Showing posts with label Colton Bobyk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colton Bobyk. Show all posts

Sunday, February 5, 2017

What a weekend that was in the WHL . . . hits, a line brawl and, yes, a Heidi moment!


Sheesh! A guy takes a night off from blogging — it was Super Bowl Eve and an annual non-football social engagement beckoned — and everything was going on in the WHL.
There were two crumpling checks in a game in Saskatoon. The WHL had its very own Heidi moment in Portland. There was a line brawl in Lethbridge where they were honouring the 1996-97 Hurricanes. And a whole lot more . . . 
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First, let’s take a look at the two hits that occurred in the third period of the Blades’ 4-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels.
The first occurred at 9:19 when F Cam Hausinger of the Rebels drilled Saskatoon D Jake Kustra into the end boards, which had absolutely no give to them, something that only exacerbated the situation.


CAMERON HAUSINGER
JAKE KUSTRA
Kustra, who missed time earlier this season with a concussion, ended up on a stretcher and was taken to hospital. After taking some stitches to his head, he was released. When I inquired Sunday as to whether Kustra was OK, or as OK as might be expected, a Blades spokesperson responded: “Yes.” Obviously, he has a concussion.
Watching the video, as Kustra gets the puck and turns, he looks up. In that split second, he looks like a deer in the headlights as he realizes Hausinger’s intent, which is to put him into the cheap seats. Kustra stumbles and is almost horizontal when contact is made with his head. Because of the stumble, it would have been all but impossible for Hausinger not to make contact with the head.
Hausinger, who was acquired from the Blades on Nov. 25, was given a checking-to-the-head major and game misconduct. I would suggest that a charging major and game misconduct would have been more indicative of what happened.
Still, Hausinger’s body language as he skates hard and directly at Kustra leaves no doubt as to his intent. When I see hits like these, I always wonder why another player has the desire to hit an opponent as hard as is humanly possible. Is it because for his entire hockey career he has been coached to finish his check? Is this what finishing a check looks like? If it is, is this what we want in the game? If the No. 1 objective is to gain possession of the puck, what is wrong with angle/pin, man, puck?


After the game, Brent Sutter, Red Deer’s owner, general manager and head coach, pointed a finger at Kustra.
“You feel terrible if the kid got hurt,” Sutter told Greg Meachem of reddeerrebels.com, “but he put himself in that position to allow himself to be injured. He had control of the puck, went to pass it out and fell forward. Hausinger glided towards him, he never took a stride.
“Those are the types of calls that are frustrating from a coach’s standpoint. A major penalty shouldn’t be called because someone was hurt on the play.”
Sutter referenced a play from the Rebels’ 6-3 victory over the Raiders in Prince Albert on Friday. That one involved Rebels D Carson Sass.
“Sass got knocked out of the game with a check that was much, much worse that than and it was a two-minute minor penalty,” Sutter said. “I don’t like seeing anyone get hurt, but how do you blame a player for finishing a check when the other player stumbles.”
Sass was in Red Deer’s lineup on Saturday in Saskatoon.
While I am all for free speech, especially in these times when blandness rules, I’m thinking that had Sutter had more time to distance himself from what obviously was an emotional situation — there was plenty of conversation between the two benches and some vitriol directed towards the on-ice officials — he may have chosen fewer and different words to express himself.


That brings us to Red Deer D Colton Bobyk’s thundering hit on Saskatoon F Braylon Shmyr, who had a goal and an assist in the Blades victory. This hit came with 30 seconds left in the third period of a 4-2 game.


Shmyr, who leads the Blades in goals (27) and assists (22), has the puck as he drives to his right and then cuts towards the centre line. As he looks down to find the puck, Bobyk steps up and drills him. It truly is a Scott Stevens-Eric Lindros type of moment.
Is it a clean check? Does Bobyk’s right elbow come up and make contact with Shmyr’s chin/jaw area? If it is a clean hit, are these the kinds of hits we want in the game, hits that leave an unsuspecting player in a heap on the ice? How much onus is on the puck carrier as he cuts through the neutral zone? This is a debate that will rage on and on.
Bobyk wasn’t penalized for the hit and, as I understand it, the Blades aren’t likely to ask for supplemental discipline.
You have to understand, too, that the Blades just might be a little sensitive to damaging hits.
On Friday, with 1:33 left in a 5-2 loss to the visiting Regina Pats, Saskatoon D Mark Rubinchik was hit from behind by F Jeff de Wit.


On Saturday, the WHL handed de Wit one of those TBD suspensions. Fortunately, Rubinchik wasn’t injured — in fact, he had two assists in Saturday’s loss — so I wouldn’t expect de Wit to get a lengthy suspension. But, sooner or later, the WHL is going to have stop handing out charitable suspensions because hits like these really are creeping back into the game.
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Perhaps lost in all of this is the impact these injuries could have on the Blades drive to make the playoffs for the first time since the spring of 2013.
It’s safe to assume that D Jake Kustra and F Braylon Shmyr both are concussed, with no timetable set for their returns.
F Lukus MacKenzie was injured during a second-period fight with Red Deer F Evan Polei. MacKenzie won’t be back anytime soon.
F Cam Hebig, a 69-point man last season, has yet to play this season.
F Mason McCarty, who has 23 points, including 14 goals, in 26 games, has been out for 11 weeks.
F Markson Bechtold, who was acquired from the Spokane Chiefs in December, was injured in his third game with the Blades and hasn’t played since.
Hebig, McCarty and Bechtold all are listed as being out week-to-week. There are only six weeks left in the WHL’s regular season.
The Blades (21-26-6) have 19 games left in their regular season. They are in possession of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, but are just one point ahead of the Calgary Hitmen.
The Blades next are scheduled to play Friday when they entertain the Moose Jaw Warriors with the Brandon Wheat Kings coming to town on Saturday.
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Darren Steinke, who now lives in Saskatoon after covering the Tigers for the Medicine Hat News for a few winters, was at the game between the Red Deer Rebels and Blades. Later, he blogged about it. His piece is right here.
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That brings us to the WHL’s very own Heidi moment.
On Nov 17, 1968, the host Oakland Raiders were up against the New York Jets in an NFL game. The Raiders struck for a pair of touchdowns in the last minute of the fourth quarter to escape with a 43-32 victory.
However, NBC-TV ended its coverage on the East Coast, choosing to show the movie Heidi, instead. That meant a large portion of its audience didn’t see the comeback.
On Saturday, the WHL game that had the Seattle Thunderbirds in Portland to play the Winterhawks was shown on TV in both markets.
One viewer emailed with this explanation:
“The game goes into OT and two minutes into OT the announcer says ‘we have to be off the air at 10 p.m., and the telecast just drops off . . . goes to the scheduled programming at 10 p.m., leaving fans like myself to rush to the computer to listen to the end of the game.
“Yes . . . this really did happen in the year 2017 . . . LOL!”
Jess Rubenstein, the prospect editor for Blueshirt Bulletin, was working the game and posted this on Facebook:
“Congrats to the CW 32 for having hockey's version of the Heidi Bowl tonight. They left the broadcast of the Winterhawks game at 10 PM while the GAME WAS STILL GOING ON.
“Don't they have engineers watching their broadcasts to avoid screw ups like this? One of the most exciting games the Winterhawks played this season and their viewers missed out on the ending.
“They owe their viewers a major apology.”
Oh well, at least the TV station didn’t go to Heidi. Instead, it was time for the news.
BTW, the Winterhawks won the game when F Alex Overhardt scored the only goal of a seven-round shootout. Portland has won seven in a row; Seattle had a seven-game winning streak end.
In fairness to the TV station involved, the game was 15 minutes late in starting, due to a glass problem. There also was a promotion involving mascots that ran long. In the end, the game didn’t end until 10:14 p.m.
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In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes spent the weekend honouring the team that won the WHL championship in the spring of 1997.
The Hurricanes put a cap on the celebration with a 3-0 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday. F Tyler Wong gave the home boys a 1-0 lead with his 38th goal at 10:02 of the first period. The Hurricanes, with G Stuart Skinner making 31 stops, nursed that until wrapping it up with two empty-net goals.
The Warriors took 52 of the game’s 92 penalty minutes, with 74 of those coming in the last 19 seconds of the third period. Referees Clayton Hall and Derek Zalaski doled out 10 fighting majors at 19:41, then added two more when Moose Jaw D Jett Wood and Lethbridge F Jordy Bellerive scrapped at the final buzzer. 
Even if there aren’t any suspensions out of this mess, you can bet there will be some ch-ch-ching going into the WHL’s coffers.
Lost in all the commotion is that the Hurricanes have points in 13 straight games (11-0-2).
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A FEW OTHER WEEKEND NOTES: 

G Carter Hart put up his WHL-leading seventh shutout in a 1-0 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants.
TURNER OTTENBREIT
That is a single-season high for Hart, who now has 17 career shutouts. Jesse Geleynse of the Everett Herald pointed out that Silvertips F Connor Dewar missed the first game of his WHL career. He had played in 132 straight regular-season and playoff games. . . . In Portland, D Turner Ottenbreit of the Seattle Thunderbirds played in his 200th regular-season game. Ottenbreit was selected by the Saskatoon Blades with the second-last player selected in the 2012 bantam draft; in fact, he was the last 1997-born player taken in that draft. . . . The Winterhawks took D Blake Heinrich, a 1995-born player, with the draft’s final selection. He played 132 games with Portland over two seasons. . . . The host Winterhawks beat the Thunderbirds, 4-3 in a shootout. That was Portland’s fourth game in five nights — the Winterhawks won them all. . . . Portland F Alex Overhardt, who scored the shootout winner on Saturday, was taken five selections before Ottenbreit. Overhardt was playing in his 184th game. . . .   
The Kelowna Rockets beat the host Prince George Cougars, 5-1, giving them a weekend sweep. The Rockets had won, 3-2, on Friday. The Rockets are healthy for about the first time this season. They got two goals from each of Nick Merkley and Reid Gardiner, as they proved that they definitely are a contender for at least a B.C. Division title. . . . Gardiner has 12 points, including six goals, in nine games since joining the Rockets from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. . . . In Regina, the Pats ran their winning streak to eight games with a 7-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. The visitors may have known they were in for a tough night when F Colton Kehler took an unsportsmanlike conduct minor before the game started. Yes, the Pats scored on the PP. . . .
The Kamloops Blazers escaped from Spokane with a 3-2 victory over the Chiefs. Kamloops G Connor
CONNOR INGRAM
Ingram made 30 saves as the Blazers went 3-2-2 in a stretch of seven straight away from home. Spokane F Kailer Yamamoto wasn’t able to score on a penalty shot at 15:39 of the third period with his guys down a goal. . . . At game’s end, Kamloops head coach Don Hay had 710 regular-season victories, with Spokane’s Don Nachbaur at 686. . . . F Tyler Steenbergen of the Swift Current Broncos continued his terrific season with two goals in a 4-1 victory over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. He’s got 39 goals, one off the league lead held by Moose Jaw F Jayden Halbgewachs. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., F Matt Bradley had two goals and two assists as the Medicine Hat Tigers snuck past the Tri-City Americans, 6-5. Bradley’s 25th goal gave the visitors a 6-4 lead at 19:29 of the third period. That goal turned into the winner when Tri-City F Vladislav Lukin got No. 24 at 19:56. . . . On their way home from the Spokane, the Tigers had to stop in Cranbrook and wait for the Crowsnest Pass to open after it, like a lot of B.C. and southern Alberta, was hit by a huge snowfall. The Tigers are hoping to leave Cranbrook today (Monday) around noon. . . . The host Victoria Royals beat the Calgary Hitmen, 4-1, as G Griffen Outhouse stopped 30 shots in winning for a WHL-leading 29th time. Outhouse is 47-19-7 in 75 appearances over two seasons. The Royals have won four in a row.
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Back in the day, when I was in my second go-round at the Brandon Sun and covering the Wheat Kings, one of the players I most enjoyed watching and chatting with was Kelly Glowa, who once enjoyed a 10-point game. . . . These days, he’s a husband with three beautiful daughters. He’s 53 and still playing hockey, now with the Boissevain Border Kings of the Tigers Hills Hockey League. . . . Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun has more on Glowa right here.
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Duncan Krier was living a life of virtual anonymity as an account manager with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks until his name surfaced at the Super Bowl in Houston. When Atlanta Falcons centre Alex Mack, who is a great offensive lineman, was asked to name the greatest high school football player he has seen, he came up with “Duncan Krier.” . . . Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times then came up with this piece right here. Yes, it’s well worth your time.
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Meanwhile, in Victoria, the WHL team there changed head coaches for the FOURTH time this season. Oh wait! That was in 1990.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.
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MONDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Vancouver at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

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Friday, February 3, 2017

Thibodeau gets AJHL record . . . Winterhawks, Thunderbirds on fire . . . Halbgewachs ends drought

F Brett Bulmer (Kelowna, 2008-12) has been released by mutual agreement by Ilves Tampere (Finland, Liiga). He had two goals and three assists in 23 games.
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Gord Thibodeau recorded his 833rd coaching victory on Friday, moving to the top of the AJHL’s career list. Thibodeau’s Whitecourt Wolverines scored a 2-1 OT victory over the host Fort McMurray Oil Barons to give him the record. Thibodeau spent 11 seasons (2003-13) as the Oil Barons’ GM and head coach. . . . In his first season with Whitecourt, he also has coached the Lloydminster Blazers, St. Albrert Saints and Lloydminster Bobcats. . . . Thibodeau, who is in his 23rd season as an AJHL head coach, had been tied with Don Phelps, who coached the Calgary Canucks from 1979-2011. . . . Whitecourt’s winning goal came from F Eric Krienke, with the lone assist to F Mitch Lipon, both of them former WHL players.
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The Battlefords Stars of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League have made a coaching change, with Norm Johnston replacing Jean Fauchon for the remainder of this season. . . . After losing 9-1 to the Mintos in Prince Albert on Thursday, the Stars were 14-21-2 and tied for 10th place, one point out of a playoff spot. . . . Fauchon was in his first season as head coach of the Stars after spending four seasons with them as an assistant coach. . . . Johnston, a school teacher by profession, hasn’t coached since 2013-14 when he was with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. He was the general manager and head coach of the SJHL’s North Battleford North Stars for five seasons (1983-86, 1988-90). . . . He spent 1994-95 as head coach of the WHL’s Regina Pats. . . . He will be behind the bench today (Saturday) as the Stars play host to the Yorkton Maulers.
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If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:

At Brandon, F Tyler Coulter and F Nolan Patrick each had four points to lead the Wheat Kings to a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Coulter scored two goals and added two assists, while Patrick
TYLER COULTER
drew four assists. . . . The Wheat Kings took an early 2-0 lead as F Stelio Mattheos (18) and F Meyer Nell (2) scored at 1:21 and 5:07 of the first period. . . . Both of Nell’s goals this season have come with his side shorthanded. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky pulled Edmonton to within one at 9:00, but Brandon put it away with the next three goals. . . . Coulter scored at 14:34 of the first period, while F Ty Lewis (24) counted at 12:35 of the second and F Reid Duke got his 32nd, on a PP, at 15:06. . . . D Will Warm got Edmonton’s second goal, his ninth, at 18:02 of the second and F Davis Koch (14) scored on a PP 27 seconds into the third. . . . Coulter wrapped up the scoring, putting his 22nd goal into an empty net at 19:31. . . . Coulter equalled his career high in goals from last season. . . . Patrick, the consensus No. 1 selection for the 2017 NHL draft, has 22 points, 13 of them assists, in 13 games this season. He has 13 points, including five goals, in seven games since returning from injury. . . . Brandon got two assists from D Kale Clague, with Mattheos adding one to his goal. . . . F Graham Millar had two assists for the Oil Kings, with Koch adding one. . . . G Travis Child earned the victory with 22 saves. . . . Edmonton G Patrick Dea stopped 27 shots. . . . Brandon was 1-2 on the PP; Edmonton was 1-6. . . . With Brandon head coach David Anning ill, assistant coach Don MacGillivray picked up his first WHL coaching victory. . . . The Wheat Kings (25-19-6) have points in three straight (2-0-1). They are fourth in the East Division, four points behind the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Oil Kings (18-30-4) have lost 13 in a row. They are six points out of the playoffs. . . . Announced attendance: 4,712.
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At Everett, F Skyler McKenzie and F Cody Glass each had four points to help the Portland Winterhawks to a 6-5 victory over the Silvertips. . . . The start of the game was delayed about 30 minutes due to an
SKYLER McKENZIE
accident on I-5 that delayed Portland’s arrival. . . . McKenzie scored twice, running his total to 34, and added two assists, while Glass, who has 72 points, had a goal, his 24th, and three assists. . . . F Brad Ginnell (5) gave Portland a 1-0 lead at 1:14 of the first period. . . . Everett followed with two quick ones, F Bryce Kindopp (7) scoring at 3:48 and F Riley Sutter (15) at 5:21. Kindopp’s goal came on a PP, ending an 0-22 skid. . . . The Winterhawks went back out front on goals from McKenzie, on a PP, at 17:51 and Glass just 30 seconds into the second period. . . . Everett F Devon Skoleski (10) tied it at 3:17. . . . F Ryan Hughes (23), on a PP, and McKenzie scored at 5:54 and 8:37 as the Winterhawks took a 5-3 lead. . . . F Sean Richards (6) but the deficit to one at 14:54, but Portland F Joachim Blichfeld (18) scored with 2.8 seconds left in the period for a 6-4 lead. . . . Everett got back to within a goal when F Dominic Zwerger (22) struck at 13:15 of the third period. . . . D Caleb Jones had two assists for Portland. . . . Everett got four assists from D Aaron Irving, his first career four-point game. Everett F Eetu Tuulola had three assists, with D Kevin Davis adding two. . . . Portland G Cole Kehler finished with 34 saves as he recorded his 20th victory. . . . Everett starter Carter Hart was beaten three times on 11 shots in 24:30 when he was relieved by Mario Petit. He allowed three goals on 17 shots in 33:11. . . . Portland was 2-3 on the PP; Everett was 1-3. . . . The Winterhawks (28-21-3) ran their winning streak to six games. They hold down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot and are nine points ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Silvertips (30-11-10) have lost seven in a row (0-5-2). They lead the U.S. Division by four points over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Announced attendance: 4,432.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Jayden Halbgewachs, the WHL’s leading sniper, ended an eight-game drought with
JAYDEN HALBGEWACHS
two goals as the Warriors beat the Kootenay Ice, 6-2. . . . Halbgewachs, who now has 40 goals, also had two assists. . . . F Brett Howden helped out with two goals and one assist. . . . The Warriors led 2-0 before the game was 45 seconds old, with Halbgewachs scoring at 0:30 and Howden counting just 11 seconds later. . . . Halbgewachs scored again at 3:35. . . . The Warriors led 4-0 when F Tristin Langan scored his fifth goal at 4:01 of the second period. . . . F Max Patterson (7) got the Ice on the scoreboard at 5:48, but Howden got that one back with No. 28 at 18:11. . . . Ice F Kaeden Taphorn scored his third goal, assisted by twin brother Keenan, at 1:17 of the third period. . . . F Luka Burzan finished the scoring with No. 12 for the Warriors at 7:10. . . . The Warriors got two assists from each of D Jett Woo and F Brayden Burke. . . . G Brody Willms got the victory with 20 saves. . . . Ice starter Jakob Walter allowed three goals on seven shots in 3:35. Payton Lee came on in relief to stop 32 of 35 shots in 56:25. . . . Each team was 0-2 on the PP. . . . The Warriors (31-14-7) had lost their previous two games. They are comfortably in second place in the East Division, 10 points behind the Regina Pats and nine in front of the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Ice (12-34-8) have lost four straight. . . . Announced attendance: 1,709.
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At Prince Albert, F Evan Polei and F Michael Spacek each had two goals as they led the Red Deer
COLTON BOBYK
Rebels to a 6-3 victory over the Raiders. . . . The Rebels took a 2-0 lead into the second period on goals from Polei, on a PP, at 12:33, and Spacek, at 19:30. . . . The Raiders tied it with a pair of early second-period goals as F Simon Stransky (14) scored, on a PP, at 1:04, and F Sean Montgomery (11) tied it at 4:05. . . . The visitors answered with two more goals, as F Cameron Hausinger scored his sixth at 14:10 and Spacek got his 23rd, on a PP, at 19:03. . . . F Cavin Leth got the Raiders to within a goal with his 17th just 25 seconds later. . . . The Rebels put it away with two empty-netters, as Polei scored No. 24 at 18:09 of the third period and F Lane Zablocki got his 16th at 19:36. . . . D Colton Bobyk had three assists for Red Deer, with F Adam Musil and F Brandon Hagel each adding two. . . . Bobyk had four goals and a career-high 36 assists in 51 games. He went into the season with 44 assists in 160 games. . . . Red Deer G Riley Lamb earned the victory with 32 stops, five more than Nic Sanders at the other end. . . . The Rebels were 2-3 on the PP; the Raiders were 1-4. . . . Red Deer (23-21-8) had lost its previous two games (0-1-1). The Rebels appear headed to a third-place finish in the Central Division. . . . The Raiders (13-36-5) had won their previous two outings. . . . Announced attendance: 2,198.
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At Prince George, F Kole Lind broke a 2-2 tie at 7:23 of the third period as the Kelowna Rockets got past the Cougars, 3-2. . . . Lind, who has 24 goals, also scored Kelowna’s first goal, while shorthanded, at
KOLE LIND
8:12 of the first period. . . . F Reid Gardiner gave the visitors a 2-0 lead with his fourth goal, at 18:04. . . . The Cougars tied it with two second-period goals. . . . F Colby McAuley scored No. 19 just 20 seconds into the period, with F Jesse Gabrielle getting his 24th goal at 17:09. . . . F Dillon Dube had two assists for the Rockets. . . . Lind, an 18-year-old from Shaunavon, Sask., has 63 points in 50 games this season. He finished last season with 14 goals and 27 assists in 70 games. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer, in his 100th WHL appearance, earned the victory with 32 stops. Herringer made two appearances with the Victoria Royals in 2012-13; the other 98 have been with the Rockets, including 40 this season. . . . The Cougars got 29 saves from G Ty Edmonds. . . . Kelowna was 0-2 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-5. . . . The Cougars scratched D Brendan Guhle (ankle), while F Tomas Soustal (undisclosed injury) was among Kelowna’s scratches. . . . The Rockets (29-19-4) have won two in a row. They are tied with the Victoria Royals for third spot in the B.C. Division, five points behind the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Cougars (36-15-3) had won their previous two games. They lead the B.C. Division by eight points over Kamloops. . . . The game was handled by one referee (Mike Langin), when the other assigned official (Colin Watt) was snowed in at the airport in Vancouver. . . . Announced attendance: 3,038.
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At Saskatoon, F Austin Wagner scored twice to help the Regina Pats to a 5-2 victory over the Blades. . . . The Pats took control by scoring the game’s first three goals. . . . F Nick Henry (23) got it started at 11:50,
AUSTIN WAGNER
with Wagner counting 36 seconds into the second period and D Dawson Davidson scoring 5:18 later. . . . Saskatoon D Bryton Sayers got his sixth, on a PP, at 13:56, but Regina D Connor Hobbs, who is from Saskatoon, got that one back with No. 22, on a PP, at 14:15. . . . F Braylon Shmyr scored Saskatoon’s other goal, his 26th, on a PP, at 5:32 of the third period. . . . Wagner’s 24th goal, a shorthanded empty-netter, ended the scoring at 17:21. . . . Regina F Sam Steel, who leads the WHL scoring race with 91, had two assists, as did F Adam Brooks, who trails his teammate by three points. . . . Davidson also had an assist for Regina. . . . Shmyr added one to his goal. . . . G Tyler Brown stopped 18 shots for Regina, while Saskatoon’s Brock Hamm blocked 32. . . . Saskatoon was 2-6 on the PP; Regina was 1-7. . . . F Jesse Shynkaruk (coach’s decision) was among the Blades’ scratches. . . . F Filip Ahl (ill) was one of Regina’s scratches. . . . Regina lost F Jake Leschyshyn to an undisclosed injury and he isn’t expected to play tonight against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Regina F Jeff de Wit took a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 18:27 of the third period for a hit on Saskatoon D Mark Rubinchik, who didn’t appear to be injured on the play. . . . Regina (36-6-7) has won seven in a row. The Pats lead the overall standings by four points over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Saskatoon (20-26-6) has lost four straight and is one point away from a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 3,487.
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At Spokane, F Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored three times and added an assist to lead the Chiefs to a 5-3
JARET ANDERSON-DOLAN
victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Anderson-Dolan broke a 3-3 tie, on a PP, at 11:52 of the third period and then had the primary assist on F Keanu Yamamoto’s 19th goal, at 18:45. . . . Anderson-Dolan has 27 goals and 26 assists in 51 games; he finished last season, his first, with 14 goals and 12 assists in 65 games. Anderson-Dolan, 17, is from Calgary. He was a first-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . The Tigers led 2-0 after one period on goals from F James Hamblin (14), on a PP, at 15:53 and F Matt Bradley (23), at 18:46. . . . The Chiefs scored three times in the second period. . . . F Hayden Ostir got his fifth at 2:25. . . . Anderson-Dolan followed with two PP scores, at 8:57 and 12:34. . . . The Tigers tied it when F Tyler Preziuso scored his third goal, at 2:14 of the third period. . . . Yamamoto also had three assists, while F Riley Woods record two. . . . Spokane got 31 saves from G Dawson Weatherill. . . . Medicine Hat G Michael Bullion stopped 29 shots. . . . The Chiefs were 3-7 on the PP; the Tigers were 1-4. . . . Spokane (21-22-8) had lost its last three games (0-2-1). The Chiefs are nine points away from a playoff spot. . . . Medicine Hat (36-16-1) had a five-game winning streak halted. It leads the Central Division by six points over the Lethbridge Hurricane. . . . Announced attendance: 8,564.
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At Kent, Wash., F Zack Andrusiak scored in the ninth round of a shootout to give the Seattle
ZACK ANDRUSIAK
Thunderbirds a 3-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The first four shooters in the skills competition all scored, but the next 12 all came up short. Andrusiak, who has five goals in 40 games, scored on G Connor Ingram to put the hosts ahead. Seattle won it when G Rylan Toth stopped Blazers F Erik Miller. . . . Prior to the shootout beginning, TBird Tidbits tweeted that the Blazers were 5-0 in shootouts against the Thunderbirds. . . . The Blazers had taken a 1-0 lead when F Nic Holowko’s fifth goal of the season, on a PP, at 7:16 of the second period. That was the first PP goal of Holowko’s career; it came in his 183rd game. . . . Seattle F Luke Ormsby (5) tied it at 7:59. . . . Kamloops went back out front when F Deven Sideroff got No. 30, at 11:25. . . . F Ryan Gropp, who is from Kamloops, tied it with his 14th goal, on a PP, at 15:21. . . . F Alexander True had two assists for Seattle. . . . Toth finished with 35 saves through OT, while Ingram stopped 24 shots. . . . Seattle was 1-2 on the PP; Kamloops was 1-4. . . . This was the third time in a row these teams went to OT. Seattle had beaten the visiting Blazers, 4-3 in OT, on Tuesday. On Nov. 30, the host Blazers won 4-3 in OT. . . . Seattle (31-15-4) has won seven in a row and moved into second in the U.S. Division, one point ahead of the Tri-City Americans. . . . Kamloops (31-18-5) has lost three straight (0-1-2). It is 1-1-2 in a five-game swing into the U.S. Division. The Blazers are second in the B.C Division. . . . Announced attendance: 4,259.
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At Langley, B.C., the Calgary Hitmen, down 2-0 before the game was three minutes old, came back to beat the Vancouver Giants, 4-3 in OT. . . . F Owen Hardy (3) gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 2:27 of the
MATTEO GENNARO
first period and F Johnny Wesley (7) made it 2-0 just 24 seconds later. . . . Calgary F Matteo Gennaro scored for the Hitmen at 5:29 of the second period, but the Giants got that one back as F Ty Ronning (20) counted at 8:27. . . . The visitors responded with the game’s last three goals. . . . F Tristen Nielsen scored his first goal of the season — and second of his career — at 13:08 of the second period. A first-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft, Nielsen scored once in three games last season; this season, he has a goal and three assists in 30 games. . . . F Jakub Stukel, who started his career with the Giants, tied the game, on a PP, 54 seconds into the third period. He’s got 17 goals. . . . The Hitmen won it when Gennaro struck for his 33rd goal at 1:09 of OT. . . . Gennaro began this season with 39 goals in 202 games. This season, he has 33 goals and 28 assists in 48 games. . . . Gennaro didn’t score in his last five games in December. He then scored 20 times in January and now has two goals in February. . . . D Brady Reagan drew three assists, while F Beck Malenstyn had two, and Gennaro and Stukel each had one. . . . The Hitmen got 31 stops from G Trevor Martin, while Vancouver’s Ryan Kubic made 28 saves. . . . Calgary was 1-1 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-3. . . . The Hitmen were without F Mark Kastelic, who drew a one-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct he incurred on Wednesday in Kelowna. . . . Calgary (19-23-9) had lost two in a row. The victory lifted the Hitmen past the Saskatoon Blades and into the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Vancouver (17-30-5) has lost six straight (0-4-2). . . . Announced attendance: 3,368.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Vancouver at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Portland, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Regina, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Kamloops at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Brandon at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Calgary at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
No Games Scheduled.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:23 PM
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Saturday, October 15, 2016

WHL suspends four players . . . Silvertips win fourth in five nights . . . Broncos open B.C. trek with win



The WHL’s department of justice slapped four players following Friday night games.
F Tanner Jeannot of the Moose Jaw Warriors drew a one-game suspension for a boarding major and game misconduct he took in a 6-4 loss to the Rebels in Red Deer. . . . D Alexander Alexeyev, who was hit on the play, wasn’t injured.
F Hudson Elynuik of the Spokane Chiefs, F Johnny Wesley of the Vancouver Giants and F Chad Butcher of the Medicine Hat Tigers all drew TBD suspensions.
Elynuik was hit with a charging major and game misconduct during a 4-3 OT loss to the visiting Everett Silvertips. That was for a hit on Everett F Devon Skoleski in the third period. Skoleski didn’t play last night against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds.
Wesley was given a headshot major and game misconduct during Vancouver’s 4-3 OT victory over the Hurricanes in Lethbridge.
The WHL chose to suspend Butcher for something that happened in a 7-2 victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen. That suspension comes under supplemental decision, meaning that the Hitmen must have filed video and asked the WHL to take a look at whatever happened.
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D Connor Clouston, 20, has joined the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers. He made his debut on Saturday night in a 7-2 loss to the host Chilliwack Chiefs. . . . Clouston was waived last week by the Medicine Hat Tigers as they got down to three 20-year-olds. . . . A native of Medicine Hat, he was a third-round pick by the Kamloops Blazers in the 2011 bantam draft. He split 158 regular-season WHL games between the Blazers, Moose Jaw Warriors and the Tigers. He had three goals and eight assists. 
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:


At Everett, the Silvertips scored the game’s first three goals and hung on for a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Everett (8-1-1) has won four in a row. The Silvertips played four games in
five nights, winning them all and outscoring the opposition, 16-9. . . . Seattle (2-4-1) has lost three straight (0-2-1). . . . F Bryce Kindopp opened the scoring at 4:14 of the first period as Everett scored first for the ninth time in 10 games. . . . F Riley Sutter scored Everett’s other two goals, both via the PP, at 10:00 and 11:55 of the first period. . . . Sutter, who had one goal and three assists in 31 games last season, has four goals and three assists in 10 games this season. . . . F Sami Moilanen, at 14:09 of the first, and D Turner Ottenbreit, at 18:26 of the third, scored for Seattle. . . . Ottenbreit also had an assist. . . . G Carter Hart blocked 23 shots for the winners, while Rylan Toth turned aside 20 for Seattle. . . . Everett was 2-5 on the PP; Seattle was 1-8. . . . With Seattle having four 20-year-olds on its roster, one must be scratched every game. This time, it was F Cavin Leth. The Thunderbirds have two weeks from the return of F Ryan Gropp to get down to three 20s. . . . The Silvertips were without F Matt Fonteyne and D Lucas Skrumeda for a third straight game. . . . F Mathew Barzal, 19, who is eligible to return to Seattle, made his NHL debut with the New York Islanders last night. He played 10 minutes 10 seconds (16 shifts), including 1:02 on the PP. He was pointless, but took three minor penalties and won two of four faceoffs in a 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals. One of the minors was for playing the puck while in the penalty box. It came as his first minor penalty was expiring. . . . Announced attendance: 7,678.
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At Kelowna, the Swift Current Broncos scored three PP goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the Rockets. . . . This was the opener of a B.C. Division swing for the Broncos (7-2-1). They are 5-0-1 in
their last six games. . . . The Rockets slid to 3-7-0, including three straight losses. The visiting Saskatoon Blades beat them 4-2 on Friday nigiht. . . . The Broncos took over this game with three goals in the first 12:17 of the second period. . . . F Aleksi Heponiemi got his third goal 13 seconds into the period, with D Colby Sissons scoring on a PP at 7:44 and F Tyler Steenbergen getting his sixth goal, on another PP, at 12:17. . . . Steenbergen later added an empty-netter. . . . F Lane Pederson had two assists for the visitors, with Sissons, F Glenn Gawdin and Heponiemi each getting a goal and an assist. . . . Broncos G Taz Burman stopped 25 shots, losing his shutout bid to F Tomas Soustal at 18:57 of the second period. . . . Kelowna got 25 saves from G Michael Herringer. . . . Swift Current was 3-4 on the PP; Kelowna was 0-3. . . . The Rockets were without F Jake Kryski (ill) for a second game, while F Dillon Dube (knee) has yet to play this season. . . . Announced attendance: 4,768.
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COLTON BOBYK
At Cranbrook, B.C., D Colton Bobyk’s third goal of the season, at 4:43 of OT, gave the Red Deer Rebels a 2-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Rebels (5-3-2) have won three in a row. . . . The Ice (1-5-4) has lost four in a row (0-2-2). . . . F Evan Polei’s sixth goal, on a PP, gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 5:50 of the second period. . . . F Keenan Taphorn pulled the Ice even at 9:58 of the second. . . . Polei also had an assist on the winner. . . . G Riley Lamb blocked 20 shots for the Rebels, 15 fewer than the Ice’s Payton Lee. . . . Red Deer was 1-4 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-6. . . . G Lasse Petersen, acquired Thursday by the Rebels from the Everett Silvertips, wasn’t in uniform for the Rebels. . . . Announced attendance: 1,768.
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At Lethbridge, F Adam Brooks had a goal and three assists to lead the Regina Pats to a 7-2 victory
ADAM BROOKS
over the Hurricanes. . . . The Pats (6-0-3) remain the only one of the CHL’s 60 teams not to have suffered a regulation-time loss. . . . The Hurricanes (5-3-2) had been 2-0-2 in their previous four games. . . . Brooks, the WHL’s reigning scoring champion, has three goals and four assists in three games since returning from the camp of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. . . . The Hurricanes actually led this one 2-0 in the second period, with the Pats then scoring seven straight goals. . . . Regina got a goal and two assists from each of F Filip Ahl and D Chase Harrison, while F Jake Leschyshyn and F Sam Steel each had a goal and an assist. . . . Steel moved into the WHL scoring lead with 17 points, including seven goals, for a brief period. Portland F Cody Glass later scored a goal that moved  him into a tie with Steel. . . . F Ryley Lindgren had a goal, his seventh, and an assist for the Hurricanes. . . . G Tyler Brown stopped 33 shots for Regina. . . . Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner gave up six goals on 43 shots in 50:46, with reliever Ryan Gilchrist stopping five of six shots. . . . Regina was 1-3 on the PP; Lethbridge was 1-8. . . . Regina has won 7-2 in two straight visits to Lethbridge. It won 7-2 in Game 5 of a first-round playoff series last spring. . . . Announced attendance: 3,463.
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At Medicine Hat, F Radovan Bondra’s goal at 1:49 of OT gave the Vancouver Giants a 2-1 victory
RADOVAN BONDRA
over the Tigers. . . . Bondra has seven goals this season. . . . The Giants (5-7-0) went 4-2-0 on a six-game road swing. They have won four in a row. Keeping in mind that they opened the season with a 1-7-0 stretch. . . . The Tigers are 6-3-1. . . . D Dave Quenneville gave the home side a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 4:48 of the first period. . . . F Ty Ronning tied it for Vancouver at 4:52 of the second period. . . . Vancouver G Ryan Kubic was terrific, with 36 saves. . . . The Tigers got 19 saves from G Nick Schneider. . . . The Tigers were 1-6 on the PP; the Giants were 0-5. . . . The Giants lost D Darian Skeoch with a headshot major and game misconduct at 16:05 of the second period. Medicine Hat D Cameron MacPhee took a cross-checking major and game misconduct at the same time. . . . Announced attendance: 4,003.
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At Prince Albert, F Ty Lewis scored at 2:00 of OT to give the Brandon Wheat Kings a 4-3 victory over the Raiders. . . . It was the second night in a row that the two teams needed extra time to settle
TY LEWIS
things. The Raiders posted a 3-2 OT victory in Brandon on Friday night. . . . The Wheat Kings (3-3-2) had lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . . The Raiders, who led 2-1 and 3-2, are 3-5-1. . . . F Reid Duke gave Brandon a 1-0 lead at 18:03 of the first period. . . . The Raiders took the lead on goals from F Nic Holowko, at 19:23 of the first, and F Simon Stransky, shorthanded, at 6:12 of the second. . . . D Garrett Sambrook, who also had an assist, pulled Brandon even at 7:48. . . . Stransky’s second goal of the game, and sixth of the season, put the Raiders back oiut front at 10:44 of the third period. . . . The Wheat Kings forced OT when F Tanner Kaspick scored his seventh goal, on a PP, at 18:51. . . . Holowko and Stansky each had an assist, too. . . . G Jordan Papirny stopped 35 shots as he became the first goaltender in Brandon franchise history with 100 regular-season victories. . . . G Ian Scott of the Raiders blocked 25 shots. . . . The Wheat Kings were 1-5 on the PP; the Raiders were 0-5. . . . The Wheat Kings were without F Nolan Patrick for a second straight game, while D Kale Clague has yet to play after returning from the camp of the Los Angeles Kings with an injury. . . . Brandon is carrying four 20-year-olds and F Duncan Campbell sat for the third straight game. The Wheat Kings have two from when Duke returned from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack to get down to three 20s. . . . Announced attendance: 2,212.
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At Spokane, D Caleb Jones scored the only goal of a three-round shootout to give the Portland
CALEB JONES
Winterhawks a 3-2 victory over the Chiefs. . . . The Winterhawks (8-3-0) have won three in a row. Portland was playing the last game of an eight-game road trip, its longest of this season. It finished 6-2-0. . . . The Chiefs (2-4-2) have lost three in a row (0-1-2). . . . F Koby Morrisseau’s first goal gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead at 17:44 of the first period. . . . F Ryan Hughes pulled Portland even at 5:21 of the second period. . . . F Curtis Miske put Spokane back in front at 7:25 of the third period. . . . Portland F Cody Glass notched his sixth goal, at 16:55 of the third period, to force OT. . . . The Winterhawks got 29 saves from G Cole Kehler. . . . G Dawson Weatherill turned aside 28 for the Chiefs. . . . Portland was 0-3 on the PP; Spokane was 0-4. . . . Chiefs trainer Todd Daniels was struck in the face by an errant puck late in the first period. Apparently, he got stitched up in the intermission and was back for the start of the second period. Of course, he was. He’s a hockey guy. . . . Announced attendance: 7,008.
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At Kennewick, Wash., D Sam Ruopp drew three assists to help the Prince George Cougars to a 5-2
SAM RUOPP
victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Cougars (10-2-0) opened the season with eight straight victories, then lost two in a row, and now have won two straight. . . . The Americans (5-4-0) had their three-game winning streak end. They also had been 4-0-0 at home. . . . F Bartek Bison got the Cougars’ first goal, at 7:45 of the first period. . . . Tri-City F Vladislav Lukin tied the score at 11:59. . . . The Cougars took control with the game’s next two goals, from F Yan Khomenko, at 12:18, and F Brogan O’Brien at 18:52. . . . F Jesse Gabrielle and O’Brien each had a goal and an assist. . . . It was a battle of 20-year-old goaltenders. Ty Edmonds stopped 21 shots for the Cougars, while the Americans’ Rylan Parenteau turned aside 32. Parenteau made his second straight start since being acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders on Thursday. . . . Each team was 0-3 on the PP. . . . Announced attendance: 3,705.
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SUNDAY’S GAME (all times local):


Moose Jaw at Calgary, 2 p.m.


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Sunday, April 5, 2015

KABOOM! Dynamiters into final with Storm . . . Bast seeing results . . . Religion in the dressing room

With apologies to Blackie Sherrod, we’re scattershooting:

1. The NHL is almost certain to use some form of 3-on-3 play in overtime next season. So you know that the WHL will follow suit. That might mean OT could last seven minutes if a goal isn’t scored.

2. The Cyclone Taylor Cup, the B.C. junior B championship tournament that is being held in Mission this weekend, gives three points for a regulation-time victory, two for an overtime victory and one for an OT loss. If a game goes into a second OT, they go to 3-on-3 and a minor penalty results in a penalty shot. Hmmmm . . .

3. If you watched any NHL on the weekend, you likely noticed that the on-ice officials are in playoff mode. Yes, they are letting the players decide things, and you can decide if that’s a good thing.

4. It’s kind of late in the season, but the Vancouver Canucks are going to need help in the faceoff circles if they are to get through the first round of the playoffs. Henrik Sedin and Linden Vey are liabilities in that area of the game, and having two centres in that boat in the playoffs will be too much to overcome.

5. It will be really interesting to watch things in Medicine Hat next season. The Tigers will move from the 4,006-seat Arena to the 7,000-seat Regional Event Centre, meaning the demand for tickets will change. How will the Tigers handle that?

6. The Kamloops Blazers underwent an ownership change after the 2006-07 season. In the eight seasons before then, the Blazers were 282-234-13, with 37 ties. In the eight seasons since then, the Blazers are 252-274-45. The Blazers missed the playoffs this season and last, the first time in franchise history that they have been on the outside looking in for consecutive seasons. . . . Under community ownership, the Blazers made the playoffs in seven of those eight seasons, losing out in the first round each time. Under private ownership, the Blazers have been in the playoffs in five of eight seasons — losing in the first round three times, the second round once and the conference final once.

7. In the last eight seasons, the Kelowna Rockets, who are the gold standard in B.C., are 356-177-43. In six of those eight seasons, the Rockets have reached at least the second round of the playoffs. . . . The Portland Winterhawks, over that same time span, are 327-217-32. Keep in mind that in the first two of those eight seasons, they won a total of 30 games. In the playoffs, the Winterhawks have made six straight appearances, getting to four straight WHL finals and winning once.

8. Those numbers really show how far a franchise has to go to get back to the top level once it falls off the pace.

9. If you are like me, you saw the announcement Saturday afternoon about Doug Ford joining the Hockey Hall of Fame board of directors and you thought it was still April 1.

10. When Ford is through with the HHoF, he’ll be taking over as the NHL commissioner.

11. If you are one who complains about the officiating in the WHL, I hope you saw the mess that was the Wisconsin-Kentucky basketball game on Saturday night.

12. Isn’t it interesting that Shaw TV didn’t show one game out of Cranbrook in the first round of the WHL playoffs, while showing all four games out of Calgary? Might that have had something to do with concern over attendance in Cranbrook? . . . The Hitmen and Ice will play Game 7 tonight in Calgary and, yes, it’s on Shaw. . . . BTW, there isn’t any word on Shaw’s plans for the second round but were I betting man I might put a few bob on the Kelowna-Victoria series seeing some TV time.
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The Kootenay Ice are in Calgary to meet the Hitmen tonight in the first Game 7 of these WHL playoffs. A year ago, the Ice upset the Hitmen in six games. . . . Laurence Heinen of the Calgary Herald sets the stage right here.
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The move to resurrect the Kamloops-Thompson Rivers University hockey program continues to move forward. Trevor Bast, who is heading up the project, had some positive news on Sunday, after I wrote about it right here: “As a result of your article, I received an email from an individual who offered to put up 10K if another 10K is raised first. It appears momentum is growing.” . . . If you are interested in getting involved, don’t forget that the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League has told Bast that he is looking at a May 3 deadline. . . . You are able to email him at trevorbast@gmail.com.
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KABOOM! The Kimberley Dynamiters will play for the Cyclone Taylor Cup this afternoon against the Campbell River Storm. The Nitros reached the final with a 5-4 double OT victory over the North Vancouver Wolf Pack on Sunday afternoon; the Storm beat the host Misson Outlaws 3-2 last night. . . . The winning goal came six seconds into the second extra period, with the teams playing 3-on-3. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story right here. . . . The winner of the Cyclone Taylor Cup advances to the Keystone Cup, the Western Canadian junior B championship, which this season will be held in Cold Lake, Alta., with the Cold Lake Ice as the host team. Former WHL G Bolton Pouliot (Red Deer, Kamloops, Portland, 2010-15) is on the Ice’s roster. Pouliot, 20, signed with the Ice on Feb. 10 and joined the team in time for it to win its fifth straight North East Alberta Junior B League championship. He played all six games of the final, going 4-2, 2.79, .925.
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The Kelowna Rockets will meet the Victoria Royals in the second round of the WHL playoffs. That series will open Friday in Kelowna. . . . Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Couriers previews that series right here. Just don’t be looking for any update on injured players. After all, this is the playoffs.
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Now that the Red Deer Rebels have been eliminated from the playoffs, D Colton Bobyk will have knee surgery. Bobyk “gave us everything he could,” GM/head coach Brent Sutter told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate, “but unfortunately he’s been playing injured the whole year. Now he’ll get done what needs to get done and hopefully he’ll come back and be at the level he wants to be at and where we need him to be at next season.” . . . Bobyk, who turned 19 on March 16, is expected to be ready for training camp in August. A native of Rimbey, Alta., he was acquired from the Spokane Chiefs earlier this season. The Chiefs selected him in the 10th round of the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Meachem’s season-ending story is right here.
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Here’s Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe: “While spirituality is on display in other professional sports — with pitchers’ fingers pointing skyward, tattooed crosses adorning NBA arms, words of divine praise in postgame sideline interviews — that’s not the case in hockey. In the NHL, religion is mostly omitted from the conversation, God left unsaid.” . . . Religion, like mental health, is rarely talked about in the macho world of hockey, and that really is too bad because the time has come when both should be in the conversation. . . . Benjamin’s story is right here.
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Major League Baseball has a problem — the offence stinks. Here’s Tyler Kepner in The New York Times: “The numbers are staggering. Last season, major league teams scored roughly 5,000 fewer runs, and hit roughly 1,500 fewer homers, than they did in 2000 — statistically, the height of the steroid era. The average team scored 4.07 runs per game last season, down from 5.14 in 2000. And pitchers pumped in about 6,000 more strikeouts last season than they did in 2000.” . . . What to do about it? Kepner examines the issue right here.
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