THURSDAY’S GAME:
In Regina, the Pats halted a seven-game losing skid with a 3-0 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . G Matt Hewitt stopped 23 shots for his second shutout this season. . . . F Marc McCoy, acquired Wednesday from the Red Deer Rebels, scored for the Pats. . . . D Darian Henry, acquired by Regina from the Calgary Hitmen, also made his Regina debut. F Filip Vasko, who came over with McCoy from Red Deer, remains out with a knee injury. . . . F Trent Ouellette scored in the first period for Regina, giving the Pats their first goal in 206:21. The Pats were coming off back-to-back shutouts at the hands of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . A note from Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that will interest WHL scouts: “Vancouver Giants director of player development Todd Ripplinger, a former Pats’ head scout, won the 50/50 draw of $3,350.” . . .
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Brent Sutter has said he will run the Red Deer Rebels’ bench for the remainder of this season. . . . “I just think it’s the right thing to do,” Sutter told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate. “It wouldn’t be fair to the kids now to make a change. There’s a certain way I want this team to play and I don’t think it would be right to all of a sudden make another coaching change. It wouldn’t be fair to anyone involved, including the fans. The right thing to do is stay the course and get through the year, hopefully have a real good second half (of the regular season) and a good playoff run. Then I can take some time to think about the situation.” . . . Sutter, the owner and general manager of the Rebels, had named himself interim head coach when he removed Jesse Wallin as head coach on Nov. 13. . . . The Rebels are 9-1-1 under Sutter, after going 10-11-2 under Wallin.
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Please take a moment today to think about — or, if you are so inclined, to say a prayer for — the families and friends of Brennan Luffman and Shaun Seghers, two senior hockey players who were killed when their truck hit a semi near Weyburn, Sask., in ugly weather on Tuesday night.
Both men played for the Arcola-Kisbey Combines and were on their way to Arcola for a Big Six Hockey League game against the Oxbow Huskies.
Seghers played in the SJHL with the Weyburn Red Wings a few years ago, while Luffman also had pitched in the Western Major Baseball League with the Weyburn Beavers and Moose Jaw Millers.
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The Kamloops Blazers announced late Wednesday night that they have released F Charles Inglis, 20.
Shortly after the Blazers had been beaten 5-2 by the Oil Kings in Edmonton, Kamloops issued a news release. Here it is, in its entirety:
“General Manager Craig Bonner announced tonight that the Blazers have parted ways with 20-year-old forward Charles Inglis.
“Inglis came to the Blazers in a trade in late November. Inglis played 11 games with the Blazers and recorded five assists in his short time.”
The Blazers had acquired Inglis from the Red Deer Rebels for a conditional fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. Chances are the pick was conditional on his being on the Blazers’ roster on Jan. 10, the trading and roster deadline, so that pick now will remain with Kamloops.
Inglis played in last night’s loss, and got into a scrap with F Mitch Moroz.
In 290 regular-season games, split between the Saskatoon Blades, Prince George Cougars, Red Deer and Kamloops, he has 177 points, including 92 goals, and 440 penalty minutes.
The Blazers’ roster now contains two 20-year-olds — F Brendan Ranford and F Dylan Willick, who won’t play until after Christmas because of a broken ankle.
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F Filip Vasko, 19, is on the move for the second time in a couple of weeks. Vasko, from Slovakia, was dealt by the Kelowna Rockets to the Red Deer Rebels on Nov. 29. Then, on Wednesday, he was moved by the Rebels, along with F Marc McCoy, 18, and a conditional fifth-round 2015 bantam draft pick for the rights to Czech F Dominik Volek, 18.
McCoy, 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Edmonton, has six points in 28 games with the Rebels. Last season, he had 10 points in 63 games. Vasko has 11 points in 23 games split between Kelowna and Red Deer. He has missed the last couple of Red Deer games with a knee injury but may make his Regina debut this weekend.
Volek had 32 points in 70 games with the Pats last season, but chose not to return this season. Instead, he is playing with Farjestad of Sweden’s Super Elite League for whom he has five points in 13 games. He is the son of former NHLer David Volek and, according to a Red Deer news release, “is expected to join the Rebels after the Christmas break.“
Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner/general manager/interim head coach, played with David Volek with the NHL’s New York Islanders.
“We didn’t make the trade for him because I know the family, although it’s nice to have an idea of what the kid is about and to know what the family is about,” Sutter told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate. “(David) has talked to me about Dominik as a player in the past.”
According to Meachem, “Volek will be in Red Deer for a Boxing Day practice and will be in the Rebels’ lineup for a Dec. 27 meeting with the Oil Kings in Edmonton.”
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The Pats also made another deal yesterday, acquiring D Darian Henry, 18, from the Calgary Hitmen for a fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft.
Henry, 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds, was a seventh-round pick by the Everett Silvertips in the 2009 bantam draft. He had one assist in 16 games with Everett last season. The Silvertips dealt him to Calgary over the summer for F Luke Gordon, 18, who is with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals.
This season, in 30 games with Calgary, Henry had six points and 77 penalty minutes.
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F Dylan Stewart, a fifth-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, is joining the Prince Albert Raiders for a couple of days. Stewart will return to the midget AAA Edmonton-Canadian Athletic Club Raiders on Saturday. The Raiders are at home to the Kootenay Ice on Friday.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Marlin Murray, the general manager and head coach of the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings, has signed a contract that will take him through the 2015-16 season. Murray,35, is in his 10th season with the Kings.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, the Saskatoon Blades erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals and beat the Warriors, 5-2. . . . The Blades have won four in a row. . . . F Josh Nicholls scored his 24th goal of the season for Saskatoon. . . . Moose Jaw F Sam Fioretti didn’t return to the game after taking a high-sticking minor and a misconduct at 14:59 of the second period. “Sam wasn’t feeling good,” Moose Jaw head coach Mike Stothers told Katie Brickman of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald. . . .

In Red Deer, the Calgary Hitmen scored two quick third-period goals and beat the Rebels, 2-1. . . . The Hitmen were trailing 1-0 when F Brooks Macek and F Victor Rask scored at 5:46 and 6:12 respectively to put them out front. . . . The Hitmen are 12-1-1 on the road, but just 9-6-3 at home. . . . F Adam Musil, the Rebels’ first-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, made his WHL debut. He may stay and play in weekend home games against the Victoria Royals and Kelowna Rockets. . . .

In Lethbridge, the Kelowna Rockets scored twice in the first period and went on to beat the Hurricanes, 3-1. . . . The Rockets, who have won four straight, are 9-1-0 in their last 10. . . . F J.T. Barnett’s fourth goal of the season, on a PP at 14:12 of the first, stood up as the winner. . . .

In Edmonton, G Tristan Jarry made 37 saves and F Henrik Samuelsson scored twice as the Oil Kings bounced the Kamloops Blazers, 5-2. . . . The Blazers had won four in a row. . . . F Aaron Macklin got his first WHL goal for Kamloops. . . . Samuelsson has 16 goals this season. . . . Jarry got the start with Laurent Brossoit, the Oil Kings’ No. 1 goaltender, in Calgary at the national junior team’s selection camp. . . . Patrick Dea, a 15-year-old from St. Albert, Alta., backed up Jarry. Dea was the 22nd overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Former WHLer Stu Grimson (@asgrimson): “@heyojayo, ‘Tomorrows New York Times crossword 66 down: _ _ _ Grimson of the NHL. again’ i got 66 down …. and ONLY 66 down.”
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From Portland D Josh Hanson (@HansoloCup4): “It’s called an ‘acceleration ramp’ for a reason. I’m not 100% sure but I think you’re supposed to accelerate. #GasIsOnTheRight:
The Winerhawks defenceman continues his campaign to get Oregon drivers on the same page.


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The Everett Silvertips have acquired F Luke Gordon, 18, from the Calgary Hitmen for D Darian Henry, 17. . . . Gordon, from Terrace. B.C., had 33 points and 24 penalty minutes in 49 games with the BCHL's Nanaimo Clippers last season. Over the last two seasons, Gordon has plaed three games with the Hitmen. . . . Henry, from Strathmore, Alta., was a seventh-round pick by Everett in the 2009 bantam draft. He played 16 games with Everett last season, picking up an assist and 28 penalty minutes. He had three points and 62 penalty minutes in 16 games with the AJHL's Drumheller Dragons.
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Andy Schneider has left his role as an assistant coach with the Swift Current Broncos to join the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets as a scout. Schneider, 40, a former Broncos player, joined GM/head coach Mark Lamb's staff prior to last season. Schneider played four seasons (1989-93) with the Broncos, putting up 367 points in 309 games. While with the Broncos, one of his teammates was Tyler Wright, who now is the Blue Jackets’ director of amateur scouting and development coach.
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A reader of this blog mentioned having seen a story in the Moose Jaw Times-Herald about the impending demolition of the Crushed Can (aka Civic Centre).
Yes, it’s true.
According to the Times-Herald, fences will go up around the Crushed Can in the next few days. Equipment to be used in the demolition will show up next week.
And, if all goes according to plan, the 53-year-old Crushed Can will begin to tumble on July 30.
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Leesa Culp, one of the co-authors of the book Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos, the cover for which is over there on the right, did up a trailer for our work and posted it on the Internet. . . . The good folks at 49thshelf.com saw it and listed it under the headline ‘The Best Book Trailers We’ve Seen Lately.’ . . . If you haven’t seen it, click right here. Our trailer is the fifth one down. . . . And don’t forget that you are able to order the book from either of the two links shown with the cover. If you are waiting for it to appear in stores, it is scheduled to hit shelves on Nov. 10.
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Adam Proteau of The Hockey News takes a look at the Shea Weber situation right here and hits the nail squarely on the head as he explains why the likes of Ed Snider and Craig Leipold, owners of the Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota Wild, respectively, are “such monstrous hypocrites when it comes to collective bargaining negotiations.”
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Nick Deschenes is the new general manager and head coach of the junior B Grand Forks, B.C., Border Bruins, who play in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. Deschenes spent six seasons playing in Europe, before returning to North Americans. Last season, he was team captain and assistant coach with the Federal league’s Danbury Whalers. . . . Deschenes signed a two-year contract with the Border Bruins. . . . He will take over from assistant Matt Zamec, who coached the team following the the dismissal of head coach Brent Batten in November. The Border Bruins were 1-49-0-2 last season, with the 0 being ties.
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The NHL’s Minnesota Wild have signed D Mathew Dumba, the seventh overall pick in the NHL’s 2012 draft, to a three-year entry-level contract. Dumba, who turns 18 on Wednesday, played the last two seasons with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels. He had 57 points, including 20 goals, in 69 games with the Rebels last season. He led all WHL defenceman in goals. . . . Because of his age, Dumba, who is from Calgary, will have to returned to the Rebels unless he earns a spot on the Wild’s roster.
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David Michaud, who is no stranger to arenas in the B.C. Interior, has joined the Portland Winterhawks’ scouting staff. Michaud also is the general manager of the B.C. Major Midget League’s Kelowna-based Okanagan Rockets.

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