See you later, alligator!

This is the last post that will appear here for an indefinite period.
I have taken an indefinite leave from the Kamloops Daily News as my wife is scheduled for a kidney transplant.
Thank you for stopping by and hopefully we’ll meet here again in the not-too-distant future.
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
D David Hajek (Spokane, 1998-99) signed a contract through Dec. 1 with Dresden (Germany, DEL2). He had five goals and 15 assists in 48 games for Dresden last season.
———
The MacBeth Report has joined the Twitterverse. With this blog going black for a while, you will be able to follow The MacBeth Report on Twitter at @MacBethReport.
———
The Victoria Royals have signed F Dante Hannoun, the 11th overall selection in the 2013 WHL bantam draft. The 5-foot-6, 145-pound Hannoun, from Delta, B.C., will spend this season with the major midget Greater Vancouver Canadians. Last season, he captained the bantam AAA North Shore Winter Clukb Hawks, putting up 151 points, including 63 goals, in 63 games.
———
The Moose Jaw Warriors have acquired D Zach Hodder, 20, from the Medicine Hat Tigers for a conditional eight-round 2014 bantam draft pick. . . . Hodder, from Delta, B.C. will be joining his fifth WHL team as he also has played for the Vancouver Giants, Saskatoon Blades and Prince Albert Raiders. . . . In 125 regular-season games, he has 38 points. . . . Hodder was selected by the Giants with the 20th overall pick of the 2008 bantam draft. . . . The Tigers’ roster now includes four 20-year-olds — D Dylan Bredo, F Jacob Doty, F Boston Leiter and F Curtis Valk. . . . Hodder’s arrival gives Moose Jaw three 20-year-olds, as he joins F Sam Fioretti and F Todd Fiddler.
———
The Medicine Hat Tigers got down to two goaltenders on Friday when they released G Keelan Williams, 17. . . . Williams, from Calgary, played last season with the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes. . . . The move leaves the Tigers with sophomore Marek Langhamer, 19, who is from Czech Republic, and freshman Zac Robidoux, 17, from Morden, Man. . . . Langhamer returned Thursday from the Phoenix Coyotes’ rookie camp in Glendale, Ariz.
———
The host Everett Silvertips scored four second-period goals and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-4 on Friday night. That allowed the Silvertips to run their preseason record to 6-0. . . . Interestingly, the Silvertips, who struggled to score last season, lead the WHL with 31 goals, 27 of those in their last four games. . . . The Silvertips conclude their exhibition schedule tonight when they meet the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash.
———
“Hockey fans at the season-opener of the Tri-City Americans will have a chance to help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security improve its facial recognition capabilities,” writes Annette Cary of the Tri-City Herald. “Video will be taped by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory at the Sept. 21 game in a portion of the Toyota Center in Kennewick.” . . . Cary’s complete story is right here.
———
The Seattle Thunderbirds are down to three goaltenders after releasing Logan Flodell, 16, from their training camp roster. Flodell is from Regina and played last season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. . . . The Thunderbirds are left with Danny Mumaugh, 17, Devon Fordyce, 19, and Justin Myles, 18, as their goaltenders to this point.
———
“Minor hockey officials, please take note,” writes Stephen Hume in the Vancouver Sun. “The lawyers came for the National Football League, that $10 billion marketing behemoth that makes the National Hockey League look like a peewee division. And soon they’ll be coming for you, too. At least they will if you don’t move much more aggressively to clean up attitudes regarding head injuries in hockey.”
That complete column is right here.
———
Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail writes today of the need to get fun back into the game of hockey. As usual, MacGregor hits the nail squarely on the head. That piece is right here.
———






From Michael Scissons (@mrscizz): “I wish the best to @SportyHurly and @Johnny_ops on their future endeavours. It was my pleasure to have worked with you. #dontbestrangers”
Scissons is the director of sales for the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Davis Hurlburt (@SportyHurly) was an account executive with the Blades. . . . John Brodsky (@Johnny_ops) was the Blades’ director of business operations. He is the son of former Blades owner Jack Brodsky.

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.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) has been released from his try-out contract by Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, 2. Bundesliga). He was pointless in two games with the Ice Pirates.
———
The Vancouver Giants have dealt sophomore F Austin Vetterl, 18, to the Kootenay Ice for a pair of 17-year-old prospects — F Douglas Morris and D Kyle Krabben.
This was a deal the Ice felt it had to make as it is desperately short of forwards heading into a three-game weekend.
“With our injuries and the departure of our captain, our line up is very depleted heading in to the three games this weekend,” Ice general manager Jeff Chynoweth said in a news release. “Austin will bring much needed experience to a roster that is currently the youngest in the WHL. We are hoping for him to play significant minutes in all key situations.”
Vetterl had 17 points in 60 games as a freshman last season. This season, he had gotten into seven of Vancouver’s 14 games and had two assists.
F Drew Czerwonka, the Ice captain, announced his retirement late last week, leaving the club without one of its three 20-year-old players.
As well, the WHL injury list shows the Ice missing F Luke Philp with a lower-body injury (he had his appendix removed) and F Collin Shirley (undisclosed).
The Ice is at home to the Saskatoon Blades tonight.
Morris is with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints and has 12 points, 10 of them goals, in 15 game. Krabben, a sixth-round bantam draft pick in 2010, has two points in six games with the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers.
Tyler King, the radio voice of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons, reported via Twitter on Thursday afternoon that the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits have added G Devon Fordyce, 18, from the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Bandits, with a 17-0 record, are the top-ranked team in the Canadian Junior A Hockey League. . . . Fordyce will share time with Michael Fredrick, 18, who is 16-0-0, 2.31, .891.
———
Here’s another example of how silly the WHL’s system of reporting injuries as upper or lower body really is.
F Josh Winquist of the Everett Silvertips didn’t play the other night.
Why not?
Well, the WHL’s weekly injury report shows Winquist as being day-to-day with a lower body injury.
Winquist actually had what he thought was strep throat, the second time he had it this season.
On Thursday, the Silvertips revealed that Winquist has mononucleosis and is expected to miss at least three weeks.
Not sure if mononucleosis is an upper- or lower-body injury.
Meanwhile, the Silvertips have added F Brandon Bruce, a 19-year-old from Cranbrook who had been with the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials. He had five points in 15 games with Merritt. Bruce has WHL experience with the 2010-11 Swift Current Broncos for whom he had one assist in 34 games.
———
THURSDAY’S GAMES:
In Medicine Hat, F Elgin Pearce broke a 1-1 tie at 4:44 of the second period and the Tigers went on to a 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Tigers have won five in a row. . . . Medicine Hat is 9-8-1 as 16 of the WHL’s 22 teams are playing at least .500 hockey. Thanks to the loser point, of course. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk scored twice for Medicine Hat, giving him 11 on the season. . . . Former Tigers F Kale Kessy, who was traded to Vancouver last month, scored the Giants’ goal. . . . Cam Lanigan, the WHL’s goaltender of the month, stopped 37 shots for the Tigers. . . . Vancouver starter Liam Liston left with an injury after Pearce’s goal. Tyler Fuhr came on in relief. . . . Payton Lee, 16, who played a couple of games last week with the Giants before returning to the junior B Richmnd Sockeyes, was scheduled to join Vancouver in today even before Liston’s injury. The Giants (4-11-0) play Saturday in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice (4-9-0) and then travel to Kennewick, Wash., for a Sunday date with the Tri-City Americans (9-6-2). . . .

G Jordon Cooke stopped 19 shots to lead the host Kelowna Rockets to a 3-0 victory over Kamloops, ending the Blazers’ franchise-record winning streak at 14 games. . . . The Blazers (16-1-1) are the last of the CHL’s 60 teams to lose in regulation time. . . . Kamloops F Colin Smith had his 17-game point streak end. . . . F Cody Fowlie, 20, scored twice for Kelowna, his first goals in five games with the Rockets since joining them last month. . . . F Tyrell Goulbourne scored the game’s first goal, his first snipe in 29 games. . . . Cooke has a WHL-leading three shutouts.
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Marek Tvrdon, Vancouver
———
TWEET OF THE DAY:
Former Regina Pats D Brandon Davidson (@bdavy3): “Thanks to all my family, friends, fans and everyone for all the love and support. It goes a long way. I appreciate everyone who has reached out and given me t he support. I wll be back and I will battle through this.”
Earlier in the day, the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons revealed that Davidson is being treated for testicular cancer.


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.

Goaltender Cole Cheveldave of the Kamloops Blazers gets in front of a shot
off the stick of Jari Erricson of the Prince George Cougars on Friday night.
(Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Three-goal deficit? Who ya gonna call?
Try the Kamloops Blazers.
For the second time in a week, the Blazers erased a three-goal third-period deficit and won a WHL exhibition game.
On Sept. 7, they trailed the host Vancouver Giants 4-1 in the third period and came back to win 5-4 in extra time.
Then, on Friday night, they were down 3-0 in the third period, only to come back and drop the Prince George Cougars 4-3 in a shootout at Interior Savings Centre.
The victory allowed the Blazers to finish the exhibition season at 5-0. But, as centre Colin Smith pointed out, the reigning B.C. Division champions don’t want to be facing three-goal deficits every game.
“We’re well aware of our starts and we’ve got a week to go and now it’s for real,” said Smith, who scored the Blazers’ first goal and then notched the only goal of the shootout. “Preseason game or not, we have to be better than that.
“At the same time, I thought we did a great job of standing up and taking a stand for ourselves in the third period. I think that reassured us what we have to do to be successful, getting it low and working their (defence) . . . now it’s for real and we have to play to our strengths.”
Head coach Guy Charron pointed out that his Blazers “were not in sync” for 40 minutes.
“We couldn’t make good short passes,” Charron said. “We just weren’t playing the game that we need to play to be successful. When we did in the third period, we were able to have the success that we should have.”
At the same time, though, Charron was quick to credit the Cougars, a team that finished last in the B.C. Division last season but one that always seems to play the Blazers tough.
“This is a team for as long as I’ve been here, it’s not an easy game,” Charron said of head coach Dean Clark’s club. “Dean has them playing hard. He expects effort from his team and they have a lot of young guys who got experience last season.”
That effort had the Cougars leading 3-0 after 40 minutes — Chase Witala, Daulton Siwak and Troy Bourke had the goals — and with a 22-14 edge in shots.
Prince George started the third period on the power play and perhaps the game began to change 30 seconds in when Kamloops goaltender Cole Cheveldave got across his crease in time to stone Siwak with a right pad.
“He definitely kept us in it,” Smith said of Cheveldave’s 33-save performance and perfect shootout. “If it wasn’t for him it probably would have been out of our reach.”
The Blazers began to play their game deep in the Cougars’ zone shortly afterwards and the comeback began at 6:23 when Smith put a puck through goaltender Devon Fordyce’s legs.
At 9:55, Dylan Willick scored his fourth goal in as many games, this time the beneficiary of a great move by defenceman Marek Hrbas who presented him with a power-play tap-in.
Then, at 18:39, right-winger J.C. Lipon scored his fifth goal of the exhibition season, on another power play, to force overtime.
The Blazers were presented with a power play in the extra time but weren’t able to beat Fordyce, who was stellar in making 29 saves,
“We played hard,” said Clark, whose side finished 3-2 in the exhibition season. “They are probably the class of the B.C. Division and have some good offensive guys.
“We had a good power play to start the third and didn’t score.”
Yes, that power play may well have told the story for both teams.
But, as Charron said, the Blazers “need to be more consistent” with their effort. And, he added, “we have to make sure as coaches that we make everyone accountable.”
Charron felt the Blazers had a terrific practice on Thursday, which made last night’s start that much more confusing.
Maybe, just maybe, it really was due to the Cougars.
“It didn’t happen tonight,” Charron said, “because the team that we played against played hard and played well and all of a sudden things didn’t work out the way we expected.”
In the end, though, the Blazers were able to come back and, in the end, that’s what mattered.
“We have to give ourselves a little credit for coming back bcause that’s not easy,” Smith said.
JUST NOTES: The Blazers are scheduled to open their regular season on Friday against the visiting Kelowna Rockets. . . . As expected, the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned Blazers D Austin Madaisky to the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. Madaisky, 20, is under contract to the Blue Jackets. He will report to the Falcons’ training camp on Sept. 27. Madaisky will be one of at least 10 defencemen in the Falcons’ camp. . . . The Blazers are to take part in Sunday’s Terry Fox Run. They have set up a team fund-raising page at www.blazerhockey.com.

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.

Cam Lanigan, here in a game against the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday in
Everett, is one of five goaltenders still in camp with the Portland Winterhawks.
Lanigan was claimed off waivers from the — you guessed it — Kamloops
Blazers over the summer.
(Christopher Mast / Mastimages.com)

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Craig Weller (Kootenay, 2000-02) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Ingolstadt (Germany, DEL) after a successful tryout. Weller was with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) last season, getting five goals and six assists in 45 games.
———
Best wishes to Rob Morphy, a veteran hockey scout, who is in a Vancouver hospital after having received a visit from a scalpel-wielding surgeon or two. . . . Rumour has it the NHL season is on hold and won’t start until you’re up and around, big guy.
Morphy, who is from Kamloops, signed on in June to work as the director of scouting and head scout for the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
———
The biggest hockey story of Wednesday had nothing to do with the NHL’s impending lockout. No, it had everything to do with a report out of Boston on the Boston University Terriers’ hockey team.
The report came out of an internal investigation and showed, according to an Associated Press report, that “a culture of ‘sexual entitlement’ exists among some BU men’s hockey players.
The university’s president commissioned a task force after two alleged sexual assaults occurred last season.
The AP report is right here, and there’s a bit more right here from boston.com.
Anyone involved in the management of any team at a level where players are idolized in their community needs to take a good look at this report for obvious reasons.
———
The Prince George Cougars have signed F Aaron Boyd, a Winnipegger who was a second-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. He had 35 points in 30 games with the bantam AAA Winnipeg Hawks last season. Boyd played in two victories at the Edmonton Oil Kings’ tournament in St. Albert, Alta., last weekend. In other words, the Cougars are 2-0 with him in the lineup. . . . Boyd will play midget AAA this season, for either the Winnipeg Hawks or Winnipeg Thrashers.
———
Jason Peters of the Prince George Citizen reports that the Cougars are down to two goaltenders — Devon Fordyce, 18, and Brett Zarowny, 17. . . . Ty Edmonds, 16, was released from camp after the Cougars finished play in St. Albert. . . . Fordyce backed up starter Drew Owsley last season, going 2-8-1, 4.30, .875. Owsley played out his eligibility last season. . . . Zarowny played for the midget AAA Leduc Oil Kings. . . . "It will be a good battle between the two of them to see who can earn the right to start most of the games," Cougars head coach Dean Clark told Peters. . . . Fordyce was a sixth-round pick in the 2009 draft; Zarowny was taken in 2010’s third round.
———
The Victoria Royals have dealt F Justin Spagrud, 17, and a conditional second-round bantam draft pick to the Swift Current Broncos for F Evan Richardson, 18. . . . Spagrud, a third-round pick by the Tri-City Americans in the 2010 bantam draft, is from Gull Lake, Sask., which is just a stone’s throw from Swift Current. In fact, I can’t mention Gull Lake without pointing out that it is the hometown of Roger Aldag, the Hall of Fame offensive lineman who had such a great career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. . . . Last season, Spagrud had 36 points and 48 penalty minutes in 31 games with the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires. . . . A year ago, Victoria acquired Spagrud and a second-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft from Tri-City for D Mitch Topping. . . . The Broncos selected Richardson, who is from Nanaimo, with the 15th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft, but he has yet to play in the WHL. Last season, he had 55 points in 48 games with the BCHL’s Powell River Kings. He also has played for the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies and Alberni Valley Bulldogs. . . . The 5-foot-8, 170-pound Richardson has committed to Boston College. The conditional draft pick the Broncos received pays off only if Richardson plays in Victoria.
“Evan is not expected to report to our camp, but if he has a change of heart, we’d welcome him,” Cam, Hope, the Royals’ GM, told Ron Rauch of the Victoria Times Colonist. “Everybody’s plans do change and he is just the type of player that is worth having on your list.”
———
The Calgary Hitmen have dealt D Keaton Lubin, 18, to the Regina Pats for a conditional sixth round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Lubin, from Okotoks, Alta., was a third-round selection in the 2009 bantam draft. He had one goal in 36 games with the Hitmen in 2010-11 and one assist in 14 games with Calgary last season.
———
Former NHL F Jeremy Reich is into the coaching game. He has signed on as assistant GM/assistant coach with the AJHL’s Canmore Eagles. Reich, 33, is from Craik, Sask. He played in the WHL with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Swift Current Broncos (1995-2000). While in Swift Current, he was teammates with Andrew Milne, who is the Eagles’ GM/head coach. . . . “I’ve known Jeremy for the past 15 years and he will be a huge addition for the Canmore Eagles hockey club this year,” Milne said in a press release. “He’s played at the highest level possible and knows what it takes to be successful in hockey. His professional experience will be a great asset on the practice rink, in the dressing room and on the bench.” . . . Reich last played in the NHL in 2007-08 when he was in 58 games with the Boston Bruins. Last season, he played in Germany. . . . Kurtis Jones, a four-year assistant, remains with the Eagles. However, Jones also works as an electrician so hasn’t been able to give the Eagles as much as he would have liked.
———
The Portland Winterhawks are down to four 20-year-olds after having released F Jason Trott. . . . Trott, from Anmore, B.C., had five points in 36 games with Portland last season, after getting three pints in 32 games in 2010-11. . . . His departure leaves the Winterhawks with G Mac Carruth, G Cam Lanigan, D Troy Rutkowski and F Taylor Peters as the four 20-year-olds in camp. . . . Carruth, however, has signed with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and may well start the season in their organization. . . . The Winterhawks still have three other goaltenders in camp, as Carruth and Lanigan are joined by holdover Brendan Burke, 17, Brendan Jensen, 19, and Jarrod Schamerhorn, 17. . . . G Adin Hill, 16, was the sixth netminder in camp but has returned home to Calgary where he is expected to play for a midget AAA team.
———
F Jesse Mychan, 20, of the Tri-City Americans is expected to play his first game of the exhibition season on Friday against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. Mychan, who joined Tri-City in a trade from the Everett Silvertips last season, suffered a severed Achilles tendon during the first round of last spring’s playoffs and subsequently underwent surgery.
“He is back and healed up,” Tri-City head coach Jim Hiller told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “You can see the work he has put in in the meantime. He’s dropped 23 pounds and that ties into his frame of mind. He’s into it fully.”
Mychan is one of five 20-year-olds on the Americans’ roster, the others being D Drydn Dow, F Justin Feser, F Jordan Messier and D Derek Ryckman.
———
Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that the Vancouver Giants will salute Joe Sakic on Feb. 1 when the Kelowna Rockets visit Pacific Coliseum. . . . Sakic, 43, is a native of Burnaby, B.C., who won two Stanley Cups with the Colorado Avalanche. He will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on Nov. 12. . . . Sakic played two seasons (1986-88) with the Swift Current Broncos. He survived the Dec. 30, 1986 bus crash that claimed the lives of four teammates.
———
Here is the start of an Associated Press report that was filed on Wednesday:
“A study of former NFL players finds they were unusually prone to dying from degenerative brain disease, the latest indication that repeated blows to the head may cause serious trouble later on.
“The death rate from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Lou Gehrig's disease combined was about three times what one would predict from the general population, researchers reported.”
That story is right here, and it includes a comment from Dr. Robert Cantu, the co-director of the center at Boston University that studies CTE.


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.

The Prince George Cougars may have taken something of a hit earlier this week when Finnish G Joonas Korpisalo, 18, signed a two-year extension with Jokerit Helsinki (SM-Liiga). . . . The Cougars had selected him fifth overall in the CHL’s 2012 import draft. . . . “It was a shot,” Prince George GM Dallas Thompson told me Tuesday afternoon. “We took the best player.” . . . The Columbus Blue Jackets took Korpisalo with the 62nd selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft. . . . Korpisalo, 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, played last season with Jokerit Helsinki’s junior team, putting up a 2.04 GAA and .920 save percentage in 38 games. He also played for Finland in the U-18 World championship, going 3.02 and .902 in six games. Without Korpisalo on his way, it would appear that Devon Fordyce, 18, is No. 1 on the Cougars’ depth chart at goaltender. Fordyce, from Cochrane, Alta., got into 14 games last season, going 2-8-1, 4.30, .875.
Also on that depth chart at this point are Brett Zarowny, 17, of Edmonton, who was a third-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft; Tyler Santos, 18, of Edmonton, who was acquired from the Saskatoon Blades; and, Ty Edmonds, 16, of Winnipeg, who was a ninth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft.
Santos was a 10th-round pick by the Blades in 2009 and was dealt to the Cougars at the trade deadline in 2010, along with a 2010 third-rounder and a 2011 conditional third-rounder for F Marek Viedensky.
———
The Prince George Cougars have signed D Tate Olson, who was a second-round selection in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. Olson had 50 points, including 21 goals, in 36 games last season with his hometown bantam Saskatoon Stallions. . . . The Cougars now have signed there top three selections from that draft.
———
Perhaps the most mysterious thing to happen in the WHL this offseason was the disappearing act pulled by Marc Habscheid.
One minute, the career coach was the general manager and head coach of the Victoria Royals, and the next he was shuffled upstairs in the Victoria Royals’ parent company.
And you can bet there are people in the WHL who wonder what happened.
Habscheid, who has a ranch in the Swift Current area, was in that city on Saturday night for the inaugural Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame induction banquet. That was only fitting, because he was one of the folks who originally got behind the idea of such a Hall in the first place.
While there, Habscheid chatted with Broncos’ play-by-play man Shawn Mullin. That interview is right here, but in typical Habscheid fashion, he doesn’t say a whole lot.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Ryan Cuthbert has resigned from his position as an assistant coach with the Kelowna Rockets. According to Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier, Cuthbert, a former Rockets captain, resigned “for undisclosed personal reasons.” . . . Cuthbert had been on the Rockets’ coaching staff for five seasons; he also played for the Rockets for five seasons. His pro career was cut short after three seasons due to post-concussion syndrome. . . . There aren’t any plans to replace him, leaving head coach Ryan Huska with assistants Kim Dillabaugh, who works with goaltenders, Kim Gellert and Dan Lambert. . . .
Scott Allen has signed on as an assistant coach with the Peoria Rivermen, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. Allen will work alongside Peoria head coach Dave Allison. . . . Allen, 46, spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s New York Islanders. . . .
———
The CHL has to be snickering into its hand today. Why? Because another hockey season is almost upon us and College Hockey Inc., which not that long ago was a tremendous pain in the you-know-where, is twiddling its thumbs.
As Chris Dilks at WCHBlog points out right here, at least one other NCAA sport, men’s basketball, has dealt with recruiting issues, while hockey hasn’t done much of anything.


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.

Charron wanting to see better defence

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers are one game from the quarter-pole and they continue to lead the WHL’s Western Conference.
Actually, the Blazers (12-5-0) are tied with the Tri-City Americans (12-5-0) and Portland Winterhawks (11-7-2), but, hey, they’re still on the top rung.
“It’s been better, probably, than I expected,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said Sunday afternoon. “I expected our team to be better and to do good things, but to say we would have this kind of start . . . the way the league is . . . to be honest with you, I’d have to say I didn’t expect it.”
A year ago, after 17 games, the Blazers were 8-8-1 and were sixth in the 10-team conference. More telling, however, was that they had scored only 54 goals, while allowing 70.
This time around, they are among the league leaders in both categories — they have scored 68 goals (4.0 a game) and given up 44 (2.59).
Despite the dramatic improvement on defence, Charron wants to see even better results.
“For us to improve,” he said, “we have to check better. We have to be a little bit tighter team defensively, checking up ice and picking up people. That’s an area we have to work on.
“We know we can generate offence; we know what our strengths are. Now we have to work on our weaknesses.”
The Blazers are coming off a weekend split with the Cougars in Prince George, having won 5-1 on Friday and then dropped a 3-1 decision on Saturday.
“We have a tough time playing against them,” Charron said. “Things aren’t easy for us against them.”
The Cougars, now 5-12-1, have only two victories in their last 10 games. They also have scored only 37 goals in 18 games.
“We should have an advantage in a one-goal game but that wasn’t the case (Saturday) night,” Charron said.
“I give them credit. They worked hard.”
Still, as Charron pointed out, the Blazers had their chances, especially in the third period when, trailing 2-1, they were presented with a 40-second 5-on-3 power play.
“We had our chances in the third period . . . it’s not like we didn’t,” Charron said. “Their young goaltender played well.”
That would be Devon Fordyce, a 17-year-old from Cochrane, Alta., who stopped 26 shots in earning his first WHL victory.
Forward J.C. Lipon gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead early in the first period. The Cougars tied the game two minutes later, with forward Brock Hirsche getting his first goal of the season.
Then, with the Blazers having been penalized for too many men, forward Troy Bourke scored what proved to be the winner, on the power play, at 7:42 of the second period.
The home team later got an empty-netter from forward Alex Forsberg.
This was the first time since opening night that the Blazers were held to one goal. On that night, the visiting Cougars beat them, 1-0.
“The scoring chances were the same both games,” Charron said. “Both teams had under 15 and that’s low for us. You have to give credit to the opposition.”
The Blazers, who are back on the ice today after taking Sunday off, are at home Friday, 2 p.m., to the Red Deer Rebels and Saturday, 7 p.m., to the Edmonton Oil Kings.
While the Blazers are at home preparing, the Rebels will play the Rockets in Kelowna on Wednesday. The Oil Kings, meanwhile, meet the Royals in Victoria on Tuesday and the Giants in Vancouver on Wednesday.
The Rebels, who beat the defending-champion Kootenay Ice 4-3 in overtime in Cranbrook on Saturday, are 11-4-1, their .719 winning percentage No. 3 in the 22-team league.
The Oil Kings, seen by most observers to have a boatload of young talent, are 10-5-2 and just one point behind the Rebels, who are four behind the Eastern Conference-leading Ice.
JUST NOTES: The Blazers were 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Cougars were 1-for-6. . . . Prince George had D Martin Marincin back in its lineup after he completed a four-game WHL suspension. . . . The Cougars (5-12-1) next play Friday and Saturday in Everett against the Silvertips. . . . The Blazers scratched F Cole Ully (undisclosed), F Jordan DePape (shoulder), D Landon Cross and F Aspen Sterzer. . . . DePape had surgery on his left shoulder on Thursday in Winnipeg. It is expected that he will be out for at least four months. He was injured in fight with F Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers on Oct. 10. . . . The Winterhawks finished their 17-day, nine-game road trip with a 5-3-1 record after sweeping a weekend doubleheader in Kelowna.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter