Tigers, Royals in control . . . Winterhawks pull even with T-Birds . . . Coaches in war of words

D Vladimír Sičák (Medicine Hat, 1998-2000) signed a two-year extension with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season, he had three goals and 12 assists in 50 games. . . .
F Ryon Moser (Lethbridge, Swift Current, 2008-13) has signed a three-year contract with Ambrì-Piotta (Switzerland, NL A). This season, with the University of Lethbridge (CIS), he had four goals and 10 assists in 27 games. Moser, who has dual Canadian-Swiss citizenship, had tryouts with Ambrì-Piotta in the summers of 2012 and 2014. . . .
Altant Mytishchi (Russia, KHL) has traded the rights to G Andrei Makarov (Saskatoon, 2011-13) and F Vladimir Bobylyov (Vancouver Giants, 2014-15) to SKA St. Petersburg (Russia, KHL) for monetary compensation. This season, with Rochester (AHL), Makarov was 2.98, .902 in 37 games, while Bobylyov, 17, had three goals and six assists in 52 games with Vancouver. . . . Atlanta is in financial trouble.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:

Watching the last remaining Euro goalie in the Dub, Marek Langhammer, a little sad we won't see another for a very long time. #WHL
— Zenon Herasymiuk (@ZenonHerasymiuk) April 3, 2015

In Red Deer, G Marek Langhamer turned aside 39 shots to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 5-3 victory over the Rebels. . . . The Tigers lead the series 3-1 as it goes back to Medicine Hat for Game 5 on Saturday night. . . . The Rebels got the game’s first goal, from D Haydn Fleury at 3:37 of the first period, but the Tigers scored the next four. . . . The visitors tied it on F Cole Sanford’s third goal of the series at 19:40 and took the lead when F Trevor Cox got his second goal at 3:09 of the second. . . . F Steve Owre upped the lead to 3-1 at 10:34. . . . Each team scored twice in the third, with Red Deer getting to within one on F Wyatt Johnson’s shorthanded goal at 19:36. . . . Owre, F Markus Eisenschmid, who scored an empty-netter at 19:59 of the third, Sanford and Cox each had a goal and an assist for the Tigers. . . . Fleury also had an assist, while F Presten Kopeck had two of them. . . . Red Deer G Rylan Toth stopped 38 shots. . . . The Tigers were 1-for-5 on the PP; the Rebels were 0-for-4. . . . F Chad Butcher, a 51-point man in the regular season, was among the Tigers’ scratches. He has a hand injury after blocking a shot in Game 3 on Wednesday. He will be re-evaluated today. . . . The Rebels and Tigers now have combined for 15 goals in four games; the Calgary Hitmen and Kootenay Ice have scored 36 times in their four games. . . . Attendance was 5,946.

In Kent, Wash., the Portland Winterhawks scored twice before the game was three minutes old and were never headed as they beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 8-5. . . . The series is tied 2-2 as the teams head for Portland and Game 5 on Saturday night. Game 6 is scheduled for Kent on Tuesday. . . . Last night’s attendance was 3,021, and that’s 3,098 fewer than showed up for Game 3 on Tuesday when it was 2-for-Tuesday, meaning you could get hots dogs, soft drinks popcorn and, yes, beer for $2 each. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo scored his first goal of the series just 54 seconds into the first period and F Alex Overhardt added his first goal at 2:15. . . . F Ryan Gropp got Seattle to within one at 17:43, but the Winterhawks came back with the only three goals of the second period — D Adam Henry got his second of the series, F Nic Petan got his third and F Keegan Iverson got his first. . . . Seattle outscored the visitors 4-3 in the third but it was too little, too late. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand, who led the WHL in goals and points in the regular season, scored his second goal of the series and added either three or four assists. The online scoresheet shows three; a news release from the Winterhawks gave him four. . . . De Leo added two assists to his goal, while Petan finished with two goals and an assist. . . . Gropp and D Shea Theodore each had a goal and two assists for the Thunderbirds. . . . Portland G Adin Hill stopped 34 shots. . . . Seattle starter Taran Kozun surrendered five goals on 22 shots. Logan Flodell came in with Portland leading 5-1 at 15:03 of the second period. He stopped 19 of 21 shots. . . . Portland was 2-for-4 on the PP; Seattle was 2-for-3.

In Prince George, G Coleman Vollrath stopped 24 shots to help the Victoria Royals to a 3-0 victory over the Cougars. . . . The Royals lead the series 3-1 with Game 5 in Victoria on Saturday night. . . . This was the first shutout by the Royals in franchise history. . . . D Tyler Brown opened the scoring at 4:40 of the second period. . . . The Royals got third-period goals from F Regan Nagy (0:46, shorthanded) and F Alex Forsberg (14:53, PP). . . . Brown and Nagy each added an assist; F Brandon Magee had two assists. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds turned aside 21 shots. . . . The Royals were 1-for-3 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-for-8. . . . Attendance was 4,448.
———

Finally, there is some off-ice action in these WHL playoffs. It seems that Spokane Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur accused the Everett Silvertips of diving early in their series. Now, with Game 4 tonight in Spokane, Everett head coach Kevin Constantine has fired back. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has that story right here. . . . Finally, something that would bring smiles to the faces of Wild Bill Hunter, Ben Hatskin and Scotty Munro.
——
D James Hilsendager of the Regina Pats will miss the first two games of their second-round series with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Hilsendager drew a three-game suspension for a headshot on Swift Current Broncos F Jake DeBrusk in Game 3 of that series. While Hilsendager wasn’t penalized at the time, DeBrusk wasn’t able to play in the OT period of a game the Broncos lost 5-4. He also didn’t play in Game 4 on Wednesday as the visiting Pats won 4-0 to sweep the series. . . . Hilsendager will miss Games 1 and 2 in Brandon on April 10 and 11.——
F Chance Braid of the Kelowna Rockets will sit out the first game of their second-round series against either the Victoria Royals or Prince George Cougars. He and F Max James of the Tri-City Americans each have been suspended for one game after their fight four seconds into a game in Kennewick, Wash., on Wednesday night. . . . James will serve his suspension at the start of the 2015-16 season. . . . The Rockets and Americans were fined $250 apiece, as well.
——
The Edmonton Oil Kings drew fewer than 16,000 fans to their three home playoff games against the Brandon Wheat Kings. Still, Kevin Radomski, Edmonton’s director of business operations, said the Oil Kings were “very happy” with that. . . . Chris O’Leary of the Edmonton Journal has more right here.
———
If you are into numbers or follow U.S. politics, you will be familiar with the name Nate Silver. In his latest essay at fivethirtyeight.com, Silver starts by writing: “The NHL’s ‘loser point’ is the stupidest rule in sports.” . . . He goes on to explain why that is, and then he offers up a solution. . . . Give it a read right here.
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D Justin Hamonic of the Tri-City Americans will finish the season with the ECHL’s Alaska Aces. Hamonic, 20, was the Americans’ captain. He was a fifth-round pick by Tri-City in the 2009 bantam draft. Hamonic is to join the Aces today in West Valley City, Utah, where they are scheduled to play the Grizzlies tonight and Saturday. . . .
Colin (Toledo) Robinson and Tim O’Donovan of the Kamloops Blazers have been added to the staff of the Canadian U-18 team that will play in the IIHF World championship in Lucerne and Zug, Switzerland, April 16-26. . . . Robinson, who is the Blazers’ athletic trainer, will be Canada’s equipment manager. O’Donovan, the Blazers’ director of hockey/media administration, will be Canada’s video manager. . . . Both men are available because the Blazers didn’t qualify for the WHL playoffs. . . .
Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun notes that Hitmen F Adam Tambellini is one  of three players in franchise history with two OT goals. Tambellini won Games 2 and 3 of the first-round series with the Kootenay Ice. “His back-to-back overtime winners will remind Hitmen fans of current Winnipeg Jets captain Andrew Ladd, who also scored sudden-death winners in consecutive games to eliminate the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2005,” Fisher writes. “The only other Hitmen player with multiple OT goals is Ian Schultz.” . . . The Hitmen hold a 3-1 lead over the Ice with Game 5 in Calgary tonight. . . . That game will be televised by Shaw. . . .
The Everett Silvertips will meet the Chiefs in Spokane tonight in Game 4 of their first-round series. The game will be televised live on SWX in the Spokane area. . . . The game also will feature a silent auction on the Spokane Arena’s concourse, with proceeds going to the Chiefs’ education fund.
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@SSepich Judging by ticket sales, hope they charged him for his seat.
— TBird Tidbits (@TBirdTidbits) April 3, 2015

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Blazers involved in life-saving attempt on Coq . . . Sunday in the WHL . . .

COLIN ROBINSON

The Kamloops Blazers’ ride home on the Coquihalla highway on Sunday was anything but typical.
The Blazers, who had been in Victoria for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader with the Royals, caught a morning ferry to the B.C. mainland and stopped at the Coquihalla summit for a restroom break about 11 o'clock.
Colin (Toledo) Robinson, the team’s veteran trainer, had been sleeping.
“We pulled over . . . I heard some rustling around and I could hear that the voices were a little bit serious,” Robinson said on Sunday evening. “I had been teasing (assistant coach) Mike Needham about having a soft bladder and then I heard someone say we needed a doctor. I knew then that things were bad.”
As it turned out, a woman believed to be in her 70s and travelling with a daughter was in difficulty. Robinson and Kamloops head coach Don Hay, who is a former firefighter, immediately tried to help.
“Your training kicks in and you just go do your thing,” Robinson said.
He said they did CPR on the elderly woman for “at least 45 minutes” while awaiting the arrival of an ambulance.
“Another bystander was doing a real good job of CPR when we first showed up,” Robinson said. “She was getting tired. (Hay), being a firefighter and having CPR knowledge, took over the chest compressions. I monitored pulse and breathing and was controlling the scene.”
Unfortunately, the story didn’t have a happy ending as the woman didn’t survive.
“It sucks. It sucks for sure,” Robinson said. “At the end of the day, it’s not about what I did, or what (Hay) did. A lady lost her life and a family is missing someone they love. That’s the story.
“I just wish we could have had a better result.”
By Sunday evening, Robinson was in Kal Tire Place in Vernon, watching his daughter, Lahney, 9, score the first goal of her minor hockey career.
“The second mouse always gets the cheese in front of the net . . . a rebound and a one-timer,” he said. “There’s a big smile on my face now.”
After the day Robinson experienced, he more than earned it.
———

SUNDAY’S GAMES:

In Saskatoon, G Nik Amundrud stopped 24 shots to help the Blades to a 3-0 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Amundrud, a 17-year-old freshman from Melfort, Sask., has two shutouts this season. . . . Saskatoon F Brett Stovin scored the game’s first goal, on a PP at 1:09 of the first period. . . . He’s got 19 goals. . . . The Blades were 2-for-9 on the PP, with F Josh Uhrich getting his seventh goal, with the man advantage, at 11:58 of the third. . . . Saskatoon F Garrett Armour scored his first goal at 2:36 of the third. . . . Raiders G Nick McBride stopped 35 shots, including 17 in the opening period. . . . The Blades (14-29-3), who have taken three in a row from the Raiders, are on a season-best five-game winning streak. . . . The Raiders (19-27-1) have lost four straight. They are 3-9-0 since the Christmas break. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story right here. . . .

In Calgary, G Brendan Burke kicked out 33 shots as the Hitmen blanked the Vancouver Giants, 8-0. . . . Burke, who came over from the Portland Winterhawks at the trade deadline, has one shutout this season and nine in his career. . . . F Elliott Peterson and F Jake Virtanen each scored twice for Calgary. . . . Peterson, who has seven goals, opened the scoring at 3:16 of the first period. . . . Virtanen, who also had an assist, has 13 goals. . . . D Jake Bean had four assists, with F Jody Stallard and Connor Rankin each getting two. . . . F Chase Lang notched his 20th goal. . . . Vancouver G Payton Lee left after Peterson's second goal, at 1:17 of the second period. Peterson's shot appeared to hit Lee on the underside of his blocker and he immediately headed for the bench and was replaced by Cody Porter. . . . The Hitmen (27-17-5) have won four in a row and now are one point behind secod-place Red Deer in the Central Division. . . . The Giants (20-27-2) completed a five-game Central Division trip with a 1-4-0 record. . . .

In Edmonton, the Medicine Hat Tigers scored two goals before the game was five minutes old and went on to beat the Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . Tigers F Dryden Hunt ran his point streak to 19 games with his 22nd goal, just 49 seconds into the game. . . . F Alex Mowbray made it 2-0 with his seventh goal at 4:53. . . . The Oil Kings got to within 2-1 and 4-2 but never were able to catch up. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford scored his 40th goal, moving into a tie for the WHL goal-scoring lead with F Rourke Chartier of the Kelowna Rockets. . . . F Trevor Cox, who leads the WHL with 80 points, scored his 20th goal and added an assist. Cox had 82 points in 70 games last season; this season, he has 80 in 47. . . . The Tigers were 2-for-4 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 1-for-2. . . . Medicine Hat G Nick Schneider stopped 32 shots, nine more than Patrick Dea of Edmonton. . . . The Tigers (33-12-2) have won four straight. . . . The Oil Kings (22-21-6) have lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . After the game, Bob Ridley, the radio voice of the Tigers, tweeted: “Another d-man injured. T. Vinnelli—finger.” . . .

In Cranbrook, G Keelan Williams earned his first WHL victory as the Kootenay Ice beat the Prince George Cougars, 7-4. . . . Williams, who normally backs up Wyatt Hoflin, stopped 26 shots. . . . The Ice broke a 2-2 second-period tie with three goals in 6:21. . . . Cougars F Chase Witala tied it 2-2 with his 26th goal at 18:11 of the first, via the PP. . . . Ice F Zak Zborosky broke the tie with his 15th goal at 15:55 of the third, F Jaedon Descheneau scored his 24th at 11:36 and F Austin Wellsby got his first at 12:16. . . . Ice F Levi Cable scored twice, giving him 22, while Descheneau also had two assists. . . . Ice F Luke Philp drew three assists, F Tim Bozon scored twice, giving him 19, and added an assist, and F Sam Reinhart had two assists. . . . Prince George F Jansen Harkins scored his 17th goal and added two helpers, while D Josh Connolly got his ninth goal and also had two assists. . . . The Ice (26-22-1) has won four straight and holds the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot, three points ahead of Edmonton. . . . The Cougars (20-29-2) have lost 10 in a row (0-8-2). . . . Prince George is tied with Kamloops and Vancouver for third place in the B.C. Division. . . .

In Portland, F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored three times and set up another to help the Winterhawks to a 7-5 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Winterhawks broke a 1-1 tie with four straight goals, allowing them to take a 5-1 lead into the third period. . . . Each of Bjorsktrand’s goals was unassisted. . . . Bjorkstrand has 31 goals this season. In his third WHL season, he has 112 goals in 171 games. . . . Yes, Sunday was Jan. 25, but it’s interest that Bjorkstrand scored three times on Jan. 26, 2014, against Everett, and he had three goals on Jan. 26, 2013, against Tri-City. . . . F Paul Bittner scored his 21st goal and added an assist for Portland. . . . Trailing 5-1, the Americans made it interesting in the third period as they got to within 6-5, but Bjorkstrand put it away with an empty-netter. . . . F Taylor Vickerman and D Parker Wotherspoon each had two assists for the Americans. . . . The Winterhawks (28-19-3) won their fifth straight. . . . Tri-City (24-23-2) had won its previous two games. . . .

In Spokane, G Taran Kozun turned aside 20 shots to help the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 2-0 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Kozun has seven shutouts in his career, five of them with Seattle. Of those five, four are against the Chiefs. . . . F Donovan Neuls got the game’s first goal, his fifth, at 9:09 of the first period. . . . D Shea Theodore scored his seventh, on a PP, at 16:09 of the third. . . . Theodore also had an assist. . . . Prior to the game, the Thunderbirds brought in G Logan Flodell, who had been with the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks. . . . The Thunderbirds (23-18-6) had lost their last three (0-2-1). . . . The Chiefs (23-20-4), who have been blanked in three of their last four games, have lost six straight (0-5-1). . . . Seattle moved into third place in the U.S. Division, two points ahead of Spokane and Tri-City. . . . The Chiefs scratched seven injured regulars and then lost F Adam Helewka, their leading scorer, and F Kolten Olynek to undisclosed injuries. Helewka left after having been involved in a fight with Seattle F Scott Eansor. Olynek was injured in a collision with teammate Jacob Cardiff. . . . "Two teammates running into each other, but that's the way things are going for us right now," Spokane head coach Don Nachbaur told Chris Derrick of the Spokane Spokesman-Review.
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Mooner still made those Blades' jerseys look the best. @SNRJBroadhead @fan960lou #BestInTheBiz #YEGProud pic.twitter.com/dzHPtllxNv
— Ryan Ohashi (@Osmashi) January 25, 2015

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Blazers working to get back on track

By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
There weren’t any Barcaloungers at Kamloops Blazers practice Monday, and the players weren’t passing around beach balls.
For some, six days off might seem like a vacation; for the Blazers, it’s a chance to get their WHL season back on track.
The Blazers are hard at work practising ahead of their Saturday home date against the Everett Silvertips. That game will come exactly one week after the Blazers lost 1-0 in Everett.
Kamloops, at 4-9-0, has the third-worst record in the 22-team league. The Blazers are giving up an average of 36 shots against per game and have lost six of eight games.
This time away from games — it’s tough to call it a break, really, considering the work the players are putting in — has come at a good time for the Blazers.
“We really need to have a good week of practice,” said 20-year-old forward Tyson Ness. “We have to change a lot to get to where we should be, and it’s got to be a big week for us.”
Aside from the nine days the Blazers will get at Christmas, this is their longest stretch between games this season. With 59 games remaining in the regular season, there’s a long way to go, but also a lot of work to do.
There are some issues that can’t be fixed in practice, like discipline, which the Blazers have lacked all season. Kamloops has given its opposition 79 power plays, more than any other team, and, although the penalty kill is fifth in the league at 82 per cent, it takes its toll over time.
Something that can be worked on in practice is offensive production.
“The one thing that we have to do a better job of is . . . I wouldn’t say dumbing down our game, but finding simpler ways to get pucks to the net and converging and getting second and third chances,” said Blazers head coach Dave Hunchak.
Hunchak knew from the start that the Blazers would have a lot to learn this season. He and associate coach Mark Ferner have worked hard teaching the players, and skills coach Mike Needham and advisor to hockey operations Guy Charron — the Blazers’ former head coach — have pitched in as well.
But the Blazers continue to be a work in progress.
“We’re a victim of the way we’ve played the last couple of years maybe,” Hunchak said. “We’ve had the skill to do certain things in the past and those younger guys coming up are thinking they can do the same things.”
Kamloops will play its next five games — and 10 of its next 11 — at Interior Savings Centre, where it is 3-3-0.
The Blazers have won their past two home games, beating the Lethbridge Hurricanes 7-1 on Oct. 14 and the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-1 on Wednesday. Kamloops also had a solid effort despite the loss in Everett on Saturday, following a dud the game before, a 5-1 loss to the Giants in Vancouver on Friday.
 “Friday, we didn’t get the effort . . . we didn’t play hard at all,” Hunchak said. “Saturday we played hard, we were in the game, and we probably deserved a better fate. Having said that, we didn’t get a better fate.
“We aren’t going to deviate from our plan — our focus is to get better every day with the little things.”
Blazers trainer Colin Robinson has done a nice job keeping the players healthy — although luck does play a part — as Kamloops has only lost two man games to injury this season.
Jordan Thomson (upper body) sat out practice Monday, with Hunchak saying, “It’s an issue that we have to be very cautious with — we want to make sure everything is looked after properly. He should be back on the ice by Wednesday, hopefully.”
The rest of the players are using this time to heal their aches and pains.
“Everyone has bruises on them, and we’ve all been in today to get them iced and everything,” Ness said. “Hopefully we’ll all be 100 per cent by the weekend.”
JUST NOTES: D Ryan Rehill, who was ejected from Saturday’s game for an interference major, won’t be suspended by the WHL. Rehill missed practice Monday for what Hunchak called a maintenance day. . . . Saturday’s game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. . . . The Giants will be in town Sunday, 6 p.m., at ISC.

 

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By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
Chase Schaber had no idea he was bleeding, and he certainly had no idea his WHL career was over.
Schaber, the Kamloops Blazers’ captain for the past two seasons, won’t be with the team when it opens the second round of the WHL playoffs later this week. The Blazers will head to Portland late Wednesday to open a best-of-seven series with the Winterhawks on Friday night, with Game 2 scheduled for Saturday.
Schaber’s junior career is over after the back of his left leg was cut during Game 3 of the Blazers’ opening-round series sweep over the Victoria Royals.
The injury happened during an innocuous play in the first period of the March 27 game, when Schaber and Victoria’s Zane Jones bumped near the boards. One of Jones’s skates happened to flip up and catch Schaber right behind his left knee.
Doctors performed exploratory surgery at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops on Thursday, and determined that there was damage to the hamstring and a tendon.
“I didn’t know I was cut — it felt like someone punched me in the back of the leg,” Schaber said Monday. “Then it got warm and tingly, and I was like, ‘What the hell?’ ”
Schaber returned to the Blazers’ bench, where trainer Colin (Toledo) Robinson was waiting.
“Toledo asked, ‘What’s wrong?’ ” Schaber said. “I’m standing there, and blood starts to spill out of my hockey sock.”
Training staff at Victoria’s Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre contained the bleeding, and Schaber was taken to hospital. He flew back to Kamloops prior to Wednesday’s 4-1 victory in Game 4.
The cut itself wasn’t particularly long, measuring about two inches, according to Schaber, but it was deep, and it did some damage.
Schaber isn’t sure as to how many stitches he has in the back of the knee — “the doctor lost count . . . it took an hour to sew me back up” — but he knows it’s going to take a long time for him to get back on his feet.
Since the surgery, Schaber has been stapled to a couch, his left leg in a brace. The only time he gets up is to use the washroom.
He figures he’ll be off his feet for at least three weeks, and will be in the brace for at least three weeks following that. After those six weeks, he should be able to start to walk again, and hopes to start physiotherapy in three months.
It sounds awful, but Schaber is glad there’s even an opportunity for recovery.
“I was a little upset when I learned, but I’m also happy and thankful nothing worse came out of it,” said Schaber, a 21-year-old Red Deer native. “It was a couple of millimetres from nicking an artery, so it could have been much worse.”
The loss is a huge blow to the Blazers, on and off the ice.
Schaber spent much of the past two seasons centring the team’s top line — in 2010-11, he was between Brendan Ranford and Jordan DePape on a productive line, and skated alongside Ranford and a variety of other wingers this season while DePape missed nearly five months with a shoulder injury.
And although Schaber missed 11 games due to injury, he had 52 points, including 23 goals, and 71 penalty minutes in 61 games. He started the playoffs on a line with Dylan Willick and Matt Needham, and had two goals and two assists in the first two games of the Blazers’ series against Victoria.
He’s also defensively responsible, and an emotional leader. That last part is where Schaber’s injury might hurt the Blazers most.
He misses being at practice with his teammates, but they’re never too far away.
“They come over every day, a good pack of them anyway,” he said. “They’re always texting . . . and most of them came and visited me in the hospital.
“This is the best group of guys I’ve ever played with.”
———
The Blazers announced Monday that they have added 15-year-old defenceman Jordan Thomson and 16-year-old forward Brayden Gelsinger for the remainder of the playoffs.
Thomson, the Blazers’ first selection (fourth overall) in the 2011 WHL bantam draft, had 29 points, including 23 assists, in 35 games with the midget AAA Southwest Cougars of Souris, Man. The Cougars’ season ended Sunday with a 5-1 loss to the Saskatoon Contacts in the final of a Telus Cup West Regional qualifier.
Gelsinger spent the season with the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans. The list player had 22 goals and 20 assists in 41 games.
———
The Blazers are to leave late Wednesday night for Portland, where the first two games will be played at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which has the ability to hold 10,407 people.
If Game 5 is needed, it will be played April 14 at the Rose Garden, which the NBA’s Trail Blazers call home. The Rose Garden can hold as many as 17,544 people for hockey events. Game 7 would be back at Memorial Coliseum.
Games 3 and 4 — are scheduled for April 10 and 11 at Interior Savings Centre.

Schaber hurt as Blazers go up 3-0

First, the Kamloops Blazers lost defenceman Austin Madaisky to a WHL suspension.Then, they lost their captain, Chase Schaber, to a skate cut.
Then they scored six times in the second period and went on to beat the host Victoria Royals 7-5 on Tuesday night in Game 3 of a first-round WHL playoff series.
The Blazers, who got a goal and three assists from centre Colin Smith, lead the best-of-seven series 3-0 with Game 4 in Victoria tonight.
Kamloops last won a playoff series in the spring of 1999 when it eliminated the Tri-City Americans in the Western Conference final. Since then, the Blazers have lost 10 first-round series; in two other seasons, they didn’t make the playoffs.
Madaisky, a veteran defenceman who plays on the penalty kill and the power play, was suspended for two games on Monday for a check to the head of Victoria forward Zane Jones in Game 2 on Saturday.
Early in the first period last night, Jones and Schaber came together near the boards and the Blazers captain immediately headed for the bench. He then needed help from trainer Colin Robinson and assistant trainer Pete Friedel to get to the dressing room.
Schaber was taken to hospital with a cut leg. He was to spend the night there and undergo further examination today. He isn’t expected to play tonight. Schaber, who missed the last six games of the regular season with a leg injury, had two goals and two assists in the first two games of this series.
After Schaber left, the Royals scored the game’s first two goals and took that 2-0 lead into the second period.
But the Blazers owned the second periods of the first two games and that script held up again last night. Kamloops outscored its hosts 6-2 in the second period, meaning the Blazers have scored 14 of their 18 goals in this series in the middle 20 minutes.
Victoria actually took a 4-3 lead when Jamie Crooks scored his third goal of the game at 8:26 of the second period.
But the Blazers got a power-play goal from Jordan DePape at 14:55, with Matt Needham scoring his team’s second shorthanded goal of the night at 17:26 and J.C. Lipon adding another PP goal at 18:48.
Dylan Willick, Tim Bozon and Landon Cross also scored for the Blazers. After being a healthy scratch the first two games, Cross was in the lineup in Madaisky’s absence.
Jones and Austin Carroll had Victoria’s other goals in front of 5,255 fans.
JUST NOTES: Including regular-season games, the Blazers now are 10-1 against the Royals and have outscored them, 57-31. . . . The Blazers last won a road playoff game on March 25, 2005 when F Terrance Delaronde scored 16 seconds into OT for a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. Since then, Kamloops had been 0-10 on the road. . . . The Blazers scratched Madaisky, G Taran Kozun, F Cole Ully and F Brock Balson. . . . F Chase Souto went in for Ully, who is likely to play tonight in place of Schaber. . . . The Royals scratched D Zach Habscheid (high ankle sprain), F Brandon McGee (foot), F Taylor Crunk (undisclosed) and D Kade Pilton. With Crunk out, F Lukas Kralik got in for the first time in the series. . . .
The Portland Winterhawks got two goals and two assists from each of F Ty Rattie and F Sven Baertschi in beating the Rockets 6-3 in Kelowna last night. The Winterhawks take a 3-0 lead into Game 4 on Thursday. Should Portland and Kamloops win out, they would meet in the second round, with the Winterhawks holding home-ice advantage. . . . In Spokane, the Chiefs beat the Vancouver Giants 3-2 and now trail 2-1 in the series. The Chiefs are without D Brenden Kichton, the Western Conference’s defenceman of the year. He has undergone surgery in Vancouver for a broken jaw after taking a puck to the face early in the third period of Game 1 on Friday. Kichton remains in hospital awaiting medical clearance to travel to his family’s home in Spruce Grove, Alta. . . . In the other Western Conference series, G Ty Rimmer stopped 23 shots to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 4-0 victory over the host Everett Silvertips. The Americans lead the series, 3-0.
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F Spencer Asuchak of the Prince George Cougars, who is from Kamloops, made his pro debut last night with the ECHL’s Ontario Reign, as it lost 3-0 to the Colorado Eagles in Loveland, Colo. Asuchak, 20, had two shots on goal. . . . G Damien Ketlo, who played out his WHL eligibility with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, stopped 27 shots to record his first pro shutout and was the game’s first star.

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By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
With two OHL players having been suspended for eight games each after testing positive for methylhexaneamine, trainer Colin Robinson says players with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers have been told more than once to be careful with so-called energy drinks and other supplements.
“It’s a huge concern, for sure,” Robinson said Saturday afternoon before his club entertained the Portland Winterhawks at Interior Savings Centre.
Robinson, who has worked in the WHL since 1995, added that he constantly works on educating the players about these things.
“The players are made very aware that these energy drinks are not safe and not recommended,” he explained. “We don’t supply them to the players. If the players get them they get them on their own, knowing that the responsibility is theirs.”
The CHL, which oversees the OHL, QMJHL and WHL, entered into an agreement with the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport during 2006-07. The CCEC handles testing for the three leagues.
When the CHL cut its deal with CCES, it immediately agreed to live by the World Anti-Doping Association’s list of banned drugs. Methylhexaneamine was added to the WADA list in 2010.
Following the news Friday that Alex Aleardi, a forward with the Plymouth Whalers, and Ryan O’Connor, a defenceman with the Saginaw Spirit, had drawn eight-game suspensions, the WHL sent an alert via email to each of its 22 teams.
It is generally agreed that Aleardi and O’Connor, who were tested in November, made an honest mistake, purchasing an over-the-counter product named Jack3d, while not aware of what it contained.
The Blazers were in Kennewick, Wash., and Robinson convened a brief meeting prior their game against the Tri-City Americans.
“The players,” he said, “were made aware that this had happened. I wanted to make sure, again, that they understand the consequences.”
Robinson said the “first thing out of their mouths” was that the OHL players “just bought it over the counter.”
Robinson said he told the players: “You all know when you take the test — they have to do an online test every year — it says you’re responsible. You bought it, you put it in your body . . . that makes it your responsibility.”
The Portland Winterhawks were in Kelowna for a game with the Rockets when the email went out from the WHL office.
As soon as he saw it, Rich Campbell, the Winterhawks’ athletic therapist and strength/conditioning coach, said he “walked right back and talked to players. I asked if they were familiar with the specific product and let them know that it was illegal.”
Campbell said this “is very important to us because players hear about these supplements through other athletes and a lot of times there’s stuff in there that we don’t know is in there.
“I’m familiar with (methylhexaneamine). It’s in a lot of those pump-you-up supplements. The trick is to educate the guys and let them know what’s legal and what isn’t legal as far as the substances.”
Campbell said players sometimes approach him with supplement-related questions, and he also monitors the situation.
“Mostly I just look in the (dressing room) and see what’s there,” he said.
Robinson said that with the Blazers, Dev Mitra, the strength and conditioning coach, “handles all the supplement and protein powders and that.”
Robinson added: “We make sure it’s all sanctioned. If it doesn have NSC on it -- which means it’s gone through the testing -- then we don’t recommend or ask the guys to take that type of powder. Anything they’re on they let us know beforehand and Dev and I check over the WADA list to make sure it’s all good.”
The Blazers have been visited twice this season, once in Portland and again in Prince George. In each instance, one player was tested and, as Robinson said, “Both times it’s been good.”
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It turns out that methylhexaneamine raised its ugly head in baseball a few months ago.
Mike Lemaire of Baseball America reported in August:
“Prior to July 28, no players had violated minor league baseball’s drug program by testing positive for the stimulant methylhexaneamine.
“Little more than two weeks later, eight minor leaguers from four levels of the minors had tested positive for the drug and received 50-game suspensions. A pre-workout supplement that baseball recently banned contained stimulants that proved to be the culprit.” gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Robinson planning for trek to Yukon

COLIN ROBINSON

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor

While most of us are planning for Christmas, Colin Robinson already is looking past that and to Feb. 12.
That is when Robinson’s Kamloops Blazers are scheduled to meet the Vancouver Giants in a WHL game in Whitehorse, Yukon.
“It’s a unique opportunity,” he said Thursday. “There’s going to be lots of hoopla. It’s a part of the world I’ve never been to and probably never would.”
Robinson wears two hats with the Blazers — athletic trainer and equipment manager — and he will be the first to tell you that this won’t be your ordinary WHL road trip.
Robinson admitted to having two thoughts when he first heard about the game.
“I was nervous at first,” he said, “because it’s a neutral-site game and we might not have the usual tools.”
His second thought, which he expressed to general manager Craig Bonner, was that “I guess we better get bigger winter coats.”
Robinson’s first concern is being addressed to the point where he no longer worries about it. He has spoken with WHL commissioner Ron Robison and with Dallas Kitt, the WHL’s manager of marketing and events, and has been assured that everything will be fine.
“The host committee is organized,” the veteran trainer said, “and we will have everything we need to do our jobs and look after the guys. There will be two dressing rooms per team. We’ll have a place to hang our suits. There’ll be room for the coaches and me to work. It’ll be good.”
Travel arrangements still are being finalized, but the Blazers either will take their bus to Vancouver on Feb. 10 and then fly to Whitehorse on Feb. 11, or they will fly direct from Kamloops on Feb. 11.
“We’re still working through all of that,” Bonner said. “But they’re trying to make it work direct from here.”
Either way, the Blazers will hold a practice in Whitehorse the afternoon of Feb. 11 and will spend the evening at a banquet in honour of the event, which is being held in conjunction with 11th annual Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada.
They will hold their usual pregame skate on Feb. 12 at 10 a.m., with game time set for 4 p.m. The Blazers will spend that night in Whitehorse and return to Kamloops on Feb. 13. The Tri-City Americans will play here on Feb. 15.
Robinson stresses that “this is not just another trip.”
Because the team will be flying, he said he has to better prepared than when he’s packing for a bus trip.
“This won’t be like taking the bus and having everything underneath,” he said.
And because they won’t be playing in an arena that is home to a WHL team, there won’t be gear already there that can be shared.
“We share a lot of things,” Robinson said of the bond between the WHL’s trainers, equipment managers and athletic therapists. “We share tape . . . a ton of stuff.”
The bottom line is that Robinson is looking forward to the trek because, as he put it, “life is about experiences and this will be another one.”
Yes, he said, he is taking notes for the book will write when the time comes.
The Blazers, meanwhile, will try tonight to get their game back on track.
They dropped a 3-0 decision to the Giants in Vancouver on Tuesday, after which they felt the wrath of head coach Guy Charron, who was scathing in postgame interviews and made their lives miserable at practice Wednesday.
Spirits were high Thursday, however, as they went through their paces in the chilly confines of Memorial Arena.
Defenceman Josh Caron, who has been out with a broken collarbone since Sept. 25, won’t play tonight, but he is close to returning. Caron, who is back practising, is to see a doctor Monday at which point he expects to be cleared to play. Should that happen, he could play Wednesday against the Winterhawks in Portland or, more likely, in a weekend doubleheder in Prince George against the Cougars.
Defenceman Brady Gaudet, who picked up a 13-stitch cut on his chin when he was struck by Vancouver goaltender Mark Segal’s stick on Tuesday, will play tonight.
The Blazers know that the Broncos won’t be an easy touch. Already on this B.C. Division swing, they have won in Chilliwack (5-4 over the Bruins) and Kelowna (4-1 over the Rockets).
And centre Cody Eakin has been on fire. He has seven points, including four goals, in the two games. Two of his goals have been game-winners.
Eakin, a 19-year-old from Winnipeg, is the son of Grant Eakin (Winnipeg, Lethbridge, 1973-78) and the nephew of Bruce Eakin (Saskatoon, 1980-82).
Cody will fly out of Kamloops for Toronto on Saturday where he will take part in the selection camp for Canada’s national junior team.
JUST NOTES: The Blazers and Zimmer Autosport are playing host to the annual Teddy Bear/Tuque Toss tonight. Fans are encouraged to bring a new stuffed animal, tuque, scarf or pair of gloves and toss it onto the ice when the Blazers score their first goal. . . . The Blazers Booster Club is handling distribution with the Royal Inland Hospital and more than 20 other organizations to benefit. . . . The Broncos were last here on Dec. 13, 2008, when they blanked the Blazers, 2-0. Yes, that was a Teddy Bear game. . . . The Blazers will have three players off their protected list playing in the Canada Winter Games in Halifax, Feb. 10-18. F Matthew Needham of Penticton and D Joshua Connolly of Prince George will play for B.C., while F Cole Ully of Calgary is to play for Alberta. All three were selected in the 2010 bantam draft.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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