Showing posts with label Dante Hannoun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dante Hannoun. Show all posts

Friday, March 3, 2017

Pats' financial losses not unexpected ... Tigers roar back in Regina ... Seattle back on top in U.S.





When Bill Peters was the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs, I always made a point of stopping for a post-game conversation.
Why?
NHLBecause he never met a question he wouldn’t answer and because he always had questions of his own. He always wanted to know what was happening.
On Friday, Peters, now the head coach of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, was asked about his club’s goaltending and whether Cam Ward and Eddie Lack were involved in any kind of competition for the starter’s role.
“You've gotta push," Peters replied. “The one guy's played 10 games. Eddie's played 10 games and was poor in his last outing, let's not kid ourselves, right?
"There were 16 shots and four went in. Not good enough. You look at his numbers in the league and they're not good enough. So I don't think it's much of a competition. I think we've got a guy who's well ahead of the other guy. That's what I see and the numbers back that up.”
Still, it sounds as though Peters will be giving Lack 2-4-2, 3.33, .873) at least one more opportunity.
"When he gets in again, he better play," Peters said. "You better earn some respect from your teammates. Your teammates are out there working their bag off, you better get some saves. And a timely save at the right time wouldn't hurt.”
That’s gold if you’re a sports journalist, something there is darn little of these days.
NHLThe same holds true for comments from Claude Julien, the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. Asked about defensive zone adjustments his club has made, Julien chose to answer the question with an honest explanation, rather than bafflegab.
“The biggest thing is we call it a bit of a swarm, which all teams do,” Julien explained. “When the puck’s in the corner we’re trying to outnumber teams. If there’s two in there, we’re three, but we’re tight. We’re not giving them an opportunity to make plays.
“I think we’re closing the play a little quicker, so instead of being passive we’re a little bit more aggressive, but we can be more aggressive because we’ve got more people there to give you some second layers and third layers. That’s what we’ve done.
“I think we’ve closed the play a little quicker. Where I think we’ve improved a lot from the start is we were doing it well, but once we got the puck we were having trouble getting our breakouts from that swarm.
“So now we’re getting used to understanding that our wingers are low, we can’t just rim the puck hard to the boards. We either make soft rims or we skate with it until a players’ out there. So both those things, we’re giving less scoring chances because we’re spending probably a little less time (in our zone), and the time we’re spending in there the A-grade (scoring chances) of the other team have really gone down.”
Wonderful. Just wonderful. Here’s hoping coaches everywhere are paying attention.
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The Vancouver Giants have signed F Aidan Barfoot, who was a sixth-round pick in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. Barfoot, from Richmond, B.C., has 12 goals and 13 assists in 33 games with the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. 
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According to the numbers, the Regina Pats have been one of the WHL’s biggest money-losing franchises over the past couple of seasons. As Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports: “According to financial details revealed this week, the Pats recorded the largest deficit in the 22-team WHL during the 2014-15 season ($1.2 million). Their net loss was just under $900,000 in 2015-16, bringing the total deficit to more than $2 million despite back-to-back winning seasons and two straight trips to the second round of the playoffs.” . . . The figures were contained in financial statements that were released as more than 400 former and present CHL players seek certification for a class-action lawsuit that asks that teams pay minimum wage and other benefits. . . . Despite losing money, the Pats’ ownership group, Queen City Sports and Entertainment Group, isn’t concerned. In fact, Anthony Marquardt, the group’s president, explains that buying the franchise was a long-term investment and that the owners new going in that there would be some expenses in the early days. . . . Harder’s story is right here.
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The lawsuit involving the CHL and its teams continues, with things now having shifted to a court in Toronto. As Rick Westhead of TSN reports right here, the focus has turned to the value of franchises, especially those that were sold between 2012 and 2016. . . . Westhead’s latest story is right here.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:

At Brandon, F Caiden Daley had the first three-point game of his WHL career in helping the Wheat Kings to a 6-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Daley, a first-round selection in the 2015 WHL bantam draft,
CAIDEN DALEY
has a goal and eight assists in 53 games this season. . . . F Nolan Patrick, F Tyler Coulter and F Reid Duke also had three points each for Brandon. . . . Patrick’s 18th goal got Brandon started at 19:47 of the first period. Patrick, who also had two assists, now has 42 points in 27 games. . . . Patrick’s first assist was the 200th point of his career. It came in his 157th game. . . . Brandon went ahead 2-0 when F Ty Lewis got his 29th goal, at 1:41 of the second period. . . . F Jake Kryski’s 18th goal, on a PP, got Calgary on the scoreboard at 5:01. . . . The Wheat Kings got the game’s last four goals, from F Reid Duke (35), F Tyler Coulter, who scored twice to give him 29, and F Stelio Matheos (24). Two of those came via the PP. . . . Duke and D James Shearer each had two assists, with Mattheos, Lewis and Coulter each getting one. . . . Brandon G Logan Thompson stopped 36 shots, while Calgary’s Kyle Dumba blocked 27. . . . G Cody Porter was back on Calgary’s bench after not having played since Jan. 1. . . . The Hitmen also had F Lucas Cullen back for the first time since Dec. 10. . . . Brandon was 2-3 on the PP; Calgary was 1-4. . . . The Wheat Kings (29-26-10) had lost their previous six games (0-4-2). They hold down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . The Hitmen (24-30-10) have lost three straight. They are tied with Saskatoon for the conference’s second wild-card spot. Each has eight games remaining. . . . The Wheat Kings are celebrating their 50th anniversary and as part of the celebrations are naming the top 50 players. Last night, they introduced a fourth line of Jordin Tootoo, Matt Calvert and Mark Stone. . . . Announced attendance: 4,008.
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At Everett, F Nolan Foote scored the only goal of a six-round shootout as the Kelowna Rockets beat the
NOLAN FOOTE
Silvertips, 3-2. . . . F Reid Gardiner scored twice for Kelowna, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead at 1:22 of the first period and putting them ahead 2-1 at 19:11 of the second. . . . Everett D Jake Christiansen (6) tied the game 1-1 at 7:50 of the second. . . . F Patrick Bajkov’s 26th goal, at 11:40 of the third period, pulled Everett into a 2-2 draw. . . . D Kevin Davis had two assists for Everett, with Bajkov and Christiansen adding one each. . . . G Michael Herringer stopped 34 shots for the Rockets through OT, then was perfect in the shootout. . . . Everett got 23 saves from G Carter Hart. . . . Kelowna was 0-3 on the PP; Everett was 0-4. . . . F Tomas Soustal was among Kelowna’s scratches. . . . Mitch Love, Everett’s veteran assistant coach, had a $500 hole in his wallet. That’s how much he was fined by the WHL after getting tossed from a Wednesday game against the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Rockets (39-21-5) have won three in a row. They have moved into second place in the B.C. Division, one point ahead of Kamloops. . . . The Silvertips (38-14-11) have lost three straight (0-2-1). They slipped to second in the U.S. Division, one point behind Seattle. Everett holds two games in hand. . . . Announced attendance: 4,811.
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At Portland, F Ryan Hughes scored at 1:44 of OT to give the Winterhawks a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Hughes won it with his 26th goal of the season. . . . This was Game 2 of a
RYAN HUGHES
tripleheader. The Winterhawks had beaten the Giants, 5-1, in Langley, B.C., on Wednesday night. They’ll play again in Portland tonight. . . . Last night, the Giants forced OT with two late third-period goals. . . . D Jordan Wharrie scored his fourth goal at 18:40 and F Jordan Borstmayer tied it with his sixth goal, with just 42.8 seconds showing on the clock. . . . F Keegan Iverson (21) had given Portland a 1-0 lead 47 seconds into the second period. . . . The Giants took a 2-1 lead on goals from F Ty Ronning (24) at 7:41, and F Jack Flaman (14), at 8:32. . . . The Winterhawks scored the next three goals, with F Skyler McKenzie getting No. 37, on a PP, at 10:50; F Brad Ginnell (6) scoring at 15:33; and F Matt Revel getting his ninth goal, and second in three games with Portland, at 16:37 of the third period. . . . F Cody Glass had two assists for the winners, with Iverson and McKenzie getting one each. . . . Flaman and Ronning had an assist each for the Giants. . . . G Cole Kehler stopped 27 shots for Portland, 10 fewer than Vancouver’s Ryan Kubic. . . . Portland was 1-3 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-3. . . . The Giants had F Tyler Ho, a third-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft, and D Bowen Byram, the third-overall selection in the 2016 draft, in their lineup. . . . Portland (34-26-4) has won two in a row. They are in possession of the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . The Giants (19-40-6) have lost five straight (0-4-1). . . . Announced attendance: 5,469.
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At Prince Albert, F Matt Alfaro scored twice and added an assist to help the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 5-
MATT ALFARO
2 victory over the Raiders. . . . The Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead on first-period PP goals from Alfaro, at 8:44, and F Zak Zborosky, at 12:31. . . . F Simon Stransky got the Raiders close with his 18th goal at 7:58 of the second period. . . . The Hurricane regained their two-goal lead when F Egor Babenko (21) scored at 16:14. . . . Prince Albert D Max Martin (7) narrowed the lead at 17:30. . . . Lethbridge put it away on third-period goals from F Tyler Wong, who leads the WHL with 48 goals, at 7:30, and Alfaro, his 25th, on a PP, at 13:47. . . . The Hurricanes got two assists from each of Wong, D Brennan Menell and F Giorgio Estephan. . . . G Ryan Gilchrist stopped 38 shots for Lethbridge, while the Raiders got 36 stops from G Nic Sanders. . . . Lethbridge was 3-6 on the PP; Prince Albert was 0-6. . . . The Hurricanes (41-17-7) have won five in a row. They are second in the Central Division, four points behind Medicine Hat. . . . The Raiders (17-41-7) had points in their previous two games (1-0-1). . . . Announced attendance: 2,026.
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At Prince George, D Brendan Guhle returned from a 12-game absence to score one goal and draw three assists as the Cougars beat the Kamloops Blazers, 8-4. . . . Guhle, who was out with an ankle injury, had
BRENDAN GUHLE
last played on Jan. 29. He had 24 points, 11 of them goals, in 26 games with the Cougars, who acquired him from the Prince Albert Raiders in November. . . . F Kody McDonald gave the hosts a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 2:05 of the first period. . . . Kamloops tied it on F Luc Smith’s 12th goal, at 7:30. . . . McDonald, who has 15 goals, put his guys back out front at 10:02. . . . The Cougars then took control with four second-period goals in a span of 10:06. . . . F Colby McAuley (23) scored at 1:50, with F Nikita Popugaev (27) scoring at 4:05, Guhle gett his 13th goal at 9:33, and F Radovan Bondra putting in No. 31, at 11:56. . . . The Blazers got to within 6-3 on goals from F Travis Walton (5), at 15:10, and F Quinn Benjafield (13), on a PP, at 17:52. . . . The Cougars put it away on a pair of goals from F Jared Bethune, at 19:31 of the second and 3:24 of the third. . . . F Collin Shirley finished the scoring with No. 26, shorthanded, at 14:26. . . . The Cougars got two assists from each of D Sam Ruopp, F Josh Curtis and F Jesse Gabrielle, with Bethune, Bondra, McDonald and McAuley adding one apiece. . . . F Lane Bauer had two assists for Kamloops, and Shirley had one. . . . G Ty Edmonds earned the victory with 27 saves. . . . Kamloops starter Connor Ingram stopped 27 of 32 shots in 31:07, with Dylan Ferguson coming on in relief to allow three goals on 18 shots in 28:53. . . . Prince George was 1-2 on the PP; Kamloops was 1-4. . . . It was the second time in a week that Kamloops allowed eight goals — they were beaten 8-2 by the visiting Kelowna Rockets — after not having done so since Jan. 22, 2016. In that one, the Blazers lost 9-4 in Prince George. . . . The Cougars continue to play without F Brad Morrison (undisclosed injury). . . . Kamloops lost F Jermaine Loewen to a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 11:24 of the third period. . . . Prince George (41-20-5) now leads the B.C. Division by four points over Kelowna. . . . Kamloops (38-22-6) is third, one point behind Kelowna. . . . The two teams are scheduled to meet again tonight in Prince George. . . . The Cougars went into Friday's game having gone 0-7-2 in their previous nine games against teams in possession of playoff spots. They hadn’t beaten a team with a winning record since Jan. 18 when they scored a 6-5 shootout victory over the visiting Portland Winterhawks. . . . Announced attendance: 4,273.
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At Regina, D Jordan Henderson had a goal and two assists to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 6-4 victory over the Pats. . . . The Tigers came all the way back from a 3-0 deficit in a battle of the WHL’s top
JORDAN HENDERSON
two teams — at least according to the overall standings. . . . Regina led 3-0 early in the second period on goals from F Austin Wagner (28), at 4:48 of the first period, F Nick Henry (32), at 1:37 of the second period, and D Josh Mahura (15), at 2:32. . . . Henderson’s sixth goal, at 11:43, cut into the lead and F Mark Rassell’s 33rd goal got the visitors to within one at 17:10. . . . F Sam Steel’s 45th goal, shorthanded, at 18:46 seemed to put the Pats back in control. . . . However, the Tigers stormed back with four third-period goals. . . . D Clayton Kirichenko got No. 11 at 1:58 and F Chad Butcher (24) tied it at 13:49. . . . F Steve Owre broke the tie with his 24th goal, at 15:50, and F Zach Fischer got the empty-netter at 19:19. He’s got 30 goals. . . . Henderson has 18 points, five of them goals, in 19 games with the Tigers, who acquired him from the Saskatoon Blades. He had started the season with the Spokane Chiefs. Prior to joining the Tigers, Henderson had two goals and 15 assists in 132 games. . . . Owre, Butcher, Rassell and Fischer each had an assist. . . . The Pats got two assists from F Adam Brooks, with Steel adding one. . . . G Michael Bullion, in his third straight start for the Tigers, made 33 saves. . . . G Tyler Brown stopped 34 shots for Regina. . . . Medicine Hat was 0-3 on the PP; Regina was 0-4. . . . The Tigers (46-18-1) have won four in a row to close within three points of the Pats, who lead the overall standings. . . . Regina (44-11-8) has lost three in a row (0-2-1) for the first time this season. . . . Announced attendance: 5,759.
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LOGAN FLODELL
At Saskatoon, G Logan Flodell blocked 20 shots to lead the Blades to a 4-0 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Flodell, who turned 20 on Feb. 10, has three shutouts this season and six in his career. . . . F Jesse Shynkaruk gave the Blades a 1-0 lead with his 28th goal just 54 seconds into the game. . . . Saskatoon went ahead 2-0 on a PP goal by F Mason McCarty, his 18th, at 17:41. . . . F Kirby Dach added insurance with his fourth goal, at 4:29 of the second period, and F Markson Bechtold put it away with his eighth goal just 15 seconds later. . . . F Michael Farren had three assists, with McCarty, Bechtold and Dach adding one apiece. . . . The Ice got 24 saves from G Jakob Walter. . . . The Blades (25-31-8) had lost their previous two games. They now are tied with Calgary for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . The Ice slipped to 14-39-10. . . . Announced attendance: 3,783.
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At Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds built a 3-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Seattle G Rylan Toth stopped 27 shots in recording his WHL-leading 34th victory. . . .
RYLAN TOTH
Seattle F Mathew Barzal, playing in his 200th regular-season game, scored his 10th goal for a 1-0 lead 57 seconds into the first period. Barzal also had an assist on Seattle’s third goal. . . . F Sami Moilanen scored Seattle’s other two goals, giving him 20. He counted at 11:17 of the first period and again at 13:38 of the second. . . . D Dylan Coghlan (13) cut into Tri-City’s deficit at 8:27 of the third period, and F Kyle Olson’s 18th goal made it a one-goal game at 11:05. . . . F Nolan Volcan had two assists for Seattle. . . . Coghlan added an assist to his goal. . . . The Americans got 20 saves from G Rylan Parenteau. . . . There was only one minor penalty called in the game. . . . Tri-City was 0-1 on the PP; Seattle’s unit never got on the ice. . . . Seattle F Mathew Wedman was back in the lineup after missing 25 games with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Thunderbirds remain without three top-end players — D Ethan Bear, D Jarret Tyszka and F Scott Eansor. . . . D Tyson Terretta, who turned 17 on Feb. 22, made his WHL debut with Seattle. From High River, Alta., he was a sixth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. He had a goal and nine assists in 34 games with the midget AAA Foothills CFR Chemical Bisons of Strathmore, Alta. . . . The Thunderbirds (41-18-6) have points in four straight (3-0-1). They now lead the U.S. Division by a point over Everett. . . . The Americans (38-24-3) had won their previous seven games. They are third in the U.S. Division, eight points behind Everett and seven in front of Portland. . . . Announced attendance: 5,066.
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At Victoria, the Royals scored the game’s last three goals to beat the Spokane Chiefs, 4-3. . . . Trailing 3-1, the Royals got two PP goals from F Dante Hannoun, the second with 0.2 seconds left in the second
DANTE HANNOUN
period. . . . Hannoun, who has 23 goals, also scored at 16:43 of the second to cut the deficit to one. . . . F Matt Phillips snapped the tie with his 44th goal, at 13:54 of the third period. . . . F Jaret Anderson-Dolan had given Spokane a 1-0 lead with his 35th goal, at 4:54 of the first period. . . . The Royals tied it on a PP as F Jack Walker got his 28th goal, at 18:27. . . . The Chiefs went up 3-1 on second-period goals from F Ondrej Najman (5), at 1:51, and F Ethan McIndoe (17), at 14:46. . . . Phillips and F Vladimir Bobylev had two assists each for the Royals, with Walker adding one. . . . G Griffen Outhouse stopped 26 shots in earning his franchise-record 33rd victory of the season. G Coleman Vollrath had set the previous record last season. . . . The Chiefs got 28 saves from G Jayden Sittler. . . . The Royals were 3-3 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-2. . . . Victoria (36-23-5) has points in six straight games (5-0-1). It holds down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot and is fourth in the B.C. Division, five points behind Kamloops. . . . The Chiefs slipped to 26-28-9. They have nine games remaining and are 11 points out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 6,148.

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SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Seattle at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Portland, 6 p.m.
Kootenay at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Kamloops at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Swift Current at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Regina, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Spokane at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:55 PM
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Sunday, February 26, 2017

Rebels get some breathing room . . . No quit in these Broncos . . . T-Birds putting heat on 'Tips


The Dauphin Kings were eliminated from MJHL playoff contention on Sunday, something that officially clears the way for the Brandon Wheat Kings to play first-round playoff games in that city’s Credit Union Place.
The Wheat Kings are forced to hit the road because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair takes over the Keystone Centre complex in Brandon from March 27 through April 1.
The Wheat Kings, the WHL’s defending champions, hold down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. They are fourth in the Eastern Conference, seven points behind the Swift Current Broncos with 10 games remaining.
It is looking like the Wheat Kings will face the Medicine Hat Tigers, who lead the Central Division, in the first-round of the playoffs.
The Wheat Kings are expected to play Games 3 and 4 there on March 28 and 29. A sixth game, if needed, would be played in Dauphin on April 2.
The Dauphin facility has 1,763 seats and room for 752 standees.
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If you’re looking for an interesting read, try this one right here. The headline is: The RV Bandit who stole a million dollars, one wallet at a time. . . . It involves a guy who was a regular on the auto-racing circuit but didn’t watch much of the races. Instead, he . . . well, give it a read. It’s interesting, to say the least.
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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 Calgary, F Lane Zablocki scored two goals and added an assist to help the Red Deer Rebels to a 7-2
LANE ZABLOCKI
victory over the Hitmen. . . . One night earlier, playing at home, Red Deer had blown a 3-0 lead and dropped a 6-3 decision to Calgary. . . . Yesterday, the Rebels scored the game’s first four goals and went from there. . . . Zablocki, who has 25 stars, got it started with a PP goal at 17:47 of the first period. . . . D Carson Sass (5) made it 2-0 just 25 seconds later. . . . F Evan Polei’s 28th goal, at 3:12 of the second period, increased the lead and F Michael Spacek (27) made it 4-0 at 11:24. . . . The Hitmen threw a scare into Red Deer by cutting the deficit to 4-2 with late second-period goals from F Matteo Gennaro (37) at 17:45 and F Jakob Stukel (21) at 19:17. . . . But the Rebels took control back with three third-period goals, from Zablocki, on a PP, F Austin Glover (20) and F Austin Pratt (15). . . . Red Deer got three assists from F Adam Musil and two from D Brandon Schuldhaus, with Polei, Pratt and Spacek each getting one. . . . G Riley Lamb stopped 22 shots to earn the victory. . . . Calgary got 22 stops from G Trevor Martin. . . . Red Deer was 2-6 on the PP; Calgary was 0-4. . . . The Rebels (26-28-10) are third in the Central Division, their lead over fourth-place Calgary (24-28-10) now at four points. . . . Calgary is in possession of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, two points ahead of Saskatoon. . . . Announced attendance: 7,208.
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At Regina, the Swift Current Broncos, playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours, scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Pats, 5-4 in OT. . . . The Broncos lost 7-0 in Regina on Friday, then went into
RYLEY LINDGREN
Moose Jaw on Saturday and dropped a 5-2 decision. . . . The Broncos, who had lost five straight games to Regina, won this one on F Ryley Lindgren’s 19th goal, at 3:16 of OT. . . . F Austin Wagner (27) had given Regina a 1-0 lead at 2:54 of the first period. . . . The Broncos tied it on F Kole Gable’s sixth goal, at 6:30. . . . Regina went back out front when F Nick Henry got No. 31, at 7:27. . . . F Tyler Steenbergen tied it 2-2, on a PP, at 11:20. . . . The Pats took the lead again on F Dawson Leedahl’s 31st goal, at 14:15 of the second period. . . . F Sam Steel, who leads the WHL scoring race, gave the Pats a two-goal lead, on a PP, with his 44th goal at 16:08. . . . The Broncos’ comeback started when F Aleksi Heponiemi (24) struck at 1:11 of the third period. . . . Steenbergen tied it, on a PP and with an extra attacker on the ice, with 12.6 seconds left in the third. . . . Swift Current D Max Lajoie drew the primary assist on each of the last two goals. . . . Lindgren and Heponiemi each had one assist. . . . Henry, F Adam Brooks and D Connor Hobbs had two assists each for Regina, with Steel and Leedahl each getting one. . . . Steel now has 113 points, 10 more than Brooks. . . . Steenbergen has 45 goals and is tied for the league lead with F Tyler Wong of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Steel and F Jayden Halbgewachs of the Moose Jaw Warriors are next, at 44. . . . G Taz Burman earned the victory with 43 saves. . . . G Jordan Hollett stopped 25 shots for the Pats. . . . Swift Current was 2-4 on the PP; Regina was 1-6. . . . The Broncos lost D Sahvan Khaira to a charging major and game misconduct at 14:35 of the second period. . . . F Robbie Holmes was among Regina’s scratches. He was injured on Friday on a hit by Broncos F Lane Pederson, who completed a two-game suspension by sitting out this one. . . . The Broncos also were without F Glenn Gawdin (ill). . . . F Kjell Kjemhus made his WHL debut with the Pats. From Grande Prairie, Alta., Kjemhus, 15, was a fourth-round pick in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. He has been playing at Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna. . . . Swift Current (31-20-10) had lost its previous three games (0-2-1). The Broncos appear headed to a third-place finish in the East Division and a first-round matchup with Moose Jaw. . . . Regina (44-9-8) has points in four straight (3-0-1) and leads the overall standings by seven points over Medicine Hat. . . . Announced attendance: 6,484.
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At Saskatoon, G Zach Sawchenko blocked 29 shots to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 2-0 victory over
ZACH SAWCHENKO
the Blades. . . . Sawchenko has three shutouts this season and nine in his career. He has won 27 games this season, one shy of the 28 he posted last season. . . . F Luka Burzan’s 13th goal, at 10:32 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . F Justin Almeida’s ninth goal, at 10:10 of the third period, provided insurance. . . . The Blades got 20 saves from G Brock Hamm. . . . Each team was 0-5 on the PP. . . . Moose Jaw lost F Noah Gregor at 15:50 of the second period when he took a kneeing major and game misconduct for a hit on Saskatoon D Mark Rubinchik. . . . D Josh Thrower of the Warriors played in his 300th regular-season game. This was his 89th game with the Warriors. He also has played with the Vancouver Giants, Tri-City Americans and Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Warriors (38-17-8) have won six straight games. They are second in the East Divsion, 12 points behind Regina and 12 ahead of Swift Current. . . . The Blades (24-31-8) have lost two in a row. They are two points behind the Hitmen, who hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 3,844.
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At Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds opened up a 4-0 lead en route to a 6-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Seattle, which clinched a playoff spot with the victory, got first-period goals from F Keegan Kolesar (22), on a PP, at 7:10; F Luke Ormsby
ANTHONY BISHOP
(6), at 12:35; and D Anthony Bishop (1), at 18:04. . . . Bishop, an 18-year-old from Kelowna, scored in his 98th regular-season game, the 58th of this season. . . . The Thunderbirds went ahead 4-1 on F Ryan Gropp’s 29th goal, on a PP, at 4:56 of the second period. . . . F Connor Dewar’s 11th goal, shorthanded, got Everett on the scoreboard at 10:39. . . . F Mathew Barzal, who also had three assists, scored No. 9, on a PP, at 12:14. . . . Seattle’s Elijah Brown added his third goal at 15:13 of the third period. . . . Barzal has 71 points, including 62 assists, in 37 games. He has points in 18 of his past 20 games, recording 52 points over that stretch. He has put up back-to-back four-pointers. . . . Seattle got two assists from D Ethan Bear, who left in the second period and was seated in the press box by game’s end. Later, Andy Eide of 710 ESPN Seattle tweeted that he asked Thunderbird head coach Steve Konowalchuk “what he could tell us about Bear’s situation.” The response: “Nothing.” . . . Seattle next is scheduled to play Wednesday in Kamloops. . . . Bear ran his point streak to 12 games, while Kolesar now is riding an 11-game streak. . . . The Thunderbirds got 20 saves from G Rylan Toth, who now leads the WHL with 33 victories. . . . Everett starter Carter Hart was beaten three times on 12 shots in the first period. Mario Petit played the last two periods, stopping 12 of 15 shots. . . . Seattle was 3-5 on the PP; Everett was 0-4. . . . Seattle (40-18-5) has won 14 straight home games and is second in the U.S. Division, one point behind Everett (38-13-10), which had a seven-game winning streak snapped. . . . Everett also leads the Western Conference standings, one point ahead of Prince George and Seattle. . . . Announced attendance: 5,157.
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At Spokane, F Reid Gardiner and D Devante Stephens had four-point nights as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Chiefs, 9-5. . . . The Rockets, who scored nine times on 22 shots, were playing their third game
REID GARDINER
in fewer than 48 hours, while the Chiefs had Saturday off. . . . Kelowna scored five times in the first period and opened up a 7-0 lead before the second period was half over. . . . Gardiner scored twice, giving him 11 goals, and added two assists, while Stephens picked up his 11th goal and added three helpers. . . . The Rockets also got two goals from each of F Rod Southam, who has 16, and F Carsen Twarynski, who has 15. Also scoring for Kelowna were F Dillon Dube (12) and F Nick Merkley (22). . . . Merkley, Dube and F Nolan Foote had two assists each. . . . Spokane scored five of the game’s last seven goals, getting them from F Keanu Yamamoto (23), F Hudson Elynuik (22), F Alex Mowbray (3), D Ty Smith (4) and F Riley Woods (10). F Jaret Anderson-Dolan had two assists, with Yamamoto and Woods each getting one. . . . The Rockets got 21 saves from G Bordan Salmond. . . . Spokane starter Jayden Sittler allowed four goals on six shots in 12:00, with Donovan Buskey coming on for his WHL debut at that point. Buskey, a 17-year-old from North Vancouver, gave up three goals on six shots in 18:54. Sittler re-entered and finished up, stopping eight of 10 shots in 29:06. . . . Buskey was a third-round pick by Spokane in the 2015 bantam draft. He has been with the major midget Vancouver Northwest Giants. . . . Spokane was 3-6 on the PP; Kelowna was 2-5. . . . The Rockets (37-21-5) are third in the B.C. Division, one point behind Kamloops with a game in hand. . . . Spokane (25-27-9) has lost three in a row and is nine points out of a playoff spot with 11 games remaining. . . . Announced attendance: 4,927.
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At Victoria, the Royals completed a tripleheader sweep of the Vancouver Giants with a 3-2 victory. . . .
DYLAN MYSKIW
The Royals had won 6-4 in Langley, B.C., on Friday and 3-1 at home on Saturday. . . . On Sunday, the visitors took a 1-0 lead at 3:15 of the first period when F Johnny Wesley scored his 10th goal. . . . The Royals took control by scoring the next three goals. . . . F Jared Dmytriw, who had scored twice on Saturday, got No. 13 at 10:36 of the second period. . . . F Dante Hannoun (21) gave the Royals the lead with a PP goal, at 11:15. . . . Victoria F Vladimir Bobylev picked up his eighth goal, on a PP, 49 seconds into the third period. . . . The Giants got close when F Bartek Bison (6) scored at 14:38. . . . The Royals got two assists from F Jack Walker. . . . G Dylan Myskiw turned aside 24 shots to earn the victory. . . . Vancouver G Ryan Kubic blocked 35 shots. . . . Victoria was 2-8 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-5. . . . The Royals (35-23-5) have points in five straight (4-0-1). They hold down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot, five points ahead of Portland. Victoria also is fourth in the B.C. Division, six points behind Kelowna. . . . The Giants (19-39-5) have lost three in a row. . . . Next up for Vancouver: Another tripleheader, this time against the Portland Winterhawks. It starts Wednesday in Langley. . . . Announced attendance: 4,007.
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MONDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Lethbridge at Regina, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:19 PM
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Saturday, January 28, 2017

Player, family need our help ... Records for Harkins, Sandhu, Wotherspoon, Outhouse ... 'Hawks stun Rockets


F Blair Jones (Red Deer, Moose Jaw, 2002-06) has been released by the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany, DEL). He had seven goals and 12 assists in 30 games.
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 Brevin Gervais, a fourth-round selection by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2015 bantam draft, underwent
BREVIN GERVAIS
emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops on Friday.
Gervais, a defenceman who also is a terrific baseball player, turned 17 on Jan. 15. From Prince George, he was playing with the junior B 100 Mile House Wranglers of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. The 6-foot-2, 17-pounder had two goals and eight assists in 36 games.
According to a Facebook posting that included a link to a gofundme site, Gervais underwent a nine-hour operation. The posting indicated that he “has shown great signs since then but still faces a long road to recovery.”
His family indicated that he “has opened eyes for a longer period of time and responded on both sides of body moving both legs and both hands.”
If you would like to help out the family cover travel expenses, the gofundme site is right here.
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D Cale Fleury of the Kootenay Ice was named Saturday as an injury replacement for the Top Prospects Game that is scheduled for Monday in Quebec City. From Calgary, Fleury is in his third season with the Ice. He has eight goals and 22 assists in 49 games. . . . Fleury replaces D Jarret Tyszka of the Seattle Thunderbirds, who was injured in a game on Tuesday and hasn’t played since then.
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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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The WHL didn’t schedule any games for Wednesday and Thursday of last week, but is playing right through the Top Prospects Game that is scheduled for Monday in Quebec City.
So if one of your favourite players isn’t in the lineup for the next day or three, it may have nothing to do with an injury.
The WHLers who are scheduled to play in the TPG: D Cale Fleury, Kootenay Ice; D Cal Foote, Kelowna Rockets; F Cody Glass, Portland Winterhawks; D Henri Jokiharju, Portland; F Jake Leschyshyn, Regina Pats; F Kole Lind, Kelowna; F Stelio Mattheos, Brandon Wheat Kings; D Artyom Minulin, Swift Current Broncos; F Nolan Patrick, Brandon; F Nikita Popugaev, Prince George Cougars; F Michael Rasmussen, Tri-City Americans; G Ian Scott, Prince Albert Raiders; G Stuart Skinner, Lethbridge Hurricanes; D Juuso Valimaki, Tri-City; and F Kailer Yamamoto, Spokane Chiefs.
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I stopped being a typical fan a long time ago. That’s what more than 40 years in sports journalism does to you. I can sit at home and watch a game and talk to the TV screen. But I can’t go to a game and watch live with anything but a critical eye. . . . In a piece right here at seattlepi.com, Jim Moore explains all of that and more.
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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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SATURDAY’S GAMES:


At Edmonton, F Jansen Harkins wrote his name in the Prince George Cougars’ record book during an 11-3 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Harkins drew three assists, the first of which allowed him to become
JANSEN HARKINS
Prince George’s all-time assists leader with No. 153. The previous record had been held by F Troy Bourke (2009-14). . . . F  Radovan Bondra gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 1:16 of the first period. . . . The Oil Kings tied it on D Will Warm’s eighth goal at 2:28. . . . The Cougars went back out front at 6:15 when F Jesse Gabrielle (23) scored, on a PP, at 6:15. . . . Edmonton tied it again, this time on a goal from F Tyler Robertson (12) at 14:14. . . . The Cougars then scored the next seven goals, including three more in the first period. . . . Bondra added another goal, giving him 25, while F Colby McAuley also scored twice. He’s got 18. D Tate Olson (6), F Brad Morrison (20), F Brogan O’Brien (9), F Kody McDonald (11) and D Josh Anderson (1) also scored. . . . The Cougars got two assists from each of D Sam Ruopp, McAuley, O’Brien, McDonald and F Jared Bethune. . . . Morrison picked up one assist, the 100th of his career. . . . F Graham Millar had two assists for Edmonton. . . . G Nick McBride blocked 19 shots in earning the victory. . . . The Oil Kings started G Patrick Dea, who was beaten eight times on 29 shots in two periods. Josh Dechaine gave up three goals on 15 shots in one period. . . . The Cougars went 4-4 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 1-3. . . . According to Corey Graham, the radio voice of the Oil Kings, it was the third time in franchise history that they have allowed 11 goals in one game. . . . The Cougars (35-14-3) are tied with Regina atop the overall standings, but the Pats have six games in hand. . . . The Oil Kings (18-27-4) have lost 10 in a row and haven’t won since the Jan. 10 trade deadline. They are six points out of a wld-card spot. . . . These same teams will meet again this afternoon in Edmonton. That may have had something to do with the teams combining for 106 penalty minutes, 65 to the Oil Kings. . . . Announced attendance: 9,321.
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At Kelowna, F Joachim Blichfeld scored at 19:56 of the third period to give the Portland Winterhawks a 5-4 victory over the Rockets. . . . Blichfeld, a freshman from Frederikshavn, Denmark, also had two assists.
JOACHIM BLICHFELD
The 18-year-old has 38 points, 16 of them goals, in 40 games. . . . The Rockets held a 4-1 lead early in the second period before Portland roared back. . . . F Nick Merkley (12) gave Kelowna a 1-0 lead at 2:53 of the first period, only to have F Colton Veloso tie it with his 12th goal, on a PP, at 3:58. . . . The Rockets got the next three goals, with D Gordie Ballhorn (2) scoring at 13:45 and F Kyle Topping (10) counting at 14:34. F Reid Gardiner got his third goal at 4:29 of the second period. . . . Merkley assisted on the last two of those goals. . . . F Skyler McKenzie started the comeback with his 31st goal, on a PP, at 8:34 of the second. . . . F Ryan Hughes (22) cut the deficit to one at 9:25 of the third period and F Jake Gricius (4) tied it at 12:51 of the third period. . . . McKenzie also had two assists, including one on the game-winner. The second one was his 100th career point. . . . McKenzie, who turned 19 on Jan. 20, has 59 points in 49 games. He went into this season with 41 points, including 12 goals, in 138 games. . . . G Shane Farkas, who turned 18 on Jan. 12, stopped 31 shots. The Penticton, B.C., native is 2-2-0. . . . The Rockets got 31 saves from G Michael Herringer. . . . Portland was 2-6 on the PP; Kelowna was 1-5. . . . The Winterhawks (25-21-3) have won three in a row. They hold down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, five points ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Rockets (27-19-4) have lost two straight and have fallen to fourth in the B.C. Division, two points behind the Victoria Royals. Kelowna does hold down the conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 5,318.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Jakob Stukel and D Jake Bean enjoyed four-point nights as the Calgary Hitmen
JAKOB STUKEL
dumped the Kootenay Ice, 8-3. . . . Stukel scored once, his 16th, and added three assists, while Bean recorded four assists. . . . The Hitmen actually fell behind 2-1 in the first period before opening the second period with four straight goals. . . . Calgary took a 1-0 lead when F Matteo Gennaro scored, on a PP, at 1:01. . . . F Vince Loschiavo and F Brett Davis (12) scored PP goals, at 9:20 and 11:18, to give the Ice that 2-1 edge. . . . Stukel tied it with another PP goal, at 1:19 of the second period and F Luke Coleman (10) gave Calgary the lead at 3:41. . . . Goals from F Andrew Fyten (5) at 4:23 and F Tyler Mrkonjic (5) at 10:50 put the visitors in control. . . . Loschiavo added another goal, his 18th, and also had an assist. . . . Gennaro ended up with two goals, giving him 31 this season. He has 21 goals in January. Last season, he totalled a career-high 18 goals in 42 games with the Prince Albert Raiders and 28 with Calgary. . . . F Beck Malenstyn (20) and F Mark Kastelic (9) also scored for the Hitmen. . . . Calgary got three assists from D Vladislav Yeryomenko, two from F Andrei Grishakov, and one each from Coleman and Mrkonjic. . . . F Colton Kroeker had two assists for the Ice, giving him five points in two games, while D Dallas Hines had two and Davis added one. . . . G Trevor Martin stopped 15 shots for Calgary. . . . Ice starter Jakob Walter allowed seven goals on 27 shots over 50:06, with Payton Lee stopping five of six shots over 9:54. . . . The Hitmen were 3-4 on the PP; the Ice was 3-6. . . . Calgary (18-21-9) had lost four in a row (0-1-3). It now is one point out of a wild-card spot. . . . The Ice slipped to 12-31-8. . . . Announced attendance: 1,783.
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At Medicine Hat, F Matt Bradley had a goal and two assists to help the Tigers to a 6-4 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Tigers had to overcome a 2-1 deficit in the latter part of the second p
MATT BRADLEY
eriod. . . . Medicine Hat took a 1-0 lead on F Mason Shaw’s 18th goal, at 2:13 of the first period. . . . Brandon took a 2-1 lead on goals from F Connor Gutenberg (11), on a PP, at 1:58 of the second and F Ty Lewis (23) at 13:05. . . . The Tigers tied it at 13:49 when F James Hamblin scored his 12th goal and took the lead at 19:33 on F Ryan Jevne’s goal. . . . Bradley upped the lead to 4-2 with his 21st goal, on a PP, at 3:46 of the third. . . . F Tanner Kaspick’s 16th goal, at 4:00, got Brandon to within a goal, but the Tigers put it away with goals from F Chad Butcher, his 22nd, at 16:50 and an empty-netter from Jevne, his second goal of the game and eighth of the season. . . . F Zach Russell (3) scored for Brandon at 19:08. . . . The Tigers got two assists from D Kristans Rubins. . . . The Tigers lost Hamblin and Shaw in the first period, both leaving while bleeding from facial injuries. . . . Hamblin, who was injured when he was checked and fell into the boards, returned. Shaw didn’t return after taking a skate to the face. . . . G Michael Bullion stopped 18 shots for the Tigers, while Brandon’s Logan Thompson turned aside 29. . . . The Wheat Kings were 1-3 on the PP; the Tigers were 1-4. . . . Medicine Hat (34-15-1) has won three in a row and is tied with the Everett Silvertips for third place in the overall standings. . . . The Wheat Kings (23-19-5), who play their third game in fewer than 48 hours today in Calgary, have lost two in a row. They are in the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 3,732.
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At Prince Albert, F Cavin Leth tied the game and then set up the winning goal as the Raiders beat the Moose Jar Warriors, 5-4. . . . Moose Jaw overcame a 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 lead, only to have Leth tie
CAVIN LETH
the score with his 15th goal, shorthanded, at 4:12 of the third period. . . . The Raiders won it when Leth set up F Cole Fonstand for his ninth goal, on a PP, at 13:35. . . . F Justin Almeida had given Moose Jaw a 1-0 lead at 4:12 of the first period. . . . Prince Albert responded with three straight goals. . . . F Parker Kelly (9) scored at 7:34 of the first period, with F Curtis Miske getting his 10th at 8:15. F Simon Stransky’s 14th goal, on a PP, 15 seconds into the second period gave the home said a 3-1 lead. . . . The Warriors skated to a 4-3 lead with goals from F Brayden Burke, his 16th, on a PP, at 4:03; Almeida, with his second of the game and sixth of the season, at 4:47, and F Thomas Foster (13), at 1:18 of the third period. . . . Stransky also had an assist. . . . Foster and Burke each had an assist for the Warriors. . . . The Raiders got 27 saves from G Nic Sanders. . . . Moose Jaw starter Brody Willms allowed three goals on 11 shots in 20:15. Zach Sawchenko finished up by stopping 12 of 14 shots in 38:26. . . . Prince Albert was 2-2 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 1-5. . . . The Raiders improved to 12-35-5. . . . The Warriors (30-13-7) had a four-game winning streak come to an end. They are second in the East Division. . . . Announced attendance: 2,023.
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At Red Deer, G Tyler Brown stopped 31 shots in leading the Pats to a 4-1 victory over the Rebels. . . . Brown earned his 20th victory — he is 20-4-6 — in his first appearance since Jan. 13. . . . The Pats
TYLER BROWN
scored the game’s first three goals. . . . F Filip Ahl got it started with No. 22, on a PP, at 7:40 of the first period. . . . F Adam Brooks made it 2-0 with another PP goal, this one at 19:43. . . . Regina had a 17-4 edge in first-period shots. . . . Brooks scored again, giving him 28, at 3:17 of the second period. . . . Red Deer’s goal game from F Adam Musil, his 18th, on a PP, at 5:49 of the second. . . . F Wyatt Sloboshan got Regina’s last goal, his fifth, at 3:18 of the third. That was Sloboshan’s first goal in 11 games with the Pats since being acquired from the Spokane Chiefs on Jan. 2. . . . Sloboshan also had an assist. . . . The Rebels got 34 stops from G Lasse Petersen. . . . Regina was 2-3 on the PP; Red Deer was 1-5. . . . The Rebels lost D Alexander Alexeyev with an injury to his right leg in the third period. Later, Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ general manager and head coach, told reporters that “he’s in quite a bit of pain right now. I’m not sure exactly what it is. It doesn’t look good, though.” . . . Regina (33-6-7) has won four in a row and remains tied with the Prince George Cougars atop the overall standings. . . . The Rebels (22-21-7) had won their previous two games. They are third in the Central Division, six points ahead of the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Announced attendance: 5,505.
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At Saskatoon, F Jordy Bellerive scored two goals to help the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 3-1 victory over
JORDY BELLERIVE
the Blades. . . . The Hurricanes now have points in 10 straight games (8-0-2). . . . F Zak Zborosky’s 32nd goal gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 16:21 of the second period. . . . Bellerive made it 2-0 at 17:49. . . . The Blades got to within a goal when D Jake Kustra scored his first goal at 18:14. . . . That was Kustra’s second career goal and came in his 85th game. . . . Bellerive put it away with a shorthanded goal at 12:14 of the third period. He’s got 23 goals. . . . G Ryan Gilchrist stopped 27 shots for the Hurricanes as he improved to 4-2-2 this season. With G Stuart Skinner away at the Top Prospects Game, the Hurricanes didn’t list a backup goaltender on the online game sheet. . . . The Blades got 27 saves from G Logan Flodell. . . . Lethbridge was 0-4 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-7. . . . The Hurricanes (28-15-7) are a comfortable second in the Central Division. . . . The Blades (20-24-6) have lost two straight after winning five in a row. They are in the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot but hold only a one-point lead over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Announced attendance: 4,124.
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At Kent, Wash., D Ethan Bear scored at 18:51 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie and give the Seattle Thunderbirds a 3-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Everett, the league’s least-penalized team,
ETHAN BEAR
surrendered a 2-1 lead on two PP goals in the second half of the third period. . . . The Silvertips took a 1-0 lead when F Dominic Zwerger scored his 21st goal at 16:00 of the first period. . . . Seattle F Keegan Kolesar tied it at 3:56 of the second period. . . . Everett went back out front when F Patrick Bajkov got No. 21 at 15:20. . . . That lead held until 12:54 of the third period when Kolesar got his second goal of the game, and 10th of the season, tipping in a Bear shot on a PP. . . . Bear then won it with his 16th goal of the season. . . . F Mathew Barzal had three assists, while Kolesar had one. . . . Bajkov also had an assist. . . . Seattle G Matt Berlin, in his first start since Dec. 28, stopped 21 shots. . . . The Silvertips got 27 saves from G Carter Hart. . . . Seattle was 2-3 on the PP; Everett was 0-2. . . . The Thunderbirds (28-15-4) have won four straight. They are third in the U.S. Division, three points behind the Tri-City Americans and with five games in hand. . . . The Silvertips (30-8-9) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). They are tied for third in the overall standings, four points from the top rung. . . . F Dawson Butt, a 16-year-old from Buckley, Wash., played his second game with the Everett. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Dawson is the son of Jamie Butt, who played four seasons (1992-96) with the Tacoma/Kelowna Rockets. . . . Announced attendance: 5,075.
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At Kennewick, Wash., D Dylan Coghlan and F Kyle Olson each had a goal and three assists as the Tri-City Americans skated to an 8-3 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Tri-City took control of this one with
TYLER SANDHU
three goals before the game was five minutes old. . . . Olson scored his 13th goal at 1:27 of the first period, with Coghlan getting No. 8 at 2:16 and D Parker Wotherspoon counting his eighth, while shorthanded, at 4:26. . . . F Jaret Anderson-Dolan’s 24th goal got Spokane on the scoreboard at 5:59, but the Americans got that one back when F Vladislav Lukin scored his 20th goal at 9:36. . . . F Hudson Elynuik (18) pulled the Chiefs to within two at 9:00 of the second period, but F Jordan Topping restored the three-goal margin with his 14th just three minutes later. . . . Spokane F Eli Zummack (7) made it 5-3 at 16:44. . . . The Americans put it away with three third-period goals. . . . F Tyler Sandhu got his 13th goal, and his 200th career point, at 13:25. He has split 298 regular season games between Tri-City, the Everett Silvertips and Red Deer Rebels. . . . F Morgan Geekie (27) and F Vladislav Lukin (21) added goals before the period ended. . . . Geekie also had two assists, with Topping, Lukin and Wotherspoon picking up one apiece. . . . Wotherspoon’s assist was No. 132 in his career, tying him for first in the franchise’s record book with Tyler Schmidt (2006-11). . . . Anderson-Dolan and Elynuik had an assist each for Spokane. . . . G Rylan Parenteau blocked 35 shots for the Americans. . . . G Dawson Weatherill gave up six goals on 19 shots in 42:16 for the Chiefs, with Jayden Sittler stopping two of four shots in 17:44. . . . The Americans were 0-1 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-4. . . . Tri-City (30-19-3) had lost its previous two games. It is second in the U.S. Division, six points behind the Everett Silvertips, who have five games in hand. . . . Spokane (20-22-8) has lost three in a row (0-2-1) and is five points from a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 5,015.
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At Victoria, F Dante Hannoun and F Matt Phillips had two goals each to help the Royals to a 7-1 victory
DANTE HANNOUN
over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Royals had beaten the Giants, 3-1, in Langley, B.C., on Friday night. . . . They’ll play again today, 5:05 p.m., in Victoria. . . . F Jordan Borstmayer’s fourth goal gave the Giants a 1-0 lead at 12:58 of the first period. . . . Victoria scored the next seven goals. . . . Phillips tied it with No. 36 at 17:52 and Hannoun gave the home team a 2-1 lead with his 16th at 6:03 of the second period. . . . Phillips later got No. 37. He’s second in the WHL, one behind F Jayden Halbgewachs of the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Royals also got goals from D Scott Walford (4), F Ethan Price (6) and F Carter Folk (4). . . . Victoria got two assists from each of D Chaz Reddekopp and F Regan Nagy, with Walford and Phillips adding one apiece. . . . G Griffen Outhouse stopped 25 shots to pick up his WHL-leading 28th victory, one more than Nick Schneider of the Medicine Hat Tigers. He has started a franchise record 23 straight games. He broke the previous record (21), that had been held by Lucas Gore (Chilliwack Bruins, 2010-11). . . . Vancouver G David Tendeck turned aside 26 shots. . . . Victoria was 1-4 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-3. . . . The Royals (28-19-4) have won two straight and have moved into third in the B.C. Division, three points behind the Kamloops Blazers and two ahead of the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Giants (17-29-4) have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and seven of eight since the trade deadline. . . . Announced attendance: 5,604.
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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.

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 11:37 PM
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