No concussions from fighting. Really? . . . Oil Kings pounce on Tigers . . . Silvertips hold off 'Canes

I haven’t watched Don Cherry on Coach’s Corner in a number of years, simply because I grew tired of the inane comments. Judging by social media, there was more inanity on Saturday night.
Apparently, Cherry was opining on the fight earlier in the week that featured Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby and Columbus Blue Jackets pest Brandon Dubinsky.
Did Cherry really say “never mind the concussions” in reference to Crosby’s past? Did Cherry really say "you don't see guys getting concussions from fighting.”?
He is quoted in various places on the Internet as having said same, so I’m assuming that is what came out of his mouth.
Well, I’m sorry, Mr. Cherry, but I have witnessed at least two WHL players get concussed in recent fights. Neither one was at all pretty and, at least from where I’m sitting, two is two too many.
Perhaps Mr. Cherry could take a few minutes and read this column right here. It’s by David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune and was written following the recent death of former NHLer Steve Montador.
“The brain of (Derek) Boogaard, who died of an accidental overdose in 2011 at 28,” Haugh writes, “was afflicted with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Montador also donated his brain to science for study and if CTE is found, how much more evidence does the NHL need to link fighting and concussions? Until then, the NHL preaching concussion prevention and allowing fights will be like the NFL promoting player safety but scheduling more Thursday night games.”
In the two recent incidents in which I witnessed WHL players getting concussed while fighting, one took a tremendous right hand directly to the face, while the other was struck four times straight in the head.
Like the NHL, the WHL can’t be seen as working to limit the number of concussions its players suffer while it allows them to punch each other in the head.
It just doesn’t compute, does it?
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SUNDAY’S GAMES

B.C. DIVISION: All five teams had the day off, allowing them to watch the Academy Awards as team-building exercises.
U.S. DIVISION: Everett won at home, stretching its lead atop the division to five points over idle Portland. Everett has 12 games remaining; Portland has 13.
EAST DIVISION: All six teams were given the day off, allowing them to watch the final game of the Canadian women’s curling championship as team-building exercises.
CENTRAL DIVISION: Edmonton beat visiting Medicine Hat and now holds the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot by seven points over idle Moose Jaw. Each team has 12 games left. . . . Medicine Hat is tied with idle Calgary for the division lead. Calgary has 13 games yet to play; Medicine Hat has 12. . . . Calgary is 9-1-0 in its last 10; Medicine Hat is 2-8-0.
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In Edmonton, the Oil Kings scored the game’s first five goals as they beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-1. . . . The Oil Kings took control with two goals in the last two minutes of the first period. . . . F Brett Pollock scored his 26th goal, on a PP, at 18:00 and F Edgars Kulda got his eighth at 19:24. . . . Kulda and D Dysin Mayo each had a goal and an assist. Mayo has 12 goals. . . . Edmonton F Davis Koch drew two assists. . . . Tigers F Matt Bradley scored his 14th goal at 18:22 of the third, on a PP. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 30 shots and earned an assist as he put on quite a display of his puck-handling skills. . . . The Tigers played their third straight game without F Trevor Cox, who leads the WHL scoring race. He was serving a three-game WHL suspension. . . . The Oil Kings improved to 27-27-6, while the Tigers slipped to 37-20-3. . . . Brian Swane of the Edmonton Sun has a game story right here. . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then withstood a furious Lethbridge comeback before beating the Hurricanes, 5-4. . . . F Graham Millar gave Everett a 4-0 lead with his 12th goal at 16:12 of the first period, on a PP. . . . Lethbridge began its comeback seven seconds later on F Jamal Watson’s 23rd goal. . . . F Giorgio Estephan made it 4-2 with his 18th goal, on a PP, at 5:22 of the second. . . . F Brayden Burke got his sixth goal, at 7:14, on another PP, and now it was 4-3. . . . Everett D Noah Juulsen relieved the pressure with his seventh goal at 6:44 of the third. . . . Juulsen had missed the previous two games with an undisclosed injury. . . . F Nikita Scherbak scored his 24th goal and added two assists for Everett, while F Patrick Bajkov got his 22nd goal and an assist, and F Kohl Bauml had two helpers. . . . Scherbak came up short on a penalty shot at 19:33 of the second period, with his side leading 4-3. . . . Watson also had an assist, while F Mike Winther, back after serving a one-game suspension, drew two assists. . . . Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner stopped 34 shots, 15 more than Everett’s Austin Lotz. . . . Everett was 2-for-5 on the PP; Lethbridge was 2-for-6. . . . The Silvertips (36-17-7) are 1-1-2 in their last four. They snapped the first three-game losing streak of their season with this victory. . . . Lethbridge (18-35-7) has lost four straight (0-3-1).
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MONDAY’S GAME

(all times local)
Regina at Saskatoon, 11:30 a.m. (Inaugural Team Up for Respect game)
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TUESDAY’S GAMES

(all times local)
Kootenay at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Portland vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Calgary vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

@WHLHurricanes OMG the Canadian military has invaded Washington State #shootpucksnotguns #settlethisontheice #WHL
— CellPhones&PlaneTix (@hawkeyblog) February 23, 2015

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Hey, all my pals in the Portland media. Yeah, I’m talking to you Paul Buker. And you Scott Sepich and Jason Vondersmith. Yes, and you Kerry Eggers, even though we’ve never met.
Don’t you folks be getting your hopes up. Heck, don’t be putting fresh batteries in the digital recorder. Forget about booking the photographers. You won't be needing a new notebook.
Because I’m told your long-awaited date with the WHL commish is going to have to wait.
A source familiar with all the goings-on has told me that “for the first time in WHL history,” at least to his knowledge, the news conference that has in past seasons preceded the WHL’s championship final “has been cancelled.”
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Just when you thought we were out of the dinosaur age, along comes Canada’s daft grandpa with an attempt at taking us back to days of Tyrannosaurus Rex. Of course, I am referring to Don Cherry and his Neanderthal-like performance last night on the people’s corpse (aka CBC). . . . Now, to be clear, I didn’t see it – I haven’t watched the man in a long, long time – but I knew something had happened just because Twitter about blew up. . . . At the end of the day, I would suggest that Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail addressed things as well as anybody, and his column is right here.
And then there was veteran sports reporter Karin Larsen (@CBCLarsen), who tweeted: “I’m embarrassed by and for Don Cherry and for CBC. Sorry.”
Larsen is right. It is sorry. Unfortunately, it isn't unexpected.
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Dr. Charles Tator is a pre-eminent expert on the brain, brain injuries and the prevention of same. He also has been a lover of the Toronto Maple Leafs for a long, long time. These days, the Leafs are the NHL’s leading practitioners of the pugilistic side of hockey. So what does he think when he’s at a game and there is a fight? “You know what? My heart races,” Dr. Tator told Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post. “I worry about that brain that is being pummelled. It really is a sad event, to me, when it happens. Because virtually every day in my practice, I see people who have had brain injuries of one sort or another, and these folks suffer terribly.” . . . Fitz-Gerald’s column is right here, and be sure to read the comments. Oh, by they way, this piece also includes statistical evidence that fighting has very little to do with the outcome of games.
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Columnist Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe has an intriguing piece right here that takes a moment-by-moment look at the conclusion of the manhunt in Boston. “What you’re about to read,” he writes, “is how it all ended. The denouement. It is a story of remarkable drama, bravery, and terror, and it is based on interviews with Watertown police and fire officials, State Police and Boston police, including Dan Linskey, the superintendent in chief of the Boston Police Department.”
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The QMJHL has a donnybrook one night, and the fines and suspensions are announced the following morning.
The QMJHL has a game decided by an overtime goal that was preceded by an uncalled offside and there is a news release in less than 24 hours.
If you missed it, the host Baie-Comeau Drakkar scored a 2-1 victory over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Friday night, with the winning goal coming off a play that was offside, but not called, at the blueline.
Here is the statement from Gilles Courteau, the QMJHL commissioner:
“It is unfortunate that the result of a game was determined by an offside goal without the possibility of a video review. It is for that reason that as a league, we are taking the initiative to bring this addition to the Canadian Hockey League. We will therefore formulate a directive, beginning next season, allowing video review for all offside goals. The QMJHL has a very competent and passionate group of officials; because of the fast-paced nature of hockey sometimes things go unnoticed on the ice. It is for this reason that a technological aid will allow officials, during this type of situation, to make adjustments, if necessary, in order to make the right decision.”
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THE COACHING GAME:
Former WHL sniper and coach Troy Mick is about to add to his job description with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. Randy and Terry Williams are in the process of selling the franchise to a group headed up by Mick, who started this season as general manager and head coach before bringing in Scott Robinson to handle the coaching. . . . Under new ownership, Mick will be president, general manager and head coach. The new group won’t renew Robinson’s contract.

Rick Swan is the new general manager and head coach of the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs. Swan, who signed a three-year extension, actually was promoted, after serving as the club’s assistant GM and assistant head coach under Chad Mercier. . . . Swan had been the head coach of the midget AAA Edmonton Knights of Columbus team before joining the Pontiacs. . . . Mercier resigned from both positions earlier this month.
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The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Calgary (3)
(Edmonton leads series, 3-2; Game 6 in Calgary today, 4 p.m. MT; all games on Shaw TV, with Dan Russell calling the play.)
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Kamloops (3)
(Portland wins series, 4-1)
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CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Portland vs. Edmonton/Calgary winner
(Series opens May 3 and 4 in Portland)
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (21):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (6):
None

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