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

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Priestner not going anywhere ... Giants to stage special night ... Sideroff ties WHL record


The Saskatoon Blades are losing money and they just might miss the playoffs for a fourth straight season. However, owner Mike Priestner says they aren’t going anywhere, nor is he interested in selling them. “I’m a thousand per cent patient,” he told Kevin Mitchell of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix in a story that is right here. . . . Priestner wouldn’t talk about the lawsuit that is making its way through the legal system asking that teams pay minimum wage and other benefits to players — there is a WHL directive instructing teams not to discuss it — but he does talk about wins and losses, profits and losses, and more.
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A tip of the cap to the Vancouver Giants for going the extra mile to promote organ donor awareness.
The Giants are teaming up with Don Cherry, his family and the Kidney Foundation of Canada to hold Don Cherry Night on March 14 when the Giants play host to the Victoria Royals at the Langley Events Centre.
From a Giants news release:
“The Giants will wear special Don Cherry jerseys for the game as part of a national effort to increase both awareness and organ transplant rates by 50 per cent over five years. Canada has fallen to 23rd in the world in terms of organ donation rates, and approximately 4,500 Canadians are waiting for an organ with about 80 per cent of those needing a kidney. This is a cause that hits close to home for the Cherry family.”
Don Cherry said: “When I was coaching the Boston Bruins, my son Tim had a transplant. Lucky for him, his sister, Cindy, gave him a kidney. We’re promoting organ transplants here, you can do your job, do your part, and step up to the plate.”
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D Jacob Bernard-Docker, a fifth-round selection by the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft, has committed to attend the U of North Dakota and play for the Fighting Hawks starting in 2019-20. From Canmore, Alta., Bernard-Docker has 20 points, including seven goals, in 52 games with the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers.
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The MJHL’s OCN Blizzard will be around for a while longer, after all. The Opaskwayak Cree Nation had announced that the Blizzard would be suspending operations before another season arrives. On Wednesday, however, the Blizzard announced that it has been saved. From a news release: “The Opaskwayak Cree Nation Chief and Council announced they’ve passed a motion to allow the OCN Blizzard Jr. A hockey club the opportunity to self-sustain in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League for the 2017-18 season, upon MJHL approval.” . . . The complete news release is right here.
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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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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

At Brandon, F Giorgio Estephan scored 46 seconds into OT as the Lethbridge Hurricanes beat the Wheat
GIORGIO ESTEPHAN
Kings, 3-2. . . . The Wheat Kings didn’t touch the puck in extra time before Estephan won it with his 28th goal of the season. . . . F Ryan Vandervlis gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 13:24 of the first period. . . . The Wheat Kings went ahead 2-1 on goals from F Tyler Coulter (27), at 19:20, and F Nolan Patrick (17), at 9:17 of the second period. . . . F Alec Baer’s 13th goal of the season, at 14:37 of the second, tied it. . . . The Hurricanes got two assists from each of D Brennan Menell and D Calen Addison. Baer added an assist to his goal. . . . Coulter also had an assist. . . . The Hurricanes got 32 saves from G Stuart Skinner. . . . G Logan Thompson stopped 36 shots for the home side. . . . Lethbridge was 1-6 on the PP; Brandon was 0-2. . . . The Hurricanes (40-17-7) have won four in a row. They remain second in the Central Division, four points behind Medicine Hat. . . . The Wheat Kings (28-26-10) have dropped six in a row (0-4-2). They hold down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 4,177.
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At Edmonton, F Colton Kroeker and F Vince Loschiavo each had a goal and two assists to help the
VINCE LOSCHIAVO
Kootenay Ice to a 5-2 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . The Ice took a 2-0 lead on goals from D Cale Fleury (11), on a PP, at 3:55 of the first period and Loschiavo (24) at 5:15. . . . F Davis Koch scored his 20th goal, at 8:30, to get the Oil Kings to within a goal. . . . The Ice took control on second-period goals from D Dallas Hines (4), on a PP, at 1:48, and Kroeker (16), at 19:04. . . . D Conner McDonald scored his seventh goal, getting the Oil Kings to within two, at 17:18 of the third period. . . . F Brett Davis (17) iced it for the Ice with an empty-netter at 18:38. . . . G Payton Lee stopped 30 shots to earn the victory. . . . Edmonton G Patrick Dea stopped 25 shots. . . . Kootenay was 2-5 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-3. . . . The Ice (14-38-10) had lost its previous three games. . . . The Oil Kings (20-39-5) have lost seven in a row (0-6-1). . . . Announced attendance: 6,671.
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At Everett, F Kailer Yamamoto was in on each Spokane goal as the Chiefs beat the Silvertips, 4-1. . . . Yamamoto scored Spokane’s second goal, his 36th, and drew assists on the other three. A Spokane
KAILER YAMAMOTO
native who is expected to be a first-round selection in the NHL’s 2017 draft. Yamamoto has 81 points in 55 games this season. In 180 career games, he has 209 points, including 78 goals. . . . F Jaret Anderson-Dolan’s 34th goal, on a PP, at 11:17 of the first period, gave Spokane a 1-0 lead. . . . Yamamoto made it 2-0 at 17:25 of the second period. . . . The Chiefs went up 3-0 on F Keanu Yamamoto’s 24th goal, on a PP, at 1:13 of the third period. . . . Everett got its goal from F Riley Sutter (17), on a PP, at 13:35. . . . Spokane F Riley Woods (11) put it away with an empty-netter at 17:34. . . . The Chiefs got two assists from F Hudson Elynuik, while Anderson-Dolan added one. . . . G Jayden Sittler earned the victory with 32 saves. . . . The Silvertips got 29 saves from Carter Hart. . . . Spokane was 2-6 on the PP; Everett was 1-5. . . . Mitch Love, an Everett assistant coach, got the ol’ heave-ho 56 seconds into the third period. He did it up right, though, as he took a minor penalty before getting ejected and then another one on the way out. . . . The Chiefs (26-27-9) had lost their previous three games. They have 10 games remaining and are nine points away from a playoff spot. . . . The Silvertips (38-14-10) have lost two in a row. They are tied with Seattle for first place in the U.S. Division. Everett has two games in hand.. . . Announced attendance: 3,519.
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At Kamloops, F Deven Sideroff scored at 1:52 of OT to give the Blazers a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . All four games of the season series went to extra time, with each team going 2-0-2. . . . Kamloops won twice in OT; Seattle won once in OT and once in a shootout. . . . Kamloops G Connor
DEVEN SIDEROFF
Ingram made a right pad save on Sea F Donovan Neuls, who had gotten away from Sideroff to go in alone, moments before Sideroff went down the right side and scored the winner, his second goal of the game and 35th this season. It was his 10th game-winner, tying him for the WHL lead with F Tyler Wong of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Ingram got the lone assist on the winner, his third assist this season. Those assists have come in his past seven games after he went 146 games before getting No. 1. . . . Sideroff’s fifth OT goal this season ties the WHL’s single-season record. He now shares that mark with F Eric Fehr, who did it with the 2004-05 Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . If you’re wondering, F Brian Propp of the Wheat Kings holds the single-season record for game-winning goals (16), from 1978-79. . . . Kamloops took a 1-0 lead at 8:47 of the first period when F Garrett Pilon’s centring pass was deposited into the Seattle net by Thunderbirds F Ryan Gropp, a Kamloops native who, barring playoffs, was playing his last WHL game in his hometown. . . . Pilon has 18 goals. . . . The Blazers went up 2-0 at 9:41 when F Luc Smith scored No. 11. . . . Seattle tied it on a pair of Gropp goals, at 11:15 of the first and 18:11 of the second period. He’s got 31 goals. . . . F Keegan Kolesar gave Seattle a 3-2 lead at 3:22 of the third period. . . . Kamloops D Dallas Valentine (2) tied it at 5:30 and Sideroff put his guys out front at 10:02. . . . The Thunderbirds forced OT when Kolesar scored his 24th goal, with 12.4 seconds left on the clock and G Rylan Toth on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . The Blazers got two assists from each of F Rudolfs Balcers and F Quinn Benjafield, while Pilon added one. . . . F Mathew Barzal had three assists for Seattle, with Gropp picking up one. . . . Ingram finished with 31 saves, three more than Toth. . . . Seattle was 0-3 on the PP; Kamloops was 0-4. . . . The Thunderbirds were without D Jarret Tyszka, F Scott Eansor and D Ethan Bear, three top-end skaters who are sidelined with injuries. They had D Jake Lee, 15, from Sherwood Park, Alta., and F Ian Briscoe, 17, from Winnipeg, in the lineup. . . . The Blazers (38-21-6) had lost their previous two games. With this victory, they clinched a playoff spot and moved to within three points of the B.C. Division-leading Prince George Cougars. . . . The Thunderbirds (40-18-6) have points in three straight (2-0-1). The loser point allowed them to move into a tie with Everett atop the U.S. Division. . . . Announced attendance: 3,560.
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At Kelowna, F Calvin Thurkauf scored two goals and set up another to lead the Rockets to a 5-1 victory
CALVIN THURKAUF
over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Thurkauf, who has 32 goals, gave the Rockets a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 4:27 of the second period. . . . F Kyle Topping (13) made it 2-0 at 9:53. . . . Thurkauf scored again at 11:08, for a 3-0 lead, and F Nick Merkley’s PP goal at 15:32 made it 4-0. . . . Merkley has 23 goals. . . . The Cougars got a goal from F Radovan Bondra, his 30th, at 1:04 of the third period. . . . Kelowna F Dillon Dube (13) closed out the scoring, on a PP, at 15:17. . . . The Rockets got two assists from each of F Reid Gardiner and D Cal Foote, with Dube adding one. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer turned aside 25 shots. . . . The Cougars got 32 stops from G Ty Edmonds. . . . The Rockets were 3-10 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-2. . . . Prince George was without F Colby McAuley (one-game suspension), D Brendan Guhle and F Brad Morrison, the latter two out with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Rockets (38-21-5) have won two in a row. They are third in the B.C. Division, a point behind Kamloops. . . . The Cougars (40-20-5) journeyed south for a single game. They now return home to face the Kamloops Blazers in a Friday-Saturday doubleheader. The Cougars lead the B.C. Division by three points over Kamloops, each with seven games remaining. . . . Announced attendance: 5,121.
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At Moose Jaw, F Yan Khomenko broke a 3-3 tie at 9:36 of the third period as the Warriors edged the
YAN KHOMENKO
Calgary Hitmen, 4-3. . . . Khomenko won it with his 14th goal of the season. . . . The Warriors led this one 3-0 early in the second period, only to have the visitors tie it in the third period. . . . The Warriors went up 3-0 on goals from F Brett Howden (34), at 5:29 of the first period, F Tanner Jeannot (17), at 13:08, and F Jayden Halbgewachs (45), at 5:29 of the second. . . . The Calgary comeback began when F Jake Kryski scored No. 17, at 9:14 of the second. . . . F Matteo Gennaro got his 38th at 1:54 of the third, and D Brady Reagan (6) tied it at 8:08. . . . D Matt Sozanski and D Josh Brook each had two assists for Moose Jaw, with Halbgewachs getting one. . . . The Warriors got a big game from G Zach Sawchenko, who stopped 33 shots. . . . Calgary starter Trevor Martin gave up two goals on 10 shots in the first period before leaving with an apparent ankle injury. Kyle Dumba finished up with 16 saves on 18 shots over 38:35. . . . Moose Jaw was 1-3 on the PP; Calgary was 0-2. . . . The Warriors (39-17-8) have won seven in a row. They are second in the East Division, 10 points behind Regina and 12 ahead of Swift Current. . . . The Hitmen (24-29-10) have lost two straight. They hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, two points ahead of Saskatoon. . . . Announced attendance: 2,843.
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At Prince Albert, the Medicine Hat Tigers scored the game’s last three goals, including one in OT from F
STEVE OWRE
Steve Owre, to beat the Raiders, 6-5. . . . F D-Jay Jerome’s eighth goal, at 5:56 of the third period, had given Prince Albert a 5-3 lead. . . . F John Dahlstrom got the Tigers to within a goal with his 25th, at 9:14, and F Mark Rassell tied it, on a PP, at 14:04. He’s got 32 goals. . . . Owre won it with his 23rd goal of the season. . . . The Tigers opened the scoring when F Mason Shaw (26) counted at 6:42 of the first period. . . . The Raiders took a 2-1 lead on goals from F Curtis Miske (18), on a PP, at 7:56, and F Cavin Leth (20), at 5:19 of the second period. . . . Rassell tied it while shorthanded at 14:39. . . . Goals from Leth, at 1:19 of the third period, and F Parker Kelly (14), at 4:01, gave the home side a 4-2 lead. . . . The Tigers cut into that when F Matt Bradley got No. 30, at 5:13. . . . Bradley, Owre and Shaw each had one assist. . . . Miske had two assists for the Raiders, with Kelly getting one. . . . G Michael Bullion earned the victory with 36 stops. . . . The Raiders started G Ian Scott, who gave up four goals on 30 shots in 50:23. Nic Sanders finished up, allowing two goals on 11 shots in 10:08. . . . Each team was 1-3 on the PP. . . . Medicine Hat (45-18-1) has won three straight. The Tigers lead the Central Division by four points over Lethbridge. . . . The Raiders (17-40-7) were eliminated from the playoff picture with the loss. . . . Announced attendance: 2,005.
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At Langley, B.C., F Keegan Iverson and F Jake Gricius had two goals each as the Portland Winterhawks
KEEGAN IVERSON
unleashed a 55-shot attack in a 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Iverson, who has 20 goals, scored a pair of PP goals, giving his guys a 1-0 lead at 8:23 of the first period and putting them ahead 3-0 at 15:51 of the second. . . . In between, Gricius scored his eighth goal. . . . D Matt Barberis (10) scored for Vancouver, on a PP, at 2:47 of the third period. . . . F Matt Revel (8) scored his first goal for the Winterhawks, an empty-netter, at 18:10. Revel started the season with the Kamloops Blazers but suffered a collarbone injury in December. The Winterhawks picked him up on 20-year-old waivers in January. . . . Gricius got Portland’s last goal at 19:02. . . . The Winterhawks got two assists from D Caleb Jones. . . . G Cole Kehler stopped 17 shots for Portland. . . . Vancouver G Ryan Kubic blocked 51 shots. . . . The Winterhawks were 3-5 on the PP; the Giants were 1-3. . . . Portland (33-26-4) had lost its previous four games (0-3-1). The Winterhawks are in the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, five points behind Victoria. . . . Vancouver (19-40-5) has lost four straight. . . . The Giants and Winterhawks will meet in Portland on Friday and Saturday nights. . . . Announced attendance: 3,113.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

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

Calgary at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Kelowna at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Kamloops at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Regina 7 p.m.
Kootenay at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
Spokane at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 12:09 AM
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Sunday, February 12, 2017

A WHL playoff situational ... Oil Kings shake that skid ... Hurricanes blow past Ice


If you’re wondering about there being four afternoon games on Monday and all of them in B.C., well, we are celebrating Family Day. Heaven forbid that we in B.C. should celebrate Family Day on Feb. 20, along with the good folks of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
If you know anything about the goofiness of B.C. politics, well, it’s a miracle that we don’t celebrate our Family Day on Feb. 30.
So that’s why the Portland Winterhawks are visiting the Blazers in Kamloops today, while the Seattle Thunderbirds meet the Rockets in Kelowna, the Spokane Chiefs are in Prince George to face the Cougars, and the Tri-City Americans and Vancouver Giants clash in Langley, B.C.
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With five weeks left in the WHL’s regular season, it’s time for a look at the playoff picture.
As often has been stated, with the number of loser points being doled out — to date, the total this season is 136 — it is hard for teams to make up ground, especially if the need is to pass more than one team in order to move on up the standings.
Anyway . . . here’s a division-by-division look, with the number in parentheses after each division representing the number of loser points that its teams have been awarded:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
East Division (43): The Regina Pats (40-6-7) are going to finish atop the overall standings. They will win the conference pennant, so will play the second wild-card team that at the moment is the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The Moose Jaw Warriors (32-17-8) are second. They won’t catch Regina, but could be caught by the third-place Swift Current Broncos (29-17-9), who are five points back with two games in hand. Regardless, they may be headed to a first-round matchup with only home-ice to be decided. . . . The defending-champion Brandon Wheat Kings (27-20-8) will be in the playoffs, either in third place — they are five points behind Swift Current with each team having 17 games remaining — or in the conference’s first wild-card spot. The latter almost surely will mean a first-round go with the Medicine Hat Tigers, who seem likely to finish as the conference’s second seed. . . . This could be the season in which five East Division teams qualify for the playoffs with only the Prince Albert Raiders (14-38-5) not making it.
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Central Division (40): The Medicine Hat Tigers (40-16-1) may have pocketed the division title on Saturday when they beat the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, 5-0. The Tigers now lead the division by eight points. They only have one loser point, but have seven more victories than do the Hurricanes (33-16-7), the beneficiaries of seven loser points. . . . . The Tigers are six points behind league-leading Regina but the Pats hold four games in hand. The Tigers, then, would appear headed to a first-round engagement with the conference’s first wild-card team and that, right now, looks to be Brandon. . . . The Hurricanes are likely to go into a first-round meeting with the third-place Red Deer Rebels (23-24-9), whose season has been full of inconsistencies. . . . However, the Rebels need to be careful because they are only five points ahead of the Calgary Hitmen (20-26-10). . . . The Edmonton Oil Kings (19-33-4) and Kootenay Ice (12-35-9) aren’t going to make it.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
B.C. Division (23): The Prince George Cougars (37-16-4) once appeared to have an insurmountable lead, but that is down to four points over the hard-charging Kamloops Blazers (34-18-6). While the Cougars have been treading water — they are 4-4-2 in their past 10 games — the Blazers, with the WHL’s top goaltending tandem in Connor Ingram and Dylan Ferguson, have gotten close enough that they are looming large in Prince George’s rearview mirror. The teams will meet five times before season’s end, too. . . . Finish first and you’ll get the conference’s second wild-card team in the first round. Finish second and you’ll get the division’s third-place team. . . . It’s looking like the Kelowna Rockets (32-20-4) and Victoria Royals (31-22-4) will scrap for third spot. Kelowna goes into the week with a two-point edge over Victoria. . . . The Vancouver Giants (18-34-5) will be on the outside looking in for the fourth time in five seasons.
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U.S. Division (30): The Seattle Thunderbirds (35-15-5) finally tracked down the Everett Silvertips (32-12-10) and passed them. Seattle is 18-2-2 since the Christmas break. . . . Seattle and Everett, which is 1-1-0 on its six-game East Division trip, will meet three more times. . . . The Tri-City Americans (31-23-3) are third, but have lost three in a row and now are only two points ahead of the Portland Winterhawks (30-23-3), who are 8-2-0 in their last 10 outings. Portland holds down the conference’s second wild-card spot, just three points behind Victoria. . . . About the only thing in the U.S. Division that isn’t up in the air is fifth place. The Spokane Chiefs (23-23-9) are eight points out of the playoffs and, with only 17 games remaining, have their work cut out if they are to make the playoffs. They last missed in 2005-06. 
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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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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

At Edmonton, the Oil Kings broke a record-tying 16-game losing streak as they beat the Calgary Hitmen 3-2 in OT on F Tyler Robertson’s goal. . . . Robertson, now with 14 goals, scored at 1:12 of extra time. He
TYLER ROBERTSON
has tied his career high in goals from last season. . . . “It was a great feeling to watch that puck go in the net,” Steve Hamilton, Edmonton’s head coach, said in a story on the team’s website. “We talked about wanting to be dialed in for the full length of this game. Of course, we needed some extra time, but it only adds to the relief to watch (Robertson) get that goal. That was a pretty important goal for everybody. I think there was just a collective exhale from everyone involved.” . . . Edmonton hadn’t won since New Year’s Day when it beat the visiting Hitmen 4-3 on F Lane Bauer’s goal 21 seconds into OT. Bauer now plays for the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Edmonton also lost 16 in a row in 2009-10, from Dec. 19 through Jan. 30. That streak ended on Jan. 31 with a 5-4 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on D Adrian Van de Mosselaer’s goal at 3:07 of OT. . . . On Sunday, the Oil Kings jumped out to an early 2-0 lead as F Trey Fix-Wolansky scored his 15th goal, on a PP, at 2:50 of the first period and F Davis Koch got No. 16 at 6:02. . . . The Hitmen tied it later in the first period. . . . F Beck Malenstyn got his 23rd goal at 13:37, with D Jake Bean scoring his seventh, on a PP, at 15:34. . . . G Patrick Dea stopped 22 shots for the Oil Kings. . . . Dea also set a franchise single-season record for assists by a goaltender. His fifth assist of the season, this one on Fix-Wolansky’s goal, broke the record he had shared with Laurent Brossoit, who did it in 2012-13. . . . The Hitmen got 29 saves from G Trevor Martin. . . . Each team was 1-7 on the PP. . . . Edmonton D Wyatt McLeod left in the second period with what appeared to be an injury to his right shoulder. McLeod, who turned 17 on Jan. 27, is a freshman from Dawson Creek, B.C. He has six assists in 41 games. . . . With McLeod out, the Oil Kings’ coaching staff gave ample ice time to Robertson’s brother, Matthew, a 15-year-old who joined the team earlier in the week from the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. . . . The Oil Kings (19-33-4) are 10 points from a playoff spot. . . . The Hitmen (20-26-10) are two points behind the Saskatoon Blades, who hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. Calgary also has closed to within five points of the Red Deer Rebels, who are third in the Central Division. . . . Announced attendance: 13,524.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Zak Zborosky returned to haunt his former teammates as he scored twice and added an assist in leading the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 6-4 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . .
ZAK ZBOROSKY
Zborosky, a 20-year-old from Regina, had 44 points, 28 of them goals, in 41 games with the Ice when he was moved at the trade deadline. With Lethbridge, he has eight goals and 11 assists in 15 games. . . . F Matt Alfaro, who also went to Lethbridge in that deal, had one assist. . . . The Ice got F Colton Kroeker and F Brett Davis in return, along with a couple of draft picks. Kroeker matched Zborosky with two goals and an assist, while Davis had two assists. . . . Kroeker, who has 13 goals, gave the Ice a 2-0 lead when he scored at 1:01 and 8:23 of the first period. . . . Zborosky answered with goals at 11:22 and 12:49 of the first. . . . F Josh Tarzwell’s second goal, at 16:27, gave the visitors their first lead. . . . Kootenay tied it on F Vince Loschiavo’s 21st goal, at 18:44. . . . F Egor Babenko’s 19th goal, at 19:45, capped a seven-goal first period and gave Lethbridge a 4-3 lead. . . . F Tyler Wong’s 40th goal increased the lead to 5-3 at 6:10 of the second and F Ryan Vandervlis (5) added a shorthanded goal at 9:21. . . . Kootenay got its final goal from F Kaeden Taphorn (4) at 14:32 of the second. . . . Wong also added an assist to his goal. . . . G Adam Swan blocked 28 shots to earn his first WHL victory for Lethbridge. Swan, who will turn 17 on March 25, was an 11th-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. From Ashern, Man., he has been playing for the midget AAA Interlake Lightning. . . . The Ice started G Jakob Walter, who gave up five goals on 25 shots in 26:10. Payton Lee finished up with 33 saves on 34 shots in 32:34. . . . Lethbridge was 1-3 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-3. . . . The Hurricanes played three games in fewer than 48 hours, winning two of them. . . . Lethbridge (34-16-7) has won 10 of its past 11 games. The Hurricanes are second in the Central Division, six points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Kootenay (12-35-9) has lost six in a row (0-5-1). . . . Announced attendance: 1,597.

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MONDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Portland at Kamloops, 2 p.m.
Seattle at Kelowna, 2:05 p.m.
Spokane at Prince George, 2 p.m.
Tri-City vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 2 p.m.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:00 PM
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Saturday, February 11, 2017

Tigers derail 'Cane train . . . Pats win sets franchise record . . . Barzal six-pack sparks Seattle


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The Everett Silvertips, who opened an East Division trek in Brandon with a 2-1 loss to the Wheat Kings on Friday, made a pair of roster moves Saturday morning. They dropped F Bradly Goethals, 18, from their roster as he has left the team, and brought back F Cal Babych, who had been with the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express. . . . Babych, who turned 20 on Jan. 18, played two games — on Jan. 29 and 31 — with the Silvertips during a recent stint with them, before being returned to Coquitlam. . . . Babych also has played with the Calgary Hitmen, Prince George Cougars, Prince Albert Raiders and Vancouver Giants. In total, he has 35 points, 15 of them goals, in 154 regular-season games. He had seven goals and 22 assists in 36 games with the Express this season. . . . Everett acquired Goethals from Brandon on Oct. 12 for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft. He had three goals and three assists in 23 games with the Silvertips. “Bradly Goethals made significant strides to become a regular in our lineup,” general manager Garry Davidson said in a news release, “and made a decision to leave our hockey team for personal reasons. We acknowledge his wishes and priorities, and wish him well in his future endeavours.” . . . From ÃŽle-des-Chênes, Man., Goethals had 74 points, including 41 goals, in 43 games with the midget AAA Eastman Selects last season. He led the Manitoba Midget Hockey League in goals and points.
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When the Northern Michigan Wildcats blanked the visiting Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks, 2-0 on Saturday, in Marquette, Mich., G Atte Tolvanen, a 22-year-old from Vihti, Finland, recorded his fifth straight shutout. That tied the record for consecutive shutouts that was set by Medicine Hat native Blaine Lacher in his senior season (1993-94) with the Lake Superior State Lakers. Lacher still holds the NCAA record with a shutout streak of 375 minutes 1 second. . . . Tolvanen’s streak is at 335:49. . . . Tolvanen is in his second season at NMU after spending two seasons in the NAHL, first with the Minnesota Magicians and then the Minot Minotauros. . . . The Wildcats are scheduled to visit the Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks on Friday and Saturday nights. . . . The Wildcats’ head coach is Walt Kyle, who has been there since June 13, 2002. Kyle spent two seasons (1992-94) as head coach of the Seattle Thunderbirds.
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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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Concussion Report

 Like football and hockey, the sport of bull riding has come face-to-face with a concussion problem, a situation that has been exacerbated by the death of cowboy Ty Pozzobon, a rodeo star from Merritt, B.C. Pozzobon, who was 25 when he died on Jan. 25, is believed to have suffered 12 concussions. . . . Charlie Gillis of Maclean’s has more right here on Pozzobon and the situation in which bull riding now finds itself.
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“In the 1950s,” writes Juliet Macur of The New York Times, “tobacco companies responded to research proving a link between smoking and lung cancer by trying to discredit the science. They formed their own research group to poke holes in the data and to stave off public panic that cigarette smoking could cause serious diseases and death.
“More than 60 years later, the NHL has responded to a class-action lawsuit regarding head injuries with a similar approach.
“The suit, brought by former players and their families, claims that the league hid the dangers of brain trauma. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.
“It now looks as if the NHL, which makes about US$4 billion a year, has chosen to go after the science behind the brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. It’s late to this game. Even the NFL — a longtime and loud naysayer that blows to the head cause CTE — has acknowledged the link.”
Macur’s story in its entirety is right here.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:


At Calgary, F Tristen Nielsen scored in the eighth round of a shootout to give the Hitmen a 3-2 victory
TRISTEN NIELSEN
over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . F Jake Kryski gave Calgary a 1-0 lead in the skills competition to end the second round, but F Tyler Steenbergen tied it for the Broncos in the third round. . . . That set the stage for Nielsen, a first-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft who has two goals in 34 games this season. . . . F Ryley Lindgren sent the Broncos into a 1-0 lead at 9:01 of the first period. . . . Calgary tied it at 10:30 of the second period as F Matteo Gennaro got No. 34. . . . Lindgren’s 17th goal gave the visitors a 2-1 lead at 12:05. . . . Calgary forced OT when D Brady Reagan (4) scored, on a PP, at 13:12 of the third period. . . . Gennaro also had an assist. . . . G Kyle Dumba blocked 21 shots to earn the victory over Jordan Papirny, who stopped 31 shots, seven of them in extra time. . . . Calgary was 1-4 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-3. . . . The Hitmen (20-26-9) had lost their previous three games. They are three points away from a playoff spot. . . . The Broncos (29-17-9) are 4-0-1 in their past five outings. They are third in the East Division, five points behind Moose Jaw. . . . Announced attendance: 6,272.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Cole Fonstad’s goal in the eighth round of a shootout gave the Prince Albert
COLE FONSTAD
Raiders a 4-3 victory in a game featuring the teams with the WHL’s poorest records. . . . The Raiders (14-38-5) had lost their previous three games. . . . The Ice (12-34-9) has lost five in a row (0-4-1). . . . They are tied for 21st in the overall standings, with the Ice holding two games in hand. . . . F Brett Davis scored for the Ice in the second round of the skills competition, with F Cavin Leth keeping the Raiders alive with a goal in the third round. . . . The Ice had taken a 1-0 lead when F Colton Kroeker scored at 3:26 of the first period. . . . The Raiders tied it on F Simon Stransky’s 15th goal at 18:12. . . . The final four goals came in the third period. . . . F Vince Loschiavo got No. 20 to put the Ice ahead at 1:07. . . . The visitors then took the lead on goals from F Parker Kelly (11), at 13:27, and F Curtis Miske (13), at 15:15. . . . Kroeker, who also had an assist, forced OT with his 11th goal at 18:43. . . . Loschiavo had two assists for the Ice. . . . Miske had an assist for the Raiders. . . . Fonstad, a 16-year-old from Estevan, Sask., was the fifth-overall pick in the 2015 bantam draft. He has nine goals and 12 assists in 55 games. . . . G Nic Sanders stopped 34 shots for the Raiders, including six in OT. . . . The Ice got 25 saves from G Payton Lee. . . . Prince Albert was 0-3 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-7. . . . Announced attendance: 1,924.
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At Medicine Hat, G Michael Bullion stopped 19 shots in recording his first WHL shutout as the Tigers
ZACH FISCHER
dropped the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 5-0. . . . Bullion, who was acquired from the Portland Winterhawks to back up Nick Schneider, was making his 36th career appearance. It was his 12th appearance with the Tigers. He now is 9-2-0, 2.72, .898. . . . D Clayton Kirichenko scored the game’s first goal, his 10th, on a PP at 3:47 of the first period. . . . F James Hamblin added insurance with No. 16, shorthanded, at 1:31 of the second period. . . . F Ryan Jevne (9) F Zach Fischer (29) and F Mason Shaw (22) also scored for the Tigers. . . . Fischer also had two assists, as did D Jordan Henderson. Kirichenko added one. . . . The Hurricanes started Stuart Skinner in goal. He left after allowing five goals on 34 shots in 52:08. Adam Swan then made his WHL debut, stopping all four shots he faced in 7:52. . . . Medicine Hat was 1-2 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-2. . . . The Tigers (40-16-1) have won four in a row. The now lead the Central Division by eight points over Lethbridge. . . . The Hurricanes (33-16-7), who had won nine straight, had points in each of their previous 15 games (13-0-2). . . . Announced attendance: 4,419.
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At Moose Jaw, G Carter Hart turned aside 31 shots to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 2-0 victory over the
CARTER HART
Warriors. . . . The victory lifted the Silvertips back into first place in the U.S. Division, one point ahead of the Seattle Thunderbirds, whose game against the visiting Portland Winterhawks started shortly before Everett’s game ended. Just over two hours later, Seattle completed an 8-5 victory and moved one point ahead of Everett. . . . Hart now has put up back-to-back shutouts as he blanked the visiting Vancouver Giants, 1-0, one week earlier. This is his second shutout streak of the season. As November ended, he put up three in a row. . . . Hart leads the WHL with eight shutouts this season and now has 18 in his career. . . . F Devon Skoleski (11) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 10:18 of the first period, with F Eetu Tuulola (13) providing insurance at 10:13 of the second period. . . . Skoleski also had an assist. . . . The Warriors got 32 saves from G Zach Sawchenko. . . . Each team was 0-3 on the PP. . . . The Silvertips are 1-1-0 on their six-game East Division trip. . . . Everett (32-12-10) is nine points ahead of third-place Tri-City in the U.S. Division. . . . The Warriors (32-17-8) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). They are second in the East Division, five points ahead of Swift Current. . . . Announced attendance: 3,337.
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At Red Deer, D Josh Mahura’s goal at 3:04 of OT gave the Regina Pats a 4-3 victory over the Rebels. . . .
JOSH MAHURA
Mahura, who has 13 goals, was acquired from the Rebels in a deal at the trading deadline. He has four goals and six assists in 15 games with Regina, after recording nine goals and 24 assists in 39 games with the Rebels this season. . . . F Austin Pratt (12) had given the Rebels a 1-0 lead at 19:25 of the first period. . . . The Pats took a 2-1 lead on goals from D Connor Hobbs (25), on a PP, at 19:45 of the second period and F Adam Brooks (31) just 26 seconds into the third. . . . Red Deer responded with two PP goals to take a 3-2 lead. F Michael Spacek (24) counted at 5:46, with D Colton Bobyk getting his fifth at 6:51. . . . The Pats forced extra time when F Austin Wagner got his 25th goal at 7:08. . . . Wagner also drew an assist on the winner. . . . Brooks also had two assists, with Hobbs adding one. . . . Regina F Sam Steel, the WHL scoring leader, had one assist. . . . Steel has 98 points, four more than Brooks. . . . The Rebels got 47 shots from G Riley Lamb. He was especially busy in the second and third periods as the Pats outshot the Rebels by margins of 21-5 and 17-5. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown turned aside 23 shots. . . . Red Deer was 2-5 on the PP; Regina was 1-7. . . . The Rebels had F Cam Hausinger and F Adam Musil back after they served two- and one-game suspensions, respectively. . . . Regina (40-6-7) ran its winning streak to 11 games. The Pats lead the overall standings by six points over Medicine Hat with four games in hand. . . . The Rebels (23-24-9) have lost four in a row (0-3-1). They are third in the Central Division, six points ahead of Calgary. . . . Announced attendance: 6,297.
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At Saskatoon, F Jesse Shynkaruk scored his second goal of the game at 4:43 of OT as the Blades beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2, on Ukrainian Night. . . . Shynkaruk now has 26 goals this season, and
JESSE SHYNKARUK
that’s not bad for a 20-year-old who was a walk-on at training camp. . . . Shynkaruk, who is from Saskatoon, went into the season with 23 goals and 25 assists in 196 career regular-season games split between the Kamloops Blazers and Moose Jaw Warriors. He was a seventh-round pick by the Blazers in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . This season, he has 26 goals and 14 assists in 41 games. . . . The game’s first four goals came in a span of 6:19 in the second period. . . . Shynkaruk put the Blades ahead 1-0, on a PP, at 9:35. . . . Brandon F Ty Lewis (25) tied it, on a PP, at 12:12. . . . The Blades went back out front when F Josh Paterson (13) counted at 14:11. . . . The Wheat Kings pulled even as F Stelio Mattheos (21) scored another PP goal, at 15:54. . . . Shynkaruk’s OT winner came from the backdoor off a pass from F Mason McCarty. . . . F Nolan Patrick and D Kale Clague each had two assists for Brandon. . . . Saskatoon G Logan Flodell stopped 21 shots, one more than Brandon’s Travis Child. . . . Brandon was 2-5 on the PP; Saskatoon was 1-4. . . . The Wheat Kings dressed 16 skaters, two under the maximum, as they used nine forwards and seven defencemen. . . . The Blades, already with six players on the injury list, lost F Chase Wouters to an undisclosed injury in the first period. . . . This was the final game the eight-game season series. The Wheat Kings were 4-2-2; the Blades finished 4-3-1. . . . For those unfamiliar with the beloved loser point, that means Brandon won the series, 10-9. . . . Saskatoon (23-26-6) has won three in a row and holds down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, 10 points behind Brandon and three in front of Calgary. . . . Brandon (27-20-8) has points in four straight (2-0-2) and is five points behind third-place Swift Current in the East Division. . . . Announced attendance: 4,307.
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At Kent, Wash., F Mathew Barzal had a career-high six points as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Portland Winterhawks, 8-5. . . . F Ryan Gropp had two goals and an assist for Seattle, running his goal-
MATHEW BARZAL
scoring streak to six games and his point streak to 12. In those 12 games, he has put up 11 goals and 14 assists, and Seattle is 11-0-1 in that span. . . . Barzal finished with a goal, his eighth, and five assists. He has 54 points, 46 of them assists, in 29 games this season. He has played 190 regular-season games, putting up 253 points, including 192 assists. . . . The first four stoppages in this game were for goals. . . . Seattle took a 1-0 lead when F Tyler Adams scored his second goal at 1:39 of the first period. . . . Portland went ahead 2-1 on goals from F Jake Gricius (6), at 4:02, and F Cody Glass (26), at 5:33. . . . Barzal tied it at 6:38. . . . Barzal’s goal was the first of four straight for Seattle. . . . D Reece Harsch got his third goal at 18:48. F Alexander True scored No. 18, shorthanded, at 3:27 of the second period and F Keegan Kolesar (16) upped Seattle’s lead to 5-2, on a PP, at 7:47. . . . The Winterhawks got back to within a goal as F Joachim Blichfeld scored twice, giving him 23, at 9:16 and 14:51. . . . Seattle D Ethan Bear stretched the lead with his 21st goal, on a PP, at 10:30 of the third period. . . . The Winterhawks made it interesting as F Skyler McKenzie (35) counted at 11:16. . . . Gropp put it away with two goals, at 11:49 and 18:10, the second into an empty net. . . . Gropp, who also had an assist, has 11 goals and 14 assists in his 12-game run. . . . In his last four games, Gropp has seven goals and five assists. . . . In their last four games, Barzal, Gropp and Kolesar have combined for 37 points. . . . Bear, who was playing in his 250th career game, also had three assists for his second career four-point game. He has 52 points, including 31 assists, in 53 games. . . . Portland got two assists from glass. . . . The Thunderbirds got 29 saves from G Rylan Toth, while Portland’s Cole Kehler blocked 20. . . . Seattle was 2-4 on the PP; Portland was 1-5. . . . The Thunderbirds were able to dress only 16 skaters, including 10 forwards. . . . The Thunderbirds were without D Turner Ottenbreit, who left Friday’s 6-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans and didn’t return. Seattle F Sami Moilanen, who also didn’t finish Friday’s game, was in the lineup last night. . . . The Winterhawks played for a second straight night without a 20-year-old in their lineup. . . . Seattle (35-15-5) is 11-0-1 in its past 12 games and leads the U.S. Division by one point over Everett. . . . The Winterhawks (30-23-3) are fourth in the U.S. Division, two points behind Tri-City. . . . Announced attendance: 5,653.
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At Spokane, the Chiefs built a 4-0 second-period lead and hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City
ETHAN McINDOE
Americans. . . . F Kailer Yamamoto’s 31st goal, at 2:28 of the first period, gave the home side a 1-0 lead. . . . F Keanu Yamamoto’s 21st goal, at 3:09, upped that to 2-0. . . . Both goals came via the PP. . . . F Ethan McIndoe scored two second-period goals for a 4-0 lead. He’s got 14 goals. . . . The Americans got back into it with three third-period goals. . . . F Brett Leason got his third at 1:40, with F Tyler Sandhu scoring his 15th at 10:24, and D Juuso Valimaki counting his 16th at 12:56. . . . The Chiefs got two assists from F Riley Woods and one each from the Yamamoto brothers. . . . Spokane started G Jayden Sittler, who was beaten three times on 19 shots in 52:56. He got the victory. Dawson Weatherill came on to earn a save, stopping all five shots he faced in 7:04. . . . G Rylan Parenteau stopped 25 shots for the Americans. . . . Spokane was 2-3 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-3. . . . Tri-City was without F Michael Rasmussen for a second straight game. . . . The Chiefs (23-23-9) have points in three straight (2-0-1). They are eight points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Americans (31-23-3) have lost three in a row. . . . . Announced attendance: 9,848.
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At Langley, B.C., G Brodan Salmond blanked the Vancouver Giants for a second straight night as the
BRODAN SALMOND
Kelowna Rockets posted a 5-0 victory. . . . One night after making 22 saves in a 6-0 victory in Kelowna, the 18-year-old native of Calgary stopped 19 shots for his third career shutout. . . . The Royals got out to a 1-0 lead when F Calvin Thurkauf (25) scored, on a PP, at 6:10 of the first period. . . . D James Hilsendager (3) made it 2-0 at 8:49. . . . F Erik Gardiner (4) counted on a PP, at 1:01 of the second period, giving him two goals in two nights. . . . D Lucas Johansen (4) and F Kole Lind (26) had the other Kelowna goals. . . . The Rockets got three assists from F Dillon Dube, with Gardiner and Johansen adding one each. . . . The Giants got 33 saves from G David Tendeck. . . . Kelowna was 2-4 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-3. . . . The Rockets (32-20-4) have won two in a row. They are third in the B.C. Division, six points behind Kamloops and two ahead of Victoria. . . . The Giants (18-34-5) have lost two straight. . . . Announced attendance: 4,233.
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At Victoria, G Dylan Ferguson blocked 36 shots to lead the Kamloops Blazers to a 3-1 victory over the
DYLAN FERGUSON
Royals. . . . One night earlier, the host Royals beat the Blazers, 2-1 in a shootout. . . . Last night, the Blazers went 3-7 on the PP, scoring in the final minute of each period. . . . The Royals were 0-6 on the PP. . . . F Collin Shirley’s 23rd goal gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 19:53 of the first period. . . . Victoria tied it at 1:37 of the second period when F Eric Florchuk got his third goal. . . . F Deven Sideroff (31) gave Kamloops a 2-1 lead at 19:07 of the second period, with F Rudolfs Balcers (31) adding insurance at 19:39 of the third. . . . The Blazers got two assists from D Joe Gatenby and one from Sideroff. . . . Ferguson improved to 14-9-2, 2.71, .923. . . . The Royals got 33 saves from G Griffen Outhouse. . . . The Royals lost F Jared Dmytriw when he took a headshot major and game misconduct for a hit on F Deven Sideroff at 17:19 of the third period. . . . The Blazers (34-18-6) have points in five straight (3-0-2). They are second in the B.C. Division, four points behind the Prince George Cougars, who don’t play this weekend. . . . The Royals (31-22-4) hold down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot, three points ahead of Portland. . . . Announced attendance: 5,853.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Calgary at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Lethbridge vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 4 p.m.

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Friday, January 27, 2017

Pats back on top rung . . . Warriors end Blades' run . . . Hurricanes have points in nine straight



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FRIDAY’S GAMES:


At Calgary, F Austin Wagner’s goal at 2:05 of OT gave the Regina Pats a 6-5 victory over the Hitmen. . . .
AUSTIN WAGNER
Regina held a 5-3 lead with 11:30 to play in the third period, but the Hitmen came back with two PP goals to force extra time. . . . F Jakob Stukel’s 15th goal, at 8:36, got Calgary to within a goal and D Jake Bean’s third goal of the game, and sixth of the season, tied it at 15:29. . . . Wagner won it with his 21st goal. . . . F Sam Steel, the WHL’s leading scorer, got Regina out to a 1-0 lead at 4:24 of the first period. . . . Bean gave the Hitmen the lead with goals at 14:08 and 14:59, the latter on a PP. . . . Regina took a 4-2 lead on second-period goals from F Jeff de Witt (7), on a PP, at 5:09; F Adam Brooks (26), on another PP, at 6:11, and F Dawson Leedahl (25), at 14:14. . . . Leedahl has goals in seven straight games. . . . F Luke Coleman (9) got the Hitmen to within a goal at 14:52, but Steel’s 36th goal restored the two-goal lead at 5:58 of the third period. . . . Steel, who also had two assists, leads the WHL with 87 points, five more than Brooks. . . . Regina got two assists from F Nick Henry and one each from Leedahl and Brooks. . . . F Matteo Gennaro drew three assists for Calgary, while F Andrei Grishakov and F Mark Kastelic had two. Bean added one to his first career hat trick. . . . G Jordan Hollett stopped 31 shots for Regina, one fewer than Calgary’s Trevor Martin. . . . Calgary was 3-9 on the PP; Regina was 2-6. . . . The Pats (32-6-7) have won three in a row. They have moved into a tie with the Prince George Cougars atop the overall standings. . . . The Hitmen (17-21-9) had points in each of their three previous games (0-1-2). They are three points out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 9,316.
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At Everett, the Portland Winterhawks, with G Cole Kehler stopping 46 shots, scored the game’s first two
COLE KEHLER
goals and its last two as they beat the Silvertips, 4-1. . . . F Alex Overhardt got the visitors started with his ninth goal, shorthanded, at 10:44 of the opening period. . . . F Evan Weinger’s 14th goal, at 1:33 of the second, proved to be the winner. . . . F Dominic Zwerger scored his 20th goal for Everett, at 7:01. . . . Portland got insurance from F Brad Ginnell, who got his fourth goal at 11:12 of the third period. . . . F Ryan Hughes wrapped it up with his 21st, a shorthanded empty-netter, at 19:43. . . . Kehler won for the 17th time this season. He went into the season with four victories in 32 appearances with the Kamloops Blazers. With Portland, he’s played in 37 games. . . . Everett got 26 saves from G Carter Hart. . . . The Silvertips again were without D Noah Juulsen (undisclosed injury). . . . F Dawson Butt, who is from Buckley, Wash., made his WHL debut with the Silvertips. Butt, 16, plays for the U-16 Everett Jr. Silvertips. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . The Winterhawks (24-21-3) have won two in a row and hold down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . The Silvertips (30-7-9) have been 2-0-1 in their previous three outings. They are third in the overall standings, two points behind the leaders. . . . Announced attendance: 5,114.
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At Kelowna, the Blazers got two goals from F Rudolfs Balcers and never trailed as they beat the Rockets,
RUDOLFS BALCERS
3-2. . . . F Lane Bauer gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead with his 27th goal — his second goal and 11th point in nine games since coming over from the Edmonton Oil Kings — at 1:26 of the first period. . . . D Lucas Johansen’s third goal, 28 seconds into the second period, got the Rockets even. . . . Balcers, who has 29 goals, gave Kamloops the lead at 5:02. . . . Kelowna F Calvin Thurkauf (22) tied it, on a PP, at 14:29. . . . Balcers got the winner on a PP at 12:23 of the third period. . . . F Deven Sideroff had two assists for Kamloops. . . . F Nick Merkley drew two helpers for Kelowna, while Thurkauf got one. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 30 shots as he bounced back after getting pulled in the first period of a 6-4 loss to the Winterhawks in Portland on Tuesday. . . . Kelowna got 20 saves from G Michael Herringer. . . . Kelowna was 1-5 on the PP; Kamloops was 1-9. . . . The Rockets had F Reid Gardiner (undisclosed injury), F Dillon Dube (strep throat) and F Nolan Foote (ill) back in the lineup. . . . The Blazers (30-17-3) are second in the B.C. Division, five points ahead of the Rockets (27-18-4). . . . Announced attendance: 5,620.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Colton Kroeker had a goal and two assists to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 3-2 victory
COLTON KROEKER
over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Chiefs led 1-0 on F Jaret Anderson-Dolan’s 23rd goal, at 4:48 of the first period. . . . F Brett Davis tied it with his 11th goal, on a PP, at 5:17 of the second period. . . . F Vince Loschiavo’s 16th goal gave the Ice its first lead at 1:42 of the third period. . . . F Eli Zummack pulled the Chiefs into a 2-2 with his sixth goal at 4:04. . . . Kroeker broke the tie, on a PP, with his ninth goal, at 8:28. . . . D Cale Fleury had two assists for the Ice, while Davis and Lischiavo added one each. . . . Kootenay got a big night from G Jakob Walter, who made 38 saves. . . . Spokane got 33 stops from G Jayden Sittler. . . . The Ice was 2-4 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-3. . . . The Ice (12-30-8) had lost its previous three games. . . . The Chiefs (20-21-8) had been 2-0-1 in their previous three games. They are three points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Chiefs lost D Jeff Faith to a boarding major and game misconduct at 11:39 of the third period. . . . Announced attendance: 1,817.
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At Medicine Hat, the Tigers scored three times in each of the first two periods as they beat the Edmonton
MATT BRADLEY
Oil Kings, 7-2. . . . F Nicholas Bowman gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead with his sixth goal, on a PP, at 1:39 of the opening period. . . . The Tigers responded with three goals before the period ended, with F Mason Shaw getting No. 17, D Dalton Gally scoring his first, and F Matt Bradley getting his 20th. . . . Gally, who turned 19 on Thursday, is a freshman from New Braunfels, Texas. His first goal came in his 37th game. . . . Bradley became the seventh 20-goal man on Medicine Hat’s roster. . . . F Adam Berg got Edmonton’s other goal, his fifth, at 6:51 of the second period. . . . The Tigers scored the game’s last three goals, with D Clayton Kirichenko (7), D Jordan Henderson (3) and F Steve Owre (18) finding the range. . . . Bradley, F Zach Fischer, Owre and F Chad Butcher had two assists apiece, with Henderson adding one. . . . F Riley Stadel had two assists for Edmonton. . . . G Nick Schneider stopped 24 shots for the Tigers. He has 27 victories, which ties him for the WHL lead with Griffen Outhouse of the Victoria Royals. . . . The Oil Kings got 36 saves from G Josh Dechaine. . . . Edmonton was 1-2 on the PP; Medicine Hat was 1-3. . . . The Tigers (33-15-1) have won two in a row. They lead the Central Division by six points over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Oil Kings (18-26-4) have lost nine straight and are six points out of the playoffs. . . . Announced attendance: 3,323.
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At Moose Jaw, D Josh Brook broke a 2-2 tie in the third period as the Warriors skated to a 4-2 victory
JOSH BROOK
over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Brook’s fifth goal, coming at 4:48, proved to be the winner. . . . F Spencer Bast (8) added insurance at 14:26. . . . Moose Jaw took a 1-0 lead when F Brett Howden scored No. 25, on a PP, at 11:57 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon F Jesse Shynkaruk’s 22nd goal tied it at 5:04 of the second period. . . . The Warriors went ahead on F Yan Khomenko’s 12th goal, at 11:56. . . . The Blades tied it again when D Bryton Sayers got his fourth goal, on a PP, at 14:44. . . . F Jayden Halbgewachs, F Branden Klatt and F Justin Almeida each had two assists for the Warriors, while Howden had one. . . . F Braylon Shmyr had two assists for Saskatoon, with Sayers and Shynkaruk adding one each. . . . The Warriors got 21 saves from Zach Sawchenko, who won his 20th game of the season. He is the first goaltender in franchise to win at least 20 games in three straight seasons. . . . G Logan Flodell stopped 22 shots for Saskatoon. . . .  Each team was 1-3 on the PP. . . . With G Brock Hamm out with an undisclosed injury, the Blades had G Joel Gryzbowski of the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars backing up Flodell. . . . Saskatoon, with four players injured and F Cole Johnson and F Dryden Michaud both ill, also brought in F Brandon Machado from the midget AAA CFR Bisons of the Alberta Midget Hockey League. . . . Moose Jaw (30-12-7) has won four in a row. It is second in the East Division, four points behind Regina. The Pats hold four games in hand. . . . Saskatoon (20-23-6) had won its previous five games. The Blades, who are in possession of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, are scheduled to play their next seven games at home. . . . Announced attendance: 3,717.
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At Prince Albert, the Lethbridge Hurricanes scored three first-period goals and went on to a 5-4 victory
BRENNAN MENELL
over the Raiders. . . . F Tyler Wong’s 35th goal gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 3:11. . . . D Brennan Menell, who has nine goals, struck twice, at 4:54 and 16:27, for a 3-0 lead. . . . F Kolten Olynek (11) got the home side to within two 58 seconds into the second period. . . . F Jadon Joseph (2) restored Lethbridge’s three-goal lead at 2:10. . . . The Raiders got to within a goal by scoring twice in 14 seconds. F Cavin Leth counted at 11:06 and D Nick Heid got his second at 11:20. . . . F Ryan Bowen’s 10th goal, at 1:46 of the third period, stood up as the winner, after Leth got his second of the game, and 14th of the season, at 8:39. . . . Lethbridge also got two assists from each of Wong and D Brady Pouteau, while Menell added one. . . . F Tim Vanstone had two assists for the Raiders, with Heid and Olynek adding one each. . . . Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner blocked 35 shots. . . . G Nic Sanders, making his fourth straight start for the Raiders, gave up three goals on 11 shots in 16:27. Ian Scott came on in relief and stopped 17 of 19 shots in 42:08. . . . With Scott headed for the Top Prospects Game, the Raiders have brought in Curtis Meger from the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins to support Sanders through the weekend. . . . Prince Albert was 1-2 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-1. . . . The Raiders are without F Jody Stallard, who had goals in four straight games when he took a stick in the face that has forced him out of the lineup. But they had F Siimon Stransky back after a six-game absence. . . The Hurricanes (27-15-7) have points in nine straight games (7-0-2). They are second in the Central Division, six points out of first and 10 points ahead of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Raiders (11-35-5) have a three-game winning streak snapped. They are into their third straight weekend of playing three games in as many nights. . . . Announced attendance: 2,209.
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At Red Deer, F Michael Spacek had a goal and two assists to lead the Rebels to a 5-2 victory over the
CARSON SASS
Prince George Cougars. . . . Spacek opened the scoring with No 21, at 19:15 of the first period. . . . F Cameron Hausinger’s fifth goal increased the lead to 2-0 at 9:18 of the second period. . . . The Cougars tied it on goals from D Tate Olson (5), on a PP, at 17:19 of the second period, and F Jared Bethune (14), at 2:56 of the third period. . . . D Carson Sass snapped the tie with his fourth goal, on a PP, at 9:44. . . . The Rebels put it away on two goals from F Evan Polei, who has 22 goals. He scored at 13:14 and added an empty-netter at 19:13. . . . The Rebels got two assists from F Austin Glover. . . . Bethune also had an assist. . . . G Lasse Petersen stopped 30 shots in earning the victory. . . . The Cougars got 40 stops from G Ty Edmonds. . . . The Cougars were 1-3 on the PP; the Rebels were 1-6. . . . The Rebels (22-20-7) have won two straight. They are third in the Central Division, eight points ahead of the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Cougars (34-14-3) are 1-1-1 in their last three. They are tied with the Regina Pats atop the overall standings. . . . Announced attendance: 4,571.
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At Kennewick, Wash., F Donovan Neuls broke a 3-3 tie with a shorthanded goal at 8:47 of the third
DONOVAN NEULS
period to give the Seattle Thunderbirds a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Neuls’ 10th goal was Seattle’s second shorthanded score of the game. . . . F Alexander True (15) had given the Thunderbirds a 3-1 lead at 10:29 of the second period. . . . The Americans tied the score on goals from F Jordan Topping (13), at 14:26 of the second period, and F Michael Rasmussen (32), on a PP, at 7:38 of the third period. . . . Seattle led this one 2-0 before the game was four minutes old. D Ethan Bear scored his 15th goal at 1:57 and D Turner Ottenbreit got his fifth goal, on a PP, at 3:19. . . . Rasmussen scored his first goal of the game at 17:48. . . . Ottenbreit and True each had an assist. . . . Rasmussen added an assist to his two goals. . . . It was the battle of the Rylans in goal, with Toth making 25 saves for Seattle and Parenteau stopping 26 shots for Tri-City. . . .  Seattle was 1-4 on the PP; Tri-City was 1-6. . . . The Thunderbirds continue to be without F Scott Eansor, while D Jarret Tyszka, who left Tuesday’s game in the first period, also was scratched. . . . The Thunderbirds (27-15-4) have won three in a row. They are third in the U.S. Division, three points behind Tri-City with five games in hand. . . . The Americans (29-19-3) have lost two straight. . . . Announced attendance: 4,996, on Military Appreciation Night.
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JACK WALKER
At Langley, B.C., the Victoria Royals scored the game’s first three goals and went on to a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Royals got on the scoreboard when F Jack Walker scored his 23rd goal at 8:56 of the first period. . . . D Scott Walford added his third, on a PP, at 18:40. . . . F Ethan Price’s fifth goal, at 10:18 of the second period, extended Victoria’s lead. . . . Vancouver got its goal from F Tyler Popowich, his sixth, 54 seconds into the third period. . . . The Royals got 21 saves from G Griffen Outhouse, while Ryan Kubic turned aside 28 at the other end. . . . Victoria was 1-3 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-3. . . . The Royals (27-19-4) are tied with the Kelowna Rockets for third in the B.C. Division. . . . The Giants (27-28-4) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). They are 13 points out of the playoffs. . . . These same two teams will play again tonight and Sunday in Victoria. . . . Announced attendance: 4.283.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Prince George at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Portland at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Calgary vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.
Brandon at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Regina at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Everett vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Spokane vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Vancouver at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Brandon at Calgary, 4 p.m.
Prince George at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Kamloops at Everett, 4:05 p.m.
Tri-City vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 5:05 p.m.
Prince Albert at Swift Current, 4 p.m.
Vancouver at Victoria, 5:05 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:17 PM
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