then returned to the room. He finished the game in the press box. . . . The penalty occurred at 19:51 with the game at 0-0. . . . Eight seconds later, F Dominic Zwerger scored Everett’s first goal. He got its second, and his 10th, at 3:05 of the second period, with Juulsen getting the secondary assist. . . . F Eetu Tuulola added his fifth at 3:40 and D Kevin Davis got his second at 4:29. . . . The Silvertips will play in Davis’s hometown of Kamloops tonight (Wednesday). . . . Zwerger also drew two assists. Bajkov and F Sean Richards (4) each had a goal and two assists, while F Devon Skoleski had two helpers. Davis and Tuulola had an assist apiece. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 27 shots, losing his shutout bid to F Matteo Gennaro (5) at 15:04 of the second period. . . . Calgary starter Cody Porter allowed six goals on 34 shots in 47:07. Kyle Dumba finished up by stopping all four shots he faced. . . . Everett was 5-5 on the PP; Calgary was 0-5. . . . The Silvertips (15-2-3) are 7-0-2 in their past nine games. . . . The Hitmen (7-7-2) have lost two in a row. The Hitmen have been outscored 15-3 in two games since opening a U.S. Division swing with a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash., on Friday. . . . Announced attendance: 3,012.
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At Kelowna, F Colby McAuley had two goals and an assist to lead the Prince George Cougars to a 4-2
COLBY McAULEY
victory over the Rockets. . . . The Cougars (16-4-2) continue to lead the overall standings. They are 4-0-0 against Kelowna this season. Prince George hadn’t beaten Kelowna four times in a season since 2006-07 when the Rockets won the season series, 6-4-0. . . . The Cougars also are 11-1-0 in the B.C. Division. . . . The Rockets, who had been 8-2-0 in their past 10 games, are 11-10-0. . . . The Cougars scored the game’s first two goals, with F Yan Khomenko getting his eighth goal at 6:23 of the second period and F Colby McAuley scoring No. 6 at 9:48. . . . F Tomas Soustal (9) got Kelowna on the board with a PP goal at 16:48. . . . McAuley scored again at 4:26 of the third period. . . . Kelowna F Calvin Thurkauf got his ninth, on a PP, at 8:51 of the third. . . . The Cougars closed the scoring on F Josh Boyd’s third goal at 18:45. . . . F Josh Curtis had three assists for the visitors, while Boyd added one to his goal. . . . G Ty Edmonds stopped 22 shots for the Cougars. . . . The Rockets got 32 saves from G Michael Herringer. . . . The Rockets were 2-4 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-5. . . . The Cougars are 10-1-1 on the road. . . . F Kody McDonald returned to the Cougars’ lineup after serving a three-game sentence, while D Sam Ruopp served Game 4 of an eight-game sentence. . . . Announced attendance: 4,521.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Mark Rassell scored once and added two assists to help the Medicine Hat Tigers
MARK RASSELL
to a 5-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Tigers, who are 8-2-0 on the road, outshot the Ice 38-13 as they took a 3-2 lead into the third period. . . . The visitors scored the game’s first two goals — F James Hamblin (4) at 2:07 of the second period and D Ty Schultz (1) at 5:47. . . . F Zak Zborosky’s 14th goal got the Ice to within one at 12:24, but Medicine Hat F Matt Bradley (9) got that one back 1:03 later. . . . F Noah Philp’s second goal pulled the Ice back to within a goal at 16:02. . . . The Tigers put it away with two quick third-period goals. Rassell, who has 12 goals, scored shorthanded at 4:17 and Bradley added another at 6:44. . . . F Mason Shaw had two assists for the winners. . . . G Nick Schneider stopped 19 shots for the victory. . . . The Ice got 50 saves from G Payton Lee. . . . Kootenay was 0-6 on the PP; Medicine Hat was 0-7. . . . The Tigers (14-5-1) have won three in a row. . . . The Ice (3-12-5) has lost five straight (0-4-1). . . . Announced attendance: 1,565.
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At Spokane, the Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s first two goals and the last three in beating the
REECE HARSCH
Chiefs, 5-2. . . . Seattle F Keegan Kolesar was in the lineup for the first time this season, and he started on a line with F Mathew Barzal and F Ryan Gropp. Kolesar had undergone surgery for a supraumbilical hernia in late Septembrer while in camp with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. . . . D Brandon Schuldhaus got Seattle started with his first goal, at 1:22 of the opening period. F Scott Eansor made it 2-0 at 14:32. . . . The Chiefs tied the score with two quick goals, F Kailer Yamamoto scoring No. 16 at 17:14 of the first and F Hudson Elynuik getting his sixth just 13 seconds into the second. . . . F Ryan Gropp broke the 2-2 tie with his third goal at 3:54 of the third period. Kolesar and Barzal had the assists. . . . F Alexander True (6) made it 4-2 at 9:02 and F Nolan Volcan (8) got the empty-netter at 19:11. . . . D Reece Harsch and Barzal each had two assists for Seattle, with Eansor and True each getting one. . . . G Rylan Toth stopped 31 shots in earning the victory. . . . The Chiefs got 27 saves from Dawson Weatherill. . . . Each team was 0-3 on the PP. . . . The Thunderbirds (9-8-1) have won two straight. . . . The Chiefs (7-7-5) had points in seven straight (4-0-3) before this one. . . . Announced attendance: 3,317.
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At Swift Current, D Artyom Minulin scored at 2:03 of OT to give the Broncos a 3-2 victory over the Red
ARTYOM MINULIN
Deer Rebels. . . . It was the seventh time in their past nine games that the Broncos went to OT. . . . Minulin has five goals this season. . . . He also had an assist. . . . Last season, Minulin finished with five goals and 28 assists in 72 games. This season, he has five goals and 16 assists in 22 games. . . . The Broncos scored the game’s first two goals, with F Tyler Steenbergen getting No. 15, on a PP, at 8:22 of the first period and F Cole Johnson scoring his second, at 2:41 of the second. . . . D Josh Mahura got Red Deer’s first goal, his eighth, on a PP, at 17:49. . . . The Rebels tied it when F Michael Spacek scored his 13th goal, shorthanded, at 7:14 of the third period. . . . The Broncos got 23 saves from G Taz Burman. . . . Red Deer G Lasse Petersen turned aside 27 shots. . . . The Rebels were 1-1 on the PP; the Broncos were 1-4. . . . Swift Current (11-6-5) had lost three in a row (0-1-2). . . . The Rebels (10-9-3) have lost two straight. . . . This was Red Deer’s eighth straight road game (2-5-1). . . . Announced attendance: 1,708.
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At Victoria, F Tyler Soy scored once and added two assists as the Royals dumped the Prince Albert
TYLER SOY
Raiders, 3-1. . . . F Jared Dmytriw’s seventh goal, at 3:06 of the first period, on a PP, gave the home side a 1-0 lead. . . . D Loch Morrison tied it with his first goal at 16:11 of the second period. . . . Victoria F Matt Phillips (13) snapped the tie at 2:21 of the third period. . . . Soy iced it with an empty-netter at 19:36. That was his 11th goal of the season and 101st of his career. That equals the Royals’ career record that was held by F Brandon Magee, who also scored 12 times for the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . Soy has 204 points in 233 regular-season games. . . . G Griffen Outhouse stopped 25 shots for the Royals, while the Raiders’ Nick Sanders turned aside 27. . . . The Raiders were 1-4 on the PP; the Royals were 1-7. . . . The Royals improved to 12-8-2. . . . The Raiders (5-14-1) have lost three in a row, all in the B.C. Division. . . . This was the third game in a row for Prince Albert head coach Marc Habscheid against a former team. He also coached the Kamloops Blazers and Kelowna Rockets before ending up in Victoria. He was the head coach of the Chilliwack Bruins for two seasons and made the move with them to Victoria. . . . Announced attendance: 3,192.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Regina at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Everett at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Kootenay at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Calgary vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

Prince Albert vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.





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Monday, January 26, 2015

Seattle goaltender retires . . . Giants goaltender hurt . . . Busy day for WHL Dept. of Discipline








F Cody Sylvester (Calgary, 2008-13) has signed for the rest of the season with the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany, DEL). This season, with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL), he had seven goals and 10 assists in 25 games. He was an alternate captain with the Stingrays. . . .
D Lukáš Bohunický (Kootenay, 2005-07) has been released by the Edinburgh Capitals (Scotland, UK Elite) at his request. According to a club press release, Bohunický requested his release in order to return to Slovakia to attend to personal matters. He had a goal and 13 assists in 36 games.
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When the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks revealed Sunday that they had lost G Logan Flodell to Seattle, it was evident that something was going on with the Thunderbirds’ goaltending. What exactly that was became apparent Monday when the Thunderbirds announced that G Danny Mumaugh, 18, had chosen to retire. . . . Mumaugh, from Centennial, Colo., was in his third season in Seattle. He got into 18 games as a freshman and 35 games last season. This season, he had made only eight appearances as he backed up Taran Kozun, 20, who has been in 40 games. In 61 regular-season games, Mumaugh was 18-21-8, 3.76, .887, with one shutout. . . . “Danny came to us recently and told us he did not have the drive to keep playing,” Seattle general manager Russ Farwell said in a news release. “To have a player quit this soon after the (trade) deadline could have left us in a real bind. We are fortunate that Logan is able to join us. We appreciate the Nipawin Hawks working with us to allow Logan to join the team for the remainder of the season.” . . . Flodell, 17, was with the Thunderbirds through Nov. 1, playing in one game — a 3-1 loss to the Prince George Cougars on Oct. 17. In Nipawin, Flodell, who is from Regina, was 8-4-0, 2.44, .901 in 13 games. . . . Flodell was a third-round selection by Seattle in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . The Thunderbirds next play on Wednesday when they are in Kamloops. Kozun, who was acquired from the Kamloops just more than a year ago, is 21-13-6, 2.36, .914 this season. . . . Thom Beuning, the radio voice of the Thunderbirds, has a good piece right here explaining the Mumaugh situation.
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The Vancouver Giants are expecting to be without G Payton Lee, 18, for up to 10 days, according to Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province. Lee was injured three goals into an 8-0 loss to the Hitmen in Calgary on Sunday, when he took a shot to the underside of his blocker. . . . That leaves the Giants with freshman Cody Porter, 17, as their starter for now. . . . Scott Bonner, the Giants’ general manager, also told Ewen that D Clayton Kirichenko should be back Friday when they play in Everett. Kirichenko hasn’t played since Nov. 26 thanks to an undisclosed injury. . . . The Giants go into Everett having lost seven of eight games.
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Head coach Tim Hunter of the Moose Jaw Warriors and three of his players went for the ride of a lifetime on Monday. "The G-forces that you go through when you are coming out of the loops is something that you can't really explain,” Hunter told the Moose Jaw Times-Herald after spending some time in the air with the Snowbirds. “I know that my stomach didn't handle it so well when we came out of it for the second time.” . . . The Times-Herald story is right here.
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F Oliver Bjorkstrand has 21 points in nine games since he returned from the 2015 WJC, where he played for his native Denmark. Bjorkstrand has 61 points in 37 games and is up to fifth place in the WHL scoring race.
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Is it cheating, or is it gamesmanship? In the wake of Deflategate, Arash Madani of Sportsnet, who has worked for CFL teams, explores the subject in an excellent piece that is right here.
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Department of Discipline

F Carter Arnson of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and F Colby McAuley of the Prince George Cougars both were suspended for five games on Monday after they became in a game-ending bout on Saturday in Lethbridge. McAuley already has missed one game. . . . The Cougars and Hurricanes each were fined $1,000 because of the incident. . . .
D Kyle Burroughs of the Medicine Hat Tigers was suspended for four games for a headshot major and game misconduct on Friday against visiting Prince George. He already has missed one game. That hit was on Cougars F Jari Erricson, who missed most of last season with a concussion. Erricson didn’t play Saturday in Lethbridge or Sunday in Cranbrook. . . . Medicine Hat D Ty Stanton has been suspended for one game for a headshot major and game misconduct that he incurred in Edmonton on Sunday. . . . Burroughs and Stanton won’t play tonight when the Tigers entertain the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Tigers also will be without veteran D Tommy Vannelli, 19, who suffered a broken finger in Edmonton on Sunday. . . . In Edmonton, the Tigers were able to dress only 16 skaters, two under the maximum. Still, they beat the Oil Kings 5-2.
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Sunday, August 31, 2014

WHL taking stand on players who leave? . . . Giants lose sophomore to injury

Reid Duke is back. Macoy Erkamps isn’t.
Neither are Carson Bolduc, Landon Cross, Reid Gow, Geordie Maguire, Jeremy McIntosh, Landon Peel, Aspen Sterzer, Cole Wedman or Brett Zarowny.
The afore-mentioned 11 players didn’t report to their WHL teams for the beginning of training camps.
Erkamps has asked the Lethbridge Hurricanes to trade him. Cross and Peel have told the Kootenay Ice that they want to play their 20-year-old seasons in the MJHL. Bolduc, 18, has left the Kamloops Blazers and joined his hometown’s BCHL team, the Salmon Arm SilverBacks. Others have chosen to get started on life after the WHL, mostly by becoming fulltime university students.
Duke, an 18-year-old forward, was the fifth overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft. He didn’t report for the start of Lethbridge’s training camp, but rejoined his teammates on Friday, general manager Brad Robson saying that an “agreement” had been reached between the team, Duke, his family and his agent.
Only those involved know what is in that “agreement,” or whether it’s verbal or in writing, or anything else about it.
While the 19-year-old Erkamps sits and waits, you wonder if Robson, who had a number of players ask out last season, didn’t draw a line in the sand with Duke and decide that the next trade would be made on his terms.
Meanwhile, in Cranbrook, Jeff Chynoweth, the president and general manager of the Ice, is trying to cope with the loss of two 20-year-old defencemen, only one of whom likely would have made the roster, what with teams being allowed to keep three 20s.
(The Ice has 20-year-old forwards Levi Cable and Austin Vetterl in camp, and may get G Mackenzie Skapski, 20, back from the NHL’s New York Rangers.)
Chynoweth actually found out in June that Cross, a Brandon native who had brain injury issues after being acquired from Kamloops early last season, wasn’t coming back. Cross wants to complete his junior eligibility with the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons.
Losing Peel, who is from Virden, Man., was a bigger shock because no one in the Ice office saw it coming. He wants to play for the MJHL’s Portage Terriers, the host team for the 2015 RBC Cup tournament.
The WHL isn’t happy with players who walk away before their eligibility is up.
“I think (the WHL is) concerned about players not fulfilling their contracts,” Chynoweth told Jeff Hollick, the radio voice of the Ice who blogs at Between The Lines. “When they signed their contracts, they’re for five years, usually from 16 to 20 and includes their 20-year-old season. . . . We’ve got to stick together as the Western Hockey League and the 22 teams because if players just want to walk whenever they can, it doesn’t bode well for our future.”
For now, Cross and Peel are on the Ice’s suspended list “for not reporting to camp and (not) fulfilling their 20-year-old year of their WHL Standard Contract,” Chynoweth said. “How long the suspensions last, I don't know. But I know the WHL is working with Hockey Manitoba and the Manitoba junior league.”
And then there’s Sterzer, who stunned general manager/head coach Brent Sutter and the Rebels with his decision not to report. Instead, Sterzer will attend the U of Calgary and play for the Dinos. The Rebels had acquired him from Kamloops last season for F Matt Bellerive and a third-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft.
With Sterzer, however, there are extenuating circumstances. Almost eight years ago, Sterzer, his mother, a brother and a sister were involved in an auto accident. Sterzer’s mother, Franci, was left a quadriplegic. (Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week detailed it all in this 2012 story.)
Sterzer also spent much of 2012-13 dealing with a brain injury and other health-related issues. The result was that he played in only 31 games and missed all of the Blazers’ 15-game playoff run to the Western Conference final.
Last week, Sterzer explained his decision to attend school in an email to the Red Deer Advocate:
“First of all, I would like to say that I really appreciate that I was able to come to Red Deer and finish off my WHL career under coach Sutter.I feel that I learned a lot from him and only wish that I could have had more time to play for him.
“The simple truth is that before I signed my contract to play in the WHL I had several scholarship offers to the NCAA that my parents really wanted me to pursue. I, however, really wanted to play in the WHL, so my parents agreed to support me in playing in the Western League with one condition, which was that I had until I was 19 to catch the eye of a pro club, or I would have to go school.
“In all honesty, there would be nothing more that I would have liked to do than to have had a really successful 20-year-old year as a Rebel, hopefully contributing to an already talented team to perhaps make a cup run. However, I felt that I just could not lobby my family to help support me beyond my agreement with them.
“Personally, I have always loved the game. It is a long grind but aside from the sheer thrill of playing, if things go right, you can hopefully make a living doing what you love at the next level. For me, I am hopefully going on to the next step that may help me fulfill my dreams and obligations at the same time.
“That said, I am looking forward to playing this year at the University of Calgary for the Dinos. I am excited to join a group of excellent seasoned hockey players, coach (Mark) Howell and the staff while being able to pursue my education at the same time. I still hope to catch the eye of a team that post-university might want my skills and services, but for now I am just focusing on how I can add to the Dinos to do my part and to contribute as best I can.
“I have been blessed to have made many good friends in the WHL and hope that each of them will have a great year! As well, I hope the best for the Red Deer Rebels, my former teammates, the staff, the fans, and coach Sutter.”
Sincerely,
Aspen Sterzer

All of which didn’t necessarily impress Sutter.
“To play at this level takes a major commitment and he’s not a committed player,” he told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate. “There’s a lot of commitment required to play in the WHL, both on and off the ice, with games, practices, video sessions and all of the travel involved.
“It’s disappointing because we gave up assets to acquire him. He’s quitting on us and it’s a knock to his teammates. It’s tough, but that’s his decision, his choice . . . to play CIS hockey.”
Meachem’s story is right here.
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that Vancouver Giants sophomore F Ty Ronning has a suspected broken collarbone and “is expected to miss at least six weeks of action.” . . . Ronning, the 15th overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft, was injured on a check by Kamloops D Brady Gaudet in the opening minute of a 5-4 shootout loss to the host Blazers on Friday night. . . . Vancouver head coach Troy Ward said the injury “is going to take a while to heal.” . . . Ronning had 20 points, nine of them goals, in 56 games as a freshman last season. . . . Ewen’s report is right here. . . . A tip of the hat to Ewen, too, as he was inducted into the Vancouver Canadians' Hall of Fame on Saturday. When he isn't covering hockey, Ewen is writing baseball for The Province.
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WHL team logoThe Red Deer Rebels appear prepared to head into the season with Rylan Toth, an 18-year-old from Saskatoon, and Taz Burman, a 17-year-old Vancouverite, as their two goaltenders. . . . Burman played in 17 games last season with the Rebels, going 2-6-0/3.85/.884, while Toth has yet to play in a regular-season game. . . . The Rebels are looking to replace Patrik Bartosak, a Czech who played in 145 games over the previous three seasons, including 65 last season and 55 in 2012-13. Bartosak has played out his junior eligibility. He was a fifth-round selection by Los Angeles in the 2013 NHL draft. He has signed a three-year contract with the Kings.
---The Prince George Cougars have signed F Colby McAuley, a list player from Sherwood Park, Alta. McAuley, 18, made his debut with the Cougars on the weekend at a tournament in St. Albert, Alta. In fact, shortly after the Cougars announced his signing, he scored twice as the Cougars dropped a 6-5 OT decision to the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Last season, McAuley had 13 goals and 16 assists in 64 games with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. . . . At one time, McAuley was on the Medicine Hat Tigers’ protected list. They dropped him and he was added by the Cougars. . . . McAuley is one of 18 forwards remaining on the Cougars’ roster.
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Steve Coury, the head football coach at Lake Oswego, Ore., High, has suspended 10 players, nine of them starters, for the season’s first three games. . . . Why? . . . Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune reports that he disciplined “a group that broke the team's code of conduct by smoking marijuana during a preseason senior retreat at Welches.” . . . Eggers also reported that Coury “had suspended only three players in his 23 years at Lake Oswego.” . . . Interestingly, Coury told Eggers that six of the team’s eight coaches favoured kicking the players off the team. However, Coury said that he is a “second-chance guy” so chose the suspensions instead. . . . The players, all of them seniors, also were suspended for the first three days of school and must do community service on seven Sundays. . . . Yes, Coury did the right thing. . . . Makes you wonder how other coaches in this age group would react in the same situation.
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In St. Albert, Alta., on Sunday night, the Edmonton Oil Kings scored a 3-2 OT victory over the Saskatoon Blades. F Tyler Robertson got the winner at 2:25 of extra time. . . . Les Lazaruk, the radio voice of the Blades, later tweeted that the dry scrape too 11 minutes 21 seconds. . . . Guy Flaming of The Pipeline Show was in attendance and tweeted: “The verdict is in on the dry scrape before OT idea (that the WHL) is considering; awful. Need 2 zambonis in every rink or else it's a huge delay.” . . . F Keegan Iverson of the Portland Winterhawks and F Blair Oneschuk of the Spokane Chiefs are the first WHL players to draw suspensions this season. Iverson got two games for a checking to the head major against Spokane in Everett on Friday, while Oneschuk got a game for a checking-from-behind major in the same game.
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