Bibeau sharp as Foreurs open with victory; Royals goaltender signs pro deal

G Patrik Polivka (Victoria, 2012-14) has signed a two-year contract with Plzen (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season with the Royals, he was 2.56 and .915 in 43 games. . . . Polivka, who turned 20 on March 4, is eligible to return to Victoria for one more season, but would have been a two-spotter -- a 20-year-old and an import. . . .


G Leland Irving (Everett, 2003-08) has signed a one-year contract with Avangard Omsk (Russia, KHL). This season with Jokerit Helsinki (Finland, Liiga), he was 2.14 and .922 in 55 games.
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1. Dan Kinvig of the Abbotsford News reports right here that the CHL had some people conducting a survey in a local shopping centre on Wednesday. However, Jeff Hubert, the WHL’s director of communications, told Kinvig that the purpose of the survey wasn’t to test Abbotsford’s receptiveness to a WHL team. . . . I wonder how many Chilliwack residents happened to be in that particular shopping centre on Wednesday?

2. The news in The MacBeth Report that G Patrik Polivka has signed to play
professionally with his hometown team (he’s from Plzen, Czech Republic) puts G Coleman Vollrath, 19, atop the Victoria Royals’ depth chart. . . . Vollrath had a terrific season (20-8-2, 2.39, .928), really stepping up his game when Polivka missed time in early January and again in early February with a concussion. . . . Michael Herringer, an 18-year-old from Comox, B.C., who was a ninth-round draft pick in 2011, likely is in the Royals’ No. 2 slot, at least at this moment.

3. Wondering what’s in store for the Canadian Hockey League in terms of TV exposure through Rogers Communications over the next few years? Chris Zelkovich of the Eh Game over at Yahoo! Sports has some answers right here.

4. The championship game for the 2014 Memorial Cup is eight days away, but I have no idea what time the puck will drop. On what I believe is the tournament’s official website, there is one place where it has game time as noon Eastern. But I received an email today that contained the entire schedule, with starting times for every game but the final, which is listed as “TBD.” . . . So let’s go with TBD until TV decides when the game will begin.

5. When this season began, F Brendan Ranford was struggling to find playing time with the AHL’s Texas Stars. Things have since changed and Ranford, in his first pro season, is tied for the AHL playoff lead in goals. . . . Alyssa Dombrowski has more right here on Ranford, who played the previous five seasons with the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Ranford got his seventh goal last night as the visiting Stars beat the defending-champion Grand Rapids Griffins 3-2 to take a 3-2 lead in that series. Game 6 is Sunday in Texas.

6. The Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers open the third round of Stanley Cup play today and the puck drops at 10 a.m. Pacific. Thank you, Gary Bettman, and tell me again how TV doesn’t rule your world. . . . Come on! The Canadiens and Rangers in a Stanley Cup game has to be on CBC-TV on Saturday night.

7. The Drummond men now are involved in the ownership of two hockey teams, father Gary with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes and son Jason with the Regina Pats. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has Jason’s story right here.
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The Vancouver Giants have signed G Cody Porter, a North Vancouver native who turns 17 on Sept. 23. . . . Porter played this season with the midget AAA Vancouver-North West Giants (1.75, .942 in five games) and the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors (3.55, .875 in 16 games).
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THE COACHING GAME:
Craig Mohr is the new head coach of the junior B Fernie Ghostriders of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. Mohr is quite familiar with the KIJHL, having coached the Ghostriders in their first two seasons (2004-06) in the KIJHL and also worked with the Golden and Beaver Valley franchises. He also has worked with the midget AAA Calgary North Stars. This season, he was the assistant GM and assistant coach with the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks. . . . He also played 17 games with the Flin Flon Bombers in what was then the WCHL in 1971-72. . . . Mohr takes over in Fernie from Dale Hladun, who now is head coach of the KIJHL’s 100 Mile House Wranglers.
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The B.C. Major Midget Hockey League has revealed its list of head coaches for 2004-15. If you are interested, that list is right here.
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MEMORIAL CUP
(at London, Ont., all times Eastern)
(all games televised by Sportsnet)
Friday: Val-d’Or 1 vs. London 0 (8,863)
Saturday: Guelph vs. Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Sunday: London vs. Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Monday: Guelph vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Edmonton vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: London vs. Guelph, 7 p.m.
Thursday: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7 p.m.
Friday: Semifinal, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 24: No game scheduled.
Sunday, May 25: Final, TBD.
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FRIDAY’S GAME:
The Val-d’Or Foreurs’ two stars came through in a 1-0 tournament-opening victory over the London Knights. . . . G Antoine Bibeau, whose NHL rights belong to the Toronto Maple Leafs, stopped 51 shots and F Anthony Mantha scored his 87th goal this season at 16:20 of the first period. . . . Mantha has 82 goals in 82 games for the Foreurs this season. . . . London G Anthony Stolarz, playing his first game in seven weeks after also serving an OHL suspension, stopped 27 shots. . . . The Knights were playing their first game after a 34-day layoff. They were eliminated by the eventual-champion Guelph Storm in the second round of the playoffs. . . . Bibeau stopped London F Bo Horvat on a third-period penalty shot. . . . In Saturday’s lone game, the WHL-champion Edmonton Oil Kings will meet the OHL-champion Guelph Storm.

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Let the Abbotsford rumours begin . . .

Dan Kinvig of the Abbotsford News reports that “the commissioner of the Western Hockey League says the major junior circuit has interest in Abbotsford as a potential market.” . . . In a story that is right here, Kinvig reports that commissioner Ron Robison said the WHL is not going to expand and “does not have any pending applications for relocation from existing franchises.” . . . All of which would seem to cut down on the odds of Abbotsford getting a WHL franchise in the near future.
Earlier this week, the city of Abbotsford and its AHL franchise, the Heat, announced that the Heat would be leaving after this season, with the city having paid $5.5 million to terminate its agreement with the team. That deal, under which the city underwrote losses suffered by the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, had five years left on it.
Robison told Kinvig:
"We are familiar with the building – it's an outstanding facility, and it's a market we have interest in. At this particular stage, we do not have any future plans for expansion, so the only way we would consider Abbotsford would be through the relocation of one of our existing teams.
"But having said that, we always continue to look to explore other options in the event we do have a request for relocation. Certainly, we'll put Abbotsford on our list and do some further due diligence as to its potential for a WHL franchise."
With the commissioner having opened this can of worms, let’s cut to the chase, shall we.
Which WHL franchise/franchises do you think is/are ripe for relocation?
OK, let’s take the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders and Swift Current Broncos out of the conversation. Those franchises are community-owned and aren’t going anywhere.
The Prince George Cougars are in the process of being sold and they are staying put.
In the East Division, the Saskatoon Blades changed hands during this season and aren’t relocating. Neither are the Brandon Wheat Kings nor Regina Pats, although there again are strong rumours that the Pats will be sold before another season arrives, perhaps to Calgary oil interests.
None of the other B.C. Division teams -- the Kamloops Blazers, Kelowna Rockets, Vancouver Giants or Victoria Royals -- would seem a likely candidate for a move.
The Everett Silvertips, Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans, all of whom reside in the U.S. Division, are five of the league’s strongest franchises.
The Calgary Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings, both owned by NHL teams, finished atop the Central Division and aren’t moving anywhere. The same holds true for the Medicine Hat Tigers and Red Deer Rebels.
Yes, that leaves the Kootenay Ice.
Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s majority owner, president, governor and general manager, has issued repeated denials whenever he has been asked if he is working to sell the franchise or to relocate it.
It wasn’t that long ago when a rumour had Chynoweth relocating the Ice to Lethbridge with the Hurricanes moving to Winnipeg. Yes, there were more denials.
Robison’s comments to Kinvig almost certainly will result in more smoke but no flames, and there will be still more denials from Chynoweth.
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If you are thinking about attending the fourth annual Hockey Coaches Conference, powered by Hockey Now, you should know that the deadline for the early bird special arrives on Sunday.
The conference is scheduled for July 18 and 19 at the Doug Mitchell Sports Centre at the University of British Columbia.
The early bird cost is $250 plus GST; the regular price is $349.99 plus GST.
Aaron Wilbur of the HCC assures me that the names of presenters will begin being released next week. In the past, though, the likes of Ray Ferraro, Ken Hitchcock and Mike Keenan have been involved.
For more info, visit the website right here, or click on the ad at the top of this page.
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G Cole Cheveldave, who played out his eligibility with the Prince Albert Raiders this season, has decided he will attend St. Mary’s U in Halifax and play for the Huskies. . . . Cheveldave, who will turn 21 on June 8, is from Calgary. He played two seasons with the Kamloops Blazers, who dealt him to the Raiders before this season began. With the Raiders, he was 23-24-3, 3.57, .892. . . . Last season, he helped get the Blazers to the Western Conference final. He was 36-16-2, 2.38, .908 in the regular season and 9-6, 2.80, .901 in the playoffs.
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D Dennis Cholowski, a 16-year-old from Langley, B.C., has committed to the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs for next season. He played this season at Yale Academy in Abbotsford, B.C., and did get into one game with the Chiefs. . . . Cholowski suffered a broken arm and hand, which limited him to 12 games, during which he scored 16 points. . . . Cholowski was selected in by the Prince George Cougars in the 10th round of the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft.
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Rick Williams was a defenceman who played with the Saskatoon Blades and Victoria Cougars (1971-74). “Last year,” writes Heather Yourex of Global Calgary, “at the age of 59, Rick was forced to move into long term care.” . . . In recent years, Williams, who suffered a number of concussions during his hockey career, showed all the symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). . . . Friends are holding a fundraiser on May 3, hoping to provide some financial help for Williams’ care costs and for CTE research. . . . Yourex’s report is right here.
There is more information right here on the fundraiser.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons fired general manager and head coach Gord Thibodeau on Thursday. He had been with the Oil Barons for 12 seasons, winning the AJHL title eight years ago. . . . This season, the Oil Barons compiled the AJHL’s second-best regular-season record, their 45-11-4 better only by the Spruce Grove Saints (47-10-3). The Oil Barons’ season ended earlier this month when they lost Game 7 of the North Division final to Spruce Grove. . . . The Oil Barons are the host team for the 2015 Crescent Point Western Canada Cup.
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THE THIRD ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
(x - if necessary)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
KELOWNA (1) vs. PORTLAND (2)
Season series: Kelowna, 4-0-0; Portland, 0-4-0.
Friday: Portland at Kelowna, 7:30 p.m. (Sportsnet)
Saturday: Portland at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Kelowna at Portland (Moda Center), 7 p.m.
Wednesday: Kelowna at Portland (Moda Center), 7 p.m.
x-Friday, April 25: Portland at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
x-Sunday, April 27: Kelowna at Portland, 5 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 29: Portland at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Kelowna: F Myles Bell, week-to-week.
Portland: None.
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EASTERN CONFERENCE
EDMONTON (1) vs. MEDICINE HAT (4)
Season series: Edmonton, 5-0-1; Medicine Hat, 1-5-0.
(All games on Shaw TV)
Friday: Medicine Hat/Kootenay at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Sunday: Medicine Hat/Kootenay at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Tuesday: Edmonton at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: Edmonton at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
x-Saturday, April 26: Medicine Hat at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Monday, April 28: Edmonton at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 29: Medicine Hat at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Edmonton: D Blake Orban, day-to-day.
Medicine Hat: F Anthony Ast, day-to-day; F Gavin Broadhead, day-to-day; F Hunter Shinkaruk, indefinite.
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From WHL Facts (@WHLFacts), with the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues into OT: “136:56 - In case you forgot ... Back in 2003, @WHLKootenayICE alum Adam Cracknell (@ACracknell79) played in the WHL's longest game in history.”
Cracknell now is with the Blues.
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From Adam Cracknell (@ACracknell79), in response to WHL Facts: “Did you also know. I did not also play ONE shift. So I had the best seat for the longest game also. #truestory”




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