Dave Maloney is a hockey analyst for MSG Network, which owned by the company that owns the New York Rangers. As such, he works on the broadcasts of Rangers games.
He also has a Twitter account – @DaveMaloney MSG.
Before Saturday, Maloney last tweeted on June 20.
Yesterday, he tweeted three times.
1. So you shut your league down 7 years ago and claim victory and now you have to blow it up again. Am I missing something here? #NHL
2. Long term lucrative extensions being offered and agreed to down to the wire under a system that "doesn't work" I don't get it #NHL
3. And finally. They agree not to talk. Great #NHLlockout
Oh boy, do I ever agree with Maloney!
I simply do not understand how NHL owners send Gary Bettman out to deal with the media and bitch and moan about how bad the present system is/was, and all the while they are negotiating new contracts with various players.
The gang at capgeek.com has done the numbers and it seems that 179 players have been signed to US$1.67 billion – BILLION! – worth of contracts singe July 1. (That may not include a couple of late signings from Saturday.)
This weekend, with the league headed for a lockout like a runaway train about to go over a cliff, NHL owners coughed up more than $200 million in contracts and extensions.
On Saturday, there was Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins signing for $18 million over three years, and Cam Fowler of the Anaheim Ducks getting $20 million over five years, and Tyler Ennis of the Buffalo Sabres signing for $5.625 million over two years. It just went on and on.
After the Winnipeg Jets gave Evander Kane $31.5 million over six years, former NHLer Jeremy Roenick went to Twitter: “Evander Kane is a good player but 31 mil for 6 yrs?? 214 games 63 goals 63 assts career. And we wonder the problem?? Holy crap.”
The NHL has done nothing but boast about its improved revenues over the last few years. That, of course, is due mostly to the way fans streamed back to the game after the lockout that erased the 2004-05 season, including the Stanley Cup playoffs.
This time, you wonder if the fans will come back.
After all, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice . . .
———
The Calgary Hitmen have dealt Russian F Alex Gogolev, 20, and a 2013 fourth-round bantam draft pick to the Victoria Royals for F Zane Jones, 18, and a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft.
Gogolev had 57 points, including 25 goals, in 69 games as a freshman with the Hitmen last season. As a 20-year-old import, he is what is known as a two-spotter.
Gogolev joins F Jamie Crooks and D Tyler Stahl as the Royals’ 20-year-olds. The club’s other import is Czech G Patrik Polivka, an 18-year-old freshman who to this point looks like the real deal.
Jones, a fifth-round pick by the Chilliwack Bruins in the 2009 bantam draft, had 32 points, 14 of them goals, in 68 games with the Royals last season. He is from Olds, Alta.
The Hitmen still have four 20-year-olds – F Trevor Cheek, D Spencer Humphries, F Brooks Macek and F Cody Sylvester. Their roster shows Swedish F Victor Rask, 19, and Ukrainian F Pavlo Padakin, 18, as the two imports.
———
The Everett Silvertips have traded D Tye Hand, 17, to the Regina Pats for a sixth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Hand, from Yellowknife, was a second-round pick by Everett in the 2010 bantam draft. He was on Everett’s season-opening roster a year ago, but didn’t get into a game before assigned to the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons. . . . The Silvertips also assigned D Michael Zipp, 16, to Drumheller. The Edmontonian was a fourth-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . That got Everett’s roster down to 27. . . . Moving Hand and Zipp gets the Silvertips down to eight defencemen, including Ryan Murray. Obviously, Murray’s arrival precipitated these moves because as long as he’s in town and as long as the NHL lockout goes on, he will eat up a lot of minutes.
———
JUST NOTES: F Jason Trott, 20, who lost out in the 20-year-old numbers game with the Portland Winterhawks, has joined the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. He had five points in 36 games with Portland last season. . . . The Red Deer Rebels are down to 24 players after releasing F Ryley Bennefield, 18, from his tryout. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that Blades D Duncan Siemens was a healthy scratch on Saturday as the host Blades lost 4-3 to the Regina Pats. According to Nugent-Bowman, Siemens missed a team meeting. Also missing for the Blades were F Ryan Graham (back), F Shane McColgan (knee), G Alex Moodie (hamstring), F Lukas Sutter (shoulder) and D Dalton Thrower (groin). . . . According to Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald, the Warriors released sophomore G Spencer Tremblay, who will turn 18 on Thursday, on Saturday. That leaves the Warriors with two goaltenders – Justin Paulic, who will be 17 on Oct. 7, and Daniel Wapple, 17. This is an interesting development, as Paulic, the pride of Thompson, Man., has played one regular-season and three playoff games in the WHL, while Wapple, from Saskatoon, has exactly one WHL exhibition game under his belt.

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.

Yesterday, you will recall, I mentioned that there were 32,262 fans in attendance at three hockey games on B.C.’s Lower Mainland on Friday night.
Just to recap, that was 18,890 at an NHL game in Vancouver, 7,044 at an AHL game in Abbotsford and 6,328 at a WHL playoff game in Vancouver.
An emailer has suggested that the total be added to, what with there having been 1,018 fans at a BCHL playoff game in Surrey at the same time.
So make the total 33,280.
Another emailer writes:
“The better bet for a (WHL) team to relocate would be to place a team in Langley . . . great facility and no sour aftertaste . . . too early for the Dub to go back to the ‘Wack. Just a thought . . .”
The 5,500-seat Langley Event Centre is home to the BCHL’s Langley Rivermen.
———
Justice never sleeps.
Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, has hit F Darren Kramer, the captain of the Spokane Chiefs, with a one-game suspension for shenanigans at the end of Game 5 in Vancouver on Friday night.
The Chiefs won the game, 5-1.
Kramer was given a roughing minor at 18:02 of the third period. At 20:00, he was penalized for roughing and for leaving the penalty box.
He won’t play tonight in Spokane as the teams meet in Game 6. The Chiefs hold a 3-2 lead.
Should Vancouver win, Game 7 will be played Wednesday in Vancouver.
The Tri-City Americans, who have to be hoping for a seventh game, await the winner of the series.
———
A Saturday night with nary a WHL game.
What are we to do?
Well, there was ch-ch-ching moment in the QMJHL, where Gilles Courteau, the commissioner, is certain to add to the league’s coffers after some comments made by Leo-Guy Morrissette, the owner of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.
There was a time when the Morrissette brothers ruled the QMJHL, or at least tried to, but now Leo-Guy is the only one left. It’s nice that he helps out the media at times by reverting to the old days when owners, GMs and coaches weren’t afraid to speak their minds, even if they were putting feet in mouth at the same time.
In this instance, Morrissette is alleging that some owners are spending too much money, making it impossible for others to compete.
Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports wraps up this story right here.
———
Here’s a good ready, nay, a great read for you. It’s been 50 years since Emile Griffith pummelled Benny (The Kid) Paret to death in a boxing match on live television. Dan Klores looks back right here in a story from the pages of The New York Times. It's amazing how some of the best of sports writing involves boxing or horse racing.
———
Some interesting numbers from Jeff Hollick, the radio voice of the Kootenay Ice.
On his blog (jeffhollick.blogspot.com), he points out that the Ice, the WHL’s defending champion, was 19-5-3 on Nov. 30 and was riding a six-game winning streak.
After which the roof fell in.
From that point through the end of the regular season, the Ice was 17-21-7 and never put together more than back-to-back victories.
Of course, the Ice then was swept from the playoffs by the Edmonton Oil Kings, which means Kootenay won only 17 of its final 49 games.
Hollick also points out that the Ice lost 25 games in which it led or was tied in the third period.
It’s apparent that, as things started to slide, the Ice became a very fragile team, something one might think wouldn’t happen to a team that was coming off a championship season.
But it just goes to show the difference between success and failure at this level can be a very fine line, indeed.
———
ON THE MOVE:
G Kent Simpson of the Everett Silvertips has signed an ATO with the Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. Simpson, 20, was a second-round selection by Chicago in the 2010 NHL draft. . . . F Shane McColgan of the Kelowna Rockets will be joining the Connecticut Whale, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers. He was a fifth-round selection by the Rangers in the 2011 NHL draft. . . . If was a no-brainer, but it seems that F Troy Bourke of the Prince George Cougars has been the first player selected to play for Canada at the IIHF U18 World Championship in Brno and Znojmo, Czech Republic, April 12-22. . . . Two graduating members of the Calgary Hitmen have pretty much decided to go to school, F Jimmy Bubnick to the U of Saskatchewan, which is in his hometown of Saskatoon, and D Brock Sutherland to the U of Manitoba. Sutherland is from Brandon. . . .
———
IN THE PROS:
G Calvin Pickard of the Seattle Thunderbirds came on in relief and stopped all eight shots he saw as his Lake Erie Monsters dropped a 4-0 decison to the host Texas Stars in an AHL game last night. Pickard came on with 16:59 left in the third period. D Duncan Siemens of the Saskatoon Blades also played for the Monsters. He was minus-1 with one shot on goal and a tripping minor. . . . G Damien Ketlo, who finished up with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, stopped 44 shots as the visiting Colorado Eagles beat the Las Vegas Wranglers 4-3 in an ECHL shootout. Ketlo also stymied four Las Vegas shooters in the circus.
———
And, finally, for all the hockey fans out there, right here is Jim Matheson’s Hockey World from the pages of the Edmonton Journal.


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.

Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that the Everett Silvertips are disputing the lawsuit that has been brought against them by former general manager Doug Soetaert. That story is right here.
———
Former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien is 49 years of age and already he is experiencing memory loss.
Nathan Fenno of the Washington Times has more right here.
———
Lorne Molleken will be back behind the bench of the Saskatoon Blades next season. Molleken, who is the Blades’ general manager and head coach, has told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that he will reassess his position(s) after the 2012-13 season, which means after the 2013 Memorial Cup. The Blades will be the tournament’s host team.
Molleken also told Nugent-Bowman that the roster of next season’s team will bear little resemblance to the Saskatoon roster that lost in four games to the Medicine Hat Tigers this week.
That story is right here.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
The QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles have announced that they won’t bring back assistant coach Kevin Higo, whose two-year contract is to expire on July 31. Higo, from Lethbridge, was an assistant coach with the Moose Jaw Warriors for two seasons (2008-10). . . .
Victor Gervais (Seattle, 1986-90) is the new GM/head coach of the junior B Westshore Wolves, a new club in the Vancouver Island junior league. Gervais has spent the last five seasons with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. This season, he was GM and assistant coach, with Len Barrie as majority owner and head coach. . . . The Wolves will play out of Victoria’s Bear Mountain Arena, which also is home to the Grizzlies. . . .
The U of Alberta Golden Bears have redone their organizational tree. No longer will they have a head coach and an assistant coach; instead, there will be a general manager and a head coach. Stan Marple, the interim head coach last season, will be the first GM, while the search is on for a coach. Evan Daum has that story in the Edmonton Journal right here.
———
D Morgan Rielly isn’t yet ready to return to the Moose Jaw Warriors’ lineup; in fact, it sounds as though he may not play for a couple of weeks, although he has been practising for 10 days. Rielly, who had major knee surgery on Dec. 1. He visited with his Vancouver surgeon this week and Alan Millar, the Warriors’ director of hockey operations, told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald that Rielly is “week-to-week.” Millar told Gourlie: “The appointment with the surgeon went very well. (Rielly) continues to be on pace to have a chance to play somewhat ahead of schedule. I know there was a lot of speculation and some reports that he would be in the line-up (tonight). He will not be in the line-up. He will not play at all in this series.” . . . The Warriors take a 3-1 series lead over the Regina Pats into Game 5 in Moose Jaw tonight.
Gourlie’s story, and there’s more to it, is right here.
———
Is Saskatoon, a city that would be home to an NHL franchise, a good sports town, or not? Les MacPherson, a columnist with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, tackles that question right here.
———
D Duncan Siemens of the Saskatoon Blades will finish his season with the Lake Erie Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Siemens was selected by Colorado with the 11th pick of the 2011 NHL draft. . . .
D Josh Caron of the Everett Silvertips, who signed a free-agent deal with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, is expected to join the AHL’s Houston Aeros for the remainder of the season. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that F Ryan Harrison has been invited to join the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters, and D Brennan Yadlowski may hook up with the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles.
———
Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, was busy again on Thursday.
He hit Everett F Ryan Harrison with a ‘tbd’ suspension for a charging major and game misconduct in Game 4 against the visiting Tri-City Americans on Wednesday. Assuming that Harrison, 19, is back in the fall, the start of his season almost certainly will be delayed. . . .
F Max Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice was hit with a one-game suspension for a game misconduct he took against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday. Reinhart didn’t play last night as the Oil Kings completed a sweep of the defending-champion Ice. . . .
Ice D Spencer Wand also sat out last night’s game after being suspended for a game following a pregame violation on Wednesday. . . .
Regina Pats F Dyson Stevenson won’t play tonight in Game 5 against the host Moose Jaw Warriors. He incurred a one-game suspension after taking a clipping major and game misconduct in Game 4 in Regina on Wednesday. He has a team-high three goals and is tied with F Jordan Weal for the team lead in points, with five. . . .
And, finally, Regina president Brent Parker was fined $2,500 for “inappropriate behaviour” after Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors.
Glenn Reid of CBC Regina tweeted: “GM Brent Parker fined $2500 for inappropriate conduct. I thought he was screaming at me for a second there (Wednesday) night.”
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported that Parker “punched a hole in the door of the video replay booth inside the press box” after the game and “also became involved in a heated verbal confrontation with the off-ice officials who were inside the booth.”
———
Harder had a busy time of it. He also spoke with Wayne Gretzky, whose good friend, Pat Conacher, is in his first season as the Regina Pats’ head coach. That story is right here.
———
Bill Graveland of The Canadian Press reports on a WHL player who received probation and community service after pleading guilty to charges from a high-speed car crash in which his girlfriend was killed. That story is right here.
———




THURSDAY’S WHL GAMES:
(If you want WHL facts and stats, get on Twitter and follow @WHLFacts)
In Winnipeg, the Brandon Wheat Kings got a goal at 8:26 of OT to beat the Calgary Hitmen 3-2 and win a first-round series in five games. . . . The Wheat Kings played their home games in Winnipeg because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is in Westman Place in Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings actually scored twice on the game-winning play. F Paul Ciarelli fired a shot that hit the cross-bar in the back of the net. As one of the referees waved it off, F Darian Dziurzynski, who turns 21 today, banged in the rebound. . . . Originally credited to Dziurzynski, the goal was later changed to Ciarelli. . . . The Hitmen killed off a Brandon power play just before the winning goal and, in fact, came close to winning when G Corbin Boes made a tremendous glove save off F Jimmy Bubnick. . . . It is the eighth time in the last 11 seasons that Brandon has moved into the second round. . . . Boes finished with 42 saves. . . . Ciarelli scored at 4:14 of the third period to forge a 2-2 tie. Those were his first two goals of the series. . . . Dziurzynski and Jens Meilleur each had two assists for Brandon as they figured in both Ciarelli goals. . . . The Hitmen played all five games without F Victor Rask (leg), who scored 33 goals in the regular season. . . . Attendance was 4,002. . . . You can bet this series victory meant just a little bit more to Brandon owner/general manager Kelly McCrimmon. His brother, Brad, would have been 53 on Thursday. Brad was the head coach of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, the KHL team that was wiped out in a plane crash on Sept. 7. . . . The Wheat Kings will be back in Westman Place for the second round. Brandon will face the Edmonton Oil Kings next, if the Moose Jaw Warriors eliminate the Regina Pats. The Warriors take a 3-1 lead in that series into Game 5 tonight in Moose Jaw. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Rhett Rachinski scored the game’s last two goals as the Edmonton Oil Kings beat the Kootenay Ice 3-1 and swept the defending champions from the playoffs. . . . Edmonton has won its last 15 games. . . . Rachinski broke a 1-1 tie with his first goal of the series at 14:09 of the second period and added an empty-netter at 19:23 of the third. . . . The Oil Kings, in their fifth season in the WHL, won a series for the first time. They went in having been swept from the first round in both of their appearances. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 25 shots, while Laurent Brossoit of Edmonton turned aside 14. . . . The biggest story of the two games in Cranbrook may well have been the attendance — 2,293 on Wednesday and 2,146 last night. Those are the two smallest Rec-Plex playoff crowds in franchise history. . . . The highlight for the fans may have been when Marian Dixon shot a puck from the far blue-line through a hole in a sheet of plywood and won a truck from Denham Ford. . . . A Thursday night tweet from Edmonton D Griffin Reinhart: “Best comment on the ice goes to my little bro Sam saying ‘If you touch me I'm telling mom’ when we were in a scrum.” . . .

In Kelowna, F Ty Rattie scored four times as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Rockets 5-3 to sweep that first-round series. . . . The Winterhawks will meet the Kamloops Blazers in the second round. That series will open with Games 1 and 2 in Portland’s Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum on April 6 and 7. . . . Rattie scored his club’s first three goals, giving Portland 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 leads. . . . He later added an empty-netter for his 10th goal in the four games. He also had three assists. . . . Interestingly, in the four games in this series, Rattie had one-, two-, three- and four-goal games. . . . Last spring, Rattie finished the playoffs with nine goals in 17 games. . . . He actually outscored the Rockets, 10-9, in the four games. . . . Portland F Sven Baertschi had two assists. . . . Linemates Rattie, Baertschi and Marcel Noebels, who had one helper, each was plus-4.
———
THURSDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
———
THURSDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Curtis Lazar, Edmonton.

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.

Stop the presses! Stop the presses!!
That party to honour the WHL’s Mr. 3,000? Put it on hold. At least for a few days.
The Medicine Hat News reports that Bob Ridley, the radio voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers, won’t be broadcasting his 3,000th game tonight with the Kootenay Ice in town.
That, according to The News, will be No. 2,998.
Which means that Ridley will call No. 3,000 on Saturday night when the Tigers are in Lethbridge. (No. 2,999 will come on Friday when the Tigers meet the Ice in Cranbrook.)
No matter. They are going to go ahead and salute the play-calling bus driver tonight, as well they should.
Besides, as pointed out here the other day, when you throw in playoff and Memorial Cup games, Ridley long ago went past 3,000.
———
I don’t know the process involved in nominating someone for the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. But should someone who is involved in that process happen to read this, I would suggest that Bob Ridley would be a worthy recipient.
According to the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award page on Facebook, the award is “presented by the Hockey Hall of Fame to members of the radio and television industry who make outstanding contributions to their profession and the game of ice hockey during their broadcasting career. The award winners are selected by the NHL Broadcasters' Association.”
I would suggest that Ridley more than meets that criteria.
Failing that, he should be nominated for the Bus Drivers’ Hall of Fame.
———
Peter Maher, the radio voice of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, recently called his 3,000th game. So he knows what that is all about.
But he can’t comprehend what Bob Ridley has done and continues to do.
"It's a real tribute to his stamina and his abilities to be able to travel as much as they do and broadcast all those games," Maher, who is a Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winner, told Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald.
"And driving the bus on top of all that? I can't comprehend doing what he's done.
"Pretty incredible."
Odland’s complete story is right here.
———
The Portland Winterhawks have welcomed back Dean (Scooter) Vrooman as their director of corporate sponsorships. Vrooman was the radio voice of the Winterhawks for 25 seasons (1982-2007) before leaving the organization during its dog days prior the franchise being purchased by Bill Gallacher. Since then, Vrooman had been working with First Independent Bank in Vancouver, Wash. According to a news release, “In his new role, Vrooman will work with Rich Franklin and Garrett McFall to develop strong corporate partnerships for the organization.” . . . Vrooman is expected to make the occasional appearance on radio broadcasts; after all, his son, Todd, is the club play-by-play voice and broadcast communications manager.
———
Medicine Hat Tigers G Tyler Bunz has had his impaired driving case move to Morinville, Alta., and put over to March 22. Bunz, whose NHL rights belong to the Edmonton Oilers, was to have been in court Monday in St. Albert, Alta., after being charged there in May 2011. Bunz, 21, was a fifth-round selection by the Oilers in the NHL’s 2010 draft.
———
F Jordan Messier of the Tri-City Americans has been suspended for three games under supplemental discipline. He wasn’t penalized for whatever happened during a Saturday game against the Silvertips in Everett. Sometime after the game, the Silvertips requested supplemental discipline from the WHL office. . . . Messier began his suspension by sitting out Sunday’s 4-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland.
———
The Everett Silvertips have signed D Michael Zipp to a WHL contract. Zipp, a fourth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, is in Everett working out with the team . . . A native of Edmonton, Zipp played for the midget AAA Canadian Athletic Club team. He had eight assists and 32 penalty minutes in 34 games.
———
The 2013 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game will be played at the Halifax Metro Centre, home of the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, on January 16.
———
From Elliotte Friedman’s highly popular weekly notes package, 30 Thoughts:
27. The Ontario Hockey League is going to have some kind of additional fighting penalty next season, but elimination of fisticuffs isn't going to happen. "I'm 99 per cent in favour of abolishing it, but I'm worried about 'the rat' taking over junior hockey," said one GM. Said another: "I don't hate fighting, I hate the bull (bleep) that comes with it." He's referring to staged fights, players taunting via social media and guys who can't do anything else.
28, The other thing they want to eliminate is fisticuffs after clean hits. Limiting the number of fighting majors a player can get during the season should cut down those kinds of brawls. Let's say the maximum is 10. Fight number 11 gets two games. Fight number 12 is four, and so on. You'd probably cut down on a lot of that.
29. Will the OHL do this on its own? Yes, if necessary. The WHL has little interest and the QMJHL is a tossup.
Friedman’s complete piece is right here.
———
The Brandon Wheat Kings have added D Colton Waltz, 16, to their roster. He spent the season with the AJHL's Bonnyville Pontiacs. A third-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft, Waltz had 12 points, three of them goals, in 41 games with the Pontiacs. In five playoff games, he had a goal and an assist.
———
According to the WHL’s weekly roster report, the Portland Winterhawks have added F Dominic Turgeon to their roster. The son of former NHLer Pierre Turgeon, Dominic was a third-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft and has signed a WHL contract. He is out of the Colorado Thunderbirds’ program.
———
According to that same roster report, the Brandon Wheat Kings are without veteran G Brandon Anderson. The reason he is out is shown as “personal.” No further details are available although, as I understand it, Anderson is expected back within 10 days. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun reports that the Wheat Kings, who meet the Pats in Regina tonight, had F Tyrel Seaman (concussion) back at practice on Tuesday. Seaman was hurt Nov. 25, came back for one game after Christmas and hasn’t played since then. . . . Brandon F Kevin Sundher (concussion) has played one game since Feb. 14 and didn’t practise yesterday.
———
In the BCHL, the Penticton Vees whipped the visiting Trail Smoke Eaters 10-0 on Tuesday for their 41st consecutive victory. That broke the Canadian junior record that had been shared by the Sudbury Wolves (1989-90) and the now-defunct Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (1999-2000). . . . The victory also was the Vees’ 53rd of the season and that’s a BCHL record. . . . As the hockey gods would have it, last night’s victory came on the 57th anniversary of the biggest victory in Penticton hockey history. On the afternoon of March 6, 1955, the Vees beat Russia 5-0 in Krefeld, Germany, to win the world amateur championship.
———
D Mike Hellyer (Prince Albert, 2003-07) has signed with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads. Hellyer, a 25-year-old from Brandon, has spent the last four seasons with the U of Manitoba Bisons, whose season ended last weekend. Hellyer had 18 points in 26 games with the Bisons this season. In four seasons there, he had 82 points in 110 games.
———
The Saskatoon Blades are scheduled to get their captain back tonight. D Duncan Siemens, who has missed 13 games with a concussion, should be in the lineup tonight as the Blades meet the Raiders in Prince Albert. . . . Siemens was injured on Feb. 4 on a hit from Medicine Hat Tigers F Brendan Hurley, who later drew a six-game suspension. . . . The Blades, who have lost four in a row and eight of 10, won just four of 13 games with Siemens sidelined.
———
F Taylor Peters of the Portland Winterhawks, who knows his way around a keyboard, has seen the movie Goon and he offers up a player’s view right here.
———
TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Swift Current, F Adam Rossignol broke a 3-3 tie at 15:10 of the third period as the Broncos beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-3. . . . Rossignol, 18, played the first 39 games of this season with the Ice, before being traded to the Broncos. . . . He has eight goals this season, two in 28 games with Swift Current. . . . F Christian Magnus had two goals, giving him nine, and an assist and also was plus-4 for the Broncos. Magnus’s second goal gave the Broncos a 3-2 lead at 19:38 of the second. . . .. F Joe Antilla, with his 13th, tied it for the Ice at 12:04 of the third. . . . Broncos G Jon Groenheyde, named the CHL’s goaltender of the week earlier in the day, stopped 32 shots, two more than the Ice’s Nathan Lieuwen. . . . The Ice is fifth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind Calgary and just one up on Regina. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Phil Tot snapped a 1-1 tie at 11:19 of the third period to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 decision over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo turned aside 37 shots, 22 more than Moose Jaw’s Luke Siemens. . . . Tot has 14 goals this season. . . . F Russ Maxwell gave Lethbridge a 1-0 lead at 19:28 of the second. . . . Moose Jaw F Cody Beach equalized at 4:04 of the third. . . . The result prevented Moose Jaw from clinching first place in the East Division. . . . The Warriors hold a 12-point lead over second-place Regina in the division. . . . Moose Jaw is six points behind the Eastern Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings. Each team has six games remaining. They are scheduled to meet tonight in Edmonton. . . .

In Red Deer, the Calgary Hitmen escaped with a 3-2 victory over the Rebels. . . . F Brady Brassart scored his 22nd goal at 9:53 of the second period to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. . . . F Chase Clayton stretched the lead with his 12th at 17::32 of the third. . . . D Mathew Dumba got his 19th at 19:55 of the third. . . . Calgary G Brandon Glover stopped 33 shots, seven fewer than Red Deer’s Deven Dubyk. . . . The Hitmen, who won for the 40th time this season, are fourth in the Eastern Conference and now are five points clear of Kootenay and just two behind Medicine Hat. . . . The Rebels are eight points out of the conference’s final playoff spot but have just six games left. . . . Red Deer got F Cory Millette back from injury but are still missing seven regular contributors. . . .

In Prince George, the Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Cougars, 3-1. . . . F Austin Daae got the Cougars on the board with his second goal at 3:27 of the second. . . . The Thunderbirds then got second-period goals from D Brad Deagle, his third, and F Luke Lockhart, his 13th. . . . F Connor Sanvido finished it off with his seventh at 11:01 of the third. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 21 shots. . . . G Drew Owsley of the Cougars turned aside 23 shots. . . . Prince George F Alex Forsberg reteurned after an 11-game absence with an injury. . . . Cougars D Cody Carlson will play in his 300th game as the teams meet again tonight. . . . The Thunderbirds are ninth in the Western Conference, just one point behind Everett, which holds down the last playoff spot. . . . The loss hurts the Cougars’ chances. They are 10th, five points out of a playoff spot with six games remaining.
———
TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
———
TUESDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
———
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Eastern Conference:
Moose Jaw at Edmonton: The top two teams in the Eastern Conference meet. The Oil Kings have won five in a row.
Kootenay at Medicine Hat: The Ice is fifth, one point ahead of Regina. The Tigers are third, two points ahead of Calgary.
Saskatoon at Prince Albert: The Blades, who have lost four in a row and eight of 10, are one point ahead of Brandon.
Brandon at Regina: The Wheat Kings were in Regina on Saturday when the Pats erased a 4-0 deficit with the game’s last six goals. Brandon is eighth, three points behind Regina and one in back of Saskatoon. Regina F Jordan Weal has 109 points, the most by a Pats skater since Ronald Petrovicky put up 113 in 1997-98.
Western Conference:
Portland at Kamloops: The Winterhawks lead the overall standings by one point over Edmonton and Tri-City, and three on Kamloops, which has clinched the B.C. Division title.
Tri-City at Vancouver: The Americans are coming off a 4-3 victory in Portland on Sunday. The Giants are tied with Spokane for fourth; they will meet in the first round but don’t yet know who has home-ice advantage.,
Kelowna at Spokane: The Rockets took two from Kamloops on the weekend and know they will finish sixth. The Chiefs are 3-0-1 in their last four.
Victoria at Everett: The Royals, who are starting a four-game road trip with this one, are seventh, one point ahead of the Silvertips.
Seattle at Prince George: The Thunderbirds beat the Cougars 3-1 last night. Seattle is ninth, one point behind Everett and four up on Prince George.

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.

News and notes . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Justin Mapletoft (Red Deer, 1996-2001) signed a one-year contract with the Schwenninger Wild WIngs (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). He had 16 goals and 19 assists in 52 games with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL) last season. . . .
D Stepan Novotny (Kelowna, Swift Current, 2008-11) signed a two-year contract with Lev Poprad (Slovakia, KHL) after a successful tryout. He had 22 goals and 18 assists in 58 games with the Broncos last season.
———
JUST NOTES: Dan O’Connor is the new radio voice of the Prince George Cougars. A 26-year-old from Tsawwassen, O’Connor takes over from Andy Neal as director of broadcasting and corporate sales. He spent the last four seasons with the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars. Neal and his family are relocating to Victoria. . . . The Calgary Hitmen have claimed F Kenton Miller, 20, off waivers from the Spokane Chiefs. Miller, from Redvers, Sask., had 28 points, including 10 goals, in 55 games last season. His departure leaves the Chiefs with four 20-year-olds on their roster — D Corbin Baldwin, F Darren Kramer, F Steven Kuhn and F Matt Marantz. The Hitmen also show four 20s on their roster — Miller, along with F Jimmy Bubnick, D Ben Wilson and G Mike Snider. . . .
Former Brandon Wheat Kings G Rick Knickle (1977-80) is the Phoenix Coyotes’ new director of amateur scouting. He replaces Keith Gretzky, who reportedly is to join the scouting staff of the Boston Bruins. The Coyotes also named veteran scout Glen Zacharias as their western amateur scout. . . . The Colorado Avalanche has signed Saskatoon Blades D Duncan Siemens to a three-year contract. The Avs selected Siemens with the 11th pick of the 2011 NHL draft. . . .
The 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game will be held at Prospera Place in Kelowna on Feb. 1, with the skills competition and 3-on-3 challenge on Jan. 31. . . . The Swift Current Broncos have signed F Cavin Leth to a WHL contract. Leth was the 39th overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft. He had 45 points, including 28 goals, and 120 penalty minutes in 32 games with the bantam AAA Lethbridge Val Matteoti Golden Hawks last season. That selection had been acquired by the Broncos from Kootenay in the blockbuster January deal that had F Cody Eakin move to the Ice. . . .
———
The Canucks won Game 3, 4-3, on Wednesday, to sweep the three-game Ted Hargraves Cup series with the Bruins at the BC Hockey under-17 camp in Salmon Arm.
F Nick Hermary, with two, F Dexter Dancs and F Nick Petan, with his third goal in three games, scored for the winners. F Austin Ferguson, F Matt Needham and F Brandon Potomak replied for the Bruins.
After the victory, Bruins coach Brandon West, who will work as an assistant with the BCHL’s Westside Warriors this season, was heard to tell his guys: “Congrats boys. You are the only Canucks team to win a trophy.”
The BC Hockey evaluation staff will short-list about 20 players over the next two weeks. Those players will be closely watched and 11 of them will be selected, along with 11 players from Alberta, to play for Team Pacific at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in Windsor, Ont.
Hockey Canada announced Wednesday that is has moved the 2012 WHC from Winnipeg to the Windsor region. The 10-team event, which features 27 games, is scheduled to run Dec. 29 through Jan. 4. The tournament will be centred in the WFCU Centre, the home of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, but games will played throughout the region. With the shifting of the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, Hockey Canada and True North Sports and Entertainment, the owner of the Jets, felt it best to move the tournament.
———
ON THE MOVE: G John Gibson has decided not to attend Michigan and play for the Wolverines, Instead, he is expected to join the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. Gibson, from Pittsburgh, was selected by the Anaheim Ducks with the 39th pick of the NHL’s 2011 draft. . . . D Connor Murphy, who went 20th overall to the Phoenix Coyotes in that draft, was headed to Miami of Ohio where he would play for the RedHawks. But Murphy, who is from Dublin, Ohio, has changed his mind and now apparently is headed to the OHL’s Sarnia Sting. . . . Earlier in the week, the Saginaw Spirit landed D Jamieson Oleksiak, who was taken 14th overall by the Dallas Stars in 2011, as he left Northeastern University after one year there. . . . There also are reports that Sarnia will be getting F Reid Boucher, a New Jersey Devils’ draft pick (99th overall, 2010). Boucher, from Grand Ledge, Mich., had said he would attend Michigan State in 2012-13. . . . The New York Rangers have signed F J.T. Miller, the 15th pick in the 2011 NHL draft. And, rather than attend the U of North Dakota and play for the Fighting Sioux, he is expected to end up with the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers. Miller was drafted after playing last season with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, so could be assigned by the Rangers to the AHL. It is more likely, however, that he will play for Plymouth.
———
The Dallas Stars are one of eight NHL teams who will take part in the annual prospects tournament in Traverse City, Mich. This year’s edition runs from Sept. 10-14.
Included on the Stars roster are a number of players who were in the WHL last season — F Matt Fraser (Kootenay), F Scott Glennie (Brandon), F Cole Grbavac (Medicine Hat), F Matej Stransky (Saskatoon), D Jace Coyle (Medicine Hat), D Brenden Dillon (Seattle) and D Alex Theriau (Medicine Hat). Of that group, Fraser, Coyle and Dillon have used up their junior eligibility.
———
John Sharp of the Peoria, Ill., Journal Star reports that Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law Thursday that “helps educate people about concussions while making it harder for student-athletes to slip by and return to the playing field before they are ready.”
Sharp continues: “Quinn signed HB200 during a ceremony at Soldier Field in Chicago. The new law requires athletes to receive written clearance from a licensed health professional before returning from a concussion. It also ensures that student-athletes, parents and coaches are able to identify signs of a concussion through increased education. . . .
“The new law makes a set of guidelines, adopted by the Illinois High School Association in April, mandatory for all elementary, middle, junior high and high schools. Those guidelines specify when a student-athlete can return from a post-concussion injury.”
Sharp’s story is right here.

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

Saturday . . .

THE CHILLIWACK/VICTORIA BRUINS:
WHL officials have long said they wouldn’t go back to Vancouver Island unless there were two teams there. That, of course, means Victoria and Nanaimo.
Numerous reports have indicated that the Victoria deal is done — the Chilliwack Bruins have been sold and will be relocated. (With the Bruins having been eliminated from the playoffs Saturday night, there aren’t any tickets to be sold in Chilliwack, so perhaps news will be forthcoming.)
But what of Nanaimo?
"The biggest stumbling block that Nanaimo has is the city doesn't have an adequate facility," Ken Wagner, who owns a piece of the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers, told Walter Cordery of the Nanaimo Daily News. "It's great news for hockey fans but I don't think it will affect us here in Nanaimo much at all. We haven't had any contact with the WHL but we know they have always said they would prefer to establish a second Island franchise if they were going to return to Victoria."
So what of a new facility for Nanaimo?
John Ruttan, the mayor of Nanaimo, told Cordery that he would love to have the WHL in his city but “not if they expect city taxpayers to underwrite the cost of a new arena."
Cordery’s story is right here.
———
Glen Sonmor is one of the grand guys of hockey, and you can bet he has done and seen it all. Sonmor is 81 now and they’ll gather at Tom Reid’s Hockey City Pub in St. Paul, Minn., on Monday evening to honour Sonmor and maybe tell a tale or two. Maybe Sonmor will flash back to his days with the Brandon Wheat Kings when the fans would gather at the train station and serenade the team with When Irish Eyes are Smiling.
Anyway . . . Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press has today’s good read, a feature look at Sonmor, and it’s a good one. It’s right here.
———
From Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal:
DJ Bowen in Jasper has been working overtime to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Jasper Arena and he has the Oil Kings playing Prince George in an exhibition game there on Sept. 9. In 1961, the Oil Kings played the Edmonton Flyers to open the building. Glen Sather played for the Oil Kings that game and Doug Messier for the Flyers, and they’ll be hanging their jerseys in the arena to salute that long-ago game. Sather and Messier might not be there, but hopefully they can send video messages. They’re bringing in some of the players from those teams — Gregg Pilling and Vince Downey have committed as ex Oil Kings and they might get Roger Dejordy who played for the Flyers that day. They’re having a banquet on Sept. 8 with the NHL’s icemaker Dan Craig as guest speaker.
———
The Kelowna Rockets and Portland Winterhawks will meet in the second round of the playoffs. That series will open games Thursday and April 10 in Portland’s Rose Garden. . . . The Rockets will welcome back F Evan Bloodoff, who missed the four-game sweep of the Prince George Cougars as he served a four-game suspension. . . . The other Western Conference semifinal will feature the Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans. It will begin with games Saturday and April 10 in Spokane. . . . F Landon Ferraro of the Everett Silvertips took a cross-checking major at the end of their last playoff game against the Portland Winterhawks. He drew a one-game suspension, so will sit out the first game of next season should he be back in the WHL as a 20-year-old. . . . F Justin Dowling, who played this season with the Swift Current Broncos, scored his first pro goal Saturday night, giving the host Abbotsford Heat a 1-0 AHL victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins. Dowling’s third-period PP goal stood up as former Everett Silvertips G Leland Irving record his sixth shutout of the season.
———
Some notes from the Chiefs on their upcoming series with the Tri-City Americans:
The Chiefs won the 12-game season series against the Americans, 7-5-0. At one point, Spokane had won five in a row in the series. Tri-City earned a victory in the last game of the season by a 6-4 score on Saturday, March 19.
The match-up will be the fifth time the two franchises have met in the post-season and the first time since a seven-game Western Conference Championship series in 2008. That series featured five overtime games, including three that went into double overtime. Spokane won Game 7 in Kennewick and advanced to win the WHL final and Memorial Cup.
The Chiefs have won the last three playoff series between the two after the Americans earned a seven-game victory in 1995. The Chiefs won in four games and in five games in the first round in 2000 and 2002, respectively.
SPOKANE AND TRI-CITY PLAYOFF HISTORY
1995: Tri-City wins second-round series 4-3
2000: Spokane wins first-round series 4-0
2002: Spokane wins first-round series 4-1
2008: Spokane wins Western Conference final 4-3
———
SATURDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES:
In Saskatoon, D Duncan Siemens, who was a game-time decision, had a goal and three assists as the Blades skated to an 8-0 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Blades hold a 3-2 edge in the series going into Game 6 tonight in Prince Albert. . . . Siemens left Game 4 with a lower-body injury and it wasn’t know whether he would play in Game 5 until he took the pregame skate. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 30 shots. . . . Saskatoon scored six second-period goals, four of them on the PP, after a scoreless first period. . . . The Blades outshot the Raiders, 54-30. . . . The Blades’ big line piled up 10 points, with Brayden Schenn getting a goal and three assists, Curtis Hamilton going two and one, and Jake Trask getting a goal and two helpers. . . . Saskatoon was 5-for-8 on the PP; the Raiders were 0-for-7. . . . Attendance was 10,034, the largest crowd in Saskatoon this season. . . . The Raiders took 63 of 104 penalty minutes. . . .
In Medicine Hat, the Tigers got goals from eight different players as they dropped the Brandon Wheat Kings, 9-5. . . . The Tigers hold a 3-2 edge in the series with Game 6 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg on Monday. . . . With the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair in their home arena, the Wheat Kings are playing their first-round home games in Winnipeg. . . . F Matt MacKay gave Brandon a 2-1 lead at 6:08 of the second period, but the Tigers then scored four straight goals. . . . F Emerson Etem had two goals and an assist for the Tigers, with F Linden Vey and F Wacey Hamilton each adding a goal and two assists. . . . F Mark Stone had three assists for Brandon, which went the distance with G Corbin Boes, who stopped 30 shots. . . . Brandon G Liam Liston and Medicine Hat starter Tyler Bunz both are out with concussions. . . . G Michael Tadjdeh is serving as Boes’ backup. . . . Medicine Hat G Deven Dubyk stopped 29 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . .
In Spokane, F Blake Gal scored three times to lead the Chiefs to a 6-4 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Chiefs won the series, 4-1, and now will meet the Tri-City Americans. That series opens Saturday in Spokane. . . . Gal’s third goal, at 13:05 of the third period, broke a 4-4 tie. . . . The Bruins trailed 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3, but came back to tie the game each time. . . . F Mitch Holmberg had two goals for the Chiefs, with F Levko Koper helping out with a goal and two assists. . . . F Kevin Sundher had a goal and two assists for Chilliwack, while F Dylen McKinlay scored twice. . . . Sundher was unable to beat Spokane G James Reid on a second-period penalty shot with the Chiefs holding a 3-2 lead. . . . Reid made 21 saves, 16 fewer than Chilliwack’s Lucas Gore. . . . The Chiefs were without F Tyler Johnson for the second straight game. The WHL’s second-leading scorer in the regular season, Johnson hasn’t played since taking an elbow from Chilliwack D Tyler Stahl, who ended up with a major penalty and then was suspended for two games. . . . Attendance was 5,352.
———
SATURDAY’S CFB COUNT:
Two minors:
Medicine Hat F Kale Kessy
Chilliwack D Emerson Hrynyk

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