'It makes me cry at my computer . . .'

F Tomáš Vincour (Edmonton, Vancouver, 2007-10) has signed a one-year contract with Kometa Brno (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with Ak Bars Kazan (Russia, KHL), he had six goals and five assists in 39 games. . . .
F Kyle Beach (Everett, Lethbridge, Spokane, 2005-10) has signed a tryout contract through Sept. 30 with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, he had four goals in seven games with the Rockford IceHogs (AHL), two goals and an assist in seven games with HV71 Jönköping (Sweden, SHL), and two goals and five assists in 39 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL).
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An email arrived in my Inbox on Thursday morning. It was from a former WHL defenceman, who in his playing days could have played on my team, your team or any team. No, he wasn’t an all-star; rather, he was a tough-as-nails, take-no-prisoners defenceman, the kind you can’t win without. Yes, he fought; mostly, though, he played hard, really hard.
“I have had some depression issues in the past,” he wrote, “not to the point where I was thinking of doing anything drastic, but depression none the less.
“Was it from too many concussions? Maybe, not sure.
“My point to all this is, I know there are former players, just like myself, who have the same issues I do, they just hide it. Is it solely a hockey player problem? No, but it makes me cry at my computer when I see these kids killing themselves.
“Keep it in the spotlight, thanks for writing about this topic.”
That email came on the heels of another note, this from the wife of a career coach.
The other day, she wrote: “I read a Facebook status from a player who played for (my husband) on two different teams talking about his battle with depression. I contacted him. He was a tough guy, said he felt the need to live up to that reputation, until now.”
And now I’m wondering just how many former hockey players there are out there who are dealing, or trying to deal, with depression?
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TRADE WIRE:
THE DEAL: The Prince George Cougars acquired D Dominic Thom, 18, from the Brandon Wheat Kings for a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft.
THE SKINNY: Thom, from Calgary, was a ninth-round pick by Brandon in the 2011 bantam draft. He played in two games with Brandon, both last season, earning one assist. He played 29 games with the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs, recording a goal and five assists.
THE ANALYSIS: The Wheat Kings get a draft pick, likely conditional on his being on the Cougars’ roster at a particular date, for a player who wasn’t going to stick with them. The Cougars get to look at a 6-foot-3, 185-pound defenceman who could provide them with some depth on the back end.
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F Axel Blomqvist will be a bit late reporting to the Victoria Royals. That’s because he will play for Team Sweden at a Four Nations tournament in Jönköping, Aug. 29-31. Earlier this summer, Blomqvist, who was acquired by Victoria from the Lethbridge Hurricanes last season, attended Sweden’s national junior evaluation camp. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Blomqvist, 19, hopes to be named to the Swedish team that will play in the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship. . . . The 2015 tournament will be split between Montreal and Toronto, running Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. . . . Blomqvist put up 43 points, including 16 goals, in 46 games with the Royals last season. He attended the Winnipeg Jets’ rookie and main camps as an undrafted free agent last season and ended up signing a three-year entry-level deal.
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The Saskatoon Blades have signed F Logan Christensen, who was a second-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Christensen, from Morden, Man., had 79 points, 34 of them goals, in 54 games at the Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna last season.
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Teams in the QMJHL have been in camp for a few days now. If you’re wondering why that league always starts so early, Willy Palov of the Halifax ChronicleHerald has the scoop right here.
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A story in Thursday’s Ottawa Citizen begins with this: “A 31-year-old recreational hockey player has been sentenced to 18 months’ probation after a rare criminal conviction for an on-ice collision — a decision that his lawyer says has set a dangerous precedent that could chill participation in such hockey leagues.” . . . Meghan Hurley’s complete story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Ryan Smith, the MJHL’s coach of the year last season, now is the general manager and head coach of the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. He replaces Dean Brockman, who now is an assistant coach with the Saskatoon Blades. Smith, from Winnipeg, has a three-year contract with the Broncos. . . . Smith spent five seasons as the GM/head coach with the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers.
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Darren Komonoski is back with the junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies, as assistant coach and goaltending coach. Komonoski returns to the Grizzlies after stepping aside for a couple of years. He also works with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. . . . A native of Humboldt, Sask., Komonoski, who lives in Revelstoke, will work with GM/head coach Ryan Parent. The Grizzlies play in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.
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Matt Cockell (Saskatoon, Seattle, Regina, Spokane, 1996-99) is back with the Brandon Wheat Kings as their goaltending coach. Cockell, from Winnipeg, spent the past two seasons with Hockey Canada after being part of the Wheat Kings’ coaching staff. He was the goaltending coach with the Canadian women’s team that won gold at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi last season. . . . While Cockell was gone, Brent Zelenwich had served as Brandon’s goaltending coach.
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Fernando Pisani, a native of Edmonton who played 402 regular-season games with the Oilers, has joined the U of Alberta Golden Bears as the lead assistant to head coach Ian Herbers. Pisani, 37, was the club’s part-time assistant last season; he now is full-time. He fills the spot created when Ryan Marsh left the Golden Bears to sign on as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oil Kings.
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D MacKenzie Johnston (Kelowna, Prince Albert, Saskatoon, 2009-2014) will attend Mount Royal University and play for the Cougars. A native of Swift Current, Johnston played out his junior eligibility last season, splitting it between the Kelowna Rockets, Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades. . . . D Dylan Busenius (Medicine Hat, Prince Albert, Saskatoon), who also played out his junior eligibility last season, has decided to attend the U of Calgary and play for the Dinosaurs. . . . F Connor Sanvido (Seattle, Swift Current, Saskatoon, 2009-13) will attend St. Thomas U in Fredericton, N.B., and play for the Tommies. Sanvido, the 14th overall pick in the WHL’s 2008 bantam draft, played three seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds. He split last season between the Swift Current Broncos and Saskatoon Blades as he completed his junior eligibility. . . . A tip of the hat to Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix for tweeting all three of those moves.
The Brandon Wheat Kings revealed Thursday that they have sold 1,907 season tickets, “a slight increase over what the club had sold at the same time last summer.” The Wheat Kings sold more than “2,300 season tickets” last season when their average regular-season attendance was 3,529. . . . The Wheat Kings also announced that Russian D Ivan Provorov, 17, will report to training camp on Aug. 23. Provorov, who played with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids Roughriders last season, was selected in the 2014 CHL import draft. In 2012-13, he played midget hockey in Wilkes-Barre Scranton, Penn.

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Hey @HockeyCanada see this yet ? 30km West of Flin Flon, MB, side of hwy, saluting double gold in Sochi #ourgame pic.twitter.com/9uvADjrnht
— Evan Hammond (@HamWilder) August 15, 2014

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Winterhawks' streak reaches 11

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Andrej Kudrna (Vancouver, Red Deer, 2008-11) was released by Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). He had yet to play a game this season.
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As Alan Caldwell of Small Thoughts at Large tweeted on Friday, the Calgary Hitmen got back D Alex Roach, 20, from the NHL's Los Angeles. . . . Roach played three games with the ECHL's Ontario Reign, earning three assists. . . . The Kings signed him as an undrafted free agent. . . . Roach, from Quesnel, B.C., has 83 points, 23 of them goals, in 184 games with the Hitmen. . . . His return leaves the Hitmen with four 20-year-olds, one over the roster limit. They will have 14 days to move Roach, D Jesse Zgraggen, F Brady Brassart or D Jaynen Rissling.
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The OHL's Erie Otters ran their winning streak to a franchise-record 11 games on Saturday as they dumped the host Niagara Ice Dogs, 6-0. Kris Knoblauch, a former WHL player and coach, is the Otters' head coach. . . . The Otters are scheduled to meet the Knights in London this afternoon.
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You likely are aware that the legendary Bobby Orr has written a book in which he makes the case that fighting belongs in hockey, at least at the NHL level. If you missed it, The Globe and Mail carried an excerpt from that book right here. . .
Ken Dryden, the former goaltending great, disagrees. Dryden's piece from Saturday's Globe and Mail is right here.
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Mike Beamish of the Vancouver Sun, who normally spends his time covering the B.C. Lions, had a couple of good reads in Saturday's sports section, both of them involving Pavel Bure. The first one is right here, with the other right here. . . . The first of those involves a confession from Beamish, who admits to once asking Bure for his autograph. The second story is about how Igor Kuperman played a role in Bure ending up with the Vancouver Canucks, who retired his number (10) last night.
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SUDBURY SATURDAY NIGHT:
In Lethbrige, F Jessey Astles had two goals and two assists as the Tri-City Americans dropped the Hurricanes, 8-1. . . . The Hurricanes have played 17 games this season and won only two of them. They are  2-12-3 and already nine points out of a playoff spot. . . . Astles, who has a career-high four goals this season, went into the game with two assists in 16 games. He also was plus-4. . . . Going into this season, Astles had seven goals in 179 games. . . . F Devon McAndrews, who joined the Americans from the AJHL this week, had a goal, his first, and two assists. He also finished plus-4. He had two assists in 13 games with the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 24 shots for the victory; his brother Ty, 16, scored his first WHL goal. . . . The Americans have points in five straight (4-0-1). . . . F Parker Bowles scored for a second straight game for the Americans. He had missed the season's first 18 games as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. . . .

In Prince George, the Kelowna Rockets scored the game's last three goals and beat the Cougars, 4-1. . . . Kelowna F Carter Rigby picked up an assist in his first game this season after recovering from shoulder woes. . . . The Rockets had beaten the host Cougars 7-6 in a shootout on Friday night. . . . Kelowna (11-2-2) has won four straight and leads the B.C. Division by three points over the Victoria Royals (10-8-1), who have played three more games. . . . F Tyrell Goulbourne was scratched by the Rockets after suffering an undisclosed injury on Friday. . . .

In Victoria, the Royals scored the game's first three goals and beat the Red Deer Rebels, 3-1. . . . Victoria F Steven Hodges, who played his first game of the season on Friday, drew two first-period assists. He had been recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. . . . This was the first time in four opportunities that Victoria head coach Dave Lowry had earned the victory over Red Deer GM/head coach Brent Sutter. Lowry was an assistant under Sutter for three seasons with the NHL's Calgary Flames. . . .

In Swift Current, the Broncos scored six third-period goals and beat the Saskatoon Blades, 7-6. . . . Saskatoon actually took a 5-1 lead into the third period. . . . Swift Current F Graham Black tied it at 11:36 of the third period and F Connor Sanvido won it at 19:15. . . . Black finished with two goals and two assists, getting a goal and two helpers in the third period. . . . Saskatoon F Matt Revel scored a natural hat trick, getting three goals in 10:53, the first coming in the first period and last two in the second. . . . Swift Current had a 23-7 edge in third-period shots. . . . Saskatoon F Nikita Scherbak, a Russian freshman, ran his point streak to 11 games with a first-period assist. . . . Tweet from Blades radio voice Les Lazaruk (@Bladesvoice): "I believe it was the late, great Jack Buck who said it, but I can't believe what I just saw. @bladeshockey L 7-6 in Swift. Led 5-1 after 40." . . . The Broncos have won four in a row; the Blades have lost four straight. . . .

In Moose Jaw, F Dakota Conroy scored at 2:53 of OT to give the Raiders a 3-2 victory over the Warriors. . . . Raiders D MacKenzie Johnston had forced extra time with a goal at 16:47 of the third period. It was his first goal of the season. . . . Johnston, 20, who was acquired last month from the Kelowna Rockets, has nine goals in 246 career games. . . . The Raiders (11-6-1) lead the East Division and are one point behind the Eastern Conference-leading Medicine Hat Tigers (11-3-2). . . .

In Everett, G Daniel Cotton stopped 16 shots as the Silvertips blanked his old club, the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-0. . . . Cotton has three career shutouts, one this season. . . . All of his shutouts have been with Everett. He played 18 games with Seattle -- one in 2010-11 and 17 in 2011-12 -- before he ended up in Everett. . . . F Josh Winquist scored twice, giving him 13 on the season. . . . Everett held a 12-2 edge on shots in the first period and 11-5 in the second. . . . The Silvertips (11-3-2) are three points off the U.S. Division lead. . . . The Silvertips have added F Darcy DeRoose, 18, to their roster, although he didn't play in this one. A native of Weyburn, Sask., he had been with the SJHL's Estevan Bruins, for whom he had 12 points, eight of them goals, in 14 games. Earlier in his career, he played three games with the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Everett F Dawson Leedahl didn't play as he is awaiting word on a suspension after a checking-from-behind major in Friday's 6-3 loss to the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Seattle was without F Roberts Lipsbergs (undisclosed injury) and D Evan Wardley, who is awaiting word on a suspension after he took out Portland F Adam De Champlain one night earlier during a 5-2 loss in Kent, Wash. . . .

In Kamloops, D Brett Kulak's shootout goal gave the Vancouver Giants a 4-3 victory over the Blazers. . . . The Giants have won four of five, with the victories all coming on the road. In the last week, they won twice in Kamloops and twice in Prince George. . . . Blazers F Nick Chyzowski, 16, scored his first two WHL goals, pulling his side into 2-2 and 3-3 ties in the third period. He is the son of former Blazers F Dave Chyzowski. . . . F Aspen Sterzer had three assists for Kamloops. . . .

In Spokane, the Portland Winterhawks ran their winning streak to 11 games with a 3-1 victory over the Chiefs. . . . The defending-champion Winterhawks have the WHL's best record, at 14-3-1. . . . Portland has won six in a row on the road. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored the game's first goal to run his point streak to 12 games. . . . Portland F Nic Petan drew an assist on that goal and is riding an 11-game point streak. . . . Petan finished with three assists. . . . Spokane F Mitch Holmberg had his season-opening point streak stopped at 17 games. He put up a league-leading 42 points over that stretch. . . . The Winterhawks next play Wednesday against the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . The Chiefs (12-5-0) are three points in back of the Winterhawks.
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The NHL had one of its dimmer moments Saturday when it announced that Philadelphia Flyers G Ray Emery wouldn't be suspended for his Friday night assault on Washington Capitals G Braden Holtby. . . . Apparently, the NHL doesn't have a rule that covers an assault on an unwilling dance partner. . . . John MacKinnon of the Edmonton Journal gives the NHL a few jabs right here.
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From Hall of Fame hockey writer Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) of the Los Angeles Times: "NHL once suspended Sean Avery for conduct detrimental to the game but won't invoke clause to suspend Ray Emery for (Friday) night's craziness?"
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From columnist Gary Lawless (@garylawless) of the Winnipeg Free Press: "so if the #blackhawks score a couple more should we expect a line brawl featuring 1 of #nhljets beating up someone who doesn't want to fight."
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From TSN's Dave Hodge (@TSNDaveHodge): "There's nothing in the rule book that allows the NHL to suspend Ray Emery, which means there's nothing that covers stupid stuff."

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
Dinamo Minsk has recalled F Sergei Drozd (Tri-City, 2009-10) from assignment to Neman Grodno (Belarus, Ekstraliga). He had 17 points, including five goals, in 17 games with Neman. . . .

F Jaroslav Kristek (Tri-City, 1998-2000) has been released by mutual agreement from Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). He had one assist in seven games.
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1. The Vancouver Giants revealed on Tuesday that F Tyler Benson, the first overall pick in the 2013 bantam draft, will make his WHL debut on Nov. 16 against the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . Benson, 15, has 34 points, including 15 goals, in 16 games with the Pursuit of Excellence U-18 Prep team. . . . Veteran WHL referee Steve Papp has been selected to work the World Junior Championship that begins Dec. 26 in Malmo, Sweden. . . .

2. The Kamloops Blazers' roster stands at 22 after the club dropped F Mitch Friesen, 17, on Tuesday. . . . A native of Surrey, B.C., Friesen had two assists in 55 games with the Blazers over last season and this one. This season, he had one assist in nine games. . . .


3. The QMJHL's Saint John Sea Dogs fired Mike Kelly, their general manager and head coach, on Tuesday. . . . At 5-10-2, the Sea Dogs have the WHL's second-poorest record and are winless in eight. . . . Kelly, a former head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, was the Sea Dogs' associate coach when they had three straight 50-win seasons (2009-12) and also won a Memorial Cup. He had been head coach since the summer of 2012. . . . A new coach is expected to be introduced within days.

4. The Everett Silvertips will be without G Austin Lotz for up to four weeks. It seems he suffered an ankle injury during a 7-6 overtime victory over the Blazers in Kamloops on Saturday -- he apparently was injured in regulation time and he did finish the game -- and now is encumbered with a walking boot. . . . Lotz started his 11th straight game on Saturday. . . . With Lotz injured, Daniel Cotton, 19, moves up the depth chart, while the Silvertips have brought in Nik Amundrud, 16, to back him up. Amundrud, who is from Melfort, Sask., was a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft.

5. If you are a baseball fan of a certain vintage, you recognize the radio call letters KMOX. Yes, that is the AM radio home of the St. Louis Cardinals. KMOX is at 1120 on the AM dial and its 50,000-watt signal covers a good part of North America and beyond. . . . David Waldstein of The New York Times set out Sunday to see if he could outdrive the signal while Game 4 of the World Series was being played. . . . This is good stuff and it's right here.

6. The St. Louis Cardinals are in Boston to meet the Red Sox in Game 6 of the World Series tonight. And you are wondering what it would cost you to get into Fenway Park for this one. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports has the answer(s) right here.

7. If you're a regular here, you will recall that yesterday I had a bit about Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella and the way he is playing his top three forwards well over 20 minutes per game. . . . That led me to wonder whether an NHL coach really needs 12 forwards at his disposal. . . . In Tuesday's Vancouver Sun, columnist Iain MacIntyre pointed out that the Caucks had gone into Monday's game against the visiting Washington Capitals not having practised in 10 days. Seriously. . . . The Canucks didn't practise while on a seven-game road trip and when the trek was over Tortorella gave his side two days off. That led them into Monday's game, which they won, 3-2. . . . The Canucks, who are 9-4-2 going into tonight's game against the visiting Detroit Red Wings, played nine of their first 15 games on the road. . . . Prior to Monday's game, Tortorella promised that "we'll practice (Tuesday). Win or lose." . . . They did. . . . But 10 days without a practice. Sacrilege, surely.

8. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that the Moose Jaw Warriors are concerned that an unnamed junior A team may have tampered with F Todd Fiddler, 20, before he was dropped from the WHL team's roster on Monday. . . . That story is right here.
www.mjtimes.sk.ca/Sports/Hockey/2013-10-28/article-3450719/Fiddler-and-Warriors-part-ways/1

TUESDAY NIGHT:
In Prince Albert, the Medicine Hat Tigers unleashed a 50-shot attack and beat the Raiders, 3-1. . . . G Cole Cheveldave stopped 47 shots for the Raiders, 26 more than Marek Langhamer of the Tigers. . . . The Tigers were without F Hunter Shinkaruk (hip) for a second straight game. . . . F Mike Winther of the Raiders sat out Game 2 of a four-game suspension for a headshot. . . . This was the 10th time the Clouston brothers opposed each other as WHL coaches. Cory, who has coached the Kootenay Ice, Brandon Wheat Kings and Prince Albert, is 5-4-1, while Shaun, the Tigers' head coach, is 5-5. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Seth Swenson had a goal and two assists to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Seattle is 11-3-2 and now leads the Western Conference, by one point over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Wheat Kings are 0-3 on their swing through the U.S. Division. . . . Swenson scored his fourth goal in three games, this one coming on a second-period penalty shot. . . . F Sam Mckechnie scored in his first game with the Thunderbirds. He and F Jaimen Yakubowski were acquired last week from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Yakubowski made his Seattle debut on the weekend; Mckechnie hadn't had as much opportunity to skate after he and Yakubowski were sent home to await a trade, so his debut had to wait. . . . Meanwhile, Yakubowski got a major and game misconduct in the first period for a headshot on D Taylor Green. . . .

 In Prince George, F Jackson Houck struck for three goals to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 6-5 victory over the Cougars. . . . Houck now has two WHL hat tricks to his credit. . . . The teams play again tonight in P.G. . . . Houck went into the game with three goals this season. . . . F Chase Witala scored one of the Cougars' goals as he ran his sniping streak to six games. . . . Witala also had three assists, giving him 20 points, 10 of them goals, in 10 games. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Connor Sanvido's shootout goal gave the Swift Current Broncos a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Sanvido was the only one of six shooters to score. . . . The Hurricanes have lost three in a row and have won once in their last 10 outings. . . . F Riley Sheen, acquired last week from the Seattle Thunderbirds, scored in his first game with the Hurricanes.

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Farewell to a friend

Roy Antal, the Regina Leader-Post photographer who took the above photo on Nov. 18, 1994, has died. He passed away Saturday in Regina after a bout with cancer. He would have turned 67 in November.
Antal, who retired in 2010 after working at The Leader-Post for 41 years, was one of the good guys, quick to laugh and with an infectious smile. He had something of a unique golf swing, too; at least, I doubt that there is another one like it anywhere out there.
During my 17 years at The Leader-Post, we shared some breakfasts and more than a few Chinese food buffets. Mostly, though, we shared a lot of stories and more than our share of laughter.
That's Norm Johnston, then of the Regina Pats, on the left in the above photo, and Al Tuer, then with the Moose Jaw Warriors, bringing a bit of WWE to the WHL, which, it seems, was a lot more fun back in the day. That is Antal’s left hand in the bottom right corner of the photo. We can only imagine Antal's surprise when the two coaches brought their act right to him as he stood, camera in hand, between the team's benches in what was then the Regina Agridome.
If you would like to see some of Antal's best work, click right here.
(The flash bounce in the above photo is all mine. It happened when I attempted to make a copy of the photo that I have in my home.)

2. There is controversy brewing on the campus of the U of British Columbia and among the school's many alumni, many of whom donate money to the athletic department. . . . Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun has a terrific piece right here, as he delves into what has all the signs of turning into something really messy in the not-too-distant future.

3. If you've been following the mess that is the saga involving Senator Mike Duffy and haven't seen the story that appeared in Maclean's in September, well, you should pour a cuppa and click right here. Jonathon Gatehouse does a great job of explaining Duffy's past and present situations.

JUST NOTES:
The BCHL's Penticton Vees have signed former WHL D Clint Filbrandt. An 18-year-old from Calgary, Filbrandt was released earlier by the Kootenay Ice, who had acquired him from the Tri-City Americans over the summer. The Americans had selected him in the 10th round of the 2010 bantam draft. He was to make his debut with the Vees last night. . . . The OHL's Erie Otters ran their winning streak to 10 on Saturday, beating the visiting Peterborough Petes, 4-0. Kris Knoblauch, Erie's head coach, is a former WHL player and coach.

SATURDAY NIGHT:
In Medicine Hat, F Curtis Valk had two goals and an assist to help the Tigers to a 6-4 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Medicine Hat snapped a three-game losing skid. . . . Among the Tigers' scratches was veteran F Hunter Shinkaruk (hip). . . . Saskatoon F Collin Valcourt played, and drew two assists, despite taking a charging major for running into Rebels G Patrik Bartosak in Red Deer on Friday night. Valcourt actually scored on the play and the Blades went on to a 4-3 victory. . . .

In Swift Current, the Broncos beat Edmonton 3-1, snapping the Oil Kings' winning streak at three. . . . F Connor Sanvido had an empty-net goal and two assists for the Broncos. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar didn't finish, as he left the game with an undisclosed injury. . . .

In Prince Albert, the Raiders got 27 saves from G Cole Cheveldave as they got past the Regina Pats, 3-1. . . . Raiders F Tim Vanstone, 17, scored his first WHL goal in his 55th game, 15 of which are from this season. . . . Veteran F Shane Danyluk scored his first goal of the season, in game No. 15, for the Raiders. . . . Regina G Dawson MacAuley, who is from Prince Albert, started in his hometown for the first time. . . . The Raiders have won three of four, while the Pats have lost three in a row. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Jaedon Descheneau scored twice as the Kootenay Ice beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-4. . . . The Ice had Mike Dyck helping its coaching staff on the weekend. The former WHL defenceman who has coaching experience with Lethbridge and Vancouver, will help assistant Jay Henderson when head coach Ryan McGill joins Canada's national junior team in December. . . . Among the Moose Jaw scratches was F Brandon Potomak, who injured a shoulder during Thursday's 4-3 OT victory over the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. . . .

In Prince George, F Pavel Padakin got the shootout winner as the Hitmen got past the Cougars, 4-3. . . . The Hitmen are 7-0-3 in their last 10 games and hold a four-point lead atop the Eastern Conference. . . . F Greg Chase had his first WHL hat trick to give the Hitmen a 3-1 lead in the first period. He's got 13 goals this season. . . . F David Soltes, a Czech freshman, missed 12 games with a leg injury. He returned Friday night and scored the shootout winner and added his second career goal last night. . . . F Chase Witala forced OT with his ninth goal at 12:21 of the third. . . .

In Kamloops, F Josh Winquist scored in overtime as the Everett Silvertips beat the Blazers, 7-6. . . . Winquist got his ninth goal on the PP at 3:32 of extra time. . . . Everett was 4-9 on the PP. . . . Winquist also had three assists for the second straight game. . . . Remember when Everett head coach Kevin Constantine was a defensive guru? Well, his Silvertips have given up 13 goals in their last two games and won them both. . . . Blazers F Cole Ully forced OT when he scored with 6.9 seconds left in the third period. . . . The Blazers led 2-0, 3-1, 4-2 and 5-4, before trailing 6-5 in the third period. . . . The Blazers took the game's last seven minor penalties. . . . Three of the four on-ice officials were from Kamloops. . . . The Silvertips (10-2-2) have won four in a row and are just a point back of the Western Conference-leading Portland Winterhawks. . . . Everett goaltender Austin Lotz made his 11th straight start. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Seth Swenson scored twice, the second into an empty net, as the host Thunderbirds beat the Vancouver Giants, 5-3. . . . F Jaimen Yakubowski, acquired this week from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, made his Seattle debut. F Sam Mckechnie, who also came over in that swap, didn't play. . . . Seattle F Branden Troock, who has an injury-filled WHL career, needed help off the ice in the second period with an undisclosed injury. . . .

In Spokane, Portland ran its winning streak to eight games with a 4-3 victory over the Chiefs. The Winterhawks went 5-0 on a road trip that ended last night. . . . Portland (11-3-1) also moved into top spot in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Chiefs (11-4-0). . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic scored his 100th regular-season goal and also had two assists. Leipsic has 226 points in 211 career games. . . . Spokane F Mitch Holmberg had two assists. He leads the WHL with 37 points. He holds a seven-point lead on Portland forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Nic Petan. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the host Tri-City Americans dumped the Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-1. . . . The Americans, who have won three in a row, won four of five games on the homestand. . . . The Wheat Kings are 0-2 in the U.S. Division and have been outscored 11-2. . . .

In Victoria, F Myles Bell scored in the shootout to give the Kelowna Rockets a 2-1 victory over the Royals. . . . Kelowna had opened the weekend doubleheader with a 4-1 victory on Friday. . . . The Royals went into the weekend leading the B.C. Division by two points over the Rockets. . . . Kelowna (9-2-2) now holds a one-point edge on Victoria (9-7-1).

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Warriors' Hall of Fame opens doors to trio

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Gord Baldwin (Medicine Hat, 2004-07) signed a two-year contract with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). He had three goals and 11 assists in 26 games with the Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) and five assists in 29 games with the Texas Stars (AHL). The Steelers press release says that Baldwin will attend University of Sheffield Business School while playing for the Steelers. . . .
F Keegan Dansereau (Calgary, Swift Current, 2003-09) signed a one-year contract with Olofström (Sweden, Division 1). He had 10 goals and seven assists in 23 games with Mörrum (Sweden, Division 1) last season.
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The Saskatoon Blades, the only franchise to have played every WHL season since the its inception in 1966-67, appears to be on the verge of being sold. Mike Priestner, an Edmonton-based auto dealer, apparently is the favourite to purchase the Blades. Priestner and Blades majority owner Jack Brodsky both told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that they are talking. . . . There’s more right here. . . . Yes, this is the same Mike Priestner who attempted to purchase the Kamloops Blazers in 2007.
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On Thursday evening, Nugent-Bowman tweeted: “Just talked to Mike Priestner. He said no deal to buy the Saskatoon Blades has been finalized. Status quo from yesterday. #spnews”
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The Swift Current Broncos have acquired F Connor Sanvido, who is to turn 20 on Sept. 26, and F Andrew Johnson, who will be 19 on Oct. 15, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for a fourth-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . Sanvido, from Maple Ridge, B.C., was the 14th overall pick in the 2008 bantam draft. He had 29 points, including 14 goals, in 72 games last season. In 184 games, he has 53 points, 26 of them goals. . . . Johnson, from Saskatoon, was acquired form the Moose Jaw Warriors at last season’s trade deadline for a 2013 fourth-round bantam draft pick . A second-round pick by the Warriors in the 2009 bantam draft, he had 23 points in 72 games last season. In 189 career games, he has 76 points, including 33 goals. . . . Sanvido’s arrival leaves the Broncos with what would appear to be four potential 20-year-olds, the others being G Eetu Laurikainen, F Graham Black and F Daniel Dale. . . . The Thunderbirds, meanwhile, are down to three – F Mitch Elliot, D Jesse Forsberg and F Seth Swenson.
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The Vancouver Giants have claimed F Tim Traber, 20, off waivers from the Victoria Royals. . . . Vancouver GM Scott Bonner told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province that Traber is in Switzerland at the present time, so it has yet to be decided if he will report to the Giants. . . . The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Traber, who is from Quesnel, B.C., is a grinder. He has 32 points in 215 regular-season games, having played two seasons with the Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?) and two with the Royals. . . . At the moment, the Giants have F Cain Franson as their lone 20-year-old, although F Marek Tvrdon and D Dalton Thrower also are possibilities. Tvrdon has signed with the Detroit Red Wings, while Thrower has yet to sign with the Montreal Canadiens. . . . Victoria, meanwhile, has four 20-year-olds on its roster — D Jordan Fransoo, F Mitch Deacon, F Logan Nelson and F Ben Walker.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed F Zach Goberis, who was a fourth-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. Goberis, from Arvada, Colo., had 40 points, including 17 goals, in 39 games with the Colorado Thunderbirds Tier 1 elite minor midget team last season. (A tip of the cap to Small Thoughts at Large for the stats.) . . . Goberis is represented by Turning Point Sports Management.
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Congrats to old friend Lyle Helland, who will be one of three people inducted into the Conexus Warriors and Legends Hall of Fame in Moose Jaw this year. . . . Also going into the hall will be former players Darryl Laplante and Lyle Odelein. . . . Helland, who will be inducted as a builder, was part of the original group that brought the franchise from Winnipeg in 1984. He has served on the team’s board of director and has been a season-ticket holder for 29 years. . . . Odelein (1985-88) had 163 points in 189 games. He is the third-highest scoring defenceman in Warriors history. . . . Laplante (1994-97) had 310 points, including 102 goals, in 212 games. . . . The Warriors will celebrate their Hall of Fame weekend, Oct. 17-19.
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“Last winter, Hockey Canada and Bauer Hockey Inc. commissioned an independent survey to better understand the challenges facing non hockey-playing families. The results were stunning,” writes Dan Ralph of The Canadian Press. “A whopping 90 per cent of the 875 families surveyed in Ontario and Nova Scotia kept their kids out of hockey because a) it wasn’t fun, b) it was too time consuming, c) of safety concerns, and d) of affordability. The good news is 73 per cent also said they’d consider putting their kids in the game in future while 40 per cent said they’d definitely consider it.”
That complete story is right here.
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Alex Rodriguez as a sympathetic figure? William C. Rhoden of The New York Times makes that case right here. Don’t laugh because Rhoden has a convincing argument.
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There are athletes and there are stars and there are super stars. And then there’s Roger Federer. If you don’t believe it, check out this story right here on the tennis star and a young lady who has fought a couple of rounds with the big C.


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